[The Spinning Coin] Ascending Higher (Closed)

[Stitch]

The entire cage shook as Stitch smashed to the mat, the rough fall sending pained viberations throughout his body. His entire body was throbbing with pain, and his jaw was definitely out of place. It hadn't been jutting out at that angle before. Once again, dark circles were swimming in front of his eyes, threatening to take him out of the fight. If he gave into those dark circles, if he let them overcome the sight his Auristics gave him... He would be gone. He would lose, just like that. He could feel the throbbing in his fist, and he distantly remembered that he hadn't been the only one to take a blow. He had managed to hit his opponent, too. Was it too much to hope that his opponent was knocked out as well, and that this would turn out to be a tie? There was no shame in a tie. It was better than a loss. It would allow him to give in to his begging body. Every fiber of each muscle was screaming for him to stop. He had already pushed himself too far. He had already taken too many blows. He just wasn't skilled enough, not yet. That wasn't a bad thing. He could learn from this loss, and come back after he was stronger. You messed up, Stitch. Your fault for not training as hard as you should've over these years. Your mind knows, but your body can't always keep up. Stitch was quivering on the floor, but suddenly all motion stopped. He laid there, still as a rock, his body going slack. The cries of the crowd grew louder, some cheering, and some not wanting to see their fighter of choice lose. If Stag somehow rose, he would notice it too. Stitch looked like he had been knocked out. ______________________________________________________ Gene clicked his tongue, turning his head from the fight, shaking his head in disguist. He had been counting on the blind man to win, and pull in even more betting money for the Spinning Coin. Instead, the handicapped numbskull had gone and lost the fight. He had taken quite a few hard hits, and most of them had been just wild punches that Stitch should have dodged with ease. What had happened to the graceful Martial Artist of before, the one that had so artfully fought Pain? Something had happened to the man, and reduced him to a mere brawler, almost. It didn't really concern Gene. He knew when someone was spent. The blind man wouldn't draw in any more money. Especially after a pathetic fight like that. Gene took a swig from his mug, grumbling to himself. He turned, ready to call for the cage to be lifted, so someone could drag the two carcasses from his ring. He hoped they hadn't bled too much. It was a pain to clean off. What he saw caused him to pause, and raise an eyebrow. Right on cue, the crowd roared. What was this? ________________________________________________________ Stitch was standing. It had been sudden. He had been laying there motionless, and now, he was up. A hand had managed to grab onto the steel cage that he was laying close to, and that arm had managed to drag his lifeless body to its feet. Now, the blind man simply stood there, staggering a bit. His head was held slack, and if he had eyes that could see, they would be looking at the ground. His arms were lifeless by his side, and he simply looked to be an upright corpse. But still, he had gotten up. Blood was dripping from his mouth and nose, and his jaw was obviously knocked out of place. But he was up. Could Stag manage that much, or was this it? The crowd was roaring. Some wanted Stag up, and some wanted him to stay down. Stitch barely looked as if he was alive. A particularly strong gust of wind could likely knock him over.

[Stag Fern]

Stag just laid there motionless, still, but alive. His wounds, he felt them again and this time they were worse. He didn't realize it before, but now he was tasting blood and bone. haha ah must have chipped a tooth---- he then moved his tounge over his teeth. If he could open his mouth he would have shreriked in pain rolling over around flailing his arms everywhere and smashing the nearest thing but he wasn't moving all he did was grunt. He was at the very least missing two teeth maybe more maybe some were chipped but either way it wasn't good news for him. Stag also had a bad headache but he didn't realize that his skull was slightly cracked. He heard the roar of the crowd coaxing both Stitch and Stag to stand up and continue the fight but all the coaxing in the world coudn't make Stag stand up and continue. Stag tried to stand up several times but he just couldn't his body didn't respond at all and the mat, the mat was a nice bed. Well I gave it my all right looks like this Stitch is also coming with me Stag then heard a roar from the crowd, with one of his ears on the mat and the locations of his wounds it was more than just roar it was an ovation. His wounds vibrated. his head throbbed, his limbs trembled he knew what was coming some how Stitch was standing. How could he.... Stag tried to stand but nothing moved ...Stand up... This time a finger twitched, Stag didn't notice at all ...When I CAN'T... a leg and an arm moved this time but still Stag didn't notice all he was focused on was Stitch. WHY WHY WHY then he was up and standing well at least he was up. Stag was barely standing his legs trembled barely supporting his weight. His body slouched and he kept one eye shut after all blood was in his eye. He raised his right arm up but it didn't go all the way then a sharp pain went through his shoulder. Was it dislocated or is it broken he felt it with his good arm and it was dislocated badly. Standing was a feat but walking was near impossible but that was what Stag was going to do. He took a few steps, with each step he staggered, He could have fallen at any moment but h came to far to just give up. Unfortunately his body didn't have the same idea. Stupid body then he went to one knee, unconcience yet he was smiling.

