The Honor Circle Returns! (IC)

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog simply gave a sharp look at the Boogeyman, and then took a sip of his drink quietly. If one looked closely, however, one could see the faint edges of a smirk coloring his mouth.

He took advantage of the momentary pause, and setting his glass down stood and walked over to the russet-colored wolf. Making a short bow, he extended a hand to the newcomer.
"Cogidubnus Mithlome, sir. I confess it is a pleasure to see another swordsman within these walls."

The silver wolf smiled at the red one.

* * *

From inside her bubble, Piix could hear the blackguard's dark laughter permeate the air, along with the smells of burning wood, smoke, and ash. From beneath waves of fire, the blackguard grinned, white teeth bared and eyes still crystal-blue.
He kept moving, staying in place and keeping his feet and arms moving, the blackguard almost now simply hopping from foot to foot. The fire seemed to grow exponentially, and now did rival the heights of the smaller trees, and began to whorl around the blackguard as well in a fiery mockery of a tornado.

The flames grew and grew, engulfing the blackguard completely and the area around him, the innermost flames beginning to take on a blue tinge, and all around him, trees and bushes caught fire, those flames also spreading quickly.

[techmaster-glitch]

Karazkt

   The moment Siolen was off the mech's arm, Karazkt wasted no time. He wildly hit levers, and the same arm that Siolen was on suddenly plunged it's tri-fingered hand into the earthen wall. Being a hundred feet deep, it was very tough and compact, but to Karazkt, who worked in the solid bedrock, it was nothing more than flimsy topsoil. Brown earth magic raced down Karazkt's right antennae into the intake port. Instead of going to the boiler, it flowed through the inside of the mech's arm, going through several amplification crystals, before finally exiting the hand.
   A perfectly round hole was blow cleanly out of the wall, revelaing the adjacent trench, this being a maze of trenches. Karazkt hit more levers, and the mech dived though the hole, then pointed the tir-pronged hand at the newly made hole, all three fingers wide open. Earth magic reaced down Karazk't antennae again into the mech, as the tri-fingers snapped closed.
   The hole in the earth wall slammed shut with a resounding THUD.
    Karazkt then pressed his antennae against the wall, instantly feeling Siolen through the ground. Karazkt waited to see what he would do next. Would he try to naviagte the maze, or were those wings for more than just decoration? Karazkt hoped he wouldn't be able to fly, as that would make his idea of the trench-maze pointless.

[Stygian]

Sighing in a way that suggested she thought the man were a bit hopeless, the android regarded the newcomer for a bit, and secretly also Keaton as with her superhuman multi-tasking ability she had caught the jackal's reaction quite well. When Cog walked off, the machine made an exasperated throw with her hands, palms open, and then put them in her pockets as she walked away from the counter.
   ':well, if you won't, then i will,' she declared, strolling lazily and looking around. She cast a quick glance into the circles outside, noting the fight between the furry alien and the blackguard in particular. ':seems that you might be wrong on that one, [Styg]... anyway, i might as well get warmed up, seeing as i've just arrived. but...' She stopped, looking around. Her eyes landed on the hunchback leaned against the wall for just a few moments. But though she very much considered that one, a desire to save some things for later made her change her mind. Instead, she approached and addressed the jackal.
   ':what about you, then?' the machine said, looking at Keaton from quite a bit up as she stopped by her table, metallic hands still thrust into her pants' pockets and something akin to curious amusement in her synthetic voice. ':or are you just relaxing and sitting around being cute?' It was hard to tell, but it sounded like it might have been sarcasm.
   Stygian on the other hand had heard Sahlena's words, and turned to regard the battle between Piix and Giles. And he frowned in a bothered manner.
   'I don't know why she doesn't just stop him. It almost seemed as if she could...' the man muttered, speaking to the two wolves and the Boogeyman really, since no one else was that close. Then, thinking a bit, he smirked and put his cheek against his knuckles, leaning on the counter again and looking at Cog and the newcomer. 'Precisely the sort of situation where a good gun would be of great aid, wouldn't you agree?' he said, and grinned deviously.

[Cogidubnus]

 The wolf looked back at the man, calling over his shoulder in a just slightly sarcastic, but friendly tone.
  "Oh, most certainly! They've done you quite a lot of good the last two times, haven't they?" he said, grinning as he faced away from the bat - referring to his victory won more by fisticuffs than firepower, and his subsequent loss in close-range combat.

