Private Haven't Heard No Bell

[Alina Tremiru]

".. And that's another fallen to the hooded woman's fists!" There was a mix of cheers and groans from the crowd around the impromptu ring. Underground fighting attracted all manner of people, from thrill seekers to those down on their luck trying to make a quick buck. Either by fighting or betting. And given some of the groans as the unconscious Zabrak was dragged from the ring. His opponent shook her hands and flexed her fingers. The Zabrak's skull was thicker than she thought. Alina had already taken a couple people down in these back to back fights. The new power she'd finally figured out had her moving far too fast for these fighters to deal with. And punching too hard.

"Don't go anywhere folks cause the next fight is starting right now!" The hooded woman spit out some blood before turning back to the ring. Another fight, another person to beat down. Good.

Marcis Sorr

 

[Marcis Sorr]

To the Echani, battle came almost as naturally as breathing, every swing of the fists, exhalation of air, and shifting of one's stance towards the offensive or defensive telling more about a person that a simple conversation ever could. To Marcis it was more than mere communication, however. It was how he proved himself superior to others time and time again - or failing that, fuelled his quest for power with the icy sting of failure.

It was safe to say he hated losing even more so that his peers, but he also loved a challenge, which was what had brought him here today.

Unlike his opponent, he made no effort to conceal his pale features, nor the sith runes on his forehead - and knuckles. Clad only in a form-fitting black attire, he eyed her for a long moment before smiling slightly. "You better be as good as they say."

Only the minute tension in his legs betrayed his intent to spring forward the instant the fight commenced. A worthy foe would adapt, certainly.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina was only in a grey sweatshirt and some baggy black pants. Nothing about her screamed Sith, save for the yellow eyes just hidden under her hood. For a moment they'd be on full display as she saw the emblem on Marcis Sorr 's forehead. She recognized the language. Sith runes. Not the sort of thing to get as a tattoo without getting in quite a bit of trouble with the Sith. So either he was an idiot, or a Sith. Honestly getting a tattoo on your face seemed more like the idiot.

She lowered herself into a loose boxing stance, the surprise fading from her expression as she watched him. He talked a game. Time to see if he could walk it.

"We got a live one for you guys tonight! The thus far undefeated versus what I can only assume is a Sith! If you haven't placed your bets, you're missing out! Cause it's time to fiiight!"

The opening bell rang, and Alina immediately took off from where she was towards the Echani. First strike often wins, and with him ready to spring forward she wanted to get right in his guard. He was taller, longer armed. Make it harder for him to strike. If he was a Sith, she couldn't afford to go easy either. She was faster than what a human her size should be able to move, and as she swung her fist for his stomach, much stronger.

 

[Marcis Sorr]

His eyes narrowed slightly as she identified him as a Sith, realization following soon after as he spotted the yellow eyes below her hood.

Almost certainly a worthy challenge then - and one with a similar approach to battle, as her sudden dash made very clear. Spinning out of the way with the fluid grace of someone trained in martial arts since he could walk, Marcis' eyes danced back and forth, eagerly analysing her movements.

Battle was not just observation, however, and he would not lower himself to merely evading. Footwork flowing back and forth to conceal his intent, he switched to a more methodological approach, fists snaking out to strike at her limbs and shoulders instead of her centre of mass, poking at the outer layers of her defences to identify and predict her strengths, and by extension her weaknesses.

Like her, he drew on the Force for speed, the runes on his forehead glowing ever so slightly as they bolstered his reaction time even further.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

There it was. The rune glowed. Marcis Sorr could keep up. The doubt on whether or not he was a Sith was no longer a doubt. He was. Worse, he knew how to fight. Not like the thugs here, who only knew how to beat up another person with heavy swings. She could see his style. It was like Quinn Varanin . Echani. Alina kept her arms tight to her form, guarding her face in anticipation to his strikes. He could keep up with her, so she wouldn't be able to just punch him once and end this.

Her body twisted and turned, trying to weave through his strikes and weather his blows as best she could. It was different, getting hit by someone who could actually beat her. Reminded her of when she first started coming to these kinds of places and found herself beat down time and time again. She needed to get faster. Hit harder.

When it was clear he wasn't trying to take her down with his strikes but test her out, anger flashed in her eyes. This wasn't a study session, this was a fight. She brought an arm up to block another of his strikes before lashing back, sending a quick jab for his throat. Alina stepped into it, clearly dropping defense in favor of a full on assault. The first jab was just an opener.

 

[Marcis Sorr]

Ungraceful form notwithstanding, the woman fought well. He was likely faster and his reach was longer, but he was fairly sure she was stronger. Besides, fellow Sith were always a wildcard, you never knew what secrets the Overseers - or more likely their Masters - had seen fit to share.

Having gotten a taste of how she fought, he was not particularly surprised by the aggressive move, but that did not make it any less dangerous. Runes along his knuckles flaring orange, one hand snaked up to meet hers - the petty Sorcery turning some of her momentum against her - while the other surged towards her throat, propelled forward with similar mysticism. If she wanted close and personal, she would have it.

As if to prove that grace was no guarantee for clean fighting, he drove his knee towards her stomach, the flurry of activity leaving him exposed.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

There was mild surprise in her eyes as Marcis Sorr decided to punch her fist with his own. It was a needless thing, that often could break hands. Why would he- Her hand was repelled, thrown back. Her charge was all but halted as the realization sunk in. The runes. They could do something. Repulse? She gritted her teeth as she brought her arms up to protect her face from this power. It worked, mostly. Now expecting the result behind it she was better at keeping her footing.

But she wasn't able to recover it.

