pride and pain ( saber arturia x inspirit )

For a group of bandits rumored to be the best of the best at what they did, their hideout—or lack thereof—was disappointing. Akali had expected to be dragged back kicking and screaming to a base teeming with well-trained fighters, but all she found were drunken barbarians that held weapons they probably didn't know how to use. The stakeout itself was poorly disguised, the area too exposed in the foliage now that they had actually set a permanent refuge there with a fire and everything. It was a wonder the police hadn't found them already.

Her target for the evening, however, weren't the disgusting pigs that howled and hooted at her as she was yanked to the center of the campsite by a taut rope around her neck. She had her eyes on one person only, whose head was worth a fortune for all the disgrace she was enduring now. Akali hadn't spotted him yet, but as soon as she was tied to a stake like some dog and rendered vulnerable, he reared his ugly head. The man, a stout thing with hair that covered nearly two thirds of his body, was her target, but he didn't know that. None of these fools did, except her and the Seviper waiting on standby for the perfect opportunity.

The leader of the bandits said something, she wasn't sure what it was (nor did she care for his prideful boasting), but it must have tickled his group's funny bones as they howled with laughter. She remained focused and counted the number of armed men in the camp, plus the Pokémon that were out on guard. A Poochyena here, a Venonat there. Nothing her Seviper couldn't handle.

She glared up at her captor when he spoke to her, a growl rumbling in her throat as he dared to tear her top garment with his dagger, revealing a full set of breasts for her onlookers to gawk at.

He tore at her sash next, belatedly realizing that the Pokéballs he intended to steal were empty. Only when he figured out the possibility that her Pokémon was cloaked in the darkness around them too late did she ram her head into his face, yanking out the stake in the ground with brute force and swinging the rope around her target's stubby neck. A good twist and a pull had her strangling him with the leash, her jade eyes searching the vicinity for her Seviper.

She had lured their target out, now all they needed to do was sweep up the mess.
 
There was a part of ‘Sev’ that did not enjoy letting his mistress act as the bait, but she was the boss and she made the rules. However, upon seeing the sorry state of the camp and what few challenges they had set up, those worries turned into confidence. They were weak, with little that provided a challenge or any sense of sport to it all, and for that he felt pity for the first guard he took out. A poochyena was sitting on a rock, eyes somewhat lazily overlooking the bushes and trees surrounding the camp. Not being a stranger to surprise attacks, Sev laid low, spear held in one hand till he was ready to strike. As a seviper, what he lacked in sheer durability and defense were more than made up for with speed and strength, not to mention the poison that coated the tip of his spear. His would be opponent only saw the flash of metal, and glint of red eyes against black sclera as the assassin lunged for his prey! The would be opponent was not dead however, as Sev was here to help kill a specific target, not the poor things that had been roped into his service.

In the dark it would be hard to make out all of his features, one hand held his spear, the black and red tip sharp as a razors edge, and a limber, athletic frame that was coiled to strike at a moments notice. With merely a set of pants and a shirt and his mistresses weapons against the sash on his waist, he was dressed to evade and move out of the way of his enemies before striking them back, hard. It was not long before he saw the gathered group of bandits, a rather familiar figure silhouetted next to the fire. She was there, and so was he. Akali wasted no time, watching her force the stake out of the ground and using the ropes that once bound her as a makeshift garrote to finish the man off. Sev lunged, coiled muscles loosened as he vaulted over the crowds with his spear, using the momentum to carry himself over another mon – a rather aggressive and wild looking Venomat, shaggy hair covering much of his face. It was another easy target, a one-two strike with the blunt haft of his spear, then twisting it to skewer him in the shoulder, pulling the blade out as he darted back, seeking to even the odds quickly. “Finish it already, i’ll cut the rope and we can take care of the rest.” Speaking in a respectful, though firm manner, he knew she was the one in charge, and his sweeping blade kept would be attackers at bay long enough to let her finish the grim task.
 
She heard Sev much longer before she saw him, but the rest of the bandits fortunately hadn't expected his ambush and scattered like a line of ants without guidance, dispersing in all directions. When her Seviper was close enough, she ripped her dagger from his sash and made a clean cut across her target's throat. She had never hesitated when it came to carrying out a task she had already accepted, not even once to grant her victims a few words or a chance to redeem themselves in the face of death. Akali was always clean and methodical. "May your weary bones find eternal rest," she mumbled quickly, her trademark words a final prayer of respect for the dead that sunk heavily in her arms.

As expected, most of the group had fled in fear after witnessing the heartless murder, but some were still rooted in terror, unable to flee when Akali met their gaze. "Leave," she ordered, her voice carrying firmly even through the fabric covering the lower half of her face. The few men that realized that she was sparing their lives bolted out of sight, leaving an empty campsite.

