Robyn vs Rakgan

The Firebrand and Grill Wrote:

Everyone knows the Firebrand! After it's most recent resurgence after burning down again (...again), the Firebrand has come back better and stronger than ever. Made using the finest in craftsdrawfship and the hardest stone known the man (rumored to have a rubber core), it's become a popular tourist destination as well as a well-loved home for wayward ronin and adventurers. Recently, the staff has installed a large grill that... wait.

Do you smell gas?

General - Your typical bar, complete with wooden floors and stone walls. There's a bar area off to the side, and the larger part of the first floor is littered with chairs and tables. For some reason, there's a chandelier hanging from the rafters, both of which look incredibly suspicious for a two-story building. Coincidentally the second floor is blocked off for security reasons. Wait. Do you smell gas?

Due to Watts plugging a few too many electric grills and heaters into one socket next to a large pile of oily rags and tanks of gasoline, the Firebrand comes pre-installed with FIRE. Fire everywhere, and it's spreading at an unusually rapid rate, possibly due to that nasty gas and grease spill the other day. Due to the stone walls, you'll have some time to ******** one another up in this instant classic.

Natural Element Resource - ... Fire.... Fire. FIRE

Weapons - Tables, chairs, bottles of alcohol, and the occasional dwarfen worker.

Bonus Effects - Fire, fire everywhere. The Firebrand will only catch on fire after you've actually started fighting though.

Robyn couldn't believe it. It had seemed like it would never happen. One thing after another, problems among her teammates, issues with the judges, but finally...finally. She was here. Heaven or Hell. She stared up at the building in front of her, fiddling with the metal "bracelet" on her wrist. The more she stood, staring, the wider her smile grew. She was here, with her friends, and she was going to kick a**!

Her smile twitched as she was forced to focus and push down the sudden surge of malevolence in her spirit. Selene had been quite uppity as of late, the promise of violence only serving as fuel for her influence rather than placating her. But the time was here, she could feed her need for violence safely, among people who knew the consequences and could handle themselves. And the threat of not being able to continue through if she broke any of the "rules" was enough to keep Selene pacified at the fact she was merely drawing blood rather than killing.

The fox girl glanced at her fighter. It was time. She pushed through the front door, noting the general...medieval feel of the place. Talk about low tech...well, at least they had a decent kitchen back there. Robyn could always appreciate a good kitchen. There were a few people milling around, some there for the fight, some for the food and drink. Well, she hoped the ones there for the fight enjoyed the match. Settling her hat firmly on her head, the vixen smirked and waited for her opponent to show, taking the time to start stretching her limbs, warming up her blood for the fight.

Robyn blinked, raising an eyebrow as the doors suddenly burst inward. She stopped her stretching, one hand on her hip as she stared at what she presumed to be her opponent. The eyebrow raised higher when she saw the armor. "Interestin'...." She murmured to herself. Not seeming to be too intimidated by the newcomer, aside from the eyebrow raising, the vixen clasped her hands behind her, thrusting her chest forward as she stretched her back. Over the break since GTB, Robyn had been working on her patience, and keeping calm. Too much emotion allowed Selene greater control, eventually resulting in possession. Which was definitely on her "no no" list.

So the fox girl just stood there, continuing to stretch as she finally decided to speak, assuming Rakgan didn't move first. "Sooo...." Her southern drawl echoed across the room. "You speak eng...err, common?"

Almost immediately after her seeming attempts at chit-chat, there was an explosion behind her, from the direction of the kitchen. A flash of fire rolled out, sending the patrons running for the door. Robyn jumped, surprised as hell, moving to the side to look at the sudden fire that was beginning to spread from the back area. "....What the hell?!" She looked back over at Rakgan in surprise. What were they supposed to do? Glancing around, she spotted an official standing at the door, motioning for them to continue. "You want us to fight through this?" Her eyes were wide, not because she was scared of fire, but because that seemed a little....extreme. After a moment, she shrugged. Oh well. Not like she was going to be bothered by it. Indeed, even though the heat was beginning to feel smothering, considering the enclosed space, Robyn looked like nothing was wrong.

In one swift motion, she drew both her daggers at the same time, one hilt wrapped in green, the other in gold. Holding them up in front of her, smirking, she eyed at her opponent. "Ready to play with fire?"

[Post - 1]

[Active Abilities: None]

”Alright then...you-“ Robyn was cut off as Rakgan tossed something towards her, something with shimmering blades that reflected the red-orange light behind her. ”What the-?” She exclaimed, honestly surprised. Instinct took over, and she swiftly pushed her right foot to the side and brought her left foot back, pivoting to move her body away from the incoming projectile. Her daggers were brought up in a guard, and her left hand shot out as she shifted, quick eyesight and reflexes letting her strike the contraption, trying to knock it even further off its course. While her hands weren’t technically armored, they did have black, fingerless gloves on, but the fox girl wasn’t willing to test their protection against something unknown.

