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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 13, 2010 11:38:50 GMT -5
"Yeah, lucky us," Kai grinned to her, tilting his head, one snowy ear twitching curiously. "How come you're so clumsy anyway? I mean, you're a fighter, right? I'd have thought that'd give you balance naturally," he supposed, before shaking it off. Some people were just clumsy, he figured. "Now? Hm..." he drifted off for a moment, glancing around the garden. Throwing a punch, surroundings... aha! "In a real fight, winnin' depends on three things, if you're me," he told her, holding up three fingers, "Speed, cheatin' and cunning. Other people use different tactics, but I'm not really good at running up and slammin' my fist into a giant guy's face, and so I assume you won't be very good at that either," he grinned.
"The best thing you can do in a fight against a bigger opponent is dodge, so we'll see how well you can do that," he decided after a while, stretching and stepping back from her. "I won't punch hard, so if I do catch you it shouldn't hurt much," he assured her, "Just... try and dodge me as much as you can, yeah?" he laughed before falling silent, his arms at his sides. The half-demon closed his eyes for a brief moment or so, as if to let himself slow down. He was used to being ultra-fast because that was his biggest asset, but Pari wouldn't stand a chance if he flew at her at full speed, so he would take it down a couple of notches. Once he thought he was calm enough, Kai opened his eyes, offering a light smile to her.
"Okay. Get ready," he nodded, moving forward at about a quarter of his normal speed, striking at her in a few quick, agile blows, attempting to catch her off guard and trip her up. Typical dirty tactics for the arena.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jun 13, 2010 13:44:37 GMT -5
”Balance and grace never came naturally to me.” She admitted with a small smile, rubbing at the back of her head. “I get worse when I am nervous.” Pari had never been the most confident of people, and she had no idea of what she could really do. When she wasn‘t over thinking it then she fought well, both balance and grace coming naturally, like when she had fought with Kai in front of her father. There had been no pressure then, and it showed in her abilities. It was when she felt like she had to prove something that her nerves started to take effect, and she began to think about everything too much. Confidence would come with experience, the only problem for Pari was that most people weren‘t willing to give her the chance to gain experience.
She nodded as he spoke about dodging, arching an eyebrow as he told her that he wouldn‘t hit hard. With how fast Kai was capable of moving it wouldn’t matter if he hit hard or not, no matter how hard she tried she wouldn‘t be able to dodge fast enough to escape any of his attacks. Ahh well, at least she was only fighting Kai and the rest of the school weren‘t watching this. She shifted her stance so that she was ready to move, stood on the balls of her feet, ready to spring out of the way (or attempt to) when Kai attacked.
Surprisingly, to her anyway, she managed to move out of the way as he sprang forward to attack, moving with more agility than she had expected. It was obvious that Kai wasn‘t even close to moving as quickly as he could, but it was still quite a feat for Pari to avoid most of the blows, and stay on her feet as he tried to trip her. She would make a fighter, one day, she just needed practice.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jun 17, 2010 12:23:04 GMT -5
It was obvious that Kai was impressed even as they were fighting, the half-demon's snowy white ears flicking here and there to catch her movements, his stance changing as he threw more blows at her, shifting and moving around their makeshift arena to try and find a chink in her defences. Surprisingly, he didn't find many, and when he did they weren't big enough for him to take much of an advantage. They had been actually fighting for a good few minutes (well, he had been throwing punches at her and she had been dodging him) when he finally managed to hook his leg around hers and trip her up, Kai reaching out to catch her as she fell so she wouldn't even hit the floor. He was smiling at her ever so slightly, straightening her up and setting her back on her feet.
"That was great," he admitted to her with a nod. "I reckon you're wrong, Pari," he shrugged. "Grace and balance come to you more naturally than you think. It's when you think about them that they don't work so well," he tapped the side of his head, smirking to her. He glanced up all of a sudden, noticing all of a sudden that it was starting to get dark. One of his ears flicked towards the sounds of crickets in the garden, and he smiled ever so slightly as he glanced around. "We must've lost track of time..." he mumbled, stepping back from her and sweeping himself off.
