Sateless Zest [Hunter]

No... as enticing as the idea was, Cion eventually ceased her approach, not daring to lay her fingers on even a single blossom. The radiance of the vista did not deserve to be disturbed, and it was against her spouse's very drive to do so in the first place. After all, she was a knight in shining armor who sought to preserve the natural beauty of the digital realm, and those who wished to coexist with it harmoniously. Besides, there were other ways to embellish their joint home further. Maybe a few iridescent lights that slowly shifted in color?

Nie pla - nie je
Nie zai pan ma nie
Na pa gi nas ti ka to nami
Les ta - le yo
Pis ta ni kul pra ze ilu dumina

Her soft hum had given way to a dulcet apposition of melodically hushed resonances, shaped into lost words with forgotten meaning. As the tips of her paw gently dragged through the dense grass, glistening pollen swaying around it in perfect accord, her faint grin faded for a restrained smile. Thoughts of a bygone era resurfaced from deep within, but she had learned to no longer associate them with an ardent longing for the impossible. There was not a need for that anymore, nor had there ever been. She was blessed with the gift of wholeness, and found contentment in that alone.

Sealing the aureate sheen of her eyes behind shut lids, she took in a full breath of fragrant air. She was perfectly calm and composed, and thus decided to let herself fall - figuratively speaking of course. Impacting with the verdant carpeting, making sure to not disturb the microcosm residing underneath, she exhaled with glee as her petite legs crossed. One palm rested on the back of her head, while the second was narrowed behind it - thumb, index and middle finger nestled up against the other. What marvelous sunset years...

Shutr ka - shtur ka
Sash ti ka piensa
Üoz ni no il brah lo ti raru
I ban - ma nie
I vush ka na nie ju da yu

leska nozna mie - ka na mi
leska nozna mie - ke do zhe...

Oh, the mighty huntress was not wrong. If caught entirely unprepared, even the mightiest warrior was quick to fall to the most harmless of assaults. Pride and overconfidence were all too often the downfall of wicked fiends, and unfortunately sentinels of righteousness, too. There was a fine line between self-reliance and delusion, and Cion too had to admit that she was frequently crossing that border with several vast strides. However, if there was anything that eras of pointless strife had taught her, it was how easily serenity could be disturbed.

And it was evident that the cat of prey had overlooked a vital detail.

As the sudden spike occurred, it was as if time had been trapped in a mass of dilatation. Milliseconds felt like entire moments as the aureate sheen of faintly opened eyes met the ragged vista of a great predator partially enshrouded in the shadow the sun cast. The size difference, a petite critter to a lioness, was merely the tip of the iceberg of their antithetical states. Far more than a physical clash this was a confrontation of perspectives, albeit both combatants were not yet fully aware of this as surges of urgent thoughts hightened their awareness.

The frequency of her core intensified drastically from the immediate shock, beholding enormous fangs and ivory incisors barely glistening in the inceptive dusk. From beyond them disgorged was a visibly tainted cone of tangible air whizzing towards her, carrying force and viral corruption. Its presence reminded the silver fennec's instincts of many past encounters. It was an indicator of debilitation, not unlike the techniques she utilized herself, although malevolent in nature. This fortunately meant that she knew exactly what had to be done to thwart the ambush. Yeah... she was a strict teacher like that...

Aforementioned triplet of digits rapidly slipped off each other, creating the familiar and unassuming noise of snapping one's fingers. It's volume was nothing compared to the incoming onslaught, but it sufficed as a corporal catalyst. Akin to water against the surface of a lotus' petal, the foul squall fractured, washing down along her frame that was veiled in an iridescent ether. In the same forecited motion, a spark of starry energy was launched upwards, forming a javelin that was... intentionally amiss as to narrowly swish in front of the female hunter's face. Just enough to catch her attention, but not to actually harm her.

