The Honor Circle (IC) [Fa Teen, for language]

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog breathed heavily for a moment and grabbed his sword off the ground. As soon as he touched the handle, the sword again alighted with iridescent light, glowing the color of the moon. Cog cracked his neck, and stared glumly at the symbol in the air. Magic. he thought. I hate magic. He really had not much defense against such attacks, excepting for the protective charm around his neck. He hoped it would stop whatever it was. He didn't have much knowledge of the arcane, but he did know that glowing symbols generally meant very bad...
He had another problem. Stygian wasn't as fast as he was up close, true, but he could outrun him. So far, he was doing a pretty good job of keeping his distance, and there was little Cog could do to make him stop. Yet again, he shows good tactical sense. Cog thought. There was, then, only one thing he could possibly do.
He sheathed his blade, and stood completely still. He grabbed the coin and placed it in his hand, and waited.

[Stygian]

Stygian grabbed at the fiery symbol hanging in the air, and seemed to grasp the flames into his hand. He then slapped it down on the ground, sending a circle of fire rushing out around it just a bit before it faded. Nothing seemed to happen, but there was an obvious change in the aura of the place, a shifting that both Cog and the spectators could feel to some extent, like when someone stares at you from behind.
   Stygian prepared, drawing up more of his shadow to merge with him and watching the hex take effect. This was a type of dark magic that he was uncomfortably good with. He just hoped that it wouldn't prove to disagree too much with the werewolf.
   A flame burst out from the ground just beside and under Cogidubnus, snaking through the air. The fire of it writhed and contorted as it trailed, the head of the worming flame taking a shape that looked like a human skull, but fanged and wicked, and with a long ethereal spine flowing after it. Soon, another one like it joined it, and then more. They circled Cogidubnus only inches from him, snapping their sharp teeth and emitting wailing cries of pain and malice.
   Do it! Stygian thought, and then dashed with speed to the side, flashing blackened teeth in a snarl. If this worked correctly, he wouldn't even have to fight the man anymore, but just in case he wanted to get in closer where he could use his speed and not be outmaneuvered by that sword.

[Cogidubnus]

There was not a worse situation that Cog could have been in. Multiple opponents, different angles, independent movement, and very small. Swordsmen don't win this kind of fight..., Cog thought, still grasping his sword as he dodged the snapping teeth. They were ethereal - it was unlikely the protective charm around his neck would stop something like that.
He did the only thing he could. Drawing his blade and striking in the blink of an eye, he struck one of the heads. It worked, and had he the time, he would have sighed in relief. The skull did not scream, but merely faded as it was struck by the holy magics in the sword, and Cog took the gap and rolled from out between the skulls, tumbling on to his feet and putting some distance between him and them. It was a stopgap measure at best, but if he wanted any hope at all of not being...whatever those things did, being surrounded wouldn't help.
He raised an eyebrow at Stygian. He hadn't expected him to move from where he stood, at least not without some goading from him. Perhaps he could use that...
He took the coin and placed it on his palm, and as the skulls neared him, he raised his hand, and let loose another blast of force. The coin was propelled at an insane speed, aimed right for Stygian's head. He swung his blade at the first of the skulls to attack him, made it flow into a block for the second while dodging a snap from the third, and hoped that the coin would knock the creature out, or at least do something.

[Stygian]

Stygian's head snapped back and to the side, and some blackness spat out behind him, as he bent backwards in his run and stopped. The rest of the skulls seemed to wail and then flew quicker, aiming straight for Cogidubnus' head.
   Then, Stygian made a low chuckle, and turned his face back. The left side of it was practically ruined, black flesh having been torn off from his skull, which could be seen, cracked and dark grey, under the peeled skin and muscle. Yet, in his sharp teeth, he held a small, shining star the shape of a coin in a tight bit.
   "Sho closhe..." he said lowly, and then spat the coin out on the ground. His face began piecing itself together with speed. "But it's a matter of power too, Cog. You can expose me, but you'll have to do more than shed light on the darkness to hurt it. If you don't, you're just creating more shadows..." He chuckled, and watched as the first of the skulls neared the back of Cog's head, followed by a dozen more or so.

[Gareeku]

Watching the battle unfold before him, the figure smirked under the shadows of his hood.
"Hmmm...quite the battle going on here...very skilled fighters indeed." the figure muttered, nodding his head in greeting to the woman and the dragon-man, before turning to Stalker.
"Nice to meet you." the figure said, before reaching for his hood and removing it from his head. "I am Gareeku Manoko."

