Paidi tou Selini vs. KytanaTheThief

The Den of the Serpent

Description

The precipitants are given a ticket to a underground gambling hall that has been preempted for the Semi-Finals of the GTB. Known as The Den of the Serpent, loud music is played by the mariachi band in the corner as people crowd in to enjoy the bets thrown on the fight. It it loud, obnoxious and a somewhat exclusive establishment, run by a well dressed man in the back who will be the judge of this Round, his violet eyes flickering between the fight and the cards in his hands, the Kitsune mask and golden serpent staff on the wall behind him glowing with odd power. The crowd is catcalling but ultimately if they don't have a bet on it, they are going to put most of their attention on the cards in front of them.

Field Measurements

The field is blocked out by yellow and black chevron tap on the ground in the middle of the establishment measuring forty feet on a side square. The roof is somewhat smaller than normal, being at a mere 15 feet above with heavy duty fans reaching down to about 9 feet above the ground. The fans are strong enough to hold the weight of all fighters if they choose to use them but the controls for the fans are designated on the very edge of the field to the left and right far sides. The Field is also cornered a pillar in each corner covered with a winged serpent motif that is easily climbed if such a action is wished.

Ten Count Boundary The Count will only begin if the opponent crosses the Chevron Tape.

Bonus: There is various items floating around outside of the chevron tape that is within reach running from alcohol bottles to the very instruments of the band. The lightbars above the stage are also able to be pulled down if such an option is to your liking. The fans can be used to gain the highground but seeing as where the switches are located at the very edge of the field, they can be used against you. At the start of the fight, each lever on the two diagonally crossed pillars is in the mid position.

The chandelier in the middle of the field reaches down to a height of 7 and a half feet above the floor and is the weak point. It can only hold up to 150 pounds for a few moments before it would be pulled out of the ceiling crashing down. Possible uses are numerous and left up to the opponents.

Robyn was of a mixed mood as she made her way through the place where her next fight was going to be. On one hand, the fox girl held a triumphant satisfaction at having beaten Rosalyn. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, in fact she usually did beat the succubus in their straight-out fights, but it was the first time she’d actually been so enraged at the other girl. It was the first time she’d been happy about beating her. She wished she could have done more than what she had, but even as upset as she was, the half-demon still had her morals. That was in the past, though, and if she was lucky she’d never see the redhead again.

The other hand, the downside of her mood was the location of the fight. The smells and the noise, although not extreme, were nonetheless very dense, if that could be used in that way. A steady, bothersome presence that was grating on her senses and the martial artist figured she would have a headache by the time this was over, if not sooner. The fox girl idly rubbed her nose as she entered the makeshift arena room. The catcalls, whistles, and jeers were nothing new, and it was more out of reflex than actual thought that she threw a sly grin and a wink to the crowd, tapping her hat in a two-fingered salute of greeting. Robyn could do without the attention most of the time, but Selene enjoyed it, so she had no problem indulging in something so harmless.

Her steps came to a halt as she caught sight of her opponent, bright green eyes going wide and ears going back as she muttered under her breath.

”…Shit. Someone ate their veggies as a kid…”

That girl was huge! She was supposed to fight that tank? Her suddenly extended claws flexed lightly in nervousness as she began evaluating the stage. Not as much room as she’d like…the fans looked sturdy enough, that could have potential…her eyes roamed the room quickly and with all the focus of a trained fighter and evader.

So as not to be rude, Robyn didn’t take her time analyzing, but got as much as she could in a short time before she continued her stride forward, carefully but confidently closing the distance between her and the armoured amazon. About ten feet away, she covered her left fist with her right hand in front of her and lowered herself into a bow, keeping her eyes on her opponent as her purple braid swung down over her shoulder. ”Hi there! Name’s Robyn Isedan, an’ I respectfully meet ya on the field of combat.” She’d given a pause before speaking, hoping the other girl would hold her playing. The vixen was all about manners and honour, and she’d prefer not to interrupt the music.

Robyn was....actually sort of surprised that the woman was well-spoken. Her grin grew wider, showing off her fangs as she listened to Njora. The talk about songs was interesting, and she wouldn’t deny being pleased about the praise. “A dancer who turns combat to art.” She quite liked that. The vixen had respect for anyone who enjoyed music, and was now looking forward to fighting such an opponent.