In this split second, a bizarre yet fitting and potentially effective approach had manifested itself within her mind. She had never used the required technique for such an odd maneuver before, and by no means was it intended for that. Yet, since it had not proven useful for the investigation of Orion, why not make use of it instead of letting it occupy space? It was not cheap after all, and an opening such as this was without doubt priceless. Or maybe this was simply the rationale her innermost struggle for survival imposed to undermine hesitation.

In any case, given circumstances, it was almost poetic.

Thus, ever so slightly pushing herself off the grassy ground, the entirety of her tiny body briefly emitted a golden flash, which was the signature appearance of her unfathomably brisk movement betwixt attacks. Rather than evading the pouncing beast though, it looked as if her limbs jolted forwards in elysian particles. It was in this moment that the singular second elapsed, and perception returned to a pretense of normality. Yet, as Cion's signature had essentially faded to impalpable naught, leaving the assailant alone to stumble onto her feet, it was clear that normalcy had ceased.

----------------------------------------------

A feeling of dizziness claimed her focus for a few trices, likely foisted by the rapid changes of velocity and points of view - not to mention the prevention of rebound that she had forced upon herself. Truth be told, it was difficult for her to regain her composure quickly, but eventually she attained a semblance of orientation. As the vulpine lady did, she nearly began regretting doing so, mentally lamenting her abstruse plan. Well... it was an emergency impulse really. And, if nothing else, at least she had the hope of buying herself a couple of valuable instants.

As she floated carefully, she made sure to not come into contact with any slick surfaces for innumerable reasons, the primary being not to attract notice. Immediately, she averted her gaze somewhat, a qualmish mien gnawing away her composed smile. Coercing herself to clam up out of necessity, she nonetheless suffered from the loss of the previous vista. Natural symphonies had yielded to direly somatic cacophonies. Garnet gloom was hardly breached by cracks of crepuscular rays. And where once was not a single cloud, she had to actively evade constant drops.

.o(Oh... what have I gotten myself into... again...)o. She whined wordlessly in literal irony and repeated regrets, missing the ambrosial aroma of varicolored flowers. What instead remained was a biting dissonance of vivid life and inertial dissolution, harshly accentuated by an acrid reverberation. Leastwise exhaustion had probably not strained either combatant, so no gusts were impeding her movement. It was the only solace she could think of while stirring her arms to shrug off the soddenness on her fur. Finally, she was capable of relating to what her dearly beloved always complained about.

But she was getting distracted, and an urge to get out of this mess compelled her to initiative communication. Thankfully, short-range telepathy was trivial for well-nigh every digimon proximal to their power. It was far less of a giveaway than spatial acoustics. Mustering an oddly chummy pitch of her voice, she began. "Hello there! Uuuh... may I presume that you are a feral - no offense, been there, did that - and you meant to gorge yourself on me? Frankly speaking, useless. I can easily feel that your data-driven density is thoroughly saturated. Impressive indeed! Ain't much I am able to contribute, even if I wanted to. Besides, my abilities frankly don't conform to your style and nature."

"Now, if you did this because you are starved, again - no hard feelings. As a traveling mercenary, I am a proud owner of a well-stocked Infini-Store. Whatever you crave for, and as much as you want, I can cook for you in a heartbeat. Definitely beats the stodgily earthy flavor of a download. My sushi is an acquired taste if my kin's opinions are anything to go by, hehe" ... ...

"And if this is solely about mortal combat... fine, if you insist, but can we please go somewhere less gorgeous? There is a low mountain range nearby that's quite barren, not? I mean, you have to admit, this place doesn't deserve the scars of our scuffle. Oh, and my sweetheart would give me a scolding, and she is far scarier when displeased than either of us. I guess it runs in felines."

---

Active: Kismet Blessing - Enwraps herself and all allies in a stream of data, mending grave wounds and granting immunity to the next status effect or crowd control effect for 1 turn. [Cooldown: 4 Post]

For a moment, as she articulated her proposals, Cion indeed felt herself safe. In the state she had chosen to submit herself too, she was hardly a threat, nor easily perceived as such. Voluntarily so, their differences had been accentuated, and perhaps this discrepancy was the key to accord. Unfortunately, lasting serenity had made her, as briefly as it was, ignorant to the shadows that this world cast. Previous deeds were not performed out of necessity, or ignorance, or even follies. All of this was decided, with absolute intent and excessively ardent zeal. A shame...