Underneath the hood was the head of an anthromorph wolf, with white fur execpt for the black fur that was present on the tips of his ears. Gareeku also possessed handsome features, with deep blue eyes and a face that could express softness yet could also express coldness as well. On his forehead, inbetween his eyes, was a visible x-shaped scar.

[ardaron]

Ardaron was close enough to the bar to hear Stalker introduce himself, and replied, addressing both Stalker and Gareeku, "I'm Ardaron.  Just got to this world from Paleon a couple days ago."  He thought it was only polite to tell people what plane he was from, so they wouldn't be left wondering what the heck he was; he assumed most people would at least have heard of Paleon,* even though the world didn't get a great deal of off-world visitors.  As he finished his statement, he pulled up a bar stool and sat down, such that he was halfway facing the various habitants of the bar and halfway facing the battle that was still in progress.  "What do you have in terms of meat?" he asked, in response to Stalker's offer of food.  He was rather hungry, and knew better than to even consider combat on an empty stomach.

The dragon nodded back to the woman who had just arrived.  "Indeed," Ardaron said simply in agreement as he, too, turned his eyes to face the battle.  He watched as Stygian's spell came to completion, and there was that curious darkness again.  But this time, instead of it being associated with an actual substance, it was something the dragon could feel.  Almost like someone watching him from behind, but that wasn't quite it.  What was it about Stygian's magic that it seemed so dark, without actually having anything to do with a lack of light?  It wasn't like anything Ardaron had ever seen or felt before.

Ardaron watched the flaming skulls surround Cog, somewhat surprised to see someone he had judged to be a dark elemental master making use of the fire element.  Then again, he knew this was a different sort of magic than the elemental forces of his own plane, so who knew what these combatants were capable of?  The thought unnerved the omni dragon a little as he realized just how little he knew about what he might be getting into; he was, after all, intending at some point to do battle with someone in the Honor Circle, and it was quite likely that such an opponent would have abilities that were similarly unfamiliar to him.  But he shook off his nervousness, and told himself that it would go both ways; if he knew so little about off-world magic, his opponent would likely know equally little about Paleon magic.  This idea excited him, and he immediately started thinking of ways to use this ignorance to his best advantage.  If he could keep his opponent guessing, he surmised that he had a better chance to win.


((*In case anyone wants their characters to have heard of Paleon, here's a summary of the basics.  All the native, sentient beings of the plane are humanoid dragons like Ardaron.  There are sixteen different 'clans' of such dragons, and each clan has their own nation and represents a different element; the nations are Volcanon (fire), Hydria (water), Avionne (wind), Terren (earth), Lumere (light), Nocturn (dark), Tundris (ice), Amperion (energy/electricity), Draug (venom), Ferron (metal), Cerenia (mind), Yinya (luck), Vel (agility), Onorh (strength), Gardea (life), and Abyssen (death).  The clans can interbreed, but usually don't because crossbred dragons tend to have lots of health problems and short lifespans, not to mention that crossbreeds have far inferior elemental power compared to purebreds.  Currently, the plane is on the verge of a world war, as tensions between the various elemental nations are building.))

[Cogidubnus]

Cog had no time, and no options. Dozens of skulls were about to make mincemeat out of him, and he couldn't swing everywhere at once. Scias could have, but his Sensei had been dead a long time...
He did all he could do. The Broken Moon infused every part of him with holy magics, and although it did not actively help him in any way, there was one way he could take advantage of that fact. He slammed his sword into the ground, followed quickly by his fist.
What might have been considered a small explosion of energy expanded outwards from him. A audible crack was heard as the air displaced, and the ground beneath him spiderwebbed outwards. Where the waves of force touched the skulls, they faded and disappeared, and it expanded outwards quite some distance before stopping and fading. The air around him was clear.
As soon as it faded, Cog almost fell, and leaned on his sword for support. The blade's white light faded from the steel, leaving it once again mere steel. His charm was drained, as was he. Can't do that again...He started staggering towards Stygian, reaching into a pants pocket and removing a small hounds-tooth from it...

[Stygian]

"Oh no, you don't!" Stygian roared. His shadow drew up around him, flowing through and over his skin and changing him. His wings reemerged, now blackened and leathery instead, made out of shadow as they were, and the enormous mass of darkness reached over him as he speeded against Cogidubnus, sliding above the ground. It was hard to keep one's eye on him with that speed, and it looked like he reached the other man in a flash. He spun, his right leg whipping up in a roundhouse kick that nearly had him make the split in mid-movement, and it was plain to see from his moves how practiced a martial artist he had to be.
   He is not going to pull more tricks! I only need to knock the wind from him, since I'm stronger than his werewolf form anyway. If he tries to smack me, I'll just hold him. But I won't take more fooling around! he thought.