[Stygian]

Quirking an eyebrow, the man gave Cog a little snort in response, shaking his head lightly.
   'I don't usually need guns that close,' he replied levelly but still with a little smirk now adorning his well-shaped features. 'And the other fighter was made out of stone, and I could not kill him. You won on technical rules, not knockout.' He took another slow sip of his drink, and cast a quick glance toward the fiery battle outside. The blackguard was powerful, that much was certain. But he would still much rather have seen the little female creature win, if for nothing else than to prove that the largest and most imposing combatants were not always the most dangerous ones.
   'Still,' Stygian added, 'I lost, and because I didn't have the proper concentration, and screwed up. I shall learn not to make that mistake again.' He smiled, and sipped again, still looking at the wolves.

[Cogidubnus]

 "Mhmm." Cog said, ignoring the man's statement about his fight with the gargoyle. "The whole fight was a technical rule. Your technical rule, as well. And both my points still stand." he said, not quite looking back at the man.

"If you wish for a more proper battle, I'd be more than happy to face you upon any terrain of your choosing." he said, pausing. "In a moment, though. I still haven't got this fellow's name."

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

Keaton had just turned around to continue sulking when Sahlena addressed her, the jackal's already flat expression adopting a more irate edge at this untimely interruption from her glorious drunken moping. Ears tilting backwards, granting her features a rigid, angular appearance, Keaton's chocolaty irises shifted 'round to face the android as her lips pulled back to brandish her cuspids. Whether the machine was unintentionally provoking her for a battle, being belligerent on purpose, or had simply caught Keaton in an argumentative and foul mood was not something Keaton calculated.

"A lil' bit of both, thankyouverymuch," Keaton grumbled. Well, she was building a card tower until it was crudely toppled by the little yellow shitstain, but that was irrelevant. Dwelling so irritably on such a menial subject was unnatural, even immature, but Keaton's dysfunctional emotions led to explosive outbursts on the slightest error or transgression. "And what about you, tall, dark, metallic, and fuckin' freaky?"

---

...Piix:

Under the increasing pressure of the flame, it was becoming harder and harder for Piix to sustain her protective bubble-barrier. Between the lapses of the flickering and the roar of the fire, Piix could definitely hear the blackguard's laughter, something which outright infuriated her to a level beyond mere indignation. Clutching Orpiment tighter, she glared through the foggy steam and smoke congregating thickly in the air, only to see the sinuous bodies of the fire-tornadoes burgeoning around Giles's teetering, foot-hopping form. Apparently he didn't need his spear to make fire. He just needed to stay in motion...

Her head hurt. Sweat was saturating Piix's black-splattered fur. Gritting her teeth, the Orin could find no other option other than to push through his fiery defenses and pummel Giles with all she had.

The barrier disintegrated with a relinquishing tug of Piix's thoughts, liberating her mind from the pressure of preserving her shield. The heat started to glare down at her in full, but aside from its distracting and blistering presence Piix was able to conjure up the spider-legs again, although for a brief period. Enough to buckle all four legs inward, and then propel her with one piston, throwing her through the whirling vortex of fire and flame. Tongues of flame scorched and sizzled at Piix's body, kissing her form with their searing heat and burning the skin beneath her blackened fur, but other than that she avoided most of the damage. In mid-air, she pulled back Orpiment, its head glowing internally with a golden light, then with a loud cry she swung it, its body extending and cracking like a whip almost as though the rigid weapon were made out of rubber.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[SpottedKitty]

The russet-furred wolf cocked one ear curiously at the innkeeper's remark and looked around at the other people in the room. "Not many of my type? You must reckon these things differently than we do, then, I see at least one other wolf here, and a most delightful young lass, a jackal by her looks, hiding herself away over there. Did she lose a bout? She seems to be dragging her tail somewhat: drowning her sorrows and finding they can swim, I think."

He then turned to the other wolf as he approached, smiled broadly at his greeting, and clasped his forearm in a firm grip. "Cogidubnus, is it? I am Brinald. Well met on the road — if there is indeed a road leading to this place, I had no opportunity to find out for myself." He gave a lop-eared grin, although his eyes ran over Cog's gear and weapons in a quick searching glance that might easily be missed. Brinald gave a tiny nod of approval, although for anyone who hadn't caught that glance, it could have meant almost anything.

