Of fire and fighting

Fire sprites Charra Houri (left) and Ruby Phoenix (right)

Art by
Charra Houri Ruby Phoenix (C) TrueRageXRT

Charra Houri

Charra had always loved the feeling of fighting. As a young sprite before she could attain human form one of her first memories was that of a battlefield. Two warring armies clashed and Charra found it thrilling. Wanting to join them she would spread her adolescent flames about becoming a wildfire. Burning everything, both armies tried to flee but most were engulfed and became ash.

Charra was sad when everyone was gone and decided to seek others in which to play. Not understanding death she was upset how quickly her new friends would stop playing with her. Her body began to mature quickly, attaining adult human form however she was still like a child mentally.

Charra met a woman she wanted to be her 'friend', after ambushing the blue haired woman she threw her fire about and tried to tackle her. Unknown to Charra this woman was really a water sprite, who was very old and strong. Calling forth water streams the woman of water pushed Charra back dousing her thoroughly. This was the first time someone could fight back and the experience was not pleasant. Charra felt great pain as her flames were being extinguished causing her to cry out in fear and confusion. Pulling back just before Charra was snuffed out the water sprite showed mercy and spared her discovering her misguided innocence.

Being educated on many things Charra's mind matured, she now understood that her actions were not play to those she attacked and caused horrible pain. While guilty for her past deeds she still desired the thrill of fighting, more so against those who could fight back. She learned about how humans and others fought, training herself in multiple methods of combat. Refining herself into a precise weapon instead of a indiscriminate killer. However she still had a tendency to overkill when she was enjoying herself.

She found herself fighting in underground fights, including a tour of death matches in Zenice. While she found a thrill without something to really fight for it still got boring. After witnessing her abilities she was approached by a member of the mercenary group Grim Talons, offered a spot to work with them she accepted.

With the Grim Talons she travelled frequently and faced all sorts of challenges. She still had a propensity for going overboard and gained the nick name Charred Lands. With a reputation of taking any job no matter how dangerous they were approached by a client who paid a huge sum to take out a single target. Thinking it a breeze only Charra and a couple other Talons went after their mark, after tracking him down they attacked and found themselves outmatched completely. With indignity Charra returned to inform the others of the defeat. After a good laugh at Charra's expense the entire company of one hundred fifty Grim Talons set out.

Ruby Phoenix:
As a young sprite Ruby was adopted by a retired assassin. He had been a member of the Shadow Daggers, a clan of assassins and thieves. Wishing to live a normal life he had fled the clan and started a life of honest work. He soon fell in love and married, together they had a daughter and were happy. However a member of the clan found him by chance and brought reinforcements. They attacked, failing to kill him but in the chaos got his wife and daughter. After that he hunted for the members of his old clan living in the darkness once again.

Ruby resembled his deceased daughter in her young form and at first he had the delusion she was her. He picked Ruby up in a big hug but got a shock when his clothes ignited from her heat. He figured out what she was and went to leave her but she ended up following him. She wasn't as fast as he was but somehow she kept finding him when he tried to ditch her.

Eventually he became so distracted with her that he allowed himself to be taken by surprise. He was outnumbered and had been hit with a crossbow bolt in the leg. One of the assassins had pulled his legs out from him and were about to take advantage when Ruby entered. He watched her make what looked like knives made from flame in her hands as she stabbed two of the assassins in the thigh. The fire blades seared the flesh as they cut, the targets screaming in pain. Ruby stepped between the assassins and their mark holding her blades at the ready. As the man stood back up they thought twice about continuing the attack and fled.

The man complimented and thanked the girl but she did not speak, only smiled and either nodded or shook her head in reply. After that he raised her and trained her with his skills, she took to things very well and after a few years had surpassed him in many things. Adding her fire abilities she was a potent assassin, refining her fire blades so that they appeared to be made from gold. However they were sharper than the finest steel sword and hot enough to melt nearly any metal.

Giving up his hunt for clan members he had lived in seclusion to raise his new daughter. They had evaded further attacks however eleven years after their meeting Ruby had an argument with her father and ran off. The clan had found them and used this opportunity to trap Ruby. Her father came to rescue her, he succeeded but sustained a mortal wound in the process. She blamed herself for his death, but could not forgive the Shadow Daggers and on her own resumed hunting them for her father.

