Scene #8342: Night of Swords

Owner	Pose
Vergil	The half-moon hangs low in the sky when the festivities begin. A trail of torches mark the now well-trodden dirt road to Pandaemonium, the stone keep in which Amii and his alliance have made their home. The courtyard is brightly lit with torches and bonfires both as the demons tend to the celebrations. Sabnock, the massive armored figure whose head is a morning star with a lion's face embossed on it is arranging logs sliced vertically to serve as seating around the edges of the courtyard. Haborym, the bull-headed snake with cinder-like scales is assisting Gaap, the goat-legged craven in the cooking. Whole animal carcasses turn on spits that are kept hot by Haborym, with Gaap carving off slices and putting them on what appears to be pita breads with pickled vegetables. Stolas, the crowned owl, is currently working with Bifrons, the lump-shaped monk, in crafting... something. It dominates the middle of the courtyard, roughly taller than the average man, some kind of... twisting, coiling metal structure. The monk says prayers in some guttural tongue over it while the owl scratches runes into its surface with its talons. Amii is waiting to receive arrivals along with Leraje, the tall leprous figure wrapped in green bandages. "Welcome, welcome to the Night of Swords!" Amii says. Gently, he takes people's hands in his own large claws and shakes them. "Please, help yourself to refreshments before the festivities begin. As we intend to celebrate Sparda's monumental battle in defence of humankind, we have decided to have a trial by combat!" Gesturing over to the strange metal structure that Stolas and Bifrons are working on, he continues. "But not in the traditional sense. What you see here is known as a Combat Adjudicator! A tool developed by demons, an device normally indestructible until a certain level of combat expertise is displayed upon it. We've set this one as high as we can." The two seem to finish their work upon it, and two braziers on the side of it come to life, flickering with flame. "When you are ready, please put something of you in the flames on the left. We demons shall do the same to the one on the right. When the time comes, the flames shall glow with appropriate colors, and both sides will come together to perform the most fearsome unified attack they can!" "Oh, isn't that interesting?" a cold voice says from behind. Tony Redgrave and Vergil approach, the former with hands behind his head, and the latter with his usual contemptuous look. "Ah, you both came. Thank you so much," Amii says with a bow. "Could never turn down free grub!" Tony says with a grin, while Vergil just snorts dismissively and approaches the Adjudicator. Running a hand through his hair, he produces a single strand and tosses it into the rightmost flame. "Jeez, always with the dramatics with you," Tony says as he strides up, biting his thumb and allowing a drop of blood to fall into the left flame before the wound closes.
Cantio	For Cantio, the demons in Pandaemonium are familiar faces, and she actually looks rather pleased as she approaches Amii with hands outstretched to take his claws. "Good to see you again finally, Amii! And... Leraje! How have all of you been? It's been way too long." She asks and comments while taking a quick look around, peering over at that metal structure while her drones float along behind her with some kind of giant weird brick on top of them. After hearing about the reason for this night, she's decided to bring some fresh fish and shellfish from back home, and what better way to bring it than in a big fridge? "A trial by combat... Hmm. It has been a while since I've had a casual match with... A combat adjudicator?" With her curiosity piqued, Cantio circles around that big metal thing near Stolas and Bifrons briefly to get a better look at it before getting some drinks herself. "If we get it high enough, though, wouldn't it break before anyone else gets a shot? Unless..." Before she can start picking at the thing too much, more familiar faces arrive! Ones that Cantio and Amii both recognize, even, as she breaks into another smile at their approach. "Oh, hi! It's been a while, hasn't... It?" She asks, trailing off a bit when Vergil tosses a hair in. Tony's offering of blood has Cantio going slightly more stone-faced, and then she follows their lead by... Taking out a nail clipper and dropping a clipping in. She's been meaning to take care of those for a while, anyway.
Remee Halcyon	Remee needs a distraction. Maybe more than one distraction, for more than one reason. So hearing about this, it seemed appropriate. The demons here have had generally a good reputation, or so she understands. The werewolf (in anthropomorphic wolf form, since she feels like she can let down her hair a bit better amongst this mixed company) is dragging an ice chest along behind her, and drops it off wherever people are dropping off the food. Statues are marveled at (and pictures are taken, with warpstagram filters to be decided on later), and hands are shaken. And then, when directed towards the twin flames, "Oh! I'd heard about this. If I'd known we were doing it here I would have prepared something in advance... one second here." She gets out her knife, and a moment later tosses her left hand's ring finger into the fire. By the time she's cleaned the knife and put it away, it's already scabbed over, and within a minute the stump has visibly regrown by a few milimeters at least. "So - combat expertise, right? Not just pure force? Since I can't exactly 'shoot a bullet harder'," she says.
Tamamo	Tamamo has brought a large, smooth-sized box, with handles at either side. She sets it down rather heavily, then deposits a cloth bag, long and thin, next to it. With her hands freed, she greets Amii with a serene smile. It's not quite a festive attitude, but close enough, for the moment. "I thank you for the invitation." Looking toward the adjudicator, it's with some surprise that she says, "Oh, goodness. It is, to be honest, rather a relief that we will not need see blood as part of the festivities... apart from those pricking themselves. A hair will do, no?" For her part, Tamamo reaches into one sleeve, produces a long-tined comb, wraps one tail around in front of herself, and procures a pinch of loose fur that way. Upon further inspection, the thin bag she brought contains tightly packed skewers, and the large box is a separated ice chest of meat and vegetables. Determining further details will probably be easier once it can be smelled cooking.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	A mountain of a man is among the arrivals. He stands at seven and a half feet, thickly built from head to toe, and green all over, but for his bright red irises. His full, trimmed beard is complemented by an undercut mohawk. Amii's met this man before, and he shows an abundance of warmth in his handshake. "Swich is what I am biloven ofheringe," grins the Green Knight. He loves 'refreshments' and 'trial by combat' in the same sentence. How could he not show up? His outfit screams 'biker.' Sleeveless olive drab vest (rendered sleeveless by the sleeves being torn off), with various patches. The back reads, in faded white reflective font, 'GALAHAD, INC.' A wide, studded belt is hardly necessary for the black jeans he wears, and heavy motorcycle boots thud against the ground with each step. By far, however, and as might be expected by those who know him, the centerpiece is the shirt. A skeletal knight kneels, propped up by a sword partially buried in the dunes of a moonlit desert. THE DEVIL SAW ME WITH MY HEAD DOWN AND THOUGHT HE'D WON, tells the slogan wrapped awkwardly around the silhouette of the skeletal knight. Written across the bottom, where the knight's knees meet the sand, UNTIL I SAID NICE LIFE AND SICK COCK, BRO He makes the rounds, boisterously greeting the demons he recognizes (apart from Amii, that's Stolas and Haborym), before finding his way back to the fire. Sidling up after Vergil and Tony, Bercilak takes his right index in the opposite hand, pries the whole thing off with a gruesome sound, and tosses it into the fire. It regrows after a second or two, in a fast-forward cross-section of human (?) anatomy.
