(no subject)

[eternal-strife.livejournal.com]

Who: Cloud (Open to all.)
What: Fighting
Where: Outside Midgar
When: Mid-Afternoonish?
Warning: Violence?

 

 

Cloud crept quietly through the field, one hand folded around the hilt of the overly large sword he had strapped to his back, keeping a firm grip on it to avoid creating any unnecessary noise. He’d been stalking around for close to an hour now, and he didn’t want to ruin the hunt by creating an unfortunate bit of noise right near the end of it.

What was he hunting? Well, it was a Behemoth actually. One hand nested a ways outside of Midgar, in a stone outcropping’s worth of cave that sprouted up from the normally barren fields. There were dozens of caves like this spread out over the area, but most contained smaller, weaker creatures. For some unknown reason, this titan of a monster decided that this would be a good resting place for him. Perhaps it was because of the easy prey normally around these parts? That would likely attract many a monster that had been shunted from his previous habitat. Perhaps it was something to do with breeding? The creatures around here would be easy prey, even for a baby Behemoth. Whatever the reason it didn’t matter, Cloud didn’t give an iota of a damn. He was just here to kill the monster.

Why was he going to kill the behemoth? Mostly for the body parts, whatever you could salvage from a Behemoth would be worth its weight in Gil. Also, perhaps he had a bit of a death wish? He was sure that his friends thought that of him. No matter how competent a fighter he was, going one on one against something like a behemoth was something few people walked away from. Even a mako enhanced SOLDIER like himself.

Those thoughts were pushed from his mind however as he reached his destination, which was the stone outcropping. He leaned up against the side of the cave; using the stone to hide him from sight should something be walking towards the cave. He planned to ambush the Behemoth as it was exiting its home, and end it in one shot if he could manage it. However that was merely the basic plan. He had his doubts that this creature could be taken down in one hit, even if he managed to get so lucky as to sneak up on it.

How long did he wait, leaning against those rocks? Even he wasn’t entirely sure, but his patience was rewarded in the end. The Behemoth crept out of the cave, that giant horned head coming out first. The creature sniffed the air, and then grunted as it walked out of its home. Each time one of its four legs hit the ground was like a miniature earthquake, the creature was at least twenty feet long, probably weighing in at several tons. This could easily be considered a suicide mission, even for a SOLDIER. That did nothing to deter Cloud though, he would fight this massive creature, and he would win. That was all there was to it.

As the horned monstrosity trotted further and further from the mouth of the cave, Cloud finally made his move. He slowly slid his massive weapon from the sheath that was laid across his back, and crept out from his hiding spot. The weapon, as massive as it was felt light and familiar in his grasp. Confident that he had caught the monster off guard, Cloud broke into a run towards the Behemoth’s back. He kept his quick pace until he neared the creature’s tail, and then he leapt into the air. His sword raised above his head, so that he could plunge it into the creatures back with all his might…

The next thing he knew he was sailing through the air, in the opposite direction. Right before he’d landed on the behemoth, the creature had turned around. With agility that belied its massive size the Behemoth had swung around, and slammed an enormous paw into Cloud’s midsection. The result was obvious. That was why he was sailing through the air now.

Once he had taken the second to realize what had happened, it was easy enough for him to recover. He flipped his body weight back, turning the inelegant flight into a careful ballet that took place in the air. One full rotation later, Cloud’s feet hit the ground, the momentum he still held from the impact sent him skidding back, at least until he plunged his sword into the ground to stop himself from sliding back further, which would have taken him into the mouth of the cave. That –would- be a death sentence for him.

Quickly he slid his fingers past his shirt, brushing them along his chest in an effort to inspect his wounds. He winced at the feeling, one, no two ribs were broken. That kind of pain would be intense to a normal man, making even the slightest movement difficult. Even for a mako enhanced human like him the pain was there, a dull, constant throb. It would definitely make the fight more interesting.

He could have cursed himself for falling for such a move, but he didn’t have the time. No sooner had he finished his inspection did he have to rip his sword from the ground, and make a dive to one side. The Behemoth hadn’t simply waited for him to be ready to fight. No, it had charged right at him, and he had just barely managed to make it out of the way in time. Even then, one of those large, deadly horns nicked the side of his stomach, tearing through the cloth like it was nothing, and leaving a pretty little scrape that had just barely scratched the surface.

Regaining his footing, Cloud stood up in a quick, graceful fashion that was the norm for a SOLDIER. Shifting the weight of his sword to his right hand, he lifted his left and held it, palm open towards the Behemoth. The creature was in the process of turning around as Cloud gathered his will, the green gem that hung on his bangle glowing as he focused its power. The fireball torn through the air with a whoosh, as it ate at the oxygen that permeated the earth, flying towards the Behemoth’s back. The magical attack exploded against the Behemoth’s side, having hit the creature while it was turning around. The pained roar it let loose with was music to Cloud’s ears, as was the no doubt painful scorch mark that could clearly be seen on the Behemoth’s shoulder.

