The Honor Circle Returns! (IC)

[Stygian]

'Good', was Stygian's immediate comment at Sylvie's response. Turning on his chair, he looked over his shoulder at her for a moment. His eyes were hard and unwavering, but too hard to read for her to make a good guess at what he was trying to convey, much less what he was thinking. There seemed to be both disdain and interest in those eyes, just as there was something challenging and intense and something coldly jaded at the same time. One could have said that his gaze was mixed, but that would have been insufficient to describe the intensity of it.
   'Good, because I have no desire to beat you again, if fighting is all that's going to come of it', he continued. 'That and being berated for it.' His eyes didn't move to Dani, but the words hit the other woman like a slap. He leaned against the back of the chair, and kept his eyes on her for a while, then sighed and looked to the floor. 'But I don't intend to try and make up for the... lackings here... if fighting is all you want to do.'
   It might not have dawned on the woman, but to Stygian at least the point he wanted across was clear. He hadn't been hostile in the least - well, not according to his standards, or according to what you could call 'hostile' under the circumstances - and she had backed out on the promise she'd made after the fight.

[Angel]

Dani would have gone back to watching the fights, had she not felt a glare akin to the one she'd given Stygian earlier burning into her back. She glanced over her shoulder at the mongoose-creature that had walked in with the zombie. Busted. The human bit her lip and moved her eyes away from Marya with a mixture of sheepishness and very very slight amusement. She couldn't blame her; she'd've done the same thing if certain patrons in the bar looked at Syl like that.

Speaking of which... At the verbal blow, Dani quit her façade of disinterest and looked up at Stygian. Okay, that just plain hurt, she thought, but forced herself not to say out loud. Sure, her previous threats had been rude and unnecessary, but a person had every right to be worried about her friend getting in it too deep. She looked up at Syl to see how she was taking all this, and once she was satisfied, got up and moved to a table closer to the other side of the room. Being in the middle of this probably wasn't the best idea.
---
So it hadn't been a submission or a threat. Sylvie spun around on her seat to face Stygian completely, but her eyes were distant for a moment. She was trying to work this out in her head. She hadn't shown any signs of wanting to fight again, had she? She'd have challenged him outright if she'd intended that, and in any case, she wasn't one for begruding victories.

After a few seconds, an idea came to her of why he'd assumed that; maybe he'd misinterpreted her stare when she was watching him tinker with the skull-thing. He'd thought she was still scared of him. At this, Sylvie felt a small twinge of guilt, remembering her promise. She relaxed a little, prayed she was right and faced him again. 

"If all I'd wanted to do was fight, I'd have demanded a rematch as soon as the Circle faded," she told Stygian. "Which I wouldn't, because frankly, I get annoyed when people do that. I didn't mean to stare, I was just curious about what you're doing and I...felt a little awkward about asking." Don't look at Dani, don't look at Dani, don't look at Dani... the elf willed herself, waiting to see what would happen.

[Stygian]

Something had gone the girl by. Stygian was sure of it. From the way she relaxed and seemed to try and seem more friendly at that comment. What she didn't realize was that he blamed her for the bad mood, not Dani. He hadn't been privy to whatever conversation they might have had upstairs, but from his point of view he had done nothing to create any hostility. And she certainly had done nothing to avail it. He wasn't the type who looked for faults in people or who blamed them - Hell knew that he had far too many flaws himself for that, or at least that's how he saw it - but some things he just didn't want to pass by.
   'You didn't stare, and I didn't think you wanted to fight again', the man said, still looking straight at the elf in a way that made it hard to look back. 'But it wasn't that you didn't want to ask about my business, was it?' He wasn't going to stop being forthright just because he barely knew her.
   Of course, neither did he want to push her away, but at least he'd had some success in that Dani had at last deemed the atmosphere unpleasant enough to remove herself. He could soothe that one later, but right now he thought she deserved a bit of discomfort. Stygian was poisonous, and he didn't expect people to learn much without feeling the sting once or twice. As for Sylvie...
   'I wonder... Do you expect the men where you're from to entertain you as well?' he asked, but put on a slight smile after that all of a sudden. He made the question sound a bit challenging. 'Maybe I should be the one interrogating you, considering that it was I who won.' The accentuation was half jesting, but the point was clear. He wanted her to talk about herself. And not just because he thought that he himself was unpleasant...

