338/WMAT A4 Ariel vs Chronicler

WMAT A4 Ariel vs Chronicler
Date of Scene:	03 August 2014
Location:	WMAT Arena - Diablo Desert
Synopsis:	Daughter versus student, it's time for the ultimate showdown of brains against... heart?
Cast of Characters:	151, 219, 395
Tinyplot:	WMAT

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Ariel (219) has posed:
A windswept desert! How poetic and dramatic! At least Ariel thinks so. She has Diea with her even though her Abstractum is in hibernation mode... having a flowing cloak is just plain cool. The unicorn has a pair of goggles on, and a leather jerkin and other adventuring gear, looking like she's ready to set out through the wastes!

But she's not here for that. Instead she's petting Iyoshi with a little whispered reassurance, "Stay, I'll be fine." Only then does she step into the designated arena, flashing a quick smile. "Wow, this is a lot farther than I got last year. All right, Ainsley, let's see what you've learned!"

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    The desert. A place of familiarity. Comfortable, compared to the lush green or frigid white of other regions.

    Ainsley has arrived in a set of leather armor and a plain cloth cloak of her own. She doesn't have her Abstractum out, by contrast, instead only having a flower tied into her feathers. She has taken to arriving to the arena earlier than her opponent, but not by much when it comes to Ariel. There's a great deal of uncertainty about whether she should fight the unicorn girl at all in Ainsley's heart.
    "Okay," is her confident response, shadowing her uneasy heart. The sword is drawn from its scabbard, a longsword from Creation that shines as if meticulously maintained. "To tell you the truth, I had hoped I would not get matched with you. You are someone I am not comfortable fighting against. Even on friendly terms like this."
    She takes up a defensive stance with the weapon. She's a short lizard, making the sword seem a lot bigger than it actually is when she holds it up. It somewhat resembles a Kendo stance.

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Amalthea is tyring to settle in and get comfortable to watch the fight, but some things never change. It would seem a local native- some form of bandit has tried to grift Amalthea of her cash, tofu dog, and beer.
    That ended badly for him, considering the unicorn has a new seat, made out of a whimpering and confused local, who gets a firm kick in the ass every time he thinks of trying to escape, while she holds his face in the sand.
    "SAY UNCLE! FUCKING SAY UNCLE!" The unicorn snarls. "I fucking TOLD you to just step off. I was like 'just walk away, you can put a stop to all this. Step away from the gasoline and I will spare your life'. But NO you had to be a shit and interrupt me trying to watch the tournament!"
    Well at least he's comfortable whenever he stops squirming. So she settles in to watch as Ariel and Ainsley take to the field.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Ariel claps her hands together. "Most of my opponents so far have been pretty rough! I'm glad we can get to a match where we're doing just a friendly little fight. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you and not use any of the things I had to for the other ones! You don't gore me, I won't gore you!" How chipper! Also earnest. It's pretty doubtful Ariel enjoys getting super violent.

Now she brightens, "So let's go! Um... we can treat it like a training exercise or game! Dodge the lightning 200 times and you unlock a special weapon!"

Wait what?

That's when crackling electricity blasts toward Ainsley, a mild bolt hurled recklessly from Ariel's fingertips. It looks worse than it is, kinda like a taser or stun gun more than REAL LIGHTNING.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    ZZZAP.
    The lightning hits Ainsley, and she feels the burn of it through her flesh. A familiar sensation, something she learned to endure early one when she was learning her own magic. It's weak but it visibly tenses the lizard. The electricity dissipates into Ainsley.

    "Sounds like a plan," she breathes out, and the tension releases. Electricity crackles over her form and dances down to her hands. She squints at Ariel. "If I recall right--" She pulls her hand off the sword, "Magic doesn't always work right on you, or your mother." She has done her research. It's easy to learn about allies that she happens to live in close proximity to for short periods of time.
    Allowing her curiosity to get the better of her, she points one claw-tipped finger toward Ariel and emits a bolt of lightning of her own, testing the differences of strength in their spells.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Lightning crackles, and it slams into... what appears to be a mystical barrier! It still leaks through, somewhat, crackling over the small unicorn to make her flinch. "Well... it's kinda more like... it hurts but it helps sometimes?" It's hard to say how much of that attack she absorbed, but to say it had no effect is obviously an exaggeration.

