Ryugi vs Raien

Blue Crystal s**t Factory Wrote:

Ever wondered what would happen if a bunch of cute, cuddly, and adorable anime characters ever kidnapped the Oompa Loompas from Willy Wonka? Well, you'd get something similar to the Chocolate factory, except it wouldn't be chocolate. It'd be blue crystal s**t, made out of the same nonsense that their eyes are made of.

Morning came far quicker (and brighter for that matter) than Raien ultimately preferred. She was certainly anything but an early bird and her team was well aware of this fact. Unfortunately, when they had come rapping on the door, no response was heard and left them with the assumption that she had already left. This was not the case. Luckily, not more than another hour or two passed before she practically leapt out of bed in the realization that she had somewhere to be...

After a mad scramble to get showered, dressed and get to the appropriate location - Rai had arrived. She strolled up to the massive factory - mouth agape, boot heels clicking, clacking and stopping abruptly in front of the building.

She lifted her head up and allllll the way back to spy the oversized, and probably very expensive, illuminated lettering at the top of said building that read: Blue Crystal s**t Factory.

Blue crystal s**t? Now why did that sound familiar...

Well, whatever it was didn't matter. She was already late and needed to get moving. Raien hoped her opponent wouldn't be too upset with her tardy arrival, and carefully nudged a door that looked like it had been body slammed (or kicked) open, at some point in time. What lay inside was certainly interesting.

Raien had expected a factory, yes - but the circular layout of conveyor belts and gooey, sparkly, gunk - was a sight to behold. Carefully, she navigated through a loop-de-loop of belts, plucking a Diamond Katana mobile figurine from a passing conveyor and poking fingers at tiny blobs of the gooey substance wherever she came across them.

"Someone has a unique sense of humor..."

She had let herself get distracted long enough and actually took initiative, by looking around for anyone who wasn't three feet tall and looked like they might actually be her opponent.

A man in a hat (purchased from a mysterious gift shop somewhere within the factory) zipped by in a hurry, trying not to drop his Blue Crystal s**t brand coffee mug, and other souvenirs, and Rai's head tilted to one side with his passing. Wasn't he was the male stripper who jumped out of the cake during the opening ceremony? Just a foot away, after watching Bhudasan leave, Raien spotted another man, one who was currently sampling the gooey, sparkly goop that was constantly passing by on the conveyor belts. Her mind went back to the man in the cake, then to the mass produced, gooey stuff that this new fellow was tasting.

Her nose wrinkled slightly, and she cleared her throat to catch his attention.

"I don't know if you should be eating that stuff. You don't know where it's been ... or who's been in it for that matter."

Raien was a little taken back by the very eager fellow with rather large hair and a particularly nice looking scarf. He struck a pose and she took a moment to look him over. Judging by his garments and energetic attitude, she had seemingly assumed right. This had to be her opponent. Funny though, she expected someone a little, taller? Certainly, the name 'Kazamaru' had her conjuring up images of someone a touch more fierce and dangerous. Such was Gaia though, never ceasing to surprise her.

His name is "Rai-yen De-Cure" or something.

Rai opened her mouth to protest, and correct the awkward pronunciation of her name but -

Sounds like a really tough guy and I can't wait to meet him.

she promptly closed her gob and stared on at her would-be opponent with a puzzled expression - speechless - if only for the moment. The woman pondered briefly, on what precisely to say to the confused fellow before speaking up again. "Well. I can say that I've never heard my name pronounced like that before. And for that matter - I can safely say I've never been mistaken for a man either."

She hated to burst his bubble of excitement, for he was clearly filled to the brim with it, at least - for having expected his fellow man to show up. Raien folded her arms across her chest in mock offense. "Or are you of the mind that a lady has no place in the ring?"

Sins of an Angel Wrote:

"Well. I can say that I've never heard my name pronounced like that before. And for that matter - I can safely say I've never been mistaken for a man either."

She hated to burst his bubble of excitement, for he was clearly filled to the brim with it, at least - for having expected his fellow man to show up. Raien folded her arms across her chest in mock offense. "Or are you of the mind that a lady has no place in the ring?"

That little bit of energy came back as Raien DeCuir, his FEMALE opponent made herself known. She was most certainly not a man, or if she was, she was one of the prettiest men Ryugi had ever seen. No, this wasn't at all what he was expecting. A tiny raincloud popped up over Ryugi's head and started dripping drops down on him as he sulked a bit. All that hype, all that MANLINESS, all of it was washed away.

