you could rattle the stars.
you could do anything,
if only you dared

How she enjoyed harassing the man. It was a release she found she liked very much; perhaps she was just thankful that there was someone out there in the world who was just as angry as she was. There had been a time in her life when she angered at the slightest prod, where she would lose control and sweep the area with fire. She had burned down far too many buildings than she could count in her fits of rage, Ivan seemed to delight in such a spectacle. Vhalla would level forests during those days, she couldn't contain that fury until rather recently. She learned control, she taught herself other ways to release that magic build up, to let the anger out without wiping a town off the map. So, as she watches Lazarus lean back so casually on those stairs, she sees herself in him, that rage that so boiled behind those eyes, something that would always accompany him no matter how far he ran and it would consume him without the slightest hesitation if he didn't do something about it.

Yes, perhaps she was using him to her own advantage, to release that pent up frustration, yet, she offered him that chance to release a little bit of that rage on the world when she taunts him into playing with her. Vhalla knew exactly what would happen if that temper was left unchecked. She would help, and in doing so, she would be helping herself, though Lazarus didn't need to know that she needed this as much as he did. So, she listens to those deep tenors fill the silent warehouse, his sarcastic response bringing a quiet chuckle rasping from her lips, that grin broadening as she rakes her icy eyes over his figure, her hand settling on her hip casually as she regards him with amusement. "Ooh, I see someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," she coos at him. She supposed she would wake up a grumpy mess if she had slept next to a mountain of weapons and on a table. "If you had taken the bed, it would have been much more comfortable and I suspect you wouldn't have woken up with your piss poor attitude," she pauses grinning at him, "Actually, I take that back, I think your shitty attitude is just who you are," she affords him another chuckle of delight, dabbing at her sweaty face with that towel.

As those taunts slip effortlessly off her tongue, she can see the moment that anger starts to rise in him. The man didn't know how to take a joke and that's what made it all the more fun. His growling voice retorts angrily at her, Vhalla merely shrugging her shoulders, "Whatever you say, pumpkin. I suggest next time, be prepared if you want to pick a fight, or at least, pick a fight you can win," she responds casually before turning on a heel and wandering towards the center of the warehouse. Again, she harassed the poor man, that wicked smile so adorning her lips as she beckons to him, watching that simmering anger rise to his eyes. The clenching of his jaw a tell-tale sign that he was barely hanging on to his resolve; whatever it was. As he states, rather grumpily, that he was in fact not frightened of her, she smiles with that pretty smile, showing those pretty white teeth. She truly was a wildcat. "You're doing an awfully good job at making me not believe that," she purrs at him, delight so dancing across her freckles features. This constant battle with him; it was something that helped her forget, at least for a little while, and she's almost excited when he stands, removes that jacket to reveal a rather toned chest, something she hardly appreciated last night, yet this time she allows her eyes to rove a touch more than necessary.

Whether it would piss him off more or not, she wasn't sure, but she couldn't deny the fact that he was rather fit. Instantly, her blue eyes snap to that burn mark on his chest, hidden partially behind the trophy, "Like I said, I won't use my magic," she states again, unsure why she needed to assure him, perhaps it was due to the fact she had unintentionally burned him on their first encounter. Still, she refused to apologize, if anything, she believed he truly believed it for suggesting that he might buy her. Quickly shoving the memory down, she didn't particularly feel like being angry, not right now. Now, she wanted to play, and Lazarus had just agreed to play along. Delight dances across her features as she grins widely at him, her arms crossed over chest and hip popped out as she watches him move closer, his own arms crossing across his broad chest. "Good, now I won't have to tell Ellie you were frightened," she winks devilishly at him, unfolding her arms as she watches Lazarus shift to an obviously familiar fighting stance. She's quick to inspect him, watching as he finds his center and she can immediately find the unbalance in him, his weak points in a matter of moments.

His eyes betray his intentions as she rolls forward to the balls of her feet, prepared for the sweeping of his leg. It was similar to the move she had used on him and she blinks in surprise, going for the legs would not have been her first choice, merely because the opponent on defense had far more time to prepare themselves for the onslaught. She easily dodges, dancing away lightly, that grin turning to something far more feral as her hair flies behind her in that pony tail. "Don't look where you're attacking," she states, whether he would take the advice or not would be up to him, "You have too much weight on your right leg, balance yourself out," she calls to him right before she launches into him, ducking below a swinging arm as she brings a fist into his side. Not hard enough to damage, but hard enough to hurt and perhaps bruise. Quickly stepping backwards, the smile slowly fades as she falls into that calmness that so finds her when she was working or training, her senses on high alert as she watches him with carefully calculating eyes.

There were not many people that could stand to be under such piercing eyes, yet, she had a feeling Lazarus wouldn't mind. "You're bigger than me, which means I'm faster, don't throw your whole body weight into a hit unless you are a hundred percent certain it will find its mark," she states again before she farts into his side again, careful to avoid flying limbs as she successfully lands another punch, "Balance, Laz!" She shouts at him, the thought not occurring to her that she had managed to nickname a man she found she was beginning to not hate. In and out, that's what she would continue to do, to wear down his stamina as she dances around him gleefully, clearly taking it easy on the man. She didn't want to hurt him, she just enjoyed sparring and as their duel drags on, she finds herself enjoying the teachings she offers him, a real smile so finding her face for the first time since meeting the man. "I just told you not to throw your weight into your punches!" She snaps at him, dodging him and planting a hand on his back so he goes stumbling.

"That's why you don't do it, it's easier to unbalance you and you haven't quite found your center of gravity yet," she explains, though her arms are up, prepared for his onslaught; her breathing not heavy in the slightest. "For a Dark Hunter, I expected better," she grins impishly at him, perhaps she could push him into a rage, to see what he truly was capable of. For whatever reason, he seemed to be holding back.

Vhalla Solarn

To the stars who listen- and the dreams that are answered