[Colosseum] Ladies Night(Bob Barton, Eri)

[Ssafirsotibones]

67 Winter 511 Bones had received a message that day, simply saying he had a match set up for that night. Shale often sent him such messages, informing him he was to fight, with no information beforehand of what was going on. So he was not all that surprised as he arrived, walking down that familiar stone passage lit by torches... Though he had noticed there were a lot more woman outside than usual... Almost nothing but woman... He came into the gladiator preparation area, and almost at once Shale was upon him, with a huge grin on his face. "Well Bones, we have a special event tonight at the coliseum. It is ladies night! If tonight goes well, we might even make it a regular occurrence. But let us see how things go first..." He took this moment to pause, another smile coming over his face, savoring what he was about to say. Obviously he was enjoying this a bit to much... "So it will be a fighting match, no weapons, just your bodies. But don't think it will be easy, you will be facing a pair of isurian wrestlers. Youv'e seen them, on the short side, but made of muscle, and looking like they were carved out of stone, and kind of bluish skin? You and your partner..." Shale looked around at this, trying to spot the man he was speaking of, while holding a jug of something... "Ah, this is some oil for him, he gets it, since he is sort of small. Even things out a little. Oil up the skin, and its harder for them to get a hold on him. Oh, did I forget to mention you will be fighting naked?" He added this last bit sort of offhandedly, as if it was of little importance. Though he could not help his face splitting into an evil sneer once more... Bones just shrugged, he fought often enough in his dhani and snake form, which were naked, nudity did not bother him...

[Eridanus]

Eridanus sat on a bench in the gladiators' waiting room cross-legged, deep in meditation as he prepared his body and mind. Shale had told him that he would be a special guest in an 'interesting' battle quite unlike any of the ones that he had been in before, and had promised him with the lure of special rates and bonus pay.

The ring-master had of course quite wanted the beautiful celestial creature to lure the ladies, and therefore had gone to great expense to reel him in for the show.

No weapons were allowed apparently, and so it meant that it would be a test of unarmed combat. The poor ethaefal had completely no idea what was going to happen next, only that Shale would call him up when it was time.

[Bob Barton]

You have to admit that Shale really knew how to give the people what they wanted, and how to convince his fighters to fight. Bob went to the colosseum not to have a fight but to have a gamble and when he saw that there were a lot of women about, he did not feel strange at all. Instead he saw it as a chance to have some fun of his own. "Which to choose, which to choose..." he asked himself happily like he was shopping and went over to a fiery redhead that was common in the region. She was just as vicious as those birds they flew on because when Bob suggested that "with my winnings tonight how about I take you to the Rose?" since the mess should have been resolved, she gave a laugh saying that he would not even be able to get in tonight. Bob did not know what was going on then and decided to try again by asking with a grin that "if I get in then how about you take me to the Rose?"

Her reply that she might was good enough for him and he skipped happily to the entrance after telling her that "I'll be waiting there after the matches." He was turned away because he was a male and "thats ridiculous!" because it would mean Bob would not get his dinner. He turned to the woman again who gave him a haughty laugh of victory which Bob returned with a nervous smile before asking the man "you have no idea how important this is do you?" Then that shark came along and said to let Bob through. Still unsure of the nature of this man Bob pointed back at the woman and said that he will be waiting even with the words did not leave his moving lips before asking Shale "I thought that the testosterone rush from men eager to see spilled blood is what drive this place?" That or of course the rush from gambling which is what Bob was here for.

"What message are you tal- Oh no! The last time you made me..." fight did not turn out well at all but were Bob's ears playing tricks on him? "I can forget about the redhead with this?" What Shale said did sound very interesting with the opportunity to show off in front of all those women. Still distrustful with Shale but after putting what the shark said with all the women with what he saw himself outside, even turned away because of it Bob agreed and said "why not?" and was tossed into the preparation area where the rest of the fighters for the days event were. Isurs, how he hated them and their stony arms but they were no match for his sword which "I can't use? How about this?" which was the whip he took out. Then the horrible truth came. "I'm supposed to fight naked?" he thought Shale meant without weapons but then he said something about clothes too. There was "no way I am fighting naked with all those women out there!" Talk about what would have happened if he lost.

