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[Takosher]

Ookami

Winter looked around the room, there wasn't a lot of space to sit and eat. It wasn't messy, quite the opposite actually, she just didn't need much space in the first place. The best she could think of was the bed.

"I guess you can sit on the bed..." She said, timidly attempting to lead him over to it.

Aleks

"No, everything's fine." Amelia said, her confidence rebounding as quickly as it dropped, "A god's audience chamber is an odd place to just wander into. Did you already go everywhere else or something?" she laughed briefly at her own joke before continuing, "Well, it's not my chamber, but I'm a god so I guess it's my job to hear you out. I'm not gonna give you my shoulder, but if you need an ear it wouldn't kill me to listen for a bit." She looked at her wrist as if there were a watch on it, "Keep it short though, my nap time is almost up."

Caridin

Four brought her finger up to her mouth and pretended to think for a moment. "I was thinking maybe you could call me Loki?" She turned her head away as soon as she finished speaking. She might have been trying to be coy, but the hint of red rising in her face as she spoke hinted at the reality of the situation.

Loki's thoughts were even more chaotic than her outward appearance. She couldn't believe she'd actually said that. Sure it had been her plan to say it, but she'd also planned seven different backup requests in case she chickened out. It was so exhilarating that she was struggling to keep her composure. Her face was so hot and she couldn't get it to cool down. How am I supposed to help him if I can barely think straight? Get it together Loki. You can't ask him to trade favors and then flop on your side of the bargain. Her internal voice spurring her onward, she slowly managed to force down the blush and regain her composure.

Tarmo

Astra chuckled with melancholy. "More like Ark had a path for me." he said her name without spite, almost reverence, "I was exactly as useful as I was made to be. You're lucky to have fallen short. I'm still chained down by my success." he nearly tossed his plate to the floor as pure unbridled rage welled up inside him, but he forced the instinct down. The source of his hate was the very thing he hated, there was no sense in letting it feed on itself. "We're definitely not from the same project, I was a lone construction. I was designed with the sole purpose of being taken in by and hurting Lord, and that's exactly what I did."

[DragonRage]

It takes Elspeth just long enough to realize that Marita was referring to her when she said 'Ruby Darter' to make things really, really awkward.  It takes her another few heartbeats of fumbling for something to say to make it all even worse.  "Uh... Oh!  Uh uh uh, hi?"  Elspeth cringes, snapping her eyes to the camera, "I'm Elspeth d'Argo, the, uh, representative from Wrath.  I, er, haven't done a lot of mech fighting before.  Mostly exploring, having a flying mech is pretty good for that.  But the last match went way better than I was expecting, guess those night flights paid off, so maybe I've got a chance of not looking like I'm only here because Wrath couldn't agree on anyone else?"  Elspeth flinches back from the camera, wincing and looking away, "But uh, yeah.  Also never been filmed outside my mech before, so feeling a bit nervous okay a lot nervous, just kind of saying whatever comes to mind first oh my gosh I should probably have stopped talking a few sentences ago."  She claps both hands over her mouth, flushing bright red.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Caridin
That was it? Just... call her by her (presumably) first name? That was the big favor? Caridin... couldn't help but chuckle really. He didn't know why he found it funny, maybe because in the grand scheme of things, even with how much value and reverence people placed on respecting Aliases, it was a relatively trivial request in his eyes. Hell the only reason he really stuck with one in the first place was because well... it was fecking tradition all over tempest and all that. Saga and Erikur had both told him he'd need one, and he'd just picked a name that had spoken to him most. True, some folks might've thought that honoring such a request so soon would be moving a personal relationship too fast, but if doing this was the price she required before she'd help him, then...to hell with it. She didn't seem that bad, quirky, but not bad. And She had Arcturus' endorsement and all...
   
"Eh, alright. Fine, Loki." He said, nodding. "I s'pose it's only fair ye call me Caridin then. If we're gonna be on first name basis, might as well go both ways."

[AzyWng]

Was he really going to...?

Ah, screw it. He sure as hell didn't make it this far by second-guessing himself.

"I just don't really know if I should be here. Not the chamber, just... in this Trial... everyone else seems to take themselves so... seriously. They're fighting for something they think is really worth fighting for... But I'm just here 'cause I'm not really sure what to do."

Suddenly feeling self-conscious - he was essentially whining about not having the kinds of responsibilities the others had - Aleks began to head back to the transporter to find some other place to be alone with his thoughts, or at least to share them with someone who wasn't busy napping. "Sorry for taking up your time, Amelia. I'll be going now."

[Chevaleresse]

Wandering Dragon

Lucky. Tarmo took a deep breath at that word. He understood what the god meant, but. . . "Yes, lucky to be thrown aside like so much refuse. After learning that I would never fulfill my purpose, and that it was a twisted one besides." He gripped his seat with his remaining arm, knuckles turning white. You have to maintain control. Another deep breath. He stood up abruptly and walked a few steps away. It took him a moment or two, but eventually he managed to quell the beast for a moment, leaving just the hollow feeling of purposelessness behind. "I apologize." Something about the man's speech was noticeably duller. "There were others there, too, I remember," he finally continued, making a halfhearted attempt to change the track of the conversation to something less distressing. "I wonder what became of them."

