THINGS WERE LOOKING BAD FOR OUR HEROES. Well the ones in the story. So far Ryuu was doing extremely fine and he had no reason to believe that his foe was doing badly either. Although given that she had seemed to be a bit nervous earlier and the odd pose she had given him a few moments ago that might mean something. Perhaps she was worried that her pyromaniacal habits would be revealed.

"Meanwhile the witch had successfully cast her evil spell.
The result of which was that the man's mind was now imprisoned in a bird's shell."

Smiling when he heard a few sharp intakes of breath, Ryuu knew that he had just made things more interesting. BUT WOULD IT LAST? Well given how much everyone was listening intently to the story it probably would for a while. BUT EVEN SO THERE WAS A POSSIBLE CHANCE THAT IT WOULDN'T.

Feeling a bit in the moment, perhaps wanting more dramatic effect for the story, Chie plotted the next point in the story.

"And so with a piteous moan, the wife broke,
strange magic dissipating her into vapor and smoke"

So what would he do with the story now, Chie wondered. She essentially just killed off one of the protagonists, so she was interested to see what Ryuu would do next.

ANOTHER DRAMATIC TURN IN THIS STORY OF DRAMATICNESS (it's a real word now). Perhaps just this once EVIL WOULD TRIUMPH OVER THE FORCES OF GOOD. However even so there still had to be more of a struggle. Or else it just wouldn't be as fun. Plus it would sit better with the audience to give the good guys a bit of hope BEFORE CRUSHING IT INTO PIECES.

"Feeling the loss of his wife in his heart, the newly changed husband was gripped by sadness.
Then he ferociously attacked the witch in a moment of madness."

That would make things a bit more interesting. But would this new developement only serve to ensure the man's demise OR WOULD RYUU'S PYROMANIACAL STORYTELLING PARTNER START A FIRE OF HOPE?

Chie appreciated the collective gasp from their audience. It seemed that not only were she and Ryuu enjoying themselves, but the crowd was involved in their story.

She was surprised by this, sweeping her gaze across the crowd. Were they that entertaining? She supposed this wasn't much different than watching a real storyteller, other than the fact that she and Ryuu were making this up as they went along.

"In the madness, the man's love for his wife, so pure
Gifted him a gleaming blade, white and hot to battle against the evil one's allure."

Fire of hope it was. Smiling at the new developement and the audience's reaction, Ryuu wondered what he should now add to the story. Undoubtedly the next step should be to craft an action scene for the ages. Or maybe just have one of the two foes taken down by a groin shot. Either one would suffice.

"Wielding the blade of love with his bird beak.
The husband attacked with all he had in hopes of making the spells grow weak."

EPIC FIGHT SCENE TIME. Although adding a cheap shot or two still wasn't out of the question.

He had turned into a bird? Chie frantically wracked her brain for a detail he had spoken, that she overlooked. She remembered him saying: '...the man's mind was now imprisoned in a bird's shell"

She had taken it literally, assuming it was his mind and not his actual form. Ah, she should have known better! Mentally chiding herself, she regrouped.

"With an outraged shriek, she bore down a magical storm,
attacking, but not concentrating enough to keep him in his winged form"

Well that was odd, Ryuu noticed that Chie's body language indicated that she was confused about something. Wondering if it was something he had said that had caused the momentary confusion, Ryuu gave a mental shrug to himself when he couldn't think of anything in particular that would have caused it.

"Reverting back to his human shape the man attacked with a vicious slice.
Attacking again and again the man managed to hurt the witch not once but twice."

Chie couldn't help but have this nagging feeling that Ryuu was watching her, very closely. Deep down inside, she wondered if he suspected or read what she was thinking. She had no particular proof that he was doing such a thing, but after having spent ALL this time with him, she was starting to suspect that he was gleaming much about her without ever actually having a legitimate conversation with her.

Ah..well...at least he didn't know who she was.

"Gasps and moans came as the witch fell,
life fading away like a vicious spell"

A few gasps and happy cheers came from the audience, much to Chie's surprise. It really did seem the crowd was loving it.

AND GOOD HAD TRIUMPHED OVER EVIL. At least in this battle. BUT THERE WOULD BE OTHERS. Most likely with Ryuu on the side of evil in those, but as long as it was entertaining then Ryuu didn't care which way things went.