Lilian Rook	Lilian, as is her way, arrives with Tamamo, though sometimes it can be said to go vice versa. Lilian, as is very much not her way, doesn't say a word until actively prompted. She wanders into the night clearing by Tamamo's side, dressed surprisingly appropriately for the occasion, in old-fashioned green and white and brown festival wear for the traditional nights like Samhain of before, mostly kept usable by a leather corset overtop and braided rope ties pinching in the sleeves. Despite forgoing most of her makeup on purpose, in favour of only what someone could make by hand, in respect of a holy day in her custom, one would struggle to tell, were it not for the streak of blue over her scar. And despite all that effort she appears completely apathetic about it. As if she'd readied in autopilot. She picks up one of the pita snacks when offered with a silent nod, biting into it without really thinkin. A droplet of meat juice hits her face, and slowly trickles down as she chews and swallows. She has to blink at Amii for several seconds to finally remember to reply. "Oh. I see." she says, without any inflection but 'polite'. "How bizarre. No, I suppose that device would actually be extremely useful, given the right circles in need. I may have to find out the secret to its construction later." Her fingers reach absently for her hair, pinch as if to pluck one out, and then pause. Her hand drops to her side, curling up into a fist, instead, quivering just the slightest bit. Blood it is, following Tony's lead. She doesn't mnd giving that up. "So is this . . . a ceremony? Or a competition? Are we supposed to get something out of it? Or is it just the act." Lilian enquires, dully.
Vergil	"Miss Cantio," Amii says warmly as he shakes the digital woman's hands. Leraje doesn't speak as usual, but bows his upper body close to a 90 degree angle to her. Vergil, of course, does not give her the time of day, but Tony greets her with a "Heya toots, what's good?" Remee one-ups Tony by just cutting off a whole finger, which makes Bifrons flinch a little. "Child, please. A single strand of fur would be plenty. Treat yourself with more kindness." As she asks if the adjudicator measures expertise and not pure damage output, Stolas nods. "Indeed. You must... 'get funky' with it, as they say." "Aw, you can't shoot bullets harder? That's a shame," Tony says in a smug way that implies he's just mad she one-upped his cool thumb bite. With regards to the ice chest and the box brought by Remee and Tamamo, Gaap rushes over to examine them, while eyeing those who brought them in a manner that can only be called 'disrespectful.' "Mmhm, mmhm, good stuff. I'll get these cooked up for ya." He carries them over to one of his bonfires where Haborym is slapping down a large cast iron grill by carrying it in his mouth. "A hair is fine," Amii confirms to Tamamo with a tight smile. He doesn't seem all that happy about the deliberate self-mutilation going on. Something that only worsens when Bercilak shows up and just rips a finger off to cast in the fire. "Oh must you really?" Bifrons shudders. "I appreciate your shirt, however. One must turn the other cheek, and respond to malice with kindness. Though I know not if the Demon King owned roosters." Lilian asks for the point... and for once, Vergil answers. "It is just the act. Father would appreciate something like this, I think. He was quite the show-off." He looks Lilian right in the dull eyes and adds, "And from the looks of you, a chance to turn your brain off and hit something seems needed." He's still saying it in that arrogant, stuck up way he says everything but it might well be the nicest thing he's ever said to her. The demons now put their parts into the flames. Amii scrapes a loose scale free, Leraje raises a hand to his face and coughs a wad of phlegm into it (applying hand sanitizer right after), Sabnock pulls a rivet from his body, Stolas plucks a feather from himself using his beak, and Bifrons produces some thick, dark locks of fur from the inside of his robes. Gaap and Haborym tend to the food, content to sit this out. Finally, the ceremony begins. The flames on the side of the demons burn a deep, dark purple, while the flames on the other side burn a bruise-like red. "This is... Miss Lilian Rook, and Stolas the Wise! Step forward, and join your martial prowess!" The great owl approaches the Adjudicator and bows to Lilian. "I recall your expertise against the elves miss. If you are content, I shall follow your lead on this." Everyone else retreats to the temporary seating, and Amii lowers his voice to ask, "Is Miss Rook well? She seems... unhappy, I suppose. Did something happen?"
Remee Halcyon	"I mean, it's not like I'm not growing it back," says Remee, holding up a hand to show that the cut finger is almost regrown to the first knuckle already. "Honestly my first thought was to cut off the whole hand..." > "Aw, you can't shoot bullets harder? That's a shame," Remee immediately and visibly starts brainstorming how to show off a bit. Lilian's up first. Remee watches curiously. Remee's only seen her in action a few times, and usually there were big distractions going on during those times (like Hiromi). ... Though as they're getting into position, she can't help but sidle over to Tamamo. "What'd you bring?" she asks, curious (and perhaps more than a bit food-motivated).
Tamamo	Tamamo is, of course, aware of the reason for Lilian's listlessness, even if there hasn't been an occasion for the two to talk about it. She sticks to her side as if worried she'll disappear to go off and do something dangerous as soon as no one's looking at her, though without saying anything to that effect. There's no worry in her voice, either. It's only her actions that can't be perfectly smoothed over, unlike her voice. Taking Lilian's hand in both of hers to tend to it after the offering of blood, Tamamo says, "Is this not, too, a form of remembrance? To enact a feat of strength in memory of one who performed such, so that this memory may live on, even after he has disappeared, himself." By contrast, Remee's and Bercilak's offerings only receive a, "Does that not hurt?" They aren't in need of her healing, anyway. She glances away from both Bercilak's shirt and Bifron's praise thereof. To Gaap, Tamamo says, "Please do," and then slowly withdraws from the forefront only after the ceremony has begun, Lilian is called on, and Tamamo gives the latter's hand a squeeze. 'Is Miss Rook well?' "No," Tamamo says, after thinking on it a bit. "There was... a death in the family." 'What'd you bring?' An easier topic. "Oh, just a few, simple things. Peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, chicken, pork... a bit of beef, though it was harder to acquire. For such a popular meat in some areas, it is rather less so in other lands, I have found."