"I would like nothing better than to try my skill against yours," he said cheerfully to Cog as he picked up his drink, "but someone seems to think you have a prior appointment..." One ear twitched and flicked towards the tall man Cog had been talking to earlier. "Some other time, perhaps. May the Lady guide your blade!" He raised his flagon in a toast and gulped down a quarter of the contents in one go.

[Stygian]

The man raised his eyebrows and then shook his head in regards to the newly arrived wolf's latest words.
   'Forgive me, but I was just remarking. I'm not intending to fight him again this early,' Stygian said, looking at the other wolf. 'One needs variation. Or at least the spectators do, for entertainment's sake.'
   Meanwhile, at the other end of the bar, Sahlena was getting snapped at by the woman-jackal, something to which the machine only seemed to have amusement to give. Erroneous reasoning, stupidity and other problematic behaviors were all things that could occur in computers and technological systems, and were therefore somewhat annoying, mostly because what they did and did not by being such had some sort of problematic effect. However, only humans and other organic beings could come up with the really good and irrational ways and reasons to be miserable, or sad or angry. Mostly because they were so petty. This, the android just found amusing and a very good demonstration of the superiority of things like herself, why Keaton's anger just entertained the machine.
   ':i would like to think the same. and thank you for the compliments,' the machine replied nonchalantly. ':but you are looking a bit too bothered and perhaps too frustrated to be relaxing. want to move?'

[Cogidubnus]

 "A pleasure to meet you, Brinald." Cog said, shaking the man's hand - Brinald's warrior grip somewhat surprised the wolf, however, and he clasped the other wolf's forearm hesitatingly, not quite certain what to do. Cog had never been very good with alternative handshakes and grips and whatnot.

At Stygian's words, however, the silver wolf grinned, waiting until the russet colored one had finished downing his ale before speaking again.
"Ah, well - it does appear that I am free at the moment. I wouldn't wish to impose, however." he said, making a small bow to the red wolf. "Road or not, I'm sure your journey has tired you."

His eyes glinted as they peered over his shades. "But I would love nothing more than to test my skill against another swordsman. It has been a long time since anyone who practices bladework has tried."

[SpottedKitty]

Brinald downed the last of his ale and slammed the flagon down on the bar not quite hard enough to break it... or the flagon, either. "Well then," he said boisterously, "there is nothing to stop us, is there? Hah — journey? What journey? That idiot mage opened a door for me then slammed it nearly on my tail, so I am still as fresh as needs be!" The wolf strode across the room to the windows, looked out... then his ears and tail visibly drooped.

"We must wait after all, it seems," he grumbled over his shoulder to Cog, "all the circles are being used." He crossed his arms over his chest, leaned against the wall beside one of the windows, and looked out at the fights in progress.

[Cogidubnus]

The Orin bursting through the waves of fire that Giles heaped upon her was a definite surprise - and almost catching fire herself, she launched up and at the blackguard, her hammer extending through the flames and descending down rapidly, bending almost like rubber as it struck. Giles gave a curse, and raised up both arms to protect his head, still rhythmically stamping with one foot.

The hammer hit hard - although Giles managed to not get his head crushed by the blow, it did knock the blackguard to his knees, and left a rather large bump on his head from his bracer. In just a moment, the flames would die again - the ebb of their growing was already slowing, and soon would ebb back into nothingness.
Giles did have one thing, however - as the hammer hit him, he'd grabbed on to Orpiment's rubbery handle. Holding his head with his other hand, the blackguard grinned - and with a jerk and small fall backwards, pulled the Orin deeper into the fire, the flames gushing again as the blackguard landed on his back and then rolled over.
Around them, the natural fire in the trees spread, although burning the trees in a strange, roundabout and circular way.

* * *

"Ah, alas." Cog said, Leaning on the bar. "I suppose we'll have to wait a bit, then. Some of the fights do look as if they're wrapping up."

[SpottedKitty]

Brinald's tail swished slowly, brushing his hocks, as he looked thoughtfully out of the window. One fight in particular quickly drew his attention; the circle that was now almost completely wreathed in smoke and fire. He ducked and winced with a sympathetic sore head as the armoured figure barely blocked a tremendous overhead blow from the much smaller, brightly coloured fighter. That had to have hurt, even through armour.

