The dance with bloodly tears (Pm invite)

[Lenneth]

In the land of heros and the gods of Greece bore the ancient arena said to have given raise to many braves souls and warriors that have fought battles from across the worlds bring glory and pride. Today was one of those days that another even would be called wills from across the worlds themselves to join them in a host of games of entertainment and a level of skill to compare the results of training, here today would be the first live tour of warriors that have battled through waves of hardship to prove their worth in the eyes of royalty, to make their names known in the halls of legends! The large circular done like stone casing itself over a massive area housing rows upon rows of seats that allow anyone to see the days play as they will. A betting sun rolling down its intense heat with little remorse or shade hiding the golden rays along the bright white sands of the floor, as it hit the very centre of the endless blue skies thousands upon thousands of brave souls came walking in the arena, each dressed in their own attire ranging from the common wealth to fights from the most farthest reaches of this plane of existence, mages, warriors, demons, monsters, men and everything in between made their impression known to the roaring sounds of the crowds that cheered.

One such will today was none other then the LaVaeas of darkness himself Lenneth, the king of heartless but he was here not of his own will but simple unfortunate circumstance. During a unknown time as he traveled within the guise of a child Len was captured and sent to this world to forcibly be a victim of the brutality of these games. Looking from his cage as he noticed his predicament in wonderment decided to stay and play out his role a bit longer to really see just what this type interaction this would produce. This was one of the first experienced a scenario where humanity would be fighting against each other besides the wars they brought among themselves. This time it be a much more confined and control area too and Lenny didn’t really feel like he was in any real danger, he could leave at any point but how they treated him as a child would explain a lot.  

His beauty and charm were of equal grounds of legend to his magical prowess though it was greatly confined to this youthfully appearance, the silk scanty designed fabric he wore barley covered his child like body, fully exposed his chiselled chest and rippling abs while his powerfully and legs arms were also free from most restrained aside from his forehand gloves and silk like stockings. The medium tone tan of his flawless skin glimmered with a radiance that outmatched the rays of the fiery orb while his golden locks straightened and flowing past his neck blew in the breeze. He was a sight indeed that draw the desire and envy of many, thankfully his tasted were of only half the population, only those deemed male. Even amongst the many that gathered around him for the tournament today. Though looking off into his hunger jailers though they seemed to be much more interested in other previous without his permission.

Thinking to himself the slow purpose of his arrival did in fact mark something important to him, the share fact of boredom as of late. Certainly things have occurred in the last few weeks that have passed but alas nothing now has brought enough of concern for him to worry about, even though this would be clearly exposing himself back into the general population he believed it didn't matter any more and it wouldn’t really be “Him” in a sense but rather a shadow of the imitation with innocence. Slowly the arena started to fill with people and the battle flied started to gather the combatant seeking to fight for their lives, being pulled out from his cage Lenny was placed in lined with the other captive slaves as they were lead to the others. Within the more public areas scouts also gathered their notes and started the means for forcible gather more to this show in the name of a selfish noble’s lust for blood.

[Tsumiko]

The grand Coliseum that stood as this world's centerpiece was experiencing waves of activity as bodies poured in one after another. Games were a typical even here, yes, where brave souls pit themselves against one another, or in groups. But the whispers on the street spoke of this one being somewhat different, hosted by a noble not quite known for their generosity. Because of this event, this “game”, many vendors and con artists alike were attempting to peddle their wares at the Coliseum's gates. The faces present there were widely diverse; from young to old, rich to poor, it seemed like every man, woman, and child of Greece were trying to squeeze inside.

The activity had only peaked her curiosity at first. She came her after deciding that her current level of skill needed refining. What better place than the world were heroes were born? Though, there was a bit of disappointment that ebbed at her when she found that she wouldn't be accomplishing her goal any time soon. Dressed in her hooded cloak, the songstress made her way to the towering stone entryway, weaving her way through the crowd. It made her wonder just what kind of event was being held that attracted so many at once.

When finally within the vestibule, and further into the actual arena's area, the crowd seemed to split in two, lining the seats of the viewing bleachers. Only a handful of people chose to forego the seats, instead crowding a board in the corner of the arena. Some were already lining up within the four pillars outlining the battle area. Silver-blue eyes scanned the faces standing there as she headed for a seat. A disgruntled man voiced his displeasure at her when she suddenly stopped, stemming the flow of bodies. Casting him an apologetic smile as he passed, the songstress looked again to the arena's participants.

No way... That can't be... With skeptical steps, she approached them to better see. And sure enough. He was standing there. Little Sitri, the boy she'd met in the bizarre castle of white, was gazing around from beside the other people lined up. Being that he was standing within the arena, it led the songstress to believe that he was indeed participating. What does he think he's doing!? Doesn't he know that it's dangerous? The silver-haired woman knew not what the pretense of these games were, only that they were. And that she needed to join, if only to provide protection for the boy. From what she remembered, his fighting capabilities weren't all that grand. A side thought also had her thinking that this was a perfect opportunity to hone her skills in a controlled environment.

Turning towards the group of people surrounding the large green board, she squeezed her was between the men that towered above her. Friggin' behemoths, some of these people were. When she reached the front, her eyes landed on a man who looked rather self-important. In his hands, he held a board on which he wrote the names of the people who wanted to join.

“Next,” he called out with boredom dripping from his tone.

“I wish to participate. My name is Tsumiko,” she stood before the man and spoke with confidence. The response she received was less than desirable.

The coordinator stared at her with a blank expression. Though he never spoke it, she could tell that he wanted to say, “Are you serious?” From behind her, several of the hulking, less than attractive men burst out in fits of laughter.

“Listen here, lil lady,” one of them approached her with a mocking smirk, bending at the waist to come to her eye level. He smelled of rancid meat, and seemed in need of a bath. The only thing visually taken care of was the overgrown, stringy mustache below his crooked nose. “This event ain't some tea party. These 'ere are the games! We're 'ere to break some femurs and win some glory. I doubt that thin body o' yours can hold up to the hurtin' all o' us are bringin'. So go 'ome to your sewing an' leave the fightin' to those who can handle it. We don' need lil girls like you takin' up our time.”

As he spoke, Tsumiko stared on from under the shadow cast on her face by her hood. The smell of his breath was something awful and made her want to gag. She managed to maintain a stoic expression, if only by a little as she placed her concentration elsewhere. As the man straightened up, crossing his arms, the songstress grinned, and let out a breathy chuckle.

“How quaint. Apparently you don't know just how frightening a woman's wrath can be,” she said in feigned amusement, giving a sharp snap of her fingers.

Right on cue, the air surrounding the man's head warped ever so slightly. If one wasn't looking out for it, they wouldn't have noticed. The rude man's eyes rolled back and he quickly dropped to the ground below. The others surrounding him watched as he did so, quickly turning their wide eyes on the silver-haired maiden before them. Turning toward the coordinator once again, she said in a very curt tone, “Sign me up. I go by Tsumiko.” Her fingers were placed visibly, positioned for another snap. Her response was a swift nod.

Without another word, she began to walk away, stepping onto the fainted man's chest as she did. She didn't have time to play by the rules. If these games were going to start soon, she needed to act fast. She was thankful that all it took was a simple sleeping spell, as much else would have been quite the trouble.

