Monster Mash ((Finished.))

[SpokenSoftly]

Orion brought her left arm around so that the top of Adrian's head collided with her palm, the momentum of his own movement driving her nails through the very tips of his ears. His clawed thrust shredded the bottom half of her shirt but skittered harmlessly off her skin, which in her monstrous state could block a bullet from anything but point-blank range. It had saved her countless times before, and thanks to it she'd never really needed to develop defensive maneuvers for anything but her eyes. Everything else about her was as spider's silk: Hard as steel, and with much greater tensile strength.

Avondale walked into the stands, his eyes heavily lidded. The interruption last night had hit him hard. He was a man of routine, and an interruption at his age was not to be borne. He was, for once, utterly off his rhythm. Orion had plainly started the fight already, and had gone for the first strike. The wing-boy went for number two, and Orion had won first blood with number three. She always went for three-hit engagements when sparring with Smith, though Avondale was the only one who ever noticed aside from Smith and Orion themselves.

Still... Despite his sleepless night, Avondale felt better than he had in years. He barely needed his glasses today, and for once he didn't need to wear five layers to keep the chill out in the middle of summer. Even the arthritis in his hands seemed to be clearing up, if only temporarily.

Neither he nor anyone else noticed that the silver head of his cane was coal-black with tarnish, nor did they notice the rot creeping down the shaft.

((This is that thing I discussed with you a while back about Avondale, Maya. If you changed your mind about allowing it, I'll chalk up the cane decay to something else.))  

[Zelly-fangirl]

Adrian could feel blood leaking from his pierced ears as the scent suddenly washed over him. He suddenly found himself craving the stuff as his mouth began to water slightly. Hopefully that was just some delayed mutation he was starting to go through, but for now he had no time to think about the why; he just had to finish the fight. "Careful. You saw what I did to the last guy I couldn't lay a finger on." he warned as he quickly grabbed Orion's arms to keep her from retaliating as he drove a knee into her stomach. If he couldn't pierce her skin, then he'd just go with a beating.  

[SpokenSoftly]

Orion smiled thinly as she lightly sprung her toes from the ground, having just enough momentum to flow with Adrian's attack. The changes to her skin prevented the attack from hurting all that much, though it winded her and would likely bruise later. Nonresponsive tactile nerves were a blessing when her opponents were smart enough to both last more than a second against her and figure out that bludgeoning was better than slicing for attack options. "My nails can extend."

To prove her statement, Orion twisted her wrists and retracted her nails as she did so, until they were only a few inches long. Within a moment her nails extended into the ground, with enough speed and force that she was torn from Adrian's grip by the momentum. She landed slightly more than two yards away and immediately tried to remember what it was like to face someone in melee for more than a few seconds. She'd sparred with Smith plenty before he was traded to Sikes, but calling Smith a melee fighter would be like calling the desert wet. It was true, but only one or two days of the year and even then it was chancy. Orion - or more accurately Shiva - had no experience with protracted melee.

ah, well. Best to stick with the tried-and-true tactics. Frontal charge, with nails extending and slashing, fingers splayed in the familiar pattern that would allow simultaneous targeting of the legs, groin, stomach, throat, and eyes. It was still an exhibition fight, so she would have to pull back before she did any lethal damage, but Adrian controlled blood. He could take the loss of a bit of it.

((Hint: As with 98% of all living things, Orion's biggest weak point is her eyes. Only her actual tissues harden in her monstrous form.))  

[Zelly-fangirl]

((I got your hint the first time around. I was trying to build up to things here. XD ))

Adrian quickly dragged his claws across his arm for more blood to work with as the smell became that much stronger. Drawing the crimson liquid from his arm he formed it around his fingers and creating his own set of deadly long nails. As Orion charged at him, he rushed into meet her head on with his own flurry of slashes to block her attacks while aiming for her face and eyes. A hungry grin had begun to spread on his face as Sikes' mind-altering drugs made the smell of blood intoxicating for him. He no longer cared what sort of match it was, he just needed to sate his newfound bloodlust.  

