[And in that brief pocket of silence, a new challenger approaches.
Since their first meeting, Sanji has known that Ammy is something more - still a dog by all accounts, but he is no stranger to power beyond his own. The canine holds enough sway to birth flowers from the ground, to call objects to them on command. He enjoys their unique plays at banter, their moments of unrestrained childish brawls, even the perpetual silence of someone always listening.
Under no circumstances would he want to fight them head-on.
That doesn't deter him from coming up fast without permission, right foot incased in flames and pointedly drawn against the nearest batch of shadows. It doesn't need to be his strongest attack. The swipe is enough to push them back, some shadows smearing across the sky. When there's enough space to breathe without a lungful of shadows, he relaxes his stance into a slouch next to the white-haired dog. Waiting.
The mutt can handle themselves, is what Sanji believes, but...]
Rude little shits, aren't they? [Rubbing his neck with a sigh] And after you were finished with your nap.
[The blazing kick that sends a mass of shadows spiraling into the air was...unexpected and Ammy turns her head in shock and surprise, ears pointed up and mouth hanging open a little. She knew this man was fast, but she didn't expect a strength and a power like that - especially not to the point of creating flames in such a way. She's impressed, and while she was concerned she had to keep him out of trouble now that he's shown up, Ammy actually she snorts with a wheezy canine chuckle at his remark.
Yes, quite rude indeed...she was having such a good nap, especially to such a good song. Lifting her head with a low, long howl, Ammy shakes herself off so that her ears flop against her skull. It's just as she gets up that a new song starts on her phone, swift and energetic. The shadows snap their heads up and hop in place to the beat of the tune, though they also creep closer as well, undeterred. Ohoho, so something to fight to...this is going to be a lot of fun.
Sanji will feel the spike of Amaterasu's haki and she swaps out her reflector for a glaive, the cerulean blade Tsumugari glistening on her back. The swift slashes she can deal should match the beat well. Looking up at her partner, Ammy bounces on her four legs and wags her tail, tongue hanging from her lower jaw.
[As the song begins to fill in the spaces of the courtyard, Sanji glances sharply at the phone and feels his heart stir in time with the colorful twang of strings. This is not a type of music he's familiar with. The melody feels weighted and ancient in the way that new music sometimes does, but at the same time swift and complicated. A smirk stretches across his face when he turns back to the shadows. Well shit. And he was already working with enough battle adrenaline as it is. This song is gonna add fuel to the fire.
Ensnared by the beat of the music, the shadows bob and sway the closer they approach, but Sanji's attention is suddenly drawn to his peripheral - at the mutt who's bouncing on the pads of their paws like an excited puppy. If he were viewing them through the full lens of his Observation Haki, they'd be glowing a bright blue. Instead he gives a good-natured smirk at that wagging tail and sighs a little, briefly closing his eyes.
The strings pause.]
Aa. I'm ready.
[And then the music starts again. Propelling himself off the balls of his feet, Sanji heads directly for the first wave to his left - a group of shadows hopping to the beat, before quickly rearing up when Sanji draws too close. He kicks at them, through them, swinging his entire body into a circle that lifts streaks of dust from beneath his feet. The strings continue to drum on in the background]
[As Sanji darts left, Ammy goes right, the sapphire blade on her back humming as it cleaves a whole line of shadows as the music pings and plucks. She controls it with her mind mostly, sometimes using her jaws to handle the massive sword as well. The shadows screech and hiss as her divine instrument shreds through them, and she moves almost in sync to her partner, her sword striking in tune to when the blaze sole of Sanji's shoe slams into the body of a sentinel or ghoul.
A black line with a blazing white-hot light on his leg, a white streak with a dab of black on her tail - Yin and Yang; the symbol for balance.
And though the shadows try to lash out with clawed hands and shadowy, black teeth, the duo is nothing if not persistent. Ammy is having the time of her life, meeting her partner as their paths cross in and almost circular pattern. She greets him with a happy look and a prance - lifting her legs as she trots, like a show horse.]
WROOF!
[Uttered in time to the yell in the song. This is the song of her people, and she's deeply enjoying getting to share it with someone like this. The shadows don't seem to know how to keep up with the high-energy and the sheer speed and strength of the 'dancers', bucking with each kick and strike of Amaterasu's glaive.]
[Holy shit. This crazy dog, just look at them. They yip and prance in time with the music and Sanji just throws back his head with a bellowing laugh, shooing at them with the back of his hand. Oi, there's still more of the bastards to clear out, at least half. And while chances are both of 'em could've finished this twice over if they were taking the fight seriously --
Where's the fun in that?