But then, a lighting bolt shot across the back of Ryugi's head in the background as he was about to answer. Something, no, someONE, was coming!

-Media- Channel 7 News Wrote:

"Mr. Kazamiiiiiiiiiiiiraaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Alicia Aicila, Channel 7 News! With your triumphant return to Heaven or Hell, how does it feel to be paired up against another up-and-coming combatant, Miss Raien DeCuir? Are you really afraid that you'll be beaten by a member of the opposite sex? Do you have any comments on being a sexist pig? Is it true that your pants are being auctioned off to the highest bidder? The public demands answers!"

The rain cloud popped as if it was never there, and Ryugi stood stupefied with the microphone shoved in his face. Where did this woman come from? How did her camera crew follow her so sneakily? Who the hell was writing this crazy episode? The answers to these questions and more will be answered on the next exciting episode of...no, wait, the CURRENT Episode of Heaven or Hell: 2011 - Rise of a Burning Champion!

I think it's great to see new faces every year! It shows that fighting spirit is always brimming in young minds and young hearts! It brings me great joy to be fighting a female competitor like my good friend here, MISS Raien DeCuir!

Ryugi turned and winked at the young woman. He certainly hadn't meant any disrespect towards her. After all, she was in Heaven or Hell, and that meant she HAD to be a great fighter brimming with spirit and energy! Female or not, his spirit was once more burning bright, just like the fire in his eyes. Literally. There was a small fire in his eyes as he answered the question and struck yet another pose for the cameras.

The indomidable spirit of TEAM UNBREAKABLE RESOLVE can never be defeated, even if one of our number is brought down in combat! Our spirit will drive us onward no matter what stands in our way! If Miss DeeCuir is able to defeat me, I would welcome the chance to test my abilities against such a worthy opponent.

Another flashy grin for the cameras and a tussling of his hand through his hair, light glinting from the grin as Ryugi gave a proud thumbs up. He wasn't afraid of defeat. Not one bit.

And the public knows I'm not a pig. I'm a dragon burning with the fire of resolve, and the light of overwhelming determination! And as for the pants, they go up on auction on gBay after we win our first match in order to celebrate.

Ryugi made sure to cleanly give his answers to the questions in a big, booming, heroic voice. he was the Chief Morale Officer of TEAM UNBREAKABLE RESOLVE, and he'd be damned if he did anything else but inspire confidence in his team mates and awe the many fans of Heaven or Hell. His team would give them a show the likes of which they hadn't seen in a very long time. That was his duty, and that's how they rolled.

Now, if you'll excuse me Miss Reporter, I do beleive I have a preliminary match to compete in with my lovely female opponent. You're free to stay and get some live coverage of TEAM UNBREAKABLE RESOLVE in action, but don't get in the way of combat.

That camera equipment looks expensive.

A phantom sound carries in on the wind, as if reaching through time...

"RYYYYYUUUUUUUGGGIIIIIII!!!!"

Where was that music coming from?

Raien looked around with earnest curiosity, despite being notably creeped out by the strange goings on, there was a certain level of humor here and she was, oddly, a little impressed by the sudden introduction of background music.

Theme song perhaps?

At this point she wouldn't really be surprised. There was something this guy seemed to enjoy about posing for the camera that kept Raien scratching her head. She had never met anyone quite like him before, nor had anything like this ever happened to her. The lady mage let the boisterous fellow give a heroic and very encouraging speech while she climbed over one conveyor belt, chuckling to herself. "Uh-huh. They sure did." She commented off-hand while climbing over the next, not so much as looking back at her opponent while he did his very job of boosting the morale for their non-existent audience. "I like your spirit Mr. Kazamaru. You keep that up."

Once she had achieved a suitable height, Rai stood up, while taking caution to maintain her balance and using her staff to her advantage.

Quote:** Wrote:

So come at me, Miss DeCuir!

Ryugi struck a stance, legs sliding out to the sides one at a time, arms crossed across his chest, head held high and scarf fluttering behind him as his red eyes landed upon the sight of his female opponent.

Whether he noticed or not, she wasn't standing in the same spot she had been moments ago but instead had relocated to someplace far more convenient. Without even thinking about the action, she scooped up a good handful of the gooey, sugary (and probably cavity inducing) gunk for which the factory was aptly named.