Even though all those shields were making her want to run. She would have to be really smart about dealing with those. She was strong, yes, but even a full on punch or kick to one of those would maaaaybe dent it. Her weapons...well, she might be able to do something with her staff, but her daggers would be harder to work with, unless she just evaded and looked for weak spots. Not a bad plan, one she was still considering, but first off she just wanted to evaluate her opponent.

The sound of the shield hitting the floor made her wince slightly, ears going flat as her tail lashed. Even among the din of the crowd that was still a piercing sound. She quickly threw off the feeling and swept her left leg back in a cautious stance. Selene seemed even eager than usual to get going, filling her with adrenaline as small pinpricks of glowing red faded in and out of her eyes, swirling through the bright green. Her grin was joyful and anticipatory. ”That sounds mighty fine....let’s make sure they got something good ta sing about.”

Robyn probably would have gotten annoyed if she knew Njora had thought of her as “frail-looking”. The fox girl prided herself on her fitness and confidence, and hated being called weak in any capacity. Namely because she’d trained hard in her life to gain back control from Selene, so any regard to her lacking strength was pretty much the worst way to insult her. Seeing as that was only a thought comment, though, that was neither here nor there.

The vixens eyes went wide when her opponent quickly went on the offensive, hurling that disc like it was a damned Frisbee. She shook off memories of yo-yos as her body instinctively reacted, diving to the side in a left shoulder roll to remove herself as best as possible from both the shield and the woman’s line of attack. As she righted herself, quickly spinning to face the amazon, her left hand dug into the pouch at the back of her belts, pulling out a number of throwing stars. A swift flick of her hand sent one straight at Njora’s head, hoping it would hit but not really expecting it to.

Robyn didn’t have a lot of experience with heavily armored opponents. The small shuriken were mainly a way of testing the woman’s defences, finding out any weak points while possibly giving off the impression she was trying to attack in this manner. Once she had a better idea of what she was dealing with, the martial artist could pull out her daggers or staff, or even just stick with her claws if needed. The light-haired girl kept watching their position under the fans, as well. Those could easily come in handy for some dodging, or easy momentum.

Robyn would be in the midst of tossing her shuriken when Njora swung the instrument down. She’d honestly forgotten about the guitar, not really one for improvised weapons. She didn’t have enough time to dodge, but it was child’s play to raise her left arm that little bit more above her head, bracing herself for the impact. The smash of wood on her arm would have echoed more if the room hadn’t been so rowdy. As it was, presumably with the other woman’s strength, the instrument splintered, showering her with bits of wood. The vixen’s teeth grit at the pain, although thankfully it would mostly amount to some scratches and a hell of a lot of bruising.

With a growl of annoyance and determination the purple-haired girl would take the moment after the attack to swiftly step forward underneath the woman’s arm, reaching up with both hands. The shuriken held in her left hand were better suited to her next attack than her simple claws, but her right hand would be more than willing to help out as she grabbed Njora’s wrist with it, digging the claws in to secure her grip. Simultaneously her left would stab the point of a shuriken into the underside of the amazon’s wrist.

Or at least that’s what her attempt would be. Whether it succeeded or not, at the first sign of trouble Robyn would throw herself backwards, not willing to trade another painful blow for the small chance of disabling one of the woman’s arms.

Yeaaah....

Robyn’s acknowledgement that this was going to be a bitch of a time only grew as she backpedaled away from the amazon. The woman was so covered that it rendered most of her long-range attacks useless, and staying close could quickly become a death, or at least Selene-activating sentence if she wasn’t careful. The demon in her soul surged at the thought, putting forth the idea of allowing her control for the heightened speed and strength she would gain. The vixen wasn’t willing to do that just yet. Her martial training would come in handy in reacting, and that would be rendered useless if she handed over control. Maybe if she managed to slow her opponent down in some way.

Currently lunging backwards, the half-demon had enough view to see the next attack, gritting her teeth in annoyance as she let the last of her shuriken fly at the other woman’s face. Immediately after, she let her upper body drop back, doing what at first looked like a matrix dodge but turned out to be a bridge, her hands landing on the ground behind her. As the shield sailed overhead, her body continued the movement into a back walkover, her legs rising up over her as she ended up crouching, facing Njora again with a slightly annoyed smirk. ”You’re right, you’re not so fast.”