Whether or not her strike at the weapon did anything, her movements had still taken her off the projectile’s course, and unless Rakgan could alter the trajectory after he had released it, Robyn would consider herself in the clear....for now. If that was the case, the vixen would narrow her eyes at her opponent, baring her fangs. Green eyes flashed as she lunged across the room, closing the distance between them. She was basically unarmoured, seeming to wear only normal clothes consisting of heavy khaki cargo pants, a black short sleeve shirt, and a brown vest over it. Her gloves were already mentioned, and she also wore black combat boots. So, she was counting on the fact that based on that first strike, her opponent was a ranged fighter...which meant that she would likely be a lot safer if she could close with him. That armor though....

Robyn dashed forward, extremely quick but still able to track easily enough. She kept to the outside of his line of sight, her path making a very slight semi-circle...or maybe more like a semi-oval. Once close enough, nearly parallel to Rakgan, about 8 feet away, she would stop her mini-sprint and skid for a split second, trained muscles coiling and releasing, propelling her to change direction in the blink of an eye and launch herself at him, left leg and arm forward, that dagger angled to slice at his upper left arm, while her right was kept somewhat loose in a guard, hovering around the lower half of her face. As she slashed, she spun, her right leg coming around in a roundhouse knee towards the man's back, although whether it his his side or his back depended on how much he turned.

[Posts - 2]

[Abilities Active: None]

Robyn smirked as she saw the beads of sweat beginning to drip down her opponent’s face, glistening in the firelight. Now she knew for sure she had the advantage in that department. To her, the smothering heat from the fire felt much like a sunny day would to most people. It was actually kind of nice...she was used to everything feeling along the cool side of the temperature spectrum.

But she also knew that that advantage would only show itself in the long run, since if she tried to move back, closer to the fire, Rakgan would just continue throwing his little bladed things at her. She wasn’t stupid, and hadn’t forgotten about the first projectile she’d knocked out of the way, which was partially why she’d tried to come at Rakgan in a slightly circular path, to keep the weapon in view. The one in his other hand, however, surprised her. Well, not really “surprised”, exactly, more that she just hadn’t predicted it. The one behind her wasn’t too much of a problem, in her mind, she could see it coming a long way off. However, now she was trapped between two of them, and she didn’t have much time to form a plan of action. Did she want to defend her position, try to find someway to get into her ideal close combat position? Or did she want to back off, out of the current range of the weapons, and try to regroup from there? Her daggers wouldn’t be much defense against those blades; they were too small.... Her eyes darted around, looking for something...left, right, up...suddenly, an idea struck her, and her smirk grew. As she took a deep breath, her grip grew a little looser, allowing the daggers to slip back slightly, the straight edges touching the gloved backs of her hands. Then, just before she would have been caught in the double attack of the yo-yo’s, her legs coiled and sprung, her running start allowing her even greater momentum as she launched herself upwards.

Twisting her body in the air, she turned towards Rakgan, and flicked both her daggers at his upper body, around his shoulders. She didn’t want to kill the guy (and wasn’t allowed to anyways), so she hadn’t aimed for his head. They flew straight and true, and unless he moved (extremely quickly) or blocked, he was gonna have two 5-inch handles sticking out his chest.

As for the vixen, as soon as she released the daggers she swung her arms upward, just in time to catch onto the chandelier hanging from the ceiling, sending it swaying back and forth with her weight. The place where the main chain was attached creaked ominously under her weight, but she was just barely light enough for it to not start cracking. She laughed inwardly as she hung there for a second, a huge grin on her face before she quickly swung herself upwards, putting her feet in as stable position as possible. It was lucky she was a gymnast, that was for sure. When she was crouched steadily, the metal and crystal fixture still swaying back and forth, she released the grip of her left hand to reach behind her, grabbing a small metal rod off her belt. Holding it away from her, she pressed the button on its center, causing it to suddenly and rapidly expand from 1 foot to just under 5 ½. As she hung precariously, roughly 20 feet above Rakgan, she waggled the hand holding her staff in an attempt at a wave, since she couldn’t let go of the fixture with her other hand. She was also eternally glad for the deep breath she’d taken, holding her breath up here was necessary with all the smoke rising up towards the top of the building. Her eyes stung a little, but that was easy enough for her to handle. She couldn’t stay up there for too long, though, lest she have to breathe.