[Stitch]

Stitch stood there, limp, his arms hanging by his sides. His head was bowed, but it looked eerily similar to the casual stance he had taken in the very beginning of the match, where he had deflected Stag's oncoming blow so easily. Some of the crowd was roaring for Stag not to go in, that it was a trap. The other half was roaring for him too, yelling for him to get up and go after the blind man, that he was a walking corpse. It looked to be true. Even if Stitch was in that casual-looking stance of before, it could just be that he wasn't actually holding a stance at all. It could be that he was just too tired to raise his arms, and set his feet in a ready position. Perhaps he wasn't trying to look casual, cool, and collected. Perhaps he was just knocked out. It was hard to tell, because he was blind. The eyes were the windows to the soul, but this man had the shades pulled down. If Stag could just get up, and maybe deliver one last punch... Maybe that would be enough to knock Stitch down, once and for all. But then again, those last two blows hadn't been enough. Would one more even matter? "Maybe the little girl, the older one! What if we rape her, blind man? We haven’t had a woman in so long… And you wouldn’t even be able to tell! You can’t even see! You can hear though, can’t you? You can hear as we take her, and make her scream out in-" Memories echoed in Stitch's blackened brain. Stitch's whole body shuddered, and his hands slowly lifted, opening themselves up into flattened palms, setting themselves in the most basic and common stance of his gentle martial art. The palms faced Stag as he tried to step forward, as if warding him away. They were there for a reason, though. They could sweep into many a block, or a deflection. They didn't look too horribly strong, however. Even if he had his hands up, his head was still bowed, and his arms and legs were both shaking. Was he just going through the motions? The crowd cheered wildly for him, each of them still roaring for both fighters to continue. We'll kill you all, blind man! You, the woman, and your precious children! Every single one of you will burn! More memories. He had to be stronger. Soon, a chant had risen, right as Stag fell to his knees. Kill him kill him kill him! Stitch couldn't hear their calls. He wasn't awake. He had long since been unconscious, and only his willpower had been moving him. They didn't notice, though. They only knew he had risen, and he had his hands held out. He could fight! The blind man was going to finish this opponent too, just like he had done with Pain! Every time this man fought, it was amazing! Their wild cheers instantly silenced as Stitch suddenly fell. Stag was out cold as well, that much was obvious. But now, their favorite had fallen. He plunged face first, hitting the mat with a loud crash, the entire ring shaking around him. The whole room was quiet as they stared upon the two men, both out cold in the ring, blood staining the area around each of them. It had been a long, hard, bloody battle. Within seconds, the men turned back to their drinks, and gone back to their original conversations. Within minutes, Gene would have them tossed out, and his ring cleaned. The fight was over, the bets had been paid out. Even if they had fought hard and given a good show, fighters merely had a few moments of fame within the Spinning Coin. After that, they were merely eyesores, bores, and annoyances.

[Nisaba]

Grade Complete: XP Award! Name: Stitch   XP Award Observation- 1 XP Auristics- 2 XP Martial Arts- 1 XP Brawling- 1 XP Flux- 2 XP I saw lots of things were going on in this thread, so I didn’t give too many points in any one section. First, Stitch was keeping an eye on Gene, sizing him up so to speak. I thought that paragraph, as well as the next post where Stitch got a good look at Stag’s aura, each deserved an auristics point. I didn’t see the skill mentioned much later on, so I assumed Stitch wasn’t concentrating on it or learning enough to get any more points, if that makes sense. The way Stitch assessed what Gene was doing and decided he was not a good person to try and befriend was an intelligence-type skill in my opinion, but since Stitch has points in observation, I put the point there instead. I thought you might want to raise the skills you have rather than get a whole bunch of 1 XPs. Just let me know if you want that changed now or any time in the future. Martial art was definitely used in the wrist grab, but you mentioned that Stitch was brawling with the punches, so I split up the points. I gave a point to Flux for each paragraph in which it was described: the meditation/ritual and the actual use.   Lore Award Brawling to Control a Fight Technique: Wrist Grab Surprise Headbutt Simultaneous Punch Win? Lose? DRAW! Additional Note Ouch. Stitch is going to be hurting for quite a while. The bruising and swelling in his nose, at least, will go down/start to fade in about seven days. After that, he will be able to tell if his nose has been reshaped at all. He’s still able to breathe through his nose, though, so it’s not a dangerous wound, no matter how uncomfortable it is. He’s certainly been fighting a lot lately for such a seemingly sweet guy. This thread was fun to read, though. ‘Punch. One guy goes down. Punch. Other guy goes down. Punch. Both guys go down.’ Hah. I didn’t award any mizas because it was a draw, and I don’t think Gene would be the type of guy who would split the winnings- he seems an all or nothing guy.

Grade Complete: XP Award! Name: Stag Fern   XP Award Observation- 1 XP Brawling- 3 XP Stag observed Gene at the beginning of the thread and was reminded of his brother, which earned him an observation point. Most of the rest of the thread was taken up with brawling, which you detailed nicely so he got three skill points: one point for the straight punch, one point for the headbutt, and one for the punch at the end.   Lore Award Stretching before a Fight (Kinda) Using Adrenaline to Think Quickly Intense Pain Determination: Getting Back Up Simultaneous Punch Win? Lose? DRAW! Additional Note That was quite a painful fight for both competitors! Stag will have an incredibly bruised face and jaw. It will be really sore for about a week, to the point where it hurts to do everything from breathing to eating. This thread was fun to read, though. ‘Punch. One guy goes down. Punch. Other guy goes down. Punch. Both guys go down.’ Hah. I didn’t award any mizas because it was a draw, and I don’t think Gene would be the type of guy who would split the winnings- he seems an all or nothing guy.