With .

A flash of steel, a puff of smoke-and she's dropped her attempt to hide as a rapier points straight towards me. "How do you know who I am!"

"Well, you've been there all day, so you've surely heard my speal. I know about you the same way I know about them. Us gods-"

A sound of wind accompanies her cutting me off, as well as up, a bit. Her sword embeds itself partway through one of my vines-almost cutting the thing off. Unfortunately for her, I seem to be a bit too tough for that. A quick healing spell actually sees my wound close around it, letting my disarm her my simply pulling it up and out of her reach. "Alright, now that the sharp things our out of the way, we can discuss this like mature-"

Unfortunately for my efforts at diplomacy, she was not, in fact, out of sharp things. Several daggers sail through the air-I interpose my wooden carapace, before she suddenly changes location, teleporting in a flash of shadows before launching more at me.

She's badly outclassed, however. While on paper, it might have been fair fight between two level 11's, she couldn't have picked a worse fight if she tried. She fights using ambushes and distractions-a feint from one side before a teleport attacks from an ungaurded angle. I have all-around vision, an ability to focus on multiple things at a time, ignore her magic concealment , and regenerate pretty quickly. The only thing really stopping me from just grabbing ahold and wishboning her is that I'm trying to get her to stop fighting, not kill her. I know exactly who sent her-and I would much rather not piss them off.

To that end, I resort to trying to disable her with my newly-enhanced toxic arsenal. Whenever there's a moment where her agility most fails her-like when she's **** to leap to avoid sweeping slams from me-I quickly make a prick with a small, stinger-like limb, injecting her with a dose paralytic. It's weak, but my skill's raw levels help a lot with it, and it adds up. Her body slows just a little with each poke, and she eventually trips as her legs fail her entirely.

I pull the rapier out of my body and hand it back to her with a show of faith as I resume the conversation-a glance around to make sure nobody else was near. "Alright, if you want the straightest shot-you know how the forces of dark are really mustering on the mainland? Well, that includes the creation of uniquely potent creatures-like me. I'm here in a little quite slice so I can grow and develop into something stronger and more useful. I have no grand interests of conquests, so your mistress can rest easy, in that I am as unambitious as I am incapable of threatening her." Presently incapable-everyone involved in my creation seemed to accept it as a given that I'd eventually become one. But I've no intent to test my skills against a kitsune three times my level.

She doesn't seem to quite know what to make of my lack of will to finish her off-she snatches her main weapon and trains it on me as she struggles unsteadily to her feet on muscles that won't obey her. Her aggressive intent seems to dissipate as she turns slightly, as if listening to someone standing to her left. Given how I know there isn't anyone standing there, I can only assume the mental link she has is strong enough that she's getting direct orders from someone-perhaps Orchid herself.

"...She would like to see you in person." They eventually spat out, a bit pensively.

My reply was similarly short "I'll leave in the morning-after saying my goodbye's to my gracious hosts." I was not asking for permission to wait: I was setting terms.

She nodded, and then disappeared-the short fwoosh of teleporting out of sight as she left me to the evening.