Character Lounge

[Aisha deCabre]

Hah...first blow taken, Aisha thought with a small bit of pride as the kick took and she had started to come out of her attack, the few milliseconds right after seeming like she was hovering in midair.  I thought he was faster than...oh SHIT! she grimaced, suddenly taking note of his quick recovery and returning her focus to the battle at hand.  She had forgotten about that.

As her foot started to come down, the sweeping kick missed by a mere few inches, but the wind coming off of it mixed with the intensity of the shot caused her to teeter off-balance upon landing.  On instinct, she prepared to jump back as soon as her foot had touched the mat, and doing so saved her from the blow to her gut, but because of the clumsiness, it didn't save her from the uppercut which came so swiftly that she hadn't noticed until the last minute.  Her jaw clenched tightly, more than prepared to take the pain that had entered her nerves like a shock.

However, instead of standing there while the blow took, she let it carry her through the air, as doing so wouldn't allow her body to act as the shock absorber and leave her more weakened.  Aisha twisted her body in midair so that she recovered and landed on her feet, just as Gareeku's kick was moving upwards towards the edge of her head.

The panther ducked, feeling the passing wind of the kick, and rolled right beneath him just like in the fight before, her leg whipping out to hit the one holding him to the ground and attempting to trip him.  Her body then pivoted and her right elbow aimed for a blow to his midriff.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

OOC:  That's good. Gareeku spends too much time on the injured list as it is. (rolls eyes, I sound like a mommy or something. Now put on your imaginary sweaters, it's imaginary snowing.)

[e_voyager]

E smiles pleasant as he watched the snow from several different perceptions. he doe not kn ow if the snow is real or not. he simply thinks  that it's pretty. there is something similar to the snapping of fingers that e seems to be only dimly aware of. " huh?" E whats wrong with you? E simply look and smiles. his version of endorphins were nearing dangerous territory. i think he's gone too far. he may not make it back. Don't worry. when he stresses out like this his body is wired to knock him out for a while to let him recover. but will he be alright? We can only hope. as they watch E begins to shut down and slips into a restless from of sleep. out side of his body his shadow presences vanish like morning dew in the sunlight.

[Gareeku]

OOC:  That's good. Gareeku spends too much time on the injured list as it is. (rolls eyes, I sound like a mommy or something. Now put on your imaginary sweaters, it's imaginary snowing.)

((OOC: x3 hehehe, yes ma'am! *does so and goes outside to build an imaginary snowman*))

As the uppercut hit, a sense of satisfaction made itself present in Gareeku's mind. Hitting the one he loved was in one way something he hated to do. However, the wolf also obviously knew that both he and Aisha were, at heart, warriors; people who had spent most of their lives fighting in one way or another.

As he executed the last kick of his assault, Gareeku glanced down and, seeing Aisha making her counterattack, grimaced slightly. When the counterattack connected, the wolf could feel his leg being swept out from underneath him. Almost instinctively, the wolf used the momentum of Aisha's sweep kick to flip his body around in mid air, before suddenly grabbing the panther's elbow with his hands, swinging round a leg in an attempt to land a kick to Aisha's head.

Once he had performed this manoveur, the wolf immediately landed back on his feet, swinging his leg round again in an attempted kick to the ribs, before quickly flipping away to a couple of metres away. Wiping away the small amoutn of blood that had left a trail running from his mouth where he had been hit in the jaw earlier, Gareeku grinned.
"Not bad at all." he said warmly, a smile equally a warm on his face, before turning back to a grin as he shifted again into a stance. "Shall we go again?"

[Joat]

*Sylver: If only Joat bothered to complete that snowball launcher add-on for me. *Sigh*…*

[Aisha deCabre]

((*Gets up from imaginary snow*  Hey, look!  An imaginary snow angel!  XD  ))

Feeling the satisfaction come again as her counter-move connected, the panther this time didn't let it try to cloud her judgment.  But again he proved easily able to rebound quickly.  The kick to her head connected, sending her flying that way, but again she used the dizzying momentum to her advantage and landed on her hands, using them to jump away from his last kick.

She skidded on the mat, claws engaged only to serve as brakes.  They dug quite deeply into the fabric before she stopped completely.  Aisha stood in that position for a while while the warriors gained their second wind, crouched on her hands and feet, watching Gareeku with an impressed smile as she rubbed her jaw with the heel of her palm.  "You're not bad yourself," she replied with a purr in her voice that was half true and loving, and the other half tinged with challenge.

