The Honor Circle Returns! (IC)

[Boog]

"Ah, the dead guy jokes. They never stop with the dead guy jokes," Saying that Richard grinned would have been redundant, but the twinge at the corner of his eyes was too steady to be a nervous tic. He still sounded mildly exasperated; he did get sick of the jokes, sometimes. "Just looking to acquaint myself with how this place works, get the hang of fighting in a circle. You seemed like a good choice to start with." He got the door for her as they made their way toward the circles, "After you, madam."

--

The Boogeyman set out the Guiness and mixed up Pal's vodka and Red Bull. "You're a braver man than I, this stuff could probably blister paint," he set out the resulting concoction with a thunk, "As stated, m'friend. You can challenge anyone here. Anyone at all. The challenger choses who they're fighting, when, and possibly why insofar as one can really choose why they do anything. The challenged picks where, what, and how. If the Where, What and How are not immediately avalable the circle you're in will provide one. Fighting outside the circles is discouraged and may be dealt with by the management. Pay what you think the services are worth, because we'll know if you think they're worth more. The rooms rent on a nightly basis, we provide free medical services, and any small unarmed children left unattended will be auctioned to the highest bidder." He smiled cheerfully, "Enjoy your time, preferably here but it's rather good advice to do so in general, and if you have any questions ask the jackass in the ratty tweed coat behind the bar."

[Stygian]

A loud snap of fingers from the other end of the counter alerted the Boogeyman to Stygian's impatience, and the thought entity was met with one of the man's typical cold looks once he decided to turn his eyes that way.
   'There were drinks here too, Boog', he said, eyes narrowing and an eyebrow creeping just a little upward at the same time. 'More specifically, a drink, for the lady.' Leaning back, the man flashed a look over to Sylvie under a blond bang. 'I don't know your taste, but as I said I'd guess something sweet.' Taking his own glass, he put it to his mouth and almost took a gulp, then seemed to change his mind and lowered it, looking thoughtful for a moment.
   'Another thing also. Speaking of children...' he said, then looked up at the Boogeyman. 'Do you have something to eat?'

[Cogidubnus]

 The wave of sound broke over the demon's shield like water on rocks, flowing around Dekuyaketh and over him, and wherever the almost visible vibrations touched, stone broke like glass and glass shattered as though hit with a hammer. Pieces of the stained windows raining down upon the both of them, and the dust of stones making it difficult to see, Laertes screamed out in frustration, his lips pulled back over his fangs in a vicious snarl.

"Just DIE, you godforsaken hellspawn!" the priest screamed, his attack spent. His right hand dripped blood onto the floor, the bones broken in one of his previous attempts to scythe the demon in half still sticking out past the skin. A few droplets pattered onto his boots in the sudden silence, the only sound the thrumming of the demon's electrical shield, and the dripping made the priest look down for a moment. The blood was becoming caked on the stone dust that now covered the both of them from head to toe.

"Make me thy arbiter, then, and allow me, O God, to justify thy ways..." the jackal suddenly said, seemingly to himself - he held up his broken hand, the bones twisted and the fingers crooked into a claw. He began to chant again, under his breath, and almost too faint to be seen, the appendage began to glow faintly blue - the flesh began to knit, and the bones shifted sickeningly, lumps underneath his skin reforming and binding back together in the proper places. His eyes grew wider, and a crazed glint suddenly overtook the golden orbs. They bored into Dekuyaketh's, and even the demonic feline, no stranger to insanity himself, found that stare a little off-putting.

Dekuyaketh suddenly found himself wondering what sort of church he was in, anyway - the gothic interior was certainly familiar, but the motifs and the imagery found everywhere was seemed nothing like any sort of church he had ever been in, anyway. The Scythe and Death seemed to be the main focus, along with images of Angels, and the great stained-glass window of Azrael looking down upon it all. Laertes continued chanting, and the temperature, already breath-freezing cold, dropped again. The Jackal himself seemed to illumine with a pale, blue light, and the air became as frigid as the grip of death itself. The chapel darkened, the white light from the outside and pillar of holy fire dying. The Jackal spread his wings, with feathers black as midnight, and behind them trailed wisps of ghostly azure. His scythe was suddenly in his hands again, although the demon could not remember the Jackal ever reaching for it, and the priest now glowed entirely with that pale light. Where before the priest had glowed golden with holiness, he seemed now lit by a different sort of sacred - the difference between the bright chandelier of a church hall, and the pale moonlight over a graveyard. 

