A Promise Returned [Al'in, Freyja]

Even on her back, Freyja proved to be just as resilient and cunning as she was on her feet. A useful trait to have, Al'in supposed, as a wry grin spread across his face and he went to straddle his opponent. It would be easier to prevent her from simply tumbling away like that, he decided as he sank down to her level. Of course, she would continue to struggle and a kick came up to meet him as he descended. Where it had been intended to strike his leg and perhaps knock him back, it instead found the side of his chest and - whilst certainly painful enough to draw a wince of pain from him - gave Al'in all the opportunity he needed to try to pin that same leg to his body by wrapping it up with one arm.

It was a tradeoff, though, as trapping her leg would also deprive him of the use of his arm in the attack. So instead he would squeeze inwards with his own legs, put some pressure on her sides, and try to fend off her arms as best he could whilst trying to lock that errant leg away. It would be a difficult thing, but he held a commanding position in the grapple so it was on her to find a way to either escape the hold or turn the tables. Neither was off the table right now, but the window of opportunity would only grow smaller with every failed attempt that she made to escape him.

What a precarious position to be in, balanced between the precipice of defeat and the faint possibility of turning the tide. There were many obstacles to overcome than there were opportunities to shift the battle in her favor. He hadn't even relented when her leg connected with his chest, using it as an opportunity instead to pin that leg against his sturdy frame.

Freyja was desperately aiming to avoid allowing him to lock her other leg in place, but due to their respective positions, gravity would inevitably favor the man at the top. The only thing afforded to her now was her arms and her remaining leg in the midst of this struggle.

Losing any of those within his suppressing grasp would mark the end of her struggle. Recognizing that, Freyja used the opportunity to push the offensive system of her blut to its limit. Blue outlines ran along her face and arms, pulsating like blood veins. Her hands shot upward to grab onto his free arm, seizing to lock them within her fingers like a vice grip.

The errant leg that he aimed to overpower roared against the ground as Freyja brought every measure of strength imaginable to bear in an attempt to roll her body over viciously enough to shift the positions between them, forcing him into rolling over so that she was the one straddling the man at the top.

An expenditure in energy reserves of this nature did not come without a price. For one burst, he would undoubtedly hear her bones creaking and cracking in his ears. Sacrificing everything for the potential chance to defeat him. A bold maneuver, certainly, but would it prove successful?

Wriggling, writhing, bending and bucking. Freyja was far from willing to give up even an inch of ground as they continued to struggle, even as the momentum turned against her. Blue veins popped across her face, her body complaining as she pushed it well beyond her limit, and Al'in did have to take a moment to remind himself that this was a training match. His body would be black and blue come the morrow, the signs of a well-fought match, but he was not quite prepared to break her for it.

That moment of doubt, as innocent as it seemed, was enough to cause the slightest of slips. In the second where she was not his entire fixation, her twisting body rolled him over her and suddenly the tables had turned again. He still had her leg, barely, but that was all he had ahold of as his spirit weapon slipped out of his grip and skidded away in the scuffle. Now he was the one growing desperate, his lithe limbs trying to pull her in two directions whilst he fought to push her back over him and keep them rolling across the floor.

By now it would probably have been quite a humourous sight to any onlookers. The two combatants had expended everything they had and resorted to just thrashing around on the floor like animals, but that was no excuse to raise the white flag.

Indeed, such a sight to any spectator would have been quite the comical sight to observe. Freyja was reaching her limit, Al'in was proving - as he had undoubtedly did so countless times in the past - a resilient opponent who was not easily felled, and she viewed the scales tilting in his favor. Boldly surrendering every quarter imaginable unto overcoming him, even she hadn't taken a moment to realize how her body react once the endorphins within her system simmered down.

Fortunately for one moment, Al'in's attention faltered and she successfully forced him into a position where spirit weapon was no longer within his hands. Of course, that didn't mean she was entirely free, let alone did it mean victory had been secured. It was simply a form of progress. One step in hopes of turning the tides.