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	Does it not hurt? The Green Knight shrugs his shoulders casually. "Som-what, sikerli," he says. But evidently not so much that he won't casually do it. He might just have a different relationship with pain than anyone normal, as evidenced by what he says next. Bercilak's belly-laugh at Bifron is entirely good-natured. "I am fucked in the hed, probabli," he gives the demon for explanation as to his gruesome offering. "Bituhhen mine hom-world, mine abiliti and mine experiences, swich things bihowe me not as once thei didst. I shalt rememor thy mislikinge, wori not." He settles into his seat easily enough. The question about Lilian draws a shrug from him. He doesn't 'like' her--wouldn't have a beer with her or generally 'chill'--but it's fairly clear, when his eyes turn towards her, that he at least respects her, and respects her quite a lot. "Som-thing is alwais itidinge with her," he says. "She is mighti, and meteful so als, and forthy art bicches wrothli." He doesn't know, in other words, but he assumes she's suffering blowback from a Hoes Mad Incident. The actually correct information from Tamamo draws a rumble from him. "Treuli? Bisorwed am I ofheringe. Thou art toknoue hau I may be ofreched, shouldst thou nede."
Lilian Rook	Lilian shivers at Tamamo's touch, as if she didn't expect it. Staring guiltily at the trivial feet of healing, she looks as she's spoken to, and then her eyes wander away from Vergil's when he refers to Sparda as 'father'. The way the rest of her face does nothing, where she settles back into looking at Tamamo's hand. suggests that it's the word alone, and nothing else it implies. "Ah, I see. A sort of memorial service then. Perhaps aspiring to his image, on one part. Showing responsibility in another; that we can carry the torch forward; like it wasn't for nothing." she says, to signal her recognition. . "Well, if it's about due dignity, then far be it from me to treat the name of Sparda with dishonour." Lilian sighs. Meeting Tamamo's eyes, Lilian squeezes her hand, and lets go. She turns back to Vergil, looking through that palpable arrogance. As if she can only sort of see his face through his own expression. "If I could turn it off, I'd be a lot happier. And more like your brother." she says, nearly arriving at a smile, but not quite getting there. Tiredly, she only recites "Thou shalt use the fullest of thy competence at all times, and thou shalt demand the fullest. Thou shalt not accept substitutes, imitations, or shortcuts, from thyself or any other." Then, adjusting the leather strap over her loose white top, Lilian picks up her sword, and pushing aside her skirt for a moment, draws Winter Crow from its thigh holster. She'd meant to show it off. Proudly display it in response to Tony's Ebony and Ivory. Make Vergin have to respect it, as an extension of her own power, and not the outside means she used before. But right now she's thinking about something else. Too far away. She nearly sleepwalks up to the adjudicator, not seeing to particularly mind Stolas more for apathy than her previous begrudging fondness. Remee's voice, randomly or by purpose, cuts through the fog, Tony's shortly after. 'I can't exactly 'shoot a bullet harder'' "I don't mind." Lilian says to Stolas. "And I've come a ways since then." Thinking about how to coordinate the two of them, her thoughts briefly drift to that ridiculous pursuit of the martial art 'chi-lee-dyng'. A reminiscent grin drifts to her lips, flickers and dies. "You'll get a feel for it. I promise. I really feel like pretending I can come together with someone tonight" Lilian takes a deep, deep breath. She closes her eyes, visibly moving this way and that while shut, as she images something. She whispers to herself while she thinks. "Yeah. Just show it who's better. Show her why I always win." 'Aw, you can't shoot bullets harder? That's a shame'
Cantio	The logical part of Cantio's brain tells her nobody would offer an entire body part unless they have the means to just create more. The actual people-y side of Cantio recoils when Remee just chops a finger off to toss into the fire. "Hh... I mean, if you thrust your hand forward as you're shooting it's... Marginally harder?" She suggests with an amused, yet still anxious chuckle. Tamamo's comb draws Cantio's attention to her tails, and she watches closely as the fur is removed. "Oh! Tamamo, helo. I don't think I've really seen your tails like that before. Do you use..." Wait. Would asking that be offensive? Between Tamamo and Remee, maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea. With Lilian around, it definitely isn't. "... What do you wash them with?" Slightly safer, but still dangerous. Hearing the Green Knight's familiar cadence, Cantio looks over at chest level, already expecting something good in the form of fun shirts. She's not disappointed, either, as the lines have her snorting once before clearing her throat. "Hi, Bercilak! That's a... Shirt. Good.. Er. Good lines!" She genuinely does laugh at it, even if her words are stilted as hell. Lilian's difference in demeanor doesn't go unnoticed, but Cantio doesn't address it right away. Instead, she smiles pleasantly and raises a free hand in greeting before sipping some of her... She's not sure what she's drinking, but it doesn't taste half bad. "Hey, Lilian. It's been a while since... Er. The last time we were here, huh?" Naturally, she just had to bring up awkward past events. Turning to Tony, Cantio chuckles and presses a hand against her head dramatically. "Oh, plenty! A war in one place, peacekeeping in other places, research in both... How about you, Tony? Any interesting jobs lately?" Eventually, the offerings are made, and Cantio watches the ceremony. She steps back to give the flames and the performers extra room, joining everyone else at the temporary seating. At Amii's question, Cantio shrugs lightly and lowers her voice. "I was about to ask about that, yeah... She seems different. Like-" Tamamo explains, and Cantio sucks in some air through her teeth. "Oh. Um... Oh. Does...? W-well, for what little it's worth, I can offer... Something?" She doesn't really know what, but at least it's out there.