The cold began to become painful, and with even his own breath frosting in the air, Laertes sprinted for Dekuyaketh, scythe whirling, and its obsidian blade drifting with that deathly blue. The demon suspected that there might be nothing in the world that edge could not cut, and in his other hand three rings that same light were entwining and glowing brighter.

* * *

The blackguard stopped at the edge of the circle, and stretching just a bit again belched - and yet again, the Blackguard's exhalation burned, and with the blue-tinge of a great deal of alcohol. It actually went on for several seconds, and afterwards the blackguard wiped his mouth, and standing up straight looked at the approaching, firey-haired girl. His eyes gleamed.
"So, you got any rules you'd like to put down, or you just want to go 'till you cry uncle, huh?"

[TheGreyRonin]

 Stepping outside, Risky looked chagrined. "And you're a gentleman. I'm sorry about the teasing; sometimes my sense of humor gets out of hand."
She glanced at the other circles for a second, then began inspecting the edges of the empty one. "I'm Mariska, by the way."

"Since this is a friendly fight," she said, emphasizing the word, "how does last person standing, no permanent death sound to you?" She tapped a few symbols and frowned slightly at the circle.

[Boog]

"Sounds fine to me," the zombie replied, rolling his shoulders with a crackling noise, "I'm Richard. Don't worry too much about the jokes, I get used to them." Besides, it'll make it less awkward to fight you. He was trying this on a whim; while saying Richard was usually an even tempered and nonviolent person would probably get you several individuals at your door eager to explain to the contrary, he didn't usually fight without provokation. This was an experiment for him; part as a thrill junkie, and part as a new way of pissing Marya off.
So far, it was working like a charm. He could hear the beastfolk grinding her teeth from there.

--

"Yeah, yeah, in a minute." Boog shrugged at Stygian as he reached under the counter for the other drinks. "Food's the same as the drinks; we have whatever you ask for, but the stuff I don't actually have the materials to prepare cost extra." Seeing as what concept entities largely ate was each other, one who knew Boog for what he was would probably be loath to try his cooking.

[Stygian]

The man chuckled. 'Well, you know that money's never been too much of a problem to me, Boog. Not like it seems to you', he said, perhaps a little pointedly but not condescendingly. 'Even though I don't want to consider what the market effects or the thermodynamics of this place say about leaving money here...' He chuckled, a bit bitterly. 'I've learned though, personally, not to question things like that anymore. Doesn't keep it from bothering the shit out of me sometimes though...'
   The man lowered his gaze and finally took that swig of his drink, then put the glass down silently while seemingly thinking. When he spoke again, he did so without looking up.
   'A couple of slices of steak, please. As fresh and raw as you can get them. Preferably a bit warm still', he said. 'Get me some blood in a glass as well, if you can't find anything juicy enough. Anything more visceral than that might offend the other patrons.'

[TheGreyRonin]

 Smiling softly as she entered the circle, Risky unsnapped the flap on her holster and gestured to Richard. "Come on in, the water's fine," she quipped.

[Angel]

Dani stepped into the Circle, twirling her polearm against her shoulder and watching the smoky evidence of the second flame fade.

"Let's see... keep going till one of us can't move or quits. Don't kill me, and I won't kill you. I'll try not to hit you in the face. ...Oh one other thing." Her expression took on a grain of firmness, as she added, "In the unlikely event that I fall asleep, don't call off the fight. Just kick me or something and I'll wake up. And don't take it personally, it's just a chemical reaction."

A second after it seemed she was done, a little light went on in her eyes. "Oh, shiz, I feel rude. I never got your name or gave mine." She gave a very slight bow, her smirk returning. "Danielle Sanders. Call me Dani."
---
Sylvie listened to Stygian's order, slightly grossed out but not showing it. At his remark about offending other patrons, a strangely thoughtful look went into her eyes.

"Actually, I'd be just as uncomfortable if you'd ordered a salad," she admitted. She finally got her drink, a can of carbonated apple juice, and thanked the Boogeyman. "This, however, doesn't bother me at all."

