The chair.

[Grayell]

Grayell sneered, quite amused as she bounded from the floor and dodged him in the process. But it shifted her back to him, threw aside any counter she might have had. He wasn't about to be so reckless. His motions had been short, precise and practical and he recovered very easily. With both eagerness and speed, he spun to follow her and likewise, leaped over the debris about their feet. His leap was led by his knee though, hands and arms held tight by his chest, everything he had pressed forward into that one point.

Such a knee could break open the sternum with ease and whilst her back was still to him, she would turn and lash out all too quickly. Such a knee would close the gap very swiftly though and it would only be the precursor to a frenzied exchange of blows. Or so he was anticipating.

[Kiko]

Kiko spun around. She rolled her shoulders over in mid-air, hips following the same motion. It's not that she'd seen him, only felt his body coming up behind her and reacted. Her paw fell low grasping the knee and twisting it to one side with a cruel snap. She followed that one up with one into his chest, waiting for the burst of blood that would spray free of his skin.

Her breath was quick, panted out of her mouth, and the look on her face was something he'd seen before. Though, not in this arena. No, that look was more evident in their bed. Her snarl was strung out too, she was enjoying it.

[Grayell]

The look didn't matter. Perhaps later but not at this moment. No, her grasp to his knee gave him leverage - and he had a second knee of course. It flew forward in an instant, colliding with her jaw and removing that savage look, at least for that moment of impact.

His hands were not removed from the equation either. She was like hitting a damned boulder but as he fell from that collision, his lead leg torn to one side, he refused the manipulation of his body; his hands latching onto her head instead. Those arms brought her face down, the weight of his body forced it down and well, into another knee.

[Kiko]

Kiko's snarl broke in half. His knee came up and drove her lower jaw into the upper one, blood bursting from the inside of her mouth. She saw red, literally. Whatever thought processes she had managed to acquire were gone, too. Obliterated in that instant of collision, new instincts flooded up her spine in seconds. Her head shook, and the tangible presence of his hands still remained. She shoved both her fists into her chest and inside his arms before exploding hers outward to break the hold.

She spat blood at him. And gravelly words.

You. F**ker.

[Grayell]

Perfect.

His hands were willing to release and his stance was lax enough that such and impact would only shift his hips, turning him. He flowed like water, absorbed that blow, his unarmed skills were developed specifically to remain within such range. Hands wound past one another in simple circles, his hands colliding with her wrists. His right lifted upward, the left pressed downward and her guard, with one fluid wave of his hands; was demolished. Hands inside hers now he struck, a ridge to her chest, phoenix to her diaphragm and and snapping upper to her gut. Three blows in quick succession, enough to end a normal fight. His left came low as his hips turned, shoulder dropped to lend it power - then raked out with a backward palm at her throat.

But normal fights consisted of normal opponents and that, she was not.

[Kiko]

Kiko took the blows. In her frame of mind she could have been hit by an oncoming bus (I know, not invented yet.) and it wouldn't have mattered. She was bound and determined to see him on the ground under her. That is not to say the blows didn't rock her back on her toes. They did, certainly the last one. It stole breath from her chest, too.

It didn't stop her, though. The arms that had snapped outward to escape from his hands came back in. She was certainly skilled in using both hands. She boxed his ears before he could back up from the attack at her throat.

[Grayell]

His head rang then, his eyes blacked for a moment, a sudden burst of the pressure in his ears robbed his equilibrium. He dropped, dropped fast in fact and fell to a knee directly in front of her. He was prone, too easy to take down, his head starting to turn and roll to fight off the disorientation.

But Grayell had been trained in touch stimulus. He did not need his eyes to react, nor sound or other input. No, one simple touch, one contact upon his body was enough for him to react. Muscle memory was a wonderful thing, spatial awareness was imperative and she was still within his sphere.

The elbow was delivered in an instant. And whilst men generally tend to think that getting hit in the jewels is a terrible thing... and well, they'd be right.... a elbow with that much savagery behind it delivered to the groin of a woman was far removed from bearable.

[Kiko]

She made a sound that was far less of a snarl and more a gasp of pain. Her eyes, which had shrunk down to bare slits in her face, snapped open and nausea roiled through her guts. She staggered, more blood sprayed from her mouth.

Kiko's claws hit the back of his neck and ripped vicious lines straight out across his shoulders. She wasn't paying attention to where those attacks landed, though, she was too busy trying to relearn how to breathe. Yes. Air would be grand about right now. Air, so she could scream defiance at him.

If only she could find it.

[Grayell]

Again, he reacted to the sensations that now tore into his flesh and yanked out a scream from his throat. Her claws pulled as they tore, dragged him toward her as they rend through flesh and sinew and tore at very vital muscles. Smart girl, she knew how to incapacitate.

