Lost in a Familiar Jungle. Arcadus vs Astrid PvP

[Arcadus]

Arcadus looked out of his balcony, musing on his floor as he considered what to do with it. He could concievably turn the entire place into one big workshop, but that might get boring after a while. Swirling his wine as he shrugged off his robe, he leaned over his railing. A palace was nice but perhaps he needed to expand. A castle, a keep, an estate weren't on the level of an entire floor of Los Noches, over which he had been given right to rule, to shape to his benefit. 

Perhaps he should investigate other floors. He did know about the hell energy coming up off of his old floor, the current tercera certianly had a connection to the underworld they were leveraging down there. Perhaps something like that could help him define an aesthetic for the floor. He couldn't and didn't want to have an endless series of hallways of black stone and gold-white trims, and that many sitting and bedrooms sounded like hell to design. 

But first he needed an outfit, and while he was glad to wear his espada robes, he need to take count of his inventory. He set the black ring on the mantle. It wasn't necessary to bring that along. Picking up his scabbard cannon, he considered leaving it, but with  him not knowing the espada there, it might be worth having. Threading his belt sash through its loops, Arcadus set it on his hip, tying it snug as his fixed his hair in the mirror. Nothing serious, he wasn't expecting any notable company. 

Ready for heading out, Arcadus looked in the mirror. He didn't always like the person staring back at him. But right now he felt... nothing. Neither good nor bad, and for once, he was ok with that. It was nice not having to deal with his emotions all the time. It reminded him of himself while he was climbing up to being an espada. Unbothered, unfettered, flourishing in his lane and domain. Now with Kouhai being more active and other espada actually there to challenge him, that had changed. 

Casting his Gargantua and stepping through, Arcadus felt his foot set on the dusty marble of his old house. The chandelier was still there, oddly enough, though in disrepair as cobwebs clung to it like smoke trails. plants of all manner had over grown into his home, and the furniture was falling apart at the seam. The kitchen reeked of spoiled meat, and as he stepped on the cracked glass stair case, the pool was in dire need of a cleaning. 

Looking outside, he could see a veritable jungle. Plants of all kinds and breeds grew in chaos, trees, bushes, vines, shrubs, flowers and grasses seemed to have flourished on what used to be the stone floor. Venturing a bit further, these weren't just human world plants, greenery from the Menos Forest was also here. Strange, since they weren't naturally growing in Los Noches. Orignially he had assumed his garden he'd sealed up had just escaped its enclosure.

A breeze carried hints of sulfur and pitch, and as Arcadus took in the scent, he could sense within it the same taint he had smelled in hellions. It reminded him of those "archdevils" of Sanctus and their ways. But he couldn't sense an actual hellion anywhere near by, which troubled him. If this had made it here through a portal, that could be very, very bad for Los Noches. Weakened as Sanctus might be, they still aimed to take over Los Noches, and that would not stand. 

Looking around, Arcadus saw the indents of feet and the parting of vegetation that told him someone had passed through here with intent. The trescera maybe? Maybe a stray hollow, but right now it was his only lead on who or what was actually inhabiting and corrupting this layer. Turning over leaves and brushing aside branches in search of other clues, Arcadus considered his options. He'd be best off flying instead of running along the ground. It would deprive them of closely following a trail, but would leave them able to travel much faster. 

Turning back to look at his old mansion, Arcadus looked at its dilapidated state. Its design and beauty shone through its decay and disrepair, but that was unacceptable. Only the best for himself, and an ugly reminder was worth erasing, and forgetting. Raising his hand, Arcadus swung it down, as if squashing the building, and a shockwave few out, rolling like a wave as it crashed into the building, turning glass and cut stone to rubble and dust. 

The dust settled as the rumble of rubble subsided, and Arcadus, turning towards his heading. Wherever the Tercera is, He'll find them, and as he scanned the biomes of this jungle, he decided to take noes on what to do about his interior decorating. His priorities were a mystery even to him sometimes. He would have to be careful before releasing, both for the sake of Los Noches and for the sake of this floor, his flames would turn this place to ash. 

