Duelist League: Mikage vs Vertina

Normally, Mikage didn't spend much time in the Town of Beginnings. Perhaps it is too much of a throw-back to the early days of being trapped here. However, with a very large and difficult monster currently blocking their explorations of the undersea dungeon nearby, it has become 'home' for the time being.

So, in order to keep from getting completely rusty, she'd tossed herself up as active on the Duelist League, hoping to get in some kind of match to both keep boredom from creeping in and hone her fighting skills.

She is currently sitting in a small square which lies between a couple of buildings. Rama is entertaining himself by chittering at some of the nearby birds. "No matter how hard you try, buddy, you're never going to be able to fly up there and get them." The lynx huffs in response.

Vertina has been busy as of late, between training new techniques, managing the tavern in Tolbana, and the typical Scale tower efforts. So she hasn't gotten much of a chance to participate in duels. So when the active notice went up, she pounced on it, all but literally.

Though it could be close, as the Salamander makes her way to the square at a brisk jog. It was a nice warm-up excersize, as well as being one of the things she couldn't easily do in the real world anymore, so that had her in a really good mood.

The ranger and her catty companion are not hard to identify from there. "Hey hey! Heard someone was looking for a matchup!"

There is a notification that appears as the duel is accepted. Swiping her hand across her HUD, Mikage pushes herself to her feet, dusting herself off before giving a little whistle to Rama. "Looks like we've got a match." The Lynx looks up, ears perked as he pulls his attention from the birds and trotts over to her side.

As Vertina appears, the Were Fang gives her a small bow in a very Japanese sort of fashion, then rises up again, giving a small smile. "Yeah. Rama and I are stuck here for a little while, so we want to make sure our skills stay sharp."

After a pause, she seems to consider before adding, "Just promise me you'll fight with all your skill, okay? Last person I fought in the League threw the match in a pretty obvious way." She shakes her head, "Not something that a real fighter appreciates, you know?"

That gets a snort out of Vertina, a little trail of smoke escaping her nostrils briefly. "That's a shame. It's not a proper competition if you're not giving it everything."

She stops moving just long enough to return the bow, it's part of the routine from her days in Taekwondo competition. As soon as she's standing she's settling into a combat ready pose though, one leg back and tail curled for balance as she holds one arm up ready to intercept, the other back and flexed to prepare to strike.

"You won't have to worry about that." She grins sharply. "Salamanders don't believe in holding back, and neither do I. You go big, or you eat turf!"

There is a look of relief when it becomes clear that this Salamander has no interest in treating this as anything other than a real competition. "Good." Mikage replies, "I see this world as a place full of opportunity. Not taking every chance you have to push yourself to your limits seems like a waste of what we've been given."

Mikage settles her hand on her sword, then slowly draws it out, settling back into a defensive combat stat. "Just avoid Merek if you don't want to have to deal with a bad loser. It was pretty pathetic." She has opinions on the matter, it seems.

Then, she swipes her hand in the air, sending out the duel invite.

"That guy is... odd." That's all Vertina really has to say. It's not really relevant to the moment so she's not going to worry about it.

The Salamander Martial Artist is very quick on her feet. She accepts the invite, and as soon as the signal to begin drops in response Vertina practically leaps into the fight! "Hiyah!" The call is somewhat cliche, but it's intentional to try and draw notice away from the knifehand strike she snaps forward with is carrying some manner of disruptive static charge with it.

And that it is not the only inbound attack. As soon as one foot hits the ground with the initial motion she pivots on it, twisting her entire body to bring the opposite leg up and around for momentum, foot already ablaze as she spins into the kick towards her opponent.

One thing is immeadiately apparent -- This Salamander plays with more than just fire!

Mikage's shoulders lift in a slight shrug. Though the alchemist may be a member of her Alliance, that doesn't mean that she has any particularly fond opinions on the man. In fact, the Were Fang spends most of her time traveling, perhaps to avoid too much direct control from the Alliance, in general.

As the system counts down to the start of the match, her muscles tense. "Let's do this." With the quick rush forward from Vertina, she doesn't quite react in time to stop the knifehand strike, which sends that jolt of static up her arm. Wincing, Mikage draws back, grabbing for a stone necklace she wears and extending it outward, causing a shield of light energy to block the kick that is aimed her way.

"Damn, you're fast." She gasps, the challenge of the fight already causing a grin to form on her features.

Then, as she moves back to get a bit more distance from the melee fighter, Mikage draws a bow from behind her, clutching the blue stone to it as she draws magical energy into an arrow. It seems to swirl around the arrow's tip, creating a vortex as it is fired in the Salamander's direction.

"I also played striker position for soccer," Vertina replies to the comment about her speed. Explains the being fleetfooted and the extra kicking strength. She watchs her opponent back off a bit, but doesn't give her too long when she sees the bow come up. There's a burst of dirt and static behind her as she blasts forward almost like the earth itself had somehow flung her into motion.