She didn't know if little Sitri had noticed her presence yet. As the number of participants grew, she lost sight of him. Hopefully he'd be okay long enough for her to get to him. Perhaps she could convince him to drop out or something. Lining up beside the others, Tsumiko waited to see what would come next. This was her first time in the games, let alone the Coliseum. The slew of new experiences her her nerves on edge and her senses on high alert.

[Lenneth]

There was some commotion in the coward as some of the late comers had just been found and were being dragged into the wide arena just now, they were either people that signed up and chickened out at the last minute or strong warriors that were chosen personally by the host of this tournament. Either case it didn't matter as they would be brought here today without question to showcase the variety of these games. Lenny turned to judge for himself from a first impression, there were mighty fine looking men here...and aside from that interesting individuals that looked strong either magically or physically. Some of them he could recall from certain worlds just from the styles shown, Chinese armour for the land of dragons, shirtless trident wielding from atlantica, cyber gear from space paranoids and....someone from pay less?...the hell?

Literally there an ordinary looking people who wore something from that store from a malls Lenny used to go to a lot, for the life if him he couldn't remember which one. Smirking to himself that if they were going so far as to dress in casual attire then that people must be confident in their abilities. He then along with the whole coward would look towards the center of the arena as a pillar appeared to be raising from the sands at an alarming rate, on top was a strange cat like person wearing battle armour. The strange creature then clapped his hands as magical screens appeared all over the coliseum with dirt smeared his face in the front few.

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"Welcome one and all!, Strong Warriors Brave souls from across the worlds!! I am your host Ikaruga, second hand to the generous host and master of today's events. We have gathered today to bear witness to all of your power! Pride! and you have all come here for GLORY!!! And now its time to show us your results!! your very souls shall be displayed for everyone here today!! Be proud, Rejoice!! and hold nothing back!" the cat like man shouted as the coward roared in excremental applause while the entire arena started to move and gather magic across the field as it formed and sealed off the city from this land.

" Now let me state some rules for you all. Everyone in the tournament has free reign in the city and the coliseum facilities while its not your turn in the battle grounds but as you can see the entire city is sealed off while the event is in progression. This is insure that none of our fighters don't think about leaving before putting on a good show. If you get eliminated then your free to leave…or rest well with hades, spectators are free to come and leave as they wish and aside from that use any tools at your dispoels to become the true victor!!...there is just one more thing to note, anything can happen today and we hold no responsible for lost of life. And now For the main event to began!! *Bells ring loudly* the first event is easy enough...see there are a lot of you here today, much to many to keep in order so the first show shall be an a 10 minute all-out-battle-royal!!! those that are still standing shall continue on" he said with a sinister smile before vanishing into nothingness"

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And that was the start of it with that vanishing act every single fighter there, the thousands of people and monsters gathered started fighting each other all starting from a sword being stabbed in a person's back. That first drop of blood triggered the choas, magic and first, sword and spear, forms and summons all appearing and attacking, defending and evading. The entire battle grounds erupted into a mad panic for battle with most fighting while few others only ran trying to stay around till the time limited was over.

Lenneth’s shackles and bindings all broke off and vanished right after as did all the other slaves there were forced here to serve as meet, many  didn't waste any time over that madness that had just started, quickly much larger more well versed warriors with Lenny quickly spranging into action as his body twisted around into several flips at the nearest group of targets,  light hearted  kicks aimed and landed on their faces but nothing in terms of damage, rolling off he “tripped” off and avoid another slugger smashing the poor man’s face in before they started fighting and leaving Lenny to dash away into the masses.  Little Len then rush though legs and arching backs as he attempted to evade all of the bodies standing in his way with a whimpering muffle. There wasn’t a point to really show himself quick yet  but he wanted this to be longer.  A quick sliver blade was tossed towards him but with a quick flip foot his twisted the man’s wrist hit it at its hilt quickly knocked it off course and into the arm of a female lancer he grappled and swing in the way. The heartless prince danced his techniques, tripping, falling and rolling like a child but with skillfully pace and acrobatics good luck towards this mad coward of hot heads. Keeping his head down and trying to remain small seemed to be working at the moment though the coward was quickly thinning out from the strong to the weak and the tough combatants were showing their colors and skills like glory hogs. It was then the dark prince also saw a strange glare of sliver in the distance of the raising forces of dust playing off the clashing muscle and magic, there Len could almost make it the face as a familiar and if his guess was right on who it was this might have just gotten a bit more complicated.

For starters he could already tell this would be one hell of a party.

[Tsumiko]

Tsumiko's eyes followed the pedestal as it raised the cat man high into the air. He stated the rules and regulations of these games, made mention of the hosting party, and gave one hell of an ominous warning. When he said something about equipment, the songstress double-checked her armed targe and the hefty gauntlet on her right arm, Vice. Both of these were going to be important in the upcoming battle. From what she heard, only those left standing would pass on to the next round. Which was fine with her. As soon as she found Sitri, her participation would only last as long as his.

After the cat man said what he needed to, he was gone, descending into the floor. The feeling that magic had enveloped the entirety of the Coliseum tickled her senses. It didn't sit right with her. From there on out, she knew that escape wasn't going to be easy. Though any plan she had formed was tossed out the window the moment someone stabbed another in the back, signaling the beginning of the madness. It was crazy just how quickly they began killing one another without a second thought. No one seemed to have any doubt when slaying another.

Surveying the area from left to right, Tsumiko's eyes landed on a man charging at her, ax in hand. There was a bloodlust in the bulky man's grin, and Tsumiko didn't want to wait around to see what lay on the other end of that ax. Running away, she began weaving herself into the crowd. She looked over her shoulder to see if her attacker was still in pursuit. When she was satisfied that he was no longer a threat, she looked forward to see a blade coming her way. As the gleaming metal was at neck level, and so the songstress fell to her knees and slid forward. Passing by, she held out her arm and swiped the spiked gauntlet to bash against the man's shin. The unsuspecting man tripped, falling to all fours.

Seizing the opportunity, Tsumiko bent backwards and performed a backflip, landing on her feet for a short second before using the man's back as a platform to launch herself into the air, high above the heads of those around her. Someone attempted to knock her down with a javelin. Smacking it to splinters with Vice, she rose her other arm. The short barrel stored away within the targe was now exposed, bursting a shot of magic in that direction. She was aiming for the one who threw the javelin at her, but ended up shooting a bullet into gut of a nearby man. Apparently her aim was still somewhat off. As the man doubled over, Tsumiko used the top of his head as a stepping stone to continue her aerial walk. This continued with the face of an unsuspecting person, and the shoulder of yet another. The final attempted to grab at her ankle, but a swift kick to the head set him teetering over. Kicking off him, the silver-haired woman propelled herself into the air once again and began to fire magic bullets at random into the crowd.

So far, there was no sign of the little blonde one. From her position high above, there was so much going on and so many people moving at once, that it was almost impossible to pick out any one person. The constant screaming and painful moans was leaving her with a sick feeling in her stomach. There was blood everywhere, and the scent ravaged her nose.