Now the fight begins in earnest, with Ariel leaping forward and dashing to the side, trying to keep some distance even while also attempting to get closer. Her own attacks are a tad innacurate, after all. This time she flings a small 'bolt' of electical magic, just tossing some portion back at Ainsley while using her mobility to stay off the 'easy target' ranking.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ainsley frowns at the barrier. She isn't capable of doing something like that -- in her world, magical barriers don't really exist -- so she feels a bit jealous about that. She observes the effect it has on Ariel, but the damage is negligible by comparison. Not good. The lizard girl's head turns to follow Ariel, defensive stance returning--
    And the charge is ping-ponged right back at her, the jolt making her body tense again. "Hnn!" It's just like her early days of training magic, she realizes.
    She decides to step it up a notch. The sword is sheathed and both daggers are drawn. And then she turns to run toward Ariel, and with expert precision, she tries to slice at the unicorn several times with those blades, moving at a speed that is a bit faster and harder to predict than a moment before.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Oooh, closing in to attack! Ariel eeps as the knives flash, slicing and scoring across chitinous surface. Two deep cuts manage to break through, one on her shoulder and one along her side, drawing silvery blood from within. It startles her, causing a brief backpedal as the tiny unicorn feels the shock of the blades cutting her. "OW!"

But Ariel isn't without some skills of her own, thanks to Al's experience. A hooved leg snaps out, aiming short kicks first at Ainsley's leg, then body, and finally arm in a quick series before flipping back and landing on all fours, unicorn-form. "Well, I guess we can fight this way, too."

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    The first strike to her leg staggers her, but Ainsley is prepared. She flutters her cloak in such a way as to make it difficult to judge where to hit, a maneuver that would be impossible to do with the way her stance crumpled unless she was using her weird visual powers. She doesn't managed to avoid the third strike, letting out a startled shout of pain, the bruise left over from it bound to get very sore in the future.
    "Sorry," is all she can say, smiling warily at Ariel. She had no intention of going easy on Ariel, and no expectation of the same from the unicorn.
    Both daggers get sheathed, and a hand goes on the longsword's hilt. But instead of drawing it and then preparing to strike, she uses a burst of lightning magic to propel herself toward Ariel in her charge and do a draw slash as she slides by, her feet digging grooves into the floor as she lands and steadies herself after the maneuver. It's sloppy, that much is obvious, but it shows off the versatility of her magic.

Ariel (219) has posed:
SOMETHING has reinforced Ariel's chassis... possibly an effect of the magic she uses? The slash opens up her side, shallowly but enough to start an ooze of silver, and she lets out a short bleat of pain from the gash that Ainsley managed to land. "AH!"

Not going easy on her? That's fine! Ariel stomps a hoof twice, then suddenly leaps up with a flash of mystical light, RAMMING right... past... Ainsley. By a wide margin.

If she's lucky, Ainsley will remember that Ariel can double jump, and might manage to avoid the sudden second jump that changes Ariel's direction in midair, trying to slam her bulk into the Quetzal's body from an unexpected direction.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ainsley is not an expert in combat and not very sturdy. While she can see Ariel coming thanks to being able to see in every direction at once, she cannot really react quickly enough to respond to the tackle, resulting in being thrown onto her back and sliiiding across the cracked earth they're using as their arena. She grunts as she stands, again made sore from a blunt force attack.
    The only saving grace here is that Ainsley didn't take the full force of the tackle, thanks to at least being able to adjust herself for that slide.
    "Never tried /this/ before," she murmurs, as she wells up some mana inside her body, of three different types that wildly resist each other. She points and swipes her hand in two rising motions, and then points her finger for the last part. First she projects a spike of ice up from under Ariel, and then it explodes into steam and a weak fireball, along with a load of dust getting kicked up. Once she's set up a mist cloud, though, she projects lightning and creates a miniature lightning cloud that buzzes and crackles dangerously, as electrical charge dances through the water and the particulates mixed within it.

Ariel (219) has posed:
The ice spike slices along one of Ariel's hindlegs, giving her a bleat of pained surprise which is cut off by an EXPLOSION! The fireball-steam-blast hurls her aside, sending her tumbling to thud and skid along the ground... but she lands on her hooves, panting, and now she's bracing for a followup. This means that the cloud of electricity isn't quite so effective, as she tries to soak it up rather than get burned. She didn't get anything from the other two, but maybe this last one...

