8/23 play || PITS || Underside-Midway || Cross, Niema, & Mad
Aug 24, 2013 23:47:11 GMT -5
MB manager, MADDOX, and 4 more like this
Post by MADDOX on Aug 24, 2013 23:47:11 GMT -5
A Vestige Within- Jules- played Cross
Black Death Pyke - Rem - played Niema
Bound but Free - Tu - played Maddox
Black Death Pyke - Rem - played Niema
Bound but Free - Tu - played Maddox
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Evening (station time) on the UNDERSIDE ... The Pits
Niema put her name on the list of fighters...
It took a promise of a hefty purse for anyone who could last five minutes...
For Maddox to jump into the pit with the Underboss of the Underside of Midway...
Making interested spectators of those looking to take advantage of an opportunity, like Cross...
Making interested spectators of those looking to take advantage of an opportunity, like Cross...
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A Vestige Within: How he found himself down in the pits of the Underside was anyone's guess. To be frank, the place smelled of sweat, grime, and booze.
Not his favorite mixture of aromas, but Jai had been spreading himself throughout Midway as broadly as possible to pick up quick jobs. His brown eyes rested upon the group of men and women who were lined up and preparing for battle down in the fighting pits. he was assessing each of them, perhaps to see which he would put his bets on. All shapes and sizes, from scrawny little boys to freakishly muscled women with jaws chiseled like men. Jai's nose twitched at the sight. Maybe Olan had inspired him to try on new looks. His wasn't a disguise, but it was something different from the norm. The jacket he wore over his shoulders was long, falling nearly down to his knees and made of a suede-like material in a blue so dark it might as well have been black. Back on Earth they might've called it a trenchcoat (he didn't know that though.) The coat had plent of inner pockets for nasty devices and even built-in holsters in its lower portions for harnessing his "Twins." Hands clad in fingerless leather gloves had their thumbs tucked into his belt as the hunter boldly stepped forward with the rest of the growing, heckling crowd to get a closer look at tonight's competitiors. His eyes slid up and down while a few gave him the eye back. Those that didn't? Were automatically eliminated. Person wasn't bold enough to look a man like him in the eye? They stood no chance. He paused by one man who was as tall as he with darker skin and a scar over his eye. A look at his fist showed the repeated breaking of the skin above his knuckles. The man looked him in the eyes. "The fuck you looking at, outlander?" Maybe he recognized that Jai wasn't a local born and raised here, but the hunter simply grinned."Nothing at all... nothing at all..." There's his pick.That man was going to kick some ass.. just wait. With that, he continued down the line. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || A d d i c t i o n ; for some people it was drugs or booze, for Niema it was sex and violence like food and water though the latter was usually always easier to come by. The Underboss came out of her office in a matte-black leather cat-suit that zipped from just above her pelvis all the way up her neck. Like a black skin on her legs the leather dipped into her knee high boots which looked heavy until seen in stride with the nonchalant prowling ease of those powerful thighs. The narrow of her waist was punctuated by a custom corset that had horizontal ribbing and vertical steel mesh to allow for flexibility without sacrificing the constriction she liked and the armor it provided almost clear to her clavicle. Her grav boots were quiet in the decent down the stairs and she let naked arms sway as she took them straight down the middle with those black eyes cast over the Underside. Her confidence and primal grace were just two of the things that made people cautious around her. With her hair braided out of her face and tucked up into itself off her neck there was no mistake the woman was prepared for battle even though she appeared unarmed. Like always the crowds on the floor parted and gave her space enough not to be in swinging distance, those who didn't see her coming were ushered or otherwise made aware by those who did. Not everyone respected her, not everyone feared her, but it was a shorter list for those who cared or dared to stand in her way. She didn't see Jai at first, or appeared not to as she entered the pit area. From the floor all you could see was a sea of bodies huddled around large square openings in the floor where the fighters descended to fight. From above, you could see there were nine pits in total, the center most pit being the Wager-Pit where some of the most bloody and lethal fights took place. There were Pit-bosses on the floor taking bets of course, but there was the main betting bar which stood at the head of it all where she currently took her pause. It was a short one, just long enough to inhale the smell of sweat, booze and blood before she walked the left isle past the first row of them toward the second and center. The look she passed to the Pit-Boss there told him she was throwing her name in there and his eyes widened -- it didn't happen that often, then he was turning to shout out to the crowd. There were a lot of people who wanted to fight her and most of them knew if they wanted to do it without later getting killed for the offense, this was the avenue with which they could do it. Like addressing your grievances with a little bruising, bone breaking and blood without worrying about being killed in your sleep the next day.||=-[d]
Bound but free: ::At five feet six, maybe five-eight in her grav-boots, the Saborian Clan Leader and Captain of a Ghost Ship wasn't the most intimidating person to set eyes on. Especially not with those mirrored, bug-eye goggles she wore over her excitedly glowing, cobalt blue gaze so none could see her most obvious alien-blooded trait. Hands propped her up, fingerless gloves palming the bartop around the towel buffering her ass in the usual (but clean) green coveralls tied around her waist to let her torso breath in the black thermal hiked up to her elbows and covering her hips to neck rather modestly and a little loosely. For all their technological and evolutionary advantages, Saborians didn't spend much time on clothes, at least not the Knox. Hand-me-downs and recycle-stitched was how it worked; still smelling fresh as a light honey. The exotic spice was the woman herself, dark hair starting in three braids from her crown and temples to merge into a single serpent down her spine and resting on the bar behind her where it was capped with an apparently 'silver' head that was actually Alru-alloy; more than the weight it seemed, of course. The only thing she was missing today was her tool belt and she didn't think she'd need it and didn't want to risk a good pick-pocket getting their hands on her gadgets! From the bar, she could see most of the crowd and the pits below, what she couldn't see with even her enhanced vision was also playing on screens behind the bar so she could get filled in with a glance over her slightly too-broad shoulder. Seeing the Watcher-Hunter eyeing the fighters below, she was distracted by her thoughts and admiration for his coat when the parting-sea-of-spectators made way for the Underboss. Watching her, those goggles would bobble with her nod to the woman before her inhale-worthy-pause took her toward the fights and got her name blasted as the newest add to the roster. As much as she'd like to put the woman on her knees to prove it could be done (or try to...), Maddox couldn't afford to be so selfish or careless. How would she explain her advanced healing? What if her goggles got knocked off? There were too many risks, but she shifted at least to get her bit purse out so she could ready herself a wager. Short search of hidden eyes to find the Watcher-Hunter again, and Maddox tried to determine who was on his betting list… Wouldn't hurt to compare predators notes, eh?::-d
A Vestige Within: When the Underboss herself parted the sea of people to make her intentions known to the man-in-charge of the pits, Jai reconsidered his bets. He was quite sure that Niema could handle any of these fools easily. She hadn't become the Underboss picking flowers and kissing babies after all. He'd never jump in the ring with her... well... not unless you paid him enough to take a good whoopin'. He rolled his shoulders as he rounded the pits and moved to one of the men taking bets to place his own. Perhaps his guy was going to be put up against the Underboss herself, wouldn't that be a dilemma for him? No matter. "Goggles!" Maddox was watching him and it didn't take him long to smell it like the bloodhound that he was. He hopped over a low table instead of pushing through a cluster of drunken folk and landed a few feet from the bar with a small smirk pasted upon his dark features. He looked from the Captain to the pits and nudged his chin towards Niema. "Looks like we're going to get a good show tonight. She must be feeling frisky, ya think? Besides.. who's going to purposely beat the Underboss even if they could do it? Wouldn't that make them the new boss? Kind of like when a pack of Wingos try to establish their own leaders... they duke it out. Last-one-standing becomes the alpha. I've seen it first hand, it's a beautiful thing... nature. This place seems to flow just like it." Yeah, he talks too much sometimes. He hadn't even let Maddox get a word out. But he was taking up a lean against the bar beside her anyways and waving for his usual glass of whiskey, needing refreshment for what was going to be grand entertainment. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || B e a t i n g ; most knew anyone stepping in the pit with the Underboss was going to get one but there were some who were foolish enough to think their experience, skill and usually brute strength would trump hers. Niema liked to fight in the pits every so often as a reminder to those who forgot, why it was she had this position other than the fact she was nice to look at-- even with the scars. When no one volunteered there was a wager set for five minutes in the box with her, a wager of enough tek-bits to make someones night if they were so skilled. Niema didn't wait for someone to take the offer, she walked around to the ladder that decended the pit and effortlessly hoped crowd rail to slide down it, using her boots and knees as speed control and her hands loosely as balance because it was apparently more effort to take the rungs. The bottom was not forgiving, it wasn't dirt or sand to take the impacts of bodies, it's was cold concrete and steel grating-- easier to wash off. There were stains on the walls and cracks in some places where the stress of abuse fractured it; it seemed minor if you thought about all the bodies that broke on these walls. All the Pits had a ladder on one side and a door opposite where sometimes people had to be carried out. Yes, there was an Underside to the Underside you could say but it wasn't much to look at. Niema didn't look up at the people as they shouted and exchanged taunts and bets peering down at her. She looked at the walls as she slid her fingers across them like they were fond memories. Intimidation tactic or moment of nostalgia? With Niema it was probably a little of both. It wouldn't take long for someone greedy enough to think he could at least last five-minutes with her, that was only three-hundred seconds. ||=-[d]
Bound but free: ::Fuck. For a Waveian, the Water-Hunter had finesse and skill and Maddox enjoyed watching him move. It didn't matter to her, that he hadn't let her say a word, Maddox wasn't much for talking anyway and she was still replaying that casual leap over the low table to avoid working through the crowd. His efficiency was delicious and she shamelessly licked her lips at the thought while he took up a spot along-side her, leaning against the bar and ordering himself a drink while speaking his peace. She could hear the wager offered to tempt someone into the pit with Niema and Maddox was more than tempted to say it was worth explaining to her crew if new rumors got started about her...Half-listening to the crowd go into an uproar over it, jabbing one another to do it, she leaned a little closer to the hunter to take her breath in order to reply; using the excuse of not wanting to raise her voice to get the closer perspective.:: Nah. Jus means she may 'ave tu work a bit 'ard'r(harder) fer a t'eye'm(time) till de mopes fig'r dat dey still not dat bad. ::Chuckling, she got up off the bar by standing on the stool like a giant for a moment, looking down at the hunter with a smirk beneath her goggles before she hopped down with a heavy thud of Grav-boots checking the floor. Her knees took the impact with a slight bounce that carried in her bosom but she was already moving with a roll of her shoulders toward the pits with a lingering look back at Jai that would have said "shall we see?" if he had the benfit of seeing her brows including in on the silent question. It was a risk, but Maddox wanted to blow off some steam herself. Frisky didn't cover it and as much as she hated pain (and it hurt more to her than the average person), it would do well to take her mind off...other things. Not waiting to add her name to the list, goggles forwent the ladder and just hopped into the pit with the Underboss having her moment with the walls. Having put her own marks on the walls of her ship as a kid, she could understand. Everyone has a playground, Maddox took a deep breath of Niema's and grinned her sharp-toothed grin.::-d
