The Audacity [CRIELLA]

Food. That was the only thing the Dragon ever truly had on her mind. The never ending hunger she felt could not be sated, only stifled for a short while. It was only a matter of time before it started to corrode at the back of her mind, threatening to turn her feral at a moment's notice. The Dragon had a mind to feed when she felt the intense emptiness start to gnaw at her 'sanity', which coincidentally was right now.

She could tell Hollows collected in certain areas, though she didn't know why. Maybe they were some sort of roving band attempting to gather for better chances at survival? How pointless. Numbers wouldn't stop her from feasting en masse, and so from her position flying around in the sky, she angled her body downwards and began to drop straight at a large group of Hollows.

The impact could be felt for almost a mile, and as she slammed into the white sands effluvial mist erupted from her hardened scales and engulfed each and every one of the Hollows in a half mile radius. Every Hollow that was caught by the gray mist was quickly digested in a matter of moments, their bodies too weak to resist, and that left them nothing but mush that only got broken down more, until they were nothing but reishi that were being carried back to the Dragon's body on the very effluvia that had degraded them. Once that was said and done, the Dragon huffed in annoyance, crouched down with muscles bulging beneath her black scales, and she launched herself back into the skies to assault another nearby band of Hollows regardless of who's territory this was.

And just like that, it was like no one was ever there to begin with.

Useless. Nothing but livestock. The only way to describe most of the worthless drabble that populate the sands of her beautiful frozen oasis. As reports constantly came to her of recent disasters befalling her territory, Criella's only response proved pointedly uncaring. If anything, their death meant they did not deserve life. Either way, the reports were fruitful in only gauging the situation. The only thing clear here is that she will have to make an appearance personally, and that fact annoyed her greatly.

Preparations were unnecessary. Whatever she finds will be dealt with swiftly. Normally Rey would handle this, but with his current assignment, that's not an option. It did not take her any time to appear where scouts reported recently seeing this creature. Vacant as expected, but regardless, Criella paced herself. She will wait for the creature to make itself known before taking action. She is not a hunter, not is she prey. For now, she is nothing more than annoyed.

The Dragon spent little to no time in finding her next score of meals. Eyes focused on a distant group of adjuchas, the mess of decayed flesh covering scaly body and exposed bone angling her body downwards to begin her next divebomb. This food wasn't particularly nourishing, but it quieted the gnawing hunger in her belly for at least a little while. Or so it would have, had she not felt the sudden appearance of something else, something much more filling showing up.

The beast immediately turned around and rocketed through the air at incredible speeds towards this new source of sustenance. It would only take her a few moments to arrive back where she was, where this new thing was, and what she found was... a human? It looked like one. The Dragon skid to a halt on the air in front of her, claws grinding and leaving a trail of dust in her wake as she eventually came to a stop a hundred or so feet in front of Criella. All so she could squint and stare down suspiciously at this... thing, that was just sort of here now.

"And just who are you, little one?"

There is nothing here. Her short observation yielding no results of what could have caused this eradication of life. Maybe a particular ability grants this creature such espionage tactics. Well, overthinking a simple situation isn't her style. The only thing left to do is to find the offender and deal with it appropriately.

Though, the sky was filled with a sudden toxicity that none could ignore. The sudden appearance of a sickly beast, it's body warped of tattered skin and slimy complexion. The only thing that dictates it a Hollow proved its mask and dark color.

"I am Criella, creature. This is my territory."

Such audacity to speak without respect. It is clear that this draconic creature is none other but a wild beast in need of taming. It'd not be a wild guess to assume this is what caused the area to become vacant of life. Why, it must be looking for a fulfilling meal to appear so suddenly, but as boisterous as Criella would like to be for this situation, her annoyance with having to deal with this leaves her little more than murderous.

"Begone or be silenced."

With that, her stoic gaze did nothing more but entertain the giant gnat's existence.

"Territory?"

The Dragon's tone was mocking to say the least, but not nearly as much as her cackling laughter. Maw not even parting as the air was filled with sickly, witch-like laughs.

"I see now you're one of those... Arrancar-things. A mere imitation of a Shinigami. And you're whining about territory? Hollows don't need territory, fool. We feast on whatever, we do whatever, and then we die. There is no reason or complexity to it that warrants owning territory."