As she descended with a graceful backflip, she landed with a forceful kick to a man's back. He fell easily, but the woman he was squaring off against brandished her rapier. She attempted a lunge, which was nearly missed. Tsumiko countered with a swift punch of her gauntlet to the back of her head. It sent her off balance and the blade fell from her grip as she rolled away, stabbing into the ground of the arena. The woman, obviously disgruntled, glared at the songstress before making a dash for her weapon which was settled between the two of them. Tsumiko tried to kick the weapon out of her reach, but was moments to slow. The woman had a firm grip on the hilt of her rapier. Without much time to react, and unconsciously giving in the her rising battle frenzy, Tsumiko lifted her leg and slammed down upon the back of the swordwoman's elbow. There was a distinct popping sound, accompanied by the sound of uncomfortable cracking. Tsumiko recognized this as the woman's elbow dislocating, bending it in a way that would not typically be possible.

She kneeled in pain, gripping at her joint with a forceful, tender touch. Tsumiko should have flinched, should have felt sorry, but there was nothing. The only thing she felt was a need to survive. The need to ensure her safety. The happenings around her served as a reminder that there was no time for breathers, and that she needed to carry on. This only proved ever more true as a shadow loomed over her, blocking out all light from her figure. The songstress was afraid to see what was waiting for her response, she against her better judgment, turned to see who her next opponent was.

[Lenneth]

The time appeared to be flying like mad as the numbers of the fighters kept on lowering itself at an astonishing rate, already it was cut over in half from how many people had enter. Either they were killed out bluntly or laying in defeat in a worse death, their pride resting until they awoke from such injures. Five minutes left with the strongest still holding tough and likely holding back their true power for good reason to hide themselves before anything happened after all this was the pimliary round.

Lenneth himself was still fighting off then countless amount of people with such gracefully clumsy motions that where hypnotic and mesmerizing at his sheer luck while still freighting at the same time. From outside his sights a massive giant of a man and muscle was bulldozing down the cowards towards him, the man he recognized the child as a weak enemy that needed to be taken out soon to seek out a worthy crop of challengers. He stood at 12 foot five while packing on a weight of pure mass of 1789 pounds of muscle, his arms were the size of most tree trunks and now his speed was fuelled with rage while sweeping away the dogs towards his target.

"DIEE!!! The giant roared as he charged and draw Lenny's full attention, a powerfully strike towards the left vertical downward as he chopped at the heartless while he was riding on some poor lad's shoulder, Lenneth quickly twisted his torso to the right and threw the man he was riding towards the incoming foe, causing him to take the full brunt of that massive attack while rolling away, the giant's hand literally crush that man's skull in while still impacting the ground enough to crack it and causing the heartless to tumble off surprise before running his shoulder trying now to tackle attack. The dark mage managed to quickly to stand to his knees and brace himself for the speed of this massive monster, he couldn't believe this type of mass could move that fast. The two of them were about to hit hit, one using his oversized body and brute force while the LaVaeas used his experiences to get away from this, quickly moving and pivoting underneath the gaint he managed to avoid most of the blows as two more smaller sized yet still strong fighters held up their shields from the back, holding the man at a stand still while Lenny ducked. A breath away and his body sliding across the stones digging in deep but lasting only a second or two before he didn't move at all, it was quite the sight seeing a  2 mere 6 foot holding back a man literally three times their size in all aspects.

The giant man couldn't believe it at all he was giving it all he could give trying to crush this home wrecker down into hell but was only a mere road block. In a fury of madness he took his right hook and slammed it across to the man...only to find the a third fighter catching it with a mere palm strike, holding him back with one hand and now starting to overpower him as the other two started to push back with a smug smirk on their faces before digging into his shoulder and fist and with a thunderous shout the heartless prince rolled and slide away as that giant was sent flying on his back in a meteor like impact while jumping the little Lenny quickly jumped on the top of the gaint’s torso and grabbing his throat before punching the man once in the face. The force of that attack was enough to generate a mild shake of the ground enough to throw a few fighters close by off in surprise, those within a meter literally fell down from being so close to the powerhouses. The other three gladiators then started to make work of the giant’s state slicing and dicing at his exposed legs and torso.

A tall women stood behind the strongest, bristling with anger and rage as her breath become short with gasps of soreness and bloody marks across her body. The warrior felt the pain of her sister being beaten by this tiny little female as such an insult to their family pride, drawing in closer the warrior she inhaled deeply with magical power before drawing out the heat and flames outward into a giant fireball at the sliver songstress.

[Tsumiko]

Tsumiko stared at the woman below her. The grin she wore despite her pain served as one warning, the second being the rising heat. Whatever it was, it was big. Grabbing the injured woman by the collar of her armor, the songstress tossed her as hard as she could off to the side. She was already injured. Being that her dominate arm was no longer in working condition, she no longer posed a threat and it was likely that the swordwoman wasn't going to be able to participate any further. No point in causing her any more harm. With her out of the way, Tsumiko turned to face the oncoming danger. The blazing light of the fireball singed her eyesight, making her want to turn away.

Using the targe on her left arm to protect her face from the heat, there wasn't enough time to dodge after throwing the woman out of harm's way. All that was left was to take it head on and defend until she could fight back. It made contact quicker than she expected, burning her skin. Any longer and this was going to get nasty. Inhaling deep, the songstress lowered her shield and let forth a massive sonar blast. The force of it not only divided the flame around it, but sent the songstress and the lady warrior flying, but all those in close proximity behind her.

Getting knocked back, Tsumiko landed on her backside. She was sure that there were going to be a few burns and blisters, but otherwise she was going to be alright; disregarding her hair, which had some burning spots needing to be stamped out. The hood she wore had fallen off, now exposing the bright eyes that lay hidden under it. They scanned the area for any immediate danger, finding one in the form of a rogue arrow. It skimmed her cheek, causing a light trickle of red to form. A second charged at her, flail at the ready. With a huff, Tsumiko lay on her back and pulled in her knees. When her would-be attacker neared, she kicked out, landing a clean hit to the man's chest and sent him teetering, breathless. Another kick, and the songstress was landing on her feet, catching her balance. It hurt to move, due to the burning sensation her skin was feeling. She wanted nothing more than to grip her arms to try and sooth the pain.

Looking around, it was obvious that the number of people had significantly decreased. Only a couple dozen more stood, hacking away at each other. Every so often, someone previously declared as a KO would rise from the ashes only to be put back in their place. It was a sad sight, and Tsumiko just couldn't understand how some found this entertaining, let alone exciting.

Feigning unconsciousness, the songstress dropped to the ground, if only to give herself a moment of peace and a small window of opportunity. Being on her side, her clasped hands were placed near her chin. As quietly as she could, among all the battle cries, Tsumiko began weaving together the echoes of her song. Slowly, and in a light dimmed by the world's own natural light, the burns and wounds she had just inflicted with began to heal. As the light faded, the silver-haired woman got back to her feet. Smacking a woman that happened to be standing close by square in the back with Vice, she was definitely feeling much better and less...tender.

