[Flashback]A Solo becomes a Duo (Vexrea Hawke)

[Kale]

Spring 23, 507 A.V. The guard walked into the room and looked around the open space. There were plenty of bodies packed in the small area but they were spread apart just enough for the man to make out the face of every person there. The first time through he did not see the one he was looking for. With an irritated sigh the man swept his gaze through the dirty throng of people again. This time he did find the one he was looking for. The guard pushed aside the smelly and sweating bodies as he made his way over to the one he had been looking for. The guard looked at the man seated at the bench with something that bordered on contempt. His voice did not dissuade that notion. "You’re up pretty boy", the guardsman snarled. Kale looked up at the hateful man and simply nodded. This was not the first fight he had ever fought but it was the first he would have ever fought with a partner. That more than anything pushed at his nerves. What if his partner was completely inept? The barbaric man banished such things from his mind. Doubts opened the door to fear. Fear caused you to second guess yourself and freeze up. Fear got men killed. The man stood up from the bench. He was not much out of the ordinary for a fighter. Unclothed from the waste up, his tightly stretched muscles were clearly visible. As the man moved through the crowd following the guard it was easy for him to blend in with the other bodies there. Being only a few inches shy of six foot tall he was neither the tallest nor the shortest in room. It did not take long for the guard to lead him up to the barred gate. Through the bars Kale could see the arena. There were patches of red sand and burn marks all across the floor of the coliseum. It only took a few moments for the gate before him to begin lifting as he heard his name being announced .Kale did not hurry out into the arena. Nor did he walk slowly. He had been a part of these matches before. He knew that walking into the arena with a self-assured stride could very well save you towards the end of the battle. It took a full minute at that pace to reach the center of the arena. Since he had arrived the crowd had been hushed. As he let his eyes scan the stands around him the tension in the spectators could have been cut by a knife. With a flourishing motion he positioned his short sword, which oddly enough happened to be his only weapon, across his chest and bowed. The silence broke as the crowd began to roar, their cheers fueled by this blatant display of arrogance.

[Vexrea Hawke]

Vexrea did not even pay attention until the guard was ontop of her. While his footsteps where easily seen she saw no need to dignify them, and him, until she had to. “ Ready for your last day, girl?” He said with a sneer, words she seemed to have been getting all day. She moved her neck to the side with an audible pop , then stood.

The Guard continued “ Lucky for you , your partner has walked away a few times.” Vexrea finally took the moment to look at the guard “ Ive got a job to do, are you going to keep talking? Or are you going to take me there” The guard sneered and shrugged “ Your funeral, girl” She had truly enough of the taunting and jeering of the mostly male contenders. Time to go to work.

She was moved up to the gate, just a few steps behind Kale. As the gate slide open she took stock of the arena, the blast marks and blood on the sand. Just as she was about to address her would be partner he started striding out into the arena popular. She fallowed his pace, for the moment trusting his experience . It was an odd experience for her being in the center of the arena, the moment of silence now broken by his bow. Noticeably delayed, she catches on, fallowing suit positioning both her gauntlet armed hands across her chest, her chain mail jingling drowned out. “You have to wonder if they are howling for our victory, blood, or just to break the tension”

[Kale]

His would be partner approached him from behind. He had not been looking behind him so he had not seen her approach. He was a cautious man, specifically when it came to fighting in the arena but their opponents had not be announced yet so he had no need to worry about watching his back. When he finally peeled his eyes off the crowd and turned to address her he was a bit surprised at her height. She stood just as tall as he was. They were not close enough to compare which was taller but from his vantage point they looked pretty much even. Kale turned his eyes from the woman and looked at the gate across the arena. That was where their opponents would come from. Her words caused a faint chuckle to vibrate through his chest. He shrugged off handedly at her query. "I don't think they know the answer to that either", he replied. His voice held no malice. In fact, had they not been standing in such a place and if the many scars adorning his chest were not so visible, his words might have been spoke in a voice that was considered genial. The scarred warrior kept his eyes locked on the gate of iron residing in the other corner of the arena. Soon enough their opponents were announced and the gate began to rise. Kale paid the two names no heed. He had not heard either name before and after today it would not matter if he had. The sun managed to fight its way through the clouds above and cast it's illumination upon the arena, causing it nearly impossible to pear into the opening the receding gate had created. Soon enough the two fighters that they were to be pitted against stepped from the shadows. This pair looked as though they had fought together before. Just like Kale and his partner, these two were of such similar height that it was difficult to tell which one was taller than the other. They were both about half a foot taller than Kale and sported more muscles then he did. Kale bemused himself by thinking that if they were any more alike they would be twins. As the two moved closer it was discovered that they were, in fact, twins. Kale looked down, surveying their weapons. One of them, the one on the right, wielded a longsword and a shield that covered a small part of his arm. The other brandished a hooked axe in one hand and a net in the other. Kale let out a sigh. These two had definitely fought together. The barbarian resigned himself to finding the retch that had put him and his partner against two people that had likely fought together since they had been large enough to lift a weapon. Judging from their bodies, Kale surmised that that had been a long time ago. If he survived this he would definitely find the one that had done this and pay him back in kind. The fool was probably sitting back somewhere and laughing at the whole situation. "Ye better not get me killed," Kale told his partner through clenched teeth.

