Monster Mash ((Finished.))

[RosesOfDeathYetFullOfLife]

(Oh whoops >< Was going to add something but changed my mind xD )  

[Maya Freana]

((Lol no, college suuuuucks))

Cringing a little, now Amaya did feel bad. "Sorry...I can get you something from Sikes to speed up the healing process a bit." She offered, though since it was from Sikes, he would probably refuse it. Looking down at her hand now, Amaya saw the skin had just been split and it wasn't showing full bone yet, which was good news for her. She took some gauze and bandages out of her pocket and started wrapping up her hand, covering it with shadow afterwards for good measure. "You should go get that splinted." Amaya told Adrian as she nodded to his wings.  

[SpokenSoftly]

Orion walked down to the base of the stands and hopped the barrier when she reached it, sliding down the wall into the arena and padding over to stand against a pillar, observing the conversation after the training. It was personal, to a degree, and she almost felt like an intruder.

Almost.

Stepping forward out of the pillar's shadow so that the blood-boy would see her before the shadow-girl, Orion smiled hesitantly and waved. Now that it came down to it, she didn't know why she was here, apologizing for Smith, other than that an apology was needed and gods knew he wasn't going to give it. She wasn't the best choice to apologize for anything, or for that matter even to interact with other Mons. Her reputation was... not pleasant. "Hello. I... believe an apology is needed. From Smith, that is. I would extend it, for his sake. He was... very distressed last night."  

[Zelly-fangirl]

((No joke. Just last week I managed to have a big project to work on for all five of my classes. Although now it's more like....three or four.))

"Don't worry about it, it's certainly not the worst pain I've felt. Although I'll definitely pass on anything from Sikes..." Adrian said as formed a couple of temporary splints from his blood, just for the trip to the clinic. Cue Shiva showing up. "He was distressed?! He didn't just kill a man for the first time!! He seemed perfectly fine to me!!" he snapped. He may have been in much higher spirits than the previous night, but any reminders, i.e., Smith and his behavior towards him, were not going to do him any favors any time soon. "Look, just drop it. It's best for everyone if you just don't bring that a*****e up around me."

 

[Maya Freana]

((Yep. I have one midterm per week for the next three weeks.))

"Alright then." Amaya said with a small shrug. looking to Orion now, she gave her a blank stare. She was aware of the girl's violent reputation, but it was a little weird to see her acting civil for the moment. "And how would Smith react if he knew you were trying to apologize for him?" She asked calmly, hooking her thumbs in the pockets of her pants now.  

[SpokenSoftly]

Orion flinched imperceptibly at Adrian's anger. She had only tried to apologize for someone who had been incredibly rude to him. While he had an aesthetically-pleasing form, he certainly wasn't kind if this was how he reacted to an attempted apology. Orion held herself perfectly still for a moment, quelling the impulse to kill the blood-boy with a spike through his eye socket, and rebuked him as lightly and calmly as she could. "I cannot expect you to know from a short meeting and one fleeting threat how severely you affected him, but please believe me when I say that 'Smith' truly regrets what he said last night, even if 'Carlyle' does not. It is... a complicated thing to deal with, two personalities in one head."

She turned towards Amaya then, and nodded at the woman whose life would be claimed by Avondale's other 'pet' before too terribly long. "I would not extend an apology if Smith had not expressed extreme regret at having been so... out of character last night. However, I feel it prudent to warn you that my apology does not extend to his threat against your life. Smith, even when 'Carlyle,' does not pick his targets lightly. He has chosen you and declared you dead by his hands because he feels you are a challenge. He... very rarely exercises Avondale's 'right of declaration,' and when he does it is against an opponent he feels able to struggle against. I would feel honored if he were to declare against myself."