---

Sonar Blast ~ 25MP
Moonlight ~ 20MP

320 - 45 = 275MP

[Lenneth]

Lenneth's kick at the point had disoriented the giant just enough for the attacks to land perfectly on their marks, knocking him out, breaking a few nerve channels and shatter his jaw and some of his skull but for the most part he was still alive...most likely to die if not given treatment soon but hell that was the medics job and one that needed to right away. He rose up and off the large bundle of muscle, feeing around the soft curves and body for a moment before jumping off to bear witness to the rest of the fight. The were countless bodies either carried out by the medics or morning family members out of the arena trying not to killed themselves. There was a mere minute left in his madness and from the looks of it only around a dozen and a half have remained and now with the distance between them scattering their area it looks as though they would be the keep fighting.

But just then familiar girl that he noticed early arose beside him asking for the health of the foe he just help defeated, to him it was something to see her still standing and well enough to be asking for someone else...but oddly he didn't feel much of a fighter just seeing her but now here she was. He wasn't sure to try her or if this was the helpless little girl act to let down his guard back when they first meet, thankfully Len wasn't a gentleman. He stared at the girl with a small look and his guard well up in case of a sudden attack.

Now getting a good look at this person she appeared to just fine herself enough to be crippled from battling any more then she needed to at least. So was it an act? maybe but hell as he counted down from 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and RING the bell rang as the timer ran out and the event was over. He looked up with a slight smile as the remaining combatants started to move towards the barracks as the guards started to wave them on.

“…Miss Tsum?...why are you here? Captured as well" Lenny said with tone of authenticity while the medics started to come back towards Tsum trying to help her towards the medical offence before the next round. They checked out Lenneth as well but for the most part he was unharmed aside from some dirt marks and bruises. He would then head towards the lounge after entering the building.



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The cat man's face appeared once more on the screen of the magical glass, smiling his bright fangs while clapping loudly as the corward followed in suit.

" Lets give our remaining fighters left a round of applause, the best of the best the strongest of the strongest!! the next set of rounds will occur later today while they get some rest. Here's how the tournament shall run, for the week these lucky fighters shall be in randomized events throughout the day with the last half of the days be battles from different people. Each victory of events will earn that person 10 points with the loser getting 0 points, ties will give 5 points to each person. Battle wins will earn the person 10 points and the loser 0, the winner will be determined by fighter with the most accumulated points but as with anything in life anything and any kind of rule can be applied. SO REST UP BRAVE SOULS! THE TOURNAMENT OF THE CENTURIES WILL COMMENCE VERY SOON!!"

[Tsumiko]

Silver-blue eyes scanned from one side of the arena to the other in search of just who she was going to square off against next. Though before she knew it, the blaring sound of the alarm was going off, signaling the end of the first leg of this death game. Since when was the point of the games to kill the opponent? Wasn't it originally just to subdue them? Then again, this was turning out to be an atypical game. There were even medics. Medics! A pair of which approached Tsumiko.

“Doin' alright, ma'am?” one of them, a thin man with freckles, asked.

“Y-Yeah, I believe so. Just got a little burned was all,” Tsumiko double-checked the areas of her skin which were previously burned. The tissue, though no longer in pain, was flaky and tinted an unnatural pink color. She had done a quick patch job, unaware that it was so close to the end of the round.

“Well why don't we have you looked at, just for safe measure, hm?” the second of the medics, a peppy young lady, said with a smile meant to come off as comforting. Something about that smile stuck the songstress as familiar. That carefully crafted smile hid just how disturbed she was, how little she approved of what was going on there in the Coliseum.

Nodding towards them, Tsumiko allowed the two medics to guide her towards the medical offices somewhere withing the construct. As they did so, she looked at the carnage that was the battle field. There were countless motionless bodies littering the area, with the white clad medics hovering over them one at a time. It was sad to see that so many people had suffered for no reason other than “glory”. Walking into the building, her line of sight on the arena was cut off. She was left in a small room for a short while before a dark-haired woman came in. She had pointed ears and and an unhappy expression which she turned upon Tsumiko.

“Name and affliction,” she was scribbling away on a clipboard, her tone cut and dry. It was quite obvious that she was no happy. It was quite possible that the nurse has already tended to her share of injuries that day and the usual face of kindness had worn thin and broken.

“Tsumiko and, uh... burns?”

More scribbling was accompanied by a short huff. When she was finished she walked up to the songstress, held out her hands, and coated her in a shining green light. “You're free to return to the lounge,” the nurse said, grabbing her clipboard before quickly leaving the room.

Blinking at the curt nature of the woman, Tsumiko looked at where she had previously been burned. The pink tint of her skin was gone, returned to its natural color. Even the mark on her cheek was gone, though the trail of blood was still present. Walking out of the room, she followed the flow of grizzled people to what she assumed was the lounge. Inside, she was just in time to catch the announcement that the cat man from earlier was giving from a sheet of enchanted glass. The songstress could feel her moral sink as she hear that it was a week-long event. When she signed up, she obviously didn't know what she was getting herself into. As for the reason she signed up...

Looking around the room, she searched the faces of those present. It didn't take long before she found the little blonde, and she began weaving her way through the bodies that were still listening. Just as it ended, silver-blue eyes were staring down the boy with a stern expression. Her hands were on her hips.

“I'm happy to see you well, Sitri,” she said. There was a double meaning to her words, both a greeting and a compliment to the fact that he hadn't suffered any visible injury. “But I would like to ask you what in the worlds are you doing here? It's really dangerous, as I'm sure you know by now.”

[Lenneth]

So it really was the same girl from the white castle, hurray he thought as the medics tended to her wound and left him I the green light of health, thankfully he hadn’t sustained any issues in that bout. Staying small and unimportant for the most part got the heavy hitters to knock each other out while he meekly kept to the under shadows. And now here they both were as actually combatants that weren’t knocked out quite yet for the rest of the show. The time in the white castle was a little while ago but a extended period of time never the less, in there Lenny had learned things about this lady they might prove usefully but as shown in the battle royal also proved herself one not to be underestimated so easily.

At least he had the element of surprise still, she hadn’t seen his true self quite yet and she may not half to if she didn’t get in the way of his plans. For now he’d play this out again making this the second interaction period between them. The songstress was getting pretty close to Len by his normal standard; he’d need to keep this in mind.

She retorted back at him with a much more familiar stern look of disapproval like some older figure that may have had some sway of the childish energies Lenny was trying to portray, it must have been a maternal thing human females had to children. Why were the father figures usually the ones that sucked ass. Little stiri started to pout a little as he showed his lower lip a little before holding his thumb in his mouth sucking on it slightly. Looking down he tried to musters some posture back into is back but found himself holding his shoulders forward trying to curl into a little ball.

“I..I’m sorry…I was taken here right after we all separated. I thought they were nice people…they give me food and water but…then I have chains on and locked in a small place for long time. They said I need to fight to get out…”  

[Tsumiko]

One look at the innocent posturing of the little blonde before her melted the stern expression she wore. There was no way she could scold him after seeing that pout. Though it didn't take long for Tsumiko's brows to knit together once again. He said that, in a roundabout way, someone had kidnapped him, luring him with food and water as bait. One one hand, it really pissed her off that someone could sink so low as to kidnap a child to force them into a death tourney. One the other, it really made the songstress wonder if he didn't have any parents if the promise of food is what got him caught. Or maybe he ran away? Whatever the reason, it was obvious that he was without supervision. And that made her sad. No child should be without their parents.

