Tournament: Vertina vs Seliana

The small figure of Seliana moves out into the arena grounds, her frilly black dress rustling as she walks. Long grey hair flows down behind her while dull red eyes look forward trying to find her opponent. The dainty girl looks like she should be anywhere but combat and yet this is where she is at.

After arriving at about the spot the tournament staff had instructed her to walk out to she stops and starts to gaze around at the crowds, although she does not seem to show any visible concern or emotional reaction. Perhaps she is just taking it all in or is she trying to spot someone specific in the audience? Whichever is the case she once again returns her gaze forward, a slight frown on her face. A frown which will be very familiar to those few who have come to know her well.

She was off-sides doing her routine of warm-up stretchs, so when the signal is given it's almost time for the match Vertina jogs out into the arena. The match hasn't even started yet and her heart was already pounding just from how long it's been since she's been able to engage in a competitive event like this. The anticipation, the cheering crowds, the adrenaline pumping through her. There is no real words to describe how she's missed this feeling.

As she reaches her starting spot she grabs the cloth that was draped around her neck for a sweat cloth and yanks it off, tossing it back off to the side of the arena. Then turns to her opponenet, putting her hands together and bowing to Seliana appropriately before standing upright once more and settling into an passive ready stance. "Win or lose, I'm going to make this a match to remember."

    The magic screens focus on both fighters as they come in. Up on the announcers stand is a tall albino human girl with a geometric Bunbun tattoo on her neck. "Hello and Welcome to this match of the Grand Balancing of the Scales!" She holds up her arms, the sleaves of her kimono falling back to expose her white arms. "This match brings to you, your home town girl from the Scale Emblem Aliance, our very own Kicking Salamander the tall girl I call friend Vertina of the Odysseia Knights! She kicks she burns it's fire and football and martial arts. Show her some love and shout her name!"

    "Our second contestant standing in the other sand tan corner, we have Seliana, the dour and sour I'd just watch out for that temper. Keep an eye on this one you never know what a choloric opponent might pull off in combat! She hails from the Nine Tails Dominion and is part of the Plant Hwayden guild. The Stone Faced Were Fang, show her some support and Shout it out!" she announces.

Returning the bow to Vertina, Seliana starts to slowly poke at the air, seemingly looking at her game menus. She was told where the PVP options were, it was just her first time actually doing it. After a somewhat awkward few seconds she finally finds the option and sends a duel challenge to Vertina so they can begin.

Once she accepts a countdown appears between them.

5

4

3

2

1

<< START >>

Immediately after dim colors start to leach into Seliana's eyes and swirl in chaotic patterns while at the same time small motes of differing colored lights appear and lazily move around her. Standing still she lifts her right hand and points at Vertina. Small electrical discharges crackle between the motes of light as spark move forward and concentrate before her finger and then in a burst thaumaturgic energy blasts forward towards Vertina.

Vertina expected her friends to watch the match but she didn't think Wisteria would actually MC it! Or get so fanciful with the contestant descriptions. It's a bit of a surprise, but she's not going to let it ruin her focus. No pressure, just keep your wits and let that natural fiery spirit guide the way. She accepts the duel challenge, and settles back into her ready stance as the countdown ticks away...

And Seliana wastes no time in going on the offensive, hurtling some manner of electrical magic in her direction. But the truth of the manner Vertina is already on the move as soon as she sees the finger point come out. With a combination of Wind magic and simply being quick and agile she jukes back and forth between the shock bolts and ice shots, managing to weave a path that only gets herself coated in some of the staticy mist. That's going to be a nusance to be sure.

But not right at the moment as Vertina skids to a stop at Selina's side, immeadiately twisting and swinging up one of her long legs at the other woman in a quick roundhouse kick.

    Wisteria watches as the screens keep split between the two fighters, half showing one and half the other. When Seliana makes her move she shouts "AND HERE WE GO! Sel starts off with a dazzling display of direct damage! Man those Wave arts can be nasty always keep your eyes on a caster." She announces.

    "You just gotta keep an even bigger eye on those dodgy lizards!" she says brightly "Watch that Salamander go!" The crowd cheers at both the magical display and the martial one, Vertina getting something of a home court advantage in crowd noise being from the Empire.

Seliana's dull eyes try to track Vertina as she darts around her attack, and before she knows it Vertina is at her side. Seliana is still in the process of turning to look when the powerful roundhouse kick connects and she is suddenly thrown off her feet to fly through the air. Landing hard she rolls uncontrolled through the sand her hair wiping along behind her. Finally coming to stop some distance away she slowly comes to a rest and begins to rise to her feet.

As she rises Seliana's eyes being to glow brightly, the dim colors transmuting to vibrate shades as they continue to infuse them. Purple. Black. Green. Blue. Yellow. A whole spectrum of colors swirl in a miasmic storm within her eyes. Her face begins to show expression as he eyes widen fractional and her slight frown contorting into an open scowl. He small figure then lifts to hover an inch above the ground as the nimbus of multicolored lights surrounding her intensifies.

