Round one

[menocrede.livejournal.com]

Who: Aya, Calum, Josiah, Ray, whoever else who managed to get to the coliseum
What: In which curiosity may or may not kill the cat - fighting undead pirates shouldn't be a legal hobby.
Where: Olympus Coliseum
When: Late afternoon

[[ooc: the transportation problem will be figured out later]]

Josiah was having one of those days.

He knew, technically, that this was a very bad idea. Other than the moments that Calum would choose to actually talk to him, he knew next to nothing about the pirate. Well, other than what answers he got from Lilith, and those didn't exactly make him comfortable. Forget about the fact that he hadn't seen in her months, after that incident in Radiant Garden.

Add to that the mysterious illness that was going around, and affecting everyone he had befriended within the past year. He wanted to help, but between the days that he couldn't remember a thing thanks to a certain ghost and the days that he was too exhausted to do anything other than sleep, he had never gotten around to doing it.

Research, he remembered with a grimace, was not his forte in college.

So now he was waiting in the coliseum, staring up at that impossibly blue sky that was slowly darkening with the night and trying to tune out Phil. What a interesting way to end the day.

Comments

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

Let it be known that Aya really doesn't like backing down from this kind of challenge.

Her usefulness in the current situation wasn't very much either way and thus far she had avoided being infected with the sickness by remaining aboard the Dagda and only stopping briefly on worlds she was sure were not harboring the infection. She wanted to stay in top shape for this fight anyway.

The young woman walked in, clothed in a bit of light armor and wearing fingerless gloves. She was unarmed at first but a rough gesture with her left hand sent the Spine shooting out of the enchanted storage space worked into her glove. Much to Josiah's dismay, the serrated edges of the unusual weapon looked exquisitely sharp.

"Glad you both could make it." Aya said evenly, rolling her shoulders.

[menocrede.livejournal.com]

"You look entirely too enthusiastic about this," Josiah replied dryly, sitting up from where he had sprawled out on the stands. The armor may have been a good idea, but he'd have to live with wearing his motorcycle jacket, t-shirt, and jeans. He jumped the last few stairs down into the wide, flat arena, still ignoring Phil, and gave Aya a wry grin. "Though I guess it will be interesting to say I got my ass handed to me by a girl wielding a spine."

He still didn't like it, the entire premise of the battle. He could only hope that if things went too far, he'd be able to pull Calum back like he had done that one time with Amy. Trusting the pirate - hell, trusting ANY pirate - didn't seem like the smart thing to do.

Wise decision, boy...

His posture changed subtly as he strode towards her, a cold look of vague interest erasing Josiah's hesitation. Calum didn't summon any weapons or create any type of armor. Instead, he smiled at Aya. "The feeling's mutual, Miss Aya." He didn't waste any more words, instead gesturing towards her to begin. "Ladies first."

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

It'd been a while since she'd seen Josiah in person though the change in posture did not go unnoticed. Gone was the hesitation he had displayed in his body language. Aya had learned long ago that reading body language and intent was an excellent way to stay on top of a fight.

The fact that he remained unarmed and unarmored didn't go unnoticed either but based on what she'd read, he figured this guy was probably packing some kind of magic. Barriers likely. Time to test that theory.

She didn't reply nor scream nor call out any bold, heroic declarations. Not a breath was wasted as she rapidly shifted her own posture and made a sudden lunge right at Calum's center of mass with her weapon. Both hands gripped the tailbone handle of the Spine, contributing equal strength to the thrust.

[menocrede.livejournal.com]

He watched her impassively, silently making judgments on her movements, but not revealing anything outwards. He didn't QUITE look bored with the premise of the fight, but he did look like he'd be unimpressed.

Even as Aya started in on her attack, he didn't call up any weapons or any magic. He only waited until the last possible second before moving towards the attack, twisting at the last minute to allow the blade and Aya to go past him, and then using the momentum to jump to the side in case of a quick backswing. His only facial reaction was a curious frown.

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

As she followed through, she expected something to stop the unusual weapon. It took a half-second longer to make the sudden halt and pivot when she realized that Calumn had decided to opt for a dodge instead. Her left hand relinquished its grip upon the handle as Aya turned, right following through with only half a backswing.

Her reaction time proved to be a bit above average, back leg twisting to firm up her stance so she could turn the swing into a one-hand thrust.

Aya's own expression betrayed nothing, locked into an impassive mask of concentration. For now.

[menocrede.livejournal.com]

Again, Calum didn't do anything other than quickly sidestep and jump backwards a bit. The movements came with practiced ease, but there was something off about his movements. Yes, he was going through an almost lazy version of swordplay footwork, but his balance didn't work out exactly to be of pirate calibur.

It looked more like parkour.

The blade flew by, missing him by millimeters only. Still, he didn't use magic or weapons. It was like he was toying with her.

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

This felt obnoxiously familiar. with each passing second, Aya began to wonder if Calum was going for the 'tire her out first then crush her easily' strategy which while was a viable strategy, didn't give her much information aside from "Calum keeps his cards close to his chest."

Straightening with that same fluid speed, Aya's fingers spun the Spine around, inverting it. With a flourish, she drove the weapon point-first into the ground, where it stuck a few inches.

She folded her arms and gave Calum a look. "I thought we were gonna fight. I don't recall signing up for dance lessons."

[menocrede.livejournal.com]

Calum raised an eyebrow, and didn't even bother trying to hide the grin on his face now. He shrugged one shoulder, tapping his fingers at his side on an irregular rhythm.

"Of course, Miss Aya," he said with a mocking bow. "You have my apologies. The last thing I would want to do is disappoint you." As he said this, the slightly warm air in the coliseum began to cool down rapidly, enough to make even the hardiest of people shiver. Within heartbeats, the ground beneath them began to glow slightly within a fifteen foot radius, and the sharp smell of ozone filled the air.

The smile was gone now - he wasn't toying with her anymore. He made a quick gesture with his hands, murmuring something low and foreign beneath his breath...

...and then the ground exploded with lightning, forming a cage around them.