sparring with an audience

[tigerpoet]

[If you're passing by the detective agency's office today, you might get to see a fight. Fauna, a familiar sight to most around Starsand, and Atsushi - no, the other one. The other other one.

Atsushi's grinning as they battle, so there's probably no bad blood involved… then again, with these two, it's hard to tell, especially with Fauna's mask covering any expression she might make.

Atsushi is a straightforward fighter, and his strikes with his sword are powerful. He doesn't dodge much, but he takes Fauna's fire and ice attacks head-on and keeps going strong. His attacks are almost reckless, the aggressive style of someone who knows he can tank any hit his opponent deals him and can fix any injuries later, trading openings in his own form for damage dealt to his opponent.

Fauna's fighting style, in contrast to her normal, headstrong nature, is quite methodical- First, blasts of fire and ice, scarring the battlefield to restrict her opponent's movements. Then a form change to her owl form, a bombardment of high-speed knives as she flies around to create openings. Then, when she's finally restricted and worn her opponent down, she strikes- Her lion form comes in swinging, intending to end it in a single, electric blow.

The battle ends in a draw, with Atsushi's sword at Fauna's neck and Fauna's sword at his heart. There's plenty of time afterwards to catch either of the two in conversation, if you've stuck around to watch.]

Comments

[tigerpoet]

I don't. 'The other Atsushi' used to be enough, but here that doesn't narrow it down.

You can call me Tiger, if you want. Or 'hey you'.

[nightwild]

I dunno... I feel like those aren't names. Unless you want them to be, but. Shouldn't you have your own name, if you aren't him?

[tigerpoet]

I guess, but I don't usually come out much except to fight. He's the one who likes socializing.

[So the name thing doesn't come up that much, really.]

[nightwild]

I guess... It still seems wrong, but if you don't care, it's not my place to force it, I guess...?

[she's not super happy about this, because Names Are Important, but.]

For now, let's get to what we're here for. Wild Change!

[She slots the disc into her changer, and her form blurs- Like the way your eyes adjust after the sun goes down, and things suddenly look different in the darkness, Fauna hasn't changed at all, but now she's suddenly an armored figure, a tall hat and long sleeves showing the appearance of a mage, and a fox mask over her glowing red eyes.]

Ready?

[tigerpoet]

[The book in Atsushi's hand glows, and suddenly there's a long, thin sword in its place. He falls into a combat stance, grinning widely.]

Born ready.

[nightwild]

Let's go.

[Fauna jumps back, hovering in the air as she starts hurling spells. For the most part, though, she's keeping to simple fireballs- Nothing too huge or dangerous, even. This is clearly more of a test barrage to gauge his reactions.]

[tigerpoet]

[Atsushi's style is clearly aggressive from the word go - he charges straight toward her, taking a glancing fireball but quickly closing the gap between them and slashing out with his sword.]

[nightwild]

[There's a muffled noise of panic as Fauna kicks backwards, flying back while hovering off the ground. Her reaction makes it pretty obvious- She's a ranged fighter like this, and she won't do well in a melee with someone who can just ignore her fire.

Better to change tactics. Deny his footing.

She sweeps her arms, and waves of ice fly out, creating giant spikes of ice erupting from the ground- Making a wall between them, at least trying to buy herself a bit of breathing room.]

[tigerpoet]

[The ice wall works as intended, and it slows him down to have to smash his way through it before chasing after her. He's still relentless in his pursuit, but it does take time to clear the obstacles out of his way, granting her the space she needs.]

[nightwild]

[Perfect. Now she knows what works.

There's a brief pause, and a burst of darkness, a little jingle plays as her armor changes- Now dark purple, and two large wings growing from her back. She takes to the air, flying around above. She's hurling feather-like knives, trying to interrupt his footing, and push him back against some of the remaining ice, cornering him...]

[tigerpoet]

Annoying.

[Flying is cheating, he can't reach her if she's too high up. The knives don't hit quite hard enough to throw off his footing, especially since without a way to reach her he has no reason not to be on the defensive.]

[nightwild]

[He can't fly, huh? It would be easy to just bombard him until she wins, then... but then it wouldn't really be much of a spar, then, would it?

So instead, she lowers herself down, throwing knives in a divebomb pattern, still intent on pushing him back.]

[tigerpoet]

[He has to take the offense while she's lower to the ground, before she decides not to play fair again. The knives do sting like hell - he's definitely going to have to heal later - but he's able to tank them well enough to strike at her rather than being pushed away.]

[nightwild]

[ABORT--

Fauna pulls up, spotting that stance. It looks like her normal fighting style won't work here. She abandons the knives, barely avoiding her wings getting a nice trim down to the shoulder, and she manages to pivot into a roll... and when she lands, her armor is golden samurai armor, a lion's mane from her helmet, and a bizarre, lightning-shaped katana in her hand.

If she can't phase him with her attacks and limit his options, all that's left is overwhelming power. Electricity crackles around the blade as she swings.]

[tigerpoet]

[That armor is impressive, but if there's a weakspot... there, a gap in between the helmet and the rest. If he can strike there -

He swings as well, only stopping a centimeter from her neck.]q

[nightwild]

[Damn-

Fauna stops, pivots, feints- Her neck isn't armored as strongly as her body, after all, so she can still move it. The fact that Atsushi can continue to track her is incredible, as she freezes, with his blade at her throat...]

... Damn. A draw?

[And then he may notice how close her own sword is- point right to his heart.]

[tigerpoet]

Looks like one to me.

[Slowly, Atsushi lowers his sword, and it transforms back into a harmless book.]

You're good.

[nightwild]

[Fauna pulls back her sword, and lets her own transformation fade.]

I should say the same to you... Between you and the tree, I know what my biggest problem is now.

[tigerpoet]

I need to find a way to extend my reach... If you'd just stayed flying there wouldn't have been anything I could do.

[can he learn how to fly. is that a thing he can do.]

[nightwild]

And I need to work on my power. There's nothing I can do if my enemy can just shrug off all my attacks and close in.

... Reach, huh. At least that's an easier problem to solve.

[tigerpoet]

It'd be easier if I could fly, but I don't think I can learn how to do that.

[nightwild]

Can't you just throw something?

[tigerpoet]

Throwing a sword works better in movies than in real life.

[said to the toku character.]

[nightwild]

You turned a book into your sword. Can't you just... throw the sword, and magic it back to you?

[tigerpoet]

I can only turn that specific book into a sword, and it doesn't come with teleportation.