Seliana screams.

An echoing high-pitched wail and with it her sandy white skin darkens quickly to deep grey, horns emerge from her temples growing and curving backwards above her hair as they pierce through her veil. Her teeth shift into grey sharp barbs. Her delicate hands distorting into long stony claws and large batlike grey wings open up behind her and stretch out to either side.

Coruscating thaumaturgical arcs of energy pulse between the motes of light and they start swirling more quickly around the small gargoylic girl. Magically charged lightening arcs out chaotically, most splashing harmlessly off the protective barrier of the arena or blasting into the sand.

A direct hit! But Vertina knows better than to get cocky this soon in the match. Sure enough Seliana gets up... and screams. It gets a brief cringe from Vertina, followed by mutters under her hot breath as her opponent -transforms-. The only reason she's not outright surprised by it is she's seen her bunbun friend do it before, but it's clear she didn't know that Seliana was a Were Fang. Things just ramped up quickly!

The most she can do is draw on her resevoir of fire energy and project it infront of herself as shield. The lightning hits, shattering the shield but sending hot embers hurtling back at the Gargoyle like fire shrapnel as it does. Even if it leaves Vertina open to being hit like an avalanche by the ice attack that follows it and it's her turn to land on her ass on the sand.

But she's quick to kippup back onto her feet, clenching her teeth in an oddly satisfied smirk. "Yeah, now it's on!" That hurt, but the thrillseeker in her is on a total rush now from it. "Let's do this!" Then with a bark of "Desert Stance!" Vertina plants her clawed feet into the ground, almost as if she was somehow drawing some energy from it as she flexes her arms at her side and a glimmer of light flickers between them, then starts to grow. Until it gets to a roughly spherical shape and size for the Salamander to do one of her favorite tricks with the ki-like energy. She snaps her hands away, probably a bewildering move as she just lets the spheroid drop instead of shooting it.

"SPIRIT STRIKER!"

But that's so she can whip herself around and true to her football (Soccer for you americans) roots KICK the ball of blinding energy at Seliana!

    Wisteria Ooohs as the screens all merge to show both fighters. "Look at that kick, as we've come to expect from our high kicking scaled one!" Then Seliana is shifting "OOoh someone's serious, our Were Fang is shifting look at those horns! Like I said gotta watch that temper." she says "Good thing for Vertina that wings are kind of crap for flying when it comes to humanoids!"

    "That Wave art looks like it hurts!" she says as Vert is fried more than a little. "But she's back into it right away, look at that lizard go, flaming football of doom let's see if this is a GarGoal!"

Finally settling onto her feet Seliana in her stonelike gargoyle form somehow appears more animate then she was in her human form. She crouches slightly a snarl on her still feminine face, her wings flap once in agitation. The motes of light continue to spin around her, and her eyes glow brightly. Rising to her feet, sand drifts off her black dress. She takes a step forward and-

BAM!!!

The sphere of energy smashes into Seliana's face, rocking her backwards. She stumbles a few steps before finally steading herself. Then Seliana starts yelling "All of you!.. Always!.. All gone!" it doesn't really quite fit the current situation, but she is passionate about something. Glaring at Vertina she claps her claws together and at the impact the motes of light around her start to transform into shards of stone and ice, then in a deluge the rocket forward. More lights popping into existence just as quickly as they transform and zoom off towards Vertina.

For one thing, that gargoyle is really mad after getting slammed with a ball of light. Let's see what she does this ti -- More electrified ice, it seems. Sure, that's an unusual combo, but...

"Come on, you big stone lug! Do something interesting!" Even as Vertina holds out one hand and congeals some of that energy into a barrier, but the onslaught of magic quickly slams through it, sending her realing for a second time. Was she really that out of practice? Or was that sheer rage something messing with her techniques?.. That's something to consider afterwards, not dwell on now!

The Salamander rolls back onto her feet, a bit slower this time, panting a bit. Yet, despite all that punishment she's still got a toothy and admittably somewhat unsettling smile. She's hurting, she's probably going to lose at this point, but the thrillseeker rush has ramped up to the point that she doesn't care. She's enjoying just being able to DO THIS again.

"If I'm going down.. I'm at least making sure THEY get a show to see. HAAAAIYA!" With the glorious cry Vertina just rushing headlong for her opponent, as she draws back an arm... and instead of a fist holds her hand straight, thrusting in and then upward with her claws for the gargoyle's midsection.

"DRAGON CYCLONE!" Which is immeadiately followed by her going into a spinning kick, flames whipping around her as she does as her feet are cloaked in fiery energy like her spitfire spirit has somehow been made manifest by her not giving up regardless of how badly she just got pummeled.

