The Honor Circle Returns! (IC)

[SpottedKitty]

In hindsight, Andrace supposed she was lucky that she was facing away from the pool when Bas's spell detonated. There was a deep, resonating thud, and a titanic splash, and the lioness yowled as the backwash from the towering column of spray flipped her over and sent her tumbling for several yards until she smacked into the side wall of another taller platform. She coughed up some water, shook her head, decided that was a bad idea, and pulled herself to her hands and knees. Somehow she'd held on to her weapons, and managed not to chop her own head off or stab herself where the sun didn't shine in that wild tumble. She had so many aches and pains she didn't immediately realise she now had matching slashes in both ears.

Andrace rose to her paws, staggering a little from dizziness and her injured paw-pad. The pool was empty, all the water was now splashed over the surrounding platforms. On the other side of the ex-pool, she spotted Bas huddling behind a magical shield as well as his physical one. He seemed to be healing the stab to the gut she'd given him. She'd need to change her tactics again — just attack. Attack, and attack, and attack, and don't give him time to relax or he'd start healing himself all over again.

She took a deep breath and began to stalk around the edge of the pit. The soaking she'd just got had washed away some of the stains, but she knew she must still look a mess: blood in her hair from her slashed ears, more blood soaking into her fur and trickling down her leg from the stomach wound, and a trail of left paw-prints marked in red behind her. She kept her pace slow, both to help her footing on the slippery rock, and to help disguise the limping caused by her paw injury. She didn't stop or slow down, though, and her eyes remained fixed on the Demon's face with a cold, implacable expression. This was still only a friendly match, but she had no intention of losing just because she wasn't intending to kill Bas.

Time for some... less conventional tactics. Part of Andrace's training had included certain skills not usually mentioned in glossy brochures or newspaper adverts. Great-Aunt Enyo had taught her and her sisters and brothers well, even if the dreadful old tigress had terrified all of them, even Zoe, more than once to the point of needing a change of underwear after her lessons and practical exercises in "Studied Frightfulness". This was easier to pull off if there was a surplus minion handy to make a brutally sudden and gory example out of, but she was adaptable. There was more than one way to skin a Mythos, as her mother sometimes said.

As she paced steadily closer, the lioness smiled. Then she laughed, a low, throaty sound that was as humourless as her expression. Her ragged ears and trimmed whiskers twitched alertly, and her tail-tuft flicked at the backs of her hocks as she walked. "Silly puppy," she said with a malevolent tone in her voice, "d' y' think y're up against just any ol' Bein' girl wi' a bucket o' weapons? We're Kithara. We've been dealin' wi' nuisancy Creatures f'r a while — even you might call it a long time. Plain bandits? We eat 'em f'r breakfast. 'Cubi? Mythos? Any of 'em misb'have, we get hired t' take 'em in... or take 'em down. Rogue Angels, mebbe th' odd Demon...?" Andrace's grin widened, and she licked her whiskers suggestively.

"B'sides, I promised I'd not kill y' — but I didn't say what else I'd not do." Her grin wasn't just humourless now, it seemed positively diabolic, and her voice became almost playful. "I c'ld stab y' a few more times, that won't kill y'... right away. Mebbe chop a couple bits off — an ear, say, or y' muzzle, or one o' those pesky horns. None o' that'd kill y'. Mebbe even snip off somethin' we'd both regret..." At that last statement, her gaze dropped briefly from the Demon's face, to a somewhat lower level, and she snickered. "Th' clinic round back o' th' inn got a real good doctor, I'm sure he'd patch y' back t'gether again, no matter what I do t' y'. 'Cause, after all, I ain't gonna kill y'... prob'ly..."

Andrace had barely hesitated as she stalked around the pit towards Bas, hopping down and scrambling up over different heights of platforms. It had been tricky, though, hiding just how much her injuries bothered her. Now she was only one short drop of a few feet away from joining him on the same platform.

[Lisky]

As soon as the lioness had crawled to the top of the adjacent platform Bas moved his left hand from casting, back into the shield's arm-strap, gripping the handle while preparing for another round.  The lionesses toothless smile was a growing concern for the large demon while hopping up and showing very little sign of the injury to his belly.  A slight stutter step, as he moved to be  out of easy pounce range when she reached the edge of the raised platform.  Eye's transfixed on the lioness, his eyes narrowed at first, and a look of concern grew across the demon's lips. 

It was rare for a being to be either arrogant enough to challenge a demon, even rarer for them to have the ability to back it up.  Bas had fared well against many such youth.  However, his concern was gone as a vicious snarl and deep cackling laugh replaced his previous look, "Foolish little girl, you assume you're fighting some young and restless demon, one who arbitrarily slaughters for the sake of proving themself worthy of their race.  Have you heard of the Slaughter at Elenoan's Field? It happend not too long ago... 19 trained adventurers set an ambush, wrangle a winged indiviual into their trap... they squared off against a lone individual.  There are 19 being bodies that have been buried at that site, 7 of them were petrified alive... I know... i was the one put them down."

A very toothy, predatory grin parted the demon's lips as his right hand gave off the oily shimmering mist.  "You might enjoy cutting, and slashing your targets to death... Works well enough, and makes resurrections a bitch... Personally, I prefer dealing death in a more spectacular fashion, Ms. Kithara." 

