The Arena Matches

[Salandis]

“And the victory goes to… Morningstar! Give her a round of applause folks!”


The referee’s voice bounced around the crowded arena, met with a roar of cheers. Moana faced the crowd, one hand high in the air, and basked in it. It helped that she wore a slightly different face, this one pakeha* with short red hair.

The arena was set up under a fairly large tent, with raised seating giving an improvised stadium air. It also allowed for an impressive seat count (Although it was far from capacity). The ring in the middle was larger than any normal boxing ring at 50ft per side, the posts and ropes heavily reinforced and surrounded in turn by a peculiar mesh cage set with charms to prevent magical interference.


For all that the city’s inhuman population was small, there were still a large absolute number of them. Most had above average capacities, and more than a few struggled to keep that in check while being treated as a lesser creature.

The Arena helped with that. Set with strict rules, limitations on magic and the absolute outlaw of any lethal force, it nonetheless offered an avenue for physical violence against an opponent that could take it a heck of a lot more than any human could. It had volunteer signups, and generally had enough people on the list for several rounds of fun. The Arena was essentially a chain of knockout matches, scores measured in streaks and rankings both. There was even a quiet betting community (Run by the Boss, of course).


This was Moana’s first time in the arena, after finally getting Malthiels permission. She wasn’t allowed to shapeshift, and water magic was right out. But she kept most of her strength in any form, which made it a surprise that few opponents recovered from.


Like the last one. He was nursing a wrist in a way that told her it was probably broken. His elongated bone structure and the slightly exotic cast to his features marked him as a shapeshifter of some kind – a were of some kind, maybe? He looked offended to have lost to a girl at any rate, and Moana made a mental note to watch out for this one in the parking lot later.


The crowd roared on, and she returned to her corner to wipe off sweat. To her surprise, Jade had volunteered to second her on the night. “I get to see you actually take some guys out full throttle? You bet I will be on the ringside.” She even offered a smile as she handed Moana the towel. “That one sure got a shock.” She smirked.


“And not the first one tonight either.” Moana grinned. “I wonder who will get sent in next.”



OOC: Welcome to the Arena! Hang in the crowd, maybe make some wagers. Send in a NPC, or for the really dangerous, throw your OC into the ring. At least in this form Moana can’t bite, right?
Edit* For those wondering, Pakeha is a NZ Term for someone of European descent and is not quite a derogatory term.

[qhostqrowls]

Kail smirked at the supernatural who was exiting the ring, nursing more then just his pride. Broken wrist, ouch. He laughed under his breath. Shifters. Couldn't put up a decent fight if you paid them.
Broken bones, bloody noses, a fight...what else could you ask for? Sounded like great fun.
He flashed his sharp teeth in a grin at the woman in the ring, who was staring around the tent, looking for her next opponent, gaze proud and defiant. Perfect.

"Oi, redhead!" The wendigo hollered from his seat. "I'll take you on, only of course, if you are up to it." All ego and brags, the young supernatural was cooped up and bored, ready to wrestle, to fight, to win. 'Morningstar' obviously wasn't human, and was pretty good at fighting, judging by the swift defeat of her last opponent. But hey, he could totally take her on.

Kail was new to Wathais, and had only come into the festival in search of one thing: food. He had been so close to luring off a young woman, who had been too busy giggling at his cheesy pickup lines to notice the dark hunger in his eyes, or his elongated fangs.
He had been so impatient to eat her, so occupied with his hunting, that he had almost not noticed the WSDA agent watching them, gaze inconspicuously averted yet suspicious all at once, hand resting lightly on his taser.
The wendigo knew the WSDA were on especially high alert, the recent disappearances (that were definitely not due to said wendigo) making them watch everyone even more carefully then they normally did. He really didn't want to be caught and registered.

Kail had made his excuses to the girl and had slunk off, grabbing a steak from a fast food stall on the way. It was greasy and cooked for so long that he could barely even taste the meat, but it had stayed his hunger. Well, for a while at least. The same, ever present hunger was still gnawing at his stomach, but he shoved it down.
Time to fight, not to eat. Plus, he still had some of that hiker left up at his camp. He could always snack on that afterwards.
Kails icy eyes roamed across the mismatched crowd, blood boiling and adrenaline peaking. He hadn't even know that there could be so many supernaturals in one place.
Well, the more the merrier.

[Salandis]

“He isn’t even on the list” Jade muttered.


