Character Lounge

[Aisha deCabre]

When Aisha entered the gym with the other two, she took a momentary and slightly awed look around the room.  It seemed that Stygian had pulled out all the stops upon recreating the house.  Not a thing of interest was left out of place.  Out of the way, the pantheress chose a bench in the corner to sit down and become a little more prepared for sparring than wearing a costume fit for a party.  She removed the gauntlets and boots, flexing the claws in her hands and feet as if preparing to use them.  Then she thought to herself, Nah...I shall try not to make it a bloodspill.  Honorable dueling with naught but what weapons the gods made us for...but keep the nails sheathed, girl.  For now.

The more metallic parts of her clothing were taken down also, leaving her with a pair of long, comfortable and flexible brown trousers and a tight cloth woven around her chest and over her shoulders...the less weight, the better.  The braid in her hair she tied upwards to keep it out of the way, and she settled back on the bench to do some stretching exercises and limber up the flexible muscles in her limbs and around the almost-rubbery spine customary to a felid in her back.  She shook her head with slight humor while doing so, glancing at the guys while Stygian spoke of terms.  Everything goes...of course, no wierdness...you keep that in mind too, hombre.

Finally it was almost time.  She left her things on the bench and approached one closer to the mat where they were, wondering if Gareeku was going first or she was.  Either way, she smiled with confidence.  The panther knew she might not beat either of them, but as sure as hell, the adrenaline rush before a fight was as invigorating as ever.

[Gareeku]

Following Stygian to the gym, the wolf suddenly remembered something, disappearing momentarily before returning with his normal clothes back on, his smarter out fit now folded up and in his arms. Upon entering the gym, Gareeku began warming up his muscles as he listened to Stygian speak.
"That's fine by me. But you shouldn't underestimate your opponents." Gareeku replied calmly, referring to Stygian's remark about them not harming him and smirking at Aisha's reply. "I don't mind who goes first."

As the wolf stretched, he could feel the adrenaline rushing through his blood. His heart began to quicken, and the tingling of excitement was beginning to make itself present throughout his body. Fastening the red fingerless gloves on his hands, Gareeku decided to remove his blue top and his sandals, setting them on the bench next to his other clothes.
"So Aisha, you wanna go first?" he asked with a smile.

[Aisha deCabre]

When Gareeku asked about going first, she smiled back at him and nodded.  "I'd be glad to."  With a deep breath of air, the panther stepped up to the mat and faced opposite of Stygian.  She heaved the air out in a long sigh to release any tension and gain the mental preparation, narrowing her eyes at him.  Hrmph...deja vu.  Just keep your head on.

Aisha in good sportsmanship bowed to her opponent before leaning her feet apart, her weight distributed more or less evenly with a little more concentration on her front leg in the starting stance.  "Your move or mine, señor?" she inquired with a grin bared with sharp and shimmering fangs.

[Stygian]

Tightening the black wrappings that were all left of his clothes, save a simple cloth tied in a neat fashion like a pair of underpants, Stygian moved his arms around, loosening out his shoulders and slowly and carefully making a few kicks to about the height of a man's head, stretching the back of his legs. He felt a bit tense this way, but it was still all good. He took a deep breath, then exhaled, and assumed the commencion stance called the Dancer, with his right hand raised up with an open palm and his left arm just beside him, his weight on his right, forward leg and his left one slightly bent behind his right, ready to let him push to leap forward or spin around an attacker. It was quite an agressive stance, but to the beginner or intermediate, or someone who simply didn't know, it would look relaxed, almost playful. He smiled, wondering if Aisha would really take it that way. Just to make the whole thing more convincing, he responded to her bow with a bit of a flourish.
   "I always try to keep the etiquette, so of course it's ladies first," he said, his own pointed fangs flashing in a smile. "Don't hold back on me." For a second, he did not sound so playful.

[e_voyager]

E chuckled sipping his drink. he may have just been through 3 weeks of hell both literal and figuratively but some how he could relax here. well as long as no one was in danger of dying he could relax. even Erebus was being behaved and eliander( both of them) have gone back into there hibernating sleep. things were going to be looking up soon he was sure of it.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha smirked as she observed his beginning stance, wondering how to approach it as the muscles in her legs started to bunch up slightly.  At his words, her grin only deepened.  "Oh, I know you don't expect me to," she replied in a voice that held within the forcefulness of her mood and the elation of battle rolled into one.  After a second of thought, she made her decision...any kind of approach seemed like a risk at any rate.

In an almost flash instant, the panther's feet were released from the mat like coiled springs, packed with the potential energy of speed and strength, as the leap was high enough to almost clear over him...but anyone noticing closer would see that she flanked around his right side insead. She pivoted that second in the air, the ankle of her right foot whirling in a circular motion with the force of a fast-moving brick, aiming to come in and connect with the back of his neck.