The wolf pushed away from the wall and sauntered back towards Cog. "I am no judge of quality magecraft," he said, "I never touch the stuff myself, but the fight in the burning jungle is quite impressive. I thought the armoured fire-mage might have won a time or two, but his opponent is jumping like a flea, and with a hundred times the kick!"

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

Sahlena's nonchalant demeanor only incited Keaton's ire further, although it was for the most part smothered, muted down to a whisper which manifested in the form of the grimacing snarl on Keaton's muzzle. Looking more than a little irate, the jackal leaned her chin against her wrist, scowling irritably at the far wall, yet steadfastly refusing to look at the machine-woman until she asked if she wanted to move.

Keaton stopped for a moment, drumming her fingers against the tabletop. There wasn't much reason in moping, especially when she could be fighting someone and letting out that aggression. She hadn't been paying attention to the outcomes of the fights in the other circles, so whether or not any of them were currently unoccupied was beyond her. Sighing, Keaton thrust her hands into her pockets and stood up, looking up at Sahlena.

"Sure," she mumbled. She blinked for a minute, then asked, "Anyway, what're you supposed to be?"

---

...Piix:

The crepitating crack of Orpiment against Giles's shielding forearms came as some sadistic satisfaction. As the oddly resonant sound echoed eerily behind the rampaging roar of the expanding flames, Piix twisted her body around, attempting to draw Orpiment back so she could safely execute a landing.

It didn't work out as planned. A resisting tug indicated that something very big, and very strong, had latched onto Orpiment's handle and was contesting against her hold. Considering her diminutive height and lack of physical strength, it was unfortunately too much for Piix to handle, and she was unexpectedly flung forward. The Orin's eyes widened and panic flared inside of her as she saw the incoming flame blossom anew before her, the heart of the fire yawning wide to devour her whole and reduce her body to ashes.

I'm going to die.

Piix screamed.

I'M GOING TO DIE-

The pulsing, pounding beat throbbing painfully within Piix's mind swelled as the Orin drew in on herself, enveloping her body with arms and legs and tail tucked inward. Quills spread and extended along her back like razorbladed needles, Discus whirling and spinning haphazardly, that rippling distorting the air imperceptibly in a thin, spherical layer around her curled form. Heat and fire raged and dove upon Piix's vulnerable form, only to clash and splash like hell-hot waves against the barrier protecting Piix's body. It didn't last, though, as the Orin shrieked once more, a sound which was muted within the shield -

- the barrier spasmed, reacting to the violent ripples which vibrated over Discus's surface, turbulently churning -

- and then it exploded outward in a furious gust of pressure, expelling the flame which had smothered Piix's form in a wide arc, the fire flickering and fading into smoky mist and dead ash in the air. Under it all, the Orin was lying in a heap on the ground, Orpiment clutched in one hand, Discus faltering amidst its perpetual levitation, and her fur smoking and dappled with ashes, disquietingly still other than the shudders which quaked her form.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

While Brinald's words might have been true, Stygian only replied to them with a slow shake of his head, and what could be perceived as a disappointed look outside, toward the battle in question. 'Yes. But she's lost anyhow,' he stated, quite assured of what he said. 'She let him warm up too much, literally. Now, I think we will have to keep him from killing her outright. Or, well, since the Circle won't allow that, keep him from sending her into a year-long remission...'

- -

The last question posed by the jackal made the machine back up her head a bit, and the lens in her face flicked black for a moment, as if she had blinked. Clearly, she had either been programmed with, or developed some clearly human mannerisms.
   ':i am a machine. a military-grade all-purpose android. i think that would be quite evident to see, but if i have somehow misjudged your senses or your judgment, i apologize,' she said, almost snidely yet not without a bit of humor. ':honestly, i thought that the question of what you are was far more appropriate. i'm not the one who looks like a crossing between a hairless ape and a nearly extinct canine.' She tilted her head to the side and 'blinked' again, looking down at Keaton. ':gene-spliced beyond recognition?'

[Cogidubnus]

 Giles grinned widely as he saw the little Orin plummet, coated in fire and falling like a...thing that fell while on fire.
Giles wasn't an astronomer.

The fires around him dissipated quickly, and the little alien managed to put herself out with a last puff of pressurized air. Giles stood slowly, one foot and then another thumping loudly on charred ash, and not even bothering to summon the fires burning the trees to himself, he simply walked over to Piix.