Rolling him over as she did, Freyja tried pushing his arms downward to keep him held in place as she tried to summon her spirit weapon back to her own hand. Yet, even she couldn't contain the mirth that began to spill from her lips, recognizing how amusing this all looked, how inelegant her current form of combat appeared.

Her body was reaching its limit now, the pain beginning to register now more so than it did before. Part of her wanted to him yield so badly, a competitive smirk displayed in her features, and yet exhaustion was setting in with each second. Regarding the man with a defiant glimmer in her eye, she tried to keep him held down as her arm attempted to call back that spirit weapon and end their bout.

"I applaud defiance in an opponent, but you are proving quite difficult to overcome in that regard. Look at me, breaking my body down in an attempt to conquer you. I must look the role of a fool right now, hm?"

"I did promise that I would make you feel like you earned any victory. There is nothing foolish about that."

Al'in's own spirit weapon returned to his hand, catching Freyja's blade even as it bore down on him from above. His weapon was not tooled for his defence, though, and his hastily made dagger could not hold her own forever. Straining, buckling, before shattering into dust with an essence of finality as her weapon came down again. He had been defeated. She could well bring her weapon down truly and press it into his chest, though there was no sign of that fear upon Al'in's face as a smug smile set in.

"But I think it would be quite remiss of me to continue in this state. You win, Freyja Solheim."

Beads of sweat lined his tanned skin and spread across his bare chest, but the thrill of their little dance was wearing off with the passing of adrenaline and suddenly everything was starting to slow down.

"True. Even now, I'm falling into bad habits regarding my accomplishments again."

Freyja offered a warm smile in response to those words. There was no denying that his provocation had set her heart ablaze once those words were uttered, a catalyst to set her into every action imaginable to wrest victory from the jaws of defeat. It was foolish in a sense. Foolishly entertaining. She had never played the role of a pursuer, never yearned with a burning desire to attain something that felt so elusive to her, yet so incredibly close.

The moment he yielded the victory to her, the spirit weapon did not seek further purchase, dispersing in a wave of rippling azure reishi returning to the atmosphere. What earned purchase instead were a soft pair of palms that lied against his chest.

Even now, he was wearing a proud grin as he laid beneath her. Bold confidence even in the face of defeat. Ah, but such confidence was what made her admire him so. Regardless of her exhaustion, Freyja allowed those soft digits to explore his muscles, leaning her body upward to gaze curiously into his eyes.

"If you resisted a second further, I would have been the one to utter those same words, Al'in. Alas, I feel this is a victory for two moving forward. As the conqueror, I do believe I've earned this much at least..."

Even as the adrenaline wore off in her own form, she softly pressed her lips against his own. A bold act that she never would have housed in her mind in the past. There was no propriety, no cold air of professionalism. Quite simply, it was a woman who wished to cherish something she had yearned to attain for some time.

Wasting little time, Al'in took the opportunity to wrap his own arms around Freyja's waist and find some purchase on her sides just as she laid her own hands upon his body. Emeralds meeting sapphires as his eyes locked with her own, her burning intent as transparent now as it had been when this bout had begun. If she had wanted to prove something to herself, then he did hope that she had done so.

"Sharing this with you does seem rather fitting. So you may..."

Eyebrows flicked up in some surprise as she leaned down to place a kiss upon him, but that surprise only lasted for an instant before he began to return the gesture. His grip shifted, pulling her body in closer even as he rose upwards to prolong their union for a few moments longer before sinking back into the floor beneath them. He had to admire her courage, a far cry from where they had started but a sign of the woman that he had always seen buried beneath all those layers. Having tasted the real Freyja several times already today, Al'in did have to admit that it was something he was growing quite a fondness for.

"Had I known this was the prize you would choose, though, I almost regret making it this hard. Almost."

Al'in loosed a playful little laugh and then, if she let him, he would gladly pull her in again and continue. They were just out in an open field, but he certainly had no care nor shame when it came to being caught out. He did believe there was no reason to hide one's conquests, after all, and Freyja had certainly conquered.