Lilian Rook	Lilian snaps her eyes open. Winter Crow spins around her finger by the trigger guard, and rises up to aim at the adjudicator as if magnetized. The muzzle spell-circle flashes, aether vents from its brake, a solid gold casing ejects from the bolt, and then before the alchemized bullet can travel six inches, Lilian strikes it from behind, tripling its speed to an insane level of force. Firing the weapon again comes barely frames later; she flickers back and forth between shooting stance and stunt strikes as if the two occupied parallel timelines. The magazine runs dry. The gun breaks open down the middle. Lilian tosses it into the air, along with an ammo stack, to Stolas behind her. Lilian drops from the air. Night Mist crashes against the adjudicator pillar with so much force that she'd certainly dropped from more than ten feet up. She bends her knees to absorb her own force for a split second, but instantly resets her stance partway through a two handed slash through its middle. Though the device is indestructible in all conventional senses, sparks fly from the blade as several-- dozens-- scores of rapid-fire slashes crisscross over it from a standstill flurry so intense that dirt and sand billow up into the air around her. Her feet only leave their planted positions the instant Stolas is done reloading. Lilian reaches out to intercept the firearm again, then gestures at Stolas to charge. She disappears from his path the moment he attacks, reappearing flanking the adjudicator from the opposite side, crouched low and sliding to a stop, with the sword by her side and her hand hovering over the hilt, as if she were just about to draw it. Her hand slides all the way down to the pommel to extend the range of her slice, just as Stolas makes contact, so that her other hand can swing Winter Crow around sideways through a follup arc, blazing streaks of black-gold magical gunfire, fanning through the adjudicator's coils. Then she and Stolas flip places, and Stolas has his turn in the air. She tosses the gun up into the air, letting it fall. Her fists up to the elbow, feet up to the shins, hiss with the armouring Lady in Black. The air rattles with the thunderous force of countless unarmed blows as Winter Crow tumbles back down towards her. Six consecutive whirling spin kicks strike it in the middle as she seamlessly alternates her weight, until the weapon lands in her extended rear palm, and instantly loads itself. When Stolas starts to come down, she simply boots him back up again with a cooperative vault, then changes sides to still mirror him, slamming the gun point blank into the adjudicator and firing the entire rod at once, causing it to smoulder with heat and crack open to vent flaming aether. Her sword is back in hand. She only has to look at Stolas to communicate 'go for it'. "Cleasanna Lilí Dubha ~ Fáinne Gréine Óir" She has to restrain it just enough to stay inside the clearing, but the full circle traced by her sword, the immense flash of igniting infragold and vantablack haze, and the perfect triplicate overlap of simultaneous strikes from all sides, visible like overlapping rings of sunfire, are even more immaculate than the last couple of times. All three full circle cuts strike the adjudicator at the geometric perfect center, tripling their individual power. Stolas is out of the line of fire specifically because she boosted him to strike from above while she hit below.
Tamamo	'Thou art toknoue hau I may be ofreched, shouldst thou nede.' 'That would be complicated by your affiliation,' Tamamo doesn't say. If there's nothing to be done about it, then it's not exactly polite to bring up at a festival. Even if seeing Ishirou's killer ostracized by 'her people' would bring some measure of satisfaction, that's not a step Tamamo's yet willing to take. Instead, she says, "Thank you, Sir Bercilak. Your well wishes are enough." Matters apart from retribution can wait a few days longer. '... What do you wash them with?' "Good eve, Ms. Cantio. Oh, why do you ask? I do not think your own hair would benefit from the same treatment, but if you wished for a recommendation, I might send you one by letter." Or, by text, but the modern terminology escapes her in the moment. 'W-well, for what little it's worth, I can offer... Something?' "Oh, I thank you," Tamamo says, with enough reflexive grace that poor Cantio's awkwardness is only put on greater display, "though I believe it may be best to set this aside for a little while. It was quite recent, you see." They haven't even seen the state of the body. In another day or two...
Vergil	"I knew it," Vergil says as Tamamo confirms that someone had died. "I saw that look in her eyes in my own when I was a child." Tony just looks away from it all. In the light of the bonfire, it's clear he's uncomfortable with all this. "The loss will make her stronger," the blue-schemed twin finishes, in a tone that almost sounds conciliatory if it weren't for the words used. Even Amii kind of gives him a Look for that one. Tony is glad for any excuse to rejoin the conversation and direct it away from Feeling Stuff. "Uhh... jobs, jobs... oh, there was a pack of zombies I got called in to deal with, but they had a real groove going, so we just wound up having a dance-off. Verge wasn't impressed." 'Verge' clucks his tongue and says, "Perhaps if you had thrust your pelvis less." "Oh, like you know anything about that!" Vergil only lets out a dry chuckle in response. Meanwhile, Lilian is going ham, emptying Winter Crow into the Adjudicator. The runes engraved on it begin to glow brighter in response to her strikes, the accelerated bullets drilling into its frame. Stolas catches the gun and ammo, taking to the air to free up his talons to load the former with the latter, tossing the gun forwards so it will fly over her shoulder. At her signal, he flaps to the Adjudicator, grasping it with both talons and driving his beak against it over and over. When they swap places, he takes higher into the air as streams of starlight accumulate in his wingspan, all of it flying out as trails of destructive light with his next flap, all of which converge with the adjudicator. With Lilian's help, he takes to the air again, now flying in circles above the courtyard before bringing his wings in and spiralling, his whole form enshrouded in starlight. As Lilian unleashes her final blow, he comes down like a fist from God, slamming against the adjudicator and triggering a massive blast that sends sparkles all across the forest. The structure slams down, now glowing a brilliant red from the tandem assault. Amii applauds, and all the demons follow suit. "A fine display indeed! I do believe that is the maximum result. Any more and it may have broken. Thank you Miss Rook and Stolas both." The great owl bows his head to Lilian, raising a talon to tilt his crown to her. Next, the flames glow a bright sunny pink, and a sickly green. "Our next display is from Miss Tamamo-no-Mae, and Leraje the Tormented!" Amii calls. The tall, bandaged figure walks over and gives a low bow, now clutching a great bow made from bone with sinews as the string. At its side is a collection of arrows long enough to be called javelins. "She is a support fighter, if I recall," Vergil says drily. "And has been paired with a back-row fighter. I'm interested to see where this goes." Amii meanwhile, offers Lilian a tankard of some kind of mulled wine as she comes to take a seat. "We... heard about your loss. I wanted to express my condolences. And also thank you, for coming out regardless."
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	Bercilak grins at Cantio, despite the bad news. "Glathe am I ofheren thou lik hit," he says, reaching over and patting her head with a green hand large enough to cover the whole of her face. "And so als, to espy thee presencial." He applauds heartily for Lilian and Stolas, giving a holler for good measure as they run up. The demonstration itself draws a slight smile to his face. It's nice, to see her cutting loose like that, in a relaxed and casual context. The swordplay is expected, but the gunplay is not--and it is received with a hushed, hyped-up "Eo," his head sweeping back and forth between his fellow spectators in stunned appreciation. When it's over, the pair of them get several meaty seconds of applause, followed by a cupped-hand shout. Tamamo, stepping up with Leraje, gets an equally thunderous bit of applause.