He ignored the faltering discus, the power behind it not enough to even bump into him with any force, and crouching down he grabbed a handful of Piix's hair and pulled up, his face only inches from the Orin's.

"Is that it?" the blackguard said, a infuriating smirk plastered on his face.

* * *

"Giles is...very powerful." Cogidubnus said, looking at the russet wolf calmly and then back out at the battle. "He has his weaknesses, but his strengths are almost overwhelming. The trick to beating him is hitting very fast and very hard. But don't tell him I said that."

Cog took a moment to study the red wolf's weaponry - as he did so, the smallest noise could be heard emanating from his throat, as if in interest. If it was a approving or doubting interest, one could not determine.

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

Whether or not Sahlena was trying to be polite, Keaton was quite obviously becoming agitated with her remarks, indicated by the twitching her eye was making as she struggled (and failed) to keep her face neutral. Fists clenching in her pockets, she reviewed every breathing exercise she had accumulated over her many years of living within the seconds before she spoke. The comment about being "nearly extinct" was perceived as an insult; a rather poor bit of judgment on Keaton's part, considering Sahlena knew nothing of her history.

"For your information, I'm a jackal," Keaton snarled, thrusting her index finger out of her pocket, "And there are loads of me where I'm from, thank you. Second, there's nothing fucking wrong with my senses or judgment."

Looking rather spiteful, Keaton cast a vicious glare out the window, toward the nearest circle. Since when did those things become so occupied? Seemed most of the fights were reaching their end, but she couldn't see what was going on in one of them, which was mostly obscured by writhing fire and smoke...

---

...Piix:

Piix was unreceptive from where she was on the ground, still inactive save for those minuscule, erratic shudders and quakes, even as Giles started to approach her. The hand clutching Orpiment gradually grew less and less adamant in its grip, the knuckles falling lax and the joints of each finger slackening under the charred fur and flesh; Discus's rotation starting to peter out into a few, slow spins, yet somehow not disintegrating and returning into its deactivated state.

In the darkness that suffused Piix's mind, she was unaware of the heavy footsteps that heralded the blackguard's advance, and only vaguely aware of the gauntlet-clad hand which dug its fingers painfully into her hair and hefted her into the air. Orpiment fell from her hand and landed on the ash-laden earth. She felt something warm, and that was it. For a moment, Piix foolishly surmised that she was in hell, which probably was a bit of overkill even for someone who made a routine occupation out of stealing from others. If anything, she would be slightly damned.

Could still hear that bastard's voice, too. Sounded slightly resonant, the baritone muffled behind the odd buzzing sound which was filling her ears, but Giles's voice was still there, fleshing out from a mere mumble into complete clarity.

"Is that it?"

Piix gave an agitated twitch in his hand, her ears flattening and her head lolling to the side, although such a resistant move could be interpreted as her neck falling slack like her hand. Her face, which was oddly taut and stained with the soot copiously dappling her front, twitched. Piix felt the gears of her mind lurch into motion again.

Fucking shit, Piix thought, I'm alive.

Piix felt her eyes open, the bioluminescent-black sclera moist, somehow glowing beneath the distant light radiated by the still-livid flames raging in the background. As her half-blinded irises focused to her fire-bathed surroundings, the first thing she saw was Giles's face, leering at her.

Piix didn't scream.

Though it would have been much more preferable.

Piix's ears fell back, flattening against her skull, and her eyes widened, widened, widened, going as large as discs before they narrowed, the brilliant gold of her irises glowing eerily around the obsidian pits of her pupils as they dilated into sinuous slits. In the hellish glow of the fire she almost looked like a demon, especially as her lips pulled back in a way reminiscent of a dog and she snarled gutturally, emitting a horrid, ear-splitting hiss which erupted into a shrill, equally horrific shriek. Fangs bared, she thrust her body forward as she lunged, barreling right into the blackguard's face and snapping her jaws around the first thing she saw in the blurry seconds before red engulfed her vision, her claws digging into his cheeks and her feet kicking at the air.

A wet crunch and the taste of blood flowing into Piix's mouth told her it was Giles's nose. With whatever portion of her mind that could still think rationally, Piix hoped that he wouldn't fling her off as she gnawed closer and closer onto the brutalized nose.