The predatory grin grew into a snarl as the demon had his spell prepared... "Removing of my anatomy is fanciful thinking, especially when it is your own that you should be watching!"

He moved his right hand as if he were throwing a small knife.   A massive blade, at it's largest, it would appear to be as large as the lioness was tall, and appearing to be something akin to an over-sized blender blade, flipped vertically.  It tumbled end over end as it flew strait towards the lioness.  The blade trailed an oily cloud behind it as it bled off energy.  Although it's line of movement was perfectly straight,  the end-over-end tumble seeming to slow a bit as it grew closer, as well as the speed the blade was traveling.

Bas had prepared 2 spells while the lioness had been making her way around the now empty pool, the first was heading straight for her face.  The second appeared in Bas's hand.  A sword, shorter than Andrace's own, yet still dangerously long (about 4') appeared in the demon's right-hand.  The jet black weapon was very similar to a western style saber, slightly curved, and clearly double-edged.   Bas was following the blade in, his hop-jog movement from the beginning of the fight having returned.  His shield was loosely guarding his body... Bas was moving in for the finally of this fight.  His eyes were locked onto the lioness's, and his entire body seemed to move with casual confidence.

[Angel]

"Y'r gunn' hab s'm - *gulp* - have some trouble finding a fight, I think," Dani interjected at the winged wolf, swallowing a mouthful of mint-chocolate-chip ice cream. "Though it's incredibly amusing and challenging to fight someone after a few beers, or so my experience at a correctional facility tells me." Sylvie, who had a small dish of untouched ice cream in front of her as well, glanced over at this.

"Wait, was THAT why Johansen bothered me on my first day? He smelled bad enough to be drunk."

"No, Syl, that would be because he was a jerk and you're exotic-looking," the Red answered without hesitation. "Speaking of things exotic..." she added, turning back to the wolf, "what exactly are you, sir? No offense, but nothing like you exists where I come from."

[Arroyo Milori]

Arroyo stumbled a bit as he was struck. He held his head a bit, looking down. "Of course. Anyone who plays with the mind would rather talk than fight..." He remained poised, keep a firm stance with his sword. " but tell me, are you thirsty?" He plucked a canteen off his sash and smiled a bit. "Scenery like this tend to make me a bit thirsty, probably because of the atmosphere."

[Paladin Sheppard]

Azshanas's eyes narrowed as a look of frustration settled on her face.  She then looked back at her own drink, grabbed it, and quickly downed it.  "Fine then.  I will leave you alone to your drinking."  Azshanas said slamming her bottle back down on the counter as she got up from her stool and started walking away.  However she turned back towards Paladin not five paces away and looked at him with a slight grin and a bit of a sway in her stance.  "You know, I have slowly become interested in how these rings work.  If your not too busy drinking, perhaps you could show me what the deal is?"  She said in an almost taunting fashion.  "I'll even give you something to shoot for, loser buys next round?"

Paladin tipped back his head and laughed at Azshanas. "Lass, ye're barely a tenth of my age. I'm surprised SAIA even let ye out, and aye I know what ye are, ye Mindshield needs work. Go along and play with someone more likely to give ye a decent battle."

With that he laughed again and took another swig of his beer.

[Dekari]

Azshanas stood there for a moment, no longer  a sway in her stance, her act had been called.  Normally anyone else would be upset by this, but Azshanas seemed more happy than anything else.  She cupped her hands in front of her mouth as though in prayer and took a deep breath.  "Thank you."  She said to Paladin with a sigh of relief and looking as though she might start to cry.  She wiped her eyes and sighed again as she sat back down next to Paladin with a smile on her face.

"I'm actually relieved you saw through that act.  It means that the past two years I've spend in isolation at Far Reach fighting the dark entity that has been fused to my soul have not been in vain and I may actually be on the path to being able to seal it away forever."  She said while reaching into her jacket and pulling out a hand full of bright red gems of different sizes.  "Would you mind grabbing me that bottle over there?"  Azshanas said pointing at a one pint bottle of a semi transparent green liquid on a shelf behind the bar after putting 3 of the larger gems on the bar top.  "Now that the test of myself is done and over with, how about we start over?  Also, what's this SAIA place?  I'm guessing it's something from your world, because there is no such place by that name on the world I'm from."

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace's expression became grim when the canine Demon made his boast. She'd heard of that incident, it had been featured in an old copy of "Adventurer's Gazette" she'd read a year or so ago. If Bas wasn't just trying to break her nerve, if he hadn't just read the same magazine, if it really had been him... Later. For now, she still wasn't going to kill him.

She jumped down the last little bit onto the same level as Bas, shuddering for a moment as the move sent pure agony through her left leg from claw-sheaths to groin. It took a fraction of a second to realise what she was seeing when his summoned blade came tumbling towards her, then there was only time to throw herself to the ground and think flat thoughts. Not quite enough: the lioness felt a tug at the back of her shirt, and a shallow but messy slice opened up running down her left shoulderblade and back ribs.