Cantio	"Oh, just curious. I don't have tails, so I was wondering if it needed to be treated differently from hair." Cantio replies, although her mind wanders as she considers the tail thing. Couldn't she just add them on? If she's a digital being, it makes sense to think she could just edit it in somehow... Maybe? She doesn't dwell on it too long, though, as Tamamo offers to send her some tips. "Could you? That'd be wonderful, thanks. It's... I've been thinking about doing something different with mine, but I don't know what yet." She'll figure it out sooner or later. Tamamo gives slightly more information about the death in Lilian's family, and that has Cantio wincing again. "Right, of course." Picking up on that with Tony's aid, she claps her hands to focus on the actual display of Lilian's and Stolas' prowess in beating the shit out of the machine. She cheers, she claps, and she pauses when Tony mentions dancing zombies and thrusting. "Do zombies even...? I mean, does that even work? If old living people already have enough problems moving without hurting their backs, I can't imagine a zombie's would be in much better shape." Bercilak gives Cantio the biggest of headpats, and she shrinks just a bit beneath it. Not in an awkward way or anything, but in a good way that's followed but a bright giggle. It's a familiar feeling, even though it's not from her sister. "It's... It's a fun shirt! Probably not something I'd ever have a chance to wear, but..." She trails off, tapping her chin lightly before looking around at their present company. "Maybe another time. If I know I have to be in disguise or something." Tamamo and Leraje are next, and Cantio cheers once more before providing a bit of pre-display commentary with Vergil. "This should be pretty different, yeah. I've heard rumors about Tamamo's martial proficiency with that mirror, though, so I wonder if she might incorporate that into an elegant performance with Leraje tonight. There's so much contrast between them, so it's bound to be good."
Remee Halcyon	Remee applauds at Lilian's performance, but she also can't help but feel like... ... Well, Remee had said that she can't fire a bullet any harder, not that other people couldn't. This feels at least somewhat personal, right? What did Remee ever do to Lilian, aside from being associated with Petra and being roommates with Petra and interceding on Petra's behalf and financially enabling Petra to - oh, right. Okay, nevermind, things make a bit more sense now. ... Maybe she should say something, though. Maybe, maybe all that's in her own head. "Well," she says, approaching Lilian as Tamamo's getting set up. "I guess you can shoot bullets harder. Huh." "How long did it take you to figure out that trick?" This feels like a good safe neutral topic to open up with. People like talking about themselves, generally.
Tamamo	At Lilian's display, Tamamo smiles, her own features relaxing, to some extent. After it's over, she stands and steps forward, stepping past Lilian when her own name is called, and brushing a hand up over the other's shoulder in passing. "The fullest of your effort at all times, is it? To prove that which is unyielding. I shall not, perhaps, be able to do the same, though I will not dishonor the ritual with quarter-measures. It is only that I am too soft, perhaps." To the taller Leraje, Tamamo inclines her head, bowing just slightly. "Though we have been given no time limit, let us not force others to wait overly long. A few moments is all for which I shall ask." She is, if nothing else, efficient in pulling the stacks of talismans from the hidden places in her robes, and pulling exactly the ones needed by touch alone. A dozen fly out to wrap tightly around Leraje's giant arrows, one to each, covered in potent maledictions. Even a curse of lethargy can become fatal if it brings a sleep that lasts forever. "It would be strange for an opponent to remain conveniently in place, but... ah, this is a demonstration, and not a test of training, yes? I shall take advantage of the moment, then, and though it seems unlike me, I shall take the fore. Worry not, but allow me to lead the dance." The 'start of battle' is signaled by a burst of motion. The Eightfold Blessings materializes above Tamamo's outstretched left hand, swings in front of her feet and, using it as a springboard, she leaps above the adjudicator. Guided talismans fire like shot, planting at eight points around her target, crackling with power between them that is followed immediately after by a roaring column of flame. Tamamo herself falls straight into it, her mirror swung up above her and down onto her immobile opponent with its indestructible blunt edge facing. Even without physical contact between her and her weapon, the feedback of impact pushes her back, landing with a third handful of ofuda drawn. These burst into a cloud orbiting her, then zip forward, around and down, a stacatto burst perfectly timed to strike in the same moment and fromo the opposite direction as any attack by Leraje, bursting with booming force and blasts of stormy wind, with the target itself creating a covering shadow such that a launched arrow won't be affected in flight. While the cloud of shots is still firing, the magic already cast and ensuring it will continue without her full attention, Tamamo pulls forth something new. It's a sword, and not one likely to be easily recognizable. A straight blade unlike those made on the islands the centuries afterward, jagged at points near the hilt, with a large, curved pommel like a second guard. The dark metal she covers with angled talismans is at once unassuming and obviously ancient. As the last shots are fired and her preparation is complete, Tamamo steps forward, poise perfect on her tall geta, warding her approach with her mirror like a shield, and steps into a one-handed strike with the sword, bursts of reaching solar flame exploding outward on impact. When she retreats, sweating from exertion rather than heat, the sword is nowhere to be seen.
Lilian Rook	Lilian takes a few seconds to finally notice that the adjudicator is maxed out. Her sword shimmers with heat, the air steaming against its blade. Footprints glow briefly in the groud, as if radioactive. Slowly, stiffly, as if reluctant to actually believe she's done, Lilian settles back down again, and breathes out. It fogs, faintly, despite the temperature. "Good work, Stolas." she says, bland but not ungenuine. "I'd sort of forgotten what . . . never mind." Lilian slowly retreats from the field as the next pair takes over. She pauses, briefly, as she passes Tamamo. "I'm not about to slow down now. Not for her. Nothing is going to change." Her hand reflexively rises to lay on Tamamo's, and then she resumes walking. She stares Amii up and down, a little too long, when he offers the tankard, then takes it, a little too slow, as if she isn't quite sure she should have it. Like the gesture was somehow unclear. "Thank you." she says, almost making it sound like a question. "It's . . . It is what it is. And I'm going to be dealing with it. Tomorrow. There's no use stopping my life to sit inside. It does no one any good to fall to pieces now." She sips the wine slowly. "If I have to do that, at some point, it'd be better to save it for later." Now she settles in to watch Tamamo, finding the closest thing that could be considered leaning height. She knows Tamamo isn't, herself, much of a fighter, but of course Lilian is pleased to find any excuse to watch her do anything. Some of the aching dullness drains out of her eyes just doing that. "Just now." she says to Remee, without looking, and then the hard-edged numbness comes back. "It sounded like something impressive, so I borrowed the idea." She swallows more wine in silence. "You don't need to explain anything. You never pretended as though I mattered to you. I don't feel betrayed. By you." Tamamo coming back is a good enough excuse. She moves from her spot to meet her again, guiding her back with her arm, and offering the wine over. "I'm not really thirsty. Come on. Let's sit down." Apparently she's still attentive enough to notice the sweat.
