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Post by Stage on Jul 27, 2019 3:18:22 GMT
The hobgoblin only scoffed at the criticism hurled at him. Puffing out his chest, he barred his teeth and clenched his fists, making his 'scaly' forearms bulge.
"Look at me!" he crowed. "Look at the Bear! Whoever faces me first, will be the first to feel the shame of defeat."
The solider, who had folded her arms, then her legs, trying to hold something inside her torso, finally burst: she laughed.
It was a harsh, shrill sound, very much like the voice that followed it. She spoke scratchily and high in her nose.
"I hope so," she breathed, another wicked grin spreading across her long face. "Better beaten than bored."
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Jul 28, 2019 6:22:20 GMT
Ryvann smiled at Phanna's comment, tuning out the obnoxious hobgoblin's boasting. "I'd appreciate that very much. Thank you, Phanna."
The young girl in the back seemed to stay fairly quiet and continued observing, but couldn't help but feel extraordinary fear and anxiety. All these guys were so big and strong, grizzled, ruthless - and here she was, this dainty young girl in the midst of it. Why had she let her dad talk her into this?!
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Post by KayKay on Jul 28, 2019 6:49:12 GMT
As the faun nodded in reply, her orange eyes cut across the room, landing on the quivering form of the young girl in the opposite corner. Her brows lowered in interest. Was this a fighter? A member of the audience who had crept past the guards?
"Hold my seat, will you Brutus?" Phanna asked, rolling off the chaise to her feet as she lifted her apple core in the air by the stem. The faun made her way across the tent to a trash can near the entrance, ignoring the burly hobgoblin as she passed, who stood nearly a full head shorter than her. As she placed the apple core in the trash, Phanna took advantage of the distance she had closed between herself and the small girl.
"You alright, kid?"
–––
As the cloaked figures stepped outside the office, a warm light shone from the crowded courtyard nearby. It came from the hand of the dwarven women, who waved the pair over.
"Your names?" she asked them as they approached, dimming the magical light and brushing back the bangs of her short black hair out of her eyes.
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Jul 28, 2019 7:18:11 GMT
"N-k-kind of, yeah," the young girl replied to Phanna. "I-it's just... I-I feel so out of my league here..."
"Hey, you must be the big honcho around here!" the flower in the girl's hands said. "Hi! I'm Stella, and this here is my lovely master, Rachel! We're here because her dad wanted us to win him the grand prize! I thought it'd be afun experience too, but Rachel doesn't think so!"
H-hey! That's not true!" Rachel lied.
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Post by KayKay on Jul 28, 2019 7:34:20 GMT
Though Phanna stared at the flower for a moment, she was quick to shrug off her surprise. She had run into many strange things in her time in Sund, not least of which was a walking tree just outside of town – such abnormalities were quickly becoming the norm.
"Daddy wants the prize money, huh?" Her blazing eyes seemed to soften as she examined the clothes the girl wore. "Must be important if he's sending his daughter in here."
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Post by Stage on Jul 28, 2019 7:59:43 GMT
"Money is nothing next to the glory of victory!" the hobgoblin roared back to the pair- or rather, the trio- even as he strode away, treading over Phanna's path to stand before Brutus. The cloaked humanoid swelled to his full, albeit not particularly impressive, height and puffed out his muscular chest. He looked like a lizard pushing itself up and inflating a dewlap.
"You," he barked at the orc, though not so harshly as at the others. "Why does a bull like yourself put up with the orders of a wretch like that?"
Brutus was not the only one whose attention was prompted by a cry of, "You," though the 'cry' that reached Ryvann was closer to a whisper, especially compared to the bellowing of the self-proclaimed Bear.
The hazel-eyed woman in the green tunic and plate armor stared at the redheaded warrior.
"You wear armor," she noted breathily, and unnecessarily. Her head cocked, the motion almost feral. Animalistic. Like that of a bird or prey. "Are you a soldier?"
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Post by KayKay on Jul 28, 2019 8:21:39 GMT
Brutus smirked, showing canines of his own. "Met 'er in an elvish town: Islelenor. We were 'n an arena; second match of the day. She had me pinned, arm 'round my neck. Everything starts t' get dark, an' then–"
The orc clapped his hands in front of his face. "Flash of light an' we're in th' middle of a forest. Week later we learned we were 'n a place called 'Lemuria'. Two strangers 'n a strange land – we stuck together."
