Grave Hunting [Private, Zack Coyote]

The daylight which broke through the clouds was well on its way down, bathing the grounds with warm colours. The sight was surprisingly bright, but Skylar wasn't put off by this. The answer as to why this was was simple. Nameless had bestowed upon her a gift of a sword and had sent her into the field to see what she can truly do, what she was capable of. Her mentor had sent her after a grave robber, a thief, known as Zack Coyote.

From what Skylar could find out about him, he had been seen around the area somewhat recently, but that wasn't why Skylar partially hid herself in the woodlands which surrounded a graveyard. Word had gotten out about the death of a wealthy merchant, something which Skylar had picked up on. She had followed the crowd which gathered in sorrow and located exactly where the burial would be. And when it took place. The fresh mound of first signalled that it was fresh. However, Skylar had to be partially amused by what she had seen. The casket was rather extravagant, even though it housed a dead body, but this was exactly the thing which Skylar had hoped would draw her target out.

After all, he was somewhat into stealing from the dead.

Skylar laid in wait at the base of a tree, back pressing against it as her form being almost completely covered by the lush greens around her. This was simply shelter offered and freely given by the shrubbery which surrounded the graveyard. Even with her vibrant colourations, she would be next to impossible to pick up. Where she sat in wait, the sword resting against her leg, allowed her to watch her surroundings.

From here, she could see the metal fence which surrounded the burial grounds, see the gravestones which lined them. Here she could see anyone and anything that entered and she wouldn't be seen herself. There was a section of the bent fence near her location, which was more than enough for her, or anyone else, to slip in. The main gates were open as always, on the west side of the graveyard. Approximately 30 meters towards the centre of the graveyard and twelve meters to the right laid the new coffin. The burial site was only around 8 meters from the bent fence that she sat near, which meant that, logically, her entrance would be the easiest to use to get to it, especially considering there was cover to use to ensure the security of the path. This would give not only cover from potential attacks due to the rocks that laid between her shrubs and trees to the bent fence (5m approximately) but would also allow her to hide as he stalked closer to the grave.

But now, it was just a waiting game...

@Zack Coyote

"I'll take my leave here."

"Why yes my liege."

He would step off of a carriage carrying nothing more than a large box and a bouquet of flowers. His jacket was an ivory white, and his own clothing under was also a fine silk. He dressed like a wealthy man, and the servant with him proved just as true. Zack would lift his hand for the man to leave him to his bidding as he stared down at a familiar grave. A tear would form in his eyes.

"Oh, how I miss thee." he would speak to the stone and marble, "No one knows that this ground is nothing but dirt, and of what royal guard you were." he'd smile, reminiscing of the emptied grave. Even the casket was sold, and that alone paid for his ride for the evening. Who knows where his wealth would-

He'd drop the flowers to begin to walk to the newly dug hole. He could read the stone, and if his memory served him right, he was going to be a rich man for another grand time. He would lean on the box in thought, only to ponder what his reason was.

"Pity." he'd finally say, opening the box only to reveal a newly purchased shovel. The box would fall to the ground, and the spade would find it's way into the dirt. . . .

Then he would see the true treasure he was about to uncover.

Time kept ticking along, Skylar sighing as she returned her eyes to the sword. Wait. No, that wasn't what they were called, but she didn't exactly use weapons all the time. She corrected her own thoughts. It was an axe. A mildly heavy item, but still, something Skylar would be able to use with relative ease.

A man, he went forward, carrying a few items. A box, with a bouquet of flowers on top. He was dressed with wealth, having a servant with him as they made their way towards the gravesite. Skylar wouldn't have raised an eyebrow until, after his servant all but left, he seemed to utter a few words before... He tossed down the flowers before opening his box to show a brand new shovel.

So this was the man?

Waiting until the servant was well and truly out of sight, Skylar acted. She changed her grip on her swor- Axe. Skylar used her spare hand to lightly rub the tense muscles. Her heart was pounding as she stood and cleared the distance between the two of them. Thankfully, his back was to herself and the twisted fence, and her approach was silent. She held the axe half-way down the handle, near the blade. Here, her arm and feathers were more than adequate to hold it and hide it there. He wouldn't have seen her until she was almost upon him.

"Ya know, grave robbing is HIGHLY frowned upon." She stated, making her presence known to him after her nearly silent approach, hoping that her sudden appearance would somewhat startle him.

That was when she changed her grip on the weapon, revealing it from underneath the feathering. She stood close enough to use the weapon, her feet on sure ground and far enough from the silly hole that she wouldn't fall into the darn thing. Again. Holding the axe properly, she brought the it up in a diagonal sweep upon his chest.

He almost replied, "What ya gonna do, kill me?" but by the time the words left his brain and reached his tongue and eventually his lips, she was already swinging at him. He had little time to react, and with few armaments with him, he had only one option that didn't involving him bleeding right away.

