[i]Once Irina had begun to move, Astra slowly straightened herself, the light tapping of leather boots upon the stone floor alerting the angel. She fidgeted her wings around a little, the two majestic things twitching ever so slightly, as she rose back to her gigantic height. Her left hand quickly straightened out her robes, the sound of smooth, tender skin running over soft, silky cloth gently reaching the Vileblood's ears. Now that Astraeus was ready to fling herself at Irina, she did something truly odd.. Her kind smile faded, of course, as a more serious, concentrated look crossed her visage, her crimson red eyes fluctuating into a focused ocean blue. Then, she began to walk towards her opponent, bare feet lightly slapping upon the cold stone of what I assume is Castle Cainhurst.[/i] "As much as I hate talking during a fight," [i]She spoke up with a slightly guilty tone to her soothing voice, her words true,[/i] "I can't help but wonder where we are, my fair Maiden?" [i]Surprisingly enough, the angel didn't use the distraction her words might have caused to launch a sudden attack at Irina.. oh, no, instead the divine woman continued to simply walk, slowly and steadily, calmly. Closer and closer, her blue eyes looking the Vileblood over, especially her arms, the muscles beneath the clothing.. seeing when they would tense and strain.[/i]

[i]Irina wasn't taken back too much by the question that the angelic being had imposed, more or less she expected her to ask. She wasn't aware of whether it was her stratagem of distraction or just conversation, although the latter was revealed - Irina was certain that it was either the first, or Astraeus was plainly curious about the location.[/i] "Castle Cainhurst, dear," [i]Irina whispered, in a tone that was watchful in a sense, yet considerably kind to the angel. Her boots clattered softly against the dark, ancient stone, as the dimly lit arena was suddenly ignited by the flickering fires of torches and candles, set long ago by its previous inhabitants..[/i] "It is a cold, dreadful place.. yet once, I could call it a home." [i]A saddened look, one of remembrance, crossed Irina's face before it was replaced by a sudden concentration, her icy blue eyes meeting Astraeus' sapphire blues: once Irina was around six feet away from the angel, she stopped in place, assuming a combative stance while her sword held outwards, holding her dagger behind it in the case that she had the advantage: clearly, the dagger was used to end confrontations, delivering a swift blow to the side that would injure her foe.[/i]

"I see, darling.." [i]The words were soft and almost hesitant, as she put the emphasis on that very last word, which she spoke with uncharacteristic shyness. Astra tilted her head to the right for just a moment, standing there, her arms to the side, in something that was practically the opposite of a combat stance. She seemed to think, her eyes looking Irina over, while her muscles tensed up, wings twitching a little. A deafening bang rang throughout the castle, echoing off the walls, heard in even the furthest corridor, the furthest room, as the sound barrier was literally broken twenty times over in an instant, right before Irina. Astraeus had moved herself at lightning speed within the blink of an eye, while the Vileblood just felt a violent surge of air go right past her face on the left side, her hair even blowing in it.. and yet, it hadn't been on purpose. The angel let out a shriek, now only mere feet away from Irina as she lost her footing, as she had faced absolutely no resistance with the thrust of her sword, stumbling forward like a damn amateur. Her bare feet lightly slapped on the stone as she tried to regain her standing, and yet.. She would undoubtedly hit Irina with herself rather than her sword, at this rate.[/i]

[i]Yelling in sudden pain as her simulated eardrums were busted terrifically, Irina's eyes were closed, least until she opened them as she stumbled back: there, she found Astraeus crashing down upon her, too close to wound the angel yet too close to escape. The Vileblood's icy eyes opened wide, as the angel quite literally slammed into her, falling upon the shorter, skinnier woman and bringing both of them to the ground.[/i] [i]Irina slammed to the ground with a pained groan, a blush crossing her face as she realized the situation that she had been thrown into by the angel: their faces were a few inches apart, at least. Irina was beyond embarrassed. [/i] "...I am.. so sorry." [i]She muttered, giggling unconvincingly. In the process, she had kept her dagger and sword at her side, although she could have ended the confrontation then and there with several sudden stabs.[/i] "So, ah..."