"I hope I don't disappoint."

Quote:** Wrote:

I am Ryugi Kazamaru, Co-Captain and Chief Morale Officer of TEAM UNBREAKABLE RESOLVE.

My will is indomitable and my spirit undoubtable!

So, Raien DeCuir, show me the might of YOUR resol--

-SPLAT-

Raien had hucked the sticky, gooey blob right at her opponent - hopefully hitting him square in the face and completely shattering any illusion of seriousness that might have lingered with the end of his speech. Even if it hadn't hit it's intended target, the effect would still be the same, just - not as humorous.

"I mean it when I say - that was some speech. Have you ever considered becoming a motivational speaker?" She grinned, from ear to ear as if she had never even thrown the blue crystal blop to begin with.

She had thus initiated the beginning of the match.

[1/10]

There was no more joyous a sound as the disgustingly hilarious SPLAT that followed as the gooey blob made contact with her opponent's face as so Raien hoped and fully intended. His monologue had been capped off before it could go on for any longer, even though Rai hated to be rude.

The man pouted, and she was momentarily distracted by the appearance of yet another cartoon-like effect that illustrated his annoyance, giving him the opportunity to leap into action - complete with energy-ball turned magnificent shield.

"Alright, let's get this thing started on the right foot!"

Ryugi's statement however, was all the preparation she needed, as he practically announced himself before charging like an angry bull at the support beam for the conveyor belt. She only had one place to go and that was up - as she jumped quickly before he collided - and over - having the advantage of height and enough clearance to hop over Ryugi, making sure to grip her staff with both hands in their respective positions while she landed behind him. Her body immediately went into a crouching form in order to absorb the shock of the landing, but Raien used the momentum to turn herself around and swing the staff at her opponent's legs after pulling her hands a little closer together to allow that freedom of movement while maintaining a proper grip.

At her level now, she heard a humorously loud rumbling, a dissatisfied growl from her opponent's stomach, "Why Mr. Kazamaru, if i had known you were hungry we could have met for breakfast before our bout!" She teased, but in good fun.

[2/10]

Well - being so light-on-her-feet might have helped her to avoid what would have been a nasty tumble right off of the conveyor belt and quite literally hop over her opponent but Rai had been to excited with her own cleverness to fully think about what kind of situation she might be putting herself into instead.

The noise as Ryugi clashed with the support beam rang out through the whole factory as a very comically loud clang - complete with a human sized dent in the aforementioned support itself - and sure enough, just as she landed - Raien's would-be perfectly executed retaliation was thwarted by the oncoming of a small avalanche. An avalanche consisting of fist sized rocks, poorly painted to resemble some sort of toy truck sporting what looked like diamond swords. Her first, instinctual reaction was to guard with her staff in futile attempt to protect her head. She used the moment to start drawing upon the energies present within this plane, this realm, in preparation for something yet to be seen.

Sure, the rock toys weren't that big and weren't that heavy but they were many in number and certainly not soft!

"Ow ow, Ow-" Rai vocalized her annoyance with the pointy and hard little toys as she tried to combat as many as possible. Those would definitely leave bruises tomorrow, and the lady mage frowned at the thought. The onslaught was only so much, fortunately, but by the time the rain of toys had stopped, her opponent was back on his feet and taking cover behind his shield.

"Perhaps I'll take you up on lunch afterward! It would be my pleasure."

Her frown curled into a little grinning smile, and Raien kicked at a few toys by her feet before responding. "That certainly sounds like a plan then." Her grin became a little more devious, if only because she was entirely too amused with what she had planned next. "We'll make it a big celebratory meal - regardless of who comes out the victor here, but for now - "

Raien held fast to her staff, still with both hands and angled it downwards, just before the gathered energies were expelled forth from the foci point - the crystal at the head of the staff - in a small burst that sent toys flying about and the brunt of which, at her opponent.

Quote:** Wrote:

-Impact Burst: Raien can also channel the energies into the staff that, upon a direct hit, can be expelled outward in a small, localized burst that deals minor damage and used primarily for knockback.

Usable once every three turns - Half turn charge.

He would have to react quickly to guard himself from an onslaught of the ugly, mass produced, would-be toy and thusly leave himself open. Regardless of which way he chose to block, Rai was quick to follow up with a forward lunge and thrust of her staff straight on into her opponent. Whether she hit shield, or hit him, wasn't important, but she remained on the offensive.

