Holy Wings Dipped in Black [Amaranta, Khaana]

She ... didn't know what it was she'd expected. Staring out into the utter dark she was .... overwhelmed by several things. The Sight of it was almost majestic. An enormous dark forest, littered with trees that seemed as big as skyscrapers. No... BIGGER than that, they seemed like mountains! But more than that. A crack in an endless dark sky. A window up into the pale moon up above. she didn't really get a look at the sands above the canopy, but it was still quite the sight. This was....Hueco Mundo?

But then there was something else.

the Energy.

Not JUST of distant powerful forms. But the world itself. The entire realm...was TEEMING with energy. As if there was some dull ....hjum in the air. So much different from things on earth. It was almost too much at first, but after taking a few steps... she slowly clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes.

She could feel them. Among the trees, hidden from view. But ...the sheer stength pouring off of them was clear. and already, she was starting to grow in size. Wings slowly spreading, peeling across her back as she took a slow, steady breath. Slowly transitioning into her released state before she turned, that transformation still taking place as she peered at the woman who had brought her here.

"This .... isn't what I expected." She murmured, and could FEEL the nearby spiritual pressure shift and start to turn her way in response to her release. But more than that, she slowly tarted to relaize the SIZE of the things her Reikaku was picking up. did hollows GET that big??

The words from Amaranta were certainly heard. But Khaana was far more focused now as she slowly began to break into a stride toward the incoming hollows. That massive frame covering distance quickly as she narrowed her eyes and took a moment to fix her attention on the first Gillian. Perhaps by the grace of the soul king, the first creature that lumbered toward her was all on it's own. And she felt a sudden bursting surge of excitement welling up within her as she began to break into a light jog. Picking up speed as she began to huff, hot, steam venting from those sharp teeth as the beast began to open it's mouth. In that very same moment. Khaana's wings erupted from all over her body, bright, pale things that flexed in the darkness, catching the moonlight as she manifested a spear gfrom the ground. A brief dark shadow that spit up the weapon before vanishing entirely, leveling the weapon with the gillian.

It's great hulking dorm opened it's mouth. A Cero beginning to charge in it's maw as Khaana picked up speed, a loud screech escaping from Khaana as those wings promptly FLARED UP and thrust! A powerful pump that caused her enormous frame to vanish! A sudden burst of speed like a shunpo, only followed by a HOWLING gale, echoing through the menos forest as the sudden high speed movement of so much mass caused a loud boom, Khaana reappearing above the creature and STABBING down with her spear. That weapon cleaving into the front of the beast's mask and tearing downward!

That Cero promptly fired, ripping through the forest floor in a grand display of sheer power as the hollow screeched out. Even withg such a deep blow, it flailed and SWUNG it's head to the side, sending Khaana's body into the nearby tree! The bark crunched beneath her weight as she was thrown into the surface, and she gritted her teeth as she turned, locking onto the big monster. as that spear roared to life. Energy gushing through the length of the weapon before BLARING out, a thin stream of energy cleaving through the darkness, slamming into the Gillian's chest before erupting into an explosion, a brilliant burst of an explosion which cleaved through it's frame and unfurled into a bright burning four pointed star, leaving the creature to stumble back.

And yet, as Khaana lunged onto it's massive body, she could already see it's body trying to heal. And her eyes narrowed, cocking that spear back before letting out a roar as she SANK the weapon clean through the creature's head. Obliterating that mask and causing it's body to suddenly go still beneath her. Hot, steaming pants escaping her large frame as she knelt over the creature, her whole body THRUMMING with adrenaline.

Only to turn, and see three Gillians already in the process of closing in. The low, dull roars sounding as more started to file in. And for just a moment she felt that excitement continue to bubble up. This was it. Ther wer bearely more than four and she already felt like her heart was going to explode. It garnered a slow, creeping smile across that toothy maw, and she lunged down to CHOMP onto the dead Gillian's shoulder, ripping out a chunk of flesh and swallowing it down. Realizing she'd need the energy if she was going to fight these things. Her huge frame was ALREADY riddled with gashes from being thrown into the tree.

But she ignored any notion of thinking about that right now. The forest below her was swallowed up by the sudden burst of darkness from her feet. Swallowing up the carcass and chewing up the corpse as another spear emerged from the ground, and not only that, but her Seraphim peeled itself from the ground. That big, monstrous maw peeling into a wide grin as the pair of them faced the lumbering trio. A steady hiss escaping her mouth before she and the Seraphim promptly brandished those massive spears toward the incoming Gillian.

Before charging straight in.

Everything began to blur together. There was a sense of continuity from one moment to the other. Watching those three collossal hollows cambling toward her with such malevolent certainty certainly was a sensation that was novel at first. As she threw herself into the crowd of monsters and those wings carried her toward the first target in a bloody crescentHer spear tearing through it's body as her Seraphim launched itself at the other pair.