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Post by Executus Gira on Jul 28, 2019 16:25:10 GMT
"I am Prima," the horned one said, before she gestured over to her partner, "and this is Krepie. We are the Mermaid Twins."
Krepie only nodded, as to affirm what Prima had said...
_________________
"A talking flower... how adorable." The tall blue haired woman said as she drew near. Her hair flowed behind her as if she were adrift in the ocean and not walking. "You as well. You're so small and like a doll..."
She leaned forward so she was at eye level with Rachel, and her forehead furrowed. "It seems wrong, for a father to send their daughter into something so dangerous..."
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Jul 28, 2019 19:24:27 GMT
The young girl shrunk as the blue-haired woman got closer to her, clearly uncomfortable with being the center of attention so suddenly. "Th-thanks..."
"I'm cute, but dangerous!" the flower laughed in response to the blue-haired woman.
The girl's eyes looked back toward Phanna. "M-my dad used to be a fighter, b-but he broke his legs and can't do that anymore. S-so I have to pick up the slack, he says."
_________________ Ryvann watched as Phanna and the blue-haired woman spoke with the little girl. Poor thing... why would someone so young and naive join in something this brutal in the first place?
Hearing the green tunic wearing woman speak, Ryvann turned back to face her.
"Well... you could say that. I'm more of a 'freedom fighter', but i guess from a certain point of view that makes me a soldier."
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Post by KayKay on Jul 28, 2019 21:22:50 GMT
Phanna watched the tall masked woman from the corner of her eye as she neared the girl. Although her expression, posture and even her heartbeat did not change, the white tip of her tail flicked in agitation as if it had a life of its own, betraying her otherwise well hidden concern.
"No other jobs you could take?" she asked as she made her way to a nearby table, pretending to inspect some fruit. "I take it you have skills as a gardener."
–––
"Narata," the dwarven woman introduced, not looking up at them as she reached for a clipboard and a pair of pens. "I'll be your handler for tonight."
She passed the clipboard to the sisters. "I'll need you to fill out these papers before you enter the pavilion. You'll need to list any skills, equipment, and powers you're bringing into the arena. Be honest. Demonstrating a power not otherwise listed is grounds for disqualification."
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Post by Stage on Jul 28, 2019 22:36:04 GMT
"I see," the armored woman responded, a wide grin slithering across her face. "I like freedom fighters. They believe in something. That makes them fighter harder."
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Post by Executus Gira on Jul 28, 2019 22:48:36 GMT
The twins looked down at the paper and clipboard. While the dwarf couldn't see past the hood and robes, she could see Prima begin to twitch and wince. "Uh... Krepie? Can you, perhaps..."
"Yes." Krepie said as she took the clipboard and pen from Prima, and began to fill in what was there. She quickly listed, though in detail, the skills she herself brought to the arena, and what her sister could do as well. Her writing was small, but clean, and easy to read English.
________________
"Oh..." The blue haired woman muttered. "Oh... that would explain it. My wishes go to your father's well being, then."
She turned back to head to the table, as her plate had already been emptied of sweets, but she turned back to the flower. "Dangerous? Exactly... how dangerous? What kind of dangerous are you?"
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Jul 29, 2019 3:29:09 GMT
"Y-yeah..." the young girl blushed a bit. "I grow a garden by my house. Stella's one of the flowers I grew before she started talking to me." She shuffled her feet a bit. "I guess daddy didn't think we'd make a living fast enough if I didn't come here."
Meanwhile, the flower spoke to the blue-haired woman. "Well, I can shoot out magically-enhanced seeds really really fast! I've heard they hurt really bad if they hit you, especially if they get in your eyes! I have a couple other tricks, but I think the arena's the better place to save them. Don't want to use up the element of surprise!"
___________________________________________________________
"Yeah," Ryvann replied, smiling back. "It's good to have something worth fighting for." Her smile disappeared. "Though when the fight no longer goes your way, it is just as easy to lose heart."