The rest of her, consumed by animalistic instinct, was merely hissing, feeling the venom in her veins surge and pump out through her fangs.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

Stygian's eyes narrowed, not in a frown but in a simply hard expression, and he made a slow nod. Powerful, but only if he manages to get started, he thought, in a very mean and cruel manner. That, I will very much keep in mind. Because if there is anything I am good at, then it is to hit fast and hard.
   'Then we might have something in common,' the man remarked, not too cautiously. But they would find out sooner or later anyhow. And not while they were fighting him. The newcomer seemed to be bound for a fight with Cogidubnus, considering how the latter was sizing the former up so intensely. At least, that was the more probable and decent reason Stygian could come up with. 'If I fight him, I won't give him the courtesy of a technical victory.'

- -

The machine looked as if she would have smiled if she could. In fact, the moving parts under the lower-most part of her smooth face-plating looked as if they were smiling, but it was a bit too dark in the bar and a bit too shadowed where Keaton sat to safely determined. Either way, the android's voice at least sounded mirthful.
   ':i knew what you are. or at least, what you must be in part. and you seemed to be stating the obvious,' Sahlena said, as smoothly and non-hostilely as she could. Placing her hands down on the table before her, she leaned forward, looking at the significantly smaller succubus from above. ':but then again, i could just call you "mammal". because if i judge your physique right, you are indeed one,' she continued, her voice taking on a teasing and slightly derogatory edge and something in her manner, not to mention her remark and where her gaze seemed to land very much doing the same. She meant to unnerve. ';do you have a name, mammal?'

[Cogidubnus]

 Giles grinned into the little Orin's face, expecting a groan of pain, or perhaps a whimper of agony. His smile simply grew wider, and as she opened her her eyes slowly the blackguard began to laugh darkly.

Piix opened her golden, bioluminescent eyes wide, and then wider, and then wider still, and her ears flattened against her head, inky pupils slitting into cats eyes and a low, unsettling hiss emanating from the alien. Giles's laugh began to die, the eerie colors and enraged, slitted and alien pupils of her eyes disturbing the normally unflappable blackguard.
His eyes drifted towards her mouth, where her lips pulled back almost obscenely to bare long, white fangs.

Giles twitched too late. The little Orin lunged at the blackguard's face, only inches away, with hidden reserves of strength. She bit onto the first thing she reached, almost making Giles lose a piece of his nose as Piix pushed the pyromancer back. Giles tripped, falling with the Orin right on top of him as she continued to chew her way further into Giles's face. He hit the ground with a muffled scream, both hands grabbing Piix and attempting to wrench the thing off his head - he could not pull the little alien off him, however, for fear of losing his nose. The Orin apparently had powerful jaws.

As she bit, the pyromancer experienced something he hadn't before. His nose burned as if on fire.
It burned cold.

He could feel whatever it was spreading throughout his face rapidly - from his nose, to his mouth, to his throat and then quickly to his eyes, each faculty numbing and fuzzing with each passing second. His screams softened, and in desperation he let go of the Orin for just a moment, conjuring fire and heat into both hands until the iron of his gauntlets was red hot.
The cold burn reached his shoulders long before he could lift them, and his arms simply fell limp to his sides.

His vision dimmed, and his thoughts swam, and soon, even the semidarkness of the Orin's smothering form dimmed and faded.

[techmaster-glitch]

Mechangel

   The cloaked hunchback had continued to stand outside, watching all three circles. It was extremely difficult to see into the hundred-foot deep maze of trenches, but it looked like the Insectis had just tried to give [Siolen] the slip, by going through a wall and sealing it behind him. The rat and the plant-woman were still going at it in their own circle.
   But the fight between [Alien-2] and the pyromancing black knight had just gotten interesting. Just when it seemed the alien was out for the count, the knight picked her up, which was apparently a very bad move. It was then she made a dramatic comeback, and proceeded to savage the knight's unprotected face.

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

There were several contributing characteristics to Sahlena's overall intimidation factor. Mostly, there was how unnervingly devoid of vibrancy and expression Sahlena's mechanical excuse for a "face" was, her visage composed of cold metal and compound clusters of glowing red eyes. Second, there was the drastic height difference between the robot and the jackal. And third, there was her countenance, surprisingly lackadaisical as it was for an android, something Keaton had seen portrayed in sci-fi movies as unfeeling, humorless drones. Aside from those fictional caricatures, Keaton had little to no experience with the world of technology, so encountering something like Sahlena was outrageous for her.