The unicorn thunders out of the cloud(haha) aiming to the side, galloping swiftly but jerking her head to the side. "Trying new things is what this is all about!" At least to her! Oh, and that toss of her head sends glitter in the air and a lash of crackling lightning burning along the ground, trying to blast Ainsley with a fairly more heavy charge than the earlier one.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    The good thing about facing a magical creature is that Ainsley is unlikely to pass out from mana deprivation. The bad part of it is that spells hurt a lot more than plain punches and kicks.
    "G-G-G-G-GAAAAAH!"
    A shuddering sound of her scream from the electricity, her eyes squeezed tight and her stance barely maintained. She manages to avoid getting knocked over by her own involuntary muscle movements, but it's clear it did some damage to the diminutive lizard girl. The mana left over surges inside of her, though, and she recycles it as her own. And when she does, she again launches into an attack against her opponent. This time she moves with more force, but instead of slicing, the sheathed sword is instead used like a huge cattle prod.
    Ainsley tries to smack Ariel right across her flank! And the blunt force is accompanied by the very direct BURST of lightning right back into the unicorn. Ains is trying very much to slow down her very spry opponent, as she finds herself overwhelmed by the speed of that quadrapedal gait.

Ariel (219) has posed:
It looks like Ainsley's calculation, this time, was spot on. The powerful burst slams right into Ariel and sends her skidding across the sand, tumbling over and over and /this time/ she doesn't end up on her feet. She actually has shifted into humanoid form again, staggering up with a little coughing fit to spit out some sand that got into her face. "BLUH!"

That was a good hit.

Ariel is still crackling with the remnants of that lightning, her head ringing, but she squints to peer at Ainsley again. "Ow." Another little cough, then she shakes her head, "I guess mom has been teaching you stuff!" Said cheerily despite the faint ring of pain... and then she kicks off with a plume of sand, launching straight at Ainsley!

Only it isn't her horn coming at her. The unicorn has flipped around in midair, lashing out with a powerful hoof-kick with both legs to bring the fight back to melee range.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    "I could say the same for you," Ainsley remarks, as she returns to her neutral stance and watches Ariel stand back up. She isn't sure how to react to the upcoming attack, though, and soon finds herself within striking range of both of Ariel's hooves. Unicorn hooves are not a fun thing to get hit by, as evidence by the loud TH-THUMP of both of them hitting Ainsley. She leans into it so she's not thrown off her stance, but it hurt a lot!
    Grimacing through the pain, she reaches to grab both daggers once again. Her eyes glint, and her movements stop being normal. She uses her Visual Field to swerve into openings and slice at her opponent, sidestepping thanks to not having to look directly at her opponent. It looks like a dance, the way she moves, and she even twirls one of her daggers in an artistic way, playing it up for the cameras recording the match.

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Amalthea's seat gets antsy. She quells him by cracking a rock over his head. "Quit squirming you are SPILLING MY BEER."
    He complies.
    She then spills her own beer with emphatic arm waving. "I TAUGHT YOU BOTH AND THAT MEANS NIETHER OF YOU ARE COMING HOME UNTIL I SEE A ROARING CROWD AND BLOOD ON THE SAND!"
    She doesn't mean that.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Ariel is suddenly much faster than before... and tougher. A surge of mana from within might have something to do with it, some minor spell to increase her physical abilities... temporarily. It helps, at least, but the series of slashes opens up several shallow cuts on the small unicorn-girl weaving back and forth, bobbing and sidestepping as best she can. She's still pretty inexperienced, though, and several gashes open up, leaving her stumbling a little. At least... at first.

It's without any warning, and in it comes the power of the extra strength Ariel has been pumping into her body. It's... actually really strong, a sudden punch with crackling lightning around it, a fast and swift jab far more powerful than she should have.

"AH! Oops!" Seems she briefly went past her limiter.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ainsley is tricky, but Ariel is fast and directly more powerful than the lizard woman. The punch is seen, and there's an effort to try to avoid it, but the dodge doesn't work out the way she wanted it to. THUD! She staggers away from Ariel and doesn't even get to scream from the electricity. It's a lot like when she hit Ariel with the Stun Baton spell, but with less control.
    Ainsley recovers, but wheezes and coughs, having been hit in the dead center of her chest. It pays to have worked out as much as she did, or she'd be suffering a lot more than extensive bruising and lost breath. She doesn't allow the brief stun to open her up for a follow-up, spinning in place and swiping her tail at the ground to create a dust cloud. The rapid pivot nearly unbalances her completely.
    Once she has created a temporary smokescreen of a sort, she leaps back out of it, transposing it between herself and Ariel. Then, using her Visual Field and her precise Lightning Magic skills, she aims to blast a huge bolt of lightning magic right back at the unicorn, projected from a single pointed finger. They really are trading that same batch of mana back and forth!