Ow. Damn. Hurts, Andrace thought as she rolled awkwardly to a kneeling position, then stood up. She was painfully familar with the feel of blood running down her spine. The torn and slashed remnants of her shirt, slit open at the back, hung loosely from her shoulders, showing things underneath it. Not just blood-smeared fur, a number of small metallic things, many with sharp pointy edges, attached to straps and fittings the lioness wore under her clothes.

Andrace realised she'd dropped her knife, and there was something not quite right with her left arm, she couldn't grab the knife again. She ignored that, pushed the pain of her injuries to the back of her mind, and began to lumber forward. This had to be the final effort, despite her bravado she knew she had practically nothing left in reserve. A low growl, full of the promise of brutally sudden mayhem, rumbled deep in her chest.

As she came up to a limping run, she scraped together the dregs of her meagre magical talent and tossed a cluster of tiny spells right at her opponent's face. Almost all of them were flash spells, like the last time. One, trailing behind the others and the only carefully aimed projectile, was a fire spell. Pitifully weak, barely as hot as a struck match. But unless Bas changed his attack pattern, it would skim over the rim of his shield and go off either inside his open mouth or right beside his muzzle. It wouldn't really cause any damage, or even hurt all that much, but it should do an excellent job of distracting Bas from what she was about to try...

There was nothing wrong with her right arm: as her growl rose in volume to a defiant roar, she brought her sword up for a full strength overhead strike, aiming to parry or simply batter the Demon's own weapon out of line. If she could get a chance to kick — with her right paw, please — at Bas's shield or line up her sword for a counter-thrust, all the better.

[Lisky]

As the blade came closer and nicked Andrace across the back, Bas barely managed to hold back an apologetic look and chocked down the urge to shout 'Sorry'.  While he did feel bad, amends could be made after the fight.  For now, his goal was simple, get her to surrender, or deliver a stunning blow.  Either would work, but the wake-up from a stunning blow might lead to unnecessary bloodshed.

Andrace's litany of spells were cast in haste, and most were poorly aimed, Bas either sidestepped, blocked, or flat-out ran into the hail of minor annoyances.  The one he hadn't been watching for was the one that could have been fatal.  A small bulb of fire, horrendously weak, and hardly worth acting on, caught him on the very end of the nose, the small puff of smoke, however, caused a very real, and uncontrollable tickle to his nose, followed by a powerful sneeze with the lioness nearly on top of him.  Reacting with all the energy he could muster in those brief moments, the demon tried to bring his own blade to perry, while trying to get the shield in a proper position to block.  Had he reacted perhaps a 10th of a second either way, the results would have been far different.

Bas found his right wrist crushed into a horribly painful contortion, while his left arm gave him dull notice that something very sharp had touched his armored flesh, and still drawn blood.  The lioness's very long, and vicious blade was sandwiched between the inside of his shield, and edge of his own sword.

With a flash of bared teeth, the demon growled at Andrace, "A lucky shot, but it seems that's run out too."

In a motion designed to torque Andrace's wrist to alleviate his own's pain, Bas Pushed with his right hand, pulled with his left, then leaned his torso away from the lioness, in the same motion, a very large, a very sharply clawed foot lashed out in a sweep kick, aimed for the lioness's midsection.  Bas was trying to hook her across the waist, and perhaps drag her to the ground with his claws.

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace would have laughed with delight if she hadn't been so busy trying not to get hurt too much more. She'd plinked a few noses — whatever she'd actually been aiming at — with her mini fire spell, but she'd never made anyone sneeze before. Her wrist twinged from the recoil when Bas did his counter-parry, then her sword stuck fast somewhere down the back of his shield. She winced when the Demon tried to twist it, that put even more strain on her wrist. She saw an opportunity, though, and grabbed for it.

The lioness shifted her grip on her sword hilt, pulled herself up with another boost from a one-legged jump, and planted her good paw on the big round metal boss in the middle of Bas's shield, hooking her claws on the rivets for a more secure grip. She yelped and almost let go and fell flat on her back when something — possibly a kick from the Demon's claws — cut into her dangling left leg. The sudden extra pain made her dizzy for a moment, and now she could feel even more blood running down her leg. But she wasn't going to give in now: the thought that she might have been gutted if she'd still been standing on the ground only added to her determination.

Andrace knew she only had moments left to act before the Demon tried something else. She hooked her nearly useless left arm over the rim of the shield, let go of her sword hilt, which was still firmly jammed, reached down and drew her other long knife from its hidden sheath on her right thigh. She bared her fangs in a hissing snarl, lunged up and over the rim of the shield, thrust the knife forward —

And stopped. She was dizzy from blood loss, and beginning to tremble with shock, but her right arm was solid as a rock. The point of her knife was barely a claw's length from Bas's left eye. "Y' know," she said in an almost pleasant tone, "some folks say a Demon c'n armour an' harden any part o' his body, even th' squishy bits on th' inside. Some folks say it's just his skin. Me, I dunno. How 'bout we find out? Surrender." The last word came out as a flat, expressionless statement of the futility of resistance rather than a request, and it had an unspoken "or else" tagged on after it. Her arm wasn't fully extended: unless she fell off, she had easily enough reach to probe with her knife at the back of Bas's skull... on the inside.