[Paladin Sheppard]

As the Boogeyman suggested Pal made his way over to the bar. Not seeing whoever served here Paladin started looking at the bottles behind the bar looking for any he might know. 

Rex sat on the stool next to him and placed his paws on the bar so he could see over the top.

[Angel]

Sylvie paled just a bit at Stygian's first two remarks. Uh-oh... guess I did get it wrong after all. She was feeling somewhat like she had when Stygian had first brushed her off... and then, despite the fact that his tone and demeanor only changed a little, he smiled and started sounding the slightest bit like he had before the conflict had happened. That didn't change the nature of what he'd said, of course, but still...

She flushed a little indignantly at his question, but didn't give a knee-jerk response. She couldn't help wanting to see him a little uncomfortable, and a quick, angry reaction would just give him satisfaction. Even so, she didn't want to brush him off after all that effort.

"Okay, then. Don't like your choice of words, but it means the same thing either way," she responded, sounding the tiniest bit offended. "But tell me, did you mean what do women in general expect of men where I come from, or what do I expect in particular? Because what I hope for from people is courtesy, but what I expect is very different." She sounded a little challenging herself. He wasn't the first person to make her feel awkward. All she needed to do was draw on her practice.

[Stygian]

Raising an eyebrow, Stygian half frowned, half smirked at Sylvie and leaned his head forward, peering up at her from under a blond bang having fallen over one of his eyes.
   'Isn't that the case with everyone? I suppose I should be more specific then...' he said. He wasn't entirely sure how though. So perhaps, he thought, he should just keep on being challenging instead. Putting his elbow on the table and leaning on his hand, he looked up at the elf.
   'What do you expect of me?' he asked. If that didn't get her thinking, nothing would. Here they were, in a bar at the end of the universe, strange creatures abound, and... 'You seem to expect that I'm going to get up and bite your head off at any moment. I can't interpret things much any other way.' Stygian's gaze shifted toward Dani for a moment there, but when he looked back held Sylvie's eyes firmly.

[Angel]

Sylvie paused, an oddly contemplative look in her eyes. She didn't look away from Stygian, keeping him in her gaze as she considered his question. She wasn't scared of him at that moment; if she was, she wasn't aware of it and didn't know she'd acted like it. But she really wasn't sure what she thought of him, much less what she expected of him...

"I know you won't do anything like that," she said at last, still looking thoughtful. "The fact that you can might worry me a little, but I'm really not one to talk there and I knew that most people here would be strong. Still, other than that you won't hurt me for no reason, I don't know what to expect of you."

She shifted a little, crossing one leg over the other and folding her hands in her lap. "That being said, you seem to think I'm going to run upstairs shivering and scared the moment I get a chance. I'm not going to do that; you're far more pleasant than most men I've talked to, and like I said, I know you won't hurt me." She couldn't really think of a better way to word it than that.

[Stygian]

For a few moments Stygian just sat there, looking blankly up at the elf. If he was feeling something or thinking particularly deeply, he didn't show it. His face was somewhere between that intensity from before and a bitter boorishness when at last he answered.
   'There are more ways than one to hurt someone', he said. 'And worse things than that. But I suppose you're right.' He stood up, placing a hand on the back of his chair and facing Sylvie. 'Thing is though, that I know myself. And out of running crying and this...' he continued, stepping closer and looking down at her. He smiled, a little eerily. 'I'm sorry. I'm pretty used to people being terrified of me.'
   Somehow, Dani got the feeling that he shifted his attention to her at that last statement. But there was really barely any change in his stance or his look. It was hard to shake the feeling though...