The knee hit her square in the gut, her breath knocked right out of her lungs. Damnit. He was going to beat her. This stranger, coming into her territory. No, she wouldn't loose. She couldn't. If he was going to use more than just enhancing himself, she would too. Alina's eyes were in full view as she stared at him, the anger clear. Using both wasn't something she'd been able to figure out how to do. But she would try. It'd either work, or she'd loose. Her chaotic connection to the Force burst from her, muting the area around him.

Trying to cut him off from the Force itself.

A much slower punch launched at near the same time, aimed right for the side of his chin. Splitting her attention wasn't something she could really do. The Matukai style of channeling she used would, hopefully, become something passive. But she was new to it. New to all of this. But her raw strength was still a threat.

 

[Marcis Sorr]

Caught off guard by his tricks, her blow deflected and her offensive broken, he drove his knee into her stomach, provoking a pained exhalation.

So much for a worthy fight, this would be over in no time. Already moving to knock her out, he faltered when energy coursing through him suddenly ceased, runes flickering and fading as prescience was replaced by a cold absence. Before he could recover, a strong right hook slammed into his chin, sending his wiry frame staggering backwards as stars danced across his vision. Feth.

He would have another bruise tomorrow, that was for sure, but the bigger problem was figuring out what had just happened.

Much more cautious now, he circled at a distance, quick eyes confirming what he already suspected - whatever she was doing was weakening her too, preventing her from making use of her full potential. Messing with the Force, somehow? Voidstone? No, that couldn't just... appear.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Her breathing was far heavier than she'd like it to be at this point. Fighting as she enhanced herself and tried to dampen the force in another was a taxing way to fight. But it was the only way Alina could keep up with Marcis Sorr . Or at least try to. She kept hopping on her feet, preparing to spring forward. Circling much like the Echani was.

Then she sprang forward. She stopped focusing on dampening his connection in favor of fully focusing on his speed, hoping that he'd momentarily be taken aback by the sudden reconnection that as she brought her fist around he might not notice it.

 

[Marcis Sorr]

Circling and circling, the two Sith faced each other, each testing the other's defences with both action and inaction.

Suddenly, his opponent surged forward - and his the disruption to his connection disappeared. Momentarily caught off guard, he did not have time to counter properly, but that did not mean he could not be creative. He had been trained for worse under worse circumstances.

Dropping prone and catching himself with his hands to evade her punch by the barest of margins, he twisted on his axis, driving both legs towards hers in the hopes of sending her plummeting towards the ground as well. Preferably less gracefully, but anything would do.

She fought like a boxer, which was all well and good, but the entire body was a weapon.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

She had him. There was no way she didn't have him. Alina could see it, the brief moment of confusion. That's all she needed to strike Marcis Sorr down and win. Or so she thought. Her fist met only air as she was left blinking in surprise.

Then falling.

There was a sharp inhale of a gasp as her legs were kicked out from under her, and she fell right to the ground. There was a split second of her face down in the mat as she tried to think about what he'd done. It was so obvious. Kicking. She never bothered with it herself, but she should have expected it at least! She rolled away from the Echani, trying to get back up to her feet as quick as she could.

 

[Marcis Sorr]

His acrobatics working as intended, they both hit the ground - but only one of them did so flat-footed.

In a friendly practice match, this might have been the time for him to laugh it off and pull her to her feet, but that was not the case. Had had no creds on the match, no, but he had invested something far more important than that - his pride.

Pausing only to push himself back to his feet, he lunged towards her, seeking to drive a fist into her face during her recovery. Not very sporting, in the eyes of some, but Marcis had always considered honourable combat to mean pragmatic combat.

The skilled were victorious and the unadaptable ate dust, such was the way of things.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

She could see the punch coming, but there wasn't anything more she could do to stop it. He'd outmaneuvered her. And yet, she was smiling. Her golden eyes focused on Marcis Sorr as he lunged forward, full to the brim with excitement. Alina loved to fight, plain and simple. And to get beaten like this? Couldn't make her any happier. Once more she reached out, to mute the runes on his fist to at least lessen the blow.

But as fist met chin, she was sent sprawling to the ground. There was a laugh as she rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. The crowd erupted with cheers around them.

"And that's it! It's over! The fight is over!" She didn't really hear what happened next, still in a bit of a daze. She pushed herself up to her feet, staggering for a moment as she started to limp out of the ring. But not before glancing back to Marcis with that same grin. "When I figure out who you are, I'm going to make you teach me how to fight like that."

 

[Marcis Sorr]

Another solid punch and she went down; he had expected either fierce resistance or her being rendered physically unable to continue, but laughter? He had not expected laughter. Clearly, the woman was a much, much better loser than he was.

"Likewise." She had lost, certainly, but it had been a close one. Closer than he would have liked, had the stakes been life or death.

Her ability to disrupt the Force was highly unusual, to put it mildly, and he was becoming more and more convinced that it was indeed her, not some artefact or another she carried. Acolytes like them rarely had such potent items, after all, and her focus had seemed to indicate considerable exertion.

Leaving the ring as some cheered and some - who had just lost some creds - swore profusely, Marcis smiled to himself, making no effort to flaunt his victory or anything of the sort. The opinions of these lowlifes mattered little to and from, he would have to find better ways of making a name for himself. Still, today had been a good day; better to be caught off guard in a more informal setting than with his life on the line.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Likewise. Alina chuckled again and gave a small wave to Marcis Sorr before slipping out of sight. As soon as she was far enough from the crowd and she heard the next fight starting up she sunk down against a wall, groaning. Everywhere hurt. The fights before her match against Marcis Sorr had their own bruises, but he hit far harder than any of her prior opponents.

"I need a bath.." The acolyte muttered to herself before pushing back up to her feet. She'd limp her way to her room in the academy to do just that. Smiling the whole way back.