[Stygian]

Stygian... bent. He fluidly made a bow forward, and in a snaking, gliding motion spun around low to the floor, twisting to the left and that crooked left leg of his swiping out in a hard, hook-like motion to sweep out Aisha's left leg under her as she began landing. The speed of the movement meant that the panthress didn't have time to hit the floor and brace, but naturally she caught herself and shifted her movement so that she could bend over the back of his leg and catch herself with her hands instead. He smiled, and continued his movement by flowing over to his side and quickly doing a flip backwards, landing in a more hunched over stance with his weight more on his right hind leg and both arms raised, palms open and fists slightly clenched. This was the Avalanche, his usual beginning stance, and about as agressive as one could get. He stood so for a second, eyeing her.
   "So... you use your feet well. That's good. I'll follow!" he said, and then launched himself at her, making a swipe with his elbow followed by a left hook for distraction, and then a spinning motion that swooped up his left leg and turned into a violent axe-kick aimed over her head.
   Throughout the whole series of movements it would have been easy for an onlooker to judge Stygian's moves; they were not abnormally fast or forceful, but sliding, flowing and powerful, like water. And the way he whipped his limbs before he struck, focusing the force at the end to make the blows much harder and faster than it might seem at first, was very characteristic. As were his snaking movements in between. The style was a mix of Jeet Kune Do, the Viper, and Thai boxing.

((OOC: ...aaaaaand this is where I leave on a two-week vacation. Please act as if all was normal...))

[Boog]

As the game between May and Boogey starts, patterns of light play over Boogey's hands for just a second. Starting off with Nightmare, he opts for a mainly all out assault, keeping an eye out for when to block.

OOC: Friend looking over my shoulder says hi.

[Aisha deCabre]

"Grah!" Aisha growled with slight frustration the instant that she missed Stygian, herself having been prepared for her foot to hit a solid wall of flesh rather than the empty air.  Still she wasn't out of her game, having recovered from quickly enough and awaiting whatever he tossed at her.

Her eyes were intense, as focused as if she were hunting.  The fluidity and harshness of his movements didn't miss a beat with the pantheress...there was little possibility that he'd catch her off-guard unless she herself did something foolish.  She didn't get all the way back up on her feet when he made his attack, instead using her legs and one arm to hold her weight while her other arm kept up her balance and blocking, aiming to use her flexibility to its full advantage.  Time to take a few bruises...

The swipe she blocked, the hook dodged less easily so, but was almost caught off-guard by the kick slicing in above her head.  "Crap!" Aisha berated herself and ducked, quickly rolling head-over-heels beneath and behind Stygian, catching and bringing her body back upward with her right foot while the left swiftly whipped out to trip the leg still holding him to the ground.  Then, pushing herself up and swerving around, she aimed an attempt for her right elbow to connect with Stygian's right side.

[Joat]

May, in an attempt to make it difficult to block, tries to balance her lower, mid, and upper moves so that they happen with about even frequency. She also blocks quite often. Though she uses very few combos, she does seem to be doing quite well with Cervantes.

[Boog]

Boogey manages to block a few attacks, but gets overconfident and tries a guard break. This gets him damaged, but the second try allows him to land some decent hits.

[Joat]

May manages to recover quite quickly. Boogey gets in but a mere one good hit and one minor hit before she guard breaks him and begins to hit him with two basic mid hits before reverting to her old tactics of balancing her hits.

*OOC: Technically, Boogey is in the lead, though barely.*

[Stygian]

Aisha's reaction to the whole situation wasn't less than Stygian had expected... but not more either. With that water-like fluidity he turned the downward force of the kick and bent over backwards in a way that would have made most men's spines creak and flipped over, and continued the movement with an upward kick that went flying dangerously close to Aisha's neck and chin now that she spun around...

[Aisha deCabre]

((Ah, a brief welcome back to you, Styg.  ))

Aisha's eyes widened briefly as she saw the kick coming...it was impossible for her to dodge it, but with any luck...

Her arm shot out to grab his foot when it was but a fraction of a second from hitting her face.  She was carried with the momentum, claws digging instinctively into the skin before she put out her feet and landed hard on the ground...she'd have skidded if the claws there hadn't also been unsheathed, digging so deep into the mat and part of the floor from the impact that she left a few small gouges in it.

Ow...she growled as her teeth clenched, wondering if something had been sprained, sweat from the whole exercise flying from her forehead as she tightly gripped Stygian's leg just above her face.

"Hrmph, slippery devil," she quickly commented with a grin, showing little of the pain but a lot of resilience as she used the thing for leverage, leaping up from the mat and still holding it while her left fist rocketed toward his jaw...