She practically charges right into the attack, but that's the idea. True to thrillseeker form she thrusts forward one arm as she does, bringing her battle gauntlet to bear and -punch- right into the arrow of light! Sparks fly to sheer into her arm as she intercepts the projectile, but that and her quick motion avoid taking the attack directly.

The forward motion brings her right back into Mikage's personal space, switching to swing the other arm in an uppercut blow with the claw-like blades adorning those fist weapons.

"That would explain it." Mikage replies, with almost a laugh in her voice. "I wasn't really into sports in the real world." There is a twinge in her expression at this, even as she raises her hand to shield off some of those sparks that fly off of Vertina's defense. "Closest thing I got into was Angelic Layer." Which had dueling fights, just like these, so it might explain her comfort and skill with them.

The bow is slung over one shoulder, the blue stone in her hand pressed against the hilt of her sword as she draws it out, using the sweep of the weapon to draw up some rocks along her torso, blocking some of the incoming damage. The claws catch her in that close space, though, slicing along one of her sides and leaving small gashes behind.

Rather than trying to gain distance again, she stays in those close confines, striking out with one of her own hands, channeling a similar electrical energy to what Vertina had just used previously. Then, she follows up with a sweep of her sword, the weapon's length glinting with a strange color in the runed markings, as if she had laced it with something prior to the match.

You know that trick they do in kung-fu movies where the hero catchs a sword with his hands? That's exactly what Vertina does in this situation. The difference is that she's sheathed her hands in flames, so as they clamp down against the weapon embers shoot off threateningly towards Mikage in return. She holds the blade back long enough to take a step back herself, so when she releases the weapon the swipe only leaves a minor but painful swipe across her midsection. The extra bit of that shock might slow her down a little, but it won't stop her.

She kick-hops back a few more paces. It's followed by creating a ball of luminous energy... that she flicks from her hands and spins around to catch it with her foot and kick it at Mikage with much the same speed and force as that arrow the ranger had previously shot at her. "DIVINE STRIKER!"

There are times when you see a technique that is strikingly similar to your own, and it makes it that much more difficult to deal with. Though the form is different, Mikage recognizes all too quickly that she'll need to try to avoid some of that sphere of energy or else have to deal with a lot of damage coming her way.

So, with quicker movements, she tries to avoid it as best she can, though there is no stopping the force of the blow as it slams into one of her legs, sending her down onto the cobblestones. Wincing, she pushes up with one hand. "Alright, that hurts like hell."

Channeling some of her own elemental forces, she pushes up to her feet again, treating that leg a bit gingerly as she extends her sword, closing the distance and then swiping out with a number of quick strikes, looking to find some gap in the Salamander's defenses.

"It does, but don't let that stop you!" Vertina is actually quite pleased to see Mikage get up despite the blow, and renew her effort in combat. "Yeah, that's it!" The Salamander plants her feet and makes a series of defensive motions that kick up gusts of air and dust around her, using the combination and movement and buffeting to hold back as much as Mikage's attack flurry as she can.

"Give it everything you have, for yourself and your opponent." At the end of the movements Vertina steps in and thrusts forward with one arm, aiming the claws of her cestus at the ranger's abdomen.

"I don't let anything stop me." Mikage replies, though she does seem to be breathing a bit harder than before. The girl doesn't always have the physical stamina one might expect for a front-line fighter. Likely because in a logical role-playing game, she'd be a support DPS, rather than getting quite so up close and personal.

Since she is being encouraged to go 'all out', there is a brief moment when her eyes seem to flash. It's something that sometimes happens with Were Fangs ahead of a shift. Yet, Mikage never does seem to give into that instinct to reveal her monster form.

Instead, she charges forward, meeting the attack and not seeming to offer anything in the way of defense for it. The claws slice against her belly, leaving red marks behind even as she grits her teeth.

Sword held high, more of that powerful elemental force is channeled into the weapon, exploding into a burst of ice that hangs briefly in the air before showering down towards Vertina. Then, in a quick movement, she tosses her sword backwards, grabs her bow, and fires a shot straight at the Salamander, using the force of it to drive herself backwards, out of the way of those frozen shards raining down.

Vertina is really in the same boat, other than being primarily a melee fighter instead of ranged. She's definitely DPS, and meant more for flanking and spanking someone with a Tank up in their face. But not all the Class design traits hold up when you're literally living the game, meaning you have to adapt and adjust. That's what she's been working on new techniques for.

But for now, she's faced with a really nasty combination attack... And why is she -smiling- at it?! Because the daredevil sees it for the dangerous challenge it presents rather than losing faith at the overwhelming assault it presents. She did say to go all out, after all.