[TheGreyRonin]

Stalker clattered back over his shoulder again, then whistled a few times, atonally. The whistles were repeated back, with a clacking. "Mne says we're pretty well stocked back there," he said to Ardaron. "Everything from mice to mammoth."

He winced as Stygian kicked out, and nodded. "Looks like the wolf is going out soon."

The woman snorted, blowing a plume of smoke. "Ten credits says the wolf takes him, oldtimer." She smirked at Stalker.

"I'm Risky, good to meet you both." She nodded to Gareeku. "Nice marks. We'll have to exchange stories sometime."

She tilted her chin towards the other patrons. "Guy in the visor looks like some kind of 'borg, Rita the Robot looks combat ready. " Her eyes narrowed as she glanced at Giles. "Him, though...I bet he'd be a handful."

[Cogidubnus]

Cog saw Stygian raise his leg to begin his kick and grinned dreamily to himself. The edges of his vision had gone blurry, likely as a result of his overexertion of his force-waves. He didn't have the strength to chase Stygian down, nor continue the fight for much longer.
   His next move, however, was simplicity itself. Instead of jumping back from Stygian's kick, he moved into it – and did several things at once. As he moved forward, he dropped to one knee, letting his trailing leg let him fall into a kneeling stance, and with his other hand he smoothly brought his sword back over his head. His movement was grace itself, as though he had practiced this particular technique thousands of time before. With that grace, that almost-lethargy, his other hand dropped the hounds tooth and came up and grabbed the hilt of his sword. He struck at Stygian with blinding speed – but not fast enough.
   Before he finished the cut, Stygian's thigh slammed into his head – the charm around his neck flared and died, a net of light magic's keeping his head from being knocked off, but unfortunately, it did not absorb the inertia of the blow. He was knocked over, and Cog's vision swam with blackness, and he saw no more.
He knew not if his last strike had gotten though, or whether the shade had saved himself in time.

[Stygian]

Stygian looked down on the man laying on the ground just a bit off from him. He had felt the hit quite surely, and knew that the force should have knocked him out, if he wasn't acting. Everything was allowed, after all. Slowly, he felt the cut to the back of his thigh that had almost severed a tendon, running his claws over it as it healed. He watched Cog warily as he held out a hand at his dropped shirt and undershirt, the clothes turning into strips of shadow and crawling over the ground and up on him as he reassumed his normal form.
   "Right. Good one..." he murred, still watching Cog. The man really had progressed. Stygian himself had only increased slightly in speed, but Cog's technique and practice gave him enough to match his blows unless he overwhelmed him with his shadow. That was very quick indeed. And it bothered him somewhat that he'd actually go this far when it was mostly a fight for fun. Still, he had been a bit rough on the man...
   Turning, Stygian made his shadow reach out and lift up his glass, bringing it to him. He grasped it, and emptied it, before walking up to the man and crouching down next to him.
   "Hey," he said, rustling him a bit. There was no blood, so he hadn't fractured or broken his nose, and if he'd have gotten a concussion he could just lie for a bit. "You reasonably okay?"

[Cogidubnus]

Cog lazily opened one eye, and tried desperately to focus on the world around him. It hazed for a moment, then got far too bright for his liking. He squinted and tried to get up, them hissed and fell back down. He heard Stygian's inquiry and waved his hand.
"I'm fine." he said, rolling onto his stomach, and then getting to his knees. "Just a headache." He stood, and after picking up his sword and putting it away, grinned at the shade. "Nicely done, good sir. Such a fight I've never had." Though he was bent over, he extended one hand to the shade. "Congratulations on your victory, good sir."

[Sunblink]

In the midst of all the battling and the conversations going on between the inhabitants, a diminutive figure managed to make it into the area relatively unnoticed.

The anthropomorphic jackal was reasonably young, perhaps around the age of twenty, and athletic, surprisingly confident in how she carried herself for her size of five-foot-two. Her hair color was plain enough, a shaggy dirty blonde, and her eyes chocolate brown—although one of them was considerably duller than the other—from behind the oddly mismatched lenses of her glasses, but everything else that topped the girl off was wildly abnormal.

Curling outlines of sable-splotched, abstract markings branched along her body from head to toe, forming a rigid mask of crescents and jagged streaks along her face, vines hiking up her arms and the tapering points of her elongated ears, streaks down her vulpine tail, and webs on her bare, clawed feet. A bizarre, vaguely '7'-shaped marking was engraved on her right shoulder, underlined by tribalesque, flowing scars of equal depth. Both had been somehow drenched in ink even darker than the shade the girl's markings were in, same with a thick scar around her left eye. The rest of her fur unmarred by the shadowy tattoos was a vibrant shade of saffron-yellow, sharply contrasting the darkness sloping along the jackal-woman's body. Creamy yellow of a lighter shade coated her muzzle, chest, and the underside of her tail, occasionally overlapped by the coattails of her gnarled markings.