[Vexrea Hawke]

“ Ye had better not get me killed” She could only shake her head at the words, the world drowned out by the sound of the crowd appreciating the twins. She couldn’t help but note their cheering was a bit louder. Still not champions, but crowd favorites, great. She studied the two and her heart grew a bit heavy. The bastards even saluted the crowd at the exact same time.

“ We need a plan” she said moving in her spot a bit, obviously tense “They have reach, and teamwork on us.. try and split them up? Or bum-rush one of them?” Obviously listing things as they come to mind. Her voice one of urgency , no real trace of panic.

The din of the crowd died down , the twins taking a moment to size them up now. Brandishing their weapons at the pair. She could feel her blood boil in her veins, the adrenalin telling her to leap to the fight, to dance with life and death once more. Normally she would give into this but she had a partner this time, and had to rely on him, just as he was now, hopefully having to rely on her.

The twins started to spread out. They knew their advantage, and they where going to press it...

[Kale]

“We need a plan” were the words that his new partner spoke. Kale felt a sigh of irritation manage to wiggle its way out of his mouth. He was not an idiot. He knew they needed a plan. His partner went on to say, "“They have reach, and teamwork on us...try and split them up? Or bum-rush one of them?”. He let his irritation show on his face as he glanced over at her for a moment. He shook his head as the twins began to move towards them. kale shook his head slightly. Then he cursed himself. He was unused to fighting with a partner. She would be focused on watching their opponents so she wouldn't see his head shake. "No don't charge at them. They have more experience in this then we do. We will just end up getting ourselves split open," Kale told her. "They are larger than us. If we split up and give them space to move we are finished. It would be best if we stay near each other and work together." Kale kept his piercing eyes locked on his two opponents. There had to be something, anything that could work to their advantage. Kale's eyes darted back and forth between the two as they began to move apart, attempting to circle them in opposite directions. Kale did not look back as his eyes locked onto the one with a shield. He had to trust that this woman that he was going to be fighting with would watch his back. He did not turn back as he spoke to her. "So whats yer name? Mine is Kale. Might as well know the name of the person ye're going to die with aye?", his voice held no humor as he spoke. As Kale's opponent moved in closer, the barbarian struck out, the light weight of his short sword allowing him to slash at the man much faster than he could pull his unwieldy longsword up in time to block it. Unfortunately the short sword rebounded off the man's shield. Kale let out an audible growl as he used this as an opportunity step in, making full use of his forward momentum as he brought his foot up and planted his foot squarely in the middle of the shield. The force of the blow caused the man to stagger back a few steps. Kale took advantage of this opening. Pressing forward Kale once again balanced on one foot. With the other he sent another kick towards the shield. It had the desired effect. With the shield forced down from the kick, Kale brought his still hanging foot up, hitting the man squarely on the forehead. Hastily Kale withdrew his foot, only narrowly getting it pout before the man's longsword could bite into his flesh. Kale moved out his short sword, knocking away the feeble counter strikes by the man as he shook his head to recover his senses. The barbarian looked at the larger man with a grin spread across his face. "Whats the matter big man? I'm sure ye don't have enough brains for me to have done any damage", he announced loudly. He spoke the words loudly enough for the crowd around them to have heard him. The crowd roared with laughter at his jest.

[Vexrea Hawke]

“It would be best if we stay near each other and work together” She heard the words as she put her back to Kale's eyeing the one with the net and axe “ Same guy that told me not to get him killed” She grumbled

She suddenly made as if to dash forward, fainting at the last moment and retreating to her spot,back to back with kale. The man spotted the faint for what it was but not before Vex could notice his left arm move, he liked leading with the net. “ Name? Vexrea. Vex if you need to shout it”

She felt Kale move behind her and heard the sudden clang of steel vs steel and caught the twin in front of her watch the exchange for the briefest moment , the time it took her to dip her boot into the sand. Unfortunately, he was faster then she gave him credit for, he saw the movement and took the opportunity to swing the axe out, blood lust dancing in his eyes. A quick kill on the new comer . His axe swing was a diagonal cut to her left shoulder. She managed to roll to the right, getting under the swing, losing a few stands of her black hair in the process.