She lowered the corpse to the ground and retied the tattered sashes to cover her breasts, doing all of this with her wrists still bound together by the rope that had already twisted through her skin. The bandits had lousy craftsmanship, too, leaving just enough wiggle room for her to hold a knife and kill someone with it. She extended her hands out to the Seviper, wanting him to cut through her binds. "You didn't kill anyone, did you?" she asked, just to make sure that even accidents shouldn't have happened.
 
Some would call it callous to kill for money, but for Seviper this was his life, and one he accepted. He heard the sounds of the dying man, the wet rasps, the solid thunk to the ground, and there was no reaction, this wouldn’t be the first time and it definitely wasn’t going to be the last. Simply fanning his spear out, he once again showed expert skill, the edge merely a blur as he readied himself against any oncomers. Thankfully cowardice trumped fervor for the men, and most were content to flee in shame, others lingering for just a moment till the order to flee was given from his mistress. Giving a sigh of relief, he then took Akali’s other blade, cutting through the ropes before handing it to her properly. “No, I only used a non lethal poison. They’ll be... uncomfortable for a few days. But those I fought will only have lingering wounds, no deaths. I made sure of it.” They weren’t the targets, they weren’t the ones who he was picked out to kill.

“That’s him then? I’ll get his head and we can be done with this. The contract should be relatively easy from here on out.” He figured the grisly work of beheading him fell on his shoulders, and he’d use one of the more suitable weapons left behind to do the deed. After that it was just a matter of properly wrapping it, and securing it. “I doubt his men are going to be a threat, but we should get going just in case. It’s always fascinating to watch you work.” A compliment of course, she was the one who tamed him, so seeing her actually kill instead of beating someone, he always enjoyed it.
 
"Good," she was pleased with his work and seldom did she prove that in her lack of enthusiasm, but her praises were genuine, even if they were just a few words at a time.

She stepped over the corpse carelessly for a burlap sack she found a few feet away, dumping the belongings that were stored inside on the ground. "I don't intend to stay in this pigsty," she narrowed her eyes in disgust. Akali tossed the sack to her Seviper for him to do the grisly work of the mission, only since it was fair that they halved the workload. She had never actually allowed Sev to kill anyone on his own, perhaps because she forbade him from staining his hands with the blood of a human being, seldom creatures of his kind poached for trophy value. It was the least she could do for him, to never burden him with the responsibility of taking a life.

So, she left him with the clean-up and always had to confirm that he hadn't actually killed anybody in their attempts at sabotage or murder. That was her job, and ultimately her burden to bear.

While he took care of their target, Akali explored the campsite for any significant items the bandits might have left behind. She rarely stole from others for the sake of greed but if there were useful objects lying around like maps and identification cards, she stole them for convenience. There was nothing of value to loot in the campsite, unfortunately. The whole area reeked of musk and dried meat, and Akali wanted more than anything to leave after acquiring their target. But... "Wait," she paused, catching a faint rustle in the foliage that alerted her that they weren't alone.

A Ninjask Pokéboy sprung out of the trees overhead and swung at her with its claw-like arms, slashing her across the arm just before she dodged a deadlier attack. Its tamer, one of the bandits that hadn't fled, stepped out. Akali clutched her bleeding wound and called to her companion.

"Sev, Venoshock!"
 
He smiled hearing the tone of her voice, even when she used her veritably neutral expressions and voice it was easy to tell when he had done well and when he had not. “I’m glad.” he was more emotive of course, resting against his spear for a moment before wiping the blood off his blade, using the corpse of the man they had killed. There was little shame in ridding himself of something so foul, and while she didn’t allow him to kill normally – he was no stranger to it, having witnessed it under her tutelage many times. He was also born wild, a predator. That meant he had already taken prey himself, though he understood prey and actual, calculated killing were different as he was no idiot. Yet, she never allowed him to take a life, and he never understood why.

The cleanup was simple however, and as they finished their grim task, he had the head within a bag, it would not smell that fresh when they got it to the client, but... But, it would not be a massive issue. Dead was dead, it couldn’t get simpler than that. These bandits were obviously transient beings, little in the way of stored riches and valuables, the few pokeboys and even girls that they kept fled the moment things were in disarray, and even their supplies were old, food stale or some even rotted. Clearly they were a threat if allowed to grow, but they had been neutered before such was a problem. Sev was ready to leave, the sack hoisted over his shoulder as he approached. “I think we’re done here, Akali. We should move be-” his tone was friendly, but the moment the rustling started, his coiled body was prepared, dodging at the same time his mistress did. The ninjask was a frail, slender thing – more limber and shorter than Sev, his hair covering a mostly bandage wrapped face, vicious and almost inset like claws raking at the end of its human hands. ‘Shit’ having let his guard down for a moment, it almost led to the injury of his mistress! She gave an order however, and he lunged, prepared to follow through. Wisps of violet vapor coalesced in his right hand as he held his spear in the left, the orb growing until it was a noxious, uncontrolled ball of virulent, near liquid poison! Throwing it, it all but lobbed at the ninjask above, unerring with its accuracy. He’d follow it with a lunge, his coiled body springing forward, spear first to skewer his opponent!
 
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