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

Nico tended to be more stubborn than people gave him credit for. The idea of firing one of the cannons was exciting – if Hook was going to give him the chance to do that, how could he say no, even if the price was struggling to move it for as long as he had? He got it in place eventually, anyway. It definitely wasn’t the most difficult thing he had ever done.
“Hm?” Nico looked up, not quite sure what Hook was asking. It took him a moment to realize. It was odd – they had known each other for so long, yet they’d never really talked. Nico hadn’t even known Hook was a pirate, and there was almost no chance Hook knew who Nico’s father was.
“Eight demigods on one ship is like a feast for monsters. Almost irresistible.” He didn’t sound upset by that – it was just a fact of life for him.
“That’s a boring answer,” Nico replied, raising an eyebrow. “Surely there’s a monster that’s been fun to fight.” Thinking of the monsters he had fought – well, they were all unpleasant, but there were definitely some that had been fun to beat. At least there were some that he felt proud to have overcome.
He could understand preferring the ones that caused the least damage, though. Still… he wanted a story, not a cop out.
“Hey!” Nico protested as he realized Hook had let him struggle for nothing. “****…” he trailed off, sparing Hook his trail of insults. He heard the second thud, his eyes narrowing. “Damn,” he whispered, pulling his own sword out of its sheath. He glanced at Hook, immediately lowering himself into a fighting stance.
“Think they heard us?” He asked softly, eying the entrance. If they hadn’t… they could hide. Or maybe they could ambush them… which would really only work if they knew what they were up against.

| Hector | PIT FIGHT | FIGHTING KALADIN |

Hector dropped back into a fighting stance as Kaladin reeled back, the time it took him to recover from the hit gave Hector a moment to prepare, to take in a deep breath. He was ready when Kaladin swung at his face, heart beating fast. With Hector's last move he had chosen to escalate the fight, and Kaladin had responded. A glint of excitement shone in Hector's eyes.

Hector lifted his arm to block the wide swing and prepared to aim a punch at Kaladin's torso, but he didn't step away or change his stance, not noticing Kaladin's shift in position.

Kelsier | Pit Room | strider

If Kelsier had a fatal flaw, it was probably holding grudges too. His life goal at the moment was settling one, in fact. And freeing the Skaa and bringing back flowers and butterflies and green plants but...the grudge was a huge of his life. And he knew Nico’s fatal flaw, he knew...he just didn’t know why it hadn’t happened with him. Why Nico had given him another chance to show who he really was. It didn’t quite make sense, he didn’t understand...maybe it was just something that didn’t have a reason. Maybe for whatever reason, Nico had just gone with his instincts. Kelsier wasn’t complaining.
He smiled as Nico looked up at him, and he didn’t care who saw, either. He was confident in his ability to defend both of them. He was also confident that he didn’t need to defend Nico. He’d just gotten beaten in a fight, after all. And it wasn’t just because he’d been thrown off, he wasn’t completely sure he would have won either way...well. Maybe he would find out during their rematch. He smiled a little at the thought.
It was true that he knew what it was like to shatter completely. To not be anywhere close to okay, to not know how to pick up the pieces. That was how he had broken, how he was still broken in ways. You didn’t just stop being shattered, after all.
If this was Nico’s first step, then Kelsier was glad to be a part of it. If this was Nico’s first step, then Kelsier would be there for it, and for the steps that would follow.
“Easy wins...I get plenty of those in my own world,” he answered, smiling back. He was still shocked, still unsure of what this was exactly, but he was ready for it. “You better be ready for the rematch, because I’m still going to win. No throwing the match this time.”
He didn’t know what Nico still had to tell him. He didn’t know to dread the room that was coming. He just knew that Nico was here and it was alright and nothing was going to come between them now.

“I’d like to think I can be persuasive,” Orpheus replied with a small but still genuine smile. “I think that when things are painful and cruel, they usually think they have a reason to be. But nobody starts out like that. I think the right words might make it listen.” He didn’t look away from Eurydice, his expression slightly more intense than it usually was. “And even if I can’t make the House itself treat people with kindness, then maybe I can at least make people’s visits a little bit brighter when they run into me.”
He glanced away, back at the blanket fort, and his smile widened.
“Want help with that one?” he asked, following her gaze to the armchair. “The blanket’s pretty big.” It would be easier to adjust with two people. Besides… he found he wanted to help her, and to make her smile. It would be easier to do that if they were both fixing up the same part of the little blanket city.