[Astrid Vess]

Astrid felt incredible. As she walked back into her domain coated in the remains of freshly killed hellions from the Suicide Forest, she smiled wide and took a deep breath. The fresh blood was perfect. Blackened, sulfurous, and with a rich iron smell. It ran through her hair, down her face, over her torso and dribbled down over her legs and finally settled onto the floor. She reveled deeply in everything about the fresh kill, in fact she was so happy by it that she didn't even consider how aggravating it was that she still hadn't acquired any longstanding pack members or species of being to dot the bountiful domain. Sure, most would die for a variety of reasons but where there was a will, there was a way. Astrid had lived and breathed that and here she was now damn near bathing in the blood of her enemies. If that wasn't thriving, she wouldn't know what was. She raised up a hand to caress the minotaur skull she was wearing, a fond memory of her recent fight with it. It was hefty and weighty, just as she liked her memorabilia. Not to mention it showed that her victory wasn't over something completely insignificant.

Not like the new "jacket" she was wearing, which was basically a fur that had the previous front legs punched out to be "sleeves". Freshly skinned from some hell beast in Wrath that had challenged Astrid on her way back. Something chimeric in nature but ultimately just coarse enough with its fur to be pleasant to the touch. . . . In Astrid's mind anyway. The remainder of her appearance was simply band around her chest and a pair of what used to be higher quality black silk pants. Now horribly stained, fraying at the edges, and torn across her knees and at a few points around her legs. This good mood of Astrids lasted only for a short few moments as Astrid had made her way into her jungle and had heard a the sound of a shockwave being created. It echoed in the darkened space and it immediately had Astrid growling to herself. Someone was DESTROYING something in HER domain. She'd kill them. The plants were one thing, something she'd kill for anyway if she saw it but knew that life had to fend for itself in her domain. But the realm itself being damaged, let alone the distinct sound of stone and glass being destroyed meant Astrid had missed something in her rampage.

Something someone else had found and deprived her of destroying. Possibly attempting to cultivate a slice of her realm for themselves. She growled from deep in her throat at the idea and immediately shifted into a more feral mindset. . . well shifted what she could. Her new existence didn't quite allow her to fully revert to her old ways, not consciously so. But it didn't stop her from trying and sinking partially into old habits. She stood still and listened, waiting to hear something move. Given nothing else in her domain was alive, aside from the plant life and no being that wasn't Astrid lived in here she could easily determine what was and wasn't normal movement of her plants. Let alone what scents were "natural" or new. Her sight would be mildly hindered if only due to the darkened nature of her realm with only molds, moss, her sigils, and the occasonal plants glowed enough to create soft light. But that was fine, she knew her realm like the back of her hand, it was created by her after all.

She immediately hopped into the tree branches above her. Grasping onto a branch about 15 feet up and quickly climbing up another 5 feet. From there she began to jump from branch to branch, stopping occasionally to take a deep breathe and smell the area. It smelled of many things normally. Faint floral scenets, blood, rotting plant matter, sulfur, occasionally something more foul given the portals to Hell and what occasionally died within. Hell even stomach acid or the equivalent could be smelled given a number of the plant life was carnivirous. What was not normal however was the smell of rosewater. Astrid immediately realized the out of place scent if only because it was "pretty", "pleasant" even. And it unnerved her. Reminded Astrid of those Sanctus fucks who thought themselves better than everyone else. It made her blood slowly start to boil. That scent should NEVER be present in her garden. She'd never sully it with that waste of a plant. With a quick turn of her head she'd find the direction of the scent.

