~ Tнє Pαяα∂σχ Hσυѕє ~ now back to regularly scheduled chaos

| Hector | PIT FIGHT | Spectator |

"The last one I was in was completely filled with bubbles. They, uh, turned into creatures and started chasing another blinker and I." He smirked a bit as he remembered the adventure with Maladict. "And various other ones don't fit any pattern, as far as I can tell. Some of them are outside, like snowy mountains, fields, or the seaside." He paused, thinking back to one of the earlier rooms he'd been in- the gladiator room, which had been a similar concept to this one here, only with much higher stakes. Not wanting to dwell on the thought, he watched as Kelsier feinted forwards, light on his feet as he jabbed towards Nico. It was an exciting fight.

"Thinking about what should or shouldn't be doesn't change what is." Hector mused aloud. He looked away from the fight, giving Kaladin a thoughtful look once he heard the bitterness in his tone. He certainly looked young himself. And he held himself like a well trained soldier, not a new recruit. Perhaps there was a reason for his bitterness. Hector didn't pry, not into the history of someone he'd just met.

Kelsier | Pit Room | strider

Kelsier almost tripped, but he saved himself at the last moment, managing to keep his balance mostly intact at the same time. His movements were slower than he’d anticipated...was this how everyone else fought all the time? Pewterarms were called Thugs for a reason, he knew, and pewter wasn’t his forte, but he apparently used it more than he thought he did. Good to know.
“I’m barely getting started,” he assured Nico, resolving to do better even without his metals. The problem was, he was used to subtle influences, not huge once. Or...he was used to more impressive differences with iron and steel but pewter was more subtle for him. Ironic, really.
He winced a little as the jab connected and he turned, whipping around to face Nico, smile wide and eyes focused. He didn’t wait this time, instead darting forward and aiming a quick strike at Nico’s chest to push him back, then following it with an elbow, hoping to disorient Nico enough to get him off balance. He shifted his weight as though he intended to back off, then closed the distance with a kick, trying to remember that he wasn’t burning pewter.

| Hector | PIT FIGHT | Spectator |

"Yep. Surprisingly more deadly than one would think." Hector answered with a grin. He'd survived, so he looked back on the fight fondly.

Hector hummed in anticipation as Kelsier stumbled, leaning forwards as the Mistborn righted himself again. You could tell by the way that Hector's gaze flitted across the fighting figures that he was a man of combat. He followed their feints, watched their defenses carefully, analyzing their fighting styles.

Almost more entertaining than watching the fight itself was observing how Hector watched the fight. He was clearly analytical about it, and he seemed to appreciate each of the moves as they came.
“I hope you don’t mind my asking,” Kaladin began, shifting awkwardly, “but are you a soldier?” He could usually tell a military man by his stance – Hector seemed relaxed, but Kaladin could tell the straight set of his shoulders just in the way he was standing. He hadn’t noticed it before but it was clearly there.
He was silent for a few more moments before he dared ask his other question.
“Wherever you’re from… they don’t differentiate between lighteyes and darkeyes, do they?”

Kelsier | Beach Room | strider

Kelsier looked up as Nico shifted, and he smiled. Nico had slept, and nothing had forced him to wake up, which was all he had wanted in the first place. He wouldn’t thank the House, it didn’t deserve to be thanked, but he was glad anyway. His scheme had worked,
“Yep.” He agreed, unperturbed by Nico’s protests. “You did tell me that. I don’t remember saying I was going to listen to you, though.”
He could tell Nico wasn’t actually upset. Nico looked very different when he wa really upset about something. So Kel kept smiling.
“I didn’t, no.” He added, a slightly more serious expression coming across his face as he did. He didn’t quite understand the question, but he guessed it had something to do with the kid’s dreams. He paused, not sure he should ask…dreams were private things, after all, and Nico was under no obligation to tell the Mistborn his.
They could talk. Or they could enjoy the sensation of not talking about the thing they were both thinking a little longer. Kel elected to do the latter, deciding he wasn’t going to bring it up if Nico didn’t.