When the music slows to build back into its momentum, Sanji responds with a casual stroll, tapping the toes of his foot in time with the tempo, offering a mocking wave at his circle of opponents - right in the thick of them, like he's chatting with the crowd. He can't tell if these guys feel any emotion, but when larger shadows butt forward through the ranks, claws aimed like daggers at his face, that's all the validation he needs. Not much different than a brawl with the shitty Marimo, except then he'd be working up a sweat.
The claws miss and hit air. Sanji takes his part of the battle to the sky, leaving only the winged shadows with any chance of catching him. Damn, but the bastards are slow all the way up here. The pirate has time to observe Ammy's progress and note that something invisible must be causing chaos, that hidden power of their's he can't make out. Just look at them, the shadows are being thrown around like ocean spray. The mutt's gonna finish before him at this rate.
The throb of the music has a harder time crossing the distance to him, but Sanji can tell that the beat is speeding back up, and just in time for his guests to arrive. There's nothing to break up here but shadows; he doesn't hold himself back and draws his leg in position, watching the idiots literally line up for him. Tch.]
Diable Jambe--
[The fire spiking from his leg intensifies, hot enough to send a shimmer of invisible heat throughout the courtyard, and as the music plucks, faster and faster, Sanji begins to spin in the air like a buzzsaw. The shadows don't care; they speed forth, a trail of black ink, until they're in range]
--Concasse!
[It's a one-shot kill, Sanji's right leg slamming down on top of the first shadow's head, and it's a ripple affect all the way down the line. 7 shadows drop like stones back to the ground, turning into projectiles that take out those still dancing on the ground.]
Music Event - Approx 3/14 (/chews on this meaty tag)
[This battle seems almost like performance art, hence why Ammy isn't going all out. She's having far too much fun to have it all end so soon, and is greatly enjoying how her partner moves and sweeps in a flurry of blazing kicks. The dancing flames and embers are like fiery petals, and it ignites the burning spirit inside her - that fiery passion that feeds the flames of her broiling sunlight. The music picks up, and she goes on, charging up an attack as the shining blue blade hums and vibrates with her stored energy.
She all but bounces on her paws with not a care in the world as the first shadow to leap at her gets a taste of the charge strike of Tsumugari. It splits apart, disappearing into a flurry of black mist and she goes on again and again with the others that follow. The stronger ones are now taking the stage they've set, and these take more than one strike to finish off, but the flames of passion are still burning white-hot as the music strums. This feels like a Devil Gate challenge, and it's just so much fun to get to share this with someone as spirited as she is.
The man soars upward, a flash Ammy catches in the corner of her eye, and she lifts her head to peer up at him. Amazing...she's never seen a human fly before. Waka may have been the only one, but he was never quite human to begin with. Not entirely, anyway. She dodges a strike from a Sentinel, her fur feeling the brush of claws, but hr toothy grin as her Fleetfoot skill ability spins her in a glittering arc behind the beast. Trying to catch her off-guard? Naughty thing...she was trying to watch the show - behave until she's finished.
This show is about to end in a blaze of glory - literally and figuratively speaking. Her tail swishes and paints an infinity symbol overhead in glistening, black ink, unseen to Sanji's eye, but he will feel the spike of her power, and see the massive orb of spiraling flame come to like like a small sun above the wolf, flame spitting from it like the wings of a phoenix. The shadows he struck fall into the center most point, burning to nothing but an ashen heap. The rest that do not fall prey to Flameburst scream with agony at the heat, retreating back into the depths of the portals that birthed them.
Just in time, too...the final chord is struck, and the song ends abruptly.]
[Still hung in the air, Sanji leans forward and whistles at the hellish scene unleashed on the rest of the shadows, all of whom either burn or scramble to retreat through their portals. Pretty damn impressive. It's a rare day to find someone else with the same affinity to fire. This dog continues to be full of tricks, and with no clear theme the man can figure out. Hn.
Well, it doesn't matter. With their audience gone, the game's finished, and Sanji just snorts at the burn marks left by both their attacks. It's a shame how the wind echoes through the courtyard, now that there's nothing else to fill the sudden silence. He begins bouncing along the sky, marking a downward trajectory until his feet come in contact with the ground]
Not much of a workout, but... [Smirking, he slides his hands into his pockets and turns to the canine] Not bad, mutt.
[Not quite finished. There's still one matter of business left. No battle is truly completely without a victory howl. It's the tradition she's kept after every tough - or, in this case, enjoyable - battle back home, and who's here to stop her from continuing on the rules of triumph over fallen enemies? Certainly not her partner here. He seems just as impressed with her little show as she was with his. Not bad yourself, Snails, though he was right. These were small-fry. Ah well...a howl's a howl.