A Vestige Within: What was Maddox doing? Jai eyed her as she stood up on that stool and grinned up to the woman until she hopped down before him. Brown eyes lingered upon her goggled stare. "Yeah... mopes.." Before he could say more she was moving off to get a closer look (or so he thought) andl ooking back at him like she expected him to follow. The temptation was too great and maybe just maybe Jai's eyes dropped to see if he could get a peek at the finger aspects of the woman's saunter, although her attire was not exactly the most flattering in that regard. Coveralls? But as soon as he saw her hopping into the pit his eyes went wide and he shoved his way to the pit's edge. The hell was she thinking? Had she gone crazy? The Underboss was going to hand her ass to her on a silver platter... splattered with blood. "Kick her ass, Goggles!" He screamed down and then looked to the man taking wagers. Yeah, he was going to put his on Niema. Sorry Maddox, he just didn't think the woman stood a chance. But who knows? Maybe she'd get those goggles knocked off and they'd all get a look at what she was hiding beneath there. Ass-kicking did have it's benefits. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || P o w e r H o u s e ; the woman in the pit looked calm and relaxed but Maddox of all of them would know what was under the surface was anything but relaxed and calm-- controlled, but raw and violent. She leaned against the wall without the ladder and stretched like a lazy catch just up from a nap. Those ink-blot black eyes following the contender like she was going to be dinner. Maddox was the last person she expected to jump in the pit no matter how much Niema knew the woman wanted to wail on her a little. The Underboss was a cunt and Mads didn't like how she handled her branded-men specifically; or maybe it was just Alex? Nie smirked at the thought and pushed off the wall with her shoulders like she was going to stroll to the bar, not start a fight with the Saborian she didn't even know was a Saborian. Wasn't this going to be interesting? Niema didn't know that Maddox's sensitivities were going to give her a significant advantage in this fight and that was probably for the best; the killer liked the challenge of learning by experience. ||"You have any particular rules you'd like laid down or we just going to do this KO or Tap-Out anything goes?"|| She was pretty sure she knew the answer to that question but as the reigning champ she had respect for other's boundries when they were brave enough to play in her playground. Indeed these were the walls Niema grew up in, like an animal with no sense of humanity. She'd changed but that was still a part of her like the goggles appeared to be part of Maddox. Would Niema try to unmask her just to do it? Time would tell. The killer rolled her shoulders and lifted her chin to the woman with an invite for her to strike first if she so chose as well. She hadn't heard the crowds this riled in a long while and knew if nothing else, the floor was going to cash in because everyone likes an underdog and Maddox looked crazy enough the crazies probably thought she just might win. Niema didn't think so, but it wasn't really in her blood to lose a fight.||[d]
Bound but free: ::Yes, Maddox was crazy compared to most Waveians. Maybe it was the Alien-DNA that made her a little wacked out in the brain, but she wasn't afraid of Niema. She respected her position of power and hated the way she did some things. Even so, this wasn't personal. At least not about Niema. Maddox just needed a distraction and this one had too many things in favor to pass up. Beating on Niema was a bonus. Winning bits was a bonus. Getting a little bit of Underside credit, another bonus. She didn't have to be a mind-reader to know the Hunter's encouraging yell didn't entirely meet his expectations- or anyone elses. No one had ever seen her fight. No one had ever seen her that serious or that careless. Watching the Underboss, Maddox shunned herself for thinking non-violent thoughts that complimented every stretching curve of her body in that catsuit. Mrow. It probably wasn't very encouraging to the spectators when the goggle-faced woman looked down at herself like she just realized she looked like a dock scrubber or something. Shrugging, she nodded to Niema and answered in her heavily accented tone as she took a moment to lift one foot behind her and catch her booted ankle in her gloved palm to stretch her leg:: Dat sounds gud. K.O. er Tap-out, an'ee'ting go's save don be chopp'n me braid off, k? ::Her other leg stretched and she wound the braid up at the back of her head and did something with the casing at the end which pinned it where it was and kept the temptation of this woman grabbing her braid to use it against her in check. Yeah, she had advantages, but she wasn't going to underestimate the woman either. Stretching her arms and her spine briefly, Maddox tightened the sleeves of her flightsuit around her waist so she wouldn't loose her pants in the fight and then did an Ali-worthy dance in her grav-boots that was a series of pressure switches making them lighter and therefore making her a little faster. With an open invitation, Maddox bowed lightly in respect and then took two steps to close the distance before a short leap and a solid faint of her first toward that pretty jaw with her right fist while the left took two fingers for her throat. Heightened senses and hyper-intune body prepared to put her weight into it but no, it was like a slight-of-hand magic trick to distract Niema from those grav-boots that her abs and thighs pulled up under her torso to wrap like a bola around the other woman's waist. Why? Close-quater was Maddox' specialty and she could take a hit as well as she could deliver one and this one was her entire body aiming to take the Underboss to her back. Yeeeehaaawww.::-d
A Vestige Within: Oh yeah, this was going to be hot. Two sexy, vicious chicks going at it? Any man's blood would be boiling at the prospect of it. jai had to take a sip from his cup of whiskey and ice just to wet his mouth at the sight. The others were screaming down at them but he fell silent and focused as he often did. He looked between the two of them, noting Maddox's stretching. She hardly seemed worried. Bold woman... very bold. Then again she was a captain right? They were both leaders in their own right, they probably both had egos as well. It could make for a good brawl. He tapped a finger impatiently against the body of the glass until Maddox made the first move... and quite a wild one at that. Too much too fast? Just maybe. But who knows, Niema might entertain her a bit, let herself get a beaten on a little... or just beat the woman to a pulp in about five seconds and make it a short and humiliating fight. It could go either way. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || S e r p e n t i n e ; calling the woman a snake was as accurate as it got in the way she could underhandedly do things and for the fact she faught with every muscle in her body like a machine of impulsively reactive lethal reflexes. Mads didn't look afraid at all, she actually looked like she was looking forward to it, to seeing what Niema could do and the Underboss could appreciate that. She smiled and nodded in agreement when Mads accepted the terms adding the stipulation about her braid like she knew Niema had a knife somewhere even if she couldn't currently see it. Nie gave her the time to wrap her hair, which wasn't long, and swayed in her seemingly lazy stance as she rolled her wrists and relaxed clenched fists. The Underboss didn't bow back, the nod was all Maddox would get respect or not, and then the fight was on. The Goggle-eyed woman was smart to go all in with distraction and follow-through and it would serve it's purpose, but not like the Captain probably considered. The killer wasn't one to really wait to get hit, so she was in motion when Maddox went into motion and stepped to meet her in her faked swings with a tight jab to the soft-tissue of Maddox's right side; the other arm instinctively blocked but went to lay her forearm against Maddox's throat-- or face, as she met her. That motion and stepped to meet her in her faked swings with a tight jab to the soft-tissue of Maddox's right side; the other arm instinctively blocked but went to lay her forearm against Maddox's throat--or face, as she met her. That was just the one aspect of their connect then; Maddox was jumping to wrap her legs around Niema to bull her to the ground and while she didn't see it coming until it was happening the goggle-eyed woman shouldn't have taken her feet off the ground so soon. The killer let one foot slide back a little as she caught the woman, her knees taking the weight with a bounce-- one hand jabbing to her side, the other up toward her face or throat, and on the bounce back she launched them both at the wall behind Maddox, her jabbing hand sinking in for a grab wether or not she got a good connect. With the force of her thighs and the control of her experience Niema would put them in a twist to the side, paralell to the ground unless Maddox stopped it, so Niema would have the adjacent wall to kick off of in a skidding pile-driver against the wall to the floor. ||[d]
Bound but free: ::It was impossible not to be aware of the crowd, namely the Hunter who was suddenly quiet. But the Saborian couldn't afford the distraction and zeroed her sensory to the box of the pit. Niema was as ready as Maddox and met her head-on! Yes, she was still grinning when she took that forearm to the jaw rather than the throat, turning her face to the two surfaces slide in the same momentus direction, and taking the hit to her side with an exhale that groaned shamelessly. But Niema wasn't through, Maddox found her own momentum shifting and waited for that push-off from the slightly larger woman to use the other woman like an extension of her own body in a back- flip there was very little room for. They were both going to end up on the ground more than likely, but Maddox aimed to throw Niema's head into the wall she was trying to throw Maddox's back into before the other woman could get her feet within range of the other wall to propell them in another direction. Her hands, therefore, had contact with the hard concrete in a fingertip busting and bloody impact and grip that growled between her teeth as she was dangerously upsidedown and folded for a moment before she could hand-walk herself out from under the woman enough to push her own feet off the wall and get a little distance and breath between them. Hoping maybe to KO the woman in the process but not holding her breath for it::-d
A Vestige Within: The moment they went at it, Jai got the sense that the two of them were more animalistic than initially thought. Pouncing, punching, throwing elbows. Seemed they weren't wasting anytime at getting right into the heat of things. At this rate it was indeed going to be a short fight, no matter who won or lost. And it also seemed that they were both willing to fight dirty! Jai leaned against the railing with a grin and tipped his cup up for another casual sip of the contents without getting too worked up.. wall.. floor.. unforgiving concrete and they were both trying to use it to their advantage. He licked his lips and watched the way Maddox moved. She was going to be licking a hell of a lot of aches and bumps later. That much he was sure about. If he only knew that her body was more than able to handle it... . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || B a c k - f l i p ; it was a great way to get out of her current predicament, using Niema's momentum to try to change the tides and how they landed. The killer was highly skilled at combat innovation which meant changing her tactics and the intent of her movements was almost instantaneous. She couldn't kick off the wall with the weight and pull of Maddox's flip and rather than fight it the bitch went with it, tucking herself against Maddox in a more natural and easier bend forward. Nie's arms remained at the two levels, right one up but slid down to nestle against her neck, the other still gripping the clothes on her side, letting Maddox help throw them both so Niema's back natural and easier bend forward. Nie's arms remained at the two levels, right one up but slid down to nestle against her neck, the other still gripping the clothes on her side, letting Maddox help throw them both so Niema's back hit the wall under both their effort but not without her boots on bent knees hitting first to control the upsidedown impact and give her the instant leverage to kick down off the wall like a spring loaded hammer to push her weight down on Maddox and force her on her back or to release entirely before the killer could get on the ground. If she did get Maddox on her back, there wouldn't even be a second before she'd release her grip on Maddox's side and would launch it in a jab to her cheek with Niema's other arm presumably holding her down with an arm against her neck and collarbone.