Another couple jumps from tree branch to tree branch was all she needed to find the source of the scent. She'd have killed them for their blatant disrespect of her domain were it not for one thing. She immediately took note of a particular scent, one that spoke of hollows. The rosewater hid it well but it was still present underneath it. Astrid growled loudly, likely notifying the individual of her presence but she didn't care, she was still aggravated by their presence. Still, she'd give them a chance, they were hollow after all. Kin deserved that much before their deaths. Assuming they weren't worthwhile in some other way. She immediately jumped down behind him a foot at most, realizing she was a decent bit shorter than the man in question but that didn't stop her from growling towards them. Height was not an indicator of strength. She'd find out if he was strong or not depending on his reaction. "Who the FUCK do you think you are? Destroying my realm like it's your goddamn right. You'd better hope Marik sent you or I will have your spine torn out and ground to plant food."

Astrid's eyes were narrowed, her posture rigid, and her growling constant. Any sense of non-hostility was thrown aside and all that was left was an animal barring its teeth at an unwelcomed intruder. It'd likely be hard to notice but Astrid's body was quivering unnaturally. Her flesh moving then stopping at several different places across her body at a time. Alongside that there would be a couple of hard to notice but strange features with Astrid. Her teeth, while barred, were mildly reflective. Seemingly made of something other than bone. The arrancar mark to note for her was a series of varied skulls that were embedded into her collar bone and wrapped around to her back. Said skulls were pitch black which was unusual to say the least. Her neck had a tattoo on it, a ram skull inside a circle that went from the base of her neck to the underside of her chin. And lastly, but most importantly, her tattoo of her number was in plain sight. A gothic 13 that was between her skulls and the tattoo. If nothing else, it was that tattoo alone that would tell Arcadus she was at least affiliated with Las Noches even if she wasn't the "Tercera" specifically.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats / Skills}
Current Stats:

Base - Sealed - Released


Str: 400 - 400 - 1400

Speed: 400 - 400 - 1400

RS: 100 - 25 - 100

SPPR: 500 - 100 - 500

Senses: 300 - 300 - 600

Instinct: 400 - 100 - 400

ES: 0 - 0 - 0

HE: 400 - 100 - 400


LA: 0

DA: 100



Current Skills: (18/18)

Focused Eye - 3

Poison Resist - 3

Pain Tolerance - 3

Strength of Will - 3

Martial Arts: Way of the Flesh Warper - 4

Bleeding Tolerance - 1

[Arcadus]

Arcadus turned to  listen to the rustling as he could sense something approaching, and reaching out, it was indeed the trecera, or in their terms the thirteenth. Astrid, and comparing their reiatsu against the portals around, they were likely the one responsible for them. As for thier speed approaching him, Arcadus widened his stance slightly and laid his hand on the tsuba of his artifical zan, expecting some kind of tackle or lunge at him, but appreciated them stopping in front of him. 

As amusing as her threats were, Arcadus did have to take them seriously. "Well, miss thirteen, that ruin used to be my home, and as for Marik and my right to be here, I think I have every right, consider both that I outrank you and that this used to be my floor. But if its that important that you get to knock over a relic then I apologize." Arcadus was a sliver away from rolling his eyes and just blasting them and leaving, but he held his tongue and hands. 

"I also wanted to ask about the portals to hell and what and why they were here, given we are inside Los Noches, its not exactly secure if we have openings like this that Sanctus can use to enter. Operational security and all that. But other than a security matter, I wanted to check on the tower's I had set up for communications and I've been having some technical difficulties. But if ..." Arcadus couldn't help but feel revolted as he tried to explain himself in a way that might assuage this little indiscretion. 

It wasn't really worth it. He was going to just call her bluff and get this over with. Tercera or not, he wasn't going to chased off and amongst Espada who couldn't act civilly, there was no use in trying to insist upon it. "If you want to fight me, we're fighting outside. But if you fight me I'll gladly show you why I outrank you. Now let me know before I get bored and decide to take my leave." Arcadus turned his back to her, making sure to read over her emotions as he did. 

He handled that well for someone as brutish and harsh as they were. As fo their response, he was mildly concerned that he had pushed this maybe a bit too much, but all in all he didn't care. This was his floor first, and if they wanted to shit it up with making it into a giant garden because they wanted to play tarzan was up to them, but gods forbid he want to visit without a fortnights notice and a signed writ from Kouhai stating his authority. 