She brought herself up quickly, and moved as if to lash a kick at the mans now unprotected side, he braced for the impact he expected , but was not prepared for the face full of sand she delivered. The now temporarily blind man lashed out wildly , trying to pull away from Vex who pressed her assault. As he brought his axe back horizontally across his torso Vex pulled in tight with the man, catching little more then his forearm to her side Gripping it for a brief moment she reached for, and caught the man across the face with a backhand, the sound of a nose breaking greeted her senses.

Suddenly she was acutely aware that this man was stronger then her, using the arm she gripped to throw her off of him, the only thing that kept her on her feet was what little personal training she had received to this point. She raised her fists in front of her, squaring the man up again. Strangely , the crowd laughed during the exchange. She must have missed something with her.. partner .

[Kale]

Kale heard the commotion behind him but dared not look to see what was going on. The sound of Vex's opponent grunting in pain was like sweet nectar to his ears. He could smell the faint metallic smell that only accompanied iron and blood. Considering they were all using steel weapons that could only mean that someone behind him bled. Taking that into account and the fact that the twin facing Vex had grunted in pain, Kale accurately guessed that his partner had injured her opponent. He had no idea how much but it would take more blood then a small cut could bleed for him to be able to smell it at such a distance away. Any wound that bled that much would take its toll on the victim. The question was, would they still be alive by the time it did? Kale knew what was coming. His opponent burst into motion. Despite guessing what was about the happen, Kale was surprised at the sheer ferocity of the attack. The twin with the longsword stepped in, the dull blade nevertheless creating a glittering arc as it raced for his head. Kale managed to get his shortsword up in time to block it. The two blades made a keening sound as their blades scraped against one another. Kale strained to keep the larger blade from pushing his smaller blade closer. The barbarian let out a boisterous roar as he gave his short sword a sudden push. The sudden void between the two fighters did not last long. Kale's twin was still enraged to a point that the veins across his head were clearly visible. The battle became more desperate for Kale as he fought to keep up with the injured man's fury born strength and speed. The longsword came thrusting in for Kale's neck. The smaller blade of the short sword managed to turn the blade away at the last moment, the clashing causing sparks to fly between the two combatants. Almost before Kale could recover the larger blade was arcing back in for him from the opposite side. Kale turned his smaller sword's blade up, catching the longer blade and using its own kinetic energy to direct it away from him. Many more strikes from the larger man met a similar fate. An overhead strike meeting Kale's slanted blade and sliding down the length of its steel and harmlessly to the side, a vertical slash pushed upwards by the smaller sword as it’s wielder ducked under gleaming metal. The fight was going well for Kale. The larger man was beginning to wear down from the heavier weight of his muscles and weapons. The two swords met yet again, their blades straining against one another as each warrior but their strength into trying to force the other back. Kale's eyes widened as his feet suddenly slid back on the loosely packed sand that made up the arena's floor. This gave the longsword wielder the advantage he needed. The larger man hooked the pommel Kale's sword with his and gave it a hard yank. The short sword went flying from his hand. For one of the few times in his life, Kale felt fear at that moment. He felt the utter despair of someone knowing that he was about to die, the feeling that no matter what you did that you could not change what was about to happen. A stony look came to his eyes as he banished such thoughts from his mind. He did not have time for such weakness. Kale's opponent seemed to be rather proud of himself. Had he pressed in at that moment he no doubt would have slain Kale. Of course this over minded simpleton considered his victory assured. He took his time though to create a greater effect with the crowd. As the larger man advanced Kale steeled himself. The shorter warrior slowed his breathing. His muscles became taunt, straining to move but not being allowed to. The twin lunged in, his sword aimed right for Kale's heart. Kale burst into motion the moment he saw the larger man beginning to move. The sword passed through the space between Kale's ribs and the inside of his right arm. Seeing his chance, the barbarian closed his arm, wedging the sword between his arm and his side. Keeping the sword secured firmly he twisted to the side, pulling the larger sword from the large man's grasp. Kale let the sword fall to the ground. He dared not let his guard down to pick up the fallen blade. The larger man grinned at him and threw away his shield. As he moved in on Kale his muscles began to flex. The man obviously thought his superior size would give him the advantage.

[Vexrea Hawke]

There where some times where Vex appreciated not being a swords woman, tight quarters, buildings, most inclosed areas where in her favor. Unfortunately this was not one of those times. She must have had the bad luck of having the sensible , or at least more calm twin. With his nose now bloodied he started to draw himself back away from her.

He spat, saliva mixed with blood staining the sand in between them. Drawing an invisible line he had no intent to let her pass. This made Vexrea flinch more so then the swinging of the axe moments before. He was thinking now, this was no longer the easy kill he wanted, but he could trust his experience to give him the edge he sought. Vex advanced slowly, cautiously . This had to be settled one way or another and she was not the sort of person to allow fate to take its sweet time.