Kaladin couldn’t help but appreciate Hector just a little bit more as he managed to block the punch, as the fight intensified, going beyond just training blows into something tha tactually challenged their skill. Hector had years worth of experience on Kaladin, a sturdier build, but Kaladin was a bit faster, and had the benefit of being taller. There was no clear winner, and if Hector had been here before, they were probably expecting him to win. Then again… Kaladin wouldn’t mind losing to Hector. He was a worthy opponent.
Kaladin grunted as the blow connected, then swept his leg out to try to knock Hector off his feet.

| Hector | PIT FIGHT | FIGHTING KALADIN |

If the fight went on for a long time, the lighter, faster Kaladin was sure to gain the upper hand over the broad-shouldered man. Hector felt the hit land with a thud.

Hector tripped as Kaladin swept his legs out from under him, and he reached out to grab onto Kaladin's forearm tightly, hoping that they'd either both stay up or both go down.

</div>Myrnin | Pit Fight | Iceclaw <Raintalon>

Well, the only logical solution to this one was to do what Myrnin did best.
Be dead.
Or rather, play dead, by having no care what so ever for his own personal safety and instead tipping over, ready to fall on top of a child who, in theory, was a lot smaller and easier to break. He didn't and wasn't thinking about that. He was just interested in having fun. He wondered if the kid was having fun.
Was squishing dangerous to humans?
Huh.

Sol | FIGHT | mintedstar/fur Iceclaw |

Sol wasn't quite ready for Myrnin to tip over - she'd expected him to fight to stay upright, so when he decided instead to fall to the ground like a ragdoll the second she started to climb him, she didn't have time to react. She fell with him, and he landed directly on top of her with a loud thud, and an ominous crunch that made Sol bite her tongue to bleeding in order to stop herself from crying out and letting Myrnin know she'd been hurt.

Not sparing a second to breathe or figure out which bone had just gone snap, she moved, realizing her arms were still free despite being mostly stuck underneath him. Instantly, she wrapped one arm around his throat and twisted like a snake, trying to use her weight plus his own to provide leverage enough to cut off his air supply. She dug her nails deeper into his neck as she tried to increase her grip, knowing from experience that grown adults were hard to suffocate when you only weighed 92 pounds, and it was a race against time before her own strength gave out.

Kaladin wasn't sure now the fight would turn out. It would be a matter of endurance if the fight went on long enough. Based on how things were going - if they kept intensifying the fight - they wouldn't be able to keep the fight going for an extended period of time.
"Oh!" Kaladin’s eyes widened as Hector grabbed onto him, knocking him off balance. They hit the ground hard and Kaladin did his best to roll away and get back on his feet. Whoever got up first would have a distinct advantage, and Hector still had a grip on Kaladin’s forearm.

L | Pit Room | strider

When L appeared, he was huddling as though against a wall, his wide eyes focused on something directly ahead of him. His short blond hair still managed to be messy under his black hood and he was positioned as though he was trying to fall asleep, but if his expression was any indication, that wasn’t happening.
He pushed himself to his feet quickly as he noticed his blink, eyes widening a little at the dark room and the ring in the middle, where two people appeared to be fighting. He didn’t recognize either of them...but he relaxed a moment later anyway, because they were clearly only sparring.
He glanced around, and his eyes fell first on Myrnin dropping his full weight on a small child.
“Myrnin, no…” he muttered before he could stop himself, eyes widening. Of course, it was more than possible that the child had some powers that made the fight more fair than it looked...that was probably the case. Myrnin wouldn’t crush a small human.
On purpose. He wouldn’t crush a small human on purpose. By accident though…?
He noticed Orpheus a moment later and brightened a little, coming closer to him, his hood still up. It was easier to blend into the darkness that way.

| Eurydice | Blanket Fort Room | With Orpheus |

Eurydice pulled it over the back of the chair with Orpheus. She held onto her corner, letting her hand go slack to test it and then holding onto it more tightly as it threatened to slip. She reached out to hold it steady before looping it around the arm, but she found that Orpheus was already holding his corner steady. She gave a small smile as she looked down at the corner she was tying, her hair curtaining her face.