[i]The angel let out a couple of yelps and squeaks as she and Irina fell down to the hard floor, though instead of cold, painful stone, Irina hit.. something soft and comfortable, keeping her a decent bit off of the old floor and mostly unhurt. Astraeus had caught the Vileblood with some quick thinking and a bit of using both her wings, so that the white-haired woman wouldn't be hurt too much, or risk ramming her head into the hard ground. Her own sword flew from her hand upon impacting the ground, leaving a gash within the dark stone with a loud screech of metal upon rock, followed by clattering. Now that Astra had both of her hands free, she kept herself from actually landing on Irina entirely, because she did weigh a hefty amount.[/i] "Uhm.." [i]Astra slowly blinked, her sapphire blue eyes fluctuating and changing colour, as it became an embarrassed pink, to a shy blue, back to pink, only to settle upon an ashamed purple -- it was quite the sight for Irina with how absolutely close the two were to one another, like a beautiful show. But, anyway, the angel slowly, adorably, tilted her head to the right, a look of confusion on her face and a bit of an embarrassed, rosy red tint on her cheeks, as slight as it was.[/i] "Ohhh, no, no, [i]I[/i] am sorry, truly.."

[i]Irina could barely hear the angelic being's pleas for forgiveness, although she could still feel and judge Astraeus' beautifully pure wings, the rosy blush and the curiously changing eyes, like a continuously changing display - only shown by an equally beautiful angel. Astra would hear the Vileblood's sword clatter to the ground, although clatter was the wrong word to use - she sat it upon the ancient, cold stone, allowing her right hand to be free as she cupped the side of Astraeus' face, her gloved thumb resting upon the angel's smooth cheek.[/i] [i]Next, she laid her knife upon the ground as well, or at least, underneath the angel's wings so that she would not cut herself, as Irina laid her left hand upon her own chest and smiled up at the being above her. She couldn't help admitting: she was... beautiful, and she hadn't even gotten her name yet. Scandalous - especially since Irina was married. But..[/i] [i]...It had been months, since Athena and Irina had last spoken to each other. And ever since, Irina had been on her own - sobbing quietly in the darkness, feeling her own hatred and grief swell up more and more, and fearful that it would break loose. The only person that she could even trust at this point, and consider a friend, was Grant - who was so beaten and old that he would surely die soon. The rest of those who cared for her... children. Arianna and Isaac, on some god-forsaken zombie-infested island, Mion being god-knows-where, and Pan... oh, Pan was so perfect and kind, just like... the angel.[/i] "...Shhh.." [i]Irina said, still beaming up at her savior with a genuinely grateful smile. How happy she was, too meet such a being that genuinely cared for her safety. Perhaps it was because she was an angel? Irina didn't know, but...[/i] "My lady, everything is alright...I promise. Thank you.. thank you. ...What is your name? I...I must know."

[i]Astra was being.. thanked? She didn't understand why, as she had done barely a thing for Irina, or at least nothing that was really special or extraordinary. She slowly blinked again, her embarrassment fading like snow at the mercy of a glaring desert sun, while her eyes changed colour once more; from a soft, ashamed purple, to a vibrant wine red, much softer and more mellow than the usual crimson. Another thing that she didn't understand was why the Vileblood had cupped her cheek and seemed so happy, but she didn't dare ask. Astraeus thought for but a moment as she continued to look down, moving herself a little closer to get herself more comfortable, as instead of doing a constant push-up, she went and rested herself on her elbows and forearms, as a slight sigh of relief left her lips, gently brushing past Irina's soft, pale skin.[/i] "Astraeus," [i]She quietly responded, or at least that's how it seemed to Irina, lest she fixed her eardrums,[/i] "Astraeus Alastor.." [i]The angel continued to look down at the Vileblood as she shifted her own weight to her left elbow, freeing her right hand to reach over, slowly and gently caressing Irina's cheek upwards, fingertips then running through her hair. Softly and shyly the angel whispered a question in return, almost seeming hesitant and tentative..[/i] "Who might you be, fair Maiden?" [i]Really, now that the two women were so close to each other, faces only a mere few inches apart, the angelic woman began to notice Irina's own beauty; those beautifully sharp yet still very feminine features, with those icy blue eyes and that snow white hair.. Truly, the Vileblood was beautiful, and the angel approved, as the ashamed purple mixed itself into the mellow red.[/i]