' I still have a few tricks up my sleeve ' she thought to herself, but she had to be careful, such things usually only worked once and if she was going to do it she wanted it to be the deathblow if need be. The closer she got, the more he started to threaten with the net. That was going to be an issue , unlike most warriors, the net bothered her more then the blade. He was skilled, if not a bit wild , with his axe, which gave her a decent opportunity at avoiding it. If she was pinned though, she doubt he would be so willing as to give her another chance to get out. Maybe... just maybe...

She felt her foot step over the bloody line, what she had in mind was a long shot, but the only one she thought she had. She slowed her breathing and incanted “ Sorry big guy.. you will never see me coming” The words helped her push her djed through her body, focusing on her legs. And suddenly she sprinted , taking off like a inhuman shot towards her opponent .

Faster then the fighter he was dealing with before, he panicked, and tossed the net at her. The force of the leap taking her, the net, and her opponent down to the ground, tangled in one another.. fighting for supremacy

[Kale]

Kale did not look back at his partner as he focused on his opponent. His actions probably were not a great idea. His attention was focused solely on the gladiator before him. It was not that he trusted his partner. He had fought many fights before in the arena but every time up until now had been him against another. It had never involved a third or fourth individual. He sank into old habits, all of his focus being taken up by the one he was fighting. If Vexrea were to be killed or otherwise incapacitate he would not likely notice it until he was lying on the ground dying. The two men moved forward grasping for each other. The larger man got the upper hand and pulled Kale into a bear hug. The barbarian felt pain shoot through his limbs as the gladiator attempted to squeeze the life from his body. Kale moved back and forth, fighting against the pain to pull free his arms. The agony made time seem to pass slowly as he finally managed to free one of his hands. Kale slammed his fist into the man's head over and over until the man dropped him to the coliseum floor. Kale rose to his feet. He did not give his opponent time to recover. The smaller man darted in. For someone that was so corded with muscles, Kale could move quickly. His movements resembled those of a viper. His arms did not extend until the very last moment. As his right fist shot out he turned his body slightly to favor that side. The movement had the desired effect. The added momentum from his body gave the uppercut to the giant's stomach a tremendous amount of force. The man's eyes shot wide open as Kale's fist forced the air from his lungs. The smaller warrior pushed off the ground with the balls of his feet, propelling his body back enough to open a small space between himself and his combatant. The larger man was still half bent over clutching his stomach and grasping for breath when Kale's left fist came crashing into the side of his face. The man had to have been made out of some stern stuff. Neither of these blows toppled the gladiator. Kale had not stopped moving with his latest attack. He made full use of the momentum his body had created with his left hook. As his body approached one full rotation he balanced the weight of his body on the balls of his left foot, bringing his right leg into a roundhouse kick. This attack had the desired effect. The larger man spun slightly as he fell to the ground. Kale moved in to incapacitate the man. The twin obviously had some fight left in him. As he moved into range he felt a hand grip his ankle firmly and jerk it out from under him. The world tilted as he fell onto his back. His body slamming into the ground caused the air to be knocked from his lungs.

[Vexrea Hawke]

She was on top of her opponent before he knew what was happening, the net entwining them both . They trashed, both trying to free limbs, weapons, anything that would give them an edge. Vexrea gave up quicker, the net was strong, there was nothing her or her opponent could do to break it. But that did not mean she was done!


She shifted in the net, managing to straddle the mans leg, pinning it between both of hers. She wasn’t much of a fighter with her legs and feet, and she was gonna be damn sure he couldn’t. She could feel him flail with his axe hand, stubbornly not letting the weapon go .She could feel the haft hitting her over and over , trying to cause her to wince, trying to cause her to break the death grip she had on him.


The fought for position. The other man was stronger , but she had more experience , balancing the struggle. She had to think, she needed an edge, some sort of way to break this before his stamina won it for him... and it came to her. She would use her head. She pulled her head back and drove her forehead into his his. The impact was brutal and a sickening thud rang out in the imminent area.

She only had a moment to capitalize She fought to free her right hand, having to pull the release on her gauntlet to get any sort of freedom for the limb. As she felt it slide free, She felt another distinct feeling, a right hook landed on her cheek.

She had been in the ring a few times, it was not the first time she had taken a punch, it sure wouldn’t be the last. But he had a hell of a right. It rocked her hard and left her dazed. She pushed herself into a clinch with him to buy herself a moment, a brief moment to clear her head. She felt a few clumsy blows land on her back , on the back of her head. Anything he could do to hurt her. It was not enough, she felt the desperation in the action. After feeling the man land a blow to her shoulder, she pulled back, driving her own right into his already broken nose. The man cried out as pain split his concentration” You think that hurt!” She growled out” Wait till what comes next!”