The victory was short lived however, as the towering monster was still far from beaten. The purple furred creature lunged towards Cloud, one paw swiping through the air with the unnatural agility that marked predatory creatures. Ready for the attack this time, Cloud leapt back through the air, nimbly dodging the claw attack. He brought his sword to bear and swung the massive piece of steel out in front of him in a wide arc, to deter the creature from lunging out and trying to bite him.

There was no mercy for Cloud, for no sooner had he landed, than he had to roll towards the side once more to dodge a secondary claw attack from the Behemoth. This time however, luck did not favor the mercenary, and the Behemoth brought it’s rather large tail into play. The force of the impact was enough to knock the wind from Cloud’s lungs as he went rolling across the ground. The blow from the tail had knocked him silly, and sent his pretty much skidding a dozen or so feet on the ground, ending with him landing on his back.

There could be no doubt that he was bleeding, dizzy, and sore, but he couldn’t afford to rest. Gathering his considerable strength, he lifted his feet into the air and leaned his weight back against the ground. The kick flip that brought him to his feet was executed none too soon, as the Behemoth’s raking claw skittered against the ground where he was laying a moment before, close enough that Cloud was sure that it clipped a few of those blond hairs from his head.

Wasting no time, Cloud turned his weight while still in the air, so that he would spin around and land on his feet. Well not so much his feet, than one knee. His sword lay forgotten on the ground, as it would do him no good in this desperate maneuver. No sooner had he landed, than did he raise both hands into the air. That was when it all went dark. Then, there was an explosion, an explosion so powerful that the sound roared in his ears, and rendered him deaf momentarily.

Now for the sake of anyone who was watching the fight, the Behemoth had actually eaten Cloud there. Just as the trained SOLDIER had landed, his hands rose into the air, the behemoth had lunged forward and ate him. Just like that. The fight, for all intensive purposes seemed to be over, at least until the Behemoth reared back on its hind legs, bellowing in primal fury. There seemed to be smoke coming out of its mouth, but how could something like that happen?

Cloud opened his eyes, unaware that he’d actually closed him sometime during that attack wrought of complete desperation. He was breathing heavily, covered in a myriad of scratches that ranged from tiny, to extreme. Either from the attacks of the Behemoth, or from him skidding along across the ground like some kind of hacky sack. Also, he was smoking, and singed in more than a few places. That had been a point blank fire ball after all.

Using one hand to wipe Behemoth spit from his eyes, Cloud crouched down and curled his hand once more along the hilt of his sword. He focused his gleaming blue/green eyes on the Behemoth, who was tearing, and clawing at the ground as it went in circles, apparently driven momentarily berserk from the unexpected fireball attack.

Never one to pass up an opportunity, Cloud lifted his sword and dashed towards the creature. With agility, and reflexes born of the ShinRa SOLDIER program, Cloud dodged and weaved through the Behemoth’s reach, the creature’s accuracy having been greatly reduced by his random swinging. As he neared his target Cloud tightened his grip on his sword, turning the blade slightly to the side before he dug his feet into the ground and began to skid.

As he was skidding to a stop, so as not to overshoot his target, he drove his sword up towards the Behemoth’s chest, striking his first real blow this fight. (By real I mean with his sword. Not counting the luckier than sin fireball from earlier.) Even this move hurt Cloud, as the sword penetrated the creature’s thick hide, and then stopped a moment later, presumably because it hit the rib-cage, or something like it. The excess force was driven down through Cloud’s arms, and seemed to rattle his entire body. He kept a grip on his sword however, as it was a crucial part of his secondary attack.

The pain crazed Behemoth flung its body into the air once more, lifting the poor SOLDIER up with him. He really looked like a speck of white against the massive barreled chest of the Behemoth. Of course this comical scene only lasted a second more, before lightning bolts began to flicker around the Behemoth, encircling him, and beginning to fry his furred flesh.

That’s right. Cloud had cast an advanced lightning spell, channeling the electricity through his blade so that it would affect the creature even more than normal. Bypassing the natural resistance that such a thick skinned creature would possess, and frying its internal organs. The Behemoth teetered on its hind legs for a moment before falling to the side, like a massive tree that had just been felled.

Cloud released his sword just before the Behemoth landed, the sudden impact with the ground jarring his legs, and sending him rolling for a few turns. He ended up on his back again, those unnatural eyes of his staring up at the clear blue sky. He felt rather fulfilled at the moment, having brought down such a creature by himself. Of course ninety percent of the fight was sheer luck, but wasn’t that how it always went?

Now all that he needed to do was stand up, and claim his spoils. The problem to that being that his body simply wouldn’t respond to his commands right at this moment. Well that was fine, wasn’t it? Perhaps he’d simply lie here for the time being, until he was rested enough to stand up? It wasn’t like he had much of a choice in the matter, between the fight, and the use of his magic he felt pretty worn out. He let out a deep sigh as he closed his eyes, wondering momentarily if he’d be opening them again, or if this would be his last sight. If so, he couldn’t wish for much better than a wide open, clear blue sky.