||[d]
Bound but free: ::Suckasaurus! Niema was damned good, and despite how hard Maddox had to work to throw the damned woman, she was not actually disapointed when she felt the Underboss tuck agaisnt her and ride the momentum into the wall. Maddox felt the imapct through Niema and the way her body shifted against her as she got her legs bent for her feet to kick off and down and she knew that the dark-eyed woman meant to take her down and out right then and there. As a notable Wingo Rangler among the Saborians, Maddox had to treat the Underboss like the predator so as not to be crushed by her. A crunch of her abs against that nice suit, Maddox swung her legs a little faster to beat Niema's boots to the wall and launch herself out from under the woman, even going so far as to pull her arms up long enough to slip free of the thermal that she had a hold of and expose her burned, branded, and blade-to-claw scarred torso in nothing more than a black wrap around her breasts to hug them against her chest. A little glossed in sweat, it burned when she skidded against the concrete floor and got roadrash before she could roll to a stand and turn with a low crouch to face Niema, with that same grin that suggested she was enjoying this. Hands fisted and ready to go again.::-d
A Vestige Within: This was turning out to be more of a wrestling match between strength and reflexes rather than a good 'ol blow for blow punchfest, but he wasn't complaining. As a matter of fact, he preferred it this way in this particular case. Two women in close contact battle seemed to be very entertaining for them all and Jai wasn't an exception. When Maddox skidded right out from underneath Niema, and out of her top, Jai couldn't hold it in anymore. "Come on, Goggles! Get her! Aim for the face! take out her legs! Do something! I believe in you!" Maybe. Some encouragement always helped right? He noted that she was nearly (not really) half-naked and simply grinned as he looked back Niema and waited for the Underboss's next move. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || E s c a p e ; peeling out of her shirt the way she did saved Niema from getting a nail ripped out because she wasn't going to let go, of course it also allowed the slightly smaller woman to get out from under Niema before she could kick off the wall to pin her down. While Maddox skidded and rolled to a crouch, Niema twisted on the way down with an almost inhuman curl that allowed her to face the woman when her feet touched down. That's what you got fighting a contortionist and Niema didn't let Maddox take more than a breath before she was in motion like a speeding train toward Mads who was around the middle of the pit. Charging at an opponent meant they saw it all coming and that was even more true for the Saborian even if Nie didn't know it. The killer appeared to have every intent to plow right into her, keeping low in her run to the point she slapped a hand to the ground in the process of her initial kick off and was only half standing in the middle of her leaping stride before she took that fluid feline lean down again, her eyes locked on the woman like a heat-seeking missile. If Maddox moved, Niema countered to meet her head on-- the other woman's only chance to move without Nie seeing and possibly being able to counter was as she actually attacked, that pulsing blink when the killer looked like she might have tripped with the amount of power she had going face-first toward the floor, tucking only at the last second to roll on her shoulders at the top of her spine on impact and give way to the tight sissor swing of her legs-- that's right, Niema let her legs separate as she came down, twisting her hips to the curl of her body so they came in at Maddox from either side, one in like she was going to hook the woman's waist, the other like a kick to catch and clamp--- who knew what Nie had planned next, one thing was for certain, it depended on how Maddox moved. ||[d]
Bound but free: ::They didn't have to know she had more than one motive for taking her shirt off and none of them were for show. Her skin was like a living sonar map of sorts. Exposed, she could feel Niema moving as much as see her. First, second, and third sights overlapped allowed her to see the woman's aura, body temperature in detail, and her movements in the normal spectrum. It was a beautiful sight that Maddox wanted to enjoy for a moment before she noticed the woman wasn't hesitating to come at her again. The noise above might as well have been underwater for as well as she noticed it; except the Hunter. Maddox made the mistake of glancing up at him as he shouted at her, nearly missing Niema's shift that suddenly tucked her, rolled her, and delivered her into a scorpian worthy attack around her waist. If she hadn't been feeling the woman move, she'd have been completely had, but as it was the Hunter was distraction enough for Maddox to let out a short chortle of laughter before she gulped and her fists opened, thighs tensed and knee's bent in a quick launch out of that scissor-zone, but not so far as to jump over the woman. No, just to tuck her legs back and aim her knees into Niema's shoulders already neatly levered on the ground so her boot tips could test that mesh about the woman's guts as she used her weight to try and drive her down while her fists didn't wait for impact before balling again and leading with the left to Niema's nose, full on meaning to break it and get blood making her breath through her mouth which she was following up with her right to skew her jaw as she tried to ride the woman the rest of the way down::-d
A Vestige Within: Who would've thought that Maddox would've lasted this long huh? He was already impressed even if there was no clear winner yet. Niema moved with fluidity and vicious grace, but Maddox's reflexes seemed to be very much on point, refusing to get trapped by the Underboss at every turn. Perhaps he'd underestimated her... and as Niema leapt in for the kill again, Maddox got her legs between them and set out for a bold punch towards the woman's face. Perhaps Niema had finally met her match. Maybe Maddox just wanted to see the woman put on her knees if even for a moment. Either way it was damn entertaining and would keep the money flowing from the drunken, wild crowd. When Maddox glanced up he winked, but didn't want to distract her from the fight at hand, especially when she was put in more of a pickle. He'd owe her a drink sometime after this was all said and done. Hell, maybe he'd get them both a drink on principle alone for putting on a good show. Bet the Underside didn't get epic fights like this too often. The scales were clearly balanced and neither had tipped it... yet. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || M a n i p u l a t i o n ; sometimes to get a step ahead you have to take a step back, take a hit so you can be where you want to be and they least expect you to want to be. Niema did that better than anyone, or she liked to think so. Taking a beating was also something she did well so there was no effort to stop Mads from landing on Nie's shoulders and digging her boot toes into her abdomen which felt the preasure without the direct impact as the mesh helped to disperse that between the hold of the horizontal ribbing like rings around her torso. As the Saborian came down Niema reached up, both hands, one curled around her thigh as her weight pushed into her and her arms swung to make contact before they settled, and Nie wasn't shy about gripping high so the side of her hand would grind across the other woman's covered sex on the way to wedge between the back of her thigh and her calf. The other-- at the same time, went a lot higher right for Maddox's throat between the swing of her amrs obscuring their ability to hit her dead on though Nie would catch the fist for her nose across her cheek as she turned her head. Unpainted nails would bite into her neck if she got that far, to help secure the hold for legs that were likewise already moving with a kick off the ground. Maddox might have thought it was meant just to roll them considering the way Nie put more power into one leg than the other and the grip she had on her leg to keep her from using it as leverage to stop the twist of their bodies-- but it wasn't just for that. Like a clam snapping closed Niema was intending to whip her legs up around the other woman's neck-- her hand intended to stop Maddox from leaping forward out of it, so she could trap her neck between her legs and squeeze her into the black. ||[d]
Bound but free: ::It took practiced skill and effort to pointedly ignore the flare of aching pain that consumed her scraped up body and bruised insides, the feel of sweat and blood dripping as she moved and her own muscles screaming in protest to her ferocious demands. Still, she ran with the Noji once, she rangled with Wingos and they can smell fear and pain. Niema's olfactory might not be that sharp, but her instincts were and Maddox was going all in! Feeling the impact of the woman's shoulders under her knees, gut under her toes, and cheek under her knuckles, she felt-before-she-saw Niema's hand coming through her own arms like a viper for her throat, opening up to clamp in what might have crushed her windpipe or got a good hold on her trechia if Maddox hadn't ducked her chin and opened her mouth. Teeth made for taring flesh went for the tender part between index and thumb as it was offered and she couldn't have stopped herself if she wanted to, it was instinct of her own to protect her throat. Niema's other hand's passing grind against her sex saving her from having a peice of her flesh torn off as the Captain arched and let out a sound involuntarily admitting her sensitivities before being choked unexpectedly in the snap of Niema's legs around her throat. Maddox couldn't flee, but she could snap the other woman's kneck with her thighs, or crush her skull like a watermelon, but this wasn't a fight to the death and Maddox had to pull back from that instinct so hard her hands flailed for the woman's leg to tap-out before her wind was entirely constricted and they were both on the ground. Not even aware if the five minutes was up or not, Maddox was panting and lightly trembling in her flooded need to expell energy that got trapped in her sudden surrender. No one had to understand, Maddox wasn't in the habit of explaining herself; the fight was over.::-d
A Vestige Within: By now, Jai was out of whiskey and was sipping melted ice and fuck it... munching on the ice cubes themselves in tension as he looked on. Niema went for the throat and to his surprise Maddox went to bite. he'd gotten a peek at those teeth of hers before and knew they could do some damage. That arch and the sound she made was almost erotic. Hell maybe it was erotic, sometimes it was hard to tell and it was enough to make the man arch a brow as his instincts tried to measure the difference until the clutch of Niema's strong legs had done the Captain in. Couldn't really blame her. How else would she get out of that leglock that could potentially break her neck in two? He knew it was over then. Goggles was tapping out and of course the suck-ups were cheering for the boss of the Underside. Jai simply applauded. Goggles had fought harder than expected but perhaps the results weren't all that surprising. She was the Underboss and the Queen of the Pit apparently. Hey, at least he'd be leaving with heavier pockets tonight! Poor Maddox, hopefully her pride wasn't hurt TOO much. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: ||B l o o d ; there was nothing Niema could do to stop Maddox from biting her but she wasn't going to let it stop her from clawing the womans face instead for the same intent. The growling roar from Niema was loud and laced with pain but thickened by a primal power that was Niema stopping herself from wanting to kill the other woman; especially when she felt her legs strike home against the other woman's neck. How easy it would have been to break, but to Mads own thoughts, this wasn't a death-match and not much sooner than Niema squeeze she felt a hand flailing in a tap against her thigh-- the other woman likewise fighting killer instincts, and quicker than she'd snaked her legs around her neck, Niema let go. It might have looked uncontrolled at first, the way she threw out her arms and legs to free Maddox without moving from the bottom of the pit, but the way she settled her feet leaving her knees bent and relaxing her arms sprawled on the ground said it was as intentional as her crooked panting smile. There were cheers as much as there were groans because someone had to loose the bet-- Niema didn't care if five minutes had gone by, she was already waving the Pit-Boss to toss down the tek-bits as she sat up and then rolled to a stand so she could hold her hand out to Maddox assuming the woman hadn't started getting up already herself. Niema would catch the pouch in her bloody-bitten hand when it was tossed, so she could hand it to Maddox herself. ||"Haven't had to work.. that hard in a while."|| She laughed between breaths. No, the blood on the bag hadn't just been coincidence for left hand versus right hand Niema liked the idea of staining it so Maddox could remember where the coin came from and the effort she put in to get it. ||"You earned it."|| She said simply.||[d]
Bound but free: ::If she had been fighting for pride, she'd have lost before she jumped into the pit. No, Maddox had fought because she needed to get bloody, to feel pain, to feel someone's bones and body taking the weight of her blows. A worthy distraction from what else she wanted to feel and was denied. Even if it was largely self-denied. As a Clan Leader, Warlord, and Captain, she couldn't often make choices that affected only herself. Price of responsibility.True to their agreement, Niema let go as soon as she felt Maddox tap-out, but it didn't help the burning welts on her cheeks (four on the right side and one on the left) but Maddox knew they'd be healed before she woke up in themorning and she wasn't sure how long it took a normal Waveian to heal such wounds...how long she should make herself scarce so folks didn't start to question why Goggles wasn't still sporting her pit-wounds. Maddox was content to feel the concrete vibrating at her back from all the people above stomping about and making a ruccus she was choosing not to hear beyond her own rushing blood and panting breath. Pulling her senses into herself, she didn't see, see, hear, or feel Niema rise until she was offering a hand to her. Grinning with the other woman's blood on her lips, the Saborian (who hadn't lost her goggles) took the offered hand and rose to her feet with her pain hidden under those reflective mirrors that watched the Underboss' bloody hand catch the purse and sign it in a way. Offering it to Maddox in that hand as if to say no offense taken, the Saborian had a flickering moment of endearment for the bitch of a woman that was ALSO thankfully hidden behind he goggles. Only her smirky smile and nod affirmed, not trusting her voice so soon while her abs worked her diaphram to get her lungs back under control. The bloody purse was shown to the crowd as they would expect and cheered for (or maybe it was the blood staining her teeth) and then she was looking for her thermal and glancing back at the Hunter with an almost embarassed shrug. She did her best! But damnit, she needed to put that shirt back on before she got anywhere NEAR that crowd and/or especially the hunter.::-d