"We can do this again tomorrow, if you want?" he suggested. He liked teaching Pari. Partially because he enjoyed teaching, something he hadn't realised he'd take a liking to, partially because he liked seeing her able to better herself but mostly because this gave him a chance to really be himself. Kai couldn't say he really knew who he was apart from a fighter, so it was nice to have some familiarity around him while they were at the academy.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jun 21, 2010 8:09:55 GMT -5
This little sparring match lasted much longer than she had been expecting, though she didn’t allow herself to think on that much. Instead she concentrated on dodging his blows, correcting the gaps in her defences as he found them, automatically moving around the clearing they were in. Kai was fast, he attacked in such a rapid succession that if they had been fighting properly she wouldn’t have found the chance to attack him. Pari gave a yelp of surprise as she felt her feet disappear from under her, bracing herself for hitting the floor, only realising that he had caught her when he set her on her feet again. She was out of breath, but smiling at him, brushing a stray strand of hair back from her face as she moved to lean against a tree. She was thankful that they were doing this when the heat of the day had passed, otherwise she wouldn‘t be able to stand right now.
“I don‘t even know where that came from.” She admitted with a breathless laugh, but she had to admit that he was probably right. She over thought things, hopefully fighting with Kai would help her to relax into it and let instinct take over. She glanced to the darkening sky as he looked around, surprised to see that it was suddenly so late. She had missed dinner, her absence would be noticed. She was going to have to think up an excuse. After her little running away stunt her father wouldn‘t be feeling very lenient. “I didn‘t realise that it was so late.” She murmured, rubbing at the back of her head. “We missed dinner, want me to see if I can sneak into the kitchens and get us something to eat?” She asked him. She wasn‘t particularly hungry herself, the fruit in her room would be a good enough snack before bed, but it was only polite to ask.
“That would be great.” She smiled to him brightly and nodded at the suggestion of him teaching her again. It was nice to see Kai so at ease with himself, so comfortable with what he was doing. “Come on, we should get back inside...and it would probably be better if no-one noticed us.” She admitted to him with a weak smile as she turned to head back towards the house, lingering in the trees to make sure that there wasn‘t anyone lurking about before she quickly made towards the house. Ha, getting back to her room without being noticed should be...interesting.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jul 11, 2010 7:11:36 GMT -5
"That's all right, I'm not hungry," Kai assured her with a polite shake of his head, the half-demon flitting about to gather up his things before strolling to her side again. Kai was still getting used to being fed more than once a day, so it was unlikely that he would get accustomed to having an appetite until he had been at the academy for a while. When he was used to it, however, it would probably be safe to assume that Kai's appetite would be unrivalled. For now, though, he was content. He nodded in agreement as she said they should get back inside, moving to follow her with silent, careful footsteps. It didn't take a genius to guess that it would cause suspicion (and even more gossip) if they were caught out in the garden together when they were supposed to be inside, so Kai was careful not to make any movements that would draw attention.
As they crept up to their bedrooms, the half-demon couldn't help but smile faintly to himself. He didn't understand a lot of what was going on in the academy; hell, the list of things he didn't understand was longer than his arm. But still, he thought that, eventually, he could really get to like it here.
***
The competition took place about a week after Kai had arrived at the academy. Although he was still way out of his depth in too many ways to count (he hated learning to read and write with a passion, for instance, and etiquette didn't seem to be something that he was willing to incorporate into his character), he had slipped into the routine of classes very well. It was just going from one routine to another, after all. Even though, he had to admit, he much preferred it here. The routine of having a couple of classes in the morning, taking a break through midday when it was far too hot to be outside and then continuing with the classes in the evening undoubtedly appealed to him more than his typical day at the Arena. That mostly consisted of 'be kicked awake, eat something, go out, be beaten to a pulp, go back, get shouted at by Master, fight some more, sleep/fall unconscious'.
He still woke up with the sun, however, the half-demon's eyes opening easily as the gold disc peeked up over the horizon, sending spears of gold light through his open balcony doors. He never closed the curtains or the door, as if he liked the space and the freedom that came with being able to come in and go out as he pleased. The faintest smile ghosted across his face as he pushed himself to sit up on the bed, Kai yawning widely, flashing those wolf-like canines. His bed was, naturally, a mess. He didn't sleep on the blankets and he didn't lie with his head on the pillows; both were tangled around him like some sort of weird den, but he was happy enough.
His hair was a mess, all ruffled up around his shoulders, and his tufted ears swivelled this way and that, catching the sounds of the morning; the singing birds, the hush of the waterfall, a bell ringing in the distance...
A bell?