Vergil	Amii gives Lilian a stiff nod as she talks about it. "As you say. I wish you luck in... dealing with it. Whatever form that takes, I'm sure you can get through it. You've been a great help to us so... I hope you have time to properly process after. Not just because you're useful but..." He's wringing his hands now. Demons clearly aren't good with this kind of thing. "You and your family deserve better, is all." "You would think!" Tony says to Cantio. "They were a little stiff, but it kind of worked. They would kinda jerk from one pose to the next, kinda like uhh..." He snaps his fingers as he tries to remember the work. "Overcranking! In horror movies you know? Like this." He gets up and begins doing a demonstration. It is as he says, even stiff, languid movements can be dance with the right choreography. A slow drag of the foot into a fast spin, into a cock of the hip, to a grab of the crotch- "That's enough, Dante," Vergil hisses. "We are commemorating Father, remember?" Tony just scoffs, but returns to his seat. Leraje lets out an approving rumble as he examines his newly-enchanted arrows. As Tamamo springs into motion, the demon nocks his bow, sinks to one knee, and draws it back while taking aim. As the pillar of flame roasts the adjudicator, he begins drilling shots into it over and over. It's a bit dull honestly, the kind of thing that's great in a fight but a poor demonstration. But once Tamamo gets clear of the adjudicator's airspace, he sinks to a knee and aims an arrow up. It flies, and creates a torrent of them coming down on their mutual target, adding to the stacatto of her ofuda. As she buffets it with strong winds, he remains in motion around it, suddenly rushing in and swinging his bow like a golf club, launching it airborne. It is at that moment he notices Tamamo preparing something big, so he lashes an arm out, causing his bandages to lash out and coil around the adjudicator. With a fierce tug, he slams it back down into the path of her swing before leaping clear of the massive solar flare. The adjudicator again glows bright red as the two finish. Leraje is as silent as ever, but he bows once more to Tamamo. "An excellent display from you both! It just goes to show that those who strike at range have myriad tricks up their sleeves too!" Amii says proudly, slapping Leraje on the back as they return to their corner to skulk. This time the flames glow white and pink on one side, and black and blue on the other. "Cantio and Bifrons!" Amii calls. The cloaked monk stands and offers a gesture of prayer to the digital being. "I remember you at the monestary. I am not much of a warrior, but even I must pay respect to Sparda. I will do all I can not to slow you down."
Tamamo	Again, Tamamo inclines that slight bow in return, her hands clapped together, saying to Leraje, "You have worked hard, too." To Amii, with some satisfaction in her voice, "It is so." 'The loss will make her stronger.' When she has a moment, Tamamo answers Vergil, even if only in passing. "There are losses as make one sharper, as in the grinding of an edge. There are fires that make one harder, when allowed to cool. There are others as make one weaker. The sharper blade, too, should not be confused with a strength... but to say that there are types of strength for which one would wish, and others for which one would not wish, perhaps this is too vague to be considered wisdom. The flow of time, and life within it, is a complex matter, is it not?" 'Come on. Let's sit down.' Tamamo accepts Lilian's invitation with a smile like a burst of sunshine after the rain. "Yes, gladly." Any excuse and none, to be close to her.
Remee Halcyon	> "You don't need to explain anything. You never pretended as though I mattered to you. I don't feel betrayed. By you." "... Alright." That's, probably, the best she can hope for, she thinks. Lilian and herself are not on the same side. Never were. They're more likely to cross swords than to stand side by side. Lilian's a big part of why Remee's new home is way out in deep space right now, instead of somewhere here on the superplanet. There's a lot of reasons for Remee to not be fond of Lilian. - It's just a small little party, just what I could throw together at short notice, but I hope you'll still find it up to the standards of a Rook. - Don't. Don't worry about it. My standards are my standards, and I'm perfectly content to spend time like this with pleasant company. Let's leave family names out of this for now, okay? ... And yet, maybe there was something there. Some... thing. Maybe just something minor, something in common, but something. Lilian didn't not matter. Remee made her way back over towards where she'd been sitting a moment ago, and settles in to watch Cantio's performance, trying to focus on that instead. There's not much to be done about other things, at least not yet.
Cantio	"I can kind of see it. It's kind of like those little jerky motions from old video games, but... Fully sized?" Cantio guesses, although it's not necessary once Tony gives that demonstration. It's a rather blatant one, too, and she snorts briefly before covering her mouth at the crotch grab. "S-so that's what you meant earlier." She comments to Vergil afterwards, coughing a few times before clearing her throat and trying to look at least a little more proper as she cheers for Tamamo and Leraje. The flames change, and Cantio finds herself paired with Bifrons. She takes a moment to finish off her drink, then curtseys lightly to the lumpy monk in turn. "You've done great work with all your preparations, so don't worry. Since this is more about style than raw strength, would it help to think of this more as a performance?" Smiling confidently, Cantio brings out her sword's handle while its myriad pieces filter out of her drone fridge and form into a conductor's baton. She glows briefly before splitting out two clones of herself: One dressed in a monk's robes that's clearly intended to mirror those of Bifrons (complete with being on the opposite side of the Bifrons), and the second dressed in an extremely flashy skirt and midriff-bearing vest and sleeveless shirt combo that would most easily be described as 'pandering idol group outfit'. Both of the clones are wielding matching great swords, and the original looks towards Bifrons with a confidently reassuring smile. "We won't be the fastest, but we won't let the others show us up. Let's go~!" The fridge drone starts playing elegant, almost relaxing ballroom music as the performance begins. The clones start things off slow, moving in sync with each other as two prongs of a triangle with Bifrons forming the third. Their strikes are slow at first, making broad slashes across the Combat Adjudicator from left to right before shifting into a twirling swipe high, a spinning slash low, and then advancing thrusts that are just slow enough to help them gauge how well they can time their movements with the monk. "Don't worry too much about the timing, Bifrons. Feel out the beat first, then start working your own tempo in!" The trio shout in encouragement as the clones continues their synchronized slashes that steadily knock pieces of their weapon off until they're little more than rapiers with all those shiny pieces scattered in the air around them. As the performance goes on, the original Cantio adjusts the music and her baton's movements accordingly, directing the clones to pick up the pace to test the limits of Bifrons' speed. She's always pushing it just a little bit more, never advancing too much at one time so as to completely outpace the monk and bring the whole performance crashing down. The music's tempo and styling, too, changes as the performance continues. Although it starts sounding elegant and dance-like, it becomes more upbeat with heavy electric guitar riffs slowly taking a greater presence in the track. It even gets louder and more surround sound-y as the performance continues, undoubtedly coming from all those little sword pieces like they're remote speakers or something. Those pieces start creating a light show to go with the impromptu concert, too, blasting lasers at the adjudicator in pulsing colors that coincide with the volume of the music itself. The finale, of course, is a big dumb drum solo that just consists of the Cantios slashing and stabbing, the sword pieces blasting lasers, and even the original Cantio getting in on it to bash away at the adjudicator with a rapid rise and dramatic fall in intensity.