[Lisky]

The sudden weight on his shield was the first clue of trouble.  Bas had held back a bit on the kick, he'd made sure he hadn't disemboweled the lioness, and that holding back had cost him, dearly.  His toe claws raked along her leg as she clambered along his shield surface.  The sudden release of force from the lioness's blade had thrown him off balance, even more so than the weight added on his left shoulder and arm.

His thoughts barely recognized what he was seeing with the knife-point was a hair's breadth from his eye's outer surface.  Before Bas could do anything, the island faded from existence.  The tone the lioness had used, combine with her position had clearly signaled that, whatever else happened, death would have been imminent.

He let out a soft chuckle as he started leaning back from the pressure on him.  "It seems you've won mi'lady, and i think we're both a little worse for wear to get here...Why don't you put down the pointies now?"

The sword he'd held dissipated, and she shield in which Andrace had been positioned atop of also disappeared.  "looks like we can both use a little healing... and after that, i believe I owe you a drink, Andrace."  Bas added with a smirk.

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace just managed to get her good leg under her when Bas's shield vanished and dumped her to the ground. Her landing was a little unsteady, arms and tail waving about wildly, but she didn't quite fall over. The island of rock columns had vanished. "I won?" she said. "So, I don't get t' find out which bits o' y' body y' c'n harden? Awww..." Her plaintive question might have sounded innocent enough (to a carefully chosen audience), but her wicked smile and throaty chuckle had been banned in three countries and declared anathema in at least one religion for "sounding like way too much fun".

The lioness slipped her knife — carefully, she didn't want to add to her injuries now the fight was over — back into its concealed sheath, limped forward and draped her good arm over the Demon's shoulder. "Yeah, a drink sounds good. What th' hell, y' did pretty good y'self, Wolkshammer. In a real fight, not a fair 'un, y' might've been a good challenge f'r m' baby sister. Now, let's gather up all m' weapons I dropped, get back inside an' get ourselves patched up b'fore I fall down on m' snout. All right f'r folks wi' magic t' burn on healin' spells, that last stunt cleaned me out, an' I'm startin' t' really hurt here."

As proof of that last, Andrace's voice was more strained as the adrenalin rush of combat faded. Her grip on Bas's shoulder tightened, with her claws twitching in and out as increasing waves of pain ran up and down her body, and she was putting more of her weight into leaning against him. She was cut, bleeding, bruised, possibly a little concussed, soaking wet, with wrenched muscles in places she'd not thought about since she'd studied feline anatomy. But she'd won.

[Lisky]

Bas felt the lioness plant an arm on his shoulder, applying a little weight and starting to feel very unstable to the demon. He was watching the wounds carefully as she continued to apply a bit more weight and started to feel a bit of bite from her claws.  "Yeah, you're not looking so good Ms. Kithara... Hold still a moment, please and then we'll get you inside."

Gently moving his right hand down to gashed across her belly, Bas applied some light pressure and focused his magic into healing.  Closing split blood-vessels, sealing muscle tears, and closing up the claw marks across her belly's flesh. His attention was focused on his work, as Bas slid his hand down to the nasty cuts along the lioness's leg. Again, applying light pressure for a few moments while focusing on his task as his hand gave off a very very low heat.
While healing with his right hand, his left hand had summoned a small dark cloud, which swept over the circle, collecting the various bladed implements that had been used and left to stand durning the fight.  As the little cloud returned with all the gear littered about the area, the demon gave the adventure a smug smile, and added with a bit of a playful chortle, "Hopefully that's a little better.  If your still in pain... "  

As he started to move into position under her arm, he noted the much deeper looking slice, made from the shadowy pinwheel-blade.  Healing that as well, he added a quick cleaning and drying spell, then moved back under Andrace's arm as he pulled her towards the bar.  "First rounds are on me, mi'lady... but after that, i hope you're ready to pay your fair share..."

Hiding his own pain in his walk, Bas rather stealthily began healing his own wounds as he lead the way to the bar.  When he reached the front, he'd felt the last of the itching and tingling stop.  He opened the door with a bow, looking for keaton as he waited for Andrace to enter.  "Ladies first, Ms. Kithara"  He added with a sardonic smile.

[Paladin Sheppard]

"Ahh ye aren't a Furrae 'cubi then...Or maybe you are and ye ancestors settled there at some point, by accident or design." Pal said as a tentacle reached over and acquired the indicated bottle.

He also managed to snag a glass, and after setting it down in front of Anshanas poured some of the bottle's contents into it without needing to look.

"SAIA, or The Succubus and Incubus Academy, is a place of learning for 'cubi. Most students don't leave until they are around their 400th year or so although this is not a requirement or mandatory."

[Dekari]

"Hmmm..."  Azshanas looked at the liquid in her glass with a hesitant look as she swirled it around in the glass.  The liquid was slightly thicker than she had expected.  After a moment she closed her eyes and downed the green liquid.  She then opened her eyes in surprise after swallowing, "Mmm, fruity."  She commented to herself while pouring another glass full.

"So, it appears that you only think you know what I am based on what you know of your own kind."  Azshanas paused to take a sip of her drink.  "Actually, at this time I would expect you to speak of yourself some seeing as the balance of knowledge is still tipped in your favor with knowing more about me than I you, all be it that most of the information I think you may know about me is now proven to be false.  But seeing as you haven't run me off after what I attempted to pull, I guess I'm obligated to tell you the truth."  Azshanas idly played with the glass that held her drink while contemplating where to begin in her explanation.

