Witch Hunt (Beyril and Atlas; Private; Possible Gore)

Harrison crouched as he approached the end of the ice trail, a sharp upwards slope that would send a lesser human careening to the streets below. The witch had banked into a sharp turn, desperately sweeping right in an attempt to derail her pursuers.

The meister's leap caught her square in the chest, arms coiling around her like steel cables. Helplessly tangled, the pair could only brace themselves as the collision sent them head-on into the clock face. Glass splintered and screamed as the impact shattered the face, shards raining down from every side. Bodies struck wood, knocking the breath from Harrison's lungs as the witch tumbled from his grip.

The witch rolled across the wooden floor, the ice across her hands shattering as she hit the floor and slid into a wall. Her back and shoulders dripped blood and glass splintered outward from her back like a porcupine. She slowly rocked her way back up to her feet, wounded and exhausted. With Harrison blocking the way out back through the broken clock face and the ringing bell swinging like a pendulum between them, she knew that she had to fight him off. She whipped her hand across her chest, her weighted hook-tipped whip clattering across the floor. She lifted the weighted end, swinging it slowly in circles at her side. Her other hand slid down the cool metal, letting it swing the opposite direction.

Addy worked to replace the broken chunks of ice in his armor, keeping the glass from his skin as best she could have. We've got her backed into a corner. You wanna keep a distance, or are we going in swinging?

We need to close...the distance... The words echoed slow and shaken. Blood trickled from an open gash in Harrison's shoulder where broken glass had bit deep into the exposed flesh. Crimson mist curled away where blood met ice, scattered by the draft their collision had opened in the tower. White-knuckled hands held tight to the staff as the meister shifted his weight, leaning into the weapon to rise to his feet.

Trust me...I know what I'm doing... Settling into a balanced stance, Harrison let one end of the staff fall, his right hand wrapped firmly around the cool wood. Eyes fluttered closed and he waited.

Addy was nervously silent, unease in playing the waiting game, but not willing to risk interrupting the apparent focus. The witch took a few steps forward, running a bit to gather speed before she hurled the hooked end of the whip in their direction, not totally letting go of her weapon as a smirk formed on her lips, eagerly awaiting contact.

Harrison dropped to one knee, ducking back as the sickle whipped overhead. A snap of the meister's wrist sent the staff skywards, catching itself in the curve of the witch's blade. Tension held the chain taut as the witch heaved against him. He allowed himself a brief smirk.

"I'll be taking that," he said coldly, whipping the staff backwards as the chain was torn from the witch's grasp. The sudden force sent her staggering into range and the satisfying crack of the staff against her chin sent her tumbling into the stone wall.

The witch stumbled into the wall, crying out as it pushed a piece of glass further into her back. She forced her hand out, glaring at the man covered in ice, and the ground beneath him started to shift like sand dropping through an hourglass in a wide circle. His feet sank into the sand, dropping down faster and faster.

The sudden shift in terrain sent the meister tumbling, hands reaching to right himself as the sand chewed at him. Within seconds, the quicksand had dragged him waist-deep, a sentient hunger apparent in the trap.

Chains! Harrison screamed in his head. We need chains to get out of this.

i have a better idea! she thought, a buzzing and static coming out from his feet, an odd sensation, but one that solidified the ground under him like a sheet of glass. Just walk up. Like you're taking the stairs.

Sand clawed at the meister like a parasite, pulling against him as he dragged one foot forward, then another. Left, right, left right. Trudging forward intently, a relieved sigh escaped him as his foot found solid ground. Holding tight to the staff for support, his free hand reached for the sickle, holding the chain loosely.

It's time to end this... Harrison stutter-stepped right, a feint made more believable by the wistful flourish of the staff. Simultaneously, his left hand snapped forward, whipping the witch's towards her in a wide arc.

The blade slid through her throat like butter, her head rolling across the hardwood with an unsettling grace. Addy shifted back, the ice falling away with ease as she lifted the soul proudly, "Ah-ha!"

Harrison walked close in tow, palm pressed to his shoulder to staunch the steady flow of blood. Looking down, the eyes of the hunter met those of the hunted. The hunter blinked. The witch's eyes, open and sightless, would stare blindly into eternity.

Wordlessly, the meister took the sorceress' hands in his own, dragging her limp frame behind him. Blood followed her in crude streaks, a macabre masterpiece of his design. Lowering the corpse into the sand pit, he stepped to watch as the witch's own creation silently swallowed her into its depths. Harrison averted his gaze as he tossed the head in close behind. The sandy maw grumbled with a staunch finality before dissipating into the wind.

Addy held the soul out in her hand, contemplating it for a minute, then handed it out to Harrison, "Here. Give it to your weapon. It'll make him stronger." she offered, "Thanks for the help. I'm Addy, by the way."

"Harrison," he responded curtly, taking the soul and turning it over in his hand. Small and vibrant, it pulsed with a purple hue, beckoning to him. "Yeah, it's yours," he said simply, flexing his hand as the soul dissipated, the violet haze travelling along his arm. Blue lines illuminated beneath his tattered shirt, crossing and curling across his torso. "He definitely enjoyed that one."

Addy watched the light, and chuckled, nodding toward his chest, "Who's that with you?"

Harrison tugged his collar to one side, revealing a thin black undershirt. Thin blue lines ran across the material in simple geometric patterns, thrumming with a faint glow. Extending one arm, the meister watched as the black cloth shifted, pulling away from him and drifting lazily to the floor. The amorphous shade began to take shape as it fell, coalescing into humanoid figure as it touched the wood. Within seconds, the form had shifted entirely, revealing a lanky figure clad in jeans and a simple tee, his leather jacket slung over one shoulder.