Vertina has fought with Were Fangs before... so that telltale flicker but the transformation NOT following actually throws her off for a moment. She's quick to recover, but the combination tactic is already bearing down on her at that point. With a grunt she kicks off the ground, holding up her arms in a cross formation to at least keep some of the ice out of her face as it clatters against her body as she charges forward, sending chills through the dragon girl. That's followed by using them to knock aside the first couple of arrows shot at her, but by that she's gotten close enough even split-second reflexes aren't enough and several of the shots sting home.

Hurting but undaunted Vertina leaps into the air and does a weird spin "DRAGON WHEEL!" to pinwheel her flaming feet at the ranger.

Instinct has Mikage raising her bow to try to stop the attack, but she realizes all too quickly that the weapon isn't strong enough for that. She /really/ needed to get working on that new weapon.

So, instead, she has to change plans at the last minute, rolling out of the way with a flicker of wind energy behind her, the gust fluttering some of her clothes.

"Rama!" She calls, and for the first time in this fight, the lynx does something other than hanging at the fringes. It might be easy to even forget that he was there at all. She doesn't move towards Vertina, but towards the cat.

As she runs past him, she channels some of her magical energy by touching his forehead, tracing her fingers down his back and then turning back to face Vertina. "Let's show her something new, huh? FROST FANG!"

The lynx leaps, trailing snow and cold behind him, his claws and teeth seeming to be enchanted by the contact with his companion.

There's whiffs of mist from the combination of hot and cold attacks being thrown around as her feet hit the ground after the attack, and Vertina is immeadiately back in a fighting stance. Sees Rama get called into the fight while being boosted by the animal companion bond. Or something like that. "I was wondering when you'd let the cat play!"

When Rama leaps at her Vertina does like she did with the sword, igniting her hands in flames and then -catching- the cat pouncing her. Though he still comes in with enough momentum to knock her on her back despite the retalitory heat.

When dealing with a predator, even a trained one, being on the ground under them is a bad position to be in. Holding him at bay with her fiery grasp isn't enough to keep the lynx from sinking his frost coated fangs hard into her shoulder/neck joint. "Aaaah! Talk about giving someone the cold shoulder!" She manages to get the witty pun out before collapsing on the ground, and the victory fanfare going off for Mikage.

"Heh." The sound is one part breath, one part laugh. "Rama and I are still working on his combat abilities. Up until recently, he mostly helped me with tracking and searching quests." A feline's nose is probably a fair bit better than even a Were Fang's.

As the fanfare goes off, she gives a whistle to Rama, who still seems to be showing a bit of that ice energy as he drops next to Vertina, giving her a tilted head, confused cat look. "You did good, Rama." Miki explains, crouching to pat the lynx on the head.

"No permanent damage done?" She asks as she looks over to Vertina. "You're one heck of a fighter. I just think my water magic was a little too effective against your fire techniques."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Vertina sits up, reachs across herself to brush off the shoulder where she was bit even though there's nothing lingering there to brush off save maybe some residue frost. Then rocks back to hup herself onto her feet, and with just a little wobble from getting up a bit too fast after being pummeled stands without much trouble. "Hey, we're both mainly damage dealers. You outstripped my defense options faster. That's how it goes sometimes. Still a heck of a fight, and that's what really counts!"

As the Salamander stands, so, too, does Mikage. "I think maybe trying to develop some kind of offensive buff that might help to further some of your more powerful attacks might help." She suggests. Rather than trying to hold onto secrets or techniques, she seems glad enough to offer what insight she can to others.

"I'm hoping to work on a new bow and then some new techniques to go with it." Mikage admits, "So I probably will have a bit less variety in my techniques, at least until I can level up a bit more and gain more mana." It's a delicate balancing act, it seems.

"Either way... thank you for the match." Miki bows her head forward again, "I learned a lot, and it was fun to fight against someone so powerful."

Vertina takes a moment to straighten out her bolero jacket. "Yeah. Some of the stuff I'm working on isn't in the usable stage yet." She puts her hands together and returns the bow with her own, same as one would do at the end of a martial arts competition. "Without challenges there would be no growth."

After a moment of thought, Mikage swipes her hand across her menu, taping a few things until she manages to pull out a potion bottle with red liquid sloshing inside. "Here. Cyrus always gives me a few before I head out." She offers the healing potion out. "Normally, Root Towns are relatively safe, but we haven't seen Tri-Edge in months and he used to frequent Carmina Gadelica."

With that offered out, she lightly rubs at the remaining red gashes across her stomach and side. "As for me, I think I'm going to go find something to eat. Fighting always makes me hungry."

While she could heal herself with Light magic Vertina isn't one to turn down the offer of sharing and accepts the bottled potion. "Thanks. Despite my abilities with brewing and alchemy healing potions is one thing I haven't found a means for." Mostly because she lacks the pharmacudical aspect. "And.. that is true, unfortunately. Sorts like that go quiet for long, it can't be good." She pops the potion bottle open with her clawlike thumbnail. "Not a bad idea. I'm probably going to go out and work on my elemental manipulation a bit, gotta hone the process for what I want to do some more."