Oh, right. It was competition day today. That made sense. He stretched mightily and rubbed his eyes as he sat in the mess of blankets, letting himself wake up a little more. When he finally shuffled to his feet, his icy blue eyes were bright and aware, his snowy tail wagging just a little as he padded out onto the balcony. He would wait a few minutes before going to see Pari. He knew she didn't get up as early as he did.
Kai's few minutes to himself were spent admiring the beauty of the garden, as he did on most mornings; the vibrant colours and the wonderful scents would never be wasted on him. He lifted a brow suddenly, tilting his head back to sniff at the air. New people. He could smell new people. It must have been the competitors from the other academies, he thought, though he was still terribly curious. The half demon dragged his attention away, however, shuffling off to Pari's room and peering in through the balcony door. "Pari?" he asked softly. "You awake yet?"
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jul 14, 2010 10:02:14 GMT -5
Pari had settled back into the routine of the Academy easily enough, but it all seemed a little more bearable now that Kai was there. It was just a few little changes, but it made all the difference. She had a friend, she had someone who actually seemed to believe that she could do this. Kai‘s encouragement was good for her, her confidence was slowly starting to creep up, but, with the competition looming on the horizon, it was a see-saw. She was fine until she realised how close it was getting, and as soon as the pressure was on her clumsiness would return in an instant. She was doing her best though, she had even managed to hit the middle of the target yesterday while Kai was watching her, that was a huge improvement, Hell, it was an improvement to be able to string the bow while someone else was watching her. She could do this, she just had to keep telling herself that and ignore what everyone else said, or so Kai kept telling her anyway.
She was rather proud of how the half demon was progressing. He was already counted amongst the best students here, even though he was a little rough around the edges, and he had even been chosen to take part in the competitions even thought he had only just started his classes. Dariyush didn‘t seem happy about any of this, Pari‘s brother going out of his way to avoid Kai, especially seeing as his black eye was only just starting to fade. He was concentrating on training for the upcoming competition, much like the rest of the Academy. A tension had settled over everyone in the last few days, an excited buzz in the air as people started to place bets, started to speculate about who would be competing from the other Academy, who had improved the most, what differences there would be and, ultimately, which Academy was better. Bets were, of course, that this Academy was better. Plus, people would whisper, they had a surprise up their sleeve. The others wouldn‘t be expecting to go up against someone like Kai.
Competition day, ugh. Pari sighed heavily at the sound of the bell, her stomach sinking. Ha, she felt sick already, today was going to be…interesting, it was a good enough word for it as any. She had been planning on getting up, but she was still sprawled out on the bed when Kai peered in from the balcony. She was laid on top of the blankets, wearing a night dress. When she slept was the one and only time you could get Pari into a dress, and that was only because her father insisted that there were no other night clothes that were suitable for a lady. She didn‘t care if she was a lady or not, dresses were so impractical.
She rolled over onto her stomach at the sound of Kai‘s voice, curly hair falling messily around her shoulders and into her face as she opened her startlingly blue eyes to look up at him. “Not getting up, I‘m sick.” She told him with a nod. Sick with nerves counted as sick, right? Yeah, of course it did. The fact that she had hardly slept last night from worrying about this didn‘t matter, now that morning was finally here she really didn‘t want to get out of bed. Bed was safe, but if she stayed here everyone would assume that she just couldn‘t do it. Ugh, she would have to get up just to prove to people that a girl was capable of being chosen to compete. Damn. “We have to get up and get ready right now?” She sighed heavily, pushing herself so that she was sat up, rubbing at the side of her head. “I don‘t wanna do this.” [/size][/right]
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Feb 21, 2011 13:50:19 GMT -5
"Sick?" Kai peered into her room curiously, seeming to be taking her seriously at first, sniffing carefully at the air. "You don't smell sick," he pointed out rather happily, sinking to sit down outside her room to wait for her, smiling through the fluttering curtain at her. (His tail was wagging behind him, but he didn't notice). "Uh huh. You're in archery or somethin' right? I'm in that hand to hand tournament. Am I actually allowed to hit people yet, or do I still have to pretend?" he asked, cocking his head to one side, one ear twitching as a few birds began singing outside. "We don't haf'ta get ready right now. I woke up, that's all. I can leave you to sleep a little more if you want though," he suggested, scrambling to his feet and turning to go back and lean against the balcony again.