Hefting what appeared to be an unusually large and heavy Morningstar-club over her shoulder, the young jackal leisurely strolled within the compound, immediately heading for the bar as she gave the fighting Cogidubnus and Stygian a passing glance.

Yawning, the jackal quickly located a seat next to the rest of the patrons, leaning her weapon against the counter and removing her glasses, the right lens of which was large, opalescent and outfitted with a dazzling array of stained glass, and the opposite a crystalline half-moon. They had grown clouded with fog during the arduous travel there and her feet ached like hell, but hopefully the trip would be worth it.

For now, she leaned back in her seat, stretched her arms high above her head, and lazily braced her head against her upright wrist, idly cleaning her glasses as she awaited the next match. It had been a long, long time--too long for her liking--since she had last fought and all her pent-up, violent exuberance would likely break free on the battlefield.

As the battle concluded in the background once the noises ceased, the jackal craned her upper body around to watch the two contestants eagerly. Brilliant, she thought, Now things are speeding up.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[ardaron]

"Hmm.  I seem to be in the mood for seal.  Got any seal meat?  I'll have a cut from the tail, medium rare, please.  How much will that be?  Uh, do you accept Paleon money?"  As he made his order, Ardaron reached into a pocket of his tunic, and pulled out a number of coins that looked to be made of some sort of ceramic material, coated in a glittering glaze.  The two largest ones were white, one was green, and a good number of them where sky blue and dark purple.  They all had the same design; a map of the sixteen nations on one side, and on the other was a depiction of all the clan emblems, arranged in a circle; a drop of water, a flame, a crystal, a cloud, a sun, a half-opened eye, a snowflake, a lightning bolt, a sword, a fang, a feather, a scroll, a cracked stone, a winding trail, an egg, and a dragon skull.  Ardaron set the coins on the table for Stalker to see; the whole collection was thirty-four draks of Paleon money, or about fifteen dollars.

Ardaron nodded to Risky, to confirm that he had heard her introduce herself, and replied, "Good to meet you, too."  He glanced at the other patrons to whom she referred, wondering why they hadn't introduced themselves yet.  Probably best not to press the issue, Ardaron decided.  Some people simply liked their solitude.

Ardaron looked to see the end of the battle.  It was hard to believe it was over; the two opponents had seemed so evenly matched that the battle could have gone on for a lot longer.  It seemed somewhat ironic that, after such a display of magic and swordsmanship from the two opponents, a simple roundhouse kick was what finished the fight.  Simple, at least, in comparison to the shade's other abilities.  But hey, whatever works, works, Ardaron thought to himself, noting that, in combat, simplicity was sometimes the best strategy.

Now that the battle had concluded, Ardaron noticed the jackal who had just entered the bar.  The first thing he noticed was her glasses; he'd only seen people wearing glasses a few times, and he'd never seen anyone wear lenses like those.  He made note of the fact that she wielded a morningstar, which, when taken together with her glasses, only made the jackal seem that much stranger.  But of course, judging by the way she carried herself, she was probably far more skilled in combat than would be apparent from her odd choice of possessions.  Realizing he was being rude, the dragon introduced himself; "I'm Ardaron."

[Sunblink]

In the midst of her idle relaxation, the jackal-woman at first didn't realize Ardaron's appraisal, up until the telltale, uncomfortable prickling darted up her body. Ears pivoting upright, her head snapped towards him, appearing slightly startled, as though she were jolted out of a deep and concentrated trance.

"Hm?" she murmured, then became fully alert as she realized he was the one inspecting her. "I'm sorry," she said, feigning pleasantness--she decided that it wasn't good to instigate a fight for once, "But do you want something?"

As though to counter him, she gave Ardaron an obligatory once-over. At first appearance, he seemed to be rather draconic, which put her on-edge at first. However, he was far too small to resemble the dragons she was used to accosting, which started to put her at ease, as the sudden shifting of her once-tense muscles indicated.

Body language could show a lot about a person, as she had learned in combat.

Settling her glasses back on the bridge of her nose, she said, "Ah, good to meet ya, Ardaron. I'm Keaton."

Rather, 'Keaton' was the epithet that she had adopted at some point in her life, one she brandished almost like it were her real name. Despite how many times she repeated it, it always seemed like she was reciting a lie, but it had long ceased to bother her.