[Astrid Vess]

This man was exactly what Astrid expected from someone who tried to hide their nature. They were arrogant to the extreme. Acting like they were better than her simply due to a number let alone previous ownership. The latter Astrid could understand to a degree however it was now her domain and thus she couldn't allow him to attempt to exert authority over it. Even if she'd likely do the same where she in his shoes. Perhaps in that regard they weren't so different but that didn't stunt the frustration Astrid felt. She was absolutely going to retaliate but she allowed him to speak. He knew Marik, he supposedly was near Marik's level which meant he was strong, and he was a hollow. . . even if he was more Sanctus leadership than he was an actual hollow. A fact that irked her personally no matter how hard she tried to let that go. The Sanctus had many scars left on her person and she wasn't fond of letting others treat her like they did. Arcadus wasn't getting away from this without harm coming his way.

When he'd finally stopped his monologue, she took the moment to speak to him. Aggressive, rough in tone, and already done with his bullshit. "You have no right to enter without my say. Not unless you can prove your actually strong enough to back it up. But given how similar to the Sanctus you are, I'd bet you're far weaker than you look, just like them. Well. . . More like Holika. Orobas and Alastor unfortunately could hold their ground." Astrid almost wanted to attack him here and now. The way he didn't even give her the time of day to look at her made her start to vaguely hear the voices of the spirits she'd consumed. But she had to wait. If they felt so superior, then she'd humor that fight. It'd likely be better than the minotaur or the chimera. And the look on their face when she'd rip of his limbs would be everything and more that she'd wanted to see. Perhaps she could even imagine it was Orobas himself that she was killing.

"The portals will stay. I will not have someone force me to leave either of my domains. Neither you nor the Sanctus. As for your arrogance, I'll ensure you realize what it's like to be knocked down to your knees. Pick your realm to fight in, it doesn't make a difference. Let's see if you make the Sanctus look like capable fighters considering your fear of them." Astrid quickly created a sigil in front of her, the circle split into quarters each with little symbols on them designating a separate world that she could go to. She waited for Arcadus to make his choice of where to fight. Hell, she was ready to fight in her own domain and if she had it her way, would have done so without concern. But he was like Marik and wanted things to be dealt with "elsewhere". She rolled her eyes and tsked at the mere thought that their home WASN'T a place to use as a battleground. Truly ridiculous. She'd humor him for Marik's sake. Nothing more. Until he proved himself better than Astrid, he was nothing to her and all she felt was a boiling frustration that was subsequently cooling itself and being fed by the spirits within Astrid. She was slowly but surely starting to hear their cries for violence, and she was inclined to agree that they were necessary.

[Arcadus]

Arcadus listed to his peer. He didn't exactly enjoy being compared to Sanctus members, especially considering he'd been on the recieving end of their tactics himself, and he really didn't like being compared to Alistor, even being weaker than him. "Considering that I annihilated him and his choices in fashion and appearance with words alone, I would say that there are shinigami children, much less anyone of the Espada, who are stronger than Alastor."

Arcadus's ceased the scowl that had flickered as he expressed his distaste for Alastor, softened as he tisked  and rolled his eyes. "I'm more than glad to prove my strength, but I'm glad to leave as well. I came to check on the ruins of my home, and because I was concerned about the portals, but clearly its under "Control"". I don'thave a problem with the portals if you're willing to not let your herd move outside your floors and I don't have them roaming around eating my numeros. 

"Now, if you want to to settle this outside, I'm more than glad to." Arcadus stepped aside and gestured behind himself, as a Gargaunta opened behind him to show the white sands of Hueco Mundo. The cold breeze washed over the otherwise balmy area. Sand blown in  and the light from the dome flowed out into nighttime sands. "I'm not at all like any hellion anywhere, but if you want to get put through a whole new hell, you can step outside with me."