[Stygian]

Hm? Smartass comment. Sounds good. Let's return in kind then...
   'Oh? Indeed?' Stygian replied, turning his gaze to Sylvie and raising his eyebrows. 'What sort of heart would you be most appalled of me eating then? Human, or artichoke?' He narrowed his eyes and smirked a little. 'Let me ask you this; are people like you born, or do you grow in pods? Because if you do, there's this movie called "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" that I have to show you...'

[Angel]

Sylvie sighed halfheartedly and smiled, rolling her eyes at Stygian's response. "Y'know, up until two days ago, I'd never heard of science fiction. But once I found out about it, I knew someone was gonna make a joke like that eventually. We're born normally, but growing in pods sounds cooler, so let's go with that."

She sipped her apple juice and moved her eyes back to Stygian. "Can't say which meal I'd be more offended to see you eating, but I'm curious - does this bother you more than if I was drinking blood?" She indicated the can she was holding.

[Cogidubnus]

 "Giles Monterrey." the man said, turning and walking into the arena. "The Lord of Ashes."

The man's armored boots began to crunch beneath his feet, as though he was walking on small rocks or sand - and moments later, it was obvious that it was indeed the latter. Giles seemed to somewhat rise as he walked, the ground beneath him piling up with the small grains of rock as though poured a dozen gigantic hourglasses, the environment seeming to spontaneously grow hills and dunes of sand in but moments. Almost immediately, the entire environment looked like a desert - and yet another moment later, it felt like one too.

The sun began to somehow shine hotter upon the golden sands, and before long Dani could feel the heat pouring off the arena like heat from an oven, convection currents blowing her hair backwards, the heat become almost intolerable already. Giles reached the middle of his desert, and grinned back at the girl. He let his spear touch the ground, the red-hot spearhead sizzling softly in the sand.

"Well then, are ye ready?"

[Stygian]

'That's really not the right sort of question, all things considered, sweets', Stygian merely replied, looking down a bit and smirking. When he turned his gaze back up, Sylvie caught a brief glimmer in his eyes, even more than the usual. 'There's not a bit of displeasure in watching for me now, and there could hardly be unless you were to shove a handful of dirt in your mouth. What would be more appropriate to ask would be "do you enjoy seeing me drinking this more than blood". In which case, no, I don't.'
   Setting down his drink, emptied after another swig, Stygian took a pause, and fumbled at his pocket. He was not sure how Boog would take him smoking inside, after all. Really, the thought entity ought to have tolerated it, but somehow he got the feeling that he might deny him the pleasure just for the sake of it. So he let the cigarettes be. Instead, he looked a bit closer at Sylvie for a while. He seemed to be studying her with more intrigue now.
   'But it does make me curious', he then admitted. 'I was wondering whether if you would drink or eat anything made out of some other... living thing, at all.' He chuckled. 'Of course, some plants feed off other plants, but in your case... well... It would have been amusing to see someone who considered eating plants was murder, but who would happily consume animals, cute or human or otherwise.' The right side of his lips quirked up in a half-smile, as he looked her in the eyes a short bit. 'Then again, you don't look much like a carnivorous plant. Unless...' he said, then looked her over once again, head to toe and back to her eyes, '...there's something else I should know of?'

[Angel]

Dani could only watch, amazed, as sand piled up underneath Giles's feet - and she realized, her own. Within seconds, the battlefield had turned into a desert akin to an illustration from One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, the blackguard grinning at the Red amid the sand dunes. The sun beat down on her hotter than back home, and warm winds blew through her hair. She brushed a droplet of sweat from her forehead and smirked back at Giles.

"Thought you'd never ask," she replied, taking a few steps closer before twisting her glaive-like weapon into a defensive stance. "You can take the first strike."
---
Feeling simultaneously emboldened and nervous, Sylvie smiled and showed her teeth, licking her lips playfully. She didn't respond for a second, then she laughed quietly and spoke. "No, nothing like that. I don't even know if we can eat meat. Though that would be pretty ironic..." She unconsciously drummed her fingers on the can, eyes still on Stygian. "Theoretically, Greens probably don't need to eat, but stuff like this is all right as an occasional indulgence. Like you guessed, most of us love sweet things, and eating fruit is ethical as long as you don't kill the entire plant to get it."

She paused here, unsure whether to ask why the man needed blood. It seemed a bit too personal a question, even now... She glanced over her shoulder at the battlefield Giles had chosen. "At least the arena isn't on fire..." she said, still directing her comment at Stygian.