Bob always saw the isurs are untalkative types but this one? One of then just had to make japes about how much of a man he was. Bob quickly stripped of his shirt and hit himself in the chest telling the isur to "look at this!" It was not bad enough to get a laugh was it? Giving a cough from his own self inflicted pain Bob told the isur that "we will be settling this later in the ring..." before taking a seat of his own to prepare for the fight. He was already getting quite heated up and shifting around he saw the other man besides him who is probably going to be his partner but snarling "you want a piece of me too?" was probably not the best way to win friends.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones had prepared for the fight in the communal area, quickly stripping down and setting aside his gear in a small cubicle which he often used. He had been ready to fight for a while, had not in fact gone to the Colosseum for a bit, so was a bit off-put to find out his first time back would not involve any killing... As he heard a angry shout of "you want a piece of me too?" Bones looked over and down to see who was yelling, which turned out to be a tiny man... Probably even smaller than the isur they were fighting... Though he wondered why the man who he was fighting was trying to pick a fight with him, his partner... Bones turned to him, giving him one of his attempts at a smile, which came off more as a grimace, and speaking his low hiss-like voice. "If I wanted a piece of you... I doubt ssere would be much left... But lucky for you I recently ate, ssso I am not to hungry... Ssso what sssay we work togesser for now, asss we are sssupposssed to... And we can eat later..." All of this was spoken as he stared Bob straight in the eyes, using his blood chilling stare... Quite intimidating to most, especially to those attuned to auras or moods, who would feel the deep hunger lingering below the surface... Bottled up and constantly in need of being unleashed... Though there were not many people who were attuned to such things... But his silver eyes and his glare were still off-putting to most, and quite intimidating. Once they finished talking, Bones would notice that the isur's had already headed around to there gate, which meant all that was waiting for the start of the match was for the two of them to head out to their gate, and get started... Once they finished their stare down that is, and got the opening pleasantries out of the way.

[Bob Barton]

Of course no one would like to be treated with hostility but Bob did not care that he started it first. His partner, whoever he is was just as much as fault for giving that look at him. No really, thinking the worst of this situation he could only look at everything in a bad light. The smile as a grimace included, and the long slurry way he was speaking? Was he trying to make fun of Bob the way he does when he wants to make others think that they were slow in the head? Because that is what he was looking at it as now especially when it was taken together with the threats.

Not everyone could be tall and dark among an audience of women unless they were Mr. Hissy here who Bob could see, unable to wait any longer to strip down. Unintimidated by the threat and glare because he has experienced much worse in a less civilized place called Sunberth, Bob gave a smile baring his teeth like one of those predatory animals as he agreed that "only if you're paying for the meals first." But if course he was facing a real animal here though he did not know it so it was a good thing that he ended up stripping as well to get ready for the fight. Opponents or not those Isurs have something coming to them, and Bob's own partner too if he had his way.

But he still needed the mentality that he has beaten his partner in some way if he was going to be confident in taking on those isurs. Once the clothes were off, Bob made a big scene of warming up the way he was taught by an akalak. Yes even with his short stature, his body following the proper proportions would unexpectedly look rather refined without the colours. Doing some push ups Bob would introduce himself in between his breaths hopefully able to make it seem like he was so well trained that he could do them both so easily only he would slip up with those long words like musclebound idiots everytime he was forced to exhale when he went down.

That would not be enough to discourage Bob from trying with some weights to flex his arms while he asked Bones how long he has been in the arena and how confident he was on taking those Isurs. If he was worried about those rock hard...arms, he was not showing it one bit but that would be mostly from the face he was pulling to repetitively get those weights up. Trust him to grab the wrong ones...again. Finally enough was enough because even he did not have that big an ego to try and suggest himself as Mr Akeldama, or the endurance to match. "Lets show those isurs" and the ladies "that we have more stones than those arms."