"I'm actually from a planet by the name Danu and what you refer to be the 'cubi race was the archetype for the creation of my race.  Other than having some similar racial abilities, I have no real connections to your race or your planet.  My kind is referred to as the Faolchú Dorcha.  That is both our racial designation and our adopted clan name."  She paused in her explanation and looked at Paladin.  "Now, should I just keep going and detail the entire 700 years of my races existence or are their any specifics you would like to know?  And better yet, perhaps you could enlighten me with some info about yourself."

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

He had been briefed about the Fraying, as his commanders had called it. His prison was formed out of nothing less than the fabric of the Pattern, and as he started to touch the world, it was almost inevitable that reality , especially reality around the Pit of Doom, would start to founder and crack.  They had talked about men vomiting beetles, of the ground turning to nothingness before you, of meat going rotten an hour after the cow was slaughtered.

Somewhere, they had forgotten to mention the headache.

He could tell he was sitting, a rough wall of some sort against his back, eyes squeezed shut against the sensation of his forehead trying to part like reeds being shoved by a duck's passage. It wasn't corresponding to any real injury, a head wound like what his skin was reporting would have killed him instantly,  but that knowledge was a cold comfort against the blind, dumb insistence of his screaming flesh.

Off to his left, he could smell alcohol, and the touch of familiarity gave him enough strength to crack his eyes open into slits. The place was not hugely well lit, but it was more than enough illumined to reveal upright animals, talking and drinking like men, in what seemed to be a bar of some sort.

Still trying to get his bearings, Corgatha leaned back against the wall he found himself adjacent to, and tried to get his bearings.

[SpottedKitty]

Despina had just come back in with Witt when she noticed something she really ought to have spotted earlier: the old wolf who looked as tough as Aunt Jocasta was wearing one of Andrace's shirts. The ones their mother had given to all the girls just last year, when her youngest sister Eugenia had passed the last of her tests and was finally allowed to take contracts as one of the Pride, with no restrictions. The lioness grinned mischievously, fished a few coins out of somewhere down the front of her top and tossed them to Witt. "I'll be right back, buy me somethin' wi' a good kick t' it," she muttered to the hedgehog, and then stalked up behind the wolf, her paw-pads making no noise on the floor.

She made no effort to hide her scent, or her reflection in the big mirror behind the bar, though, as she stopped and leaned forward. "Hhiii there," she breathed into the wolf's ear with a deep, husky purr. "That's one o' m' sister's shirts y're wearin' there, is Andrace losin' bets again?"

Outside, Andrace breathed a sigh of relief as the healing spells did their work on her cut and battered body. "Oh, that feels better!" she growled. "Thanks, Bas, an' thanks f'r th' pickup." She stretched her arms and rolled her shoulders, carefully — considering the state of her shirt, one wrong move could leave it lying on the ground in a little heap of silk. And she wasn't ready yet to let anyone watching see what of Kithara's secrets she kept tucked away underneath. Maybe someone she'd want to fight later. A girl had to keep some surprises, after all.

She slipped her retrieved weapons back into their various sheaths and hiding places as she followed Bas across the Circle and back towards the bar entrance. With her spiked club parked jauntily over her shoulder, she grinned at the Demon. "Worried 'bout bein' left wi' th' bar tab? Nah, I wouldn't do that t' a nice guy like you, Bas," she said, almost entirely honestly. "Now c'mon, let's see if Witt's got m' sister drunk under th' table yet."

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Witt raised an eyebrow after Despina, then sauntered up to the bar, and looked for the thing behind it. No sign thereof, but he'd said something about "whatever drink you want would be there", so...

Witt turned the coins over in his paw, an evil, evil grin sneaking across his features. He glanced over to where Despina was purring into Kaela's ear; Kaela seemed well able to take care of herself, so all he had to do was come up with a decent drink. Something with a kick to it, she'd said. He muttered to himself as he considered. "Not a 307 Ale, I think. Maybe later. We could do an Irish Depth Charge with that, though. Might have a Dead Bastard later, too. Not a Fuck Me Over Again, either. No kick in that. Swift Kick In The Ass? Kung Fu Kicker? Kick In The Peaches? Nah. Let's go for a pint of Mule Kick." He looked up, to see that the bar had provided, helpfully, two drinks of each of the listed, the last two just fading into view at the end of the line. He blinked, then grinned, fishing out enough coins to pay for the largesse.


"Shit. This'll be fun."

[Yugo]

Kaela had been relaxing at the bar for some time, or at least doing her absolute best to. There was a dull ache in her muscles that she had not felt for some time. Despite the admirable healing skills provided by the establishment, Kaela still felt a blanket of stiffness beneath her skin and fur that permeated her body. She wondered if it was really the wounds themselves, or if it was simply her age and lifestyle finally catching up to her. The wolf had spent twenty five of her forty years living hard and fast, hopping from theater to warfront. Her body had undergone countless adminstrations of first aid, field surgery, and magical healing. It was a wonderment to her that she wasn't made entirely of robotic parts by now. Kaela Silverstone was becoming an old and tired woman, and the fact bothered her. She was a warrior bred and born, however, and the very thought of retirement seemed like an anathema.