"Delivering the final blow and severing the witch's head from her neck.
The shock of losing his dearly beloved wife hit the man and he soon became a wreck."

This would add a twist to the ending of the story. Victory but at a cost. Perhaps after this story some members of the audience would go home wondering about the sacrifices that people made. Although most of the audience (Ryuu included) would probably go home thinking about the delicious smelling food that were being sold at the stalls.

Wanting to wrap this up, Chie finished with this:

"And so our tale comes to a bitter end,
the valiant man saving the land and losing his best friend."

For a moment, the crowd sat expectantly still. Then, a round of scattered applause broke out as the group moved on their merry way. Perhaps they were expecting a better ending? One with less bloodshed and more triumph?

Impassive, Chie turned her gaze back to her verbal sparring partner, awaiting what he would say.

Watching the crowd disperse to some of the other festival activities, Ryuu wondered what they thought of the performance. Given some of the reactions he could tell that most of them were caught by suprise based on how the story ended. However while there was some disappointment with how dark the story was, Ryuu felt that the disappointment was mostly because of how serious things became without a lot of foreshadowing.

Noticing that the girl was looking it him, Ryuu wondered what if she was expecting more rhymes. Beginning to come up with a rhyme THAT WOULD SHAKE THE WORLD TO IT'S VERY FOUNDATIONS, Ryuu was distracted when he noticed how hungry he was. "I don't know about you but all of that storytelling has made me hungry. Do you want anything?" Ryuu asked Chie as he turned to face her.

Chie was content with how that story went, considering two people were making it up one sentence at a time. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening. The man before her proposed to get food but she shook her head in response.

"That's quite alright. I believe I am going to head home for the evening. It was a pleasure."

She gave a short little nod and turned away to leave. Just as she walked away, she turned her head to ask a question.

"What's your name?"

All in all it appeared that this WAR OF THE WORDS ended in a stalemate for now. BUT RYUU WOULD MEET THIS FOE AGAIN ON THE FIELD OF VERBAL BATTLE. THEN HE WOULD MAKE HER RUE THE DAY THAT SHE DECLARED WAR ON RYUU WITH HER WORDS. However there was something more important than making people RUE the day that they met him. That something was what food to eat before he could commence with creating the RUEING.

There were so many food related possibilities that made Ryuu's mouth water. Deciding that he would go with the legendary meat on more meat which is on a stick that is placed on a bun, Ryuu could just taste it now. However it seemed that it his verbal sparring partner wasn't in the mood for any food. That was quite unfortunate but that meant that there was more meat for Ryuu.

"Likewise, although it's a shame that you have to leave so soon. Anyway my name is Kaito. What is yours?" Ryuu said in response to Chie's question. It really was a shame that she didn't want to go for food. How could Ryuu make her RUE THE DAY if she left? Well aside from large amounts of violence. But this was a WAR OF THE WORDS and thus Ryuu had to use VERBAL WARFARE to make her RUE the day.

"Perhaps we will meet again, Kaito. You may call me Kitsune." She smirked under her mask, tapping it with her index finger. She wasn't about to give her real name. Though Chie wasn't exactly unique, coupled with her visible long grey locks, it might trace back to who she really was...and she didn't want that.

After all, she didn't want word to get back to her mother and father about what just happened. Chie was a private person after all, and though she respected and loved them, they didn't need to know about everything she did.

With a wave, she turned and walked away, disappearing past the lights of the lanterns and out of sight.

(Exit)

"Hopefully we will meet again Kitsune. Have a nice night." Ryuu said to Chie with a wave as she left the festival. Ryuu then made a mental note of what her voice sounded like along with her hair color and anything else that would serve to identify her in the future. While it wasn't much to go on it would make it more likely for Ryuu to recognize her if they did meet again. AND WHEN HE DID, RYUU WOULD THEN MAKE HER RUE THE DAY THAT SHE FOUGHT HIM IN A WAR OF THE WORDS. But for now it was time for some meat on more meat which is on a stick that is placed in a bun. AND THIS MEAL WOULD BE DELICIOUS. Finding a food stand that served this delicacy, Ryuu went over to it to order his meal.


[Exit and End]

Rewards
Crazy = 23 + 7 quality points = 30RP
Chie = 22 RP

Points added and thread locked