A Vestige Within: Indeed, she had earned it, but in his eyes they'd both given each other a good beating. The fight had been evenly matched.. surprisingly. Perhaps he'd have to keep in mind the capabilities of both from now on. He crossed his arms as Niema helped her up to her feet and signaled for that coin pouch which was tossed down and offered up to the Captain as a reward for lasting in the pit with her for as long as she did. And damn, was she fucked up. She'd be sporting some reminders of her brawl for days no doubt, but Niema hadn't left unscathed either so he supposed that could be considered a victory. He tossed another ice cube into his mouth with a flick of that glass and rolled it against the inside of his cheek, lifting the nearly empty glass up in salute to Maddox when she shrugged up at him. "Well fought, Goggles.." She almost looked scary with that blood on her teeth. The Underboss's blood. He smirked as she moved to gather her shirt and tilted his head in observation before looking to Niema and taunting her even if she'd won. "You're losing your touch, big boss lady! How'd you let it take you that long huh?" He was only teasing. Both of them had probably blown of some steam, one could hope, so they shouldn't care right? . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || B i t t e n ; wasn't the first time, wouldn't be the last and Maddox could probably even say she'd added a scar to the Underboss' body because teeth like hers punctured muscle. The blood dripped from her hand and made her grip feel impossibly weak but what kind of Underboss would she be if she showed that? ||"I think your companion is waiting for you."|| The way Niema said "waiting" in those smokey blues vocals of hers was with full intent to sway the other womans mind. Why? Because she'd heard the sound that came from Mads during the ending move of their fight; she'd seen the glances and heard the exchanges and she was sharp enough to smell it as a possible weakness. With things settled the exotic killer went to the ladder to climb out like the rest of them, glancing over her shoulder at Maddox with a smirk along the way and leaving bloody hand prints in her wake. The keenest eyes paying mind might notice that she wasn't really using her bitten hand, just making it look like she was, though Maddox wouldn't need to see to know that. It wasn't until she reached the top that she cast a glance to Cross as he shouted tauntingly toward her and used her good hand to palm the rail before she hopped it. As her feet touched down she called back toward him with a smirk.||" Says the man standing outside the pits.. Maybe I like playing with my contenders first. I'd take extra long with you."|| Threat? Promise? Flirt? All of the above? Who knew really, Niema knew how to level her voice to float between intentions the same way her scarred expressions did. And as he, and everyone else, might expect she didn't wait for him to reply before strolling in that prowling salacious gate toward the bar. ||[d]
Bound but free: ::It was a good fight. Maddox was happy, she got the money and a good workout! Even if she did have the fresh taste of blood in her mouth and more aches that burned than she cared to count. It was working and making her suffer beautifully in the need to just let loose. Niema's jab made her toss goggled eyes over her shoulder at the woman as she started for her shirt and quirk her lips to one side in obvious disbelieveing question. What?! She might have known more about Cross today than she did when they first met, but companion? Maybe it was her Saborian misunderstanding of the word, but the look Niema gave her said she didn't. Damn her. Not saying a word, she scooped up her shirt as the Underboss climbed up the ladder and pulled it over her head and down her bloody body with no care that she was staining it with her blood or roughing up the injuries when it meant covering up against other people. Only once her shirt was on did she unclip and unwind her braid to swing again before she achingly climbed the ladder, mostly missing Niema's quip back to the Hunter as the crowed equally cheered and scolded her. It made her chuckle, especially to note the snap of her teeth made more than one of them jump. The Watcher needed a new Whiskey and the two fighters needed a drink, to the bar it seemed they were headed? Maddox was still truding, even if her gav-boots were still on light weight, she just didn't feel like picking up her feet and ensured no one's toes got caught under her boots. People moved, even if they didn't give her the same birth they gave the Underboss. Maddox didn't need it, it was just wishful thinking.:: Jus an' ale fer me. -d
A Vestige Within: Lucky he missed Niema's quip or if he did hear it? He didn't take it all that deeply. Perhaps she was poking fun because he had been cheering for and encouraging Maddox the entire fight. When she hopped out and threw those words at him he huffed lightly. "I bet you would." He didn't really have any smart words to go along with that, so he simply narrowed his eyes and then looked back down at Maddox as she collected her shirt and gathered herself. Cross welcomed her back up out of the pit when she had climbed the ladder. "Nicely done, Goggles. You've more than earned a drink on me." He bumped her with his shoulder playfully. "You look like you just got done fighting for your life though..." When they reached the bar he slammed his glass down. "Ale for the woman and more whiskey for me! And whatever the boss wants too! The two fighters deserve a few good drinks after that tussle." He looked back to Maddox and shoved his hands into his pockets. "So how'd it feel to go head-to-head with the boss and come out alive? Must've been mighty exhilirating. You'll have another tale to tell your crew now." . (D)
Black Death Pyke: ||F i r s t - A i d - K it ; the barkeep kept one just for her because she rarely came out of the pits anymore with more injuries than it could handle. Of course, a drink was also in order when she got there and took up a stool where the old man set the kit down so she could clean and bandage her wound. Some might have expected her to leave it, or let it bleed-- maybe even go back to her office but she wasn't abashed to let them see she was human and sometimes had to bandage a wound. She would also grimace a little when she poured cleaning alcohol over her hand to wash and sanitize the wound. Bites needed the most care to prevent infection usually,though perhaps the Saborian had a naturally cleaner mouth than most people-- like a dog. Who knew?! Niema was a little surprised to hear that Cross was paying for her drink and quirked a brow his way as the Barkeep handed to her said as much on his way to refilling Jia's drink and getting Maddox her ale. She smirked some and raised her own whiskey glancing down the bar at them both, and then bringing it to her mouth to swallow the entire contents knowing she'd get poured another; perk of position. She did them the favor of staying out of their conversation even if she was listneing to whatever she could hear while she wiped up the blood and took a look at the angry bite impression that hurt a hell of a lot more than she let on. On the bright side, the woman had a nice bite radius placement of her teeth. The down-side was that Niema wasn't really going to be able to use that hand much until it healed. Fucking Maddox, not that she wouldn't have done the same or similar.||[d]
Bound but free: ::Licking the blood off her teeth, the Saborian had hoped the Hunter would follow Niema more closely and NOT be there when she got to the top. Niema had made it a point to ensure Maddox knew she knew, but did he? He was casual enough in the bump of his shoulder against hers but it didn't stop some part of her from enjoying it a little too much. Even if that contact also raped her raw skin underneath her thermal as it pulled in the skid of impact and tightened against her road-rash. He was buying her drink, and he said she earned it, but she was looking at his lips more than the words they were forming and she blamed Niema for reminding her twice before they left the pit. Yeah, Maddox would be glad to think of the pain Niema's hand would be in the next few days, but Cross was there to distract her by reminding her how much pain she was in! Fight for her light huh? Kinda! Maddox laughed in genuine amusement and admission she nodded to while they approached the bar, putting the man between her and Niema even while he asked her what it was like to fight her and live. The way he shoved his hands into his pockets made her eyes dance behind her goggles in a race across his shoulders in that coat and then down the straight of his arms before she looked past him to the Underboss refilling her second. Maddox was peeling her gloves off her scraped hands before wrapping bloody fingers around the naked glass in appreciation for some sensational satisfaction before she took a drink while mirrored frames were set on Cross, eyes benhind them too. Only once her own tongue was wet with something OTHER than Niema's blood, did Maddox speak up with her usual grin showing off pearly whites still sharp as ever.:: Aye, wuldn't want tu face 'er tu de deat (death) dat be fer shur! ::Laughing, softly, but still serious. Who's killer instincts were sharper? Maddox didn't want to know. Niema was a good Underboss and she dared to think this helped her overall goal of uniting Saborians and Waveians. Afterall, they might not know it, but sooner or later, the Nahili ARE coming.::-d
A Vestige Within: Jai glanced over his shoulder at Niema and offered her a firm nod when she realized the drink was on him. He also noted that she was patching up the bite wound to her hand and simply smirked. No more taunts. He knew better than to push the Underboss too hard on her own turf, so he shifted his attentions back to Maddox who was watching him awfully closely. Some things didn't go unnoticed. Even if he couldn't see her eyes he knew that he had her attentions. His own gaze narrowed suspiciously and he snatched up his refilled glass of whiskey for a slow sip of the contents within. "Nope, I'm quite sure she would've snapped your neck the moment she had her legs around it without a second thought. That'd be a damn shame." He gifted her with a small smile, unable to miss the blood that remained on her fingers and gloves. "Looks like you're going to need some patching up as well though, Captain." She'd be fine though, clearly. "I, on the other hand, get to dream about two killer women going at it for blood, lucky me huh?" He did get the sweetest end of the deal didn't he? Even if he'd missed out on the action himself, he still felt like he'd been a part of it in a way. He drained that whiskey glass with a wince and a shake of his head. "Very entertaining night. But I got matters that need tendin' to and jobs that are waiting for me to find them. Not gonna pass out and faint or anything?" Look at that, showing a shred of concern for her well-being. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || I n c e p t i o n ; she hoped those seeds were rooting in Maddox's mind with the way Cross turned his attention back to her after his nod to Nie. Those thoughts made it easy to smile while she was in pain cleaning the bite on hand and the blood that came from it. She was gracious with the barkeep for keeping her glass full and attentive to the task at hand without being unawares of those around her. Most tried to pretend they didn't see her or notice her there at this point and she was content not to have all the gawking. She glanced at Maddox and Jai a few times herself without any notable expression to hint what she was thinking more than her usual knowingly amused smirk made a bit twisted by the scar that ran over her lips and down her chin; arguably the oldest scar she had. When the Hunter suggested he was leaving to be ready for work later she didn't look up again and started wrapping the banage around her hand-- at least until she was in her quaters where she felt better about letting it air out. Black eyes shifting along the line of her shoulder to the people and the pits where fights were still taking place and would for a few more hours yet. They were perhaps the most profitable thing about the Underside... consistently anyway. ||[d]
Bound but free: ::Like before, she needed to get out of here. The ale was crap, which was good, and Niema's plan to make Maddox think was working. Cross wasn't helping, but he didn't know any better (or did he?) and the Captain found herself still as stone for a breathless moment before she bubbled into laughter at his surprising admission of dreaming about that. Was he jesting or being honest? Like a puppy, she tilted her head curiously, as if wondering if she understood him right. Cheeks burning from the nail welts, shoulde, back and fingertips burning from the road-rash while her insides ached from that punch to the side of the gut early on and still her body flared excitedly at the thought one of the the Living Ancestors, especially a hunter, might actually care about a Saborian Hybrid. Of course, he didn't know what she was, so she shook her head and grinned:: I be fine, go do your ting. ::Maddox was going to be leaving shortly after him, but she didn't want to apear to be fleeing in the wake of her loss AND she wanted to finish that ale before having to explain to her firstmate why he had to patch her up.::-d
A Vestige Within: How he found himself down in the pits of the Underside was anyone's guess. To be frank, the place smelled of sweat, grime, and booze.