“The crowd doesn’t mind” Moana responded with a grin. “And it looks like the next in line doesn’t care either” She nodded over to the ring entrance – there seemed to be some kind of argument over who should be send out next, in the “You not me” kind of sense.
Even the announcer caught on. “What do you think folks?” He said to the crowd. “A newcomer, untested for the tables, against tonight’s rapidly raising rookie?” The crowd roared (Some members literally) and the scuffle down the opposing hall abruptly ceased.


Moana gave her own answer too, stepping out from the corner and lifting her fists, turning for the crowd. Her eyes lingered on the newcomer as he sauntered to the ringside. He looked… stretched. And with those icy blue eyes, and a feral grin, she immediately knew he shared at least one trait with her.


Well well. Another Maneater. Possibly even more prolific at it than her. She made a note to herself – depending on how well he could put up a fight, she might turn this one over to the Boss. He was always ready to find uses for more wild supers.


"Alright blue eyes" She called over the cheers. "Come on up here and show me what you've got!"

[qhostqrowls]

"Alrighty ginger, I sure will." Bounding up to the ringside, the wendigo pushed past the other opponents, flashing a self-confident smirk at the supers milling around the rings entrance. He supposed he should be slightly concerned that they seemed to be relived at the fact someone else had taken their place, but then again, when had he ever backed out of a fight? Especially against such an opponent.

The roars and shrieking cheers of the crowd boosted Kails already high adrenaline to an unnatural level. The sounds, the smells, the sights, it was all larger then life, so vivid and real. He hadn't been around other supernaturals for way too long.

He sauntered into the ring, looking Morningstar up and down. She appeared to be analyzing him, to an extent. Thinking.
He held up his hands, displaying the large claws glinting wickedly on the end.
"So, lovely," he said slowly, turning to look at what appeared to be the referee. "What's the rules about these? Count as 'lethal force'?" Languidly, he stretched, neck cricking side to side. "Forgive my ignorance, this is my first time in the ring, mind explaining the rules quickly?" All teeth and cold eyes, he was anything but apologetic as his raked over the ring, taking in the details.
Huge surface area. Good, if he needed space he had it. High sides. For the harder throws, he imagined. Getting chucked into the crowd wouldn't be so great. Too many claws and horns. And, he was pretty sure he had felt the prickle of magic as he stepped inside the mesh-like cage.

[Salandis]

Moana also stretched. “Well hon, I keep mine sheathed, so it’s only courteous.” She grinned. “The rules are simple. We want to blow off steam, not blow up the building. Fight to incapacitate your opponent, not to kill them. No maiming. And stop if the ref calls it, or your opponent yields.” She waved a hand around the cage. “No magic, if you have any. No shifting, though you can pick a form now and stay in it.” Her finger pointed out some discrete men and women stationed in the rafters. Dressed in sombre, dark clothing, they weren’t doing anything gauche like actually holding weapons. The department had other ways of reigning in supers. “If you break the rules, strike the ref, or go berserk, they will put you down. WDSA and all, they don’t want us actually killing each other.”


The mentioned Ref was actually glaring at her slightly as she usurped his role. But she politely ignored the glare, relaxing back into an easy stance. “Aside from that? No rules in the fight itself. And since endurance is part of the challenge, no rounds but the first one. Oh, and for some reason, a guy called Raine is permanently disbarred from the ring.”
She wondered about that rule. Might have to look it up sometime, there was sure to be a story there.

Her opponent, meanwhile, was stalking the ring. He was bold, young, and probably a lot stronger than her other opponents this evening so far. She might actually get to go all out here. Her grin turned utterly predatory for a moment, as the ref tried to chivy them both to their corners for the starting bell. This could be a lot of fun, after all. She might even lose - who knows? 




[OOC: I'm happy to keep this Rp-friendly fighting. If you prefer, we could also use a dice roller to test our respective fortunes.]

[qhostqrowls]

[OOC: sounds great! I rolled a 9 (out of 20, 1 being the worst, 20 being the best, right?) please tell me if I'm doing anything wrong!!]

Kail nodded, still smiling toothily at the referee and Morningstar.
"Fair enough. No killing, just a friendly fight to let off some steam." The wendigo purred, striding to his corner of the ring. His lip curled slightly at the mention of the WSDA, hackles raising at the mention of the law unit. But he smoothed it down quickly, sheathing his claws and shifting into the closet thing to non-lethal he knew. Shortened, blunt antlers, no claws, but still hooves and a light layer of silvery fur on his lower arms and legs. Monster, but not deadly.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of breaking the rules, 'star." His words dripped with something akin to humor, though it could have been sarcasm. But, for once, he actually wouldn't break the rules: he just wanted a clean fight.
Though breaking one or two rules could potentially make the fight so much more fun. That Raine guy sounded exciting, rebellious. He'd have to keep an eye out for him.