Orion stood still for a moment as she considered whether or not to request a sparring match against the shadow-girl, and decided to risk it after a long moment of thought. Orion (or Shiva, more accurately) was already despised by most of the Mons that had seen her fight. One more would not hurt more or less. "If I might ask, would you consent to a nonlethal sparring match against myself? I would not allow Shiva out, and your life would not be in danger. Avondale's 'right of declaration' is absolute to his Mons, and your life is under the protection of Smith and myself until you and he fight."  

[Maya Freana]

"Did it sound like I was expecting him to take the threat back?" Amaya asked as she raised an eyebrow. She wasn't concerned about Smith. Things usually seemed to work out in the end for her, plus she had too many reasons to live, so it wasn't like she'd go down without an epic fight first.

"I hope you realize I'm not worried about Smith even if he thinks he can kill me. And no, I'm not going to spar against you. I've already sparred for the day and I have a fight tonight that's probably going to be more than enough to deal with, so I'd like to save my remaining strength for that." She told Orion. "As for the protection, I don't want it or need it. Frankly I find the concept insulting. You can tell Avondale to shove it." Amaya said as she began walking out of the arena.  

[SpokenSoftly]

Orion felt, just a little bit, the hurt that she ought to have felt at a rejection. She had somehow caused offense with her words, and though she puzzled through it for several seconds she could not tell where.

While Shiva, she was emotionless and efficient, the perfect killing machine. As Orion, though, she was much more vulnerable to disappointment and sorrow. And, for reasons she had never grasped, her time in the streets of Skalgrad had never fully cured her of the urge to keep from offending others. She nodded jerkily at Amaya as the older woman left, then muttered under her breath, "Then I have another apology to make."

Turning towards the blood-boy, Adrian, Orion considered his face and form for another few seconds. She took the time to come to some conclusions about her own feelings, and compose what was almost certainly the last nonhostile thing she would be able to say to the older man. "You are emotional, angry, quick to judge, and a very rude man. But, at the same time, you are a friend to miss Amaya and seem kind, at your core. For your distress, I apologize. Also, for what Avondale will surely do when he finds out that I have spoken to you without hostility. He will certainly set us against each other in the Arena, if he can, and I am sorry that for the first time I find myself considering the death of another something depressing. I find you attractive, in several ways, though you almost certainly hold no such feelings for myself. It is rude of me to talk so long, and for that as well I apologize. And for this."

Orion stepped towards Adrian with her hands clasped behind her back and, leaning up, kissed him quickly on the cheek before turning and walking away.

As she walked towards the exit, she listened for the voice that would stop her in an instant, positive that she was wasting her time listening.  

[Zelly-fangirl]

"....The hell?" Adrian said, holding a hand to his flushed cheek with his eyes wide in surprise and confusion. "Seriously, what? I think I only caught 'I'm sorry' and about half of that due to the excessively large vocabulary she has, but how did all that lead to kissing me? I'm terribly confused here...." he said dumbfounded as he watched Orion walk away.

 

[Maya Freana]

Looking back over her shoulder, Amaya rolled her eyes at the two before continuing up the stairs of the arena. "Adrian, just go to the clinic." She called before disappearing from the arena, heading back to the house to go over her strategy a little more. She didn't have time to be angry or jealous, she needed to focus. It sounded like she was being given a real challenge tonight, so she wanted to be ready for it.  

[Zelly-fangirl]

"I just got kissed by a chick I don't even know! You're just jealous you didn't get to do it first!" Adrian called teasingly after her before he left for the clinic. Sure enough, he wasn't going to be doing any flying for a while.

 

[Maya Freana]

((Time for class. Bleh.))

Amaya had spent a few hours going over the strategy she wrote out earlier, but now she was laying out on the couch. It was only about an hour until her fight and Amaya was getting herself ready. Sikes had finally told her the details and it was going to prove to be more than just very difficult for her. Almost near impossible, though it wasn't like she had a choice to back out or anything.  