But as soon as the violence began, it all became...... desperate. Where in Malaysia, she had had to hunt around for new prey. Occassionally she would find stronger hollows, but they would always approach with a sense of caution. Their tendency shifted, in terms of hollows, as evolved hollows, but more or less never something like a Menos. And those that were stronger, tended to be cautious. They needed to be engaged, hunted down.

But they never stopped here. The more carnage she wrought, the more of those monsters that piled in. Drawn by the promise of a meal. And each and every single one of them, was a beast. Every single kill was an uphill battle. As the cleaved through their masive frames, as she pried chunks of flesh from their bodies, they regenerated. She couldn't just hcarge in, she had to dart, rely on her seraphim's brutal strength, and at times, hide herself when that small crowd became a HERD of the monsters, dozens of them passing through at a time. Where the sudden roar of Ceros and lunging monsters had become too much for her to handle all at once.

And yet, even as she fought. As the minutes stretched into hours. As the hours stretched into days. The thoughts about her work almost Vanished entirely. Because she was drowning in something else.

How Right this felt.

It was terrifying. It was brutal. It wasn't just a slaughter. She was beaten. She was thrown around. She had to scurry and hide, and had to embrace the luck when some Gillian towering over her, ready to chomp down was suddenly attacke dby her Seraphim, or one of the other gillians driven into a feeding ffrenxy. As her limbs were torn apart, and she had to sneak. EAT. Rip up the dead that the herd left behind to patch herself back up, just to scrape by.

And that sensation of ....being incomplete slowly eroded.

This beastly form, that sense of eerie dissonance began to shift. As if hidden pieces all began to slide into place. And that sensation of something MORE grew stronger and stronger. That grotesque, twisted beastly form shifted slowly. IT grew more ..consolidated. There was more order to the beastlike mess of limbs and spikes. What was once just a mad, feral beast, slowly began to shift. Not wasting any mass. Rather than wild spines, those sections slowly shifted into armored plating along her frame. Something harder for those teeth and claws to sink into. Wat had always been something rather gangly and grotesque she found a balance between speed and sturdiness, something streamline but still potent. To make sure that her own limbs didn't snap or strain under the pressure of impact.

Little by little, she learned how to USE this body. In a way that had simply never been needed against the fodder in the wastelands. And when at long last, she felt it, when there was finally a lull in the fighting. Not because she'd killed them all. But because other menos had broken off into fights off to the side. Stronger... more clever Gillian had been drawn in, and now began to hunt the pack, drawing far more attention than she herself could muster.

She knelt, panting, and slowly coming down from that brutal high as she watched the fight off in the distance. Chunks that were missing from that massive form slowly filling in. And for just a moment, she saw herself reflected in the massive pool of blod seeping from the nearest dead Gillian, and realization slowly hit her.

How long it had been. How swept up she had become in this sudden brawl, and .....she SHOULD have felt panic. The needling tinge that she had been gone not just for one day, but SEVERAL.

But she didn't. Looking at that pool of blood, seeing what this form had become. She felt.... a bubbling mirth inside of her. Even with chunks of her frame still slowly repairing, a gas torn from her head, that slowly filled in with bone and teeth, fueled by the latest belly full of flesh. She couldn't help but feel every fiber of her being sing with relish.

And her eyes darted around. Looking for Amaranta. Tightening her grip on her weapon as she did so.

She'd certainly noticed Amaranta's little escapades, and truth be told.. She took full advantage of them. Occassionally, once the Arranar had finished fighting, she would dart off, making her way toward the corpses and gorging herself whenever things got a bit too dicey. Each and every corpse was a resource to be utilized. Not only that, but the endless surge of enemies somewhat slowed, dilluting the attention being drawn her way. But now? Having peeled away from all of the carnage, as the Gillians fought off in the distance. She leered toward Amaranta.

And she considered it for a moment.

Amaranta was stronger than when they had last fought eachother. If anything, the disparity between them would be even wider. Her chances of winning even slimmer.

And yet. That massive frame steamed with anticipation. Slowly peeling her spear from the ground and bringing it to bear toward Amaranta. Energy pouring into it's length. Allowing the living weapon to sap from her own reserves as energy coursed along it's length. Those bright wings, stained red with blood slowly flared as she narrowed those bright blue eyes as her spiritual pressure slowly began to well up inside of her. Hot burning lines of energy creeping along her form through the gaps in her plated armor as she let out a slow, steady hiss.

"I don't think we'll need the same wager as before. Whoever wins, wins. I have every intention of doing more than knock you on your ass this time." She growled out, the smile audible in her voice even ifd it couldn't show on that gristly face. Those wings slowly flexing as she took up a stance, slowly crouching onto almost all fours save for the hand latched onto the spear, bunching up her legs as if ready to pounce toward Amaranta at any moment.