Ariel (219) has posed:
The obscurement works well, but it isn't foolproof! Ariel takes a breath to lock down her regulators again... and then she realizes she's a sitting duck! It's pure luck that she manages to summon up another shimmering mystical barrier at all.

It's not strong enough, though, and the blast smashes through the barrier, blunted but still powerful. This sends her staggering back, stumbling a few steps with a cry and a clutch at the smoking impact point on her chest. She didn't absorb much of that one!

Her counterattack comes abruptly though! Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, the unicorn bursts forward with unnatural speed, her horn flaring with power as she boosts her movement. The idea is just to land a series of sharp jabbing strikes, each one sending a jolt of mystical lightning out, in a clumsy but unrelenting attack that has steam hissing from her joints and showing off her body's endurance.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ainsley is confronted with the barrage of strikes that try to hit her with magic and impact. The first one is sensed and seen before it reaches its target, whiffing past Ainsley's head. The second strikes her in her gut, getting a loud HRGH, the next parried aside with an arm, and the last striking her block and sending her tumbling backward. Her whole body tingles with the mana of every one of these attacks. She has too much of it, and she's about to fall. She can feel it. So she decides to pull out all the stops.
    She uses the enchantment of the daggers to their highest potential when she comes in for the next assault. The daggers strike out in a whirl of blades, but crackles of lightning also pick up her speed. In a flash, she strikes six different times, with spinning slashes and stabs and finally a kick that would try to drive the last of the lightning into Ariel and drive her well off her feet and across their chosen arena. It's a dizzying speed, something only an expert in melee combat could properly track.
    Ainsley doesn't have a lot of force behind her attacks, but she does have that agility. Something Amalthea taught her to use, and something she has been trying to hone.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Ariel's in pretty bad shape, too. Silver blood leaks down her sides, and steam keeps hissing from places as she vents heat. She doesn't do it nearly as much as her mother, not being a mechanical being like her, but she still has to release pressure sometimes! And Ariel, too... is actually a bit overcharged!

That agility and numerous attacks was a good idea. Pretty solid, really! Ariel just happened to luck out in how she tried to defend. The blast does send her flying and tumbling, but there's a bright aura around her... another shield, which deflects the worst of the strikes as if they are hitting a gummy, thick barrier that slows their attempts to slice her, and blunts that final kick somewhat.

She's still sent tumbling though, grunting as she wobbles to her feet and blinks a few times. "Uwah..." But her hands are held close together, something forming within.

"I kinda just... made this up," she admits sheepishly as the glow doubles and redoubles, forming a shining sphere of energy that is smelling of ozone.

"I think I'll call it... ball lightning?" She says, swaying unsteadily before just /heaving/ the crackling concentration of lightning and mana toward Ainsley, causing a thunderous crash as it loses coherence and rips across the landscape.

She really hopes that worked, because she's kind of swaying on her feet.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ainsley doesn't manage to knock her opponent out. Her eyes widen, Ariel's stance still steady, even if she's very tired and injured from the attack. The shield had dampened the majority of her dagger strikes. And then there's a lightning spell.
    Ainsley just does not have enough mana to deflect the attack or even absorb it, despite trying very hard to prepare for that. The explosion of lightning sends her flying and tumbling, the daggers flying through the air and embedding into the earth. Smoke rises from one of them. When Ainsley finally settles, looking like a crumpled heap of cloth, feathers and scales, she is very still. She seems to been knocked out quite thoroughly by the spell. She's also quite alive, because a lightning spell just isn't enough to kill a Quetzal unless it's done by something of ungodly magical strength. Look, she's even still breathing!
    She's not conscious enough to congratulate Ariel and thank her for a good battle. She'll get to that later.

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Amalthea throws herself to stand up. Her beer goes everywhere.
    Her seat scrambles away for dear life, whining and secretly vowing to never lead a life of banditry ever aagin.