[Cogidubnus]

 Taking yet another drink of his whiskey, the bottle of which was keeping it filled marked with various warnings about storage and proximity to paint or flames, Giles rolled his eyes at the little alien sitting next to him, and yelled at the somewhat awkward conversation going on behind him. His voice, not yet slurring, carried that quality of that idiot who thinks he's speaking for a group, and clearly thinks that when push comes to shove, he can continue to hide amongst them while carrying their full, unspoken support.
Giles perhaps should have thought this out further, the group he was thinking of being the three people currently at the bar.

"Dear God, just kiss her or take a drink already! Some of us are trying to get pissed here!" he said, downing another glass of the amber liquid.

Cog, being the recipient of the bat's rather piercing glare earlier, rolled his eyes behind his glasses and sipped on his citrus-flavored concoction.

[Angel]

Up until that moment, things had been going rather smoothly, Sylvie thought. A least now she and Stygian understood each other a bit more. That smile was a bit chilling, and she got the feeling he was referencing Dani a few times, but they were being honest with one another. She was considering how to answer him when Giles voiced his opinion.

The elf turned her head a little and smiled a good-natured half smile, but an odd little gleam came into her eyes as she looked at the blackguard... like she was trying to decide whether to tie his mouth shut with a potted plant or hypnotize him into jumping on the bar and singing "I'm a Little Teapot."

But before she could do anything, Dani stood up. Sylvie blinked, a little surprised, and looked back and forth between the Red and Stygian. Her eyes had changed; now they held a note of concern, but a bright gleam of mischief. He seems pretty powerful, and she might get really badly hurt; but if she pulls this off, it'll be really fun to watch.
---
Dani felt - no, knew - that Stygian had aimed his last comment at her. She wasn't sure how to answer, though; she was a bit scared of the man, which was probably a bit more obvious on her than Syl. The recent past hadn't really helped her out, either. Still, Sylvie trusted him enough to be nice to him after he'd beaten her, so he might not be that bad. But the guard was still a level or two away from trusting Stygian.

When the guy with the messed-up face made a loud, brash remark about the situation, Dani felt a little jolt of something run through her. Ordinarily, she might have laughed, but right now, all that came to her lips was a devilish smirk. Even if she didn't look it, she was more than a little ruffled; there were a few things she just couldn't stand, and bad timing on clueless drunks was one of them. But she'd just figured out a way to make the best of it...

She stood, signaling with her eyes for Sylvie not to react, walked over to the bar and faced Giles.

"Y'know, much as I appreciate honesty, I'm really more in favor of tact," she said. She glanced over at Piix. "Sorry if I'm interrupting you guys, but I've been waiting for this chance since I came here and I want to ask before I lose my nerve." Her eyes went back to the blackguard. "Soon as you're sloshed enough and don't look like you wrestled a wolverine, think you'd be up for a fight?"

[Stygian]

Irritation sparked within Stygian the moment that Giles opened his mouth. He didn't know what to make of that. Some comment about 'idiots being idiots everywhere', perhaps, and a query whether if Sylvie recognized that sort of behavior. His comment seemed to have 'taken' with Dani, but he didn't recognize what the woman was about to do. He had his eyes on Sylvie, hoping that she would act on whatever malicious idea it seemed she was thinking of. When Dani spoke up his eyes shifted to hers. But his expression didn't change when she issued her challenge. If she was thinking of getting on his good side by doing that... Well, there were better ways of humiliating the blackguard for revenge.
   Either way, the way the situation had improved was satisfactory. And it gave him the time he needed to do something else he had been wanting a reason for; speaking to Piix. He practically glided over to the little alien; one moment he was over by Sylvie, the next he was leaned down next to the furry creature over her shoulder.
   'I think it would be a good idea to tell her what she's getting into', he said silently into Piix's ear, and shot a glance over toward Dani that prompted the alien to do the same. 'Just out of simple courtesy.' He wasn't sure what the little thing had been thinking of him so far, or why she seemed so tense. Moving up this close might trigger a response that would let him tell more precisely...