Hellfire Knight

The god made a small placating gesture. It was strange to hear echoes of her own thoughts coming from another person. "It's okay." How should she put it? She couldn't encourage herself, how was she supposed to help someone else deal with this? "I don't even really know how, um, I got this far. I just started fighting and didn't stop." Maybe that was the answer. "All I wanted, um, was to be good at something." She thought for a moment longer. "Maybe you just, um, need to be selfish. Don't worry about whether you deserve the win, just keep fighting."

[Twinwolf]

Maddie

Maddie was... well, more than a little surprised at the Knight's words. That sounded remarkably familiar to how she'd started out (although in her case, it was 'prize money to help her family' rather than just wanting to be good at something). "Well, I already figured 'save the world' certainly wasn't the goal from the start." she said after a bit. "I'll... think about that, a bit. I wasn't planning to just roll over for the upcoming round, in any case." While she didn't think 'be selfish' was the greatest route to go when it came to a tournament for the next god... even if she didn't think she should have made it here, or won that first fight, that didn't mean she couldn't put her best into the next one.

[Takosher]

Tarmo

Astra didn't seem bothered by Wandering Dragon's outburst. He wished he'd chosen his words more carefully, it hadn't been his intent to downplay anyone else's suffering, let alone someone kindred to himself. But such was the nature he'd been given. In the end his words were only a source of pain, it was who he was. Though he could temper it, he could never change it.

The change of topic brought a rush of disturbing images to Astra's mind. Some were Ark's doing, but most were his own handiwork. The thought was appropriately sickening. He'd encountered so many, and yet saved so few. The worst part was that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to regret it. It wasn't his right to speak for them, but were he in their place, he'd be grateful.

"Most of them fulfilled their purpose." Astra said, his voice empty of emotion, "The rest are in the care of a secret group known as the Round, I'll introduce you their leader Calibern sometime if you'd like."

Aleks

"You couldn't make it this far if you didn't have something you were fighting for." Amelia told Aleks, "That's how the universe works or some shit. If you're here, then you have a reason, even if you're not sure what it is. Anyways, bye." Despite her apparent moment of wisdom, Amelia quickly dropped back into her flippant attitude and laid her head back down on the desk to go back to sleep.

Caridin

It was all Loki could do not to squeal as she responded, "Alright then Caridin, let's do this thing." She stepped back and spread her arms out wide, intentionally placing one foot awkwardly behind her to upset her balance. This was clearly not any sort of combat stance, and yet the words that followed her assuming it seemed to disagree with that assessment. "Hit me as hard as you can, wherever you like. Circle around behind me if you want, I like surprises."

Elspeth

Marita laughed at Elspeth's outburst. It was oddly relaxing, something in the tone made it clear that she genuinely enjoyed the way Elspeth had described herself.

"Well, your journey here has certainly been an eventful one." she said, smoothly moving the conversation along, "It must have been really something to fight Wandering Dragon in the first round. He's a lot of people's the favorite to win the tournament. How confident were you confident going into the match?"

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Caridin
"Are ye... sure 'bout this?" Caridin asked. Though, even as he did so he assumed a tight fighting stance, body turned to the side, feet two shoulders width apart, elbows drawn close to the torso and hands up to protect his face. He had a feeling of what was about to ensue, he'd gotten a similar prompt from Saga at certain points... unlike back then though, it looked like he was more likely to just miss whatever blow he threw here, instead of having his own momentum used against him. Not that Saga had even needed the extra leverage, for how hard she fecking hit despite her stature. "Ah feck it. Fine then..."
      He did not bother to circle around her, it was doubtful that would make much difference, and it would be far too obvious given she had outright suggested it. His eyes shifted from green to pale gold as he focused, concentrating on her form, how she would likely dodge in that stance. He had already memorized some of her basic movements from their past battles, but that wasn't saying much considering how chaotic she could get, and the fact that said estimates were likely somewhat off in this scenario given she wasn't augmented by her mech. She might simply stumble out of the way like a clairvoyant drunk, or perhaps she'd surprise him by sticking a perfect back flip that placed her just outside of his immediate follow-up range. Perhaps she'd really surprise him and flip over him instead. It was impossible to accurately predict any particular outcome with how little he had to go on here.
     
Then again, part of him considered that the point of this wasn't to actually hurt someone, and that perhaps he should chill a bit and go with whatever came to him.

He decided to meet in the middle. Like a coiled viper the lad sprang forward, shoulders and feet turning like well oiled gears as he propelled his left fist forward in what appeared to be a jab... and then promptly used the beginning of the motion to drop down to the floor with his full weight, his left hand instead anchoring him as he spun his body and carried the momentum through to his right leg in order to lash out at Loki's feet with a savage sweep. He had no illusion of hitting her, aiming at such an obvious weak point in her stance, but it would still pay off from the ability to see the basic body mechanics of how she would dodge outside of her mech.
     

