Smack
Smack
Crash
Raven was in a world of pain, she had no idea what she had crashed, but her whole body was almost numbed after so many hits. She couldn't see anything, the black clothing that covered her head was just impossible to remove.
"Huughh..." Exclaimed her captor while crossing her arms.
Emi rubbed her temples as she looked at the defeated Raven contorting on the ground like a toy, her limbs in strange positions. She probably wouldn't be able to contort like that in normal circumstances.
"Again!" Said Emi clapping as if it were the practice for some twisted performance, then she walked towards Raven and kicked her, propelling her a mid-distance until she struck against a tree which shook violently, blood coming out of the cat girl's mouth "You don't understand! You have to work diligently!"
'How long has it been...' Asked Raven twitching against the tree 'Oh... I'm going to die...'
As her subconscious was starting to fade she was washed in a stingy potion that made her body burn like fire, her scream echoed in the forest, her body healing, but the sensation was terrifying, this cycle had continued every evening during the last three days she had been carried around by Emi.
"On guard!" The enemy roared without giving her time to compose herself.
Raven moved out of pure instinct, spinning in the ground and reaching for something, anything, she ended up grabbing a stone, and using that stone out of muscle memory she managed to parry the dagger directed towards her side, but she got propelled to the ground in the process, hitting the ground with so much force that the air left her lungs.
"Where is your passion!?" Asked Emi, Raven couldn't see her, but she had a wicked smile on her face "Grow some backbone! You get it!?" She said laughing like a madman.
Raven's head swam as she gasped for air, feeling the bruises on her ribs throb with every ragged breath. Her fingers tightened around the stone, trembling. The past three days had been an endless nightmare of pain, taunts, and forced resilience. Emi wasn't just brutal; she was relentless, a whirlwind of twisted encouragement and vicious strikes.
"Come on, kitty" Emi cooed mockingly, circling her like a predator "Or are you giving up already? I thought you had spirit"
"Damn it!" Screamed Raven as she gasped for air "If only I could see...!"
And she got kicked again.
"Oi, you piece of trash" The voice of Emi sounded cold like an iceberg "This is precisely for that... you trust too much in what you see!"
Raven gritted her teeth, her whole body aching with exhaustion and rage. Somewhere deep inside, a spark of defiance flared to life, ignited by Emi's jeers. She wouldn't let this psycho break her. She'd make it out of this... she had to. For herself, for Fuwa. She wouldn't be beaten down like some plaything.
"Get up!" Emi's voice lashed at her like a whip, and Raven struggled to her knees, every part of her screaming in protest.
Her senses were sharper now, honed by days of forced adaptation. She couldn't see, but she could feel. The subtle shifts in Emi's steps, the faint rustling of leaves... they painted a picture of where her tormentor stood, how she moved. Slowly, Raven raised herself to her feet, steadied her breathing, and clutched the stone tighter. Yes. She couldn't see anything, but she was able to hear the rustling of the grass as Emi stepped from one side to another. She could smell too, the wind brought to her nose the subtle corporal smell of her enemy. She now even could feel how the wind caressed her skin, any change on it warned her about the pain that was to come.
"Oh? Is the little kitten finally ready to fight?" Emi purred, clearly amused. She took a step forward, and Raven felt the air shift just in time to duck, narrowly avoiding a swipe aimed at her neck. Her instinct took over, driving her forward, stone in hand, aiming for the spot where she sensed Emi's chest, but the enemy was vicious and threw a kick toward her ribs.
"Horyaaaaaa!!!" Screamed Raven as she blocked the kick raising her leg and tossing the rock with all her might against Emi, from this range it should be able to cause some damage if it impacted, but she just moved to the side to evade it, she was faster than Raven.
"That's it!" She said happily "Keep it up!"
They traded some hits, Emi let go of her own dagger as she proceeded to maul Raven out of her fighting spirit, but the damned beastman was too persistent, and every time she fell to the ground, after all the beating she just stood up being a little more resilient each time. She clawed for her survival, it didn't matter if she broke her bones, she kept swinging violently, struggling against her fate. And that turned on Emi so damn much, she wasn't attracted to her body, either to her personality or her goals, she was infatuated by her spirit.
"Damn you bitch go die in a ditch!" Screamed Raven as she used her body as a decoy to receive some of her Emi hits and used this chance to punch her square in the face.
The hit not only carried all of her remaining strength but also transmitted her unbending will to her enemy. Emi didn't flinch and was ready to pummel her some more, but Raven fainted and ended up falling on her feet, she opened her arms and caught her before she could hit the ground.
"Haaaa... you are such a turndown..." Emi complained, but Raven wasn't listening anymore.
Emi watched the unconscious Raven cradled in her arms, her fierce grin fading to something almost contemplative. This beaten, bruised, and half-dead girl kept clawing her way back up with that relentless spark... more fierce, more alive each time, no matter how brutal the blows. Emi knew it was a rare spirit, one that couldn't be taught or broken easily.
She walked with her and put her on top of a cloth fabric that lay near a campfire, a makeshift base camp she had swiftly created when they arrived here some hours ago, today training session was over, after all, Raven had reached her mind's limit. She grabbed a vial and poured some more liquid on top of the fallen cat, who contorted in her sleep, Emi could hear the cracking of her bones as they came again to the correct place. A strange creature, a dark horse with two horns got near Emi and she gave it an apple.
"Hey Darkstar, what I'm going to do with this useless cat?" She said talking to the horse "She has improved, and finally, she is starting to resemble what she should be at her current level"
The bicorn just neighs at the words of the trickster. The creature looked at her as if it understood what she had said. She looked at the starry sky, removed her mask, and rubbed the place where she had felt the punch of the cat.
"If you want to survive, you have to become something more" She smiled "So much more" She took a bottle of wine out of thin air and served herself on a cup that she created using the same method "Strength is more than what your eyes can show you, Raven. It's in every instinct, every heartbeat, every feeling"
She toasted to herself as she smiled like a predator. As her master had done for her so long ago, now she will give a life lesson to this stupid idiot of a cat that she had captured, after all, Iren had allowed her to keep her, it would be too cruel to not teach her a trick or two. She just accommodated herself against a tree and kept drinking and toasting in the name of her lady, and for the poor soul that was under her care, after all, a cursed existence like her didn't need to sleep or sustain, so she was going to spend all the night thinking of new games for Raven.