Enthralled by those emerald orbs, bold as they were alluring, Freyja found herself lost within that familiar flame that had never failed in threatening to burn away her modesty. Like moths to flames, what was once feared before, found itself embraced in it's entirety - without restraint, without fear. Let the embers take her a thousand times over, and yet still, no complaint would be issued.

His hands resting at her sides, Freyja maintained that warm, deceptively sultry smile as he pulled her body closer, wholly solidifying the union of their lips. Momentarily swept within the natural flavor those sun-tanned lips awarded, she shared the kiss for as long as he desired until he parted to offer an amusing piece of commentary, earning a playful smile as her response.

"There is no need for regret. The high degree of difficulty in our battle, coupled with the stakes presented before me, afforded me a greater deal of courage to claim my prize. A prize that is proving all the sweeter the longer I share his embrace."

Offering those provocative words, she allowed him to act as he pleased, firmly returning to the union they held a moment before, softly exploring the taut musculature of his radiant frame, pale digits dancing along each measure of tanned skin. There was a momentary note of acknowledgement where she recognized that this open field was atypical for expressing her affections, yet it remained a only a note as she held nothing back in displaying that this was her conquest, earned through her fiercely defiant efforts.

If her intent was to further stimulate him then Freyja would not find herself displeased as Al’in planted another, longer, kiss upon her lips. He was quite content to lie here beneath her, running his hands along the small of her back and kneading her flesh in an impromptu massage as he went, but that did not mean that he was patient. His lips had explored her own already, reminding themselves of the sensation of that initial shock, but he pressed on further still and unabashedly pushed his tongue into the equation.

It was messy, loud, yet unquestionably intimate as they continued to further entwine. His hands splitting apart as one remained supporting her lower back whilst the other darted upwards to caress the side of her neck, his thumb pressing playfully into her cheek as he did so. Al’in was a passionate man, after all, so there was no inclination to shy away from these feelings that were welling up between them. He was terribly honest when it came to such engagements, a stark contrast to his often mercurial nature, so there was no hiding his enjoyment of this whole affair.

“Oh, I would never dare to say I regret this. This prize is yours for as long as you want it, for all your courage and bravado it is the least I can offer. Not to say that I would be opposed to offering more either.”

His face soon wore a dirty grin, one that quite nicely paired with Freyja’s own suggestive smile, but he did not mind the implication being quite open. If she was invested then he would gladly oblige, to satisfy a craving or to sate a hunger.

The graceful fusion of sun-kissed lips, tongue, and firm hands dancing along her frame did not fail in drawing out a response - purposeful or otherwise - from the graceful woman as she writhed softly atop that vigorous frame, sapphire eyes overflown with contentment and yearning in equal measure. His devilish touch promptly eliminated any measure of apprehension that may have arose in a moment of doubt. There was something primal about the act they partook in, and by extension, that only seemed to beckon her towards the forbidden fruit even further.

His bold approach to all things ought to be answered in kind, after all. It would be unbecoming to play the role of the modest maiden now. Indeed, the conqueror ought not feel ashamed in enjoying their conquest, even if she held an expectation that those roles would be reversed in short order. Of course, to say she minded that outcome would've been sincerely untrue. No, she welcomed wholly, with every fiber of her soul.

Pressing her pale cheek against the playful touch of his fingers, Freyja offered a somewhat impish smile in response to his words. Ever so slowly, as if to make her intent known, those fingers danced well beyond firm musculature, drawing a line at a particular spot in his robe. Recalling a time where she denied herself before, she acted without restraint now. There was no semblance of doubt in that sapphire gaze now. What held precedence in those eyes now were nothing short of a firm conviction to see this promising outcome to its end.

"I'm honored, truly. I wish to enjoy this prize as long as time permits. Of course, if I may be so bold, I wish to hold you to those words here and now. Show me all that you have to offer. Isn't it customary to savor the spoils of victory?"