A familiar scent suddenly grew strong, approaching methodically and slowly from behind. It smelled different, however, with varying undercurrents and tones that Kaela didn't recognize. The origin smelled the same however: Andrace's homeland had a series of olfactory scents all its own. Expecting the folksy and boisterous tones of Andrace, the wolf was caught completely off guard by the almost sultry tone of voice Despina that she breathed into her ear, mostly because she had been staring into her drink rather than at the mirror right in front of her. Her heart fluttered a little with a combination of surprise and embarassment.

Kaela turned and smiled, and despite the fact that the right side of her face refused to move, locked eternally by scar tissue in an expression of impassion, it was quite an attractive smile. "You could say that, but I was the one who lost the bet and my shirt. Care to sit with me?" The older wolf patted the stool next to her with one hand. "I didn't catch your name by the way. Just your nickname, which from what I've seen using will get me punched in the face." A devious smirk crossed Kaela's face.

[Paladin Sheppard]

"Hmmm..."  Azshanas looked at the liquid in her glass with a hesitant look as she swirled it around in the glass.  The liquid was slightly thicker than she had expected.  After a moment she closed her eyes and downed the green liquid.  She then opened her eyes in surprise after swallowing, "Mmm, fruity."  She commented to herself while pouring another glass full.

"So, it appears that you only think you know what I am based on what you know of your own kind."  Azshanas paused to take a sip of her drink.  "Actually, at this time I would expect you to speak of yourself some seeing as the balance of knowledge is still tipped in your favor with knowing more about me than I you, all be it that most of the information I think you may know about me is now proven to be false.  But seeing as you haven't run me off after what I attempted to pull, I guess I'm obligated to tell you the truth."  Azshanas idly played with the glass that held her drink while contemplating where to begin in her explanation.

"I'm actually from a planet by the name Danu and what you refer to be the 'cubi race was the archetype for the creation of my race.  Other than having some similar racial abilities, I have no real connections to your race or your planet.  My kind is referred to as the Faolchú Dorcha.  That is both our racial designation and our adopted clan name."  She paused in her explanation and looked at Paladin.  "Now, should I just keep going and detail the entire 700 years of my races existence or are their any specifics you would like to know?  And better yet, perhaps you could enlighten me with some info about yourself."

Paladin put his now empty bottle on the bar top and proceeded to acquire another, pop the cap off and take a mouthful before answering "Lass I'm sorry to say but I'm not one for giving out  personal history, in my line of work it can be a hazard."

"And to be perfectly honest I feel like getting a wee bit drunk after my last fight, so if you'll excuse me I have a few of these to go through."

[Dekari]

"Very well."  Azshanas said with a sigh of disappointment.  "Then I will leave you to it if that is what you want."  She took her drink and the pint bottle in hand as she stood up.  "I kind of wish my first social encounter in two years could have gone better than this despite that bit of deceit at the beginning, but I guess it's just another bump in the road to redemption I will have to deal with.  Thank you again for the drink, perhaps later if we are both still here I could repay the favor."  She said with a slight bow before turning away to wander the bar.

[Lisky]

Nodding in agreement as he first held the door for Andrace, then, followed shoulder to shoulder with the lioness once she was inside.  Bas had a very large and devious grin on his face as he said,  "The bar tab isn't the worry, money i have... I'm a bit more worried about the possible responsibility of a drunken lass larger than i am..."

Placing arm around her back in a friendly manner, Bas gently guided Andrace towards the Bar.  "any preference on drink type, milady?  and, given that we're talking on friendly terms... you won... so i shall give you the choice of conversation, as well as inebriate!"

[SpottedKitty]

Despina smiled back at the old wolf and hopped on to the indicated barstool, propping her staff against the front of the bar. At the mention of her nickname, an almost completely unconvincing piously innocent look passed over her face for a few seconds. "Heh — busted good an' proper there, I think," she said with an impish grin. "I'm Despina Kithara, an' yeah, that lumberin' hulk outside moppin' th' floor wi' th' doggy is, f'r m' many an' various sins, m' big sister Andrace."

Or... maybe not as old as all that. Now she was closer, Despina thought the wolf couldn't be more than a few years either side of her mother's age. With less scars, although admittedly Clarice Kithara had retired from the Pride with crippling injuries before Despina's eldest sister Irene had been born. Like most of her family, the lioness wasn't put off by scars like the ones she saw crisscrossing the wolf's muzzle and arms, she thought they added character and distinction. She really ought t' do somethin' wi' her fur, though, Despina thought, looks like she washes it by waitin' t' get rained on.

"So y' had a bout wi' Andrace already? Hope she didn't pound y' too hard, she gets a bit carried away sometimes, an' then her sparrin' partner needs t' be carried away. An' I dunno if y' were watchin', but I just got m' tail handed t' me. That little spiny guy along the bar there, Witt's his name, he's a sneaky little bugger, an' tougher 'n he looks. I was just 'bout t' have a drink wi' him, want t' come along so's us harmless little girls c'n outnumber him?" She hitched her thumb over her shoulder towards Witt, but didn't look, so she didn't notice the long line of drinks the hedgehog had just (perhaps) accidentally conjured up.