She paused before continuing. "And what about you? Are you a soldier as well?"
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Post by KayKay on Jul 29, 2019 5:57:16 GMT
"Try not to aim for the eyes," Phanna advised the flower quietly as she finally selected a small batch of grapes. "They got rules against that in here. Want to avoid serious injuries as best as they can."
–––
When Krepie was finished signing the papers, Narata took the clipboard back and looked it over. "Zhao has requested your opponents will have the option to use weapons against you to compensate for you two being a pair. Depending on your match up, I'll be meeting you and your opponent's at the start of each match to lay down similar rules, in the interest of a good fight. Certain powers for example may be banned, if your opponent is significantly weaker than the both of you."
The dwarf's green eyes looked you at the pair as she passed them a new set of papers. "These contain the rules you must abide by in the arena. If you have any questions, speak to the referee."
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Post by Stage on Jul 29, 2019 6:21:56 GMT
"I am," answered the woman in her coarse voice. "A solider of Ustreal, one of the many hands of Kobus, the King Under the Sun."
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Jul 29, 2019 6:35:15 GMT
Ryvann blinked a couple of times, before responding to the warrior before her.
"I have no idea what any of those words meant, but that sounds cool."
_________
"That's fine, we'll figure something out, right Rachel?" Stella said, turning to face the young girl. She nodded quietly in response.
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Post by Executus Gira on Jul 29, 2019 6:38:11 GMT
Krepie took the document, and read the rules aloud, so Prima could understand. " No breaking or removing limbs, no gouging of the eyes, no spinal or back of the head blows, no throwing people into the audience, no torturing, no removal of armor or clothing, no... fish hooking, and no groin attacks."
Prima nodded after a few moments of contemplating the rules. "Alright. We accept both these rules and our opponents being able to use weapons."
____________________________
The blue haired woman giggled. "I'll keep that in mind. What I can do... Well, I can't say really, but my stage name here is Leech Lass. I'll let you fill in the rest."
With a smile, she turned on her heels and walked back over to the table. There were sweets to be claimed...
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Post by KayKay on Jul 29, 2019 7:59:13 GMT
As the giantess left to claim her sweets, Phanna placed her grapes on a fresh napkin. She glanced sideways at the teenage girl, risking a small smile as her face was angled away from the rest of her competitors. "Well, good luck out there, Rachel," she said in a low voice, so that only the two of them could hear. "We should meet up after the tournament. Might be able to lend a hand..."
With a swish of her long tail, Phanna turned to walk across the pavilion, back towards her chaise.
–––
"Excellent," Narata said, signing off the forms on her clipboard. "You may enter the pavilion. The first match will be starting shortly."
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Post by Stage on Jul 29, 2019 8:24:56 GMT
The hobgoblin thrust his arm at the orc, pointing at him with a long, yellowed nail carved into the shape of a curling talon. "After tonight, it will be my tale you tell! There is no question we will find each other in the second round. We are the only true combatants here. Fools and fawns surround us!"
"Like this one here," the Bear grinned nastily as he turned to greet the returning Phanna. "Just a wobbly little deer."
-
The tan woman snorted. "That's fine. Words don't matter. Just action."
Her long, wolfish face tilted to the side once more.
"I hope you'll show me good action tonight, freedom fighter. I've been bored since I got here."
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Post by Executus Gira on Jul 29, 2019 22:16:09 GMT
The twins nodded, and went toward the pavilion where the others were gathered. Now they could see their competition in full detail. They saw the goblin boasting of his superiority, the timid flower girl, the freedom fighter and the tanned warrior she was with, the orc and the faun. Prima's veiled face especially was locked onto the faun and the tanned warrior.
"Sister, take note for me, any possible weakness you might see."
"Yes, sister." Krepie said. "They seem to, well be seasoned for the most part."
"Yes, except the girl with the flower." Prima whispered back. "If we get her, that's an easy win for us, and our losing streak erased."
"Let's be careful and not get reckless. We don't know what she can do, or what any of them can do."
"On the flip side, none of them know what WE can do." Prima chuckled lowly to herself. "Any weapon they get, won't compare to our skill together."
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