[Cogidubnus]

Giles knocked back another whiskey, smacking his lips for a just a moment before making somewhat of a distressed face, his cheeks puffing out just barely - and paused. That other girl who'd been talking to the strange man was giving him the evil eye, and now was starting to talk to him. She finished, and Giles put up one finger.
He turned his head and belched. The release of intestinal gases, while being somewhat crude and perhaps even impolite was also itself manifest as billowing flame. The blackguard's alcohol-fueled exhalation scorched the roof just slightly, the short-lived flame tinted with blue around the edges.

"Always drunk enough to wrestle a wolverine. How about you?" he grinned, his hand reaching for the glowing spear set to his side.

[Boog]

Damn, she backed down, Marya groused into her drink. Her alertness had been genuine, but she'd also rather been hoping to be hitting someone by now. She really couldn't help being more than a bit of a violence junkie. It was hereditary, and she didn't mean to, it was just her nature, and they should all just blame her upbringing. At least, those were the excuses she used when asked about the subject. Richard had noticed her attempt at watching his back too, and wasn't too thrilled about it. Wasn't too thrilled at all, she could tell, as he stood up and placed a bottle on the counter with a cold "clunk" of finality. He strode across the room toward Risky.
... Oh no. No, he isn't. Marya brought her beer to her lips.
Richard leaned against the bar near Risky, giving her another quick once over. Lets see; good physique, looks military, carries a firearm... Perfect. "The rules say we can challenge anyone, right?"
Meanwhile, a certain mongoose choked on her beer and was sent into a coughing fit.

[TheGreyRonin]

 "Dead man walking," was the first thought that ran through Risky's mind as the apparent zombie approached. She'd heard of the living dead but had only actually seen a few, mindless shambling things that bore little resemblance to this one.

She too-casually swept her hair forward a bit as he stopped. Dead bodies didn't bother her as a rule unless they belonged to children. There was that nasty situation on Stirling, for instance, where an Enforcer had held an entire school hostage...

Lost for a second in thought, she heard something, presumably from the man. She blinked her memories away and looked up...and up at him.

"Didn't catch that, sorry. Something on your mind?" she said, taking a large swallow of her drink.

[Boog]

"Ooh, ouch." Richard gave a rattling laugh. "Sorry, I don't know if there's any sort of formality you're supposed to observe in a fight club or if there's a way you're supposed to say it," he backed away and gave a low, surprisingly elegant bow, "so pardon my delivery and just consider yourself challenged."

--

Boog slipped around to the other side of the bar, turning that floodlight grin on Pal again. "So, what'll it be?" He picked up the glass he'd been polishing earlier (more to be barkeeply than any apparent filth on the glass) from where he'd left it near the book labeled 'Stories' and fumbled around under the counter for a dishcloth, "A drink? Information? I'm warning you right now, I'm not too good at the 'hearing your life story' part of this whole gig."

[TheGreyRonin]

 "No, no, you just caught me woolgathering. Since I'm the "who", I'm guessing "right now" is the when," she said with a wry smile. She knocked back most of her drink, then took one last puff on her cigarette before dousing the butt in her drink.

"Give me a second to arrange something, and I'm all yours big guy." Risky stood up, trying to catch Cog's eye from here.

[Cogidubnus]

 As slightly tipsy as he was, Cog still managed to notice she of the thermonuclear cigarettes trying to get his attention. Making a somewhat sour expression at Giles's outburst, the products of which had crinkled a bit of the gauze on the blackguard's nose black, he turned his gaze to the human reactor.

"Ah?" he said, setting his drink on the bar.

[Paladin Sheppard]

"Heh, my life story might take a few days so I'll spare ye." Pal said to the thought entity.

"As for drinks, Do ye have anything like an energy drink called Redbull? If ye do can I get it a fifty/fifty mix with Vodka? And the Aci here will have a large jug of Guinness if ye have any."

Pal looked around at the area before tuning back and asking "So whats the deal with this place? I'm guessing the ring there is for fighting, any rules I should know about?"

[Angel]

At the impressive, if childish, display of power, Dani went wide-eyed, her emotions unclear from her expression. But the more noticeable reaction was near the other end of the bar. Someone let loose a high-pitched yelp of terror, and then came the sound of a chair scooting on the floor, a brief scuffle and a few short, recovering breaths. The whole thing lasted for a split second, but such things never go unnoticed.