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

The bolt of electricity coalesced harmlessly over Sahlena as the machine expertly dodged it, quickly dissipating against the furthermost wall in a spectacular burst of red electricity. Amidst the rush of erubescent light, the almost blinding color suddenly corrupted in a manner quite similar to Keaton's earlier attacks, turning a deep, dark color, then disintegrating into a ring of blackened particles. Thousands of the swarming molecules siphoned in a thick stream, akin to a comet's tail, toward Keaton's mace as she raised it, whirling around to follow Sahlena's movements as dutifully as before. Fresh bolts were already lancing about Catastrophe's spikes, electrifying the very air.

Sahlena was moving incredibly fast, so this left Keaton to predict the machine's movements. It was a trial and error process, but she assumed it would work in this case. As Sahlena approached her, blade drawn, Keaton grit her teeth together and lashed out with Catatsrophe, swinging it in a wide arc. At least, she was hoping to effectively counter the android's advancement this way. If she could conclude this battle with at least something to show for it, even if she lost, she would be satisfied.

---

...Piix:

Piix seemed somewhat nonplussed at having her advice brushed off, but merely shrugged and redirected her attention to her woefully empty mug. "Suit y'rself, sweetums," she said to Dani, waving away at the girl.

In a momentary lapse of better judgment, Piix surmised that Giles would have enough restraint to not inflict any permanent disfigurement on the girl in the event that he did win. So she didn't think anything of when Giles departed with his new opponent, even waving to the blackguard before he stepped outside of the bar. Before she could start enjoying the match, she decided she needed a refill. Piix leaned over the bar and snapped her fingers to get the Boogeyman's attention.

"Yo! More Blue Xvarri, will ya?"

---

...Dekuyaketh:

In the face of the priest's absolute, scathing fury, all Dekuyaketh could do was hold his breath and try not to snicker. Infuriating adversaries would be the death of him, but he couldn't help but derive some twisted entertainment from watching Laertes squirm. Ultimately, Dekuyaketh allowed the slightest, demented charade of a grin to corrode his darkly beautiful features, his ivory cuspids glowing an eerie crimson in the dying light of his deactivating shield. Sustaining that protection was getting burdensome, as unwise as it was to lower his defenses around an incensed walking advertisement for the Lord Almighty. Dekuyaketh assumed it was better to not exhaust himself.

Especially when Laertes was reconstructing his broken hand, and preparing that scythe. Dekuyaketh's pupils pinpricked into sharpened slits. He hadn't noticed it before, but the surroundings were more ominous than Dekuyaketh had previously given them credit. What kind of fucked-up cathedral was this? Of course these weren't Gods distinguishable by any of the myriad religions and offshoots present on his planet, but even this was bizarre. Especially for a priest which came offering light. Dark-shrouded surroundings were hardly befitting of a man of God, Dekuyaketh could admit, but perhaps it was more in Laertes's nature than he had calculated.

Dekuyaketh saw Laertes's black-feathered wings, and narrowed his eyes, the mechanical duplicate seated over his right eye following suit. It was almost fascinating. He would have been curious, if it wasn't for the circumstances. Drawing the scythe back, Laertes rocketed toward Dekuyaketh, sweeping the great bladed weapon in an imperceptibly fast motion. Dekuyaketh barely registered his approach - he behaved entirely on instinct. Ordinary people would have easily been cleaved down by the blow, but Dekuyaketh, who was not only feline of blood and impulse, and trained in the mannerisms of the assassin, reacted instinctively. Ankle twisted against the hard marble floor, smearing a stunted crescent of dust against the impeccable surface, then spun back into place as Dekuyaketh's body twisted, wings bending inward and hair flaring about Dekuyaketh's features like a black-blood halo as he swiftly shunted himself back. The scythe bypassed him, lacerating the air mere microscopic centimeters away from his face, the scythe's very tip nicking the silver buttons festooning Dekuyaketh's red shirt together underneath his favorite black jacket. One of the expensive, gleaming buttons unraveled seamlessly from the latticework of thread, clattering against the floor.