Vergil	Bifrons takes up his position, looking between the two awkwardly, one dressed in a parody of his robes, the other in something way too revealing. "Young lady, I feel as if your approach to all this is quite different from ours." But Cantio encourages him to find his own rhythm. He starts by conjuring snowflakes above himself that fire in sequence, forming icicle shards that stab into the adjudicator in between their sword swings. Next, he sprays a frigid blast form his mouth that hangs over the statue, catching the light from the sword shards that break off and volley lasers. Next, he produces a narrow sliver of ice which he uses as a rapier also, going in with the two clones to thrust and stab. Bits of it break off too, only to reform as the chill seems to rise in spite of thermodynamics. As the original Cantio comes in for the big finish, Bifrons closes his fist, compacting the chill into a single point above the adjusicator, creating a massive chunk of ice that comes slamming down. The runes only glow blue at the end of it. "Ah... my apologies miss. It seems I did slow you down," Bifrons says apologetically as Amii applauds them both. "Nonsense friend. It was a great display from one who took a pacifists oath." "Night's getting on. Want me to break out the extra so everyone can have a go?" Sabnock asks. "Ah, fine idea." The hulking armor goes off into the keep, soon emerging with another adjudicator that is set down a good distance from the first. Their braziers are lit with the flames from the first, and soon both shine with unusual color. One is green and red, with purple and black, and the other black and gold with steely grey. "Bercilak and Amii, and Remee and Sabnock!" The leader of the demons, and the armored lion both stand and bow to their partners. Again, they seem content to let them lead.
Remee Halcyon	Ah, it's her turn. She gets up and bows back to Sabnock in turn. She reaches for her rifle, pauses, and goes to fish a few of her other weapons out of her gear bag instead. A standard issue pistol, a six shot magnum revolver, and finally a snub nosed double shotgun. They're all checked and loaded, and then laid out on a table in front of her, along with a few other items. "Alright then... Some trick shooting. I can't shoot any harder, maybe, but I can make this more interesting. Sabnock, if you could, close in and start attacking, and don't worry about being in my way. Just move like you normally would. Give me a few seconds before you start." She waits for him to approach the adjudicator, and then picks up the pistol. She flicks the safety off, aims... The first shot goes off, sliding right by Sabnock's shoulder, and striking the adjudicator without actually touching him. The second one goes by his left leg, and then as he moves his hands to attack the next shot blazes by the spot his hands were occupying just a moment ago. "Keep going!" She grabs one of the items she laid out on the table - a strip of cloth, which she quickly ties over her eyes. A blindfold. Now unable to see, she still picks up the pistol and keeps firing - each shot just as close as the last one. With the pistol's clip dry, she drops it and switches to the magnum, turns the safety off, and takes another shot - the recoil is notably harder, sending her aim far off course, making her have to reorient herself with each shot. She takes three of the six shots in the revolver, and pauses. "I have to confess - it's hardly a challenge," she calls over her shoulder to the audience. "I can still hear him..." She reaches down, snags the pair of ear plugs on the table, and slams them into her ears. (They're larger and shaped differently to accomodate wolf ears.) Two more shots are taken - impossibly near misses near his arms and feet. One shot left. "Still - I am cheating a bit," she calls over her shoulder again, a bit louder due to the earplugs not letting her adjust her speaking volume. "I can still smell him." Two nose plugs are shoved in. She takes a deep breath through her mouth. "No sight, no sound, no sense of smell, and..." She gets up on the balls of her feet, and starts turning around, spinning in a circle several times before stopping. She's facing off to the side now, off towards Bercilak. "No sense of direction..." She starts turning, slowly, back towards the audience at first - then pausing, and then back the other way, managing to zero in on the adjudicator stone... then taking aim, and firing again. The last shot in the revolver skims by Sabnock and pings off the adjudicator, just like the others. "No sight. No sound. No smell. No sense of direction, and..." She drops the magnum, and picks up the snub nosed shotgun. The sort whose firing pattern is described better in terms of radians instead of vectors. "... No ability to aim, either..." She holds it out towards Sabnock and the adjudicator. With the spray of lead that's about to come out of that thing, there's no way she can possibly hit the pillar without filling Sabnock's back full of lead. It's literally impossible. She hesitates just a moment, and then squeezes the trigger - click ... click, click "Oh, silly me, the safety's off," she calls, grinning. Clearly the climax to her shooting act is a joke - she wouldn't actually try to make a close call with a snub nose, that'd be stupid. Indeed, she puts down the shotgun, turns to the audience, and then bows deeply... ... then stands back up straight, grabs the shotgun again, clicks off the safety, and fires. A spray of lead erupts from the end. In as much as anyone's able to track a bullet in flight, it's less like two bullets being fired and instead like two clouds of angry particles erupting from the barrel. And yet, somehow, somehow, every piece bypasses Sabnock completely and impacts the adjudicator pillar instead, without so much as leaving a mark
Remee Halcyon	on him. Then she rips the blindfold off, pops out the plugs, and bows for real.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	Bercilak nods solemnly at Cantio. "An othere time," he intones. "I shalt outjournei to thee thanne, and oversportful shalt hit be." The Green Knight chuckles softly, turning his attention back to Tamamo and Laraje's demonstration. A crisp, sophomoric and enthusiastic 'whoo!' escapes him in appreciation of Tamamo's acrobatics and precision with her talismans. "YEA! FUCK HIT UP SIBS!" He cheers, when her ofuda burst into orbit, pumping both fists, mesmerized, as they hammer home in sync with Leraje's attacks. She can count on the same level of raucous but genuine enthusiasm on the way back to her seat, too. "Tammy hath hondes," he grins approvingly as she takes her seat again. "That was wholly fucking ille. And so als was Lilian's. I was not toknoue she was so custumed to gonnes. Thou hath unk both ben bisi, hit bisemes. God shit." Bercilak really seems as though he's enjoying himself--given as he is to these fervent displays that set his sturdy log-seat to rocking at their most spirited. Cantio and Bifrons get the same response--applause and encouragement that seem particularly suited to a stadium, or rager of some sort, given wholly sincerely and mostly sober. He even continues it through the ballroom music her fridge drone plays at the start of their demonstration, confused but spirited until, predictably, the electric guitar. "FUCK YEA! QUELL HIT!" The drum solo is received well, and he makes sure to clap Bifrons on the shoulder amiably if the monk's in reach on the way back to his seat. "'Tis muchli bihowing," he says to Vergil, "To espy, ech tim," gesturing to the Adjudicator, "Hau thei shalt ifighte in supplement of ech othere. I am toknoue several of theim that hither came, as thou probabli awene, and didst fight bisides theim, so als. 