Dani's face went from surprise to slightly exasperated concern; it was similar to the face Sylvie had shown when the correctional officer had fallen asleep. She looked over at said Green. She was sitting almost as she had been when Stygian left, but with her skirt a little ruffled, her hair slightly mussed, her back straight as a rod, and her face completely blank as her shoulders rose and fell a little more than was considered normal and her fingers drummed nervously on the table.

Rather than attract any more attention to her terrified friend, Dani leaned over for a moment to grab her own weapon from its propped position against the wall and faced Giles with an ambivalent smirk. "Well, the last time I saw someone of my race get that drunk...let's just say not only did he wrestle a wolverine, he declawed it by hand." Okay, so it had really been the Dean's Rottweiler, but either way... "So was that a yes, or a no?"

[Stygian]

The little alien stiffened when he approached her, but otherwise didn't make a sound. By her heart rate though, and her breathing, he'd say... she was really wound up. And this immediately made Stygian make the conclusion that she'd seen the fight, and she had gotten scared of him. Pity.
   'So everyone's off to fight now?' he said, a little strained and a little obviously, straightening and moving around the counter, away from the little creature, looking around at people. His gaze landed on Sylvie last. 'I guess that leaves us all the time we want to... do what?' He posed that question with a bit of tone. Then he noticed Sylvie's posture, and her look. For a few moments he was lost. Then he raised an eyebrow and turned his head to look at Giles. Frowning a bit, he smoothly, casually, slid in right between the blackguard and the Green, and leaned upon the counter, effectively blocking their sight of each other, while he himself turned his gaze to the Boogeyman.
   'Give me the same as... that one over there', he said, nodding toward Pal. 'And something with lots of carbon for the lady. Something sweet.'

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

Again, Keaton kept her sight trained on Sahlena, even as she evaded her swing and even as the machine proceeded to eject herself into the air, beyond what could safely be considered human limitations, and onto the safety of a catwalk perch. For Keaton, it was both an advantage and a disadvantage, primarily the latter. On the good side, it allowed her an opportunity to recollect herself and launch another attack. On the other hand, Keaton had no idea what Sahlena was anticipating, nor could she reach her with conventional blows. She was strictly limited to dark-based energies now, and they hadn't served her very well this time around.

Not that she had a choice. Furrowing her brow and narrowing her eyes, Keaton started to whirl Catastrophe in a repetitive loop of revolutions, culminating energy. Darkened particles pervaded through the air, clustering around the spiraling mace as it was brought around and around, until they started to glow, like thousands of miniaturized coals, and burst into flame-like clarity. Red light trailed behind Catastrophe's head like the tail of a comet, at first flowing as smooth as silk. Just as Keaton froze, ceasing her preparations, and swung Catastrophe forward, the serenity stopped short, all that collected energy leaping forth in an immense, jagged lance of red lightning.

---

...Piix:

The whispering caught Piix off-guard. Just barely, she kept herself from emitting any sort of obscenity, only for her breathing rate to escalate. Under the tabletop, her talons embedded themselves into the wood, their razor-sharp tips perforating the surface quite easily, but the rest of their lengths not sinking in. Unlike Dekuyaketh, after all, Piix couldn't smash stone with her fists.

Her ear perked and pivoted in Stygian's direction. Seconds seemed to pass without her knowledge, in the empty, abysmal space where she should have reacted. For a moment she felt quite profoundly humiliated, to behave so viscerally. Finally, she seemed to posthumously register the stillborn remnants of Stygian's suggestion, and attempted to act on it, diverting her attention to Dani. Just then, Sylvie shot backwards as Giles demonstrated his powers in the form of a condensed, yet brilliant plume of flame. She seemed to recover quickly enough, but it was still quite humorous. Piix laughed a little at her graphic response, her boisterous attitude returning.

"'Ey, take it from me. If y'r as freaked out 'bout fire as y'r friend there, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to challenge 'im." Piix advised Dani, jerking her thumb toward Giles.

