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[Twinwolf]

Maddie almost staggered under the intensity of the Revenant's gaze, but managed to recover herself. She'd known what she'd done was rare, but unique like he was implying? That was something else entirely. "Well... I think it's been about two, three years? I'd gotten to the semi-finals in a small tournament in the town for the first time, and went to get my mech upgraded as a treat, off the favor I'd just managed to collect. At the time, my 'mech' was just a pistol, but I'd managed to do pretty well for myself and it'd been long enough since the last upgrade that I could get most of a mech. My pistol got really mobile," she nodded at 'Boo'. "And I got some more added on besides, like the bow. Except... I could still summon Boo on their own, for some reason. I really don't know how it happened, or if it was something I'd been doing before that and only just noticed once there was more to the mech... I wonder if it's connected to the meditation thing you said was so weird? Can Sleeping Bear do something like this?"

[Chevaleresse]

Tarmo felt a flash of irritation at the Hunter's answer, something he shoved down as best he could immediately. Fortunately for them both, it was a minor thing, and there was something much more interesting going on besides. Though, the girl still didn't seem to quite understand just how strange this was. "No," he answered her question before the Revenant could. "At least, there isn't any record of him doing so."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Arena, The Aftermath.

However, the lad did not recieve the answer from where he thought he would. Instead it came from one he perhaps had not even noticed the approach of. A wild beast of a man had drawn close to the site of the battle of two warriors. He sat crossed legged on the ground in front of a small contraption that spit flames. Upon those flames sat a well used kettle, one that's metal showed the telltale signs of extensive use, and yet those of intense care as well. Despite the old man's savage looks he had an air of serene calm, as if a wolf had decided to be in the presence of humans. The scents that wafted from the craft of his work only enhanced that sense as a light flowery aroma had filled the space without either of the warrior's notice. His voice was as mahogany, deep and yet with a wild beauty to it. "A young sap of a swordsman battles an archer as old as the sun itself. The young shoot certainly has potiential, but something burns deep within. Whatever it is spurs him forward recklessly. It is not honed with the wisdom of age nor the souless glow of a life of pure study. There is practice, the tempered flames of true battle. Perhaps... the licks of flame of defeat stokes this fire. A little something known as vengeance. BWAHA! But you hardly asked an old passersby his opinion."

The wily old man guffawed with a mirth that could only be the genuine article. He gestures towards the kettle sitting beside him a sweep quite graceful for such a beast of a man as he. "Care to join me gentlemen? The blazing of your souls has intrigued me and as luck would have it you took a seat nearby. At least indulge your elders, we mean well." He said, not able to stop himself from laughing through the last line.

[Takosher]

Neon Aletheia vs. Trinity

Trinity battle theme

Trinity followed Neon to the arena, eager to get some action of his own after witnessing such a spectacular display. He took up a ready stance (which for him meant a completely arbitrary pose that excited his fans) and summoned his mech with a snap of his fingers. The three cannons flashed into existence in a row just behind him, with the center one floating upwards to rest slightly higher than the two at his sides. In response to Neon's request, he answered with one of his own, announcing, "Have fun!"

With the match set to start, Trinity aimed to take the first move. With a dramatic wave of his arm, he directed the cannon on his right to fire directly at Neon. Without any further warning, energy exploded out of the cannon, forming a massive pink laser of pure arcane power that cut through the air with a deep, reverberating thunder.

Caradin and Ookami

Arcturus couldn't make heads or tails of what the newcomer had just said, although what little he could glean sounded like the old man had come to a similar conclusion as his own. Still, the question was asked of him, so he thought it best to give his own answer. Though he did first decide to accept the old man's invite and joined him around his kettle.

"Raguel, you-" Arcturus cut himself off, "I'm not sure if this is right to say." Such a comparison was unfair, Caradin hadn't gone down that path yet. Arcturus didn't want to judge him for simply being who he was, clearly Caradin was making an attempt to follow a better path. But still, something had to be said, "You remind me of the one man I truly despise. And I can't help but be afraid you'll slip down the wrong path and end up becoming like him. Yet I can see you trying to imitate something else, actively looking for a different path. It's difficult to fight against yourself, and I imagine you've often thought to give in and cut down everything in the way of your goal. Whoever you learned self-control from taught you well.

