Flashback Maybe I'm Crazy (Jessor)

[Drifa]

Drifa Stormsong

The kick that caught her upper thigh would bruise, she had a feeling. She hadn't managed to block it and cursed her inability to stop her body from taking the brunt of the blow. Remember to block, she reminded herself as her personal space was invaded. The girl drew in close, getting up in her face. She snarled at her, throwing a right handed punch at her stomach followed by a rapid left handed punch at her head, in hopes that the girl had dropped her guard.

She knew that the woman would continue to stay close to her now that she had figured out her tactic. Displeased, she narrowed her eyes. It was taking much of her self control not to tackle the girl to the ground. It wouldn't work, she reminded herself. The girl had several inches pounds on her. She circled her opponent with barred teeth. Her adrenaline brought out the animal inside of her.

She ignored the mocking jibe. It wouldn't do to begin playing mind games with her opponent now. It was taking most of her focus to fight the girl without having to make witty and sarcastic retorts. She would save that for when she was better at unarmed combat and had the ability to fight while also catching her opponents off guard with her words.

While Jessor was speaking, she lunged in and aimed a kick at her left side, once her foot was replanted, she put a great deal of force between trying to hit her lower abdomen with a small fist.

Pavi

[Jessor Yellowmoss]

Jessor jumped out of the way of a punch aimed at her stomach, lunging off to the left with an ear-to-ear grin. This grin was soon knocked off her face by a second, follow-up punch that skimmed the girl's temple, putting a dizzying spin on the world and causing Jessor to lose her balance. Blurs danced past Jessor's eyes, her ears ringing and her nose picking up the faint scent of blood. Despite this, Jessor wiped the tiny drip from her nose and kept on.

By the time the ground stood still, Drifa was coming at her again; this time the girl threw a kick and punch to her vulnerable left side in quick succession. The blows stung badly enough that Jessor winced visibly and bent over, then immediately regretted her display of weakness.

Trotting back a step, Jessor put a foot of distance between the two, before checking out their surroundings for help. Badger, off to one side of the "circle" looked concerned for Jessor, but not enough to intervene. Other than that, there was little the Drykas could see but grass for miles and miles.

So, the environment would be no help. But what else could she use?

Jessor was running out of options, and defeat was not one of them. Drifa had not seemed to appreciate the taunting, so perhaps more of it would be enough to enrage her, and then Jessor could use the rage against her? Yes, it was just crazy enough to work.

"Alright, you've got your blows in. Watch out, though, because now it's my turn."

Jessor faked off to one side, then lunged quickly back to her right, sneaking in a loose fist as quickly as she could. Retreating, Jessor used her raised hands to taunt.

Tired? Pain?

[Drifa]

Drifa Stormsong

The blows landed perfectly, the fake working better than to be expected. When the kick caught her in the side, and Jessor doubled over, Drifa became momentarily concerned. Her fighting blood was up however, and the instinct to take advantage of the bent over girl was strong, but it warred with her concern. In the end, she deliberated too long and the girl straightened up. She was hurting though. A drip of blood fell from her nose.

Jessor's fake worked. Drifa had followed the girl's movement, leaving her other side completely unprotected. The blow caught her just right and she felt the breath leave her. She sucked in, gasping for air like a fish out of water. She recovered slowly, feeling the soreness in her leg compounded by the new soreness in her side. She shook it off, trying to regain the fighting focus she had.

The taunting continued and it took most of her self control not to roll her eyes. It was a waste of the other girl's breath to continue doing so. She merely smirked at her, returning to her circling. Another fake wouldn't work, she had a feeling that Jessor would catch on quickly enough. Perhaps she could...she kept her guard up, watching Jessor warily as she attempted to think of a way to get Jessor's guard down for a moment.

She circled closer, moving incrementally closer to the girl. Once she was in a suitable range, she lashed with a kick aimed at Jessor's thigh. Balancing on her back leg, she added a second kick toward Jessor's head and finished with a punch that she aimed at the other girl's stomach before bringing her guard up again.

Pavi

[Jessor Yellowmoss]

The blows simply kept coming. Even though her hands were up and blocking, the barrage of assaults were too much for Jessor. Her already tender skin felt bruised and beaten. Her legs were sore from overstretching without warming up and her arms were tired from being held up. Her stomach ached and her head pounded. So it was fair to say that it was simply the straw that broke the camel's back when Jessor took another heavy blow to the head.

The girl felt nothing else after that, for she was curled on the ground, closed to the following strikes. Her head throbbed heavily with the pain, and she found it a miracle that she was able to speak clearly after taking such a hit. However, her pride would not allow her to say that she had quit. She tried her best to avoid saying that she was giving up.

"That's..." The girl coughed, and sat up, then continued. "That's probably enough for today, don't you think? I wouldn't want Mom and Dad worried about me looking all beat up. And your parents probably wouldn't appreciate it much either, yeah?" She spoke quickly, trying to get all the words out at once.

"But that was a good match. You, uh...You're going to be good someday, I bet."

Badger's head popped up, and the Strider came trotting over, nuzzling Jessor (who still sat on the ground) with his soft nose, snorting hot air on her face in concern. Jessor signed a subtle reassurance to the stallion before turning to Drifa and giving her a smile that said much the same thing.