Not his favorite mixture of aromas, but Jai had been spreading himself throughout Midway as broadly as possible to pick up quick jobs. His brown eyes rested upon the group of men and women who were lined up and preparing for battle down in the fighting pits. he was assessing each of them, perhaps to see which he would put his bets on. All shapes and sizes, from scrawny little boys to freakishly muscled women with jaws chiseled like men. Jai's nose twitched at the sight. Maybe Olan had inspired him to try on new looks. His wasn't a disguise, but it was something different from the norm. The jacket he wore over his shoulders was long, falling nearly down to his knees and made of a suede-like material in a blue so dark it might as well have been black. Back on Earth they might've called it a trenchcoat (he didn't know that though.) The coat had plent of inner pockets for nasty devices and even built-in holsters in its lower portions for harnessing his "Twins." Hands clad in fingerless leather gloves had their thumbs tucked into his belt as the hunter boldly stepped forward with the rest of the growing, heckling crowd to get a closer look at tonight's competitiors. His eyes slid up and down while a few gave him the eye back. Those that didn't? Were automatically eliminated. Person wasn't bold enough to look a man like him in the eye? They stood no chance. He paused by one man who was as tall as he with darker skin and a scar over his eye. A look at his fist showed the repeated breaking of the skin above his knuckles. The man looked him in the eyes. "The fuck you looking at, outlander?" Maybe he recognized that Jai wasn't a local born and raised here, but the hunter simply grinned."Nothing at all... nothing at all..." There's his pick.That man was going to kick some ass.. just wait. With that, he continued down the line. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || A d d i c t i o n ; for some people it was drugs or booze, for Niema it was sex and violence like food and water though the latter was usually always easier to come by. The Underboss came out of her office in a matte-black leather cat-suit that zipped from just above her pelvis all the way up her neck. Like a black skin on her legs the leather dipped into her knee high boots which looked heavy until seen in stride with the nonchalant prowling ease of those powerful thighs. The narrow of her waist was punctuated by a custom corset that had horizontal ribbing and vertical steel mesh to allow for flexibility without sacrificing the constriction she liked and the armor it provided almost clear to her clavicle. Her grav boots were quiet in the decent down the stairs and she let naked arms sway as she took them straight down the middle with those black eyes cast over the Underside. Her confidence and primal grace were just two of the things that made people cautious around her. With her hair braided out of her face and tucked up into itself off her neck there was no mistake the woman was prepared for battle even though she appeared unarmed. Like always the crowds on the floor parted and gave her space enough not to be in swinging distance, those who didn't see her coming were ushered or otherwise made aware by those who did. Not everyone respected her, not everyone feared her, but it was a shorter list for those who cared or dared to stand in her way. She didn't see Jai at first, or appeared not to as she entered the pit area. From the floor all you could see was a sea of bodies huddled around large square openings in the floor where the fighters descended to fight. From above, you could see there were nine pits in total, the center most pit being the Wager-Pit where some of the most bloody and lethal fights took place. There were Pit-bosses on the floor taking bets of course, but there was the main betting bar which stood at the head of it all where she currently took her pause. It was a short one, just long enough to inhale the smell of sweat, booze and blood before she walked the left isle past the first row of them toward the second and center. The look she passed to the Pit-Boss there told him she was throwing her name in there and his eyes widened -- it didn't happen that often, then he was turning to shout out to the crowd. There were a lot of people who wanted to fight her and most of them knew if they wanted to do it without later getting killed for the offense, this was the avenue with which they could do it. Like addressing your grievances with a little bruising, bone breaking and blood without worrying about being killed in your sleep the next day.||=-[d]
Bound but free: ::At five feet six, maybe five-eight in her grav-boots, the Saborian Clan Leader and Captain of a Ghost Ship wasn't the most intimidating person to set eyes on. Especially not with those mirrored, bug-eye goggles she wore over her excitedly glowing, cobalt blue gaze so none could see her most obvious alien-blooded trait. Hands propped her up, fingerless gloves palming the bartop around the towel buffering her ass in the usual (but clean) green coveralls tied around her waist to let her torso breath in the black thermal hiked up to her elbows and covering her hips to neck rather modestly and a little loosely. For all their technological and evolutionary advantages, Saborians didn't spend much time on clothes, at least not the Knox. Hand-me-downs and recycle-stitched was how it worked; still smelling fresh as a light honey. The exotic spice was the woman herself, dark hair starting in three braids from her crown and temples to merge into a single serpent down her spine and resting on the bar behind her where it was capped with an apparently 'silver' head that was actually Alru-alloy; more than the weight it seemed, of course. The only thing she was missing today was her tool belt and she didn't think she'd need it and didn't want to risk a good pick-pocket getting their hands on her gadgets! From the bar, she could see most of the crowd and the pits below, what she couldn't see with even her enhanced vision was also playing on screens behind the bar so she could get filled in with a glance over her slightly too-broad shoulder. Seeing the Watcher-Hunter eyeing the fighters below, she was distracted by her thoughts and admiration for his coat when the parting-sea-of-spectators made way for the Underboss. Watching her, those goggles would bobble with her nod to the woman before her inhale-worthy-pause took her toward the fights and got her name blasted as the newest add to the roster. As much as she'd like to put the woman on her knees to prove it could be done (or try to...), Maddox couldn't afford to be so selfish or careless. How would she explain her advanced healing? What if her goggles got knocked off? There were too many risks, but she shifted at least to get her bit purse out so she could ready herself a wager. Short search of hidden eyes to find the Watcher-Hunter again, and Maddox tried to determine who was on his betting list… Wouldn't hurt to compare predators notes, eh?::-d
A Vestige Within: When the Underboss herself parted the sea of people to make her intentions known to the man-in-charge of the pits, Jai reconsidered his bets. He was quite sure that Niema could handle any of these fools easily. She hadn't become the Underboss picking flowers and kissing babies after all. He'd never jump in the ring with her... well... not unless you paid him enough to take a good whoopin'. He rolled his shoulders as he rounded the pits and moved to one of the men taking bets to place his own. Perhaps his guy was going to be put up against the Underboss herself, wouldn't that be a dilemma for him? No matter. "Goggles!" Maddox was watching him and it didn't take him long to smell it like the bloodhound that he was. He hopped over a low table instead of pushing through a cluster of drunken folk and landed a few feet from the bar with a small smirk pasted upon his dark features. He looked from the Captain to the pits and nudged his chin towards Niema. "Looks like we're going to get a good show tonight. She must be feeling frisky, ya think? Besides.. who's going to purposely beat the Underboss even if they could do it? Wouldn't that make them the new boss? Kind of like when a pack of Wingos try to establish their own leaders... they duke it out. Last-one-standing becomes the alpha. I've seen it first hand, it's a beautiful thing... nature. This place seems to flow just like it." Yeah, he talks too much sometimes. He hadn't even let Maddox get a word out. But he was taking up a lean against the bar beside her anyways and waving for his usual glass of whiskey, needing refreshment for what was going to be grand entertainment. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || B e a t i n g ; most knew anyone stepping in the pit with the Underboss was going to get one but there were some who were foolish enough to think their experience, skill and usually brute strength would trump hers. Niema liked to fight in the pits every so often as a reminder to those who forgot, why it was she had this position other than the fact she was nice to look at-- even with the scars. When no one volunteered there was a wager set for five minutes in the box with her, a wager of enough tek-bits to make someones night if they were so skilled. Niema didn't wait for someone to take the offer, she walked around to the ladder that decended the pit and effortlessly hoped crowd rail to slide down it, using her boots and knees as speed control and her hands loosely as balance because it was apparently more effort to take the rungs. The bottom was not forgiving, it wasn't dirt or sand to take the impacts of bodies, it's was cold concrete and steel grating-- easier to wash off. There were stains on the walls and cracks in some places where the stress of abuse fractured it; it seemed minor if you thought about all the bodies that broke on these walls. All the Pits had a ladder on one side and a door opposite where sometimes people had to be carried out. Yes, there was an Underside to the Underside you could say but it wasn't much to look at. Niema didn't look up at the people as they shouted and exchanged taunts and bets peering down at her. She looked at the walls as she slid her fingers across them like they were fond memories. Intimidation tactic or moment of nostalgia? With Niema it was probably a little of both. It wouldn't take long for someone greedy enough to think he could at least last five-minutes with her, that was only three-hundred seconds. ||=-[d]
Bound but free: ::Fuck. For a Waveian, the Water-Hunter had finesse and skill and Maddox enjoyed watching him move. It didn't matter to her, that he hadn't let her say a word, Maddox wasn't much for talking anyway and she was still replaying that casual leap over the low table to avoid working through the crowd. His efficiency was delicious and she shamelessly licked her lips at the thought while he took up a spot along-side her, leaning against the bar and ordering himself a drink while speaking his peace. She could hear the wager offered to tempt someone into the pit with Niema and Maddox was more than tempted to say it was worth explaining to her crew if new rumors got started about her...Half-listening to the crowd go into an uproar over it, jabbing one another to do it, she leaned a little closer to the hunter to take her breath in order to reply; using the excuse of not wanting to raise her voice to get the closer perspective.:: Nah. Jus means she may 'ave tu work a bit 'ard'r(harder) fer a t'eye'm(time) till de mopes fig'r dat dey still not dat bad. ::Chuckling, she got up off the bar by standing on the stool like a giant for a moment, looking down at the hunter with a smirk beneath her goggles before she hopped down with a heavy thud of Grav-boots checking the floor. Her knees took the impact with a slight bounce that carried in her bosom but she was already moving with a roll of her shoulders toward the pits with a lingering look back at Jai that would have said "shall we see?" if he had the benfit of seeing her brows including in on the silent question. It was a risk, but Maddox wanted to blow off some steam herself. Frisky didn't cover it and as much as she hated pain (and it hurt more to her than the average person), it would do well to take her mind off...other things. Not waiting to add her name to the list, goggles forwent the ladder and just hopped into the pit with the Underboss having her moment with the walls. Having put her own marks on the walls of her ship as a kid, she could understand. Everyone has a playground, Maddox took a deep breath of Niema's and grinned her sharp-toothed grin.::-d