"So, what brings you here?" she said, deciding to start conversation with the dragon.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[TheGreyRonin]

Stalker took one each of the coins, and whistled a phrase or two over his shoulder. "And bring the medkit," he added.

He looked Keaton over with a practiced eye. "Rules are on the sign, food and drink are open to all." He turned and smiled at Risky, all teeth. "Pay up." He held his hand out, palm up.

Risky looked disgusted, but withdrew a square metallic green coin. She tossed it to Stalker, whow snatched it from the air in a blur. "Don't be so smug. You've been wrong before."

She looked Keaton over and nodded. "Nice club. I know an ogre that would be drooling." She finished her cigarette, and stubbed it out on the edge of the table.

A clatter of dishes came from the back, and the swinging doors flew open as what looked like a six-foot tall Praying Mantis came bustling out. The exoskeleton was dark green like a spruce tree, with lighter green highlights here and there.

It was carrying a large platter of cooked meat in its' upper arms, and clutching an old-fashioned black leather bag nervously in its' lower ones, three fingers and both opposable thumbs on each hand grasping and shifting.

In a soft, musical voice it stated, "Seal meat, here you go...Oh my, I may be needed!" It smoothly slid the platter down the bar, and walked quickly on its' oddly-jointed legs over to the circle. leaving those at the bar with a lingering scent of fresh lemons.

Bending at the waist, it bowed to Cog and Stygian in turn. "I am Mneslentruvex, but you may call me Mne. May I help you with your injuries, if any?" It cocked its' head almost sideways, huge, unblinking, multifaceted blue eyes regarding them both.

[Stygian]

Stygian made a coarse laugh, then sighed and stood back up. From Cog's eyes he might well have had a concussion, but that was a minor problem for a man like he. So Stygian himself paid no more heed, but turned and picked up the bottle he had brought out and took it with him back into the restaurant. As he did he muttered more to himself, thinking of his own stupidity. Whatever he should have done, it was not to go into direct melee with Cogidubnus. But he had wanted to finish quickly, and without hurting the man. Well, he thought, good thoughts are on your own expense...
   When he got back in, his two companions goaded him a bit, especially the machine-woman.
   "What got to you there? 'S far as I could see you could have ripped him to chops at the end," the machine commented. "'The light and the power,' you know?" That seemed to be the continuation of some other conversation.
   "Go screw yourself, Moira," he replied, putting his bottle down and walking over to the bar. "It was the first fight." He said that as if it should explain everything. The machine shrugged, and went back to reading a book.
   "Well, all I have to say is that you didn't fight as you should," the man in the suit said, and walked up to the counter too, ordering a platter of chicken and potato salad. "But knowing you, it was most likely planned." Stygian didn't answer, just muttered.
   "Blood for me, please, if you have any," he said.

[Gareeku]

As  Stalker mentioned food, Gareeku would have taken up his offer had he been hungry. Looking back at Risky, the wolf smirked slightly.
"That we will. A pleasure to meet you." he replied with a polite bow. It then, however, that he saw another figure enter the building; a female jackal, and from what Gareeku could tell, one who possessed quite the confidence for someone so petite looking. Then again, from Gareeku's he experience he should be used to the fact that appearences can be most deceiving.

Giving the jackal a polite nod of his head in greeting, the wolf turned back to the two fighters just in time to see the conclusion of the battle. His swivelling, Gareeku raised an eyebrow as he heard the winning participant's friend ask what got to him, almost as if they were suggesting he should have killed the other participant. However, the wolf was slightly worried when the reply came; "It was the first fight". Did he mean he would be looking to kill in any future fights? Gareeku wasn't sure, but one thing he was sure of was that killing would not be looked kindly upon, especially in what are supposed to be non-fatal duels.

Eyeing the Honour Circle, Gareeku walked up to the edge of it to see whether the other participant of the previous fight was ok. Smiling slightly to himself upon realising he was, Gareeku then walked back to the bar.
"Hmmm...looks like the circle will be free very shortly, if not now." the wolf commented. He was looking for a good duel. Weapons or none, it mattered not to him.

[ardaron]

Ardaron looked down guiltily as he realized just how long he'd been staring at Keaton.  "A thousand apologies, ma'am.  I didn't mean to stare."  He quirked a sheepish half-smile, still looking down, and added, "I of all people really ought to know better than that," with a slight emphasis on the words 'of all people.'  He, like many crossbred dragons, had a tendency to attract strangers' stares in his native plane of Paleon; as such, he felt all the worse for being caught staring at someone else.  He shifted his wings, fidgeting a little in his embarrassment, as he mentally berated himself for his rudeness.