[3/10]

Her opponent was a clever one indeed, and Raien had not expected him to catch on to her little trick so quickly. She had to give him credit for that, but it did put a damper in her plan unfortunately. Instead of cowering and attempting to shield himself from the onslaught of toys from all sides all frantic-like as she had expected, he charged on through and let the toys bounce off of his shield like they were made out of rubber, instead of rocks and cheap dime store paint. Before anything else, she went right back to channeling those energies through the staff's foci, drawing them into herself in preparation for something else.

She met Ryugi's charge by quickly pulling the staff back in to herself and using it to guard against the shield-become battering ram. Raien knew she couldn't hold him back for too long, despite her strong stance. Her opponent was bigger and very determined. In fact, she could have sworn he resembling a speeding train coming ready to barrel her down - no - no he actually was. There was steam billowing out of nowhere she could plainly see and Raien realized she had not been simply imagining the whistle blow.

This fight was very strange and only halfway through. Quickly, Rai took a quick glimpse over her shoulder, to get an idea of what was behind her. The wall was stacked with boxes and lined with even more conveyors where mounds of the blue crystal goop sat, dripping and just making a mess of everything.

That would not be pleasant. "Ohh no you don't!" Using the shield as a fulcrum, still gripping the staff she let it roll off the side and around, to catch her opponent in the back of his head with a good upwards thrust of the staff's length - just as she herself fell off to the side.

Her balance had been thrown, sure but not without a little retribution - and a cheeky little grin all the same.

[4/10]

[Charge: 1 post]

Ryugi went skidding and so did Raien, if only a short ways however, coming to a resounding halt on her butt against the hard concrete or whatever crazy kind of flooring lined this ridiculously factory. She used the brief respite to pull forth a little bit more power, of the arcane energies the woman was so aptly known for calling upon.

Seeing her opponent go crashing backwards into the wall, she grinned wide and waved at him, teasing him about his plight. Raien hopped to her feet as quickly as she could and swung her staff up under her left arm in a resting position, but accessible if she had to reach for it suddenly.

Tapping into the gathered energies now, she took a pitcher's stance and in her open right palm a moderate sized sphere - wispy and ethereal, taking on pale shades of lavender, teal and gray - rapidly formed. Just like that - she hurled it straight back at the towers of boxes and what-have you in order to knock them down and bury her opponent in boxes and goopy globs of the blue crystal s**t the factory mass produced.

Battle Info Wrote:

The manipulation of Aetheric energies - Raien draws upon this energy from other planes, into herself using her to channel as a focusing object. Her inherent (racial) abilities allow her to manipulate these energies and utilize them in four different ways: offensively, defensively (passive abilities), supplementary (stat boosting), or crafting/fueling spelled charms. Obviously this is restricted to one specific use at a time.

Offensive - This involves tapping into the gathered energy and focusing it into some kind of physical manifestation. Typically the energies conjured take on various soft, almost ghostly shades of teal, purple and grayish white. Damage taken is directly relevant to opponent’s durability and area of impact.

••••••Moderate sized burst – 1 1/2 posts charge - Damage equivalent to a powerful kick/sheer brute force

[5/10]

The fight was far from over...

And how right that was. They were a little more than halfway through, but with plenty of time still left in the game to gain a little bit of ground over her opponent. After pitching him a fastball, that caused an avalanche of boxes containing even more blue crystal s**t, to rain down upon the unsuspecting Ryugi in cartoon-worthy blue gooey heap.

How awesome was that?

But Raien knew just standing around and taking pleasure in her opponent's sudden and probably very sticky plight wasn't going to win the fight and she had to make an offensive move before he. However, the only problem was, he had somehow, quite literally disappeared into the mess of boxes and blue crystal goop. Now, Raien was a smart girl, she knew he was in there somewhere, but, well, exactly where was the million dollar question. With pursed lips she crossed the distance between herself and the heap, allowing the staff to swing out from under her left arm so she could grip it with both hands. There was a phrase that had been used by an old friends once, a one Alex Morgan in a humorous attempt at teaching the mage to play a game of pool: "just poke and hope".

Which is exactly what she did, more or less. Rai thrust the butt of the staff into the pile, hoping to strike gold, so to speak.

Nice as she was, a fight was a fight and well, they could always make amends for any bruises exchanged and bones broken later, over lunch!

