Board Thread:Roleplay/@comment-69.31.217.91-20141120035513/@comment-14800267-20150310124834

She hesitated. The tick-tick-ticking was like a saw against her nerves and she knew his baiting was some kind of trick. No one ever liked to be the first one in, and she REALLY didn't want to get too close to that mouth.

She took a steadying breath. Come at this logically! Fear and anger and panic made her thoughts jumble, but she HAD to keep a clear head. This rashness cost her father in their story... If she could rationalize...

Her largest handicap was also her edge. She only had one hand to punch with and her block was poor. However, she had a built in weapon and many years experience using it. She raised it to defend, point outwards so it would deter a glancing blow and NOT stab her in the face if her arm was struck. The harness to her arm was strong and would take several very specific placed cuts to sever, so she had little chance of losing it. However this was not her advantage alone, as Sobek had the same amputee issue and a very similar solution.

He was bigger, heavier and no doubt tough as old leather, but she was far quicker and more flexible. She had fancy footwork on her side and years of formal training- and informal bar brawls.

Then she had a window. Someone heckled him from the side of the ring (Or her? She wasn't sure. Her ears heard little but a tick tick tick...) and his concentration slipped as he replied. She feinted a strike to his jaw, nothing more than a tap. It wasn't meant to do anything except draw out his next move and possibly give him the false sense her strikes would be weak.

Esmee smiled gratefully at Alexandra. Lots of people hated the arch villains. Sure, to live up to their Destinies they had to be absolutely vile people and do horrible things, but She never understood why people treated them as if they had already done those things, and would do them out of choice rather than the horrible pressure of keeping their stories true. Sure, no one would eve accuse Jane of being nice, but she was Esmee's Captain, and Esmee was her friend, even if it wasn't reciprocal (If Esmee was honest with herself she was pretty sure Jane had no idea how to be a friend or how to have one...)

"Sorry, Sorry... I'm just... I don't mean to be rude. you're awful nice already an' here I am payin' little to none attention. You're Wonderlandian then? We used to port there before they closed everythign cuz-a that holey thing in the sky. The Captain used to Privateer fer the Royals there. I never met 'em." Her nerves were showing in her babbling,