When he readied himself for another go, Aisha smirked and bunched up the muscles in all four limbs, while resheathing her claws...she decided that she would try to not use them at all on him...she loved him enough not to shed any more blood than what was necessary.

"Of course.  Now that we're warmed up..." she said with a grin and released the coiled springs that were her limbs in a sort of leap-frog appearance, the brunt of it forced straight through her legs.  She went high enough in the air that it looked like she would clear the wolf's head, but instead she swerved and landed just short of him on the right side.

As soon as her feet hit the mat, her hands bunched up into fists, attempting blow after fast blow towards his stomach and head successively, followed by a jump and kick arcing to his head with the right leg...

[Gareeku]

Before the two warriors resumed their spar, silence once again filled the room. Gareeku could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins. His heart was beating fast, and his body itched to resume the fight. The wolf loved spars like this; in the heat of battle, with his adrenaline pumping furiously in his veins. Of course, the wolf loved spars; the lack of worry about life and death was something he relished, especially in his line of work.

As Aisha made her move, Gareeku's eyes remained fixed on her, watching her every move as the panther began her assault. When Aisha landed and began her attack, the wolf was ready for it. Lifting up his hands to block the initial punch, Gareeku then had to move his head to side as the panther aimed a strike to his head, her fist scraping the side of his muzzle as he barely managed to avert it. Attempting a counter attack, Gareeku then threw a punch of his own; raising his right fist towards her ribs. However, due to the fact that Aisha had jumped up in the air, his punch had missed, hitting only thin air as the panther swung her leg around in a kick.

Thinking quickly, Gareeku then quickly lifted up his arm, throwing it into the attacking leg in an attempt to block it. Even though the leg still connected and hit the wolf in the side of the head, Gareekus arm managed to cushion the blow, a numb sensation now running through it. Seizing his chance, the wolf then brought his other fist up in a powerful jumping uppercut, taking advantage of Aisha's position as his fist surged upwards.

[Aisha deCabre]

Sweat was flying from Aisha's forehead once again as her charge had started using the energy in her muscles.  They were at their highest now, pumped with adrenaline and utilizing the fight-or-flight command in the battle to its utmost, instinctual and almost primal surge of energy.  The pantheress was certain that as soon as she had the chance to rest, she'd feel the exhausting effect of all of this.  But not now.

She knew that he'd block, but still her attacks became almost relentless in trying to shatter his defense.  Noticing that Gareeku was looking as pumped and ready as she was, it made her proud to be up to par with such a warrior.

As the kick took to his arm, there was a brief moment that seemed like slow-motion to her, locking her eyes with his and grinning at the fun of sparring.  Then the whole thing returned to normal and she noticed the other fist coming towards her.  Aisha couldn't dodge it, but her arms came up in a cross over her face to block it, the impact making her body and a part of the floor shake--what could be felt by a foot that was slipping away.  Her teeth clenched as she struggled against the blow.  Yeah, definitely gonna feel this later.

Using the leftover momentum from his punch, she leaped and flipped over backwards, her left foot rocketing upward to attempt to catch him in the jaw.  Aisha's concentration was moreover focused on landing right then however, using her hands to catch herself before her body pivoted around in a purely gymnastic move, using the last reserve of her forcefulness and flexibility in a sweeping kick with both feet towards his knees...

[Gareeku]

Gareeku just managed to catch a glimpse of Aisha's foot, before it slammed into his chin, jerking his head back as the wolf uttered a slight grunt from the impact. Utilising the momentum, Gareeku backflipped in midair, turning the correct way up and looking to land on his feet. As he moved through the air, the wolf could not help but smile to himself, despite the dull ache now making itself apparent in his jaw. Aisha was a talented fighter indeed, very much so, and Gareeku found it a real pleasure to be sparring with a warrior such as she.

As he descended, Gareeku could see Aisha swinging her leg round for a sweep kick aimed at his knees. His eyes narrowing slightly, the wolf immediately ducked down as soon as his feet touched the floor, positioning himself so that his chest was on the same level as the kick was. Reacting quickly, Gareeku's arms grabbed hold of Aisha's leg, and with a grunt, he threw her a short distance away. Knowing that the panthress would most likely land on her feet, the wolf then began his own assault, dashing forward and executing a forward flip, bringing his heel down in an axe kick as he landed.

[Aisha deCabre]

Damn, he's a fast thinker, Aisha thought in a fleeting trail through her mind as she missed her kick, though no doubt he could feel the wind from it.