[Angel]

Sylvie was staring into her ice cream, thinking thoughts that were surprisingly less sad than she expected. There was normal conversation all around her, Dani was trying and failing to get anyone to talk to her besides the green-skinned girl, and she didn't feel threatened in the least. Many people were coming back in from their finished battles, looking for drink and talk, and for a moment, Sylvie could almost pretend she was in a bar in her own world - not that of the greens, but those of the cities, where species and faith took a side-seat to alcohol for at least a short while.

But as she turned away from her untouched ice cream and looked around, she noticed the confused-looking man sitting against the wall. He certainly didn't look as though he'd entered via the door, otherwise he'd be sitting in a chair. It was the first time she'd ever seen someone materialize IN the bar instead of outside of it, and she couldn't help wanting to help the man in the Boogeyman's absence. So she left her seat and walked slowly over to the man, stopping within about five feet of him in case he got scared when he saw her.

"Hello. You look lost. Do you know where you are and how you got here?" she asked softly, her voice kind and helpful.

---

Dani didn't like being ignored, even when she had just interrupted a conversation that had nothing to do with her. She would have looked away with an indignant sniff at the winged wolf's (possibly) unintentional snub, but then she heard the word "incubus." Now THERE was a word seldom spoken in the world where the new winds blew. There were certainly demons, goblins, and more fearsome creatures like fiends where she came from, but the soul-stealing, sex-crazed demons of legend barely appeared in their mythology. Still, this wolf didn't look like any incubus she'd seen in her History classes. And the teacher hadn't been a Red or a mouph worshipper, so he wouldn't have lied about what historians had written.

She was about to lean towards Syl and ask if she'd ever heard of incubi really existing, but the elf had already left her seat (and her ice-cream) to help some guy who was sitting on the floor. Dani bit her lip in anticipation. Let's see how he reacts to her skin. If it's good, go back to ice cream and talk to wolf guy. If not, just calmly talk him down.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

The worst of the disorientation seemed to be passing. In a minute, a bare minute, he'd haul himself to his feet, stretch, and try to see if his silver was any good in this bar. The air was thick, as if the fumes of the alcohol had permeated the main room. The wall wasn't so bad to lean against, as he felt the strength returning, pooling into his legs and biceps, renewing bone.

Almost, he gripped the Power, but he didn't think he was quite up to the task as of yet. A whiff of some fragrance that he couldn't quite identify, something a bit like crushed grass, but with a nutty flavor, seemed to waft in from his right, and he snapped his head around quickly. A woman, at least he thought she was. Green was not a color he usually attributed to women, but she had regular, almost sculpted features, framed by hair that seemed like a vine of some sort, or perhaps thick grass.

She said something, but Corgatha's mind was far away at the moment, preoccupied with several tasks, and he filed the words away to really fully hear later. With a grunt, he hauled himself to his feet, and saw that he was only slightly taller than the woman, although he must have been close to twice her weight, if not more.

He then seized the Power, swallowing his earlier apprehension, although he resisted the ever-present urge to draw as much as he could in, quickly and deeply. Instead, he kept the flow to a trickle, enough to throw a rock, hard and fast, and not much more. Oceans of ice threatened to crush him, mountains of flame immolated his bones, but the struggle to master Saidin was almost perfunctory, and he held the raging torrent with effort that hardly hampered concentration at this point.

The stink of alcohol became sharper, clearer, and Corgatha wondered if he might stagger from it. He could hear the rustle of the green girl's emerald dress, fibrous threads of some plant that he did not recognize. Eyes unnaturally yellow, almost like what they said The Lord Dragon's friend was like, although hers were tinged with a verdant hue  rather than the "Goldeneyes" of the battle cry. The ears would have given him a start, tapered like that, had the rest of the girl's appearance not been so strange. Almost, he was tempted to strike. But for all of her oddness, she didn't have that same reek as shadowspawn, and her features were too regular, natural. The Shadow could spin beauty, but it tended towards hard, unnatural forms, when it did so. He then called forth his memory, heard her words anew.


No name given, that would be an insult back home, but Light knew where he was, and what passed for polite here. Still, she was a lady, even as odd as that. He saluted, right fist to heart, and announced "Asha'Man Corgatha Taldorthar,  Baijan'M'Hael of the Third fist of the Dragon, may his name be illumined in Light.  I am aware how I got here, but I have no clear idea of where here is, or how I can get back home. But you have me at a disadvantage milady. Might I have the grace of your name?"

[Dekari]

Azshanas wandered aimlessly around the bar area taking a moment every so often to stop, close her eyes, and listen.  She listened to the sounds of the bar; the conversations, the sounds of drinks being poured, glass clinking against glass, the shuffling of bodies, chairs, tables, and most of all the sound of laughter.  Each time she stopped, after a few moments she would lower her head, smile to herself, then open her eyes and begin walking again while sipping her drink until the next momentary pause.  She continued this for a while until she reached one of the walls of the bar to which she turned and leaned against.

"The sounds of happiness, the sounds of life.  It's a shame they almost seem foreign to me."  She sighed.  "God how I've missed them."  She finished, speaking to no one in particular other than herself while refilling her glass from the pint bottle she had been carrying since she left her seat at the bar.