"I'm here to learn," he said, reciprocating Keaton's attempt to begin a conversation, relaxing a little as the conversation shifted away from his earlier faux pas.  "My home world, Paleon, is on the verge of a world war, so I'm learning all I can about combat so that I might survive."  He didn't mention the fact that it was his intention to try to stop the war; he had already made a fool of himself once today, there was no need to add to that by making such an arrogant claim as that he thought he could halt a sixteen-way war.

Ardaron picked up the coins that Stalker had left, and put them back in his pocket.  He was surprised at how quickly his food was ready, and inhaled deeply, taking in the lovely smell of cooked meat.  "Thank you," he told Mne as he grabbed the platter with a clawed hand, stopping it sliding any farther.  He picked up the knife and fork and began to saw off large bites of the juicy steak, and as he placed the first piece in his mouth, he smiled with pleasure.  "This is delicious," he commented to Stalker after he had swallowed his mouthful.

Ardaron's attention then turned to the victorious combatant who was now entering the bar.  "That was a marvelous show of skill, sir," Ardaron said to the shade.  There were a thousand questions the dragon wanted to ask Stygian, but introductions had to come first.  "I'm Ardaron," he said, introducing himself for the third time that day.

[Sunblink]

Keaton snorted slightly, waving her hand dismissively. "Eh, don't cry yourself to sleep over it. You're not the first person who's done that," Keaton shrugged, adjusting her seat so that way she was fully rotated around to face Ardaron. She wasn't too surprised about the idea of Ardaron being subject to intense staring in the past--after all, she had been apprehensive of him at first. Even then, Keaton invisibly kept her guard up, unsure what to expect of the dragon, despite his friendly exterior.

"Learn, huh?" Keaton asked, ears twitching acknowledgingly. She listened closely to his tale, punctuating his final word with an understanding and slightly intrigued nod. "World war?" she repeated, "Well, that's a good reason to want to learn combat..."

Keaton wasn't really sure how to respond to that. Having experienced a war before in her five hundred year-long life, she knew perfectly well that, despite her personal, sadistic 'quirks', they were nothing to laugh or scoff at. Being smack dab in the middle of a nightmare tends to warp one's understanding of the world.

Just before Keaton could say anything else, she was interrupted by Stalker. Snapping her gaze back to him, her ears plastered against her skull for a moment before she lifted her index finger in an 'excuse me' gesture to Ardaron—something rare for her, as she normally wasn't one for civility—and climbed to her feet, taking her Morningstar with her as she strode towards the sign as instructed. Cupping her chin in her hand, she quickly scanned over the words emblazoned on the sign, eyes zipping from letter to letter.

Once more, she was interrupted, this time by Risky. For a moment, Keaton looked down at her weapon: it was intricately designed, from the spiked globe crowning the handle, to the long, elaborately engraved hilt. The same symbol that was carved on her shoulder  was etched just beneath the club's head in pure white, the only splash of color on the otherwise completely melanoid weapon. The Morningstar was almost her height, and despite its size she could wield it quite effortlessly. At first, Keaton was unsure whether or not Risky was actually complimenting her, or just being rude, but she went with what her (sometimes very incorrect) instincts told her.

And that was to boast.

"Oh, him?" Keaton said, admiring the aforementioned club. "Yeah, isn't he gorgeous?"

Why she had referred to her weapon as a 'he' and a living being was left absent-mindedly ignored by Keaton in spite of the perplexed or just plain amused. Remaining perfectly oblivious to it, Keaton continued to appraise her weapon, finger outlining the track of engravings carved into it, which vaguely resembled her own atramentous markings.

"I'm sure he would make anyone drool, really. You won't find a better club... I keep him in really good condition."

The fact that Keaton kept her Morningstar in good condition was entirely true. 'He' happened to have not a mark on its obsidian surface, despite the club's possible age. It could've been that Keaton maintained it by magical means to keep the weapon untarnished, making the Morningstar look as fresh as the day she made it.

As Gareeku returned, Keaton strode back over to her seat, perching herself on the chair with a flick of her unusually fluffy (at least for her species) tail. "Heh. Sorry about that," she said, another startling thing to emerge from her mouth. Leaning her Morningstar back against the counter, she looked to Stalker. "Hey. Got any beer here?"