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones ignored the mans response, not really caring... He was just another puny human whom Bones had been partnered with... He seemed to usually get stuck with them, though he was not sure why... Perhaps to balance things out, from the unfairness of him being on any team... Bones watched for a moment as his partner went off warming up... Bones usually did not really warm up, how often did you see a snake stretch before snarfing down a rabbit? But seeing as he was going to have to wait for a while for Bob to get ready, he might as well work on his muscles a bit to. Grabbing up the heaviest weight there, he bent with the knees to lift it up, lazily holding it over his head like it was a twig... They just did not make them heavy enough for him, since it was mostly weights meant for humans... He pumped his arms, lifting the weight over his head, lowering it to chest level, and lifting it back up... He did this as he spoke to Bob, answering his questions, admittedly without being completely open and honest. "The arena?... I have been here long enough to fight plenty of foes, and to know what I am doing... As for the isurs... I could take them down with one arm behind my back... They will lose, it in inevitable... Just keep the one busy for me, while I fight the other... Two on one would be a bit more difficult... I'd prefer to make this as easy as possible..." Bones nodded to the last statement, and set down the weights to a resounding heavy thud. Then he took the lead, heading for the passage that led to the gateway. He waited a moment, and then Shale announced the fight, and both gates came up... Across the arena he could see the isur coming out onto the sand, as Bones came out of his own gate... He headed out a bit, waiting for Bob to follow as he got ready to fight, getting himself pumped up and awakening his reptilian side... Soon enough they would be fighting... But he would wait to see what Bob said before doing anything, let him take the lead if he wanted.

[Bob Barton]

Even if Bob was stuck on the same team as Bones that did not mean that he had to look out for his best interests. At least Sunberth had one thing that Alvadas did not, reliable partners. They knew that there are certain limitations for a person working alone not like this disinterested combatant who thinks that Bob was in luck to be working with him instead of against. However Bob kept his thoughts to himself because Bones would learn it with his body whether or not the dwarf had to make that happen.

Bob gave a nod in response that "those Isurs will lose if you're telling the truth" and followed Bones in. At the gates and with the expectant eyes of the women around him, he could tell that it was a lot different from the previous fight that he had. Thinking about his awesome fighting skills that are about to be displayed and how those women would be idolizing him after, he started getting excited and in the nude...lets just say that everyone is going to know it too.

As soon as Bob realized that, he panicked and used his hands to cover the tells. All gamblers know by instinct that tells are always bad and to make sure that no one would see his, he shrank back into the shadows and whispered to Bones that "why don't you go first so that I can spring a surprise attack?" Those isur's would never expect that.

And Bones would never expect that Bob was preparing for his partner to get all the punishment. Regardless whether or not Bones went out alone or waited to go with Bob, the djed that he has been accumulating at his eyes since he started waiting at the gates, after he calmed himself down first of course, will be put to work unless he wanted the energy to go elsewhere like where it naturally should following his disturbed concerns. Already he could feel that it was just itching to go like a fighter. Keeping it in any longer would surely be bad for him.

"You have both handsnow , you take on the bigger one" Bob told Bones using his own boast against him especially since the djed was sent right into the raring, smaller isur's eyes when he left the gate. Or was it the bigger one? At that distance he could not tell so hopefully Bob did not make a mistake and the suggestion that the isurs would have an easier time taking down the bigger of their opponents would not lose an effectiveness.

[Eridanus]

The crowd began cheering, and even in the backroom Eridanus understood that it meant that the battle had begun. It meant that it might be his turn in a while since Shale was planning to spring him in halfway.

He began settling into a trance, regulating his thoughts and breathing to put him in the suitable mood for battle. Stretching his limbs as he did so, he began drawing on the flux streams within his body, getting familiar with them and also as a way of warm-up.

That was the point of this whole exercise; to warm up the mind, body and magic so that any of these resources could be picked up easily during the battle. He was not really planning on using flux, but he knew that there were Isurs in the arena. He did not have the mighty strength or natural fortitude of the Isurs' arms, and so he might have to rely on his magic if things went awry.