“Did you have turtleducks?” Zuko asked after a moment, tilting his head. He could picture the fish and the islands well enough, but… he couldn’t help but be curious. After all, one of the best parts of growing up in the Fire Nation had been that there were turtleducks that lived near the palace. They always made him smile – he had to admit, he wasn’t as intrigued by the fish. There were fish everywhere. He’d had to start eating more fish since setting out on his journey, and he was really getting sick of the taste. After a while, all fish started to taste the same.
“My family has a home near a beach,” he added, in case Scarlet thought he wasn’t interested in the rest of it. He was. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been there. I think… it might be nice to go back.” He thought about that for a moment, brow creasing at the thought. Would he ever get to go back? He shook the thought away. Of course he would get to go back. He just had to find the Avatar first.
“I’m living on a ship right now. Not a spaceship. An actual ship, on the sea.” Zuko looked away as he said it, unsure if he was doing the right thing when it came to finding common ground. He was really unused to talking to strangers. Was he talking too much about himself? Was he listening enough to Scarlet? She was nice, and Zuko found he didn’t want to mess this up.
He did, however, notice the way she seemed to brighten a little bit. Since he had learned the glow wasn’t a figment of imagination, he figured it was safe to believe he wasn’t imagining the way it grew brighter, either. He didn’t know what it meant, but he had a feeling it was a good feeling. Something bubbled in his chest, but he couldn’t quite place the feeling.
“I hope you find your brother,” Zuko said softly, looking back at Scarlet. He didn’t really know what the equivalent of eye contact was for the Novakid, but he did his best to make it. “You already know I’m looking for the Avatar… but a lot of people say it’s an impossible task. But I’m going to find him. And… I think if you keep looking, you’ll find your brother. Probably.”
Scarlet’s laugh was enough to eke another smile out Zuko. “I guess it does glow,” he murmured, brow creasing as though he had never actually considered that before.

“You wish!” Nico crowed, clearly exhilarated. A second was all he needed to get his breath back, and he was ready for Kelsier as he came.
The fight was keeping him on his toes, which was something Nico couldn’t say for a lot of the fights he had in his world. Monsters were easy enough to beat most of the time, most posing a challenge only when they were too numerous to defeat. There were a couple of demigods that Nico would probably struggle to beat, but he could match even them blow for blow for long enough. It was just a matter of who got in a lucky strike, or who tired more quickly. This fight… it wasn’t like that. It was two very different styles of fighting pitted against each other, and Nico was loving every minute of it.
Glancing into the audience for half a moment, Nico knew he had a reputation to uphold it. And he was going to do that.
Nico could have dodged to the side, he had no idea what Kelsier was seeing, but he saw another opportunity. A risker one, certainly, but what was the point of fighting in front of people if he couldn’t be the tiniest bit flashy with his risk taking?
His eyes narrowed and he threw himself at the ground, sliding between Kelsier’s legs and kicking at the back of his knee as soon as he was through. He pushed himself back to his feet soon after, hoping Kelsier had fallen, but ready for another attack if he hadn’t.

Kelsier | Pit Room | strider

Kelsier felt similarly, mostly because the people he fought in his own world were less skilled by far than he was. He’d been trained by being randomly pitted against enemy Mistborn, after all. He knew how they fought, what their weaknesses were, better than they did oftentimes. He was ready for this, he was more than for a real challenge, to see whose style would win out in the end. He was pretty sure it was going to be him, but he was perhaps not as confident as he pretended to be. Nico was good, very good, and they both were, but...still.
He expected Nico to dodge, he really did. The attack had been an attempt to do something unexpected, which he had succeeded in doing, but it worked against him. He didn’t see it coming, and his eyes widened in surprise as Nico slid under him, his body trying to turn to meet his opponent before he could even realize what had happened.
Then he stumbled and went down on one knee, gasping as he nearly went sprawling completely. He leaned into it, rolling over his shoulder and coming up to his feet again, far enough from Nico to give him a moment reorient himself.
“Not bad!” He called, grinning as he faced Nico once again. He couldn’t help the compliment, he was too impressed.
“Think you can do it twice?”
And with that, he walked toward Nico, slowly, waiting to see what he would do. He was still smiling...waiting for Nico to attack this time.

Kelsier | Pit Room | strider

Kelsier had never fought someone like Nico, not in a fair fight. He relied on his powers most of the time, pretty must all the time now, but he was pretty good without them, too. He forgot that, sometimes. He should remember it, he decided, just in case. Running out of metals didn’t happen often but it still could, and he needed to remember he didn’t need metals, he just used them.
This was probably the best fight Kelsier had ever had, too, which was a bit more impressive, though it was still impressive for Nico considering how many fights he had been in.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He tossed back, his balance back as he faced Nico, his expression proud, excitement burning in his eyes, as strong as any metal. He wouldn’t underestimate Nico, ever again. He knew that they were evenly matched, and for him, that was high praise indeed. For him to admit someone else was on his fighting level was a lot. Yet he was willing to say that of Nico.
He didn’t fall for the feint, and spun away from the jab, then ducking backwards as Nico tried to trike at his chin, a bold move Kel didn’t plan to let him get away with. He moved to grab Nico, expecting him to try to use his weight to throw the Mistborn off balance, while Kel planned to use that against him and tried to knock him off balance as he went down.