    Wisteria OOOhhhs again "Wow that Wave Art is a nasty one, I wonder how our Gargoyle is doing on MP? That Wave Art cannot be cheap." she ooohs again "Wow Vert is back on her feet looks like this knight can stand tall in her ability to take a hit!" She looks at the kicking spin and flaming foot "Oooh And she's gone full Turbo! Look at those arcade moves. Comeon folks cheer for our fighters and lets see who comes out on top!"

In an open lipped snarl that shows her pointed teeth locked together in a zigzag pattern Seliana starts to look around through the miasma of her shifting eyes. Is she losing focus or purposefully seeking someone out in the crowd? Her attention seems to lock onto something in the stands and she flaps her wings to give her a boosted jump. Then landing on all fours she lopes forward using her clawed hands to propel herself all the more quickly, kick up sand in her wake, the motes of light continuing to spiral around her. But she is moving at a right angle slightly away from Vertina.

Vertina quickly recovering from the magical onslaught rushes in to perform another spectacular martial arts move, catching the small gargoyle in the belly, the strike lifting Seliana up into the air with red claw marks glowing on her stomach. Seliana starts to react, slashing with a stony claw, but she isn't quit fast enough. The flaming kick lands solidly, and Seliana is launched out to the side with flames trailing behind her. She crashes into the now near wall of the arena.

As she starts to fall to the ground she maneuvers her wings to catch the air and spin herself around to land on all fours. Then with another flap she leaps up into the air yelling. "I sacrifice everything!.. Why!?!" and water seems to pool in the corners of her multicolored eyes as she trusts an open palm in the direction of Vertina. The motes of light around her flow together in front of her palm before a gout of multicolored flames gushes out in a stream towards Vertina.

She may get up and keep fighting but it shows that the repeat Wave assaults are taking a toll as Vertina has to stop to catch her breath for a moment after finally getting to unload a little. Though her gaze remains on the gargoyle. "So what else do you have?"

Plenty of anger, apparently? The screaming and ranting don't even seem to be directly aimed at her just... what the creature is doing. "... You have pent up issues, don't you?" That's about all she can say on the matter.

With a grunt Vertina dives to the side and rolls as the darts of fire are flung after her, poofing with smoky ash as they hit the sand instead. The ground under her feet almost seems to ripple like a wave as she comes out of the roll, then pop like a spring to launch the Salamander back into the fight. She clenches her fists, ready to go...

... And lands on one of the icy patchs left by the various barrages. Claws scrap on the slick surface as they try to find purchase, but Vertina teeters to one side, slips and totters the other way, and then gets whammed by more ice as she's struggling to get her balance sorted out.

Feet go out from under her on the slicked up terrain, and she lands face first in the sand. "MMPH." A few moments pass. She holds up one hand. "... ow..." And drops it again. Cue the unable to fight any longer fanfare.

Seliana lands on her feet, snarling and starting to move towards Vertina when suddenly the firework animation explodes over her head. Seemingly surprised her eyes widen and look up, gazing at the << WINNER >> text for a moment. Then another moment passes as she stares before suddenly her stoney grey skin starts to shift back to her normal sandy white, the horns retreat, and wings seem to shrink away. Her expression stiffens and returns to a slight frown, the motes of light fading into the air. The colors in her eyes seem to bleed away leaving the original dull red.

Looking down at her sandy dress she holds it out in one hand, "So much sand." She says in a flat monotone voice before she carefully starts to try pat it out as she walks over towards Vertina. Seemingly giving up on her dress she starts to brush her hair back into some semblance of order with her hands.

As she nears the salamander she gives a little bow. "Thank you for the match." She says in her quiet voice and then looks at the woman, blink a few times before starting to again look around at the audience. Her face remains passive now as she gazes around.

    As the pair go at it hammer and tongs the albino girl is watching with a big grin. "Look at these girls GO!?! DO YOU SEE THIS?" she screams at the crowd. "Let's hear it, they are really going at it folks!" As the gouts of flame drop Vertina to the RED the word WINNER pops up over Seliana's head with a Rainbow of fireworks that fill the sky over the arena.

    "THERE WE HAVE IT Folks! Seliana will be going on to the next round lets hear it for her! And lets hear some love for your home town girl Vertina, that was a heck of a show they put on isn't it folks?"

It takes a moment for the End of Duel to kick in, and Vertina to get enough strength back to pry herself off the sand. She hauls herself to her feet, giving her gi a few brushes with her hands to clear it off. That did not go quite as she had anticipated. But the fact that she was able to compete at all is more than enough to keep her spirits up.

"Clearly I need to work on my technique against Caster primaries." Vertina may be a spitfire daredevil but she is still one ever believing in holding a proper sporting spirit, and turns to bow back to the once again. "Thank you for the oppritunity."