The Beast snarled down at Criella with its scratchy voice. What did this woman think she was? The sheer audacity was comical, and the beast knew it was likely poking at a hornet's nest here. This strange species of copycats was supposed to be a lot stronger than the average Hollow, but it was just so entertaining to push the buttons of audacious fools such as this.

"Then you've failed at the basics of your existence."

Vile and wretched in its own right, a smile broke the beauty of Criella's face, the deranged flash of her teeth as her head canted, eyes narrowed, and hair fell.

"We creatures of emptiness want nothing more than to consume, conquer, and destroy; to have the whole world as our sandbox and do with it as we please."

Her expression grew someone indignant as she came to realize the peasantry before her. Hypocrisy fueled her frozen veins as she made the similarities of their shared existence. A creature who sees itself as nothing more than a hungry monster versus a woman who sees herself as nothing more than a hungry monster. Their differences begin when the complexities of their nature are forced to intermingle. In the end, Criella quickly surmised that there is nothing left to converse.

"Leave or die. As far as I am concerned, you're nothing more than another grain of sand."

And these sands are hers to do with what she please.

The beast's smug attitude quickly shifted to one of annoyance and rage. "Your definitions of those words are too human. We exist to conquer souls so we may consume them and destroy anything we must in order to do so. You speak like you're a human, conquering land just to have it, consuming for a reason other than the gluttonous hunger we all feel, and destroying things that disagree with you."

And in an instant, her rotted wings spread outwards as the Dragon reared back on its hind legs and bellowed, "You are not a Hollow! You are a pale imitation of our food, and for that, you are a mockery! Begone!"

A single flap of her wings sent a torrent of pale gray effluvia straight towards the woman. Anything it came in contact with would be broken down and corroded, albeit slowly. But the message was enough to get across that the arrancar simply had no right to exist.

"But were not many of you human not long before?"

That corrosion fell around her, but a flick of her hand created orbs of corrupted energy around her, bala frozen in place, obliterating anything that dared threaten her perfect visage. It seems she's found her target, the creature with a unique affinity for complete annihilation. It took an annoyingly amount of keen focus to keep her bala from falling to its acid rain.

"You cry like an infant because you are not destined to be anything more, but do not fret. Today I will teach you to abide an adult's scolding."

Even while maintaining her bala, she focused a finger towards the beast, energy gathering before it blackened. Heavy was its burden as it fired, a cylinder of energy denoted as a cero by her kind.

"Was and is are two different things." The beast snarled back as it collapsed back down onto all fours from its reared up stance. "And expecting to remember a past life, then holding it over me, is not the same as me holding over the fact that you have so willingly regressed in form. From a beast to the very thing you eat. Utterly pitiful."

Whether or not the Dragon's ability was blocked, the natural decay that came with her effluvia was enough to start rotting at her own spiritual energies on contact. More specifically, the ice bala that she was using to defend herself. They would slowly fall apart if Criella didn't properly supply them with energy, but it was likely they wouldn't decay entirely because the Dragon had more important matters on her claws.

Were it not for the icy blue glow that indicated a cero, the dragon would not have seen it coming. That little flash and her own awareness was enough for her to make a split second dodge. Despite her mass, the beast was nimble enough to disappear from sight entirely by the time the cero had traveled to where she just was. From Criella's left, the dragon skid to a halt on the air and then roared as she flapped her wings and sent another wave of miasma towards the ice queen, adding to what was still lingering in the air around her that she was defending herself from.

Her opponent this day seems to be of the rare variety. How a Hollow was allowed to fester until it grew to such tremendous heights is beyond her. Her own trustworthy servant took tragedy upon tragedy to reach its height, and yet, here's another creature nearing the threshold. However, whether they grow into an ungodly creature is all based on destiny. Who better than her to test that fate?

"But aren't Hollows simply folly to that gnawing hunger that humanity granted it? My appetite is just more reserved."

There's no doubt about it. Dodging is her only option here. This miasma of filth isn't something easily contained. A infectious rot that'll destroy all life? Intriguing to say the least, but also plain considering the Hollow's view of life. If everything is meant to be killed, eaten, and destroyed, a power suited for only that makes sense.

Alas, Criella disappeared with a slight static noise as her flank was struck, appearing moments later in the sky above the dragon. She is no savant of speed, but she will make it difficult for her opponent to utilize that to their benefit. With a raise of her staff, more blue orbs danced around her. With a wave of her weapon, these orbs rained down, being just as wildly distributed as the dragon's miasma. Two can play at the widespread destruction game.