[6/10]

Even as she approached the heap, the goopy pile of Blue Crystal s**t and the boxes that could not possibly contain their mass - there was a rustling Rai did not take notice to until it was far too late to do anything about said movement. Sure, she tried to jab at the mound of cardboard and goo but it was a futile effort.

• GYYYYYYAAAAHHHHH!! -

The typically well composed sorceress emitted a rather high-pitched squeak, having been taken entirely off-guard by her opponent's sudden re-appearance.

She should have seen it coming - as he burst forth from the pile in a show of thunder and an aura pulsing with brilliantly glowing energy, looking very much like he stepped right out of those crazy cartoons where everyone had multi-colored hair and flashy abilities.

He had taken her by surprise and the burst had caused her to stagger and skid backwards on her butt a good few feet. Raien scrambled to find her footing again, all the while shielding herself from getting pelted by the suddenly air-born globs of Blue Crystal s**t and any cardboard that was to follow. It was everywhere, clinging to her coat with bits getting caught in her hair, making the woman purse her lips in a frown. It was anything but pleasant.

By the time she recovered, her opponent had launched into a heroic speech, complimented by a mysterious wind and strangely familiar background music. Rai didn't really have a lot of time to question the presence of said wind when there were no windows, and the music certainly wasn't pumping out of the PA system and quickly but carefully, shed her stained coat and left the staff on the ground.

"Crap..."

She was ready just as her opponent had started forward, pulling the scarf around her waist free and twisting (one end in each hand). As soon as he was upon her, Rai moved forward to meet him (despite fear of getting bowled over) and swung the twisted scarf over her opponent's head and neck right before thrusting a boot (right leg) into his chest.

He was a moving target, and still likely going to take her down with him if he fell or kept going but it was worth a shot no? Especially if she forced her weight all to her left. If they went down, they were going down on her terms.

[7/10]

Uh-oh.

Her carefully laid plan had been thwarted once again by her crafty opponent, still glimmering in a blaze of light. She still wasn't sure how that happened, but clearly, the Blue Crystal s**t had permeated his very being and seemingly worked to his advantage.

This was bound to end badly.

There would be no scarf grabbing for her unfortunately, as he ducked and timed his actions with the sudden appearance of his shield again, or at least a recreation of it. He clever and quick, and certainly keeping Raien on her toes. Sadly, she hadn't the chance to admire these traits before he was shield punching her, completely interrupting her earlier actions.

He nailed her square in the chest, and while the position that had her reaching forward (and thusly her body arched) offered some help against the sudden blow, it still had enough power behind it to force her back. Luckily, it didn't wind her, but it didn't mean that it wouldn't hurt. The biggest issue, was that Rai didn't work well up close and personal, despite how exciting such a scuffle would be - as a caster, she was not built for it.

Thinking quickly, she braced herself with her hands flat against the offending shield and expelled the remaining energies outwards - which would effectively force her opponent back and give Raien enough room to get away, and start conjuring more power just in case.

Ability Used Wrote:

••••••Knockback burst - No post charge but 3 post cool down. The purpose of this is to put distance between her opponent and herself in a pinch or when she needs to get away quickly. Also helpful towards flying or aerial opponents. This attack inflicts no direct damage to the opponent unlike the bursts, but knocks them back at a distance of two feet – essentially equivalent to someone forcefully shoving them away with all their strength.

Two feet was not a lot but all she needed was a minute to pick up her discarded staff and recover from the shield punch.

[8/10]

So the playing field had indeed been leveled again when her expulsion of energy put space between Raien's opponent and herself. She had tried to push him back, but as he had been already committed to moving forward and putting all of his force into the shield punch, it had the exact opposite effect and forced her back instead.

Regardless, she got the space she desired and then some as he willingly moved back a few more steps to accommodate her. A little grin unfurled onto her face, and even still she was conjuring power, spindling the energy into a neat little collective within her person.

That was rather gentlemanly of him.

"If you insist - than gladly."

Of course, she was not about to squander this opportunity and Raien wasted no time sprinting back behind to collect her earlier discarded staff and taking up form again - all in all putting about 6 feet of distance between herself and her dashing opponent.

Any smart individual would have immediately noticed the newly crafted weapon he possessed, swinging around wildly and ready to strike out at any moment.

Rai had to be quick and deadly.