Standing before him, she leaned down to be eye level with him, hands on her knees. Perhaps she was being overbearing but she couldn't help but be concerned. “Are you alright? They didn't do anything bad to you, right? Tell me if they did and I will personally see to it that whoever is responsible for this gets payback tenfold,” she said, looking him in the eye with a confident air.

She may not have the best skills in all the worlds, but these 'games' now became a personal battle that Tsumiko would see to the end. What started as a rescue mission of sorts turned into a personal vendetta. Bringing people into the arena as if they were disposable toys was unforgivable. Standing up straight, she folded her arms over her chest, unable to cross them due to the gear still attached to them. Though she was looking in his direction, her ears still listening, her silver-blue orbs seemed to phase right through him as she pondered the reasoning behind any of this. One of the first thing to come to mind was just for sick amusement. The memory of so many dead bodies littering the ground was still fresh in her mind; the scent of the red liquid was recalled too easily to take comfort in. It actually made her want to be sick. Was human life really not as valuable within the walls of the Coliseum as one would hope? Were there really no safeguards anymore?

[Lenneth]

Maternal instincts right Lenny had to remember that sometimes people had growing affections to the little and lesser strain of their common house hold line, stunned a little by the girl’s intensity Lenny found himself slowly recoiling back into himself, stepping just a foot behind his stance while holding his arm that stuck down on his thumb. Quickly lowering his head the little sitri made it seemed like he tried to find some kind of answers in the shadows on the ground as if he had done something so wrong but he knew better.  And when the girl asked just what had happened to him well there was all sorts of beatings, scars and perversions that occur to this slender body of darkness, most of which could not be spoken or written in thought for safety of anyone that would be reading this but in a few sentences, He was there brood cow. Honestly though Lenny didn’t mind and it provided a lot more control he had over them they thought they had over him, lust and dark desires always found their way to play into his hands likes strings on a puppetry. For the purposes of this task though Lenneth remained slightly after the girl asked, he peeked up slightly to see her intensity first had being shot out from the eyes and he acted all the more frightened, slowly he would nod his head though in no practically direction as he kept changing between the two directions. Acting in the child like mannerisms Lenny pretend nothing was wrong, acting badly in the way that a child would to a parent if they were being bullied, causing his body to shake a little he would look away from Tsum and fake a weak smile with his big blues proofing up with tears slightly and then remain slight with no words to expression his embarrassment.

He quickly dried his eyes out with his tight sleeve and looked back up at the girl with a hardened expression as his fists rose up to chest level and held tightly trying to act tough at least externally.

“You’re here too and its dangerous! The bad people aren’t going to let you get away that your stuck here too”

[Tsumiko]

The little blonde's frightened, indecisive answer spoke volumes to Tsumiko, though with the mixed signals it was hard to discern just what it was he was more afraid of, her or his previous captors. It was his tearful smile that lead her more towards the fact that is was that was making him nervous. Sigh a gentle sigh, she bent down and hugged her knees, looking at him with a soft, reassuring smile. If she was going to get his cooperation, he couldn't be afraid of her.

"I'm sorry, Sitri," Tsumiko said, watching as he wiped away his tears. She blinked at him as he made a comment about her own safety. She didn't mean to come off as inconsiderate, but she couldn't muffle the chuckle that resulted from his apparent sincerity. With a light-hearted smile, she his hair a quick, gentle ruffle. "I know my way around a spell or two, so I'm sure I'll be fine for a while. I entered of my own free will. I'm more concerned about you. Are you going to be okay to fight these hooligans?"

Being unaware of his true nature, Tsumiko was inclined to believe that the blonde wasn't very versed in combat due to his age. It was a source of worry for her and she was reluctant to let him fight though she knew she had no say in the matter.

"And I wonder what's going to happen now. Are we done for the day or are they going to start pulling us to continue..?" Her gaze drifted off to the side, landing on a feline-esque woman terrorizing a painfully timid girl. The songstress wondered if the poor girl was also a captive forced into these games as she hardly seemed able to defend herself. Then again, she wouldn't be sitting there in the lounge if she wasn't able to put up a fight of some sort. Turning back to face Sitri with a falsely excited smile, she said, "Guess we'll just have to wait and see, huh?"

[Lenneth]

Good she took it a little easier with the dramatic theatrics, that would be a lot less stressfully to have to handle while also trying to fight someone and maintain this act, in hindsight it may have been easier to convince her of his own safety if he wasn’t playing the role of a younger child which worked fine in the white castle playing the unknowing watching in sheep’s clothing but here he needed to at least bare out his fangs a little, whimsical play could only take him so far considering how difficult the competition was against them. The grunts of the battle royal were just for show to hype the cowards up for more bloodshed, Len should have been one of them.  But now the big players were free to target each other and he wasn’t sure how they would make it out of this in one piece easily and as the two new comers they would be prime fresh meat for the slaughter.

He nodded with some insurance at her concern though with still hesitating from the normal higher energy responses that she may remember from the white castle, it was hard to be upbeat after the things that they had just both seen at the time. “ I’ll be fine, nothing bad has happened yet so it won’t yet right?” speaking with his tone all shaking it would match the narrow minded idealism of a kid right? he hoped so.  He may need to show off a little more from their last outing hopefully on a believable scale giving the amount of passed time.

Looking around Lenny with a bit more enthusiasm as the rest of the fighters both injured and stable gave the two of them nasty looks and snarls while they stood so visible. “Lets sit down” sitri then moved to one of the further corners in the room, one that was a little empty lacking many near it before planting his butt softly on the stone.  The room soon filled with activity filed maidens clinically draped in white fabric in thin lining nearly too visible to hide much from their bodies, cries of admiration and desire soon echoed through their arrival, along some of their numbers trays of food and wine were carried in to all to taste. Some tasted other bits of the young madains flesh in a pig style of romance but no one paid it much mind.  They also served some other service in cleaning up the fighters as well with damp rags to cool their wounds while the healers did their magic’s and the doctors worked their blades and stitches. One small girl walked up to Sitri slightly older in age wiping at his face and hands while also attending to Tsum’s appearance.  Grumpy Lenny looked away while being scrubbed against his will.

Information would also handed out as their whispers spread as rumors like wildfire, speaking to get them at their best to a great showing to soon happen.

[Tsumiko]

The songstress wasn't sure how to handle Sitri. His shaky voice ate away at her heart and left her with a need to comfort him. But she wasn't sure how. She felt as though, despite their time together in the white walls of the castle, she knew him too little for physical contact. That, and being that the people surrounding them were all of a malicious nature, seeking any weaknesses their opponents might have. Tsumiko was afraid that showing too much affection for the little blonde might make him a target for anyone how seen her as a threat. Thankfully there wasn't any who came into mind at the time. There was always a chance, however, given the nature of these games.

