Lee’s Loadout: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/251623105?sort=0&page=0&path=1 Toaster’s Loadout: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/251580731?sort=0&page=0&path=1 Lee, the Wolf, has challenged Toaster, the Fire Salamander, for a duel at Lurkwood! -------------------------------------------------- Night began to descend upon Lurkwood as the lurkers began to pack their bags and head for their huts, surrounding the outskirts of the forest. Night was no different from day in Lurkwood: the same darkness, the same shadows, the same pitch black view. However, this night, when even the moon was afraid to reveal its brightest hue, was something else. A couple of footsteps interrupted the forest’s unusual silence, and a scaly figure, barely visible thanks to the surrounding treetops. The leaves under his feet began to crunch, and the notorious Toaster came under a small brief glimpse of moonlight from the treetops before succumbing to the shadows once again. He stood still once he reached a partition of the trees, silent, only the sound of his nose sniffing. In a matter of seconds, he began to sneak across the forest floor, the leaves nearly void of noise as he made his way to the outline of a great oak tree, its shadow darker than what surrounded it. Toaster, as if he was testing it, lodged one scaly boot into a small crag of bark, and shortly after, he vaulted himself up, getting a grip with his other foot as he began to rapidly ascend the gnarly shadow of twigs and branches. He stopped his path at a branch, midway up the tree, as he began to scout. He knew his prey… and he was out to get it. Lee sat on a couple of branches, sitting somewhere higher on the peak of the oak tree before he heard a rustle beneath him. Going into a ready stance, he began to crouch as he peeked over the side of the branches and looked below, viewing a huddled figure among the mess of bark. Smirking, he let his metal gauntlet grab his cloak and wrap it around his back. Once the cloak was secure, Lee let out a call below… “Ah, almost mistook you for a twig!” Toaster looked up, his bright yellow eyes clashing with the darkness around him. They were two small beady orbs floating in the night. He rasped out a remark… “Mistake me for a twig? Have you ever been mistaken for something so puny?” Lee smiled under his cloak, now covering his face… “Nah. Seems like you have though.” Growling, Toaster was ready to strike, and from the two beady orbs came a chained blade, the links clashing together and its clanging echoing throughout the forest as it wrapped around the branch and broke it, sending Lee toppling. As Lee felt his descent, he made sure to latch his arms around Toaster as he fell faster and faster. He grabbed his opponent by the legs, and Toaster fell with the Wolf, both of them throwing fists mid-air until Toaster was slammed into the forest floor, groaning. Lee fell onto him, sending both toppling below the great oak, lying down. Lee, speedy and reactive, kicked himself off the ground and landed on his knees, facing Toaster below who was still vulnerable among the leaves of the ground. Toaster’s beady eyes opened as he rolled over towards Lee, a small blade escaped from the bottom of his right wrist, unknown to Lee. Suddenly, the Wolf felt a sharp pain along his neck, and saw the yellow flashing eyes glare at him from beneath. A flash of light brightened in Lee’s left hand as it takes the form of the sword, and as Toaster widened his eyes, he hissed as Lee drives it into his right arm. Toaster let his tongue slither as he spoke.... “It’s time to… turn up the heat!” A fiery explosion radiated around toaster, lighting the forest with an orange light, with darkness retreating swiftly. Flames engulfed surrounding trees and suddenly the forest was alight along with Lee, who was burning and recoiling as the blast hit him straight in the face. Lee spoke through gritted teeth… “Well… I guess one war wasn’t enough to set things right between us. You’re gonna regret this. Badly” In a blur, Lee’s arm cut Toaster’s right arm clean off, blood beginning to redden toasters stump of remaining flesh. Toaster let out a low groan as he felt the pain come in like a wave, but he did not recoil. Lee, the flames enveloping him, was sent flying back from the blast next to a flaming tree, on the ground, breathing rapidly as fire bit him from all sides. Lee could hear Toaster’s hiss of deep laughter, and swiftly, Lee pushed himself to his knees and rolled on the ground, quenching the flames at the expense of what stamina he had. The clanging of chain links began to start up as Toaster swung a single chained blade around his remaining arm, the edge in flames. The whir of metal deafened Lee as it spun faster, but he chose to take a stand. Lee, slowly staggering to and fro as he lifted himself up, looked at Toaster with judging cyan eyes… “What’s wrong Lee? Not surrendering? There are fates worse than death you know…,” Toaster spoke through his scaly mask. “I can’t seem to hear your voice. Is that an accent? Why don’t you show me what you speak of?” Lee remarked light-heartedly. “Very well, fool…” Toaster began to charge at Lee, each step getting faster until he swung at The Wolf with a strike sure enough to decapitate anyone. He swung upward, smiling under his mask as he envisioned his bloody work in front of him. However, when he opened his eyes, a mist began to dissipate in front of him, and Lee was gone. His eyes lowered as he braced for impact. He knew what was about to happen. As he turned his head down, he saw a spear of light driven through his chest, the pain hitting him like tiny needles as the light burned away at his flesh. The spear was retracted, leaving a bloody gash where Toaster’s chest was, and then, in another blur, the spear met his stump of an arm, and he could not help but scream in pain. Lee began to mock Toaster… “There are fates worse than death you know” “Son of a…,” Toaster sputtered as he threw his chain blade into Lee, hitting his chest, and wrapping the iron links around his neck. Lee gagged as Toaster began to pull at the chain. Lee could feel Toaster dragging him like a rag as he tried to resist the pull, but to no avail. Lee closed his eyes as his mouth opened to utter more speech… “I’m gonna regret doing this to you ol’ bud.” Lee used the momentum of the pull to kick the spear deeper into Toaster’s arm, sending blood flying everywhere, some splattering on the trees. Toaster, his rage shown in his bright, burning eyes, pulled with his left arm, and slammed Lee into a nearby tree, headfirst. Lee’s lips turned red with blood as he slumped next to the tree, dazed. Toaster unwraps the chain as he begins to go for Lee’s eyes. He smiles in sweet anticipation until… “What? You bastard and your clones…,” Toaster uttered to himself as the Lee that was once in front of him disappeared into mist. He heard scuttling along the forest floor, but they were too fast to track. The forest became eerily quiet once again, and as Toaster crouched down to retreive is other chained wrist blade from his severed arm, he spotted tracks… but not from Lee. Ignoring them as he muttered to himself, he retrieved the second wrist blade and strapped it on his left arm. He readies himself to begin the hunt… until a pattern of footsteps begins to drum. A bipedal creature, Toaster deduces. He knows it’s heading straight towards him, as the crunch of leaves begins to get closer. The Fiery Salamander shoots two chains out to his left, and he hears an inhuman growl in response. Toaster comes in for a closer look to see…. Brown fur…. Two legs and two arms, both blanketed in the same fur… long claws… and its eyes… red… but from what? Could it be… A WOOKIE ON CRACK? Toaster retracts the blades as the beast recoils, and, panting, he makes his way towards the great oak tree a few feet in front of him as the forest begins to darken again, the flames being dead for a few minutes now. He latches onto the side of the tree, and painfully, begins to ascend slowly about midway before digging both his blades onto the trunk and hanging on the side, scouting. As Toaster began to stare at the darkness in front of him, he saw the silhouette of a familiar figure… Continued Below