He had to remove her ability to kill him and instantly. He was still on that knee and it gave him the perfect platform. Grayell shot forward and slammed his mass against her gut, arms thrown around her to drive her onto her back. He took her down quickly but was quicker still to straddle her and without any thought of mercy, started pummelling heavy blows into her face. She could take it.

[Kiko]

Kiko shrieked with rage, but by now it was way too late. She was on the ground and he was above her. All her survival instincts were pushed into high gear. She didn't care about the punches to the face. Oh, they hurt, there was no doubt about that, but she was so far past hurt now. Tomorrow she'd pay for ignoring it, but tomorrow might never come if she didn't get off her back.

Her feet snapped up from the ground and were flung forward. She rolled up to smack him in the back of the head with them, and then attempted to wrap them about his throat.

[Grayell]

Her legs missed the blow but dropped in front of his head and found his neck. She locked them both together in an instant and before he could hope to react, she yanked backward. His only answer was for his hands to snap to her ankles, hold fast to the lock. His concern was not her legs however, she wouldn't be able to do much other than hold him down and subdue him - but it left him exposed to her claws.

The moment his head was brought slamming into the ground under them both, his back arched like a bridge and one foot after the other, he tumbled down her body. She still had him about the neck but now he was face down, his body below her and beyond immediate harm. His hands seeking purchase, they found her waist and he yanked, tried to pull up and found little give.

So instead, that snarl that left his mouth open was turned to one side. His teeth snapped into the iron muscle of her inner thigh with unmatched zeal and he continued to push hard, looking to tear in deep.

[Kiko]

Kiko's triumph at ripping him off her chest collapsed when the bite landed. She had one instant of pure, unadulterated pleasure then his teeth ripped into her thigh. Fury exploded down low in her guts, fury and some other emotion she was not going to give credence to currently.

Not now. Or so she told herself. It clung stubbornly, though, even while the pain went off in her leg and her hands flung down to latch on to his hair. She was thrilled. How could that be? Why? He wasn't terrified, and she had wanted him to be. He hadn't ran. Even though she'd practically forced it on him. He'd chosen to remain in the building which put him at a disadvantage. He'd chosen to attack her in the human form, when the other would have been... easier.

Her spine bent up, the rage that had caused her hand to reshape itself into a claw started to falter. Her eyes fell closed and a keening sound broke from her mouth.

[Grayell]

Grayell's hands found her sudden lull in rage and purpose to be precisely what he needed. They slid under her thighs in an instant and pried her legs enough that he could lunge up, free himself from her grasp. His chest slammed into hers hurriedly, them locked hip to hip now and a hand latched onto her throat. The other hand held him up as he cowered over her, eyes screaming his intent. Only that hand held her, his body lifting now, his eyes searching her face. She could tear him off in an instant, that grip on her throat only pressed back but did not squeeze.

The snarl that had clung to his lips started to die, his eyes blinking and softening his expression. His hand left her throat then, slid to the ground beside her... and he only remained a moment longer to study her.

Then he sighed. He slid down and then rocked back onto his haunches, legs unfolding and having him stand. His expression was somewhat troubled now, thinking unpleasant things. His voice was soft and almost close to trembling.

I'm sorry. We should get that cleaned up.

[Kiko]

Kiko's rage tore apart like the packing crates had earlier. Her head fell to the floor, the wolfish shape to her face contorted, flattened, reformed, and flattened again. She was losing body mass with it, too, and the claws that had started this whole episode.

Pain hit her in a thousand places and in a thousand ways. She balled up around her belly, hands wrapped to her knees. Truly hands now, not some abomination of claw and fur. The keening sounds did not stop, though were lower in tone, and sharply blown from a chest that still could not seem to draw a normal breath. She was trying to puzzle out the reasons, but in the end the reasons for it all did not drag her eyes upward.

No, the pain in his voice did that. Kiko looked at him, her amber eyes were wet, filled with past hurts and this fresh sorrow. Why had she done this? Because he'd picked her up in a chair in front of strangers she did not know? Because he'd tripped that latch of ridicule that might have occurred? Hadn't she lived through that? Yes. She had. He was more important than ghosts from the past, wasn't he? Yes.

No, Chosen. I am sorry.

[Grayell]

Grayell said nothing. Instead, in what might be considered an ironic or foolish choice, he lowered to slip his arms beneath and about her and lifted her bodily from the ground, bringing her huddled against his chest. He held her there for a moment. A long moment. His lips held the softest kiss on her temple and would not part her skin, his eyes needing nothing but closing when he spotted the chair that brought her here.

He held her close and did not wish to let go. He did not pick her up to objectify her. He did not see her as a thing or an object, no more than that chair. No, he picked her up because he needed her, he loved her and in turn treasured her more than any other object known. She was the one thing that he had to have in his world and she was the one thing he could not possess. She gave herself to him freely and that.... well that is why he held her so very close and always would.

In many a moment like this one, he was truly scared to let her go.