Thread: Dancer's lament (Ursarion and Maxaro)

The sight of the old handmaiden dying and fading away before his very eyes would have been one most people found horrible, but to the Ashen one, it brought relief. It assured that there would be one less hollow to deal with before his journey to light the First Flame was over. He had enough blood on his hands to dull even the brightest of embers already. Before he him was the path leading up to Lothric castle, the place where he'd find the last Lord of Cinder Prince Lothric himself. The final key he needed to access the first flame. However, before he could grab the ladder than had fallen down from the upper parts of the church when he'd placed the basin Emma had given him in front of a certain statue, a sound of dripping met his ears. With a heart already heavied from the arduous quest he'd been reborn to complete, the Ashen one turned around to face this new sound. At first, the dim light of the church hid whatever the source of the noise was, but after a moment, the weary warrior noticed that it was coming from above him and he craned his neck upward while unsheathing his claymore to finally lay eyes on the culprit. What met him was a sight equal part beautiful and horrifying. From the rafters of the church, a large, womanly figure fell, their heavy impact upon the floor echoing ominously even as they rose from the floor. They never stood up fully, though, their stance staying low and crouched, the beautiful veils adorning their equally beautiful armor tracing the curvature of their back. When they moved, it was with a grace betraying their intimidating size very much the opposite of how Yhorm the giant had fought. 'Another Outrider Knight...' the Ashen one noted mournfully as he readied his shield. Even after killing Sulyvahn himself, he couldn't help but feel a heaviness settle over him whenever he saw any of the Pontiff's twisted creations. How someone could do this to his own people, the Ashen one doubted he'd ever understand, though any justification would undoubtedly only make him more furious. In the end, he couldn't do anything to reverse the mad Pontiff's actions, merely make sure they didn't have to suffer any longer. He'd make sure it was quick, the warrior promised himself as he pushed himself into a run, closing the distance between himself and his new enemy as they gracefully pulled a curved, flaming blade from the floor beneath them. Seizing the first attack, the Ashen one slashed his blade down vertically, aiming for the Outrider Knight's shoulder, but before his sword could connect, they twisted their hulking form in a hypnotically flowing way, making him hit naught but the stone floor of the church. Or so he thought. Before the Ashen one had time to lift his claymore off the ground, his entire body was shaken by loud crash as the Outrider Knight that had so gracefully dodged him fell into a heap on the floor, their flaming blade clattering to the ground beside them. It wasn't until then that the warrior noticed there was something laying beside the indentation his sword has caused in the floor when he'd struck it. It was the shattered remains of a ring. Before the Ashen one's wide eyes, the Outrider Knight began changing...