He smiled as he listened to the sounds of the garden; the rushing of the waterfall and the birds chirping away, and the distant, insistent sound of the bell. It was going to be a hot day, he knew that already; he could practically smell it in the air. Kai had to admit, he was really looking forward to this competition, despite feeling bad for Pari and knowing he was going to have to fight in the heat. He knew she was nervous, and he could see why. She had a lot to prove, after all. Kai, however, had already pretty much made his point to everyone in the Academy. Baraki - the teacher who'd been supervising Kai in his first week, had been the one to enter him into the competition. It was safe to say that, despite how far he still had to go, the half demon was enjoying being at the Academy a lot more than he had been on his first night there.
After a few minutes, he inched back towards Pari's room, unable to help himself. He was awake, and he was excited, and it was stupid, but he wanted to talk to her. He rubbed at the scar on his face and ran his fingers through his hair, before peeking around the curtain again. "...You hungry?"
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Post by Angel ♥ on Feb 21, 2011 16:01:03 GMT -5
Kai's excitement made her feel even worse, made her feel guilty for even thinking about skipping the competition. People worked all year to try out for this, she had worked all year for this, and to be chosen was a huge honour. She at least had to get out of bed and give it her best, no matter how nervous she was. The Academy was all about conquering your personal demons and self discipline, backing out now would only prove that she wasn't worthy of even having a place here. "Mmhm, archery tournament, the rounds begin first thing this morning, and then the finals will all be this afternoon, all at different time s so that everyone can watch..." She explained to him, smiling faintly over at him, shaking her head as he said that he could leave. "No, it's okay, it's about time I got up." She shook her head, moving to crawl out of bed and climb to her feet.
Pari sighed as she moved over to flop down on the stool in front of her dressing table, wrinkling her nose up at her reflection. Her hair was a mess of wild, black curls, she had no idea how she was going to make herself presentable for the competition. "You can come in, Kai, I'm up." She called out to him, gathering her hair up to twist it and clip it at the back of her head with a simple gold clasp, having to use smaller pins to catch the stray strands of hair to keep them in place. "I don't think I can eat..." She shook her head, pulling the bow of water over to her so that she could wash her face. "You should get something to eat though, you'll need all the energy that you can get for today."
"I can't do this, Kai. What if I can't even string the bow when I get out there?" She sighed heavily, rubbing at her eyes. God, she wished that she had got some more sleep now. "This is stupid, I'm so stupid. Why can't I just calm down?" [/size][/right]
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Feb 22, 2011 9:29:57 GMT -5
"This mornin'?" Kai's ears pricked up - the hand-to-hand tournament, like the archery tournament, happened in the morning and the afternoon; but he figured that competitions would be in order, or that they would have some kind of a time-table. That's how things had been at the Arena, anyway. Kai might not have known if he'd be in any of the fights that day, but he knew how the time slots worked and who fought where, and why it was important, and what days were 'weapon' days and what days were 'animal' days (sometimes they'd give slaves weapons to use and on occasion they'd release wild animals into the Arena with them; tigers were a crowd favourite).
"Well, even if it is this mornin', I hope I get a chance to see you. You're really good, when nobody's watchin'," he told her, smiling faintly as she said he could come in, the half demon shuffling into her room and yawning widely, baring those wolfish canines. He still looked like a sleepy mess compared to Pari, now, but Kai always had an air of roughness about him. Besides, he'd probably be a lot more ruffled up than this by the time the day was over. "I dunno what time I'm fightin', but as long as it ain't midday it should be all right," he smiled. The half demon shivered suddenly, as if something had come over him, though it passed in a second or so, Kai smiling a little more brightly to her as she spoke again.
"I got energy to burn, it's fine," he assured her - he might still be scrawny, even though he was eating more than he ever had done before, but Kai was improving in leaps and bounds, and considering that he was no pushover even when he was a slave, he'd never been healthier. His icy blue eyes were puzzled as she started to panic, the fighter taking a step back and frowning softly. His tail drooped a little and his ears swivelled back, making him look adorably worried, though he didn't quite know what to do. Eventually he moved and put his hands on Pari's shoulders (a big step for him, he'd never done anything like this before).
