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[needsteaplz]

WHO: Saori Nakagawa & Margulis; any spectators welcome
WHAT: That sparring match they promised
WHEN: Tuesday 11/20, morning
WHERE: Outskirts of town
WHY: Because they wanted to. And people can place their bets
WARNINGS: Violence but not to the point where someone gets murdered. I hope.

On this morning, Saori was up but not at the Elysium tea house. Any employees or early bird customers can find a sign saying "Opening Late Today. Sorry for the Inconvenience." 

Instead she was in the outskirts of town, dressed in her attire she normally reserved for the Dark Hour, waiting for someone.There were several metal flasks attached to her waist since they provided her secret weapon. She had her eyes closed in thought until she heard footsteps.

"Glad you could come, Margulis. Ready when you are."

Comments

[misplacedxsheath]

Margulis was dressed normally for Dark Hour, except for one small detail. The saber that hung at his side wasn't the one he normally used, but the one Saori would have only seen once before, when Margulis had deemed it necessary to arm himself more heavily than normal.

"I've been looking forward to this. I would have to be bedridden to miss this appointment."

Almost before a normal person would be able to see that he was reaching for his weapon, let alone register it, he drew his sword and slashed it through the air into a ready position. Flame enveloped the blade the entire time it was moving, only to vanish without so much as leaving a haze of heat around the metal when it stopped.

"Now, I hope you're prepared to lose!"

Leaving her just enough time that she couldn't claim he'd attacked without warning her that the fight had started, he swung his blade downward. From the point it hit the ground, blue flame leaped to life and shot out in a straight line, tearing through everything in its path until it hit the limit he'd set for it.

[needsteaplz]

"Well you're cutting it straight to the punch, aren't you?"

Fortunately, Saori did manage to jump away from the blade and the flames aimed at her. No way she was going to go down this quickly. While the sudden transition to the match did throw her off slightly, she wasn't going to underestimate him just yet. She's dealt with much more terrifying things that were often several times here size.

Well damn this was going to be quite a sparring match indeed. She still wanted to keep her own unique power hidden just a little longer. Instead, she stomped the earth beneath her to kick up a large solid chunk of the ground and sent the splintering shards at Margulis. Of course this was a chance for her to jump up high into the air to ready a kick aimed at him. Her hand reached for behind her back to unscrew one of the flasks' cap.

Just assume that any time he swings his sword, it's on fire.

[misplacedxsheath]

"I've never been fond of wasting time."

He whipped his blade up from the ground to deflect the shards of earth, cutting through them with no difficulty. But he hated being on the defensive. As soon as he'd cleared a path, he charged forward, leaping up to aim a diagonal slash at her while her movement was limited.

joy B|

[needsteaplz]

"Tch," Saori didn't have time to change her direction. That didn't mean she was wide open for an attack. The smoke that leaked from one of her flasks began to wrap around her legs from the knees down, forming into some kind of armored boots. Normally smoke wouldn't be the best at protection, but under Saori's control, they could be as tough as she wanted them to be.

She wasn't going to leave her hands unprotected though. The remaining smoke gathers in her palms wrapping around her hands like her handwraps. Her left foot connects with the broader flat side of the blade, despite the fact it was engulfed in flames, to at least push him back down onto solid ground.

At least it opens up room for jokes?

[misplacedxsheath]

He fell to the ground and landed in a crouch. He hadn't been expecting something like that, but it was interesting. It also meant that he should probably avoid attacks that were likely to light fires if they missed. That made this slightly more difficult, since fire was the element that came easiest to him, but he could manage.

Almost as soon as he hit the ground, he jumped back, putting enough distance between them that he could aim properly. And the second his feet touched the ground again, he swung his blade around to point at the ground and stabbed it down. From the spot where the sword disappeared into the dirt, a web of electricity spread out, arcing toward Saori.

True but Saori will keep them to herself.

[needsteaplz]

Saori's eyes went wide as the electric attack came at her. Her hands came up to protect herself with smoke following to form a shield. The range of the attack however did take her by surprise.

She got knocked back by it, rolling onto the ground. While she did get back up, the aftershock did seem to have a slight effect. She shook it off and went back in charging. The smoke trailed after her. At the last second, she suddenly went down for a sweep kick. Once again the boots and arm guards formed. While she did have her own enhanced strength to back herself, her smoke manipulating powers would prove to be a pain.

If the sweep kick didn't work, Margulis would have to get ready to deal with a boot to the head. Or just a kick from below in general.