[Angel]

Intrigued by the formal introduction, and relieved that he wasn't going to attack her on sight, Sylvie did a mild curtsy and introduced herself formally as well. "Of course, how rude of me. I'm Sylvia Hyacinth Dahl, of the elven forests near the Imperial City of Diekan-Duria. But please call me Sylvie. You're at the Honor Circle, which is a fighting ring and bar between dimensions. I'm afraid that's the most knowledge I can offer as to your location. The owner of the establishment is outside fighting."

---

Back at the bar, Dani was watching Sylvie, and amazingly enough, not sniggering at her mannerisms. Syl had always had the habit of adapting the speaking pattern of whoever she was talking to, and the elves in general seemed to have a built-in royalty gene when confronted with someone who spoke politely. When she was sure the newcomer wasn't going to kill her friend, she began looking around the bar, swiveling in her seat and unconsciously twirling the revolver in her hands. True, she had just gotten out of a fight, and celebrated with a friend via sugar, but she was still kinda bored now. She was almost afraid she'd fall asleep with her eyes open, which was sort of why she was twirling the gun.

Then she overheard the she-wolf talking to herself. "Happiness is uncommon where you come from, you say?" she asked. "Heh. At least you can predict your home's overall emotions."

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Corgatha listened to the strange woman's name and title, and forced a "Peace favor your sword" away from his lips. Hyacinth? Isn't that a flower of some sort? Forcing himself into focus, he continued his inquiry line. "You said fighting ring and bar.  Who fights whom? And over what? And who maintains this..." He gestured over to the where the liquor smell was wafting from "establishment? Is my coin any good here? And how do the fighters here maintain themselves financially?"


A trickle of etiquette reached his brain, made a dull shouting that finally overcame his curiosity. "Let me get you something, for your time and trouble. The Seanchan have this drink, dark, bitter, call it Kaf. I find it quite invigorating. Could I interest you in a cup?"

He ambled over to the bar, but made sure to maintain general eye contact with this Sylvia, his closer hand in a semi-beckoning gesture.

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace grinned at Bas with an only slightly demented expression on her face, just a ghost of the merciless, implacable hunter she'd shown to the Demon right at the end of their fight. "Hah — y' tryin' t' get me too drunk, then?" she said, "Only if y're better at drinkin' than y' are at fightin'! Speakin' o' which, I'll have a brandy t' celebrate — th' good stuff, mind, not th' paint stripper. An' while y're doin' that, I'll change int' a shirt that'll not part company wi' th' girls if I hiccup." She also didn't want Bas — or anyone else — to think about the no-longer-hidden weapons under the torn shirt and trousers. Especially the contents of the little silk bag dangling from the back of her collar. If she ever needed that, she wanted it to be a complete surprise for her opponent. The lioness walked over to her backpack, rummaged for a moment, took out a small package and headed for the ladies' room. On the way she tossed a cheerful wave to her sister and a wink and a leer at Kaela.

When Andrace came back out again a couple of minutes later, she wore intact trousers and a scoopback top in a soft brown suede material replacing her tattered shirt. It might be sleeveless, and mostly backless (showing a couple more old scars here and there), but it would have taken a brave man to bet against her being just as well armed as she'd been before.

[Lisky]

Before the comment of "the girls", the demon had avoided focusing on the lioness's figure, or really any of her features below her shoulder-line.  He did admit to himself that, especially for a being, he was impressed with her skill and power.  However, his main focus of attention in -that- particular regard up until that moment, had centered around the strange, brightly colored lass he'd met before the challenge, and his first attempt in the circles.

He gave a polite bow of the head as he watched her saunter off into ladies room, giving a little chuckle at her choice of drink.  "Classy taste for an adventurer..." Bas said to himself, digging around behind the bar for a set of appropriate glasses, and a bottle of the dark amber to caramel colored liquor.

Paws settling around a bottle of Cognac, Bas poured a little and settled into a bar stool, wings folded behind him, and gently leaning on the bar itself as he awaited his sparring partners return.

As the lioness came back and headed towards him, it took the demon a small yet noticeable amount of self control to not stare at the total change in appearance Andrace had made.  He gave a friendly smile and eased into a slightly more comfortable position as he made a sweeping gesture as an invite to have a seat, and a drink... he himself still oblivious to the fact that he'd never retrieved his shirt from the pocket dimension.

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace appeared to barely pay attention to her sister as she sauntered back towards Bas. As she passed close to the younger lioness, though, she hissed quietly between her fangs and, without looking at her, made a series of brief, subtle gestures with one hand, extending her claws for just a moment. She was all smiles as she sat beside the Demon and picked up her drink. "Ah, that was a nice little scrap," she said, "just 'nough t' warm up an' work th' kinks out. An' y' did pretty good y'self, Bas, made me sweat a bit a couple o' times." She raised her glass as if for a toast and winked mischievously. "Here's t' success!" She didn't say whose.

A short distance along the bar, Despina surreptitiously split her attention between Kaela and the canine Demon Andrace was talking to. She hadn't missed her sister's "attention" signal, or the other one in the form of their family's private hand-signal code. Possible hostile. Watch where I go. Danger high. If trouble starts, attack. No warning. Subdue alive, intact if possible. He's cute, I saw him first.