Hearing him speak once again, Tsumiko's silver-blue eyes shifted from the many faces around them to Sitri. Nodding at his suggestion, she followed him to the corner of the room. Leaning her back against the wall, she slid down and sat on the floor, releasing a heavy sigh as she did so. She was so tired and all she did was bop a couple people and get burnt. Letting her head drop against the wall she closed her eyes, hoping to her a moment of peace. That peace didn't last too long, however as the room erupted in a roar of cheers and catcalls. Annoyed, Tsumiko opened one eye to see what the commotion was about to see that the room had been filled with dainty, white clad women. The songstress couldn't help feeling sorry for some as their bodies were felt up by the shameless hands of some of the participants. They brought food and drink, even offering to clean them up.

“Tch... Pigs,” Tsumiko mumbled under her breath, closing her eye once again. Though with the feeling of something cool running across her skin, they both snapped open to peer into the face of one of the maidens with the sudden shock of being touched expectantly. The girl even went so far as to trim the bits of burnt hair she had. It seemed a little excessive, thinking that it was probably going to get more damaged later on. Tsumiko didn't want to push her away and into the pit of grubby man hands, though. Poor thing looked scared enough as it was and so she let her take her time.

Turning to face Sitri, the songstress couldn't help but giggle to herself. The grumpy expression he wore was pretty adorable. But even though he looked unhappy, he just sat there and let the girl do her thing and scrub him down. Tsumiko wondered if he acted the same way with his family. The small smile remained on her face, even as a low rumor began sweeping across the lounge. It was unsettling due to its vague instructions, leaving her with her guard raised and mind wondering. What kind of “great showing” did they have in mind. Was it to entertain, or to pit the participants against each other once again? It wouldn't surprise her if it was the latter.

She turned at ask the maiden in front of her, who simply shook her head. Tsumiko hummed in thought, tipping her head to the side. She got the feeling that she knew, along with some of the other women within the room. Perhaps they were forbidden from speaking what they knew. Which would make sense. Would destroy the air of mystery if they could talk about it openly.

Sighing, she turned to face Sitri with a confident grin. “What do you think? Are we in for a trick or treat?”

[Lenneth]

After a while like say thirty more seconds of being scrubbed and water down Lenny couldn’t take it much longer and started to poke his nail harshly at the little girl that was working on him, he couldn’t stand such an act being performed on him be such a rotten gender which underlined his preferences, something he did not like at all. Flicking his finger he kept trying to push the girl away from him after so long not really caring what her fate would be at the hands of the big old fat pigs over there, it was there job after all so they knew how things might turn. It wasn’t like the little sitri was a kind fellow towards all people, friends were biased so far but there was only so much he could act.  Tsum seemed a great deal more kinder which he didn’t fault but wondered the point of it considering the girls here would just have to do it again some other day or even again once they left this room. Tsk by clicking his teeth together  Lenny also gauged their worth and deemed it even lower, they did a crappy job at it as well judging from their how clean they were actually getting them all. Lenneth’s slaves were much more trained and better looking, men were better and had acts together, these little birds were just coasting on their frail looks till their meat would be used to make stronger humans.

Trick or treat

Little Len’s eyes floated back up with some excitement as his team mate had offered those words to him, however half of Len’s mind just tuned out the rest of her question if she had been talking while his thoughts were on a different train.

Lifting himself up wide eye and planting himself on his feet after jumping up Lenneth childlike exclaimed “Cand…?!”  he nearly outburst with a breaching screech before catching it at the end. Shirking back into a slouching posture and holding himself back up against a wall while leaning his lungs deflated down and he looked away a little red. “Oh…I think trick for the most part”

Breaths came and went away for minutes at a time, leaving the pair without incident as the room kept to its own actions. The next bell rang soon after as the maidens were soon guided out by the guards and a different flood of bodies escorting themselves into the room in a march.  This time the room’s visitors were much more intimidating figures to represent the staff, fully clad giants like figures of black and silver hiding their actually appearances from view but their sizes of their bodies excluded a fearfully strength and seriousness. The message was clear they were meant to be the muscle the gladiators had to obey.

“Follow” one of the black figures said as the soldiers all spread out to face the fighters directly with their height. One bee lined for both Tsum and Len inching his finger at them and gesturing to come while kneeling at the pairing. Looking at the songstress Sitri quickly inhaled before retracting, standing back up he obeyed the solider and soon followed in suit with the rest of the room.  They would be lead into the twisting halls of this building walking in close proximity to their guests and resting their hands close to their blades to foretell the punishments of disobeying.  The one close to Len however seemed a lot more at ease then the rest of his co-workers as his gait was slower, hands not resting on his weapons and with lesser tension radiating off him. He offered his hand over to the child much to the surprise of the little heartless who had to double take a few looks up and down the giant’s offer. He was huge compared to the tiny little beauty but felt it as an order then rather a kindness.  Replying with his small little hand in return the metal giant slowly wrapped his around that tender tan flesh and play with it before using his other hand to lift up the boy and plant him firmly on his palm. Startled a little Lenny soon adjusts as he felt himself being sited down on the soldier’s palm while they walked after being a little stunned at what just happened. He looked down to see hopefully see Tsumoko there but to ensure he was fine, even waving down a little as to claim his nerves.

[Tsumiko]

Tsumiko was blown away by the little blonde's sudden outburst, the excitement on his face at the mere mention of candy-related themes having him on his feet in seconds. She turned her head to look at him, blinking for a moment until Sitri seemed to deflate and slump against the wall. The songstress giggled at his childish antics, though somewhat out of guilt. Perhaps her choice of words were not the best ones. It was good to see that he was still in high spirits.

Not too soon after, there was a cue in which the white-clad maidens began to leave the room. With them gone, the room was a great deal quieter, making those who did whisper about the supposed rumors all the more clear. Tsumiko wasn't able to get a proper idea of what they were talking about before the lounge went silent completely.

Replacing the women that had been in the room, beefy behemoths of soldiers started to file into the room. The stature of one alone was visually intimidating, noted as much by the nervous ticks that some of the more burly men in the room attempted to hide. Tsumiko was absolutely flabbergasted by the bulk these men seemed to pack and was unintentionally staring at them with her jaw agape. She'd seen her far share of muscle in her days, but these guys..? Dayum!~

One soldier in particular seemed to weave through the crowd right towards the two of them. Kneeling before them, he motioned them to follow with the simple movement of a finger. Compared to the other soldiers, this one was just as physically intimidating but seemed far kinder in nature. Tsumiko stared at the man with befuddled curiosity and gave a short nod before turning to little Sitri. She got to her feet in a swift motion, joining the other participants as they piled out of the room and a command that came from another soldier, simply telling them to “follow”. She made sure to keep a good distance between herself and the others around her, enough so that no one would accidentally knock into her. Though they were all just freshly cleaned, the thought of someone she didn't know, or even want to know, maing physical contact with her didn't seem as appeasing. That, and she'd had bad past experiences with pick-pockets. Not that she thought anyone would be daring enough to do so under the watchful gaze of the soldiers.