---

...Dekuyaketh:

The thunderous sound of stone wrenching apart from stone like dividing molecules drew Dekuyaketh's attention to the scythe suddenly shattering. One look at the distorting air around it and he cursed loudly, barking something resolutely unprintable. The barrier surging in front of his fist palpitated in synchronization with that lapse in his concentration, then flared anew with one pump of electricity through his mechanical arm.

Red light spiraled down the length of his arm, renewing the shield as each sinuous rivulet of electricity snaked into the shield, and then oscillated once, twice, and burned into near pitch-white clarity as Dekuyaketh whirled around toward the pressurized sound cutting toward him, swinging the shield with him and thrusting it right in front of his body. Sustaining this barrier was costing him a great deal of energy, and his arm was aching something dreadful, but hopefully all the dedication would be worth it --

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Mel Dragonkitty]

The dragon finally stood up from the mess she had made on the bar, apparently carrying four giant soap bubbles. Carefully exiting the building Mel tossed one bubble into each of the two empty circles. Each popped in a colorful display. She looked at the two busy circles but as the fights didn't seem to be about to end any time soon she returned to the bar to stare at the structure she had attached to the ceiling.

[TheGreyRonin]

 Neatly sidestepping her challenger, Risky moved a bit closer to Cog. "I'd like to ask a couple of favors from you, if you don't mind." She glanced around the room, then added "I don't really trust anyone else here for this."

In the corner the massive head of the Queen shifted slightly, and one taloned hand flexed slightly as if to relieve a slight stiffness.

[Cogidubnus]

 "Oh, that'd be a yes, yah. I was startin' to get bored, what with all the excitement going on." the blackguard said, the sarcasm clearly evident in his voice. He leaned heavily on his burning spear, and a rivulet of blood began to run down the spearhead as he did so, running down the long iron pole to trickle in between his fingers. Dani, like Marya before, suddenly had the feeling of a great amount of heat pouring off the man, as though there was a furnace inside that black armor of his. Giles smiled his too-white smile, beginning to clunk towards the door.

"You name the rules sweetheart, yeah? I'll just go and get the battlefield ready. Oh, and if I can suggest a rule, don't hit mah nose." he said, pointing to the gauze as he walked through the door. "You don' want to piss me off like that, I can tell ye."

* * *

Cog nodded at Risky, bowing his head just slightly in agreement. His glass lay neglected on the counter behind him. "Of course. If it is within my power, consider it done."

[TheGreyRonin]

 "Knew I could count on you," she said with a slight smile. "If you see a bright flash during the fight, make sure I'm unconscious as soon as it ends, even if you have to knock me cold."

Risky cocked a thumb at the reclining Queen. "I can handle that thing, but not when I'm worn out. She knows it, too."

[Stygian]

Taking his drink once he got it, Stygian overheard Risky's comment, and cast the girl a sidelong glance while he sipped the slightly liquorice-tasting mix.
   'What makes you think you'd need to?' he asked, then adjusted his tone when he realized that might sound a bit wrong. 'We can take care of it.' Looking over at Sylvie instead, he watched her for the general fear and disgust that came with seeing something like the Queen. 'Don't you think? You don't have to bother too much, of course.' He grinned, displaying perfectly white fangs. 'Let the monster deal with the monster.'

- -

Vaulting over the railing, the machine flipped into the air and away from the blast, landing with a hard crack from the floor tiles underneath her. Moving into a sprint, she closed on Keaton in a neat curve, and once she was within about five meters, she dashed ninety degrees to her left and spun out a blade to swipe at Keaton from the other direction. In her mind, the machine had made up her strategy; to pressure the jackal until she gave in. It seemed that she was only dangerous at range, or when given space. And so, she just had to take away those two factors...

[techmaster-glitch]

Mechangel

   The cloaked man sitting in his room observed another newcomer with his eye, detecting the man through the walls. This many was of a fairly large build, armored, and armed to the teeth with assault weaponry. The cloaked figure spent some time analyzing the man. Hmmm...he seems heavyweight, but he may qualify for the event I'm planning. I'll have to drop him a challenge when I get the chance.