Shaking off the thought, the wendigo grinned wildly as the referee took cover and began the countdown to the starting bell.
3,2,1-
Before the echoes of the bell could dissipate entirely, Kail was sprinting towards Morningstar, in a mere four leaps clearing the entire span of the ring. Staying low, he held his fists up in a classic street-fighter manner, aiming a swift, arcing kick at her legs. He depended on his speed for this fight, it would either make or break him. If he missed his target, his momentum could spin him around and put him in a vulnerable position. He was bold, vicious, fast, but he guessed in brute strength Morningstar outranked him, so his attacks would have to be in short, sharp bursts.

[Salandis]

[Rolled a 12, and then a 6. Bleh.]


“I wouldn’t dream of breaking the rules, ‘star”



Oh dear. He might be trouble after all. Moana sighed internally, and got ready for what might become a dirty fight. She braced herself on her corner, barely paying attention to Jade behind her, on the crowd roaring in the background.



The bell rung. Even braced for it, it was an uncomfortable sensation. Before she could even move forward, her opponent was sprinting over the mat. ‘Oh damn he’s fast’ Moana thought, throwing herself out of the corner a little more sedately. Fortunately for her, the ring was plus sized. Unfortunately, much of her combat speed came from her shifting… which she wasn’t allowed to do here. Taking a more relaxed stance, she ran low to stay under his fists and almost paid for it when he kicked out. She dove forward instead, a little awkwardly over the sweep kick and managing a roll that left her behind Kail. Her follow-up high kick snapped out late, still not adjusted for his speed.



Instead she backed towards his corner, watching him cautiously. He was quick, quick. If she was lucky, she was probably at an advantage in raw power. But otherwise she would have to outlast him, and three bouts in she was not completely confident she could.
This was going to be interesting.

[qhostqrowls]

[rolled a 7 ;O;]

Skidding to a halt, Kail gritted his teeth as Morningstars lagging high kick caught him in the shoulder. It wasn't a particularly hard strike, and a bit slow on contact, but it still sent him staggering forward slightly, just enough to put him off balance. 
Damn, she had some muscle.
He wondered what creature she was. That was an crapton of power in one kick that didn't even connect properly. Kail promptly decided that he did not, in fact, want to exchange direct blows with her. She would easily outpower him. But, she had been in the ring for longer then him. She was worn out, and he was faster.

The wendigo whirled back around, a fist flashing out, aiming for the general direction of her face. Fast, hard, and slightly sloppy. A quick jab meant to buy him some time, where he could then get some space to fire off some dirtier moves. He was close to the fence, and didn't want to get backed into a corner. As he punched, he weaved around Morningstar, trying to get into the spacious middle of the ring. There, he could do some serious moves. Actually fight.


The young supers heart beat erratically, excitedly. He loved fighting, killing especially, but it was nice to have a non lethal fight for once. Still hurt someone, just not with lethal intent. 

[Salandis]

[OOC: Rolled a defensive 6, but then a 9 for counter. Darn you Moana, where are your survival dice from the death maze?]

Her opponent And I don’t even know this buckos name! threw a quick jab at her face. Very fast – Moana pulled away, but still caught the edge of it on her jaw. Her vision swam for a moment, enough for him to duck around behind her. Probably not a match for her in strength, then, as she kept her balance handily. But quick, quick. And now she was in her corner, with him towards the ring centre.


She dropped low, stepping back slightly as though the blow had hit harder, only to lash out with a vicious back kick. It was blind, of course, but hopefully would stop him from attacking her back.

[qhostqrowls]

[OOC: 18 defense and...3 attack :,/ ]

A hard backwards kick from Morningstar rushed towards Kail, but the agile wendigo dodged out of the way, a smug grin plastered over his face. She, by all means, should be off balance from the blind kick, but he didn't know what species she was, how good her center of gravity or reaction time was.
Anyway, he was now out in the open. He had room to fight. The young super made a feint charge, and a sloppy kick at her back, before darting a safe distance away. Drawing her out, taunting her. Pricking his ears, Kail rolled back on the heel of his hooves, eyes burning with a fierce light.
"C'mon, that the best you've got? What type of species is this slow?" He laughed, teeth bared in a rare display of actual happiness. A slightly sadistic, hotheaded, adrenaline fueled joy, but joy none the less. The sharp jab at her gene pool should hopefully, hopefully cause her to blurt out her species, give him any hint at all. He knew that she probably wouldn't, she seemed level headed, collected and cool, but well. Fighting could bring out certain traits with certain species.