As predicted, after having been caught and thrown, the panther righted herself and prepared to land on her feet, also preparing for another charge at the wolf.  The spar had started to become a test of strategy more so than endurance, almost as elaborate as a chess game, wielding the balance between opportunity and consequence.

However, she had little time to think about a comeback as the wolf charged, her eyes widening as his axe kick started coming down upon her with what would probably equal the force and speed of a hail strike.  In a move that was more of desparation than thought, she pushed herself to the side and rolled out of the way just as the blow came down hard upon the mat, the weight of his body turned directly into power; she could feel the slight tremors through the fabric.

As soon as she got out of the way, the panther rolled to her feet and charged in the split moment that he had to recover from his assault.  She was behind him, arms clasping around his neck in a light vice grip...strong as he was, he could probably break away easily, so all that Aisha could do to take advantage of the surprise attack was clasp one heel around his left foot for leverage and use her other knee to try forcing one leg from under him.

"Gonna give up yet?" the panther laughed, humor present in her tone.

[Stygian]

Stygian had been watching the wolf and the panthress battling each other with great interest. But now they were both getting pretty badly beaten up. If this continued, neither would be able to move properly for some time. His face twitched just a bit when Aisha made the blow directed at Gareeku's knees. That kind of attack could do serious damage. He knew they were both tough, but neither seemed much like a healer, and he didn't trust entirely to the bracelet that the wolf had been given. Such things required energy, and he had none suitable to supply.
   In most other situations, this would have been where he'd gotten up and pulled Aisha away by the scruff of her neck. But there really was no need, so he made a little loping leap directly up from his cross-legged position and slid up beside her, tapping her shoulder.
   "I would like to point out that you're both bleeding and sporting bruises. If you wring his neck, Schätsche, how is he to put up a fight later?"
   In truth, Stygian was more concerned with them getting in a deadlock. And he'd seen enough of their respective styles to draw some conclusions.

[Aisha deCabre]

(( Not to be overly critical, but I WOULD like to point out that I acknowledged Gareeku as still being stronger than Aisha...so the neck grip wouldn't have been too strong, same with the kick from behind...if it's just that my post needs to be toned down...? ))

[Stygian]

(( Not to be overly critical, but I WOULD like to point out that I acknowledged Gareeku as still being stronger than Aisha...so the neck grip wouldn't have been too strong, same with the kick from behind...if it's just that my post needs to be toned down...? ))

((Yah, but from my point of view, things were still getting a bit intense. And Stygian doesn't know your limits the same way you do. The post is fine.))

[Aisha deCabre]

((I guess.    ))

As Aisha held Gareeku, awaiting his next move and too caught up in the elation of the fight, she suddenly snapped out of her focus upon feeling the tap on her shoulder.  She glanced at Stygian from the corner of her eye, her lip curling into an annoyed snarl.  "What are you, a referee now?  Bug off, I'm not gonna kill him," she growled.

The panther released a long sigh and relaxed her grip; with it, the exhaustion of the fight had started to catch up, and her mind worked again.  Too stubborn as she was to admit it (not to mention she often took a fight so that it never ended in a draw), there might have been something of a point to his interruption.

There were probably lots of bruises in some places, and she was sweating like crazy with a trickle of dried blood at her lip from the blows she took to the face.  Before Aisha realized she was even panting a little bit...and if they did go on, more than likely, it would be a while before the wolf was back up to speed to have his fight with Stygian, despite his resilience.  No doubt Gareeku probably would protest on ending the fight as well though...

"Hrmph," she grunted tiredly and released Gareeku from the hold she had, her arms hanging around him with a restful tenderness instead.  "Wanna call this one a tie for now then, mi vida?"

[Gareeku]

Hearing Aisha's voice, Gareeku laughed softly.
"Oh I'm too stubborn for tha-" the wolf began, until he heard Stygian's voice. Listening to what he said, Gareeku growled in annoyance.
"Excuse me, but I think we know our limits." he growled, giving Stygian a hard look. By now, sweat was starting to appear on the wolf's forehead and dull aches from the places he had been hit made themselves present as the fight came to a stop. He had been most impressed by Aisha's skill and strength; there was much of it indeed. Sighing, the wolf finally decided not to argue to Stygian, as he had a feeling he wouldn't let off until they did stop.

"Ok, fine..." the wolf growled, shooting Stygian a look again before turning to face Aisha. As soon as he gazed upon her, his anger vanished. Smiling lovingly at her, Gareeku wraps his arms around her in a gentle embrace.
"Sounds good to me, though I'd like to settle this some other time in one way or another." the wolf replied with a grin, playfully tickling her nose with his before tenderly kissing her on the lips.

