Chaos and Battle - Back Attacks are for scrubs

He turned his back to a ball of occultic fury!

Bad call!

Not only did Nicole aim to grab the opportunity by the horns and ram the tip of her boot up the redheads arse...but she also seemed like she aimed to continue said assault! Oh dear.
(Nicolette Driscoll)

 He wasn't expecting Nicole to just attack him after the first bout. He was sure she learned by now. But his expectations of her was clearly lacking, as was his understanding of her naturally inclined desire to protect her pride. He's soon grappled, but the grab is broken almost as quickly as it was applied.

An invisible force pushes Nicole off from him, granting them both some distance as he whirls around, ready to bout with her again.

"Do you want me to embarrass you in front of Dustin? Are you trying to test my patience?"

But it mattered little, as Nicole was intending to do a rematch.
(Ishmael)

The priest was going to have to do something to inspire Nicole. But he also had to reign her in, to ensure she didn't dare make any attempts on him as she had done so today. His gaze narrows upon her, the mighty force of the Lifestream forcibly bent at his beck and call. Nicole was still not ready to best the priest yet.

"I warned you that there was going to be a punishment..." With a crook of his finger, Nicole slides across the fields to be brought before him, suspended so that she can meet his gaze. A single hand seizes her jaw, tilting her face to see her cheeks.

"But I must admit, Nicole. I am growing fond of these games of your's... They keep me on my toes. They remind me not to grow lazy, unless I want you to kill me, to surpass my might and claim it for your own." The staff, is raised, however, gaze narrowed upon her as he releases her face.

"But now, you must be punished for daring to strike me."

The staff is held high, lowering it only to make sure he was lining up the smack. The staff is soon raised high, preparing to deliver a nasty bump to the top of the unruly occultist's head. But, at the last second, when the arm swung down, he stopped only mere inches from contacting her.

"Hmm... No, this will not do... You don't learn from beatings..."

At the last second, Nicole is dropped at his feet, the telekinetic forces releasing her, as his eyes relaxed its intense gazing.

"I'm going to think up of a suitable punishment... And when I say it's time, you will obey."

This time, he does not turn his back on her, only keeping a mixture of amusement, disapproval, and pride in the development of Nicole thus far.
(Ishmael)

Whether it had been her agression making her careless, or Ishmael putting in more effort, but as opposed to their first round, this fight had been much more one-sided.

And as she had been defeated and downed, she only found herself to be dragged and hoisted up in the air by forces unseen, grimacing in pain and anger.

It almost looked like she was gathering saliva to spit at him, when her jaw was held, only deciding againts it once released.

Her eyes pinched shut, in anticipation of a blow...that never came.

Only when she found herself down on solid ground once more, did her eyes open, panting... staring down.

It took a while, but she recoiled eventualy, pushing not only further away from him, but up onto her feet, even if her legs were considerably wobbly, staring at him with utter defiance.
(Nicolette Driscoll)

The defiance reminded him of the bygone days, from when he was trapped in the cells of the Ardent cliffs. Just staring into Nicole's eyes kindled nostalgia, a part of himself he's barely conscious of anymore. That feeling of being a budding occultist, still growing in the world that demanded blood, chaos, and death around every corner.

For once, since Nicole had become a pet project of his, the lavender gaze bore hints of the Ishmael of old. Soft, weak, but defiant in the face of a superior foe. He was the Ikkaku for Nicole, a fact that resonated far too richly with his past as a Prisoner of War.

"Keep looking at me like that, you might actually be to bend the Lifestream to your whim..."

It was half a sub-conscious babble, half a threat. But, Ishmael couldn't remember which, once he blinks. His gaze soon turns away, deciding to depart back to Gaiar.

"You've impressed me thus far, Nicole. Maybe... You're ready to learn a trick of mine..."
(Ishmael)