Kelsier | Pit Room | strider

Kelsier didn’t know what Nico was thinking, didn’t realize what he’d done. If he had…would he still be having this fight now? Would he still be grinning and letting the feeling of his heart beating furiously inside of him consume him would he let the moment take over? Probably not, but he didn’t know, so he continued on, keeping the dramatic edge to everything he did. He’d have done that without a crowd, too, but with an audience? He couldn’t help himself.
This was incredible. Kelsier had already known he liked fighting, though Dockson had always been the one to get into fistfights. This wasn’t a fistfight by a long shot, though, this was two highly skilled people doing their best to outdo the other. And so far, no one had succeeded. Which Kel found he was actually grateful for.
He moved as Nico did, moving with him, letting his much heavier weight act as a counterbalance as he swung Nico, trying to get him unbalanced enough that he would fall when Kelsier let go. He grinned...this was his specialty, this using physics against the user, understanding cause and effect. This was how Allomancy worked, he just needed to figure out how to manipulate it without metals.

Kelsier | Beach Room | strider

“Definitely.” Kelsier agreed just as softly, watching Nico closely. No, he definitely wasn’t actually upset about it. He just looked caught off guard, mostly. Which was fair. Kelsier hadn’t actually expected this either. He just wasn’t going to complain.
He didn’t know what Nico was thinking. What would he have done if he had? Would he have brought it up, mentioned it? Would he have told Nico right there that he’d meant it? Because he had. As much as he tried to think maybe he hadn’t meant it, not really, as much as he pretended it could have been in the dear of the moment, he was wrong. He’d meant it, and he was pretty he’d say it again. Unless Nico didn’t want him to, of course, which he probably didn’t...it was all so much more complicated than he’d bargained for.
“Oh.” Kelsier’s eyes widened a little at that. He hadn’t expected that answer, honestly, though it made sense now. Nico had slept without nightmares, which Kelsier had already known wasn’t common, but he hadn’t realized just how uncommon it was. He smiled a little, pleased to hear it, even if he didn’t really know why.
“That’s good.” He said simply, and he meant it. Of course it was good. He didn’t really think it was because of him, though.
“A couple hours, about,” he added, squinting at the sun. He pointed to it. “If that’s to be believed, anyway.”

Sol | FIGHT | mintedstar/fur |

He was really bad at describing things.  If she kept seeing him around, she'd have to work with him on that a little, because she still didn't have a very good idea of what this place was like.

Lots of people were like that, though.  It was annoying, but she'd taught people to think about her blindness before, she could do it again if she had to.

Brushing off her slight irritation, she grinned and held her fists up near her chin, taking a few pretend swipes forward as she began to bounce from one foot to the other, shifting her weight.  "Oh yeah, wanna bet?  I'll take you down, dude.  Bet you the cheese crackers in my pocket I can do it."

Pit Fight | watchin w shade

Hook sighed as she laughed, realizing in that moment that he was trying to read too deep into her bullshit. He smirked a bit at her response, though dismissively waved his hand at her as he took another drink.
He followed her gaze around the ring, though he swept the crowd without finding any particular blinkers he wanted to keep his eye on. Several were strangers to him, or some he knew only distantly, but even at a first he could deduce that they’d see some interesting contest of skill whenever folks started to make their way out into the ring. He narrowed his eyes on Kelsier and Nico again, pausing to try and take note of Kelsier’s favored maneuvers and less practiced looking attacks; information he could end up needing later with the way his reputation had been fending recently. “You seen the lanky ones’ a right prick, yeah?” He said to Shade, referencing the short encounter where she’d gotten to witness Kelsier’s character when they were together. “Turns out he just ain’t a fan of the House’s sense of irony,” he explained to her with a bitterly amused raise of his eyebrows. His tone was light, but there was a detectable dryness to attest for how he felt on the reoccurring issue.

Kelsier | Pit Room | strider

They were both competitive, both in need of a challenge, both highly skilled fighters. Nico was better than he’d let on, light on his feet and very agile, not to mentioned strong for his height and weight. There was a clear difference between him and Skaa kids who’d never been taught to fight at all. It was clear his body knew how to do this.
Kelsier grinned as his move worked almost flawlessly - Nico didn’t actually fall, but he did at least stumble, which Kelsier would take. He let the kid recover for a moment, and it was here where he would have brushed his finger along the edge of the dagger if he’d had one. Oh well. He could make do with what he did have.
That was the key. He knew how to manipulate cause and effect, he could still use that without metals. How grim widened a little at the thought, and he was prepared when Nico attacked.
“Glad you can appreciate it,” he answered, eyes narrowing as he saw Nico run at him, and he almost missed what he was planning, he almost ended up flying backwards, but instinct saved him and he spun a foot striking his shoulder as he did and making him stumble a little. He let out a hiss, less of pain and more of surprise - okay, he hadn’t seen that one coming. Still, he had a split second where Nico was in the air, which was a very bad position for him to be in.
He moved fast, trying to grab Nico’s legs much like Nico had grabbed his own when he kicked, trying to make him fall flat on his back instead. If it worked, it would look insanely cool.