[i]Astraeus.. Irina believed the name to have been from Greek origin, although she wasn't sure exactly. Recognizing the name, she nodded towards the angelic beauty, still smiling up at her with pearly, white teeth, shown briefly through her smiling, light pink lips.[/i] "Astraeus.. May I call you Astra? It means.. "star", in Latin, I believe.." [i]Irina said this with a richly sultry tone, as she found the name and the woman that it belonged to, to be...beautiful, in all layers. She kept her gloved hand upon Astra's face, reaching behind her neck and crisply caressing her midnight black hair, before pulling the angel in close, to where she could whisper..[/i] "...Irina, my angel.. Irina Elizia.." [i]She said, with a cute giggle-[/i] [i]-Suddenly, Irina placed her left hand upon Astra's right cheek, bringing the angel to look at her icy blue eyes as they met. Mere inches away, Irina stalled, before saying-[/i] "Forgive me, dear angel-" [i]-before bringing Astraeus' face into hers, pressing her soft lips against the angel's, closing her eyes as a fiery blush of red covered her previously pale face.[/i]

[i]Before the angelic Mary Sue even had a decent chance to respond to the Vileblood's sultry words - said sultry tone being awfully confusing to her - she was pulled into the kiss, which also took her by massive surprise. First the compliments and kind words, then the sultry tone, followed by this kiss.. really, the poor Astraeus just didn't understand it at all, as a million thoughts flashed through her mind in that very instant.. Yet, maybe it was a custom in these lands, to be like.. this to people one would consider.. an acquaintance? Or maybe a friend? Best friend? Astra really didn't know, nor did she understand, or even comprehend any of it -- she was foreign to this world, this very universe, after all. Humankind was very odd in this place, as they lived with strange species in this thing that they called the "Dojo", such as anthropomorphic animals, thighs that were downright alien, hulking humanoids, and a million other strange, normally unseen things. But, anyhow. Astra's eyes went from their soft red to a vibrant pink at the very moment that her lips touched with Irina's, as a burning red colour spread across her face. She slowly blinked a few times, confusion engraved into her visage.. and yet, she found herself pushing into the Vileblood ever so slightly, deepening the kiss just a little, while gently stroking her face. Slowly, bit by bit, the angel's eyes fluttered shut, as her resistance and objection crumbled little by little. One thing worthy of note, was that Astraeus' lips were wonderfully soft, gentle and tender, like two little, pinkish pillows, so smooth and soft.[/i] [spoiler]Shit reply, sorry babe[/spoiler]

[i]Probably around thirty seconds later, and the blushing Vileblood broke away slowly, their kiss broken apart by a soft *pop* noise. Irina's eyes fluttered open, her cybernetic, gloved hands still upon Astra's head as the woman smiled up at the angel. Her right hand retreated to her side, her left still upon the angel's jawline, thumb stroking Astraeus' cheek still. Irina's face returned to its natural pale, the blush fading as she spent around ten seconds in silence, staring at the angel with a loving smile. [/i] "...Well, ah.." [i]She blurted out, a slight pink blush returning as the Vileblood looked over nervously. Her free hand was suddenly clenched, although not into a full fist as if she would punch Astraeus afterwards.[/i] "...I, erm.. sorry if you aren't aware of the concept of love, and romance... it's just been a while, since anyone has been so... so.. perfect and kind and.. yeah."

[i]Slowly, the angelic woman blinked again, in confusion, as she had done a few times thus was, in this whole interaction between the two women. It was weird to her, how Irina was acting, what had happened, all of this.. yet a part of her wanted a little more -- and that was something she was going to show. Astra grinned, slowly shaking her head while she moved her left hand to the top of Irina's hand, running the long, slender digits through her snow white hair, slowly, softly, and gently. Astraeus' grin turned into a smile, showing part of her perfect, pristine teeth, while her eyes squinted just a little, as the irises became a literal rainbow of colours, all light and ranging from red to pink and even to purple. What a sight, what a sight.[/i] "Mmh," [i]She quietly broke the silence that had fallen, her head tilting to the right as she thought for a little. This newly formed silence lasted for a good minute, her own blush disappearing in the meantime.[/i] "My fair Maiden, [i]Irina[/i], you're correct there.. Love is a mystery to me still; feelings of affection and romance, too. However, if you want this with me, as I want it with you.. there's something that you should know." [i]Oh, no.. Astra merely looked down at Irina for a moment, letting the words sink in while she continued on with her little ministrations.[/i] "For starters, I'm an immortal; destined to live through the ages and for eternity, until combat takes my soul. Diseases have no hand over me, nor does age, nor the deterioration caused by both. My mind is protected, kept safe from insanity and illness, much like my body. Then, there's the thing that I was [i]made[/i] to do. I hunt those that have turned their backs to the light. Heretics, Sinners, Demons, Spirits, and other ill-minded denizens that roam and inhabit every plain of existence. To devote yourself to me would mean exposing yourself to this all." [i]Certainly, the angel proved to be much more interesting than Irina would have thought.[/i]