He would change his grip on the shovel to push it forward rather than to dig, his left hand free and away, his right would jab with the top of the shovel toward the woman. He would aim for nothing more than her own neck. and with sight of the axe coming down at him she had few options. Would she continue her movement and take his attack, or would she adjust and give him just enough space to plan another way out?

"If I steal from a thief does that make me a criminal?" he'd ask as doing do.

She knew nothing about this world.

He turned, pulling the shovel up from his digging and aiming it at her throat. The man had used his right hand to do the action, left hand free to do what he wanted. Grand, so he was going to fight?

Of course the girl didn't want to be beheaded by the spade, but neither did she want to change her action. Her right hand was using providing the axe with its momentum, but due to how the pair stood, her left hand opposed his right. Timing it to perfection, she would take a small step to her right- partially distorting her strike so it's target would remain the same, but the blade of the shovel would go past her neck harmlessly. She then raised her left hands palm to the handle of the shovel and thrust it to her left, further away from her. Hopefully that would cause a partial unbalance in how he stood.

"It makes you a thief nevertheless, thus someone who doesn't care of the law. So therefore, YES!"

"Tch. Who does she think she is?" The thought entered his mind. But he found no answer to it. She faced him and with her left, pushed the end of the stick away from her. He shuffled his feet and would swing again to smack the side of her head. There was no way out of it. He could only minimize it.

With his shuffle. he had moved just far enough back to be grazed by the weapon. It would slice through his clothing and the top layer of skin. Enough to hurt, but nothing near to fatal.

With her weapon so close, he would release his tool to grab hold of the axe's head. He would reach for the area just under the head of the blade. If he could disarm her, he could end her life as well.

His weapon was cast away as he partially shuffled to a new and better position. Her hand deflected the second blow of the stick like last time so it would end up being harmless to her once more. But then he let go of it so it was cast away from the pair of them. Her axe grazed against his chest.

But that wasn't what had Skylar catch her breath.

He managed to snag her axe between his hands, holding the axe firmly.

Skylar knew that if she allowed this to be taken from her grip, he could easily kill her with a few strikes from it. Or one well placed hit. Steeling herself, Skylar acted quickly. The box which held his spade- it was on the ground right behind him now after his shuffle. Putting her other hand on top of his hand as it closed behind the head of the axe, Skylar acted. Her muscles tensed as she suddenly stepped forward, her weight and sudden forward momentum being driven behind the axe to try giving him a rather nasty shove backwards.

She ensured the blade still would face him- refusing to release the grip that she had with it.

This so wasn't going well...

---

The Axe that Skylar wields.

"FUCK." was the only thought in his mind.

Her hands grasped his own, something that would have made him blush any other day. But here, they held him for his execution. He would stumble with little room to react. His food would slip under the box and he would begin to land on his rear.

He had only one thing he could do. With her hands still pressing his, his grip was sealed. All he could do was take the momentum with him. The blade would face his lower body, but only the top of the head would land on his chest, namely his ribcage. The force would be enough to knock the wind out of him, but not enough to kill him. He had to hold on.

He couldn't let go.

And he didn't mean the axe.

It worked.

The two fell in an organised heap together.

Her axe forced itself forward.

The blade dug into his skin, just below the rib cage. Crimson sprang upon his wounds, coating the tip of the axe with his blood. Skylar's black eyes seemed hard, refusing to have any emotional connection with this man. Even though it wasn't enjoyable for her to kill, she'd done it before. But this man was off the tracks. He was someone that needed to be mercifully put to sleep. He'd stolen and robbed enough times, it was time to put a proper end to it.

But he was struggling so much that it was hard for this to be merciful.

Her grip didn't leave the handle as she forced the handle down towards his legs. With the added weight of their fall and her own force behind it, she hoped that the true blade of the axe would find its way home into his abdomen.

---

The Axe that Skylar wields.

Women. They were weaklings.

But why did one now stand over him, threatening his life? No, there was no way out of it. But who was she? How did she know of his occupation, his doings? No. . . It wasn't her. It couldn't. He killed her. This couldn't be her. This was a new world. . . But even Fiore appeared a year after his own first step.

He would put all of his energy into halting the blade. He would never let a woman get the best of him. "She's just another fucking bitch. . . " the thought came of his mind. He wanted nothing more than to say it. But he had to save his breath. He needed all of the power he could get.

He wouldn't just kill her. No. He would do something far far worse when he was done,

He stopped her blade like it was nothing. She wanted to let the fear flow through her as she bitterly was reminded. Skylar was nothing like she was in the past, that she remembered. A bitter, bitter reminder...

But that contempt that shone in his eyes upon stopping the blade made her blood boil. It was that contempt that spurred her into doing what she'd done in the past. It was safe to say that she absolutely loathed that LOOK!