The stranger pushed the messy mop of black hair from his face, surveying Addy with piercing, if playful, eyes. "Well," the man began, casually strafing around Addy in an evident attempt at sizing her up. "She is certainly...spritely, isn't she?"

Harrison rolled his eyes, nodding to the man. "Addy, this is my brother, Ezra. He's...my partner."

Addy rocked side to side on her feet, hands clasped behind her back as she let her eyes follow the clear attempt at intimidation, "Eh," she shrugged, "I've been called worse." She set out a hand, letting it linger in the air till he was ready to shake it, "You know what they say; you can't choose family." she smirked a bit at her own joke, blonde hair shifting as she moved her weight, the cropped even edge shifting side to side without raising or lowering.

Draping the jacket over both shoulders, Ezra took the weapon's hand in his own, shaking it firmly. "I'm sorry that you had to meet the bookworm first. He's not the best at introductions." He rounded on his brother, brows furrowing. "Nor are you the best at sharing. I wasn't much of the mindset to spectate while you hunted a witch."

"Addy and I had it under control," Harrison muttered irritably, scowling at his partner as he adjusted the disheveled collar of his button-down.

"Clearly," Ezra retorted, jabbing him in the chest. "That's why you have a sheet of glass embedded in your shoulder. I don't know how that missed me, either. It must have jus-" The weapon's words caught as he noticed the tear across the shoulder of his leather jacket. "Oh, you son of a bitch."

"I gave you the soul, didn't I?" she miffed, arms crossed over her chest. "Besides, don't you guys ever spice it up? Like.... swinging, but with weapon partners." She watched the weapon's temper flare a bit, the two obviously rifting apart, "Mind if I see? I have a patch kit at home. I might be able to fix it, depending on where the tear is."

Ezra cursed under his breath, rolling the jacket off his shoulders and handing it to her. He moved to stand beside Harrison, crossing one arm over his chest in a stretch. "I can't much imagine anyone wanting to swing with my brother. He takes the notion of 'fun' and uses it as a bookmark in what I can only assume is his Anne of Green Gables collection."

"And he has the personality of sandpaper," Harrison shot, throwing a low shoulder into his partner's arm.

"Easy, poindexter. I'm just saying that if you were to get out more with me, you'd learn to lose a little of that tension sitting on your now-lacerated shoulder. Hey, maybe you would make a friend like this charming woman." Ezra nodded to Addy, a smirk teasing at the edge of his mouth.

Addy inspected the tear, gingerly tracing the edges with her finger, but not pulling or exacerbating it. She glanced up at Ezra as she heard herself mention, pulling her lips into a half-smile and winking, then glancing back down at the jacket, "I think I can fix this, actually. I'd have to take it back home with me, but I can get it back to you." She glanced over at Harrison, "You also might wanna get the glass out before you flex a muscle wrong and knick an artery. I've seen it happen before. You'd be out on the ground in two minutes."

Ezra's lip curled in an inaudible snarl, easing back to a thin line. "So be it," he said simply, nodding to her. "And as for you, dear brother, let's get that taken care of. I'm not intending to pay rent alone."

Harrison slid to his knees, shoulders slacking as his head lolled towards his chest. Ezra stood over him, surveying the damage with busy eyes. Dropping one hand to Harrison's shoulder, the other carefully traced along the wound, feeling for the direction in which the shard had gouged him. The meister groaned as his brother pressed into the laceration, pulling at the exposed glass.

"Hold on tight, cupcake. This won't be fun." Ezra grunted, wrenching his hand back as Harrison cursed under his breath. Crimson-stained glass clattered to the floor. "Addy, uh...I need to test something. Resonate with me." He held a hand out, eyes waiting for her to take it.

Addy took his hand, closing her eyes. There was a strange delicateness to the gesture, her fingers sliding across his palm before closing around the curved edge of his hand, her nails almost tickling the tender parts of the fingers. Her long blonde lashes rested on her cheekbones like a feather maintaining delicate balance with the tension on the surface of a pond; ethereal and distant. Her skin was like electricity; buzzing and sparking between the two in a near-silent hum as her wavelength searched through the crevices for his own, like she was peeling into the most intimate parts of him and pressing herself to them. It always was different for a weapon to resonate with another weapon, like the most intimate thing he could remember folding in and caressing itself all over again.

But the oddity of the sensation took a back seat to the warmth in his fingertips. Hot, like the coiled cigarette lighters that used to come inside old cars from the late 90's. It felt pleasantly warm until they contacted each other, then it was searingly hot. Perfect.

Ezra closed his eyes, drawing his focus into a solitary point as his fingers laced into Addy's. He could sense her wavelength poking and prodding at the far end of his mind, separated by a lattice of mental pathways that thrummed like a living web of consciousness. Carefully, he moved through the tangle of thoughts and emotions, extending his wavelength to reach hers. Contact brought heat unlike any the weapon had felt flooding through him, spreading along his arm and into his core. One by one, each strand of consciousness doubled back on itself, wrapping itself along the thread of resonance the pair had created. The web was no more, replaced by a single thread connecting himself to Addy, thrumming with a vibrant warmth.

Ezra grinned. I can't be this lucky, can I?

Addy's conciousness laughed inside his head, offering a sympathetic nod to Harisson, but otherwise kept her focus on maintaining their connection.

Ezra peeled himself away from the thread of resonance, eyes barely opening to survey the still-bleeding wound. "Now then, I know what you can do for him. Let's see what you can do for me."