Cirling around herself a little as Sanji lowers, the wolf crouches, tucking her head down as she takes in a big gulp of air - enough to fill her lungs full. Snapping her head up, nose pointed to the heavens, Ammy lets loose a loud howl that echoes like a fanfare through the now empty courtyard. The clouds parts, and dazzling beams of light filter through the sky - a spotlight on the two dancers that performed so wondrously. C'mon, buddy, take a bow! This one's for you, too.]
[Sanji's two steps from walking off - to go chase after whatever errands a pirate chef is bound to - when the skin on the back of his neck suddenly warms. That he stops is not because the sun suddenly came out, or that Ammy is howling like any proper dog would.
It's the nature of that sound, the resonance. Sanji feels victory fill his eardrums and the marrow of his bones. He looks up and stares directly into the sun, struck quiet by the raw comfort of the day and how small he feels underneath it. His Observation Haki doesn't pick up a flare in power this time; that's for his own soul to sense, like finding particles of a deity dancing on rays of light.
The dog's looking at him expectantly. Sanji blinks himself out of his stupor, then grins, and tucks his body into a sweeping bow.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Music Event - Approx 3/14
Since their first meeting, Sanji has known that Ammy is something more - still a dog by all accounts, but he is no stranger to power beyond his own. The canine holds enough sway to birth flowers from the ground, to call objects to them on command. He enjoys their unique plays at banter, their moments of unrestrained childish brawls, even the perpetual silence of someone always listening.
Under no circumstances would he want to fight them head-on.
That doesn't deter him from coming up fast without permission, right foot incased in flames and pointedly drawn against the nearest batch of shadows. It doesn't need to be his strongest attack. The swipe is enough to push them back, some shadows smearing across the sky. When there's enough space to breathe without a lungful of shadows, he relaxes his stance into a slouch next to the white-haired dog. Waiting.
The mutt can handle themselves, is what Sanji believes, but...]
Rude little shits, aren't they? [Rubbing his neck with a sigh] And after you were finished with your nap.
Music Event - Approx 3/14
Yes, quite rude indeed...she was having such a good nap, especially to such a good song. Lifting her head with a low, long howl, Ammy shakes herself off so that her ears flop against her skull. It's just as she gets up that a new song starts on her phone, swift and energetic. The shadows snap their heads up and hop in place to the beat of the tune, though they also creep closer as well, undeterred. Ohoho, so something to fight to...this is going to be a lot of fun.
Sanji will feel the spike of Amaterasu's haki and she swaps out her reflector for a glaive, the cerulean blade Tsumugari glistening on her back. The swift slashes she can deal should match the beat well. Looking up at her partner, Ammy bounces on her four legs and wags her tail, tongue hanging from her lower jaw.
Ready?]
Music Event - Approx 3/14
Ensnared by the beat of the music, the shadows bob and sway the closer they approach, but Sanji's attention is suddenly drawn to his peripheral - at the mutt who's bouncing on the pads of their paws like an excited puppy. If he were viewing them through the full lens of his Observation Haki, they'd be glowing a bright blue. Instead he gives a good-natured smirk at that wagging tail and sighs a little, briefly closing his eyes.
The strings pause.]
Aa. I'm ready.
[And then the music starts again. Propelling himself off the balls of his feet, Sanji heads directly for the first wave to his left - a group of shadows hopping to the beat, before quickly rearing up when Sanji draws too close. He kicks at them, through them, swinging his entire body into a circle that lifts streaks of dust from beneath his feet. The strings continue to drum on in the background]
Music Event - Approx 3/14
A black line with a blazing white-hot light on his leg, a white streak with a dab of black on her tail - Yin and Yang; the symbol for balance.
And though the shadows try to lash out with clawed hands and shadowy, black teeth, the duo is nothing if not persistent. Ammy is having the time of her life, meeting her partner as their paths cross in and almost circular pattern. She greets him with a happy look and a prance - lifting her legs as she trots, like a show horse.]
WROOF!
[Uttered in time to the yell in the song. This is the song of her people, and she's deeply enjoying getting to share it with someone like this. The shadows don't seem to know how to keep up with the high-energy and the sheer speed and strength of the 'dancers', bucking with each kick and strike of Amaterasu's glaive.]
Music Event - Approx 3/14
Where's the fun in that?
When the music slows to build back into its momentum, Sanji responds with a casual stroll, tapping the toes of his foot in time with the tempo, offering a mocking wave at his circle of opponents - right in the thick of them, like he's chatting with the crowd. He can't tell if these guys feel any emotion, but when larger shadows butt forward through the ranks, claws aimed like daggers at his face, that's all the validation he needs. Not much different than a brawl with the shitty Marimo, except then he'd be working up a sweat.