Dekuyaketh didn't stop to savor the fact he was still of this mortal coil. Instead, he pumped his mechanical arm with a fresh deluge of energy, and swung his fist forward, attempting to mercilessly smash his knuckles into Laertes's face.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

Another large swing that went wide of Sahlena's figure, as she ducked to the floor with agility far beyond the natural, and swept her leg out at Keaton's to knock her off her feet. Was the girl learning anything? Spinning on a hand, the machine turned on a dime and flipped upside down, her foot aimed perfectly forward. If her former attack had succeeded, the jackal would receive that iron-hard sole to the head, and likely be knocked out. But she might have dodged or maneuvered herself cleverly, in which case it would more likely hit her in the stomach or go past her. It was a rather linear attack, anyway, that might move her into a prone position, the machine thought, momentarily concerned that she might be giving the jackal a bit of an easy time. But for the moment, Keaton seemed a bit too slow to put the mechanical woman off.

- -

Stygian didn't really look at the location of the fight between Giles and Dani. He wasn't that concerned with the matter, really.
   'Like it matters', he commented. 'Unless your friend happens to have some very well-concealed trick up her sleeve...'
   Stygian stopped, bit down his teeth, and closed his eyes, shaking his head. He could conceal his nature almost perfectly, so why then assume that Dani couldn't be anything more than she appeared to be? Oh, there was the fact that he had smelled her, of course, and been able to feel both the warmth of her body and her heartbeat. His senses were quite hard to fool. But there was still the possibility. And more significantly, there were far more who relied on extraordinary tools or skills than inherent powers to deal with their foes. Not that he had seen many such people who would have been able to successfully deal with someone like Giles in a fair battle, but...
   'What does she do, by the way?' he asked the elf, after a short pause, then looked her in the eyes. 'I know she might just be foolhardy, but with a weakness like hers, there should be something that makes her at least a little confident she can fight a guy like him.'

[Boog]

Richard slipped his fireaxe out of his belt and hefted it near the end of the handle, letting the heavy head swing freely near his ankle. He stepped into the circle with Risky and crouched into a defensive posture as the rules she had set took hold...
Marya ground her teeth and took another swig of her drink.

--

Boog set out the various patrons meals and turned his gaze to the fights outside. Y'know, job like this can grow on ya...

[Angel]

Sylvie was a bit surprised at that question - but then, Reds weren't very widespread. Even so, he didn't think red eyes and scar-shaped birthmarks were common, did he? Especially on humans...

"Well, she's inborn with magic, like me, but hers is a different kind." She felt a little like she shouldn't be saying this, but it was a valid question, and there wasn't much chance Dani would end up succeeding at what she was trying to do. "Her people are infused with chaos magic. If you find out how to trigger it and learn how to use it, it's one of the most powerful forms of magic in the world."

She glanced sidelong at the window, then looked back at Stygian. "But the problem is, it wouldn't be chaos magic if people could control it."

[Stygian]

Stygian just raised his eyebrows, then cast a quick glance toward the circle outside. 'Oh', he said. 'I see. Quite unpredictable.' He refrained from stating anything else obvious, and frowned, before turning back. 'Not the sort of power that I would opt for, had I a choice... I like to know my own abilities closely.'
   For a moment, as he sat there, one hand on the counter and his face nearly blank, Sylvie thought she saw his eyes go dark, a movement hinting under his skin. It lasted no longer than she could look closer though, at which point he sighed and rolled his neck a bit, looking as indifferent as anything.
   'Well, anything that you can't quite understand or predict is far more likely to hurt or kill you, is what I'm saying. I don't advocate safety above all; that was a mistake people learned not to make too often already in the 21st century...' he said, after a pause, sounding as if the elf should have known or should have been able to guess what he was saying already, or perhaps that it didn't matter much. 'And of course, in my line of work, you learn that safety is perceived, while knowledge and predictability are vital.' But if he was trying to give her clues as to his occupation, he was being quite vague.

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

Keaton cursed loudly as Sahlena evaded her first swing, quickly withdrawing Catastrophe and readying it for another blow. Before she could truly prepare herself, however, Sahlena was striking back at her like a cobra, lashing her leg out and around. There was no tactical maneuvering on Keaton's part - all she could do was rely completely on instinctive reactions, honed from her experience as a warrior. Unfortunately, given the speed of Sahlena's attack, this wasn't enough. One sweep of Sahlena's leg and Keaton felt herself buckle as she suddenly lost balance, as though the floor beneath her had been yanked away. The heavy impact of her back against the floor reaffirmed the fact that the floor was still present.