As they traveled to wherever their destination was, Tsumiko couldn't help but ponder the chances that this was indeed a 'trick' of some sort. They were fed, washed, healed, and given time to rest. It was only a matter of time before something bad happened. As she wondered this, her eyes drifted to the little blonde that had been at her side just moments before. He was still nearby, but had his attention at the gentle giant that had came up to them in the lounge. With watchful, skeptical eyes, the songstress observed the interaction between the two. The soldier held out a hand to Sitri, in which he placed his smaller hand into. Soon enough, and much to Tsumiko's nervous amazement, the boy was placed upon the man's palm. Either he was the much of a giant, or little Sitri was a small lad. Either way, the blonde had made himself comfortable there and turned to wave at the songstress.

Not sure how to respond, being that the boy didn't seem to be in any immediate danger, Tsumiko just smiled and waved back. “Comfy up there?” she jested, trying to settle her own nerves.

[Lenneth]

“Ya, so far it least. This is a little scary to be honest, hey mister why are you carrying me?”  Turning to the walking chair the giant solider did not speak a word as they moved even while being poked at. Len titled his head a little in question as to why and not getting an answer the little kid just shrugged at the lack of commutation and thought just to enjoy the ride for the time being, the man’s hands were quite large after all and even covered in the armor they wasn’t all that bad, just had take the index finger and little and just its firmly underneath his butt checks like a pointed pillow, it was nice. They wondered about further and further through the great  halls made of such refined cut stone worthy of the gods themselves they appeared to glimmer on their own with not a single trace of dust as the sun grew brighter and brighter  to the outside. As a tingling sensation brushed on top everyone there the coolness of fresh air would touch each of the gladiator’s skin in warming kisses.

Lenny winced from the bright shine of the light, blinking apart his comfort before adjusting, the golden rays soon parted just in the far into the west slowly as the silence was then soon blasted with the roar and screams of the coward to their ears and the skies reded with time, names, boos and even declarations of love were spread out throughout the countless people that had gathered, sent across every and all the fighters that had gathered and now appeared before their hunger eyes.

The fighters were  then escorted into special boxes on a second level that spread just underneath the main tower holding the host of the games, positioned well behind the normal attendees with a wide shot view of the battle flied in front of them. They would each take a sit underneath the supervision of each of the black armors before they stood in protections. Lenneth and his personal guard would slowly move to their sit, hoping Tsum followed. Their giant then slowly lowered the kid on to bench with an open sit for the songstress to sit next with, standing back up after pitting little sitri with his great big palm lightly.

“Guess we get to watch this time, it’s a nice view at least”

Inside the massive circular arena a sudden flash of light arose all around them lighting the now darking night skies, the magical forces at play soon took over the stone and quickly tera formed the entire place with the arrival of the night stars blanketing into a wondrous sight, coating the stone with a unknown force and into a dome like structure that glimmered once done before becoming invisible. The entire floor would melt away into a vanishing vapour before receding into the darkness below as another  floor rose up underworld. Alongside the blue flamed lit torches and boney throne at the center on top of this platform stood a single man surrounded by the sleeping bodies of one hundred others laying across his feet. The lone warrior stood as taller as the black armored fellows but just a little shorter, his body bore nothing of conventional metals but instead housed the furs numerous dangling across his muscles and human bones across his decor.

With but a single shout each of the combatants rose up from their slumber with a sudden splitting daze, each a fallen but alive member of the previous battle royal. Confused and unsure they all erupted into a frenzy of accusations and swears at each other, the games and most of all the king that stood high above them all.

The cat men appeared once again, this time standing at the very top of the dome as his face appeared among the dozens of crystal screens, smiling with a sinister smile and twisting his whiskers playfully .

“Welcome back ladies and gentlemen may I now present our generous sponsor and reigning champion, the mighty king of the legends Belial the almighty! Winner of our fair games over 99 times single handledly. He shall be the final challenger for the winner of this great game! Or will he? For your viewing pleasures we present a bouns round for you this evening ! that’s right not one but two battle royals! This time for the recently defeated from the last match…well at least the ones that were alive still will be competing in this loser round. Each will be gain this second chance with only one of them securing their spot to the final round right away. And as always anything goes!! So on your marks ready! 1…2…3!!!”

As the bell rang each of the awakened declared their victory with ease in foolish pride, each on right away charged straight through each other and towards the champion. And without even so much as a minute passing the count down the mighty king of the ring held his fist straight into the air, pausing for dramatic effect and smashed it down at the ground in a thunderous slam.  The might of the attack force smashed down into the stone and rose into the air as powerfully shock wave, tearing apart ever single stone block and fighter into blood shreds, scattering it all across arena and smacking at the dome in a horrifying fashion as their reminds painted the magic walls with red.

Cheers were left standing in place of victory and Lenny looked on in sheer terror as the color from his face just let him, as he had practiced before.  Controling his body he caused the entirety of his form to shake after the seconds had past and the faces of every single one of the dead faces plastered there for all to see. Convulsing body twisted and he coughed violently, Sitri tried to hold it back, quickly wrapping his mouth with his hands while his cheeks filled but it was in vain as his lips quickly gave way and he vomited. That small body of his just shout downward into a mess with the strength in him alongside it as he nearly fell forward from the drama. Thankfully the black knight quickly learned forward and wrapped his arms around the little boy as he messed himself up, catching him softly before shielding him from this sight any longer. A good hearted man as even the smell of Len’s breakfast did not deter his kindness for this child’s innocence to endure.

[Tsumiko]

Tsumiko was just as curious as the little blonde, and so turned her eyes towards the giant as he was asked a question. Sadly, it didn't seem as though the man was much of a conversationalist and remained quiet. In fact, the only word she ever heard any of the soldiers say was 'follow', and even then that was just a single word. What kind of training did these guys have to go through, she had to wonder.

After a little while longer of waking in silence, the participants were ushered outside once again. Blinking up at the sunshine and using her hand to shield her eyes for a moment, the songstress heard the roar of the crowd. There was a definite mixed signal coming from all around, from boos to blatant admissions of affection. For a moment, she thought that perhaps they were going to be pitted against each other again. “So soon..? They must really- Oh...” Tsumiko turned her head to see that they weren't quite done being escorted and jogged to catch up to the giant that had possession of little Sitri.

Up a set of strairs, the participants were taken to a second level viewing booth. Before them, through a large window, was the entirety of the arena. Tsumiko walked up to that window to scan the field. If it wasn't going to be them fighting, then who were they going to be putting in the field, she wondered to herself. With a soft sigh, she turned around and took her seat beside Sitri, giving a polite nod towards the giant for taking such good care of the blonde. Turning her attention to him, she smiled though was unable to shake her curious dread.

“Isn't it, though?” she said to him. “I dunno if I could handle fighting again so soon, so this is a nice surprise.” She leaned back in her seat, making herself comfortable.

Not too soon after, the scenery began shifting in a dramatic way. The shining sun was dimmed, replaced by a night sky and twinkling stars. The floor dissipated into a mist, replaced by another, and blue flames lit themselves around the arena. There was an hefty concern that began gnawing on the songstress's subconscious. While she had never been there herself, she had heard many a story about the notorious Underworld that lay in the underbelly of this world. For some reason, Tsumiko was reminded of that place with the sudden change of settings. It was odd though. Though things were changing around her, there was no feeling of magics within the room they sat in. Perhaps it was just a gimmick of some sort? Tsumiko was never really too keen when it came to picking apart magics, though sometimes she did manage to correctly guess a source.