"Hey," he smiled a little, trying to cheer her up. "It's only a game, Pari. Nobody's gonna get hurt, and the worst they can do is laugh at you, and that's better than them throwing stuff or shouting abuse," he pointed out. "It's just a game, okay? I've never done this before, but it sounds like a bit of fun. Cheer up, 'kay? Don't be so serious," he murmured. He thought for a moment, and suddenly leaned down as if to kiss her... before playfully licking her face. "Ha!" he grinned, dashing out of the room again like a puppy. He seemed a lot less serious himself, today. And that should distract Pari, at least.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Feb 24, 2011 17:51:20 GMT -5
"You don't have to worry, no-one fights at midday. There's a break, everyone has lunch and sort of socialises before they have the finals in the afternoon. All the finals are at different times, so everyone can watch." She explained to him with a nervous smile, shaking her head at him a little. "I hope that you don't get the chance to watch me. I hate being watched." She sighed heavily, rubbing at her forehead. It was bad enough that her father would be watching her, and Dariyush too if he wasn't fighting, and Leila would just be watching and waiting for her to fail, so adding Kai to all of that would just make things ten times worse. She was kind of used to her family watching her lose her nerve, but she didn't want Kai to see her fail in front of everyone.
Pari tilted her head up at Kai as he put his hands on her shoulders, looking distracted from her panicking by how worried he looked all of a sudden. She smiled up at him weakly as he tried to calm her down. It seemed silly really, being so worried about games when the last time Kai had fought in front of a crowd he had been fighting for his life. She didn't really get much of a chance to think about that seeing as he leant in towards her. Kai was just full of surprises today. Her eyes widened in shock as he licked her face, the girl not looking as though she knew what to do as he darted off, leaving her staring after him. Well, it had worked, he's distracted her.
Pari washed her face again, dressing in her uniform before wandering out onto the balcony in search of Kai. She guessed that he must just be excited about the games or something, and that was why he was so happy and bouncy today. He must just be burning off nervous energy. "Kai, you ready? We should be going down now...and don't do go licking my face again. Licking faces doesn't cure nerves." [/size][/right]
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Feb 25, 2011 14:59:48 GMT -5
"You don't want me to watch you? D'aw, okay. I'll stay outta the way, I guess," he murmured to her over his shoulder, though he didn't really sound that put out; he might have been a little more disappointed were it not for his sudden cheerfulness and energy. He didn't know where it had come from (well, that was a lie, the full moon was that night and Kai always got a little restless, but he didn't want to admit that he was a slave to instinct).
By the time Pari emerged from her bedroom he was nowhere to be found - or at least that's how it looked to the untrained eye. He had managed to get himself ready at least, having washed his face and combed his hair so it fell in its usually dead straight, snowy white layers, even though his ears were still unruly and fluffy, something that, for once, he didn't seem bothered about. He was in the loose white trousers and red waistcoat that made up the uniform of the Academy, currently crouched on the rooftop just above their balcony, watching Pari with a mischievous little grin on his face as she called his name.
He dropped down from the roof like a ghost, smirking and shouting 'BOO' as he moved up behind her - making sure, of course, that she couldn't fall from the balcony before he did so. He smiled softly. "Does too. You're not nervous no more, eh?" he asked. "I'm ready when you are, let's go."
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Post by Angel ♥ on Mar 3, 2011 7:47:30 GMT -5
Pari looked bemused as she stepped out onto the balcony to find it empty, tilting her head as she peered around. Kai wasn't really all that fond of staying inside. She moved to the edge to look out over the garden, as though expecting to find him slinking around down there, before he snuck up behind her and announced his presence. Of course she screamed, but just a little bit, her blue eyes wide as she spun around to face him, glad that the balcony had a high wall around it so that she hadn't fallen in her surprise. "By the Gods, Kai, you terrified me." She pouted to him, putting a hand to her chest to feel her rapid heartbeat, willing it to slow. Her friend was unusually mischievous today, she had no idea what had gotten into him, but she supposed that it did keep her mind from the up coming competition.
"You're a pain." She huffed to him half playfully, shaking her head as she moved to head back into her room, beckoning for Kai to follow her. "Do you want to go down for breakfast? I was just going to get my bow and practice a bit…" Maybe if she practiced enough before then her hands would string the bow and aim without her even having to think about it, by habit or something. She was sure that there was some logic behind the argument, she just wasn't sure that it would work. Right now she would take anything that would make her better.
