#calamitousarts

Alright, this wasn't so bad. Zero was hesitant to get so close to an Ashen Lord in battle; he was just a man, and hadn't a shred of resistance to fire. Regardless, he was holding his own, mostly. It was an unwise battle, especially alone, but he was after the juicy loot he knew Horatio had with him. Zero went in for a strike, but his cutlass glanced off of the fiery crystals adorning Horatio's body. "Whoops--" he tried to joke, but before he even finished, he was properly smacked in the back of the head by the Lord and knocked off balance. He stumbled forward, trying to let himself roll rather than fall on his own sword.. ..But his head was yanked backwards. He yelped, feeling Horatio's claws gripping his long hair. His cutlass slipped from his grip, and he struggled to get his hands on any part of him to fight back. He was pulled to a standing position, struggling to keep his feet on the ground. Damn, okay, think! He didn't let himself be lifted further, as he hooked his ankle around Horatio's skeletal leg and yanked upwards, knocking him off balance. The two stumbled down, and Zero, still in Horatio's grasp, fumbled with his belt for his gun. The heat was intense, the claw that held Zero felt like burning coals, and the air stung his face. He pulled out his flintlock.. .. Only to have that wrist grabbed and pulled forward, Zero ending up on top of Horatio. "Okay! We're really doing this, huh?" He grunted, punching Horatio in the face with absolutely no effect. He struggled against his grip, but was severely outclassed. No amount of clawing and biting got Zero any closer to freedom. The nearly-ten-foot skeleton was able to slam Zero into the sand, knocking the wind out of him. Dazed, he pathetically kicked at Horatio, visibly weakening as he did so. The heat was too much, the crystals burned his skin where he was gripped, marking him in places. Despite his struggle, Horatio was finally able to get a good grip on his neck, and Zero's resistance slowly faded, staring up at the Ashen Lord with defeated fury. "..Okay! I- hhgk.. I yield, you win!" He wheezed, struggling to keep his grip on Horatio's searing crystallized arm. "We're cool, we're cool--" he made a tapping out motion on Horatio's arm, not expecting to be listened to. Between the grip on his neck and the weight pinning his body down, Zero was running out of air quickly.

Most pirates know to steer away from an Ashen Lord. Even in their weakened state, they pose a formidable threat alone- there's yet to be a fight with several in the field, usually the lesser skellies they can command are enough to tip the fight in their favor, but there's precisely two kinds of pirates that try to fight them.

The overconfident and the greedy. The first will fight like hell until they realize they're woefully outmatched, and the second will go for whatever trick aids them.

Horatio seems in somewhat of a better mood today, he's not outright spewing fire, and the backhand could almost be considered playful, all things considered of who he is and what he does- he chuckles, snatching a handful of Zero's hair and yanking him back and up. It's been a good tussle, but he's got stuff to do, treasure to deliver to his King.

As he's ready to breathe fire into Zero's face, something catches on his leg and yanks- throwing him off balance and onto the sand, some flames coming out as he growls. "You little-!"

Horatio's quick to grab Zero's wrist, snatching him from grabbing his gun- he could scorch him right there, to simply burn and let this little pirate imbecile cook right on top of him.

And yet! He's got fight in him to try and punch him! The shipwright laughs, flipping Zero around and slamming him into the sand, where he shifts his grip to the pirate's neck.

He's not expecting a tap out, and he's observant of the color on Zero's face as he seem to consider. "Oh, you think this is over?"

He stands with Zero's neck still in his hand, making sure to leave the mark of his fingers before tossing him a few feet ahead to a nearby puddle in the sand. "Get up and fight, come on! Run, and I won't be so kind as to send you to the Ferry."