It took many years to hunt them all down but at long last she had finally slain them all. It was at this point she didn't know what to do. She had focused on the task for years but never of what to do after. None of the other skills she had been taught were of use to make a living so she continued what she was good at.

She became an assassin for hire, however she only took contracts for those she felt deserved to die. Drug lords, corrupt royalty, criminals and other ilk were all targets she would take down for the right bit of coin.

She had gained some renown for her skills, those who knew the methods to contact her had become highly sought. One day she was brought a contract that perked her interest, the target was said to be highly dangerous. It claimed he was a tyrant who abused women, and took them as slaves, even if they were demon, human or sprite.

Taking the contract she used her usual sources to locate the mark. She found him without too much trouble as the places he went would not forget him soon. As searched she found many who had met him painted a different picture of him. It seemed he was either hated or loved, Ruby wanted to judge him for herself so when she found him she observed him a little while then tested him.

The purple haired man was in the inn of an industrial city, as she made her way to a separate table she noted that he indeed did have several females in his company, even a young fire sprite but so far none seemed to be held against their will. Though she wasn't certain that they had not been just abused enough to break mentally so that their chains became psychological. She walked toward the toiletries with a route that took her close to his table, she felt his eyes ravishing her as she passed. However this was not enough to kill a man, if it was half the patrons at the inn would be in trouble too.

After she returned she bought a liquor drink and a room. She made a show of pretending to get drunk after a couple more drinks. By the time it was near midnight she loudly told the barkeep she was going to her room and performed a perfect intoxicate stumble. She accidentally bumped into her mark and he got up offering to help her to her room. He propped her against his muscular body and they started up to the floor the rooms were one. As soon as his hand had wandered to her bottom she knew she had him and pretended to pass out. He sighed fetching her key with room number on it and picked her up, carrying her it only took a moment to get to the room and unlock the door. He entered and found the room's bed setting her on it.

Eyes shut she waited for the moment he made his move, but it did not come. She sensed him turn and walk to the door. Ruby was flummoxed she was sure he would try something, maybe he wasn't as she was told. She heard his hand touch the door but not open it all the way, after a moment he turned back approaching the bed once more. She knew it, he must have just been checking to make sure no one was there to interfere. He was now only a foot from the bed and she prepared for his lustful touch, one that would be his last. Alas nothing happened, she could tell he was within arm's length of her but he wasn't doing anything. Ruby wondered if he was planning something, or just taking his time. After a minute she thought of striking now preparing her muscles to lash out.

Just before she was about to strike he spoke to her, his voice almost making her jump in surprise. He said he knew she was faking in an attempt to trick him into trying to take advantage of her, though in more crude words. Ruby panicked and summoned her blades as she made a slashing arc towards his neck. The tips of both blades hit either side of the neck just below the jaw but instead of slicing it out they hit the skin and were stopped like they struck stone. Shocked she pulled back and struck somewhere else with the same effect. Abandoning her blades she leapt up doing a flip and twist so she was facing his back. She wrapped her arm around his neck in a choke hold, she dangled off his back locking the move in trying to close off his air. She was surprised that he still made no real movements and was perfectly calm, she could even feel his leisurely heart beat through his back and into her chest.

Ruby kept the choke hold locked hoping it would still work, but after a minute he strolled over to a mirror that was in the room. He looked at his reflection with her face behind him, grinning he complimented the expression she was making calling it a 'murder face'. Ruby was starting to get upset and at the risk of burning the inn down let her body heat up. She wasn't letting any flames escape but her skin was so hot that the paint on things many feet away began to blacken. She couldn't believe that there was no reaction, not even his clothes burned. She yelled out asking what he was as she pushed her temperature up to a few thousand degrees for a moment before cooling herself down. She knew that any longer and the wood floor would burst into flames, resigning to the fact that he seemed impervious to damage physically and from heat. She released him and jumped away giving herself as much space from him as possible. Ruby took a defensive stance ready for anything except what he did. Looking her in the eyes he spoke a series of compliments, insults, boasts, and a few things she had no idea of the meaning and left the room.

After that night she didn't know how to proceed, merely trailing him, watching his every action and listening to every word he spoke. Each a contradiction to the other she was still unsure how to judge him, not that she had an idea of how to kill him should she decide him deserving of death.