Before Keaton could recuperate, she saw Sahlena's foot incoming. Keaton yelped and quickly tried to twist herself out of the way - she knew very well that if she endured a blow to the head, she would be knocked unconscious; at the least disoriented. No matter what, sustaining any damage to her head would impede her, even if she wasn't incapacitated. Keaton moved fast enough - she didn't receive the attack to the head. Sahlena's foot, however, smashed her right in the stomach. Keaton let out a short scream of pain, the sound cutting off abruptly as she coughed up a large, ichorous gout of blood. In the same movement, she lashed out with quicksilver speed, motivated mostly by agony, and tried to administer a crushing blow to Sahlena's body with Catastrophe.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[TheGreyRonin]

 Water began pouring into the circle, materializing from the edge with no apparent source. Within an eyeblink, the edge had expanded, becoming a horizon in all directions.

At the same time, the ground beneath both Richard and Risky humped slightly, forming into two sandy piles that grew into islands, each roughly twenty feet across. Deep blue ocean water surrounded both, while a shallower stretch that appeared to be only about five feet deep seperated both islands by roughly fifteen feet.

A single twenty-foot tree palm tree laden with coconuts appeared on each island, and the light brightened to morning sun. Risky nodded her approval as she drew her pistol and checked the clip.

"It's not New Eden, but it's close," she said, and fired at Richard's left knee, the gun making a high-pitched chirp! sound.

[Boog]

With a curse that could blister paint Richard lunged out of the way. She hadn't picked an easy battleground for him; with her firing from across that water he was starting the fight as a sitting duck.
He had no intention of finishing the fight that way.
Richard rushed into the water and dived, letting the weight of his axe and the water rushing into the occasional still-open damage carry him to the bottom. He started walking toward Risky's little island, axe in hand...

[TheGreyRonin]

 "I wondered if you could actually swim or not," Risky commented to Richard as he waded towards her. "Looks like you make do."

She adopted a classic shooter's stance, feet apart and braced, pistol gripped firmly in her left hand with her right hand bracing her wrist. She squeezed off two shots, angled towards his left shoulder just under the waterline.

[Cogidubnus]

 Giles simply grinned at the girl, his gleeful smile filled with a bit more than simple mirth, and his eyes took on a dangerous gleam. The blackguard chuckled, almost giggling under his breath, and cracked his neck suddenly. The manic grin still plastered on his face, he stretched backwards, raising his arms and lifting even the spear over his head as he seemed to limber up, and then like a coiled spring snapped forward, slamming the butt of his spear into the sand. Fire billowed out in a circle, dissipating quickly, but some of it billowing back towards the blackguard himself.

He shook his head, and shifting his spear to one hand, began to slam it back into the sand again and again, and in time with the spear he began to stomp an armored foot - sand was flung outwards from the man as he did so, and up his body more and more flames began to spiral, wreathing the man in fire. Every moment that went by, more and more fire began to pile up, until he was covered in it, only a shadow in flames.

He laughed, and extended a black fist, sent fire spiraling towards the strange-looking human girl, the flames dancing and moving as it ate up the distance between them.

* * *

Overextended, Laertes's simply had no time to recover. Dekuyaketh's punch was a thing of beauty to see, the sort of punch that can inspire awe and closed, grimacing eyes alike, a bone-shattering sort of blow that can kill almost as easily as knock someone out. Laertes was lifted up off the floor as the demon's haymaker connected, and blood spewed from the jackal's mouth as the mechanical fist mercilessly broke bones and teeth alike. The only thing that might have saved the priest was the prescience about him at that moment, the hushed, deathly ward that lent him strength. It was this alone that kept him from being knocked unconcious, from letting pain overwhelm him. The Jackal still had one trick up his sleeve, of course...

His left hand, the one with three interlocking rings of blue light, snapped up as the jackal fell, attempting to grab the demon's mechanical arm. Thee concentric rings of azure glowed in anticipation, glittering with an edge just as deadly as the scythe the jackal had just dropped...

[Mel Dragonkitty]

As Mel stared at the thing she had attached to the ceiling two sections lit up, showing the two newly engaged fights. "Good. It works." She stared at it for a minute longer. "What do you think, Boog? Should the images be bigger?"