"Also, your stance is sloppy, you've been in the spotlight too much. Looking cool is fine and all, but try to tighten up for the Trial."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Celica

As Bear began to examine Celica, the girl kept her face still, revealing nothing as she waited for his eventual response. She wasn't surprised that he would be questioning her with his gaze, but she couldn't tell if it was because of the questions or something else. Then Bear gave his answer, redirecting her to Astra, and then going straight back to sleep. Again, she wasn't too surprised... Simply annoyed by this act, seeing as she was once again being regarded as 'not worth their time'.

After waiting a moment to make sure Bear went back to sleep, Celica let out a small sigh, "I suppose bothering his sleep for a few questions was asking for too much" she stated, rolling her chair back from the God and turning her head to look at Winter, "My deepest apologies for ignoring you previously. I did not realize you knew Bear enough to do-" Celica began, gesturing to Bear's sleeping form, "-what you did."

What she said was true. But as much as she already disliked Bear, it was important for her to have at least some good standing among the gods, and if Winter was of any importance to him, then even a small, positive opinion of her could do wonders. She had already messed up thanks to not realizing this sooner, but she had a chance to make amends for it still, depending on if Winter would forgive her or continue pouting for being seen as not more than a normal servant.

[IntSys]

Neon

Neon strafed upwards, avoiding the initial strike just barely. It was clear that she was only able to evade it without resorting to speed glitching due to distance. Trinity's cannons had a startling-high fire rate when chained one after another, so she had to find a way to keep him somewhat pressured, giving herself more breathing room, especially since she was planning on closing the distance.

She positioned her body to be parallel to Trinity's line of sight, improving her aerodynamics and making her an even smaller target than she already was. Then, she placed her hands forwards and began pouring a curtain of energy blasts at her opponent's direction, as she accelerated towards him at high speeds. The blasts likely wouldn't accumulate much damage at all given the very limited timeframe, but the nature of Trinity's mech meant that he had to deploy his barrier to shield himself from the damage, or be forced to take cover behind one of his cannons.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Caridin
Just like Arcturus, Caridin had a difficult time making heads or tails of what the old man was saying. He did make out enough, however, to realize that whoever he was, the old timer was uncannily perceptive. With a shrug, he accepted the old coot's offer. It'd been a long time since he'd seen a portable stove, or smelled fresh brewed tea, for that matter. For just a brief moment, the scent wafted him back to a simpler time... a more peaceful time. Like a sweet anodyne to accoy his heart.

But Arcturus' words reminded him of the present, of the stark reality he faced. Those days were gone, and would never be regained.
     "I... see," He responded distantly. Arcturus was not wrong, of course, and Caridin knew it. For fecks sake, as a lad he had dragged his broken heart and body through an entire city just to find the recluse who would teach him to hold a sword so he could do exactly as Arcturus described. He was just damn lucky that recluse was wise enough to see his headspace for what it was and try to temper him into something better, something whole. Even if he failed in the end, it'd been a damn valiant effort. But it was impossible for Caridin to ever follow in that man's footsteps, emulate his philosophy and way of life. It taken someone else, someone far more similar to him, to help him realize that.

He was not a stoic. He could never be a stoic. The wicked ways of this world incensed him far too much to ever lie down and accept things as they were.

"This man ye speak of...," He finally said after a long bit of pondering Arcturus' words "Who is he? Why do ye despise him? What has he done? And oi, fecking hell, man... call me out on my soul all ye want, but me stance is where I live. Was it really that bad?"