[e_voyager]

E watched the sparing without watching it and noted both Stygian's moves and Aishia's, he would not want to face her in battle. even if she failed to win such reflex and counter maneuver skilled was to be praised. Stygian hover reminds him of one of wily's devils in  both form. too fluid to be real, highly adaptable and worthy of a serious effort. effort.

[KarlOmega1]

*Karl came into the sparing room and thought 'you know what this needs? some music to spar to.' So he put in a cd into a mobile CD player and pressed the play button.."Death Egg's Eye" was the first to play*

Karl: gotta love video game music...

[Stygian]

That was Stygian's cue. With Aisha stretched out like that, she exposed her midriff, and despite her smaller size and her speed that gave him ample time for what he was going to do. He dropped lower to the floor and started forward and to the left, bringing his arm up...
   "It's just a jump to the left...!" he said, as he hit her in the solar plexus, with moderated force and an open palm so as not to crack bones or burst her diaphragm. The blow still lifted her a good bit off the floor though. "And a step to the right!" he continued, planting his right foot firmly on the floor. "Now put your hands on your hips..." He did so, grabbing her side with his left hand and lifting her. Then he swung her in a high arc and smashed her back-down into the floor before she even had time to catch her wind again.
   He stood looking at her from above. No doubt she was probably dizzy, so he let her lie before he helped her up, still laughing and rubbing his ankle where her claws had taken.
   "Jeez... big ones for a little cat" he said humorously. "Wouldn't have known what to do if you'd have gone for the eyes."

[Aisha deCabre]

"Yeah, that's probably what I should have done..." Aisha muttered with a coughing, slightly raspy voice as the breath she lost from the blow returned to her body.  Grasping Stygian's hand with her own and clutching her stomach with the other, she stood up on slightly shaky feet and shot him a glare, though on her jawline there was a grin...the stiff feeling in her muscles and the aching in her body swiftly became another familiarity to her upon stretching a little.

The panther shook her head somewhat rapidly to be rid of any remaining dizziness in her system and had to laugh, for she was still slightly energetic with the adrenaline coursing through her bloodstream.  But soon enough that started to die down as she relaxed, pulling whatever strands of hair had been messed up back into place.

"I concede...that was fun," she surmised with a final bow to Stygian and a bit of humor in her tone,  "At least since you weren't trying to kill me that time.  But next time I know what to look out for..." Aisha smirked and started to step off the mat, casting a smile at Gareeku while grabbing a nearby towel to wipe the sweat from her face.  "It'll be your turn then, mi vida."

And then she paused upon hearing music and cast a curious glance over to Karl, who had apparently found the gym, then just shook her head with another laugh.

[Stygian]

Stygian smiled, though he did not laugh, and simply bowed to the panthress and stepped backward off the training mat. He nodded shortly to the wolf.
   "Give her a go, freunde. She didn't dissappoint", he said. Then, a sudden look of surprise followed by another smile crossed his face. "It has started snowing", he then said.

Sathariel started, and made a little face. Then, her eyes widened, and after she had begun unraveling a few short memories, it seemed to Mel as if she was almost pulling them in, untangling and absorbing them with incredible speed.
   "It's wonderful! You were...! I have so much to learn! It's... fantastic!" she exclaimed, and her own wings fluttered a bit, as if the knowledge now imparted on her made her eager to live it herself.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel gently tried to disentangle herself, "Calm down kitten. Now that you have some memories you have to figure out where you're going to put them. You want to keep other people's memories separate from your own. If you're not careful about keeping things straight your personality starts going funny after a while. When you start referring to yourself in third person people begin avoiding you."

A big wet snowflake landed on Mel's nose. "Snow? Snow!"

[Boog]

Boogey continued to hammer at May in SC2, hoping to simply smash through her guard.

[Joat]

May does get hit once by a strong attack, but then she guard-breaks him and lands a few decent blows.

[e_voyager]

e chuckles. "Hear hear Mel."E fully understood what Mel was saying as he'd been through it before. but the also anyone who'd lived as many lives as he had would soon to have this problem. the words all are one and one is all spring into mind but the acceptance of it did not always follow. it was then that e too noticed that it was snowing near Mel  " snow? do you want more? i know someone who can arrange a fairly substantial snow fall if you wish"

( ooc. at the moment is is kind of zoned out not quite drunk bit defiant not sober. he's been altering his perception of the world to dull his pain and does not realize that he's doing the omni presences thing at moment. and those  who perceive him and are not near the couch see him leaning again the wall in shadowed area ever if the room is supposed to be shadowless.)

[Gareeku]

Observing the spar between Stygian and Aisha, Gareeku watched closely as they battled, taking in their movements as he did so. When they finished, the wolf smiled at Aisha.
"You were great." he said warmly. For a little while he sat, Letting Aisha get back to full strength as he stretched some more. Stepping onto the mat, Gareeku looked through the window and smiled.
"Beautiful..." he commented as he observed the scene outside.