[Posts - 3]

[Active Abilities: None]

Robyn’s grip loosened on her daggers, and her body sank a little lower, preparing to jump, when there was suddenly a roar from both Rakgan and the two weapons around her. The vixen’s ears quivered and she involuntarily winced at the assault on her hearing. As for where the blades would strike, her upper body had been turned slightly in order to keep the other yo-yo in sight, but all the good that would do her would be to not have the blades aimed directly in the center of her back. In a rush of fear and adrenaline, her grip instantly solidified on her daggers and her arms swung downward, hands crossing over each other in a double strike aimed at stopping the one from hitting her front. Whether she actually hit the yo-yo or managed to catch the string behind it, thereby slowing, or hopefully stopping or changing the direction of it, was to be seen.

She tried to change direction and lunge to the side, but her run had been so dedicated that she had to skid a little bit, and her resulting jump turned into a dive as her legs were unable to hold that precarious balance. She roared, an animalistic sound, although it wasn’t quite as deep as Rakgan’s bellow, as the one aimed at her back bit into the back of her shoulder, spinning and whirring through her flesh just before she sprung to the side. The fox girl ended up doing a shoulder roll over her good shoulder, spinning as she rolled upright in order to be facing her opponent, green eyes, already unusually bright, practically glowing in the increasing firelight. Her back was bleeding heavily, crimson trails dripping down her torn shirt, and she panted heavily, trying to ignore the pain of her sliced flesh.

Her eyes flashed red a moment as she growled, although it looked like it could be a trick of the firelight. Still gripping her daggers, the fox girl raised her arms and threw her right hand one straight at Rakgan, switching the one in her left over to her right afterwards. She couldn’t use a weapon in her left hand this way. Or rather, she could, but it would only exacerbate the wound more. So, it was time to get tricky.

Robyn’s eyes glittered for a moment, and she stood up, watching Rakgan. Her dive had taken her a good 15-20 feet away from him, but she was still wary of those spinning projectiles. Suddenly, in a seeming suicide rush, the fox girl dashed straight towards her opponent, left arm hanging slightly, right raised in an attack.

[Posts – 4]

[Active Abilities: Illusionary Confusion, Flame Claws (Preheating)]

The instant Robyn didn’t feel the jolt of the yoyo against her daggers, her mind and body began screaming “GET AWAY FROM THOSE BLADES!!!”

Even as her daggers began scraping against the “string”, the vixen’s body was twisting and pulling back, years of gymnastics and martial arts training, combined with the reflexes from her slightly supernatural status allowing her great flexibility and control over what she did next. Her upper body had already been turned slightly to deal with the front yoyo, and she took it further, bending back until it looked like she was playing limbo, which, considering what happened next, wasn’t too far off of an analogy. The only difference between what a normal limboist would have looked like and her, was the fact that her back was twisted sideways compared to her legs, in order to keep herself as far as possible from the incoming whir-machine of pain.

When playing the video from this fight back (if there were any cameras or such in the burning building), it would look like that scene from that one movie, except her arms were in front of her, instead of above her head. She wasn’t quite fast enough to escape injury, though. The buzzsaw of horror, even as it began looping up from being caught on her daggers, sliced through her shirt and against her stomach, a nice, even, diagonal gash from just below her navel to right under her ribcage on the right side. She’d pulled far enough away that her intestines weren’t suddenly able to be seen, but definitely enough had been torn to start a heavy flow of blood. Her pull back meant that by now, only the tips of her daggers were still caught against the string, and as her focus was more on her balance, the sudden wrapping caused the pair of weapons to be torn from her grip, her hands still clenched as though she was holding them.

As for the “back” yoyo, her descent was so fast her long, light purple hair, which she had refrained from putting in a ponytail or braid, flew up around her face and beyond. If a still had been taken at the right moment, it would look like her hair was being pulled straight up....just as the other yoyo rocketed past, slicing off a few locks of her precious hair. The vixen would definitely be pissed once she noticed that, for sure.

Sadly, Robyn had to obey the laws of gravity. If she had really had time to prep the pose, she could have easily held it as she was. But it had been a spur of the moment thing, and instead of holding her position, once her torso became more than her legs could carry, balance-wise, her shoulders dipped even further, her upper body now heading towards the ground. Since she had originally been dashing forward when she had been caught in the attempted slice-n-dice, her momentum hadn’t completely dissipated, even though she’d tried to stop as much as possible for the block. Since her feet were (as of the moment) firmly planted on the floor, it was the rest of her body that continued its journey forward. The fox girl had just enough time to tuck her head in before her right shoulder clashed against the ground, sending her into a sort of sideways angled roll. However ungraceful the roll itself was, the final crouched landing was actually pretty stable, and anyone watching might have wondered if she had planned that from the instant she’d started leaning back.