[Salandis]

[OOC: I rolled a 20 for defending against that kick xD but only a 12 to strike back.]

Her kick missed, of course. He feinted in and kicked back, but she was already back on balance and sidestepped it easy. She faced him as he laughed and taunted. He sounded like he was having fun, and she started smiling myself. It was the same reason she was in here, after all. Competition be damned, it got her blood up.


‘On the other hand, I’m not thinking.’ She thought. ‘Let him keep the centre of the ring – what’s he gonna do, push me back against the ropes?’ She grinned. “Oh I’m sure you would love to know just what I am” She said in a drawl. She had avoided registration with the WDSA through Mal and shapeshifting – they didn’t really need to know there was a Taniwha loose in the underworld. “For now, I’m just the gal that’ll kick your furry butt, twinkle-hooves.” She moved forward even as she finished speaking, aiming a powerful jab to his chest.”

[qhostqrowls]

[OOC: LMAO, we need to get a 20 for attack, not defense, dammit!!
I got a 3 defense and 13 attack RIP Kail]

His kick missed, Morningstar easily sidestepping it. She also sidestepped his attempt to find out her species, replying with a vague answer and witty retort.
"For now, I’m just the gal that’ll kick your furry butt, twinkle-hooves.” An eyebrow lifted in slightly offended humor at the nickname, eyes flashing.
"Oooh, feisty." He purred, stepping dangerously close. If she let her guard down, he could maybe get a punch in. "I like that in a girl-"
A harsh punch to the chest pushed him back a few feet, and he almost toppled over, winded. Well, he supposed he deserved that after the cheesy 'flirting'. And, he had gotten too close. She wasn't as slow as he had thought. He straightened up and leapt again, aiming another sweeping kick and a taking a step back. Charge, attack, retreat. If the kick made contact, he would try to get a few more in while she was down. If it didn't, he would attempt to draw her out into the middle of the ring in a game of cat-and-mouse.

[Salandis]

[OOC: Wow. Rolled a 3 for defence, and then only a 9 for offense. Dammit these dice are traitorous.]



Moana actually snarled as her punch landed. Like she needed another flirt, after the crap at the bar! So maybe it was that touch of anger that led to a lapse of judgement, as she stepped forward to follow up on that punch. “I bet you do, like any other-“ She oofted as the sweeping kick connected solidly with her mid gut. No glancing blow there, if she had been a normie it would have put her on her knees retching. She fell back hard, scrambling to her feet. Twinklehooves was living up to his moniker, stepping back only to charge forward again. Not even trying to get fully to her feet, she instead swept a low tripping kick. Hampered by the pain in her gut, it was frighteningly obvious – but at least it should let her get to her feet!

[qhostqrowls]

[5 and 6. I want to kill myself X'D]
Well, she obviously doesn't like flirting much,
Kail thought as he aimed another harsh kick at her, his first attack having been a success. A grim smile graced his pale face as she doubled over, almost throwing up. Ouch.
However, a low sweeping kick from Morningstar tangled his feet, and the wendigo fell into a messy roll in order to avoid more attacks. His claws dug into the arena floor, pushing him away from the other super as he swept his feet under himself and turned to face her, panting. Although it wasn't preferable, they would have to do some actual head-to-head fighting, otherwise the fight would just go in circles.

Crouched like a cat, Kail sprang at her, hoping to grip into her shoulders and push her over, if she didn't stand up that was. If she managed to stand in time, he would have to tackle her midsection which gave her a height and balance advantage . If they were resorting to ground fighting, physical strength would be a big factor, but the blue eyed youth knew how to fight dirty. And, he supposed he could try to slip away if she proved to be too good at wrestling.

[Salandis]

[13, then... 3. What the heck even.]



Moana opted not to rise into that charging tackle. Instead she pivot rolled to the side, coming to her feet near a neutral corner as twinklehooves rushed past. Still a little unsteady on her feet, she broke into a run after him. She was hoping that, with the momentum from that failed tackle, she might in turn manage to get him against the ropes. She ran in low and lead with her shoulder, a rugby players charge. If she could just get him on the ropes herself, she could bring more of her strength to bear, and this match would be over fast.