Knowing that the struggle over the blade was more out of desperation from his life, Skylar felt the anger boiling just underneath the surface of her skin. The look that he'd given her had triggered a long felt anger. She wasn't some princess that needed to be taken care of, someone who people could just scoff and throw away like she was some toy. But here, the two remained in a partial stalemate. Her energy was going to pushing the blade down, his to resisting it. Slipping her hand from over his and back to the handle, Skylar swiftly kicked her foot forward in a partial downward arc, aiming for his groin- something she knew was incredibly painful for the male population.

Hopefully that would distract him or draw his attention enough for the following action to be have a remote and unlikely chance of working.

She twisted the axe violently to the right and sharply jerked it backwards to try and break his grip with the weapon.

---

The Axe that Skylar still somehow wields right now.

No. Not here . . . Not like this.

His white shirt was ruined. His ivory jacket dirtied. His snow colored panted stained. His soul forever corrupt.

With her foot, there was nothing to prepare him for the surge of feeling and pain that followed. His grip lessened but her hands would still be over his own. His fingers would twist under the bones of her hands. He would gasp for air, the single thing that would kill him.

His chest would rise as the axe would spin ever slowly. The material of his clothing would tear. His skin bruised and bloodied. He couldn't let her lift it. He had to try. But he was a foolish man as ever.

"I'LL. . . .END YOU. . . " He's yell with his breath, "I'LL SHOW YOU PAIN, REEEAAAAAAL PAAAIN."

The sickening sound of the axe tearing through his flesh didn't bring tears to her eyes.

Steeling herself from even remotely feeling pity for this man, her face formed an expression of distaste at his shouts. She kept her grip on his hand, which was remarkably soft, all things considered. Her nails firmly dug into his hands, keeping them there. "For the crimes you've done, you'd do well just to let me do this and do it quickly. We both know a wound like that won't be healed easily."

Skylar wasn't surprised by the harshness of her own voice, stating facts and refusing to sugarcoat them. That was just who she was, especially in situations like this where she really would rather not be in it. Changing her grip on the axe, again, she felt him pulling it down from her sudden change in direction.

She swallowed hard.

And shoved the axe home and into his chest again.

---

The Axe the two are still struggling over.

She was maimed. Chopped and hacked into little pieces. He knew that. he did it himself.

But she reminded him of her. But there was no way. No. . . could she? Could she be the spirit of her? No, that made little sense, she would be infuriated about other things brides the caskets. No, he knew every curve of that horrid girl. He knew the tone of her voice, the feeling of her skin.

"I'll get you!" He would let out his last call. His grip would lessen into nothing as he would cough up blood. Had had to hope she would give him even the smallest window of escape. He was worth more alive than dead, he was sure.

He was sure of it.

For just a few moments, her mind wanted to give this man a second chance, force him to tell her exactly why he'd done what he did. But really what would that achieve aside from buying him time and allowing him to suffer in agony for longer.

"No, I hope that you won't." She said quietly, her voice softening from the former anger that she held. After all, it may even be the last thing that he heard from this realm before his judgement was executed. Despite the fight the two were having, despite the fact he thought that she was probably a 'mere female', Skylar wouldn't allow what could very well be the last thing that someone heard be something of disgust, anger or fury. She couldn't allow it. No one deserved that. Not even someone as evil and disgusting as the man before her.

The axe fell further into him as his grip loosened, but the strength behind her hands drove the head forward and home, straight into his chest. Tears of regret finally began to sting her eyes as she violently twised the axe as it buried itself deeper inside. Straight after, she pulled it down his body as she would begin to removed it in a stroke of a downwards fashion, aiming to all but gut him from his rib cage to his pelvis as she swung the axe free.

I'll make sure to put you into your grave, Zack, as that is where you belong...

---

The Axe Skylar has seemed to win the fight over!

"Dammit."

His mind echoed his final thoughts. Never had ever been at such a disadvantage. His own fears would manifest into the girl. He knew that this world was a purgatory. He knew it was the in-between world for teleportation, and life, and death. With it, came questions, none he wanted to ask until now.

But he knew the name of the man.

"Kyonshi. . . " He would curse the girl before him, and the man he would soon see, "Both of you can rot in hell."

But he would soon learn.

The evil do not go to hell.

She saw the light leave his eyes after her final trick, gutting the poor man in more ways than one. Blinking, she felt tears sting her eyes as she pulled out the axe from the Zack's corpse and laid it beside him. With her right hand, she used her thumb and index finger to close his lifeless eyes. A shuddered breath came to her.

She wasn't fearful, not normally. But right now... She was terrified.

Skylar looked up, feeling the tears roll down her cheeks which formerly refused to show themselves. She'd done the right thing in relieving him of his suffering, but . . . It shouldn't have had to be this way.

But regardless. Skylar stood, looking around for the shovel...

---

She engraved his name on a tombstone, buried the body in the graveyard. The process took her long into the night, her tears continually falling down her face. She didn't enjoy killing, but the maniac, this... this thing deserved to be put down like an animal. She just wished it could have been more pleasant for him.

After she paid her final respects to the man who no one knew, she stood.

For the first time in her life, her mind could think of nothing more to say.

She just hoped he would find peace...