The fox girl stood up about halfway, back hunched over as she clenched her dripping stomach wound. Her bright green eyes glared at her opponent, even as she took a few shaky steps back. To him, or any outside observer, it would seem as though the vixen didn’t want to go near Rakgan. Was she afraid? Or maybe she was too injured? The smoke filled the room and the fire spread as she stared him down, making no other moves.

[Posts – 5]

[Active Abilities: Flame Claws (Preheating)]

Robyn tried not to pant, even though her adrenaline was running rampant. The smoke was building, the fire spreading, and the amount of oxygen in each gulp of air was steadily decreasing. The fox girl could feel the heat of the fire at her back, warm and comforting to her. As she kept her narrowed eyes on Rakgan, she lamented that she didn’t have more control over such an incredible force. However, she was about to add more fire to the flames.

As Robyn backed up, her right clutched her dripping stomach, blood streaming around the limb. She couldn’t lose much more blood, and luckily, she wouldn’t have to. Her hands suddenly burst into flame, singeing the edges of her shirt that were still intact. Her fingers curled inwards, digging into the wound. The vixen’s face broke out in a sweat, and her jaw clenched tight as she seared the sliced veins, practically trembling from the pain. Her outside might be fire-resistant, but her innards weren’t. That worked to her advantage here, though, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to stop the heavy bleeding. Her red-orange tail lashed behind her, the white tip more grey now with all the smoke and soot blowing around.

Even as she cauterized her wound with her right, her left, which had been hovering around her hip, angled backwards a little, but wherever she was reaching was blocked from view by the empty sheath on that side, along with the heat shimmer the flame around it produced. The fox girl would definitely need to recollect her daggers after the fight, but for now...

Timing-wise, her right hand had just finished the job when her left swiftly pulled in front of her, meeting her flaming right hand, and then both hands flicked out, like she was tossing a couple of frisbees. Only, frisbees didn’t have four points of sharp metal. Two 3-inch shuriken were hurtled directly at Rakgan’s right side, one between his wrist and forearm, the other at his waist, closer to his side than his center. To make a point of reference, roughly two inches to the right of his navel. Robyn wished she could have put her flames on them, but the speed at which they traveled would have almost literally “blown” them right out.

Right after the ninja stars left her hands, the fox girl kept on moving, her eyes never leaving Rakgan’s as she picked up a nearby small table, easily hefting the wooden structure with her left hand. Her green eyes practically glowed as she advanced on her opponent, her earlier frown replaced by her trademark smirk. Whether her projectiles hit their target or not, her steps were slow, but confident, as if she was just taking her leisurely time decreasing the distance between them.

[Posts - 6]

[Active Abilities: Flame Claws (1)]

Robyn’s glare changed to an expression of surprise and confusion. While she didn’t exactly see things in slow motion, her training and senses allowed her to notice body language; how the muscles shifted in preparation for movement and attack. So it was that even before Rakgan started moving forward, before his hands released the yoyo’s, Robyn had a rough idea of what he was about to do. And she acted accordingly. In her current state, close-combat, while preferential before, was not really a wise option right now. At Rakgan’s first step, her hands burst into flame, her hand digging in to the wound to get as much cauterizing done as possible. At his first step, the fox girl was crouching down a little more, tensing her muscles.

As he sprung forward again, lifting off the ground and swinging his other foot forward, Robyn launched herself up, high, into the smoke. There was the sound of scrabbling, of scuffing, but then all was quiet. Aside from the roar of the fire, of course. A moment later, a small, baseball sized-fireball came shooting out from the smoke, roughly at Rakgan’s right shoulder.

Up in the smoke, Robyn held her breath, eyes burning at the cloud of ash. She hung off the second floor walkway with her right hand, claws digging into the wood. Her wound was a little better, the blood flow had slowed, although it still was bleeding. Her clothes by now were a bloody, stained mess, and the fabric on her left thigh was soaked, her usual stance having had the blood flow in that direction. Her left arm was dangling, having just thrown a fireball at her opponent. Just as Rakgan probably couldn’t see her, she couldn’t really see him through the smoke, even with her enhanced eyesight. She’d had to roughly guess where his head was, which explained the slightly off-center shot he’d received. The vixen desperately wanted to pant, her body craving oxygen, but she bit her lip with her fangs, keeping her mouth closed. Under normal circumstances, she could hold her breath quite a while, but with the pain, the adrenaline, and the exertion, the purple-haired girl only had maybe another 10-15 seconds before she would have to drop down out of the smoke to breathe.

[Posts – 7]

[Active Abilities: Flame Claws (1), Fireball (1/10)]

((As a note, repeating “At his first step” was not a typo, I was simply using the repeating phrase for emphasis and writing style, instead of saying “and” or “also”.))