Revenant's Workshop
"Indeed," Revenant nodded after Dragon "Not even bear has done this, to anyone's knowledge at least. Hmmm... I wonder if there might be a connection here. Two of such improbable abilities manifesting in the same fighter are unlikely to be mere coincidence. Perhaps your demonstrated prowess with meditation has somehow allowed you to compartmentalize sections of your dreamspace, in theory... but if that were even possible, surely bear as well would...."
     "Sully," Asmodeus interrupted "Do spare them the hypotheticals. They aren't scientist. They're just here for diagnostics."
     "As much as I hate to admit it.... Asmo has a point. I might just reach out to Bear to discuss the implications of this, get his opinion... either way, it's going to take some time before we make any sense of this. For now though, you're free to go, Hunter."

[Twinwolf]

Maddie nodded. "Thanks for the help... is there, uh, anything I could do to help you out on... whatever it is you want to do with the information? Since I figure if you're going to be writing stuff up about me I should be involved." she said. Then, to Tarmo, "...Sorry for derailing whatever it was you were wanting, Wandering Dragon." As if to punctuate the point, 'Boo' hovered a bit lower, as if bowing it's head, although Maddie didn't. She sorta stood awkwardly for a minute before deciding what to do - she extended a hand. "I don't think I've introduced myself properly. Ethereal Hunter. I look forward to seeing you in the ring." That was a good, competitor-esque greeting, right? Right.

[Chevaleresse]

Tarmo just stared at Maddie as she offered her right hand, realized her mistake, and switched, expression unreadable. He did, however, accept the properly offered handshake, with a firm (almost too firm) grip, shaking once before releasing. "Wandering Dragon, as you know. I believe we can learn from one another in the ring." He took a small step back after accepting the handshake. "You weren't interrupting anything of importance. I've wanted to see if learning the technical side of fighting captures my interest, and needed a routine check on my mech as well."

[Twinwolf]

Yeah real smart Maddie offering the wrong handshake to the guy with one arm- "Right, good to hear. I've never been much on the technical side of mechs myself... though maybe I should, if I can visualize the process better it might help out with getting less fragments in meditation..." And she was talking about herself again... damnit... she didn't actually know the man much, even if she'd watched a dozen matches of his... "I was watching some of your recent matches, on the ride over here I mean, and I actually kinda had a question - why'd you switch to one sword? I mean, you obviously make it work, I'm just curious. Usually by the time mech fighters get to your rankings they've figured out their style and stick with it besides some minor adjustments."

[Chevaleresse]

"Acceptance." Tarmo waited a moment, as if he was sure that this told the entire story. He realized during that moment that the woman in front of him was not his master and thus would not be able to guess a complex thought from a single word of his. "Fighting with my old style was a battle with my past - and if you engage what's already happened, you've already lost. Raging Dragon was a bad memory, that's all."

[Twinwolf]

Maddie internally winced since that sounded like a bit of a landmine, but managed to remain composed and nodded. "...Guess that makes sense, yeah. Must have been a bit rough switching styles, but it's really impressive that you did it so well." Right. Compliments should be a safe topic, right? Yeah.

[DragonRage]

"Uh, me?"  Elspeth sighed, "Honestly, I didn't know about the tournament at all until my family contacted me to inform me that I'd volunteered to represent Wrath.  I want to compete.  I've seen what a greedy, uncaring God does to a plane first-hand, and I'd like to make sure the new God isn't like that," She turned towards Aleks, face stretching into a slightly manic grin, "You wouldn't be like that, right?  You seem like a nice fellow.  I'd hate for us to have to be nemises.  Nemisises?  Something that's the plural of nemesis."

[Chevaleresse]

"Nothing good comes without a struggle for it. Or, that's what my master would say. It made me a stronger fighter, in the end." Tarmo nodded. "You've been following tournaments for some time, then." He stated it matter-of-factly, making it difficult to get much of a read on what direction he was actually going with the conversation. He didn't give her any further hits, either, as he continued to stare at her as if challenging her - or perhaps that's just what his face always looked like?

[Twinwolf]

"...Yeah? It's mech fighting. It's not like I jumped in on a whim." Maddie... wasn't sure whether she should be defensive or what? The man was... basically unreadable.