[Boog]

Boog looked up at the resulting device critically. He liked the overall design. His gaze flickered from one displayed fight to the other and back.
"Mebbe a bit, or some sorta feed to the tables. Work out the kinks later though, it's fantastic." He grinned, "Probably shouldn't have said that aloud, huh? Bargaining with an Icewing, all that." He was teasing, yes, but they WERE information brokers.

--

Richard couldn't make out what Risky said before a needle skimmed his arm, the second soon following and damaging the muscle slightly. If it weren't for the water distorting the light throwing off Risky's aim, it probably would have taken the arm out of commission. The water was slowing him down too much. He crouched further down on all fours, trying to reduce water resistance and use his arms to propel himself just a little faster. His frenzied pace kicking up vision-obscuring sand, the zombie finally rose out of the water at Risky's island in a low-to-the-ground charge, axe at ready. Now for the fun bit...

[Angel]

Dani waited, every muscle taut, for Giles to attack. But rather than attack her right away, he created easily the most powerful "shield" she'd ever seen an opponent use - he surrounded himself in flames until she couldn't make out his features anymore amid the deadly orange blaze. She had faced people with immense power before, but she'd never seen anyone survive being swathed in fire - let alone use such a situation to their advantage like that. Okay, so maybe giving him the first strike wasn't such a good idea...

A whirling jet of fire shot right for Dani. She swore sharply and, quickly pitching her weapon out of harm's way, dove to the side. She rolled once to break her fall, then grabbed her glaive and jumped up, harshly wiping sand away from her eyes. Let's see... run up and tackle him, get burned and severely hurt. Slice him from a distance, my baby gets burned and I'm left without a weapon...

A second later, she reached a compromise. Her face stony with focus, she dropped into a low run, heading straight for Giles. A moment before she reached him, she choked up on her weapon so the dull edge of the blade was against her arm, then she lashed out at the man's legs with first her blade and arm, and then a low kick, keeping her movements quick to avoid damage from the flames.

[Stygian]

Seeing as how Sylvie didn't pick up on that line of conversation, a fact that he didn't know whether if he should be relieved or disappointed about, Stygian shifted the subject of conversation immediately.
   'So, I guess my next question will be "what do you do for a living then?", even if that might seem...' he began, then shrugged a little and gave the elf a faint smile. 'Well, I'd say it sounds boring, but you never know. Some people are really into their occupation. Not that what I really mean to say isn't "what made you come here", actually.'

- -

The hard, crunching sensation as her weapon finally struck home at last rewarded Keaton with at least some hope that this fight could be fought, instead of just endured. She heard a metallic sound from Sahlena, almost like a yelp; a distinctly un-machine-like thing. Her triumph didn't last long though. The machine spun and kicked out viciously, flipping and staggering backwards, one metallic hand clutching at her leg.

[Angel]

It wasn't quite that Sylvie hadn't picked up on the previous hint Stygian had dropped. She just wasn't sure what to ask. But then he changed the topic quickly enough that she didn't decide.

"What made me come here... boredom, I guess. For almost a year, my life was all danger and near-death experiences. I took six months of quiet to balance it out, then I got bored of the quiet. As for my occupation, well, the answer's more boring than the question. Back home, I protected our forest from potential threats, and currently, I don't really have a job." Halfway hoping that that was answer enough, she looked Stygian in the eyes. "And you? What do you do for a living?"

[TheGreyRonin]

 Watching as Richard ducked underwater, Risky nodded. "Sound tactics; if he's a beginner, he knows what he's doing," she thought to herself.

She holstered her pistol, and took three running steps forward, aiming carefully. As her opponent came out of the water, her right foot whipped up at his forehead in a powerful stop-kick, hoping to stun him.

[Stygian]

The shortness of the elf's response worried Stygian, as soon as he heard it. She's certainly not being detailed, he thought, and that means that she's likely bothered by the question. And here I was hoping to lead the conversation onto her... Women love talking about themselves and their dreams, so I am probably very much in the wrong field here... How was he going to make this go smoothly? It seemed as if his talk was just tiring the woman.
   'Oh, I do horrible things', he said, stating it in an unconcerned way that gave off the impression that he didn't really think of it that way, or that he didn't really think of it at all. 'Murder, espionage, infiltration... Not the nicest of things, but it pays well. And it matters.' Saying something like that might have been one of the worst things he could do, but if things were going to be that way, keeping himself short just as she had was all he could come up with. 'If you do it the right way, it's not as bad as it might sound either...'