[Fight Club] Old School (Pop/Para)

[ Ardos Ta'driz ]

Old school, huh?

He headed outside with the crowd.

Ardos had no fancy powers or superhuman abilities, just a thick skin and a sword that had seen better days. But he was confident he could take Deith and Tao. They didn't seem to have any sort of formal training.

Meanwhile, Ardos had seen the worst of the worst in his time as a mercenary and a wanderer in the Underdark. He had experienced great famine, scorching fire that burned at his skin and blows that broke his arms and made him cough up blood. He had been pushed to the brink of death over and over again. These humans were nothing to him.

Ardos unsheathed his massive two-handed sword, seven inches thick and five feet long. It was scarred heavily with dents and scratches. He threw the scabbard aside and faced Deith.

Deith didn't really care that much about the fights, they just amuse him, and they get really fun once in a while. This time though, he wasn't really sure what could happen, since he never expected himself to get thrown into a fight this suddenly. Not that he minded. He had experience after all.

Standing outside, he briefly scanned everyone present. But his eyes stopped on Ardos, seeing that the guy was already set on him. With that sword.

Ah, dammit.

He casually patted his pockets to feel for any weapon if he had any. He managed to find a pen. That's not really going to help, right?

Exasperated, he sighed and put it back in his jeans. Hands then. His ability wouldn't be so much help in this kind of matches, anyway. And he didn't want to risk being suspected as cheating if he ever does try to use illusion. Yup. He was going to use his hands. Screw that sword. He's going to pull it off somehow.

"Well, come at me, bro."

Believe it or not, Ardos was rusty by his standards, but he realized as he swung his sword around a couple of times and distributed its weight appropriately that he was in no way incapable. He sword still felt like an extra limb.

He was trying to get his poker face straight, but he couldn't ignore the hollering from the crowd and Sid's increasingly inappropriately sexual comments. Ardos grunted in annoyance. When the fuck did that guy even get here?

"I'm gonna fuck you with this guy's arms, Sid! You're next!"

Ardos lunged at Deith with his sword, swinging it sideways as if he was going to hack him through the middle.

Deith could hear Tao's voice the loudest, out of all the sounds surrounding him, and strangely he couldn't consider it an irritating distraction. Instead, it reminded him that finishing this guy off would mean he'd get to fight Tao again.

His grin was wide and sinister as the thought sunk in. Too bad he couldn't really kill Ardos.

Though preoccupied with these thoughts, it wasn't difficult for Deith to jump up to dodge Ardos' attack, and then land a couple of feet farther than his last spot.

Ardos wasn't quick enough with that swing.

"Sorry, my hands are my hands," Deith spoke. He had heard Ardos shout before that swing... Did he say Sid?? No time to get pissed off. Almost just as he quick as his landing, he immediately jumped back into the air and landed right behind Ardos, before taking his own out and swinging it to stab his opponent on the shoulder.

Ardos turned with a swing to Deith's direction —

but Ardos was too heavy, too strong, too slow

— and the fountain pen's tip stabbed him on the left shoulder. The blade's swing right next to Deith's leg. It destroyed concrete, but apparently he didn't hit Deith.

"FUCK!" The stabbed area ached painfully, but at least Ardos was presented with an opening; Deith was nearby. He jumped forward to tackle him to the ground.

Deith grunted. Ardos was successful on tackling him, and only a second later he was already stuck on the ground, defenseless. Well... not really.

He was fortunate he was fast.

He quickly set up illusions around them, these invisible spells slowly seeping into Ardos. He would attack Ardos' senses, and make him believe that his stab wound was as painful as a hot metal skewered and moving in circle into his shoulder. And then he would make him think that instead of blood, tiny insects of all kinds would splurt out of him.

The illusion was tiring though. He didn't know how long he could keep it up. Hopefully long enough until Ardos lets him go.

Ardos knew exactly what this asshole was doing.

Le-kzen called this type of magic "Illusion magic." It wasn't an uncommon tactic drow used to strengthen drow females' mental resolve. His sister had been subjected to it a couple of times, and even Ardos himself fell prey to priestesses that tried to trick him.

He hated this cheap tactic. If Deith was going to take him on, he'd rather he do it in a less cowardly manner and face him fist to fist.

He felt like his shoulder was getting ripped from the inside and it quaked every time he moved it, but he's literally been through worse. He pinned Deith's shoulders to the ground and threw powerful blows at his face's direction, snarling like a rabid dog.

Aw shit. Bad move.

Deith grunted again feeling his face take those blows. They were painful as hell... Well not really but... Painful... And he didn't like it.

Fuck his illusions then. He waited for the right moment, even though he had to take more blows, before tilting his head just enough to dodge, and then biting on Ardos' forearm. He quickly grew his fangs, and buried them deep into him, before wriggling out of Ardos cage and taking a bit of flesh with him. He rolled to the other side of the area, before standing up, though dizzy and still a little disoriented because of the punches he had to endure.

He touched his face and cursed under his breath. He won't be able to show his face to Lei like this. He'd develop bruises soon, and the cuts on his cheek bone would have to heal first. He hated how he couldn't regenerate without extensive feeding.

He brought down his hand, and swallowed the flesh and blood from his mouth.

...It didn't taste good. He made an almost exaggerated disgusted expression, furrowing his brows, wrinkling his almost ruined nose, and looking like he was going to throw up. Why the hell was he even doing that? It made no sense how he loved making fun of things.

"Ngh... Ardos, bro, what's your diet..?" he muttered, wiping the edge of his lips.