[Aisha deCabre]

As Gareeku turned to her, the scowl that had been on Aisha's face turned to a light-hearted smile, and so any aching that she had felt seemed to disappear in favor of a light warmth on her cheeks.  She had to laugh inwardly at the prospect of their fighters' images shedding away in an instant, and being replaced with the gentle sides that they rarely seemed to show.  And after a hard-working duel, the panther had to admit that she liked when they did.

Aisha chuckled softly at his words, using the back of her hand to wipe the beads of sweat from his forehead, her face nuzzling his.  "So would I.  It's a deal then," she replied, returning the embrace and the kiss with equal tenderness, a quiet purr ringing the otherwise quiet air.

Then she stood up slowly, taking Gareeku's hand to help him up as well, and glanced back at Stygian with an incredulous look, but also with a slightly apologetic nod at snapping at him.  "Just be warned that you'll probably have your hands a little more full with Gareeku than you have with me," she said in a simple way that was just as much fact as opinion.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel unfolded her wings to catch more of the snow. The big white dragon wings looked a bit peculiar appearing from the back of the blah grey feline illusion she was currently wearing but she didn't care. It just felt so good to not be too hot for a while. Exposing the thin skin of the wings to the frozen precipitation would bring her body temperature back to a more pleasant level more quickly. She smiled at Sathariel, in a more happy, mellow mood from the snow than the drink had managed earlier, "Do you need to go in where it's warmer, kitten?"

[KarlOmega1]

Karl: I don't suppose you guys want to add a little bacground to your sparring matches? If you do, I just hope Stygian didn't remove the holodeck level when he reformatted the place... <_<

[Boog]

Ah hell, that ain't good, Boogey thought, falling back into his prior pattern of mostly blocking. Nightmare was good, but just too much of a brute in this game for his playing style. He was too used to the SC3 Nightmare, relying on speed and sheer ability to knock the foe off guard.
"Nice one there. You have this game at home or something?" Boogey asked, trying to make small talk (distracting the opponent never crossed his mind. No. Really.) as he adjusted the pyramid shaped helmet again.

[Stygian]

That's just great. More for us to feel awkward about, Stygian thought as he stood to one end of the training mat. He brought up a hand and scratched his neck with his claws.
   "Listen, sorry if I offended or something, but I'm more used to the 'killing blow' kind of ending, not beating my opponent to a pulp... If you want to finish, then go ahead. Just don't break each other on the middle," he said. He wasn't really as ashamed as he looked, and despite his look he was already standing to the side and with his feet planted, ready to dodge an attack. But he naturally disliked being discourteous. And these people had shown a surprising hospitality in any case, which he felt he should return.

   Sathariel looked up, puzzled at the white flakes that fell. Her wings twitched a bit while she wondered. Then, Mel could feel her taking in the thoughts she had "strewn about", the ones that had slipped her shielded mind in the warmth and pleasance.
   "Snow...", the girl said. "Snow is... beautiful." A flake landed on her nose, and she peered at it. "Dihydroxide with some traces of carbon, ammonia and a tiny bit of sulphur", she said confusedly. "These ones probably formed at about minus eleven degrees. Cold."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

"Yes, snow is beautiful and cold. The question is are you cold? Most people find this temperature unpleasant at best. You should probably go somewhere warmer before the cold hurts you." Mel stood to give Sathariel the idea that the lesson was over for the moment.

[e_voyager]

a humming is heard issuing form e's body. he is still shut down but his processors seemed to be running overclocked at more than 60t operations a minute. in his  mind only E knew what was going on as either the others that shared his form were locked this time.

[Stygian]

"I'm not... I am cold, but it feels nice", Sathariel replied to Mel. She didn't seem to be freezing or shivering at all. Her furl lay flat against her form, not fluffed out as it should have if she wanted to keep warmth, and the small green lines in her skin, those "scars" that looked like circuits, gleamed slightly as they reflected the light of the surroundings.
   The snow had already made a fine layer on the ground, glistening in the moonlight.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel gave herself a mental scold. She shouldn't presume Sathariel had normal mammalian temperature restrictions just because she looked feline. Mel knew lots of beings who looked like mammals who weren't, including herself half the time. Anyone looking out right now would see not one minimally dressed winged feline but two having a discussion on who was cold. Mel snorted, silly discussion. "Okay, but if it stops feeling nice you'll go inside by the fire. Now what were we talking about before the snow? What sort of a system do you think you'll use for keeping the memories separate?"