[SpokenSoftly]

Smith, Shiva, and Avondale were already in the stands in their customary spot when the other spectators began arriving. The match wasn't for another twenty minutes or so, but many of the 'masters' and mundane spectators liked to place bets based on the history of the fighters rather than their condition at the start of the fight. So far it was fairly even between the two, with 13:12 odds against the shadow-girl.

Avondale was, as always, watching inscrutably from behind his dark glasses. If the girl won, he would walk away once again with a tidy profit and Smith's next match ready to line up. If not, Avondale would just step up Smith's schedule for the next week or so. Two fights a day for five days sounded about right.

Shiva was watching as normal, her senses and mind working furiously as she categorized every living being in the Arena that posed a threat, waiting for the action to start. While she enjoyed the match, she knew that 'Orion' would need time to deal with her self-imposed rejection later. That wasn't going to be pleasant. Of course, she as 'Shiva' could always just take the initiative and ask the blood-boy out, but Avondale would almost certainly notice the attraction and act to get the blood-boy killed as soon as possible. Unless... "Smith. Bacon there is, from another house. Traded for lettuce. Different will be dinner tonight."

Smith, who had been looking around in boredom, nodded shortly at Shiva's signal. A 'different dinner' was their phrase to signal that they needed to coordinate an action without Avondale finding out until they sprung it on him. 'Bacon' was Shiva's way of telling him that it was a primarily-selfish request that he wasn't obligated to aid her in. 'Lettuce' had never been used before, but if he remembered correctly they had agreed that it would mean a personal relationship. They had laughed at the time when they mentioned it, because who could honestly form a relationship with either one of them without being immediately slated for death? But nonetheless she had used it.

And she had been in the Arena this morning, along with the blood-boy and shadow-girl, if the footprints were anything to go by. She would know that he had called the 'right' on Amaya, so that left Adrian as the possible contact. And she wasn't the sort to ally with another Mutate, not when Avondale had made it clear that they associated with others at the others' peril. then it came to him.

Orion (or Shiva) was just entering adolescence. She would be feeling the first stirrings of romantic attraction towards others. And, Smith had to admit, the blood-boy was not unattractive by the standards of the average female. Avondale would be sure to line the boy up for match if - when - he saw Orion's attraction. Smith was almost certainly being asked circumspectly to help prevent that. It took him all of nothing to come up with a solution that played perfectly against Avondale's rigid adherence to his own rules. He, Shiva, and all others under Avondale's 'care' had the 'right of declaration' against any and all they wished to be scheduled against. Since it was a given that Avondale would schedule them against anyone he wanted after they were done with the ones they had invoked the 'right' against, all they would need to do is invoke the 'right' against all members of the Arena save themselves and the boy, specifying that their invocation would continue indefinitely. Avondale wasn't an idiot, so he would see it for exactly what it was, but he had smiled on them before for such stunts, and after the dismal performance 'two-weeks' had put on the day before he would be more inclined to look with favor on his star Mutates. Smith allowed himself a small smirk as he formulated his plan, easily mistaken as a smile at the thought of bacon since his entire chain of successive thoughts had taken less than a second. "Bacon is good, I think. It will be enjoyable, though it is a treat to be shared under any circumstances."

Shiva nodded as she watched the arena. She knew exactly what he meant, and knew that he had heard her every word for what it was.  

[Zelly-fangirl]

"I can't remember the last time I saw you this stressed out before a match, if ever. Who's the opponent?" Adrian asked when he came out and saw her lying there. "And should I go get my notebook and a Freud beard?" he joked, pointing a thumb towards his room.

 

[Maya Freana]

"Yeah, well I wasn't fully sure who I was fighting until now. Turns out it's the b***h that beat Damien." Amaya murmured, dropping an arm over her eyes. "Just leave the Freud beard...I'm just trying to figure out how I'm supposed to do this. Sikes is turning on the arena lights...all of them. So I'll basically have no shadow to work with. I could never beat Damien, so I have no idea how I'm going to pull this one off." She told Adrian as she sighed.