Victory wasn't a thought. She was well aware that even before, Amaranta was a bit out of her league. But what mattered in this moment was pushing herself. She couldn't do that if Amaranta wasn't going to take this as seriously. She had to do better. MORE. That fight with Kanako had been a wakeup, that these arrancar had some absurd abilities. She needed to keep up. If she didn't, she wouldn't be able to call herself the real boss of these two.

And besides. What if other arrancar decided to start showing up? She'd have to be able to keep her girls safe, and throw down with someone as strong, if not stronger, without the playful little personality quirks that made Amaranta and Kanako so easy to work with.

"Come and get it."

AMARANTA VALERIA | BURNING LIONESS

"Hahahaha! Reallyyy now? That's a fuckin' riot. Well then... let's see what your made of. I ain't goin' easy on ya just because you keep me fed and clothed, Princess. I'm aiming to go all out."

A manic grin tore across the leonine woman's expression as Khaana cut right to the chase. No bullshit, no conversation. A singular challenge. For her and no one else. There was no stipulation, nothing that would hinder her ability to fight. At hearing that bold challenge, her excitement rose to its peak. Of course, this was an inevitable conclusion. She had tore down so many of these foes, but to truly evolve, one had to face off against even greater enemies.

There was no intent to hold back, either, regardless of the bond they shared. Khaana settled into her stance, and so too did Amaranta as she called her claymore to her hand, wrapping her fingers around the hilt of the blade. Blazing tendrils of spiritual pressure pulsated around her powerful form. Muscles tightened, sapphire eyes regarding her with a warrior's lust. This was what she lived for.

In the blink of an eye, her speed broke the barrier of sound as she reappeared, collapsing toward the woman from above. Running a claw along the sharpened edge of her blade, she created enough friction to form a shroud of incandescent flames. Reposition her blade, she finished her flight with the intent of landing a ferocious cleave across Khaana's large shoulder.

"Come on! Show me why your the one who calls the shots around here, Khaana!"

Warcry | END POST

Seeing Amaranta's suddenl look of glee brought a grin to her own features. That big maw parting to let a slow, burning hiss of steam spill free as she tightened her grip on her spear, a gleeful smile coursing across her features as those wings slowly flared up, spreading behind her before giving one powerful beat. An explosion of air bursting outward as she suddenly shot toward the woman in ahigh speed flicker, seemingly teleporting as she darted toward Amaranta, the air between them suddenly FLARING with Reiryoku. That Seraphim Field promptly manifesting between them as Khaana raised a hand, and that sudden explosive barrier crept along her body, armoring herself as she LUNGED. That spear aiming to slice forward and punch through Amaranta's chest. No doubt Amaranta knew that she was stronger than she was before. At least her released form was. That blade slicing forward to ram into the woman's chest as those wings propelled her forward! Her clawed feet digging into the ground as she charged , and wether she managed to stab Amaranta or not, she BULLED forward.

The ground tore up, shredding beneath her feet as she aimed to thrust her shoulder into the woman's chest and aimed to charge the arrancar straight into the nearest of the Menos's massive trees with enough force to cause cracks to rip across the surface and send a plume of dust and debris into the air from the impact itself.

Of course she knew Amaranta could no doubt handle the hit, and without even a smidge of concern, she was almost assured that some form of counter was coming her way. But she charged in regardless. She needed to kick this off strong. But more than that. She tuned into the racing of her heart. The burning of her blood. The PURE NEED to beat this woman. Or at least knock her down.

AMARANTA VALERIA | BURNING LIONESS

Meeting her head on, huh? Amaranta found no shortage of amusement at that. That sort of unbridled aggression only endeared her as the two collided in the air. Her blade sought purchase yet earned none as that explosive barrier repelled her strike, earning another blissful grin as Amaranta repositioned her blade again, parrying that spear off of it's intended course.

Fundamental technique was never something she entertained in a battle, but there was something about facing off against the first woman she ever antagonized on earth that really set her spirits ablaze. As such, she intended to pull out every stop imaginable to push her to her limit. And it appeared that she intended to do the same, Amaranta finding herself on the receiving end of a shoulder thrust. A booming roar of laughter filled the air, accompanying Khaana's charge as they crashed through a series of massive trees. A strong start, certainly, but Amaranta intended to strike back just as hard.

During the titanic beast's monstrous bull rush, Amaranta brought her sword forward in a thrust to cleave through that defensive barrier of hers, intending to strike her true along her shoulder. If that tactic earned any measure of success, the leonine arrancar would rush in on her own, swinging her fist back with every fiber of strength she could offer, punching her fist along her frame to send her back a few meters to create distance in preparation for another followup, her blazing blade hungry to earn purchase along that grotesque frame.

"Starting off strong, I see! Just how I like it!"

Warcry | END POST