Despite that, Keaton couldn't bring herself to be insulted at the term "mammal," no matter how derogatory it was brandished. Belligerence and emotional dysregulation or not. Instead of backing down, Keaton merely felt her mood be alleviated, a grin crossing her face. "The mammal does have a name," she confirmed, raising her pierced eyebrow. "The name's Keaton. And you're...?"

---

...Piix:

Still seething and snarling around Giles's nose wedged between her fangs, Piix remained latched to his face, claws digging into the flesh of his cheek and teeth gnawing and grinding away at the crunched vertebrae, as though she was trying to lodge her fangs even deeper into his skin and increase the flow of poison. In her furious, blind, instinctive rage, she was relentless in her assault, still remaining attached to Giles's face even when the blackguard screamed and toppled over like a giant, armored tree, his gauntlet-clad hands yanking and tugging at her furred body. Quills bristling, Piix merely snarled in response to each swat, her tail swinging in haphazard directions.

Soon Giles's struggles ceased. Piix's head was hurting even worse than before, to the point her consciousness was fluctuating. Hissing, she finally detached her jaws from Giles's mangled nose, hacking and coughing as blood dripped from her fangs and her mouth in copious amounts. She felt like she was going to throw up. Piix reeled, still attempting, with great revulsion, to spit the blood culminated in her mouth out, only for her to glance down at the supposedly unconscious blackguard.

Oh.

Piix reached up and poked at her left cuspid, fingering the virulent tooth with increasing shock.

Oh shit.

Immediately, Piix started chattering out a long series of hisses, whines, clicks, and other barbaric animal-sounds, her body backpedaling as she propelled herself off of Giles's form and scrambled off to the side, staring at his face in horror. Amidst her unintelligible language she finally forced herself to vociferate her frustration and shock in Standard, as she screamed, "Fuck! FUCK!"

Piix glanced back and forth, her ears flat, her pupils pinpricked as she combed over Giles for any signs of life. Orin poison was very effective. Maybe not lethal in certain amounts, but he had been injected in the face. And quite thoroughly envenomed.

"IT'S OVER!" Piix shouted, hoping that this would deactivate the circle, or something. She had no idea how it worked. "The FIGHT'S OVER!"

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[SpottedKitty]

Brinald turned back to look out of the window just in time to see the armoured fire-mage, Cogidubnus had called him Giles, loom over his apparently defeated and slightly smouldering opponent. What happened next drew a wryly amused bark from him. "Hah! Powerful or not, an arrogant fool's mistake — never pick up someone's head like that while it's still firmly on their shoulders!"

He continued to watch as the armoured figure flopped over backwards, twitching... and then stopped twitching. "Ah... is he all right, do you think?" he asked, with a curious tilt to his ears (and an "oh dear, how sad, never mind" tone in his voice).

[Stygian]

'No, but if he isn't, he quite thoroughly deserves it.' Stygian's smile was probably as venomous as the Orin's poison, as he remarked on the outcome of the fight. Mentally, he was making quite a few corrections, so as to not lose faith in the little previously-colorful critter shouting in the circle, or any other little unknown thing, so quickly in the future. He slipped out a coin, seemingly from his sleeve, and tapped it down on the counter. 'A rum and cola. With ice. I know it's a pussy drink; I just need something easy now.'
   Taking his drink when it was quickly served, courtesy of the Boogeyman's unique nature, the man leaned back on the counter and sipped it slowly. 'Going at it like that at the end... Lunacy. Remind me not to let him enjoy the fight if he faces me,' he said, licking the corner of his mouth.

- -

Seemingly returning the jackal's grin, the machine adjusted her stance a bit and looked at her more directly. If the succubus were not intimidated at being approached by a cold, hard, weaponized machine-thing then, she probably never would be. Well, not without throwing a big gun into the equation. The machine stretched out a curiously devised hand.
   ': [S.A.H.L.EN.A.],' the machine said, pronouncing the acronym together as one word. ';intelligent construct and /quote secretary /unquote.'

[Boog]

"Oh, I probably reckon things very differently than you do," The Boogeyman chuckled in reply to Brinald before the wolf was overrun with welcomes from the rest of the group. With his patrons thus occupied he was free to keep his eyes peeled for trouble elsewhere in the-
Annnnnd yes, the toaster was picking on the succubus. Lovely. That damn thing causes anything outside a circle I don't care who owns it, I'm chucking magnets at its head. Arrogance could sometimes be a sign of intelligence too, but ever since first encountering housecats Boog had taken that view with a grain of salt. However, a circle cleared up soon after the problem started. They could probably settle it on their own.
Meanwhile, Giles had stopped twitching. That was almost NEVER good. He was out heading for the circle in a hurry, hoping he could catch the blackguard while he was still coherent enough to pay for his medical bills.