The claws miss and hit air. Sanji takes his part of the battle to the sky, leaving only the winged shadows with any chance of catching him. Damn, but the bastards are slow all the way up here. The pirate has time to observe Ammy's progress and note that something invisible must be causing chaos, that hidden power of their's he can't make out. Just look at them, the shadows are being thrown around like ocean spray. The mutt's gonna finish before him at this rate.
The throb of the music has a harder time crossing the distance to him, but Sanji can tell that the beat is speeding back up, and just in time for his guests to arrive. There's nothing to break up here but shadows; he doesn't hold himself back and draws his leg in position, watching the idiots literally line up for him. Tch.]
Diable Jambe--
[The fire spiking from his leg intensifies, hot enough to send a shimmer of invisible heat throughout the courtyard, and as the music plucks, faster and faster, Sanji begins to spin in the air like a buzzsaw. The shadows don't care; they speed forth, a trail of black ink, until they're in range]
--Concasse!
[It's a one-shot kill, Sanji's right leg slamming down on top of the first shadow's head, and it's a ripple affect all the way down the line. 7 shadows drop like stones back to the ground, turning into projectiles that take out those still dancing on the ground.]
Music Event - Approx 3/14 (/chews on this meaty tag)
She all but bounces on her paws with not a care in the world as the first shadow to leap at her gets a taste of the charge strike of Tsumugari. It splits apart, disappearing into a flurry of black mist and she goes on again and again with the others that follow. The stronger ones are now taking the stage they've set, and these take more than one strike to finish off, but the flames of passion are still burning white-hot as the music strums. This feels like a Devil Gate challenge, and it's just so much fun to get to share this with someone as spirited as she is.
The man soars upward, a flash Ammy catches in the corner of her eye, and she lifts her head to peer up at him. Amazing...she's never seen a human fly before. Waka may have been the only one, but he was never quite human to begin with. Not entirely, anyway. She dodges a strike from a Sentinel, her fur feeling the brush of claws, but hr toothy grin as her Fleetfoot skill ability spins her in a glittering arc behind the beast. Trying to catch her off-guard? Naughty thing...she was trying to watch the show - behave until she's finished.
This show is about to end in a blaze of glory - literally and figuratively speaking. Her tail swishes and paints an infinity symbol overhead in glistening, black ink, unseen to Sanji's eye, but he will feel the spike of her power, and see the massive orb of spiraling flame come to like like a small sun above the wolf, flame spitting from it like the wings of a phoenix. The shadows he struck fall into the center most point, burning to nothing but an ashen heap. The rest that do not fall prey to Flameburst scream with agony at the heat, retreating back into the depths of the portals that birthed them.
Just in time, too...the final chord is struck, and the song ends abruptly.]
Music Event - Approx 3/14
[Still hung in the air, Sanji leans forward and whistles at the hellish scene unleashed on the rest of the shadows, all of whom either burn or scramble to retreat through their portals. Pretty damn impressive. It's a rare day to find someone else with the same affinity to fire. This dog continues to be full of tricks, and with no clear theme the man can figure out. Hn.
Well, it doesn't matter. With their audience gone, the game's finished, and Sanji just snorts at the burn marks left by both their attacks. It's a shame how the wind echoes through the courtyard, now that there's nothing else to fill the sudden silence. He begins bouncing along the sky, marking a downward trajectory until his feet come in contact with the ground]
Not much of a workout, but... [Smirking, he slides his hands into his pockets and turns to the canine] Not bad, mutt.
Music Event - Approx 3/14
Cirling around herself a little as Sanji lowers, the wolf crouches, tucking her head down as she takes in a big gulp of air - enough to fill her lungs full. Snapping her head up, nose pointed to the heavens, Ammy lets loose a loud howl that echoes like a fanfare through the now empty courtyard. The clouds parts, and dazzling beams of light filter through the sky - a spotlight on the two dancers that performed so wondrously. C'mon, buddy, take a bow! This one's for you, too.]
Music Event - Approx 3/14
It's the nature of that sound, the resonance. Sanji feels victory fill his eardrums and the marrow of his bones. He looks up and stares directly into the sun, struck quiet by the raw comfort of the day and how small he feels underneath it. His Observation Haki doesn't pick up a flare in power this time; that's for his own soul to sense, like finding particles of a deity dancing on rays of light.
The dog's looking at him expectantly. Sanji blinks himself out of his stupor, then grins, and tucks his body into a sweeping bow.]
Thank you for the dance.