[Maya Freana]

Even from up in the stands, Amaya could see that Adrian was not himself. Now casting a glance to Sikes, she was a little angry. "What did you give him?" She asked, her eyes narrowing.

Laughing at Amaya's question, Sikes took a moment before he turned to look at her. "He asked for something to help him fly. You and I both know a healing supplement wouldn't have worked in that time frame. So he got a cocktail of things to help him...ignore the pain and force his body to work through it." He said with a smirk, now turning back to the fight. "You'll go down to retrieve him when it's over." Sikes told Amaya, whom had also turned back to the fight.  

[SpokenSoftly]

((I thought you would get it, but I never assume that people are good at interpreting IC hints as well as outright-stated OOC revelations. I've RPed with someone so thick that he ignored "eyes-and-calves-are-the-weak-points-hinthinthint" posts EVERY POST for six pages.))

Orion quirked an eyebrow as Adrian deliberately injured himself, not something he had done in the other fights Orion had seen him in. Then she saw his eyes.

Orion had grown up in Skalgrad, running away from a domestic Hell into an urchin's version of same. She had learned over the four years of street life to recognize the specific kinds of drug-induced high, and Adrian was doped up on something incredibly unpleasant if his expression was anything to judge by. He probably wasn't entirely coherent at the moment, or even entirely sane.

Oh, well. Fight fire with fire, madness with madness.

Shiva's face split into a grin to match Adrian's, and she retracted her nails fully so that they were only two inches out from her hand. She easily blocked Adrian's strike with one arm, his blood-nails coming nowhere near her face, and used the momentum of the strike to launch herself into the air above him, placing her hands on his shoulders and pivoting so that she came down facing him from behind. The entire maneuver took less than two seconds, and it ended with Adrian's arm extended in front of him and Shiva's nails pressed gently against Adrian's throat. She grinned against his ear as she ensured that she was pressed close enough to his back that he couldn't buffet her away with his wings, unless they had more range of movement than she'd seen before.

"Madness with madness. Nails can extend at thinking speed. Want to test reflexes against reactions? Think not."

Shiva released her nails and sprung away, taking full advantage of the reflexes that Orion never used. She was young, true, but she'd spent four years training with Smith every afternoon. She had gained immense strength in her legs from four years of dodging thrown needles and knives, and this strength carried her almost fifteen feet backwards and to the left, so that she landed a decent distance away from Adrian. She would have ample time to react to anything he tried, and more than enough time to bring her hands up for a nail-extending kill. Exhibition match or no, Shiva would go for the kill.  

[Zelly-fangirl]

((I've been rping for a while now; trust me when i say I'm not that dense. XD ))

"And who's to say my power's no different?" Adrian said grinning as his blood nails returned to a liquid form and hung in the air around him. Suddenly he began to scratch himself up, covering his arms and wings in gashes just deep enough to draw blood from. Blood leaked from his wings and coated the broken areas in a makeshift splint while thin spikes erupted from the scratches that covered his arms, turning them into weapons. He was intoxicated with bloodlust and regained his long, bloody nails before somehow taking to the air and diving towards Shiva with his arms extended, aiming for her head with the mass of crimson spikes.  

[LizzieTheRose]

- OOC: Umm... Sooo... What exactly happened? -  

[Maya Freana]

((It's only a page or two to read...)  

[LizzieTheRose]

- OOC: Read and I still don't get it. -  

[Maya Freana]

((Shiva/Orion and Adrian are having a fight. But Amaya broke Adrian's wings a few days ago while training, so Adrian asked Sikes for drugs so he could fly. So Sikes gave him drugs and now Adrian is starting to get weird. And Orion let her split personality out since Adrian is obviously not himself and out for blood.))  

[LizzieTheRose]

- OOC: I meant like what I can do. I see some are watching the fight, but I'm confused on that. -  

[Maya Freana]

((Just watch the fight. There's stands. It's still an arena setting...))  

[LizzieTheRose]

- OOC: Well, the others stayed in their cages last time I was here... So I was confused... -  

[Maya Freana]

((Owners have houses now and monsters can show up to the fights if they choose or still have to by a certain time if their owner put a timer on their collars))