A Vestige Within: What was Maddox doing? Jai eyed her as she stood up on that stool and grinned up to the woman until she hopped down before him. Brown eyes lingered upon her goggled stare. "Yeah... mopes.." Before he could say more she was moving off to get a closer look (or so he thought) andl ooking back at him like she expected him to follow. The temptation was too great and maybe just maybe Jai's eyes dropped to see if he could get a peek at the finger aspects of the woman's saunter, although her attire was not exactly the most flattering in that regard. Coveralls? But as soon as he saw her hopping into the pit his eyes went wide and he shoved his way to the pit's edge. The hell was she thinking? Had she gone crazy? The Underboss was going to hand her ass to her on a silver platter... splattered with blood. "Kick her ass, Goggles!" He screamed down and then looked to the man taking wagers. Yeah, he was going to put his on Niema. Sorry Maddox, he just didn't think the woman stood a chance. But who knows? Maybe she'd get those goggles knocked off and they'd all get a look at what she was hiding beneath there. Ass-kicking did have it's benefits. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || P o w e r H o u s e ; the woman in the pit looked calm and relaxed but Maddox of all of them would know what was under the surface was anything but relaxed and calm-- controlled, but raw and violent. She leaned against the wall without the ladder and stretched like a lazy catch just up from a nap. Those ink-blot black eyes following the contender like she was going to be dinner. Maddox was the last person she expected to jump in the pit no matter how much Niema knew the woman wanted to wail on her a little. The Underboss was a cunt and Mads didn't like how she handled her branded-men specifically; or maybe it was just Alex? Nie smirked at the thought and pushed off the wall with her shoulders like she was going to stroll to the bar, not start a fight with the Saborian she didn't even know was a Saborian. Wasn't this going to be interesting? Niema didn't know that Maddox's sensitivities were going to give her a significant advantage in this fight and that was probably for the best; the killer liked the challenge of learning by experience. ||"You have any particular rules you'd like laid down or we just going to do this KO or Tap-Out anything goes?"|| She was pretty sure she knew the answer to that question but as the reigning champ she had respect for other's boundries when they were brave enough to play in her playground. Indeed these were the walls Niema grew up in, like an animal with no sense of humanity. She'd changed but that was still a part of her like the goggles appeared to be part of Maddox. Would Niema try to unmask her just to do it? Time would tell. The killer rolled her shoulders and lifted her chin to the woman with an invite for her to strike first if she so chose as well. She hadn't heard the crowds this riled in a long while and knew if nothing else, the floor was going to cash in because everyone likes an underdog and Maddox looked crazy enough the crazies probably thought she just might win. Niema didn't think so, but it wasn't really in her blood to lose a fight.||[d]
Bound but free: ::Yes, Maddox was crazy compared to most Waveians. Maybe it was the Alien-DNA that made her a little wacked out in the brain, but she wasn't afraid of Niema. She respected her position of power and hated the way she did some things. Even so, this wasn't personal. At least not about Niema. Maddox just needed a distraction and this one had too many things in favor to pass up. Beating on Niema was a bonus. Winning bits was a bonus. Getting a little bit of Underside credit, another bonus. She didn't have to be a mind-reader to know the Hunter's encouraging yell didn't entirely meet his expectations- or anyone elses. No one had ever seen her fight. No one had ever seen her that serious or that careless. Watching the Underboss, Maddox shunned herself for thinking non-violent thoughts that complimented every stretching curve of her body in that catsuit. Mrow. It probably wasn't very encouraging to the spectators when the goggle-faced woman looked down at herself like she just realized she looked like a dock scrubber or something. Shrugging, she nodded to Niema and answered in her heavily accented tone as she took a moment to lift one foot behind her and catch her booted ankle in her gloved palm to stretch her leg:: Dat sounds gud. K.O. er Tap-out, an'ee'ting go's save don be chopp'n me braid off, k? ::Her other leg stretched and she wound the braid up at the back of her head and did something with the casing at the end which pinned it where it was and kept the temptation of this woman grabbing her braid to use it against her in check. Yeah, she had advantages, but she wasn't going to underestimate the woman either. Stretching her arms and her spine briefly, Maddox tightened the sleeves of her flightsuit around her waist so she wouldn't loose her pants in the fight and then did an Ali-worthy dance in her grav-boots that was a series of pressure switches making them lighter and therefore making her a little faster. With an open invitation, Maddox bowed lightly in respect and then took two steps to close the distance before a short leap and a solid faint of her first toward that pretty jaw with her right fist while the left took two fingers for her throat. Heightened senses and hyper-intune body prepared to put her weight into it but no, it was like a slight-of-hand magic trick to distract Niema from those grav-boots that her abs and thighs pulled up under her torso to wrap like a bola around the other woman's waist. Why? Close-quater was Maddox' specialty and she could take a hit as well as she could deliver one and this one was her entire body aiming to take the Underboss to her back. Yeeeehaaawww.::-d
A Vestige Within: Oh yeah, this was going to be hot. Two sexy, vicious chicks going at it? Any man's blood would be boiling at the prospect of it. jai had to take a sip from his cup of whiskey and ice just to wet his mouth at the sight. The others were screaming down at them but he fell silent and focused as he often did. He looked between the two of them, noting Maddox's stretching. She hardly seemed worried. Bold woman... very bold. Then again she was a captain right? They were both leaders in their own right, they probably both had egos as well. It could make for a good brawl. He tapped a finger impatiently against the body of the glass until Maddox made the first move... and quite a wild one at that. Too much too fast? Just maybe. But who knows, Niema might entertain her a bit, let herself get a beaten on a little... or just beat the woman to a pulp in about five seconds and make it a short and humiliating fight. It could go either way. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || S e r p e n t i n e ; calling the woman a snake was as accurate as it got in the way she could underhandedly do things and for the fact she faught with every muscle in her body like a machine of impulsively reactive lethal reflexes. Mads didn't look afraid at all, she actually looked like she was looking forward to it, to seeing what Niema could do and the Underboss could appreciate that. She smiled and nodded in agreement when Mads accepted the terms adding the stipulation about her braid like she knew Niema had a knife somewhere even if she couldn't currently see it. Nie gave her the time to wrap her hair, which wasn't long, and swayed in her seemingly lazy stance as she rolled her wrists and relaxed clenched fists. The Underboss didn't bow back, the nod was all Maddox would get respect or not, and then the fight was on. The Goggle-eyed woman was smart to go all in with distraction and follow-through and it would serve it's purpose, but not like the Captain probably considered. The killer wasn't one to really wait to get hit, so she was in motion when Maddox went into motion and stepped to meet her in her faked swings with a tight jab to the soft-tissue of Maddox's right side; the other arm instinctively blocked but went to lay her forearm against Maddox's throat-- or face, as she met her. That motion and stepped to meet her in her faked swings with a tight jab to the soft-tissue of Maddox's right side; the other arm instinctively blocked but went to lay her forearm against Maddox's throat--or face, as she met her. That was just the one aspect of their connect then; Maddox was jumping to wrap her legs around Niema to bull her to the ground and while she didn't see it coming until it was happening the goggle-eyed woman shouldn't have taken her feet off the ground so soon. The killer let one foot slide back a little as she caught the woman, her knees taking the weight with a bounce-- one hand jabbing to her side, the other up toward her face or throat, and on the bounce back she launched them both at the wall behind Maddox, her jabbing hand sinking in for a grab wether or not she got a good connect. With the force of her thighs and the control of her experience Niema would put them in a twist to the side, paralell to the ground unless Maddox stopped it, so Niema would have the adjacent wall to kick off of in a skidding pile-driver against the wall to the floor. ||[d]
Bound but free: ::It was impossible not to be aware of the crowd, namely the Hunter who was suddenly quiet. But the Saborian couldn't afford the distraction and zeroed her sensory to the box of the pit. Niema was as ready as Maddox and met her head-on! Yes, she was still grinning when she took that forearm to the jaw rather than the throat, turning her face to the two surfaces slide in the same momentus direction, and taking the hit to her side with an exhale that groaned shamelessly. But Niema wasn't through, Maddox found her own momentum shifting and waited for that push-off from the slightly larger woman to use the other woman like an extension of her own body in a back- flip there was very little room for. They were both going to end up on the ground more than likely, but Maddox aimed to throw Niema's head into the wall she was trying to throw Maddox's back into before the other woman could get her feet within range of the other wall to propell them in another direction. Her hands, therefore, had contact with the hard concrete in a fingertip busting and bloody impact and grip that growled between her teeth as she was dangerously upsidedown and folded for a moment before she could hand-walk herself out from under the woman enough to push her own feet off the wall and get a little distance and breath between them. Hoping maybe to KO the woman in the process but not holding her breath for it::-d
A Vestige Within: The moment they went at it, Jai got the sense that the two of them were more animalistic than initially thought. Pouncing, punching, throwing elbows. Seemed they weren't wasting anytime at getting right into the heat of things. At this rate it was indeed going to be a short fight, no matter who won or lost. And it also seemed that they were both willing to fight dirty! Jai leaned against the railing with a grin and tipped his cup up for another casual sip of the contents without getting too worked up.. wall.. floor.. unforgiving concrete and they were both trying to use it to their advantage. He licked his lips and watched the way Maddox moved. She was going to be licking a hell of a lot of aches and bumps later. That much he was sure about. If he only knew that her body was more than able to handle it... . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || B a c k - f l i p ; it was a great way to get out of her current predicament, using Niema's momentum to try to change the tides and how they landed. The killer was highly skilled at combat innovation which meant changing her tactics and the intent of her movements was almost instantaneous. She couldn't kick off the wall with the weight and pull of Maddox's flip and rather than fight it the bitch went with it, tucking herself against Maddox in a more natural and easier bend forward. Nie's arms remained at the two levels, right one up but slid down to nestle against her neck, the other still gripping the clothes on her side, letting Maddox help throw them both so Niema's back natural and easier bend forward. Nie's arms remained at the two levels, right one up but slid down to nestle against her neck, the other still gripping the clothes on her side, letting Maddox help throw them both so Niema's back hit the wall under both their effort but not without her boots on bent knees hitting first to control the upsidedown impact and give her the instant leverage to kick down off the wall like a spring loaded hammer to push her weight down on Maddox and force her on her back or to release entirely before the killer could get on the ground. If she did get Maddox on her back, there wouldn't even be a second before she'd release her grip on Maddox's side and would launch it in a jab to her cheek with Niema's other arm presumably holding her down with an arm against her neck and collarbone.
