Outfit: x x x x x |
Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with:
Mahsa
| Open to interaction
Zaiya's cheerfulness faltered for a second, her skin rippling with soft waves of teal and gold as she watched Aris and the Iridonian girl sparring. She cast a quick, disapproving glance at Braze, her skin flickering with a ripple of dark orange as he heckled from the sidelines. But then, the brutal crack of bone against bone pulled her attention sharply back to the fight.
Her eyes widened, her skin brightening in alarm as she saw -- and
heard -- it. Aris laughed. Not a small chuckle or a quiet smirk, but a real, full-on
laugh that shook his shoulders even as he took a hit and staggered back, his green eyes twinkling with excitement. He looked
so alive, even as he immediately retaliated, aiming a strike back at the Iridonian girl's face.
And the girl? She
laughed too, a joyful, taunting sound that echoed in the training room, as if the two of them were playing instead of exchanging vicious blows.
Zaiya's heart twisted sharply, the giddy joy she felt moments before now tempered by an icy pang deep in her chest. Aris was having fun --like
really enjoying himself. She wanted to be happy for him, and she was, but the strange twinge of unease wouldn't go away.
"You've got this, Aris!" Zaiya called, trying to sound as genuine as possible, though a subtle pulse of pale jade green flickered across her skin, mixing with the bright teals and gold. An uneasy shade of gray lingered just beneath the surface.
She winced as Aris's head slammed into the Iridonian's horns, the sickening crack making her instinctively close her eyes. While it would be hard, Zaiya knew he could get hurt; she'd seen him bloody and battered before. But she forced her eyes open again just in time to see Aris flash a wide grin at his opponent.
That grin -- an excited grin Zaiya had never seen him wear so
openly to anyone else -- sent another icy pang through her. A memory flickered in her mind, something Aris told her about Epicanthix culture. They admired strength and fighting ability --
valued it, even found it attractive in potential mates. Her thoughts clouded for a second, and a faint pulse of mismatched colors flickered over her skin, an uncertain flux of emotions.
Even Braze noticed the emotions Aris was showing, too -- publically,
openly, in a fight.
The ache deepened as Zaiya bit her lower lip, trying to focus on the fight. But it was hard not to feel that sharp little stab every time Aris grinned, or when the Iridonian girl laughed again, joyfully taunting him, before they went for each other again.
Zaiya's eyes widened as the spar continued, the teenager biting her lower lip, watching as it seemed by the sheer momentum as if the pair just might go tumbling into the ground together...