[Takosher]

Caridin

Just before Caridin's leg sweep connected, Loki vanished. Since he was already committed to the maneuver, the unexpected lack of resistance resulted in him being the one who was thrown off balance instead of her. He toppled unceremoniously, having been made a fool by a variable he had no way to predict.

"Nope!" Loki yelled from across the arena. She ran over to join him again while he got up. "I'm sure you knew I wouldn't just let you hit me, and I know you know that. But I wonder, do you know why I had you do that despite both of us knowing that I knew that you knew what I would do?" she asked him.

[Chevaleresse]

Hellfire Knight

"I didn't think you were." Something occurred to her after a moment, something she hadn't said yet. It was very important to her, even if she hadn't realized it at first, and the only part of her success she felt comfortable crediting herself with. Mostly, anyway. "Um, there is one thing. I did what I did because I never thought about losing. I just fought. I don't know if it would work for you, um, but just. . . Don't think about the aftermath. Think about what you're doing and put your soul into it." She looked down for a moment. I'm really not good at this advice thing. . .

Wandering Dragon

"I see." He didn't need to ask what the specifics of that were. The meaning was clear enough. Perhaps they were the lucky ones, not him. "I would. . . like that, I think." Tarmo nodded after a moment of further thought. "Yes, it would be useful." A question occurred to him. "Though, if they are secret, why would you show someone like myself?"

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Caridin
One minute... she's there. The next? Poof. Gone. Fecking meters away across the damn arena.
    "I... what? How the feck did ye...ye fecking vanished!" He ran through what had just occurred over and over again as he got back to his feet. He was certain of what he'd seen, what he'd felt, he most definitely had not had a brief stroke here. Just... there and gone. Like the wind... like... like...

"Like when one of her fecking doppelgangers takes a hit... wait a minute" the image of her previous display, what with the hands intercrossed and balancing against a mirror image of herself, flashed across his mind at that moment. He'd been too focused on her other quirks to really pay much attention to it at the time, but now...

There were so many questions it raised. How many of them had there been, hiding somewhere out of sight? Had she planned this from the very beginning, or simply went with it in the heat of the moment? and...

"How the hells are ye even doing this doppleganger shite without yer mech active?" Caridin finally asked, unable to contain his pondering any longer. "Never seen anything like it before, except with Arcturus... though he obviously doesn't even have one ta begin with. And no, to be honest I ain't sure what yer trying to teach me here, but I presume it has somethin' ta do with chaos and the futility of predicting it, or some shite like that."

[AzyWng]

Aleks said nothing, instead heading back to the transporter.

After a bit of thought... What Amelia had said was right. Almost obvious, really. There was something he was fighting for... But what? Boredom? Restlessness? A desire to test himself?

For some reason, none of those really stuck with him. Someone as rich as he was could've found anything to distract himself, and he was always traveling from place to place, meeting new people... As for testing himself... Maybe that was the reason he was here. He'd come here with the hopes of finally finding a bit of a challenge, after all... though what he was testing himself for was still unknown to him.

Maybe the answers would reveal themselves to him in time. He was certain of one thing, though: He'd have to take his fights much more seriously from now on. Being cocky and reckless had cost him in his first match.

If he was going to lose the others... He'd do what he should've done with Celica. Fight to the fullest.

[Twinwolf]

Maddie

Maddie was quiet for a bit. "I'll think about that, at least." She said after a bit. She wasn't sure she got it that well... well, no, it was a simple concept, but whether she could put it in practice was another matter. "...Thanks for talking at least. I've, uh, admired you since I was a kid, so it's, uh, been great talking..." Oh goodness had she actually went and said that?

[DragonRage]

"Not very confident.  The last time I fought a guy with a sword in an official tournament setting... didn't go so well," Elspeth looks off to the side uncomfortably, "I'm sure you've seen the video.  Everyone has seen the video.  And... Wandering Dragon?  Wandering Dragon is fast.  Like, way faster than I was expecting.  Like holy moley.  The darkness did a lot to even the odds, but...  No, I thought I was going to lose that.  I thought I had lost until they told me about that rules technicality."

[Takosher]

Caridin

Loki shrugged, "Why would I need my mech to be who I am? A mech is a projection of the soul, not the other way around." she said, surprisingly serious. It didn't last very long though, and she jumped back to whimsy with a cheerful skip forwards. "Anyways, that would be a dumb lesson, it's not even right. If chaos were unpredictable, I wouldn't be able to tell what I was gonna do next. But that's not even close to how I'm trying to help."

Loki skipped a ways away from Caridin again, then did a twirl. There didn't seem to be a reason to it, she was just having some fun. "You knew I wasn't just going to let you hit me, but you tried anyway. Why?" She smiled broadly and did a front walkover back to Caridin, poking him firmly in the chest at the end of it. "You don't have to do a thing I say. You could have stopped and looked around, you could have attacked before I finished explaining that you could sneak up on me, you could have decided the whole thing was stupid and left.

"Arcturus says you're struggling to respond effectively to your opponents, but that's a problem already. You're always responding, you don't take the initiative. You let others control what game you're playing, and if you can't beat them at it, you lose."