But he couldn't make it that obvious. His mind awareness surged slightly, perhaps in reaction to the intense emotion of the encounter, and through it he knew Ftzaal, felt his intention to kill him and his complete confidence that he would succeed in it. It was a frightening mind to face. Fear is death. He leapt from beam to beam toward his opponent, who had finished his climb.
“You will not escape me, Rrit.” Ftzaal leapt as well, so they were on the same beam, now facing each other. There would be little opportunity for maneuver here. Confined as they were to the linear space of the beam, they would fight a battle of finesse with the variable sword, with the added tactic of trying to unbalance the other fighter into a fatal plunge to the stone floor below.
Pouncer slashed the beam beneath him, backed up, slashed again so a thick chunk of stonewood crashed to the ground. The remaining segments of the beam sagged, now supported only at one end. Too many beams cut would bring the whole roof down. And that too may be a strategy, if I have to employ it. It would be a last resort.
“You think that gap will stop me?” Ftzaal spat, angry now as he had not been before. He had expected an easier kill. Pouncer backed up further. Let him think I am afraid. He will grow careless.
Ftzaal screamed and leapt the gap, landing with perfect footing and coming up into attack stance, feinting down and swinging high. Pouncer let his guard drop with the feint, but not so much that he left himself vulnerable to the swing. I knew he was going to do that. Pouncer flowed into v'dak stance, and smoothly blocked two more blows. I am gaining something from mind awareness. It was not enough to win, but perhaps enough to survive.
Ftzaal fell back, and Pouncer took the opportunity to cut the support chain for one of the decorative tapestries hanging from the ceiling. It fell with deep rustle of heavy fabric and nearly enveloped Ftzaal where he stood. As it was, he had to leap backward, nearly losing his balance in the process. The black kzin's fangs showed white in a wide gaped smile. He is angry, and rage is death. Pouncer began to think he might win. He held his ground a long moment, waiting for the wild killing leap, but it didn't come. The Tzaatz was too smart a warrior to let hot anger interfere with cold intent. He advanced and Pouncer fell back, a pace at a time, all the way to the wall. There was a wide ledge there, where the beams joined the walls and roof. When he got close to it Pouncer turned and leapt. He had hoped the sudden move would give him room to maneuver, but Ftzaal had anticipated it and leapt with him. Pouncer pivoted as he landed, nearly overbalancing, and found Ftzaal's slicewire already coming for his head. He got a partial block in, enough to deflect the blow, and the weapon slashed chunks of ancient stone from the wall to clatter down into the hall below. Pouncer retreated again as Ftzaal feinted low, feinted high and then swung in the middle, but again mind awareness gave him enough warning to keep his guard where it needed to be when the killing slash came. He fell back until he came to the next crossbeam, the one he had cut. Now we spring the trap. He swung hard, overhand, connected and swung again, beating Ftzaal's guard down through sheer force. It was a short term strategy that would lead to exhaustion without any other result if he kept it up, but it bought him the second's respite he needed to leap backward onto the beam. The position he held was precarious and difficult to guard, but he stayed there long enough for Ftzaal to recover and swing at his ankles. Let him think I have made a mistake, and he will expect me to correct it. He blocked the blow, then leapt down the beam, leaving the way clear for Ftzaal to mount it and follow him. He turned again, adopted v'scree stance in time to see his opponent take the same position. Ftzaal advanced, slowly and deliberately. When he got within striking distance Pouncer began to withdraw. He flicked his eyes to the beam with each backward step, trying to pick up the almost invisible cut he'd already made.
There! He backed up farther, taking each step carefully, as Ftzaal continued to press his guard. The thick timber sagged slightly as Ftzaal approached the cut, less than perfectly stable. Would Ftzaal notice? Pouncer feinted forward to make sure he didn't, which turned out to be a mistake. Ftzaal easily parried the quick thrust and slash then countered with his own attack, taking advantage of Pouncer's overextended position at the end of his slash to beat his slicewire out of line and then thrust for the kill. Pouncer backed up again, but Ftzaal pressed him hard, his slicewire again slamming Pouncer's out of line to expose him for the finish. Pouncer nearly lost his variable sword with the impact, and overbalanced dangerously, nearly falling. He forgot about his trap and concentrated on survival, regaining his balance just in time to get his slicewire back in line to block another swing. For an instant it looked like he'd gotten away with it, teetering precariously but still on the beam, but then Ftzaal slammed his free fist into Pouncer's shoulder, toppling him. He lashed out to save himself, his variable sword flying off into space as he tried to regain his balance. He fell and for a long instant his vision was full of the hard stone floor far below. He grabbed wildly and managed to get his claws into the side of the beam. Wood fibers tore into long scratch marks, then held, and he was dangling. His variable sword shattered on the ground, and for a heartbeat he flashed back to the instant he'd leapt after T'suuz, high on the conduits in the Citadel's power hall on the day of the Tzaatz invasion.
Ftzaal-Tzaatz came and stood above him, looking down. “You fought well, Rrit. Not well enough.” Ftzaal raised his slicewire for the killing blow. In desperation, Pouncer brought his hind claws up and braced them against the beam, then leapt into space as Ftzaal brought his variable sword down. He had swung with enough force to cleave through armor articulation, and deprived of its intended target his swing carried on, cutting through the thick stonewood beam as though it wasn't there. The section he was standing on was between Pouncer's first cut and his own. No longer supported at either end it fell. Ftzaal leapt up to grab one of the remaining beam sections, but he hadn't expected the fall and his leap was slow. He managed to connect with one set of claws but he held on to his variable sword with the other. His claws cut long grooves in the dense wood as Pouncer's had, but with only one paw there wasn't enough purchase to entirely support his weight. They pulled out and he too fell.