---

Siolen skidded to a halt as the walls slammed shut in his face, slamming one fist against the edifice in his frustration. He would need a bit more space if he wanted to take to the air without incident. He turned and kept going, running fairly fast hoping to find either his enemy or an area where his path widened out some more.

[techmaster-glitch]

Karazkt

   Karazkt grinned in his own strange Insectis way when he felt the gargoyle walking, not flying. Excellent... He thought.
   The maze was actually very small; there were no more than ten corridors, all bent and skewed around. Karazkt tracked his progress for a little bit, guessing his direction, the moved his mech around to another corridor. He used his antennae to feel where Siolen was again, guessing right. Karazkt and his mech were at one end of another corridor, and at the other end, there was a corner-where Siolen would find himself heading for.
   Karazkt moved ther arms of his mech a bit, and plunged them both into the walls surrounding him, with a little touch of earth magic. When he pulled them back, they came with two large boulders made from the wall itself.
   Karazkt put his mech into a ready stance, and felt the wall again; Siolen was getting close. He prepared to throw the boulders, one after the other, the moment he felt Siolen getting to the corner.

(OOC: Boog, in your next post, you can play it with them automatically going towards Siolen, then what he does to try and avoid them. No need to wait for a post from me saying, "I throw the boulders" )

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel had been watching the fiery fight with a sort of horrified fascination. Fire was a particular dread of hers so she had made herself not look away. The fight over and her attention back to the bar she nodded amiably at the new wolf. Her wings were almost whole again but her side itched abominably where the new scales were growing to cover the spot where the acid had burned her. She was glad that the little creature had won the fight but shuddered a bit at the sight of the burns. Neither contestant really looked like a winner to the dragon.

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog looked at Brinald, smiling just a bit. "He'll be fine. I imagine he won't be happy when he wakes up, but he'll probably drink something, burn the glass and then smoke for a bit and be none the worse. Well, he might sound funny, but..." Cog couldn't help but shake his head at the little furred acrobat's clever and swift move against Giles's nose.
Cog doubted Giles could even smell anyway, what with all the smoke he must inhale.

"If you fight him, I recommend you don't really piss him off." the wolf returned at the man, glancing at him and then back at the blackguard's unmoving form. "He gets much worse when he's mad."

"Do what you like, of course. But natural fire he manipulates just as well. And there's always more of that around than you think..." the wolf paused, watching. Giles really wasn't moving. Cog was a little off-put by this development - the man had a constitution like a brick, and was about as easy to move. If he was unconcious, he didn't want to be the one to drag him out of the ring.

* * *

Still unmoving, Giles lay on the somewhat ashen stones in darkness and silence.

[lucas marcone]

Ian spun out of the way and Sylvie's staff found Iand collar bone. Ian grabbed one of Sylvies wrists and tried a submission move on her. He felt awkward never haveing done this to a girl before but the fight needed to be ended, and he wasn't about to loose.

[Angel]

Sylvie wasn't quite as pleased as she should have been when her staff connected with Ian's collar bone. But the pain of his next move made her forget that. Ian was doing some kind of wrestling move to her non-staff-holding arm, rendering her immobile. She squirmed a bit, trying to break the hold without having Ian lose any more blood, but it was in vain. Besides, there were others yet to fight, and this one had gone on long enough.

"Nnngh.......Okay. The fight's over."

[Stygian]

Strangely, Cog's remark made the man next to him grin and make a short, hard laugh that came out mostly as a wheeze through his throat. He broke it off and stifled it quickly, returning to merely smirking, but it had been quite unsettling for the short couple of seconds it lasted.
   Stygian cleared his throat silently before he spoke again. 'Well, the same goes for me, so I guess that evens it out. Really, I have... eyes to see with,' he remarked, a bit of an odd pause in the middle of the last sentence. 'You need not worry, if that is what you are actually doing. And I will not fight him immediately after he comes back from something like that.' He chuckled, and took a long sip. 'That would be... inconsiderate.'