Karazkt

   The Insectis had worked for quite some time with his digger mech's left arm disassembled and scrubbing out the tar that coated the innards. But eventually, his task was completed, and he reassembled the arm. He had not forgotten about the Queen. She was his next priority, and a very crucial one as well.
   He got up in the cockpit of his mech and retrieved the bottle of golden nectar-ale he had bartered for when he first got to this place. One surefire way for pleasing a Queen, or at least placating her, was the presentation of a gift, along with the actual subservience. The ale itself wasn't much, but it could help.
   With his mech firmly locked down, the spindly engineer Insectis left the garage, traveled through the corridors, and made his way to to main bar, where the Queen still slumbered. He made his way towards her, passing several people who seemed to be talking about her. He turned for a moment and looked at the people. One was the female humanoid who had notified him of the Queen's hibernation originally and seemed to know even more about her, the other two people he did not recognize. It was impossible to read any facial expression on him, especially with those huge pitch-black goggles, but his antennae did twitch oddly.
   He turned back to the enormous Queen, and moved to sit down in a respectful position roughly in font of her, but just a small distance away. He gently removed his goggles and hooked them onto his toolbelt, revealing his large, shiny, solid-black eyes. He looked around a little to change his infravision to normal-light vision. He placed the bottle directly in front of him, with his hands curled protectively around it for now. He then held still, looking down at the ground, with his antennae in front of him in (in his culture, where antennae are a central point) a submissive posture. They swayed slightly and gently as the rest of him was motionless. He would wait until she finally woke.

[Cogidubnus]

Glancing coolly at that strange man for a moment, Cog nodded solemnly to the female time hopper. "Of course." he said, his head bowing just briefly. "I promise you will sleep well before her next chance."

[TheGreyRonin]

 Smiling softly, Risky nodded to the wolf. "Thank you." She turned back towards the undead man, then paused to look at Stygian.

"Chalk it up to experience," she said, gesturing slightly to where Karazkt was apparently worshipping the alien. "If they can catch you while you're weak, they will."

Looking her challenger over, her smile widened just a touch. "All yours, big guy. Any particular stakes you're looking for? Because honestly," she said, winking, "if it's to the death, I think someone already beat me to it."

[Angel]

Dani raised a crimson eyebrow at the blood running down Giles's spear. Now that was interesting. As was the fact that she could feel his body heat even as he was walking away. This was turning into something more than just a challenge to quell her annoyance at him...

She looked over at Piix and smiled at the furry little alien when she offered her advice. " 'Preciate the thought, but I've learned how to handle guys with powers as scary as that. And even if I can't dodge his tricks... who knows? Something good might come of it." At that last statement, a strange glimmer went into the woman's eyes. She started out the door after the blackguard, leaving the others to figure out what exactly she'd meant.

---

Sylvie was doing her best to keep her mind off of her reaction to the blackguard. No matter how immature Giles had acted, it wasn't every day you met someone who could control the deadliest, most powerful of all the elements so flippantly. She didn't jump when Piix giggled, although the temptation was there; but acting overly defensive would only make it worse for her.

She looked up a little too sharply when Stygian moved to sit next to her, then relaxed just as quickly. She didn't want him to think he was the one she was scared of, but he seemed to get that; he strategically placed himself right between her and Giles. "Thanks," she whispered, partly for the drink.

She paid some attention to the discussion between the dark-haired human and the wolf, her composure steadily returning. When Stygian put in his opinion, and then spoke to her, she glanced once at the Queen before answering. "Trust me, there's more monstrous things than anything in here where I come from." Then a thought came to her.

"Hey, Dani?" she called to her friend. Dan turned to look over at Sylvie. The elf put on a mockingly grave expression, the kind that people get when they're trying very hard not to laugh. "I just thought you should know that unless you come back in with third-degree burns on places where humans shouldn't get them, I won't react the way you did to this fight."

Dani smirked wider. "Could you at least slap him if my hair gets torched off?" Sylvie gave up and let a smile crack through.

"I'll think about it." She wasn't sure why. This whole scenario just struck her as funny.