||[d]
Bound but free: ::Suckasaurus! Niema was damned good, and despite how hard Maddox had to work to throw the damned woman, she was not actually disapointed when she felt the Underboss tuck agaisnt her and ride the momentum into the wall. Maddox felt the imapct through Niema and the way her body shifted against her as she got her legs bent for her feet to kick off and down and she knew that the dark-eyed woman meant to take her down and out right then and there. As a notable Wingo Rangler among the Saborians, Maddox had to treat the Underboss like the predator so as not to be crushed by her. A crunch of her abs against that nice suit, Maddox swung her legs a little faster to beat Niema's boots to the wall and launch herself out from under the woman, even going so far as to pull her arms up long enough to slip free of the thermal that she had a hold of and expose her burned, branded, and blade-to-claw scarred torso in nothing more than a black wrap around her breasts to hug them against her chest. A little glossed in sweat, it burned when she skidded against the concrete floor and got roadrash before she could roll to a stand and turn with a low crouch to face Niema, with that same grin that suggested she was enjoying this. Hands fisted and ready to go again.::-d
A Vestige Within: This was turning out to be more of a wrestling match between strength and reflexes rather than a good 'ol blow for blow punchfest, but he wasn't complaining. As a matter of fact, he preferred it this way in this particular case. Two women in close contact battle seemed to be very entertaining for them all and Jai wasn't an exception. When Maddox skidded right out from underneath Niema, and out of her top, Jai couldn't hold it in anymore. "Come on, Goggles! Get her! Aim for the face! take out her legs! Do something! I believe in you!" Maybe. Some encouragement always helped right? He noted that she was nearly (not really) half-naked and simply grinned as he looked back Niema and waited for the Underboss's next move. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || E s c a p e ; peeling out of her shirt the way she did saved Niema from getting a nail ripped out because she wasn't going to let go, of course it also allowed the slightly smaller woman to get out from under Niema before she could kick off the wall to pin her down. While Maddox skidded and rolled to a crouch, Niema twisted on the way down with an almost inhuman curl that allowed her to face the woman when her feet touched down. That's what you got fighting a contortionist and Niema didn't let Maddox take more than a breath before she was in motion like a speeding train toward Mads who was around the middle of the pit. Charging at an opponent meant they saw it all coming and that was even more true for the Saborian even if Nie didn't know it. The killer appeared to have every intent to plow right into her, keeping low in her run to the point she slapped a hand to the ground in the process of her initial kick off and was only half standing in the middle of her leaping stride before she took that fluid feline lean down again, her eyes locked on the woman like a heat-seeking missile. If Maddox moved, Niema countered to meet her head on-- the other woman's only chance to move without Nie seeing and possibly being able to counter was as she actually attacked, that pulsing blink when the killer looked like she might have tripped with the amount of power she had going face-first toward the floor, tucking only at the last second to roll on her shoulders at the top of her spine on impact and give way to the tight sissor swing of her legs-- that's right, Niema let her legs separate as she came down, twisting her hips to the curl of her body so they came in at Maddox from either side, one in like she was going to hook the woman's waist, the other like a kick to catch and clamp--- who knew what Nie had planned next, one thing was for certain, it depended on how Maddox moved. ||[d]
Bound but free: ::They didn't have to know she had more than one motive for taking her shirt off and none of them were for show. Her skin was like a living sonar map of sorts. Exposed, she could feel Niema moving as much as see her. First, second, and third sights overlapped allowed her to see the woman's aura, body temperature in detail, and her movements in the normal spectrum. It was a beautiful sight that Maddox wanted to enjoy for a moment before she noticed the woman wasn't hesitating to come at her again. The noise above might as well have been underwater for as well as she noticed it; except the Hunter. Maddox made the mistake of glancing up at him as he shouted at her, nearly missing Niema's shift that suddenly tucked her, rolled her, and delivered her into a scorpian worthy attack around her waist. If she hadn't been feeling the woman move, she'd have been completely had, but as it was the Hunter was distraction enough for Maddox to let out a short chortle of laughter before she gulped and her fists opened, thighs tensed and knee's bent in a quick launch out of that scissor-zone, but not so far as to jump over the woman. No, just to tuck her legs back and aim her knees into Niema's shoulders already neatly levered on the ground so her boot tips could test that mesh about the woman's guts as she used her weight to try and drive her down while her fists didn't wait for impact before balling again and leading with the left to Niema's nose, full on meaning to break it and get blood making her breath through her mouth which she was following up with her right to skew her jaw as she tried to ride the woman the rest of the way down::-d
A Vestige Within: Who would've thought that Maddox would've lasted this long huh? He was already impressed even if there was no clear winner yet. Niema moved with fluidity and vicious grace, but Maddox's reflexes seemed to be very much on point, refusing to get trapped by the Underboss at every turn. Perhaps he'd underestimated her... and as Niema leapt in for the kill again, Maddox got her legs between them and set out for a bold punch towards the woman's face. Perhaps Niema had finally met her match. Maybe Maddox just wanted to see the woman put on her knees if even for a moment. Either way it was damn entertaining and would keep the money flowing from the drunken, wild crowd. When Maddox glanced up he winked, but didn't want to distract her from the fight at hand, especially when she was put in more of a pickle. He'd owe her a drink sometime after this was all said and done. Hell, maybe he'd get them both a drink on principle alone for putting on a good show. Bet the Underside didn't get epic fights like this too often. The scales were clearly balanced and neither had tipped it... yet. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || M a n i p u l a t i o n ; sometimes to get a step ahead you have to take a step back, take a hit so you can be where you want to be and they least expect you to want to be. Niema did that better than anyone, or she liked to think so. Taking a beating was also something she did well so there was no effort to stop Mads from landing on Nie's shoulders and digging her boot toes into her abdomen which felt the preasure without the direct impact as the mesh helped to disperse that between the hold of the horizontal ribbing like rings around her torso. As the Saborian came down Niema reached up, both hands, one curled around her thigh as her weight pushed into her and her arms swung to make contact before they settled, and Nie wasn't shy about gripping high so the side of her hand would grind across the other woman's covered sex on the way to wedge between the back of her thigh and her calf. The other-- at the same time, went a lot higher right for Maddox's throat between the swing of her amrs obscuring their ability to hit her dead on though Nie would catch the fist for her nose across her cheek as she turned her head. Unpainted nails would bite into her neck if she got that far, to help secure the hold for legs that were likewise already moving with a kick off the ground. Maddox might have thought it was meant just to roll them considering the way Nie put more power into one leg than the other and the grip she had on her leg to keep her from using it as leverage to stop the twist of their bodies-- but it wasn't just for that. Like a clam snapping closed Niema was intending to whip her legs up around the other woman's neck-- her hand intended to stop Maddox from leaping forward out of it, so she could trap her neck between her legs and squeeze her into the black. ||[d]
Bound but free: ::It took practiced skill and effort to pointedly ignore the flare of aching pain that consumed her scraped up body and bruised insides, the feel of sweat and blood dripping as she moved and her own muscles screaming in protest to her ferocious demands. Still, she ran with the Noji once, she rangled with Wingos and they can smell fear and pain. Niema's olfactory might not be that sharp, but her instincts were and Maddox was going all in! Feeling the impact of the woman's shoulders under her knees, gut under her toes, and cheek under her knuckles, she felt-before-she-saw Niema's hand coming through her own arms like a viper for her throat, opening up to clamp in what might have crushed her windpipe or got a good hold on her trechia if Maddox hadn't ducked her chin and opened her mouth. Teeth made for taring flesh went for the tender part between index and thumb as it was offered and she couldn't have stopped herself if she wanted to, it was instinct of her own to protect her throat. Niema's other hand's passing grind against her sex saving her from having a peice of her flesh torn off as the Captain arched and let out a sound involuntarily admitting her sensitivities before being choked unexpectedly in the snap of Niema's legs around her throat. Maddox couldn't flee, but she could snap the other woman's kneck with her thighs, or crush her skull like a watermelon, but this wasn't a fight to the death and Maddox had to pull back from that instinct so hard her hands flailed for the woman's leg to tap-out before her wind was entirely constricted and they were both on the ground. Not even aware if the five minutes was up or not, Maddox was panting and lightly trembling in her flooded need to expell energy that got trapped in her sudden surrender. No one had to understand, Maddox wasn't in the habit of explaining herself; the fight was over.::-d
A Vestige Within: By now, Jai was out of whiskey and was sipping melted ice and fuck it... munching on the ice cubes themselves in tension as he looked on. Niema went for the throat and to his surprise Maddox went to bite. he'd gotten a peek at those teeth of hers before and knew they could do some damage. That arch and the sound she made was almost erotic. Hell maybe it was erotic, sometimes it was hard to tell and it was enough to make the man arch a brow as his instincts tried to measure the difference until the clutch of Niema's strong legs had done the Captain in. Couldn't really blame her. How else would she get out of that leglock that could potentially break her neck in two? He knew it was over then. Goggles was tapping out and of course the suck-ups were cheering for the boss of the Underside. Jai simply applauded. Goggles had fought harder than expected but perhaps the results weren't all that surprising. She was the Underboss and the Queen of the Pit apparently. Hey, at least he'd be leaving with heavier pockets tonight! Poor Maddox, hopefully her pride wasn't hurt TOO much. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: ||B l o o d ; there was nothing Niema could do to stop Maddox from biting her but she wasn't going to let it stop her from clawing the womans face instead for the same intent. The growling roar from Niema was loud and laced with pain but thickened by a primal power that was Niema stopping herself from wanting to kill the other woman; especially when she felt her legs strike home against the other woman's neck. How easy it would have been to break, but to Mads own thoughts, this wasn't a death-match and not much sooner than Niema squeeze she felt a hand flailing in a tap against her thigh-- the other woman likewise fighting killer instincts, and quicker than she'd snaked her legs around her neck, Niema let go. It might have looked uncontrolled at first, the way she threw out her arms and legs to free Maddox without moving from the bottom of the pit, but the way she settled her feet leaving her knees bent and relaxing her arms sprawled on the ground said it was as intentional as her crooked panting smile. There were cheers as much as there were groans because someone had to loose the bet-- Niema didn't care if five minutes had gone by, she was already waving the Pit-Boss to toss down the tek-bits as she sat up and then rolled to a stand so she could hold her hand out to Maddox assuming the woman hadn't started getting up already herself. Niema would catch the pouch in her bloody-bitten hand when it was tossed, so she could hand it to Maddox herself. ||"Haven't had to work.. that hard in a while."|| She laughed between breaths. No, the blood on the bag hadn't just been coincidence for left hand versus right hand Niema liked the idea of staining it so Maddox could remember where the coin came from and the effort she put in to get it. ||"You earned it."|| She said simply.||[d]
Bound but free: ::If she had been fighting for pride, she'd have lost before she jumped into the pit. No, Maddox had fought because she needed to get bloody, to feel pain, to feel someone's bones and body taking the weight of her blows. A worthy distraction from what else she wanted to feel and was denied. Even if it was largely self-denied. As a Clan Leader, Warlord, and Captain, she couldn't often make choices that affected only herself. Price of responsibility.True to their agreement, Niema let go as soon as she felt Maddox tap-out, but it didn't help the burning welts on her cheeks (four on the right side and one on the left) but Maddox knew they'd be healed before she woke up in themorning and she wasn't sure how long it took a normal Waveian to heal such wounds...how long she should make herself scarce so folks didn't start to question why Goggles wasn't still sporting her pit-wounds. Maddox was content to feel the concrete vibrating at her back from all the people above stomping about and making a ruccus she was choosing not to hear beyond her own rushing blood and panting breath. Pulling her senses into herself, she didn't see, see, hear, or feel Niema rise until she was offering a hand to her. Grinning with the other woman's blood on her lips, the Saborian (who hadn't lost her goggles) took the offered hand and rose to her feet with her pain hidden under those reflective mirrors that watched the Underboss' bloody hand catch the purse and sign it in a way. Offering it to Maddox in that hand as if to say no offense taken, the Saborian had a flickering moment of endearment for the bitch of a woman that was ALSO thankfully hidden behind he goggles. Only her smirky smile and nod affirmed, not trusting her voice so soon while her abs worked her diaphram to get her lungs back under control. The bloody purse was shown to the crowd as they would expect and cheered for (or maybe it was the blood staining her teeth) and then she was looking for her thermal and glancing back at the Hunter with an almost embarassed shrug. She did her best! But damnit, she needed to put that shirt back on before she got anywhere NEAR that crowd and/or especially the hunter.::-d