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

Stygian looked back at the wolf as he re-entered, pouring himself some water with ice to go in between drinks.
   "Yeah, I know... Don't expect me to get up and in that soon though," he said to the wolf, and turned away from him quickly, and over to the dragon at his introduction.
   "Right. Pleased to meet you," he said, offering the man his hand. "I'm Sebastian. Most call me Stygian though. A bit of humour, some would say." His nostrils twitched for just the slightest moment, and his eyes scanned Ardaron up and down, a piercing, grey-eyed look that assessed him quickly. Then he nodded to his both companions. "That one over there is Moira," he said, and the machine-woman smiled a sweet, mouthless smile and winked with one green-glowing eye, "and this here is Stephen."
   The man in the suit didn't answer immediately. He nodded his head forward, and the formerly seamless visor on his face suddenly made a bit of a hiss as lines became apparrent over it. Then, with a series of sharp mechanical rasps and swishes, the metal, which seemed just as flexible as Moira's skin, parted and peeled back, folding into itself and vanishing together with lines and metal wires, away from the skin of the human face behind and down into its neck, revealing it.
   He was quite positively the best looking man that one can imagine, his dark, slightly androgynous features contrasting against Sebastian's. Black, smooth shoulderlength hair that naturally fell just right framed an ideal face, with high cheekbones, deep, dark and clear eyes, perfect lips and nose and just slightly tanned skin. Its only one marring feature might have been the clear, golden cybernetic eye that replaced his right one, a thin vertical scar over it. He flashed a white smile at the dragon.
   "Pleased to meet you," he said.

[TheGreyRonin]

Stalker turned and shifted, flowing back to the kitchen and returning to the bar almost immediately with a large plate of food for Stephen, and a huge snifter of deep red liquid for Stygian. Passing them over, he bowed. "A good victory."

He then grinned at Keaton, and deftly pulled a large mug of cold beer from the tap. "Any coin will, do, here you go." he said, as he handed it over. He bowed slightly.

Risky watched Stephen's visor fold back on itself, and lit her fresh cigarette on her fingertip. "Nice. Alarian technology, or nanotech?" she asked Stephen. "I'm Risky, by the way."

Mne walked with Cog to the nearest table. "That was an excellent duel, Sir," he said. "I will bring you refreshment." He bustled back to the bar, whistling and clattering softly, but loud enough to be heard. He chuffed at Risky as he passed, skirting her in a wide circle, then disappeared into the kitchen.

Stalker grinned and chuckled. "Okay, who's next?" he called out to everyone, indicating the empty circle.

[ardaron]

Ardaron grinned at Keaton's sarcastic remark; at least that meant that she wasn't upset with him.  "I suppose I can manage to contain my tears tonight," he said jokingly back, using a tone of sarcasm he had learned from a friend of his.  It wasn't like him to crack jokes like that, but every now and then he would get the idea to try to be funny; usually with no better results than this time.

His usual seriousness almost immediately returning, Ardaron simply nodded agreement to Keaton's statement about war being a good reason to want to learn combat.  It wasn't a question, so he didn't reply.  He didn't really suspect that she, too, had been affected by war; he merely figured that war was just generally an awkward subject for people.  So he was more than happy to let it drop.

Keaton's movement to go read the rules of combat reminded Ardaron that he hadn't read the rules yet, either, so he got up from his seat and followed her over to where the rules were posted.  He read through them more slowly, committing them to memory, lest he mistakenly break one.  He decided they would be easy enough to follow, and returned to the bar.

Returning to his own seat sometime after Keaton had returned to hers, he decided to try and rekindle their earlier conversation a little.  "So, what brings you here?" he asked curiously, beginning to saw off another piece of his seal-meat steak with his knife as he spoke.

"Pleased to meet you, Sebastian," Ardaron replied, taking the offered hand.  He nodded to Moira and Stephan, meeting Stephan's smile with one of his own, and answered, "Pleased to meet you too, sir."

Ardaron looked thoughtful for a moment as Stalker brought up the idea of having two new combatants enter the ring.  But he decided against entering a duel just yet.  He wanted to watch a few more battles first; get a better feel for what he was getting into.  Know thy enemy, as Rakara would say.  And besides, he had a steak to finish.

[Sunblink]

Keaton reclined in her seat somewhat, her entire posture relaxing save for that one, defensive shred which insisted that she keep at least part of her defense up. Even then, it was not readily visible to the naked eye, but by this point and after some settling down, Keaton had openly grown more comfortable to her surroundings.

The mug she ordered was neatly pushed over to Keaton, who caught it by the handle and held it up to her ebony-dyed lips almost immediately. Her other hand quickly plunged into a satchel which was hanging off of her belt, removing the appropriate amount of money and setting it before Stalker. "Thanks," was the only thing she said before she downed a mouthful of beer, making it quite clear she was no novice when it came to drinking.