And he knew that things always went awry around him.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones did not really pay that much attention to what Bob was saying, he was more focused on the fight at hand. Plus he had to be a bit more careful this time, and could not let his snake instincts take total control, and give it free rein. He had to make sure it did not go to far, and that there was no killing... As they walked out, the gate dropped behind them. No going back now, not that he had been thinking of doing so. He kept his eyes on the isur, though he was also wary of his "partner". To be honest he did not really trust him, not until he knew what he could do. Until then, he would simply count him as a liability, and assume he would do nothing of worth or help. Focusing on the isur, he continued to walk towards them, and then once close enough, started running at them. He came at an angle, trying to go at the biggest one, to tackle him to the ground. Then he could continue on with the fight. He completely ignored Bob, would let him do as he did. He had not proven his worth in a fight yet. Soon enough he came to the isur, the biggest one. The other tried to come around, to flank him, ending up with his back to Bob. The larger one was the one Bones was aiming for. He had been expecting Bones to come at him, though not in the way he had. As Bones tackled him straight on, there was the thud of an impact, like hitting a stone wall. But the isur could not hold his feet, and was knocked back, and lost his footing. But he twisted his body in the fall, and did a sort of backroll/ grab, and grappled with Bones, yanking on him as Bones did to him. He ended up on his back, but throwing Bones, right over his head. Bones landed a bit off, on all fours, and quickly rolled over, trying to regain his footing. He looked up to see the bigger isur facing him, crouched a bit, readying to move. The other isur was still behind him, his back turned to Bob, but still watching his own back, not sure if this was all part of some odd plan to sneak attack them with the remaining fighter who had not dashed in. This meant the smaller isurs focus was split between the two of them, and the bigger one was facing Bones down, readying to attack again.

[Bob Barton]

Looks like Bob's plan worked well. The both the isur's attention was on his partner. The three of them in a fight of their own which had all the attention of the women while Bob was hiding on the corner trying to settle himself down but the feminine laughing and cheering were not doing much to help him with that. Maybe he should think about something else. Something bad and horrible which is in the same...thing. It came fast since Bob found an old acquaintance from Ravok recently and their first meeting, with the women? Brrrrr....

Thankfully all the time it took him to do that was enough any by then one of the isurs had his back right at him. Hmmmm...to let Bones have a whole lot of pain of become a...hero! Yes a hero in this situation with a whole lot of spectators would be very, very good and Bob was not one to pass up a good opportunity no matter how much against his plans they were. Taking a deep breath and getting on the balls of his feet, Bob started to quickly but softly go towards his opponent while waving his fists in front of him to test the isur. No reaction and Bob placed his feet normally to go in a charge to make sure he can catch the isur by surprise. Also because the sand really hurt when all the pressure on his foot was on it. He might have stopped his efforts too soon because the isur started to turn around but not quick enough to see and avoid the blow coming to him.

With style because there were so many interested eyes on him, Bob took an unnecessary leap at the isur towards the end with his fist held out right above him. Even more unnecessary was how high he had it because it took more time to come down. As hard as it hit the isur, it had no effect because the isur had enough time to block with his famous stone arm only giving Bob's own fist a whole lot of hurt for all that, proving even before the isur made the remark that Bob was an untested combatant here. A howl of pain from Bob followed by laughter from the audience with his failure, he got angry. Even angrier when the isur took advantage to push him back on the ground. As soon as he landed, Bob trashed his legs straight forward, one hitting true on the isur's manly bits.

"How do you like that...uhhh...that...?" Bob asked laughing while he tried to get up. That ought to teach the isur not to...mess with...oh boy. While the isur was trying to ward off the pain he suddenly found it in himself to give Bob a tackle. While Bob would have loved to dodge it, with style, which he tried to by kicking one leg forward to get into a spin, he could not and he was on the ground writhing to get the isur off this compromising position which would no doubt ruin his reputation among the fairer sex in Alvadas. It was very unfortunate to kick in too deep into the sand like that forcing him balance himself and give the isur a chance to catch him.