She swung the staff around to her left, - gripping it over hand with her right arm quite literally resting on the length as her left crossed her body to grip it from the underside - as she approached, making it seem like she had very different intentions. Instead of jabbing at him once in range, she swung the staff up over her head, right back down to her right waist and snapped upwards (making a slight angle) in a hook, to catch her opponent across his body.

Her movements were quick and fluid, intending to confuse and catch him off his guard, and would be a nasty little attack if successful, and if he was unlucky enough to take the head of the staff to open skin? Well, the rocky surface of the crystal foci wasn't exactly soft you know. Either way, taking such a sudden whack anywhere to his person wasn't going to feel great. The staff wasn't terribly heavy (nearing somewhere at 5 pounds maximum with the majority of the weight being in either end) but it sure was solid.

[Charge: 1.5]

[9/10]

Video in reference for her actions.

Committed to her actions, having struck at her opponent with the staff gripped tightly in her hands, determination to succeed plainly evident on her face - it was difficult for Raien to suddenly re-route any attack as her opponent so swiftly turned away and gave a great swing with his weapon.

As it stood, the only option was to turn her upper body quickly guard her against the blow. The angle was awkward, her torso having twisted to the side - still in position from the initial strike attempt - in order to suddenly meet the incoming weapon. The staff now held diagonally, at least prevented the chain from wrapping around but didn't protect her from getting clipped by the head of the weapon along her right side, effectively tearing the only fabric covering her torso and the first layer of skin beneath.

First blood went to her opponent, literally

The collision shook her form and subsequently knocked the staff from her arms, sending it scattering across the concrete floor and out of close range. This was the end of the bout and there would be no time to make a run for the discarded weapon. It wasn't a complete loss, for she had been continuously drawing familiar arcane energies into her person with the full intent to utilize said power in a final display of skill and an immediate follow-up from the de-armed mage made up for the loss of her weapon.

[Charge: 2]

Before her opponent could react or correct the path of the swing, she thrust her hands, palms out at his unprotected face and expelled forth all the collected energy in a straight on burst

As always, there was a chance he could attempt to guard at the last second - her body stood a good 5 feet but her fully extended hands closed some of that distance, and the force of the burst would see to a harsh impact one way or another. He had wanted a good finish and this was what she could provide in the midst of a tight situation.

"No hard feelings Mr. Kazamaru - Just trying to make a good show!" She commented, regardless of what happened or how he reacted in kind.

The woman's FIGHTER alerted her to the bout's final seconds, indicating very clearly that their time was indeed up in mere moments.

Ability Information Wrote:

••••••Heavy burst - 2 Full posts charge and 1 post cool down - Damage equivalent to getting bull rushed by a 300lb professional linebacker

[10/10]

Her opponent, the very boisterous and cheerful gentleman had indeed taken her by surprise with his last actions - having made no attempts at dodging or blocking and taking what she dished out full on. Interesting. Amusing even, as he was flung backwards into another massive pile of boxes that did well to hide him, but only for a moment.

When he pulled himself out of the mess, followed by a resounding laughter, she was a little puzzled and ready to act, but the FIGHTER around her wrist noisily announced the end of the bout. She looked down at it, both with relief and some disappointment. Fighting wasn't something she thoroughly enjoyed and there was nothing left to worry about, but her frustration stemmed from the short bout, making her feel like there hadn't been enough time to really show what she could do, given the opportunity.

It was forgotten when Ryugi approached and greeted her like any good sport would, even offering to shake. Rai wondered how many of the competitors would have the same attitude, but shook hands all the same.

"Much appreciated, I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself. I don't expect too many more opportunities to do so in the future."

He went on to praise her spirit, resolve, and whatever else - but as kind as those words were, and very humbly taken to heart, she laughed nervously, hesitation plain on her face. "It's all very good and well of you to say that but I'm afraid my reasons for being here make it a little difficult to have fun. Not that I'm at all interested in winning either, just - backing up a dear friend in a time of need. But, maybe if my other opponents have as pleasant an attitude as yours then it won't be so bad. Anyway, enough about that."

She smiled, easy and honest.

"So then, about that lunch..."

"Oh! Right, well, as much fun as it might be to brag about those bruises and bloody nose to the waitresses, I imagine you'll want to get cleaned up before food. The Hawk has a couple of nice little restaurants built right into it, some a little less ritzy than others but the food is just as good I'm sure." She motioned towards the route that lead to the door so they could be on their way.