Turning back to the others, the smile on Gareeku's face turned to a smirk.
"Right then...who's going to be my sparring partner?" he asked, stretching his muscles some more.

[Aisha deCabre]

With a slight twinge as she stretched the last battle's tension out of her limbs, Aisha paused to glance up and out the window on the far end of the room, where more flakes of snow had started to fall.  The panther smiled, for she hadn't seen snow for a long time; and the scene looked quite peaceful and calming to the nerves.

She watched Gareeku step up to the mat and sighed quietly...she couldn't help but smile now every time she looked at him, the strong and noble fighter that he was, carrying a gentle heart...it was still almost hard to believe what had gone on between them...

When the panther was rested, she stood up and noted that Stygian seemed to be sitting out of the ring for a while.  A grin appeared on her face...looks like second round came rather quickly.  She stepped with her usual fluid grace onto the mat, facing the wolf with a genuine smile of warmth. 

"Been a long time since we sparred with each other, mi amor."  Then, her smile turned to a grin as she bowed politely and assumed her stance again.  "No going easy."

[Gareeku]

Watching Aisha step up to the mat, Gareeku could not help but smile. He felt that she did not regard herself as gentle, but he knew how gentle she could be; he could feel it in his heart.

Hearing her comments, Gareeku's warm smile turned to a grin just as Aisha's had.
"Indeed it has, my love." the wolf replied, "As you wish."
From his standing position, Gareeku then shifted into a fighting stand, spreading his legs slightly, his left hand outstretched towards Aisha while his right hand was kept close at his side.
"Ladies first..." the wolf said, the grin still on his face as he gave her a wink.

[Aisha deCabre]

"Hm, good to be a lady...good luck," Aisha chuckled as she released another deep breath...preparation for another test for her near lifetime of training.  She assessed the situation as she had previously, as she had any other, with intense focus and eyes as trained and frozen like the laser point of a sniper.

For a moment, she felt as intimidated when facing Gareeku as she had with Stygian, maybe a little more.  She had seen his power and his focus both firsthand and right from the front lines.  But the thought of it only made the adrenaline course through her body with the force of a whitewater rapid...the fight, the challenge, it was always exciting...only when it wasn't a matter of life and death.

Slowly she stepped around him in a circle, watching, nerves on a hair trigger.  I can't approach him as I did Stygian...or maybe...

Then, her well-coiled muscles released themselves from the mat in a rapid-fire charge towards the wolf...but it wasn't head-on or even to the side like it started with Stygian. 

She moved in a confusing zig-zagging motion, almost dizzying if one didn't have the training to keep up or predict where she'd attack.  She moved from one side of the mat to the other in short bursts until she flanked around to his left side and charged towards him...and right on past.  Stopping short, she swerved on one foot and leaped into the air, the heel of her other foot coming up in a short but fast arc toward his head.

By now, one could see that the panther's style when it came to short-ranged combat was always quick, evasive, and hard.

[Gareeku]

For a moment, complete silence fell into the room, the two fighters standing perfectly still as their focus filled their being. Breathing slowly and deeply, Gareeku's eyes remained fixed on Aisha as she moved, shifting his feet slightly as he did not let her get out of his sight.

It was then that Aisha made her move. The first thing Gareeku observed was her speed. Aisha was fast. VERY fast. The wolf was having some slight difficulty keeping up with the panther's zig-zag movements, and prepared himself for a defence. It was then that the panther ran past him, before suddenly coming to a stop.
Clever girl... Gareeku thought to himself, knowing that the kick was coming.

BAM.

The kick had hit its target; thundering into Gareeku's jaw and causing him to twist to the side at the neck and waist. It was strange, but the wolf felt that when he was hit by an opponent, there was an odd sense of slow-motion just after the impact of a strike. Almost instinctively, the wolf suddenly stuck out a foot into a sweeping kick, hoping to knock the panther off of her remaining foot. The pain was indeed present, but the wolf also knew that when in battle, one should do their best to ignore any pain that may make itself present and remain focussed on the battle at hand.

Immediately after he had executed the sweeping kick, Gareeku then followed up by thrusting his lef hand, now balled into a fist, towards Aisha's gut, following by swiftly throwing his other balled fist up in an attempted uppercut to the panther's jaw. As soon as he had executed this manoveur, the wolf used the momentum of the uppercut to swiftly execute a spinning roundhouse kick with his left foot, aiming at the side of Aisha's head.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

OOC:  Just bored and nosey, but doesn't Gareeku have a broken finger or something from beating up on unsuspecting walls a couple of pages back? Or does he heal really fast? Isn't that punch gonna hurt?

[Gareeku]

((OOC: Very good point Mel. Gareeku's hands would have healed by now, thanks to the power of the light bracer given to him by Aisha. ^.^))