"Or maybe we should go check the schedule, see when our rounds are and stuff? I can show you where you need to go, so that you don't get lost or anything." She offered, glancing up at Kai to smile nervously. There would be a lot of new people here to stare at them today, and she hoped that didn't put a dampener on his high spirits. It was nice to see him looking so happy and carefree, after everything he had been through he deserved it. [/size][/color]
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Mar 25, 2011 12:07:52 GMT -5
[TIME-SKIP!]
To say that Kai's good mood had carried over to the afternoon would be an understatement; he was hyperactive to the point where even Baraki, his instructor, had noticed the change in him. They were just about to start the finals for the afternoon tournament - in fact, the first round was already under way. Kai, of course, had made it through into the finals. The other schools had been amazed by the white-haired half-demon's presence, some curious and others (predictably) hostile. For once, though, Kai felt as if he had been really accepted by his classmates, if for no other reason than because he was giving their opponents a run for their money.
His hair was swept back from his face as he ducked under his hulk of an adversary, a mad little grin on his face. There was sweat in Kai's eyes, his bare feet skidding across the gritty arena as if it was silk, the sun peeking from behind the trees overhead. The half-demon's heart was racing - he could barely see the crowd of students and teachers around them. He was lost in the scent of sweat and frustration from his opponent, the sound of his breathing, the feel of the sand under his feet. Kai's fighting style had altered little from when he was in the Arena (and obviously that's where he thought he was now). The only change was that it was more elegant than it had been previously; he twisted in the air like a dancer, lithe muscles contracting with ease around every swinging punch, every round kick.
The other student hulked towards him in an impressive tackle, but Kai was ready. His snowy ears pricked up and he all but disappeared from sight, the student pausing and frowning. "Disappearing. That's a dirty trick," he said to the empty air.
"It would be," Kai almost whispered from behind him, "if I'd really gone anywhere."
He landed like a predator on his opponent's back, laughing as he was thrashed to and fro. He could get to like this game - the other student was losing points for shoddy tactics as it was.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Apr 15, 2011 6:46:49 GMT -5
It was hard not to get caught up n the excited atmosphere even for Pari. The Academy was a hive of activity, people having been rushing about all day to sort everything out, but it was the finals now and no-one was going to miss that. Everyone surrounded the fighting grounds, the crowd whooping and clapping to support their fighter, shouting words of encouragement, advice and congratulations. Pari was stood by her father, smiling a she watched Kai dance around his opponent. He was proving to everyone just what he could do right now, and no-one could deny his skill. Even Dariyush, who was stood on her other side, couldn't hide the impressed look in his eyes. Maybe Kai did have potential and wasn't just some arena slave.
The referee at the corner of the arena held his hand up to signify that the pair of them should part, calling time for that round of the fight. Points would be tallied and the winner decided, but it was pretty obvious who would be going through to the finals. Dariyush was already through, he had fought just before Kai, and it looked as though both finalists would be from the Academy, something which hadn't happened for a long while. Dariyush had competition for being ranked as the Academy's best fighter, and he wasn't all that happy about it truth be told, and his expression was providing Pari with endless amusement.
The referee moved into the middle of the arena now that the scores had been tallied , lifting Kai's hand to indicate him as the winner, raising a cheer, Pari clapping along with the rest of them. She was proud of him, this competition seemed like just what he had needed to help him to settle in. [/size][/right]
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Apr 23, 2011 16:23:34 GMT -5
Kai barely remembered to leap away from his opponent as the referee moved in between them, the half-demon reluctantly stepping back away from the other student, excitement and concentration crackling in his eyes even as the referee lifted his hand in victory. He could hear people cheering (his ears kept twitching and swivelling around at all the noise) and clapping and laughing, Kai eventually catching sight of Pari, Pedar Kashani and Dariyush over at one side of the arena. He seemed to come back to himself then, at least, the half-demon smiling rather brightly as the referee let him go, he bowed to his defeated opponent and wandered away to stand by them.
"You're smilin'," he commented rather breathlessly to Pari. "Does that mean I did good?" he asked, tilting his head and smiling rather excitedly. To be honest Kai hadn't much been thinking about points as he fought, or technique, or tactics - he had been acting on brute instinct. He had figured out by now, of course, that it was the full moon that night, and that this was almost definitely the reason behind his more extroverted behaviour, but there was very little he could do about it at this point.
The half-demon turned to look up at the board that had been set up, as if only just realising that he had made it to the finals. "Oh," he murmured, pushing his snowy hair out of his face and turning back to look at Dariyush. "Looks like it's me and you up for the final. Good luck."
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