'Tis... wholly coled," he says, 'wholly cold' apparently being 'really cool' for the enthusiasm uttered, "To espy it wholly, in swich a place, where 'tis sporte alon which unhardels wepens." he twirls a finger around.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	He is called, alongside Amii, and looks quite pleased. First thing's first, he gives the clawed demon a firm handshake at the wrist and a confident grin. "Sib! What itides?! Bahahah. Hark," he says. "I am custumed to the fore," he says, as his empty hand reaches out. In it, molecule by molecule rapidly forming, is a great axe with a glowing green edge and a span that leaves its eye level with the top of Bercilak's head. "But so als am I custumed to assissting mine allie. Thou shalt ilern quikli, I trow!" He gives the axe a few testing swings, rolls and pops his neck, and chuckles lowly, before turning on the Adjudicator and launching into an assault. Bercilak is so large, and so frequently in that heavy armor, that it's hard to see sometimes how fast he is. Here, utilizing the oppressive reach of his weapon, that is plainly obvious. He's fighting side by side with Amii, taking masterful, patient cuts that perfectly account for the demon's spacing and position relative to him, always wrapping up with time to spare. Amii, meanwhile, finds that his strikes seem much more prone to hitting a favorable mark, even with Bercilak at his side. The Green Knight's hands make adjustments constantly, based on the opponent he imagines in his head, according to the options he has available--one moment, the grip is all the way behind the beard, using it as a short-distance punch blade. The next, it's halfway down, battering with a sharp rap of the haft to keep the 'opponent' from closing in. His strikes are clean, fluid, nearly seamless with the end of Amii's strikes, pounding out something like a rhythm in the swift back-and-forth. It only slows slightly with the addition of the heavy armor and that massive harness atop it, the Green Knight's cloak of summer flowers used here as well, for the odd bit of misdirection in conjunction with the speed he can change grips on that axe. Suddenly, a roar that rattles the chest washes over the grounds, growing louder until the source is visible: Bercilak's heavily armored hoverbike. He leaps astride it, just as a golden bubble-shield glows into existence around Amii. "GO BUGGE SHIT, SIB! I HATH THEE!" The bike makes a series of inside loops on the Adjudicator, the axe striking expertly with each pass. Each one is less forgiving a swing, until Bercilak makes his last pass, inverted, rolling sharply 'til head inches from the ground, swinging 'overhead' to bring the beard by just in time to snag the Adjudicator with a low sweep. The bike slows, after that, righting its path, Bercilak leaning from the running board to give Amii a fervent high five. He leaps off, hands held high in the air, fists pumped twice in excitement, then gives one last shout and makes an armored chest-bump with Amii. Remee is offered one, though she could hardly be blamed for passing, given that he looks like he's wearing someone's military budget. The armor fades, and he returns to his seat with a grin, shirt proudly on display once more.
Cantio	By the time the performance is over, Cantio (original) is still laughing even with that assessment from the combat adjudicator. "No need to apologize! It was a nice change of pace, wasn't it? It was good for a first attempt-" She's not actually sure, but it sounds good to her. "-especially with what Amii said. I haven't improvized making actual music in a while, and... Besides." She smiles again while grabbing some drinks. "When was the last time you got to do something like this?" Another adjudicator comes out, and the next sets of performers are announced. Cantio cheers again while contrasting it with polite golf clapping, then goes right back to color commentary. "Now we've got some heavy hitters coming out... Let's see how this works out. I've seen Bercilak's ability with an axe plenty of times already, and I've heard a bit about Remee's tricky gun work before. Bouncing all of that off what Amii must've learned from studying humans and Sabnock's tough armor and ferocity... This could be a real showstopper coming up!"
Remee Halcyon	Remee accepts the chest bump. It may send her flying backwards, but she's made of tough enough stuff.
Vergil	Remee tells Sabnock to just go in, and the armored brute obliges. They take their head off their own shoulders and begin swinging it by a chain that emerges from his neck stump. Using it as a meteor hammer, he begins attacking the adjudicator, swinging at it from all angles as the bullets begin whizzing past him to find their mark. "Whoa, what's happening back there?!" his head shouts, obviously not in a position to look back. The head is launched straight on, and the lion's mouth clamps on to the statue, allowing Sabnock to pull himself in. Now he begins using his own head like a caveman would use a rock, gripping it with both hands and slamming it over and over, chaining those together with lariats and dropkicks like a pro wrestler. He turns and goes, "Oh, you're done? Hey, that was pretty-" just as Remee grabs the shotgun and fires after all, the cloud of pellets passing right by him to lift the statue just barely into red. "Whoa! Scared the bolts out of me girl!" he laughs as he puts his head back on. Amii meanwhile only smiles in a slightly baffled way at Bercilak as his chitinous mask comes up over his mouth. "Yes, I'll do my best to keep up," he says, managing to catch what the big man is putting down. The two make a fine compliment, as the biker starts exercising the purest of unga, operating the axe like an instrument, constantly shifting his grip to change its reach. Amii meanwhile constantly blinks around, his hands wreathed in purple flames as he manoeuvrers around the adjudicator, lashing out with a flurry of strikes before warping out of Bercilak's way. As the Green Knight bellows to "go big," Amii flaps his wings and takes to the skies. Hovering overhead, his whole form becomes wreathed in purple flames. They jettison from his broken horn as his mask comes down revealing a bright purple light shining from his mouth. In a single motion as Bercilak sweeps low, he exhales downwards. A narrow, concentrated beam leaps from his throat and pierces into the adjudicator, casting the whole area in purple daylight. The adjudicator glows red by the end, and Amii hi-fives Bercilak with a smile, his hard breaths still tinged with purple flame. "Ah, it has been a while since I cut loose like that. Good show sir." There's just two left, and indeed the flames glow blue and red. All eyes fall upon the brothers who... are at each holding a handful of the other's coat, staring daggers at each other. Some argument broke out while everyone was distracted. "We'll uh... take a raincheck guys." Tony says, releasing Vergil. The other brother simply stalks off without a word, leaving everyone to their festivities.