Zuko frowned a little as Scarlet mentioned that she had been supposed to kill her fennix. He supposed it was a good thing that she hadn’t killed it. He wanted to ask how she had chosen not to - or perhaps why she had chosen not to.
It was easier to think about the Fire Nation than it was to try to imagine an animal he had no chance of imagining because it was unlike anything in his world.
"The Fire Nation is really pretty.” He gave a small smile. Not really sure how else to describe it. "It's not really tropical, but I guess it's a sort of accurate description for it.” He knew his description was sort of contradictory. Hopefully Scarlet wouldn't mind. He had never been the most poetic person.
"So... are all predators monsters in your world?” Zuko cocked his head. Although the enhanced abilities weren't something that all predators had. Maybe the animals that were the original benders, then. Dragons, badger moles... Zuko couldn't think of anything else. Maybe there just weren't any animals in his world that were analogous to monsters. "Have you ever gotten burned by your fennix?" He frowned a little bit.. would it be worth it to have a pet that could burn you? The previous avatar had a dragon as a spirit guide, but all the dragons were gone now. Zuko would never find out if it was worth it.
"Yeah." Zuko sighed softly, trying not to remember Azula’s expression as he'd been banished. His relationship was very different from Scarlet’s relationship with her brother.
His expression soured just a bit as Scarlet went on, and he turned his face to the side. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell her why he couldn't go home... but she’d been nothing but kind to him, and it was a simple question.
"I was banished.” There it was, out in the open. He waited for Scarlet’s expression to change, for her to either pity him or assume he deserved it. “I have to find the avatar if I want to go home. My honor depends on it." He closed his eyes, hand closing into a fist at his side. There was very little he wanted to do more than go home. He squinted, turning back to look at Scarlet. How much would she be able to glean just from that little bit of information? He had to be pretty important if he'd been banished. Would she guess that he was a prince? Would it change her opinion of him?
It was easier to move on to a different subject.
“You’re interesting, too.” Zuko noticed the way she dimmed. He wished he could tell her that he world see her again, but in truth he didn't know. "I hope we meet again."

Kaladin grinned, just managing to scramble to his feet moments before Hector did. He didn’t have as much of an advantage as he had hoped, but an advantage was still an advantage. He darted forward, aiming a jab once again at Hector’s side. Hopefully, Hector would be focused enough on getting himself back up and in position that he wouldn’t be watching his side as closely as he had been once he had noticed what Kaladin’s strategy seemed to be.
“You’re good,” he added, giving Hector a respectful nod as he braced himself for the next set of attacks.

L | Pit Fight | strider

L was paying attention to everyone he could, including the people in the fight. He could tell they both knew what they were doing, they both seemed very experienced and though he couldn’t tell who would win, he could guess. The person wearing green seemed lighter and quicker, better suited to longer fights? And the other man seemed perhaps better with shorter, more brutal fights. So it depended on who tired first, which would probably be…
He shook his head a little. Though he could predict the chances, oftentimes a fight like this was won in a lucky strike. It was difficult to make guesses. Still...he couldn’t help the way his brain automatically calculated the odds.
He looked at Orpheus instead, and his eyes immediately flicked down to his fingers. Healing? They appeared better than they had before, which was good. The salve seemed to be doing its job. L nodded to himself, satisfied, and joined the other blinker.
He didn’t speak at first. He was trying to decide whether it was safe to take his shoes off here, when he didn’t know if they would return to him or not. Last time he hadn’t risked it, but he was thinking better this time and he knew it would probably be fine. Besides...he needed his wits about him, in case someone decided he would make a good sparring partner.
“Hello.” He said back, making up his mind and kicking his shoes off, and to the side. He relaxed a little, sighing lightly as he pushed his hood back and shook out his too-short hair.
“Interesting room,” he added, glancing at the fight again. Training was often a form of sparring, and he’d done plenty in his life. He glanced back at Orpheus, tilting his head a little. Dangerous mission, dangerous people, and he was pretty sure Orpheus didn’t know how to do so much as throw a punch.