The fox girl drew on her power, simultaneously calling both her active abilities as she watched for another attack. It caused the green in her eyes to glitter, a shimmering wave that didn’t affect the few drops of red in her iris. The room was already stifling due to the crowded nature of it, but the temperature would seem to raise a couple degrees, along with the smell of ozone, although nothing apparently came of it just yet.

Suddenly, her skin tingled, sending her on high alert, casting her senses around. Her ears perked and swiveled back at the simple "clang" sound behind her. Something as heavy as that shield wouldn't have made a single sound like that, it would have clattered and echoed as it rolled and skitted across the floor. Eyes wide, the vixen threw herself flat just as the disc went sailing overhead, growling in frustration as she was forced to take a prone position. Was she going to be on defense the whole fight?

Robyn was quickly finding out that staying in one spot around this woman was not a good idea. Well, not like it was a good idea around any opponent, but normally she could and would hold her own for a blow or two to inflict some of her own. The vixen had gotten lucky with her shuriken; she was honestly more used to people dodging and had taken to using them more as a distraction than an actual weapon. Definitely wouldn’t complain, though, that’s for sure.

As it was, the half-demon scrambled backwards after the shield’s return trip, apparently narrowly missing getting decapitated by that freaking hunk of metal. And while speed was her greatest asset, there was only so much she could pull off this low to the ground. Thus did the foxgirl get thoroughly smacked by the shield as Njora pressed her movement. Robyn yelped as she fell backwards, reflexively rolling to the side for fear of another follow up. Oddly, if one were close (as Njora was) or paying close attention, her movements would seem to have an afterimage, her form blurring as it moved.

Her vision swam as she tried to scramble to her feet, tail waving wildly behind her to compensate for her dazed head. Her nose throbbed, and an instinctual wiggle sent pain lancing up her face. Ugh…she seriously hoped it wasn’t broken. Those were damned annoying.

The purple-haired girl didn’t stay in one spot, as she’d only a moment earlier said to herself that was a horrible idea. She continued her movement by stepping sideways, quickly circling the other woman with something between light steps and actual hops. However, there was something extremely unique in the action, in that when one had started to step to the left, another had separated from her form and stepped to the right. Nearly mirror images in position, and identical in every other way, the pair of foxes moved, hands up in a guarded position.

”I think I’ve let you nearly take my head off enough times…It’s my turn now.” Her/Their voices would come out in stereo from the different points around the amazon, taunting her into an attack.

As Robyn circled, she took a sniff and realized she smelled blood. Her own. A quick swipe under her nose (both Robyns did it) revealed a slow trickle of the stuff, making Selene growl in her head as the small flickers of red in her eyes grew, swirling faster. She was used to cuts and stabs, not getting bashed in the face. Time to even the odds. The fox girl was a little put off about the defence of the other woman; those shields were ridiculous. And annoying.

Considering Njora didn’t rush at either figure, Robyn and her copy would move until they were on opposite sides of her, her own steps hurrying if the amazon tried to keep them both in sight. Once she managed to get her opponent surrounded (as best as you could surround someone with only two people), both Robyns would rush forward. One figure went for her daggers, flipping the 7-inch blades up deftly, while the other’s hands burst into flame, casting eerie shadows across the half-demon’s face. They had maneuvered so that Njora could only face one of them, although she could also face a third direction and let them attack her sides.

Depending which one Njora faced would spell quite a difference in the resulting attack. Robyn was hoping that the threat of fire would seem more dangerous and thus be figured for the “distraction”. At least, she was hoping Njora’s logic worked like hers would have. She was counting on her to face the blade-wielding illusory Robyn, leaving an opening for the martial artist to leap up and actually land on the amazon’s shoulders. Of course, the other Robyn wouldn’t just stand there, that would be a dead giveaway. No, to maximize split attention, the fake would slide into a crouch, going for one of the openings around her opponent’s feet. The illusion would take care not to touch Njora herself, but if the shield-bearing woman moved to retaliate she would find it going right through the image, absolutely no substance to it at all.

The real Robyn was going for the outlandish, the impossible, the “why on earth would anyone do that?”. A jump timed to have her land on the other woman’s upper body, hands flaming...it seemed almost silly. Indeed, Robyn was hoping for a bit of a miracle here. Her hands would grab down as she landed, simply aiming to press over the amazon’s eyes and blind her with burns.