A Vestige Within: Indeed, she had earned it, but in his eyes they'd both given each other a good beating. The fight had been evenly matched.. surprisingly. Perhaps he'd have to keep in mind the capabilities of both from now on. He crossed his arms as Niema helped her up to her feet and signaled for that coin pouch which was tossed down and offered up to the Captain as a reward for lasting in the pit with her for as long as she did. And damn, was she fucked up. She'd be sporting some reminders of her brawl for days no doubt, but Niema hadn't left unscathed either so he supposed that could be considered a victory. He tossed another ice cube into his mouth with a flick of that glass and rolled it against the inside of his cheek, lifting the nearly empty glass up in salute to Maddox when she shrugged up at him. "Well fought, Goggles.." She almost looked scary with that blood on her teeth. The Underboss's blood. He smirked as she moved to gather her shirt and tilted his head in observation before looking to Niema and taunting her even if she'd won. "You're losing your touch, big boss lady! How'd you let it take you that long huh?" He was only teasing. Both of them had probably blown of some steam, one could hope, so they shouldn't care right? . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || B i t t e n ; wasn't the first time, wouldn't be the last and Maddox could probably even say she'd added a scar to the Underboss' body because teeth like hers punctured muscle. The blood dripped from her hand and made her grip feel impossibly weak but what kind of Underboss would she be if she showed that? ||"I think your companion is waiting for you."|| The way Niema said "waiting" in those smokey blues vocals of hers was with full intent to sway the other womans mind. Why? Because she'd heard the sound that came from Mads during the ending move of their fight; she'd seen the glances and heard the exchanges and she was sharp enough to smell it as a possible weakness. With things settled the exotic killer went to the ladder to climb out like the rest of them, glancing over her shoulder at Maddox with a smirk along the way and leaving bloody hand prints in her wake. The keenest eyes paying mind might notice that she wasn't really using her bitten hand, just making it look like she was, though Maddox wouldn't need to see to know that. It wasn't until she reached the top that she cast a glance to Cross as he shouted tauntingly toward her and used her good hand to palm the rail before she hopped it. As her feet touched down she called back toward him with a smirk.||" Says the man standing outside the pits.. Maybe I like playing with my contenders first. I'd take extra long with you."|| Threat? Promise? Flirt? All of the above? Who knew really, Niema knew how to level her voice to float between intentions the same way her scarred expressions did. And as he, and everyone else, might expect she didn't wait for him to reply before strolling in that prowling salacious gate toward the bar. ||[d]
Bound but free: ::It was a good fight. Maddox was happy, she got the money and a good workout! Even if she did have the fresh taste of blood in her mouth and more aches that burned than she cared to count. It was working and making her suffer beautifully in the need to just let loose. Niema's jab made her toss goggled eyes over her shoulder at the woman as she started for her shirt and quirk her lips to one side in obvious disbelieveing question. What?! She might have known more about Cross today than she did when they first met, but companion? Maybe it was her Saborian misunderstanding of the word, but the look Niema gave her said she didn't. Damn her. Not saying a word, she scooped up her shirt as the Underboss climbed up the ladder and pulled it over her head and down her bloody body with no care that she was staining it with her blood or roughing up the injuries when it meant covering up against other people. Only once her shirt was on did she unclip and unwind her braid to swing again before she achingly climbed the ladder, mostly missing Niema's quip back to the Hunter as the crowed equally cheered and scolded her. It made her chuckle, especially to note the snap of her teeth made more than one of them jump. The Watcher needed a new Whiskey and the two fighters needed a drink, to the bar it seemed they were headed? Maddox was still truding, even if her gav-boots were still on light weight, she just didn't feel like picking up her feet and ensured no one's toes got caught under her boots. People moved, even if they didn't give her the same birth they gave the Underboss. Maddox didn't need it, it was just wishful thinking.:: Jus an' ale fer me. -d
A Vestige Within: Lucky he missed Niema's quip or if he did hear it? He didn't take it all that deeply. Perhaps she was poking fun because he had been cheering for and encouraging Maddox the entire fight. When she hopped out and threw those words at him he huffed lightly. "I bet you would." He didn't really have any smart words to go along with that, so he simply narrowed his eyes and then looked back down at Maddox as she collected her shirt and gathered herself. Cross welcomed her back up out of the pit when she had climbed the ladder. "Nicely done, Goggles. You've more than earned a drink on me." He bumped her with his shoulder playfully. "You look like you just got done fighting for your life though..." When they reached the bar he slammed his glass down. "Ale for the woman and more whiskey for me! And whatever the boss wants too! The two fighters deserve a few good drinks after that tussle." He looked back to Maddox and shoved his hands into his pockets. "So how'd it feel to go head-to-head with the boss and come out alive? Must've been mighty exhilirating. You'll have another tale to tell your crew now." . (D)
Black Death Pyke: ||F i r s t - A i d - K it ; the barkeep kept one just for her because she rarely came out of the pits anymore with more injuries than it could handle. Of course, a drink was also in order when she got there and took up a stool where the old man set the kit down so she could clean and bandage her wound. Some might have expected her to leave it, or let it bleed-- maybe even go back to her office but she wasn't abashed to let them see she was human and sometimes had to bandage a wound. She would also grimace a little when she poured cleaning alcohol over her hand to wash and sanitize the wound. Bites needed the most care to prevent infection usually,though perhaps the Saborian had a naturally cleaner mouth than most people-- like a dog. Who knew?! Niema was a little surprised to hear that Cross was paying for her drink and quirked a brow his way as the Barkeep handed to her said as much on his way to refilling Jia's drink and getting Maddox her ale. She smirked some and raised her own whiskey glancing down the bar at them both, and then bringing it to her mouth to swallow the entire contents knowing she'd get poured another; perk of position. She did them the favor of staying out of their conversation even if she was listneing to whatever she could hear while she wiped up the blood and took a look at the angry bite impression that hurt a hell of a lot more than she let on. On the bright side, the woman had a nice bite radius placement of her teeth. The down-side was that Niema wasn't really going to be able to use that hand much until it healed. Fucking Maddox, not that she wouldn't have done the same or similar.||[d]
Bound but free: ::Licking the blood off her teeth, the Saborian had hoped the Hunter would follow Niema more closely and NOT be there when she got to the top. Niema had made it a point to ensure Maddox knew she knew, but did he? He was casual enough in the bump of his shoulder against hers but it didn't stop some part of her from enjoying it a little too much. Even if that contact also raped her raw skin underneath her thermal as it pulled in the skid of impact and tightened against her road-rash. He was buying her drink, and he said she earned it, but she was looking at his lips more than the words they were forming and she blamed Niema for reminding her twice before they left the pit. Yeah, Maddox would be glad to think of the pain Niema's hand would be in the next few days, but Cross was there to distract her by reminding her how much pain she was in! Fight for her light huh? Kinda! Maddox laughed in genuine amusement and admission she nodded to while they approached the bar, putting the man between her and Niema even while he asked her what it was like to fight her and live. The way he shoved his hands into his pockets made her eyes dance behind her goggles in a race across his shoulders in that coat and then down the straight of his arms before she looked past him to the Underboss refilling her second. Maddox was peeling her gloves off her scraped hands before wrapping bloody fingers around the naked glass in appreciation for some sensational satisfaction before she took a drink while mirrored frames were set on Cross, eyes benhind them too. Only once her own tongue was wet with something OTHER than Niema's blood, did Maddox speak up with her usual grin showing off pearly whites still sharp as ever.:: Aye, wuldn't want tu face 'er tu de deat (death) dat be fer shur! ::Laughing, softly, but still serious. Who's killer instincts were sharper? Maddox didn't want to know. Niema was a good Underboss and she dared to think this helped her overall goal of uniting Saborians and Waveians. Afterall, they might not know it, but sooner or later, the Nahili ARE coming.::-d
A Vestige Within: Jai glanced over his shoulder at Niema and offered her a firm nod when she realized the drink was on him. He also noted that she was patching up the bite wound to her hand and simply smirked. No more taunts. He knew better than to push the Underboss too hard on her own turf, so he shifted his attentions back to Maddox who was watching him awfully closely. Some things didn't go unnoticed. Even if he couldn't see her eyes he knew that he had her attentions. His own gaze narrowed suspiciously and he snatched up his refilled glass of whiskey for a slow sip of the contents within. "Nope, I'm quite sure she would've snapped your neck the moment she had her legs around it without a second thought. That'd be a damn shame." He gifted her with a small smile, unable to miss the blood that remained on her fingers and gloves. "Looks like you're going to need some patching up as well though, Captain." She'd be fine though, clearly. "I, on the other hand, get to dream about two killer women going at it for blood, lucky me huh?" He did get the sweetest end of the deal didn't he? Even if he'd missed out on the action himself, he still felt like he'd been a part of it in a way. He drained that whiskey glass with a wince and a shake of his head. "Very entertaining night. But I got matters that need tendin' to and jobs that are waiting for me to find them. Not gonna pass out and faint or anything?" Look at that, showing a shred of concern for her well-being. . (D)
Black Death Pyke: || I n c e p t i o n ; she hoped those seeds were rooting in Maddox's mind with the way Cross turned his attention back to her after his nod to Nie. Those thoughts made it easy to smile while she was in pain cleaning the bite on hand and the blood that came from it. She was gracious with the barkeep for keeping her glass full and attentive to the task at hand without being unawares of those around her. Most tried to pretend they didn't see her or notice her there at this point and she was content not to have all the gawking. She glanced at Maddox and Jai a few times herself without any notable expression to hint what she was thinking more than her usual knowingly amused smirk made a bit twisted by the scar that ran over her lips and down her chin; arguably the oldest scar she had. When the Hunter suggested he was leaving to be ready for work later she didn't look up again and started wrapping the banage around her hand-- at least until she was in her quaters where she felt better about letting it air out. Black eyes shifting along the line of her shoulder to the people and the pits where fights were still taking place and would for a few more hours yet. They were perhaps the most profitable thing about the Underside... consistently anyway. ||[d]
Bound but free: ::Like before, she needed to get out of here. The ale was crap, which was good, and Niema's plan to make Maddox think was working. Cross wasn't helping, but he didn't know any better (or did he?) and the Captain found herself still as stone for a breathless moment before she bubbled into laughter at his surprising admission of dreaming about that. Was he jesting or being honest? Like a puppy, she tilted her head curiously, as if wondering if she understood him right. Cheeks burning from the nail welts, shoulde, back and fingertips burning from the road-rash while her insides ached from that punch to the side of the gut early on and still her body flared excitedly at the thought one of the the Living Ancestors, especially a hunter, might actually care about a Saborian Hybrid. Of course, he didn't know what she was, so she shook her head and grinned:: I be fine, go do your ting. ::Maddox was going to be leaving shortly after him, but she didn't want to apear to be fleeing in the wake of her loss AND she wanted to finish that ale before having to explain to her firstmate why he had to patch her up.::-d
((aaand end scene))