[Aisha deCabre]

Stretching out a little as she stepped off the mat, one of Aisha's ears swiveled towards Stygian at his statement.  Rolling her eyes upward in thought while wiping the last bit of blood from the corner of her lip, she smiled and shook her head.  "I think there would be little use for us to continue fighting right now," she pointed out.  "We just declared it a tie..." she glanced at Gareeku with a wry smile.  "For now."

It was then that she noticed Karl again for the second time, still apparently having watched the sparring match.  He was quite easy to forget sometimes.  Her head tilted.  "Backgrounds?  Hm, an interesting thought, compadre."

[Stygian]

"I didn't really know what to do with the system, so I just integrated it with the place. It should be here...", Stygian said, and stepped toward a wall. After running his hand down it, he seemed to find something. He pressed, and then after a slow click a bit of the wall slid out and aside.
   The system had evidently been changed somehow. The clean and silver design of the machinery had been replaced with a computer panel that looked truly alien in its appearance and configuration, as if made from some fusion of machine and organism. The metal covers were in black and the twisted armored wires like polished hematite. Green lights and green-lit panels and screens moved forth to allow one to manage the system.

((Just think of the Matrix movies when you imagine the electronics and mechanics that I use...))

[KarlOmega1]

Karl: Hmmm...

*Karl goes over and programs a simulation of Hydro City (Hydro City Zone form Sonic 3 {sega genesis})*

Karl: There, what do you think?

*the group was on a small Isle in the middle of the simulated city, in a ring*

Karl: ahhh...(Pre-Sonic) Hydro City...the place was well known to be the Aquatic wonder of  Angel Island...and the largest waterpark.

*Karl puts on SCUBA gear and dives into the water*

(OOC: I set the simulation for max realism...hope you guys don't knock yourselves outta the ring...otherwise I hope you can swim.)

[e_voyager]

E's shadow disappears as a dark furred canine in a black suit with a white tipped black walking stick seems to appear form out of nowhere. he Orients on the places with the most familiar energy.  walking softly the vanishes form the room leaving e in his unaware seek and he seeks out Mel and Boogey man.

[Stygian]

Stygian stepped back at the sudden change of scenery and gazed around in amazement. Unconsciously, he slipped a little controller into his pocket, while looking appreciatively at the surroundings.
   "Hmm... I think I could learn a lot from this place. Yes... Tall roof, marble, water and a bit more of a colour contrast...", he said while turning around and trying to get a glimpse of the looming ceiling, the columns around you stretching up into a distant darkness. Then, he walked to the edge of the slowly rotating round platform surrounded by some smaller others that led off into the rest of the seemingly ancient structures around you, and bent down, scooping up some water in his hand.
   "It couldn't be a projection of individual coinciding particles and an electronspectrum... it's way too detailed. And too much. No, this has to be some nanomanagerial... but how...?!" He seemed entirely caught up in the tech of the system. The wetness of the water was a perfect reproduction, cool little droplets trickling through the air from waterfalls and fouintains and wetting fur, as was the gentle draft of air through the place and the humid and cool smell of the place.
   For a while, Stygian just stood. More questions of how such a massive simulation, with the enormous halls stretching for kilometres it seemed, could have been generated in mere seconds flew through his head. Then, he decided it was all too much right now, and turned against Aisha and Gareeku again.
   "Well. It might be a problem to get out, but we'll deal with that later. You up?"

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha had watched with interest as Karl manipulated the controls.  She watched the scenery flow and reality seem to shift into itself...so real it was that for a moment the panther swore that they had actually just been transported somewhere else.

She was off of the sparring mat when the scenery changed from solid ground to water.  "Whoa!"  The panther pulled her foot back quickly, just barely escaping having fallen off of the islet that they had been put on.  Breathing a sigh of relief, her eyes were scanning the amazing changes that the group was put in, and curiously she even put the tip of her foot in the water.  "Interesting."

Then she shook the water off her foot and, because she was quite exhausted from the earlier battle, actually thought of diving in herself.  She pulled the sleeves of her pants up and sat on the edge, looking at her reflection in the refracting surface.  Huh, so easy to learn to like water when you've been trained by a tiger.

"Hm, this will make sparring more interesting," she laughed, glancing back at Stygian and Gareeku.  "If we can stay away from relaxing on this beach..." Aisha laughed jokingly, seeing as there was no beach in sight, but still, one couldn't help but associate a large body of water with one.