Once her mouth was free of booze, Keaton inclined her head towards Ardaron almost inquisitively, restraining a small hiccup. She rested the mug back on the counter in front of her. "Oh," Keaton played slightly with the handle of her mug, turning it this way and that absent-mindedly. "Well, I guess you could say I was in the neighborhood, and I heard this place had fighting..."

Keaton shrugged her shoulders loosely and rolled her eyes from behind her glasses. "I'm gonna come clean with it. I like fighting. I like fighting a lot. And it's been a while since I've blown off some steam, so I decided it wouldn't hurt to come here."

There. She said it, and in a reasonably casual, if flippant manner, as though she were discussing something as innocuous as the weather or the time. Then again, fighting was rarely treated seriously by Keaton, even after all her years of living and strict lectures from her parents and countless tutors. In some ways, it was just a game to her, weapons her toys, and most importantly, people her playmates.

Sometimes they could be treated as playthings, too, for breaking and crushing. Depended on how her mood swung at the time and although Keaton forged a reasonably casual, outgoing exterior, fighting was probably the time her darker side would emerge.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[TheGreyRonin]

The circle suddenly flashes with light, first white, then red. As the glare disappears, it reveals a tall person wearing a long, hooded black cloak. The only thing that can be seen of the wearer is a pair of human hands, clenched tightly into fists.

The figure steps out of the circle, then reaches up and pushes the hood back, revealing the face of a young man with green eyes and red hair cut in a short crew cut. He sweeps his narrowed eyes over the area for an instant that takes an hour, his jaw clenched tightly.

He steps to the nearest table and removes his cloak, pointedly ignoring the others in the bar. Underneath his cloak he is wearing a short-sleeved navy blue shirt that shows off his well-toned biceps, dark gray slacks, and black leather shoes.

He pulls a chair out and sits down facing the circle, his back to the rest of the bar, and starts casually cracking his knuckles.

"Syphon," Risky says as though she just drank something nasty. "Figured he'd show up sooner or later."

[Cogidubnus]

Cog picked up the random charms he had scattered about the arena and shook his head at the healer. "I'm quite alright, thanks." he said, before following Moira back into the bar.
The place was much livelier than it had been. He sighed to himself at the din, his ears a little sensitive, before settling back in his seat. Giles was grinning at him, and Cog scowled.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, next rounds on me..." he said, placing two silver coins on the counter.

[Stygian]

"Nano," Stephen answered to Risky, giving her one of those smiles that should have had him wearing a warning sign. Without further explanation, he began stuffing himself with his meal.
   Stygian though, did not seem overly happy. He eyed Cog in between emptying a glass of blood, and then made a short nod toward Stalker.
   "I'll have Scotch, if you have some proper," he said. Then, he set down his glass, and turned his face to Cog. "So," he asked, "why'd you hold back on me?" His face was one more of chill than dissappointment, but it was still there.
   In between all of this, both Stephen, Stygian and Moira shot the man walking in a quick glance, and then all disregarded him.

[Gareeku]

Looking at Stygian for a moment with a slightly suspicious expression on his face, Gareeku then looked up as he heard Stalker ask who was next to duel.
"Hmmm...might as well. Don't want to get rusty..." he muttered to himself with a slight smirk, before getting up and, with a nod of his head in greeting to the stranger who had just stepped out, stepped inside the circle and waited for anyone who would like to duel with him. Though he had taken his katana with him, the wolf was not fussed on whether the duel wold take place with armed or unarmed combat.

[Stygian]

The man with the armor, Stephen, had downed his meal in positively the fastest time that someone could possibly eat a healthy lunch, and quite a bit faster than that even. He was still munching when he got out of his seat, and headed outside the restaurant. With a quick stride he was at the circle and inside its border, and then turned and made a fluid bow against Gareeku.
   "With your permission, I'd like to try," he said, and made a somewhat sharp smile.

[Cogidubnus]

Cog slightly raised and eyebrow at Stygian's statement. "Hm?" he said, leaning back in his chair. "Hold back?"
He mused for a moment. "Did it occur to you sir that you may indeed be better than I?" he stared at Stygian from behind shaded lenses. "The skulls were clever. I couldn't possibly fight so many at once, and my only option left me...well..." he tapped his head. "Those waves of force take a physical toll. Too much can make you pass out. My vision was blurry before even before you hit my head." he reflected for a moment. "I perhaps did not...well..." he paused for a moment.
"It could also be possible, sir, I did not wish to sever your leg." he said, looking at nothing. He grinned. "Of course, I should be asking you the same question. The avatar of darkness kicks my head?" he said, almost chortling. "Come now. Don't tell me the only thing that occurred to you was closing to melee. Under any other circumstance, that would have been foolish indeed. And there was no way you could have known I was on the edge of passing out."