Her aureate eyes widened as she beheld the purple beam whizzing towards her. Immediately ending the mental interaction with her assailant, she leapt out of her repugnant den. In doing so, she hastily undid the effect of her former attempt, her corporeal form becoming quite visible and her restrained signature's emission unmistakable. Great... now she had scruffy fur and was in the open air - literally. However, this did not mean that she submitted to her adversary's foul sway. The complete opposite was the case.

Outmaneuvering the first was simple enough, and in spite of her shock, a too close for comfort evasion of the second was feasible too as she forced herself to descend again. Yet she had not anticipated further stratagems by something as depraved as a vicious feral. Bearing her canines, her gaze quickly broadened as the third's crimson glow bedazzled her sight before impact. Though as it struck her chest, it was not an explosion that followed. It was more akin to being impacted by a blunt javelin forged our of solidified electricity. Yelping as searing pain overloaded her senses, her whole body was violently pushed backwards into the very soil she had emerged out of.

As garnet sparks singed the cusps of her platinum pelt, the petite fennec smushed her feet forcefully into her grassy path to impose a rapid deceleration. As if grasping the tip of the ray to hold it off, her thick hair streamed impetuously, as did the flora around her. Speaking of which, the swath her collision had caused was clear as day to her, and although often unassuming, she considered them an unambiguous portent. Not only had she, at least in her mind, failed her dearly beloved, it was likewise proof that the fiend she opposed was truly that. She had offered to comply for the sake of others, but... this thing did not care.

Incensed by this bestial hedonism, silence began to deafen her ears and vision, not unlike the numbness of a dream. Heavy breaths joined the rhythm of her beating core, both left bereft of calm and composure. Feeling her every sinew tensing up, a veil of trepdation started to constrict her air way. An overwhelming desire breached the bulwark that was her volition, and she understood why. Beholding a thousand clashes and triumphs entwining into a singular instance beneath withered vistas, the pointlessness of it all became undeniable.

Nothing had changed... and her fate was so effortlessly depredated.

And in was in this realization that she fathomed what her self had intended to do - to remind her. It was not a sin to strive towards one's believes. Antithetical to her shape and abilities, she was an entity that craved power and dominance over that which deserved to be hated. And who was not more deserving than that which denied her righteous light? Nobody. And aware of this greed, dancing like crepuscule lambencies along the edge of her tail, she faced the choice at hand, and accepted her vice. Such was the namesake and quintessence of what she converted into. "Fine, then... -"

What followed was a display of mythic radiance and equal terror. The vanguard's veins shattered through the outer shell, as if darkness was pierced by a million golden glares. The silhouette bellowed a scream that soon faded for a static, guttural noise that reverberated past the dusky horizon. A spire of gilded blazes forming a single entirety erupted as if a comet had lacerated the earth, surging upwards to scorch the heavens. Clouds boiled away as the turbulent flames spread outwards, darkening the sky as if covered by the wings of a phoenix. Not merely the land, but the very ether trembled in distorting heat.

And then the pyre collapsed, innumerable glimmers descending and igniting the natural beauty that had not caught spreading fire already. How fragile serenity was indeed... but she was not. An armament of hardened cinders provided a corpus for the fragment of the sun to meld into - an avatar of extremes. The fierceness of creation, and the beauty of destruction, not solely forged into sheathed blades, coalescing into a consolidation. Knight and beast, protector and aggressor, selflessness and avarice...

Person and monster. "... - just die."

---

Active: Cion slide-evolves into KairosArniomon

Kismet Blessing - Enwraps herself and all allies in a stream of data, mending grave wounds and granting immunity to the next status effect or crowd control effect for 1 turn. [Cooldown: 1/4]