Whatever this was, it was giving her the heebie jeebies, sending an uncomfortable shiver throughout her body. This was intensified by what she seen within the arena. One person. That was the only thing standing. At their feet was numerous motionless bones and bodies. The one person was large, even more so than the giants that escorted them to their viewing platform. The battlefield had captured her attention with even more confusion, soon coated with a thick layer of disgust as what lay at the warrior's feet began twitching to life, getting to their feet. A commotion broke out as the fallen participants began to accuse one another for this, that, and the other.

Tsumiko's attention was torn as the familiar face of the cat man, twisting at his whiskers in a deranged pleasure as he greeted the participants and the on-lookers of the crowd. The more he spoke, the more a heated glare the songstress gave him, no that he could see it in the first place. He finally announced the name of the games' sponsor, a man by the name of Belial. Not only was he the sponsor, but the games' reigning champion 99 times in a row. He must have been one cocky man to host a game in which his title was on the line. Then again, winning almost a hundred times in a row, even Tsumiko would have thought herself invincible. Listening to the cat ma continue, it appeared that there was indeed a trick to be had. One of the formerly deceased would be given the chance to fight again in the tournament, though they had to win against the behemoth before them.

Tsumiko was beginning to get more and more disgusted as this was all said. How would they expect any of those people to win against the champion when they had just lost to the average participant. It was like pitting a broken child to a body builder. It was suicide. But even with this in mind, the sound of the bell that signaled the start of the match rang and the many people climbed over each other to get a chance to bring down Belial.

As the songstress predicted, it was suicide.

The champion had raised a single hand, paused for dramatic effect, and slammed her fist downward onto the stone beneath him, shattering it form the force. It resulted in a powerful shock wave that sent the revived participants flying in a decimating blow. Unable to watch the carnage, Tsumiko had turned her head away, shielding her sight from the red that coated the walls in a thick, sludgy mess. As she did so, she could see how bad poor Sitri affected by what had happened. His throwing up had only made her feel that much more nauseated, though she had managed to keep it all down through sheer force of will. With the giant helping the blonde, Tsumiko was thankful of his presents and how he was able to better care for the boy than her current state would allow.

“I don't know how people can find this entertaining,” she whispered under her breath. What was currently eating at her was the eruption of sudden cheering at the massacre. “It's sickening, really. Nothing about that should be morally allowed.”

If that monster, Belial, was the host of such despicable games, then his defeat should be more than enough to end them. She was sure if she was up to the challenge, but if it meant getting herself and Sitri out of there safely, and ending these things once and for all, then the songstress was going to put her everything into ripping that beast a new hole.

[Lenneth]

Sitri had removed the last contests of his feeble stomach out with one last spit before trying to remove the taste of it from his mouth vigorously and wiping his mouth clean with what little pride he tried to have as a male child would.  It wasn’t hard to figure it out but Len might have been a little too good at his acting, vomiting was certainly not a fun thing and he would have to avoid it in the future. It was then he notice the hands of the metal giant behind him wrap around that little body in a cocoon with his  lare hands, shielding him from seeing the slaughter that had just taken place in front of him. Looking at him with a puzzled looked the little heartless couldn’t figure out why this big fellow was so kind to him, there were other combatants that were equally around as young as him, a boy with messy greenish hair to the side of them and a little girl holding a broken doll just a sit above theirs. Sure they both seem to hold their composure a little better but no other guard was really being as kind, they were just standing like marble curves brought to life.  

Turning to Tsum and wondering about her conditions she seemed to be in good shape for now, a little green underneath the hair but nothing like Len’s little show. He would then try to avoid eye contact for now to hide his scripted disgrace for the time being.

With the passing moments silence swept up across the winds through the arena broke then by the hatsful laughter of the cat man standing over top the dome, his entertaining face appearing again on the screens laid out before them. In high definitions one could easily see his pleasure and joy as his eyes watered and his laughter hunted air.

“HAHAHA! Now wasn’t that a nice treat folks! A great testament to our great lord and champion chosen by the gods themselves to walk among we mortals. And for your new little kiddies well this will show you want a role model to look up to. Now that ends our first day folks, time to go eat some dinner at our posiden’s trail just three stones from here, coat with the hand picked sea life from the posiden himself discounted by 20% off”

The cat man vanished then with the magic’s and screens all fading with him, the people of the viewers quickly were  getting up and moving out into their nightly activities. The cat man then appeared again, this time facing all the current combats as he floated in mid-air looking a little less amused at them then before.

“Guess we won’t have a very exciting show if these are the fighters our lord must face, such a shame for his grand 100 victory. Can’t be help I guess given that his taken out all the other worthy heroes years ago. Ah well, guards get these maggots to the main hall, feed them something and keep watch of the doors. There should be enough room anywhere in the coliseum for you people to sleep where even some free good and whores to keep you happy. Just carefully were you lay now wouldn’t want yourselves to be too easy to find in cause your fellow rivals want to accident find their knifes in you”

With that the feline vanished and the guards drummed their weapons, egging on the fighters to stand and walk back into the same hall towards the internal of the coliseum. Lenny lead himself towards intended direction, looking back at his personal guard with a smile and nod before heading off alone. At first he would have moved but decide to turn back to the singing just for a little bit for a simple request.

“Hey Tsumiko…mind if I being alone for a little bit? I’ll be near the great hall were we hang out earlier. I just need some time to myself” with that he moved on without waiting for a response. The guard that had cared for Len paused for a few moments behind the singer before moving past her with the rest of his co-workers.

He would have waited for tsum but at that moment he thought it best to be alone for a little while to gather his thoughts.

After they all arrived back into the great hall Lenny started to wondered off unseen while the other combats hide his sight from mostly everyone else there, laughing and talking about the show and their foolish pride against what they had just seen.  Finding a dark corner to himself Lenny sat down with his arms hugging his legs while he rested his head into a ball. Thinking softly while the bitter taste of his stomach still annoyed him the whispers of the champion’s defeat echoed in his mind, he’d make a lovly heartless for lenneth to use. However these people held a strange magic and something that was quite a show to be yet seen, he didn’t want to risk being detected and would need to make his opportunity appear near the end before it could have expected.

Else wear robbed women of red hair and metals walked over to the songstress, follow where she need be to speak in private with a fellow salve. Her hair tied back into a pony tail showcasing her pointed ears and pale skin, fine red fabric offered bits and peeks into her well-endowed form as they towered slightly over tsum’s own stature and height.

Spoiler:

“Why hello there, Whats your name sweetie? There is something I’d like to ask you”

[Tsumiko]

As Sitri finished with his... unfortunate situation, the songstress had found herself unintentionally watching the poor boy with sympathetic eyes. Again, she was thankful for the giant soldier's help in shielding the blond from the disgusting display before them. Her own body was being less than accommodating, seemingly refusing to do what she asked of it.

That didn't last all too long, thankfully, and Tsumiko's attention was brought to one of the crystal screens that had popped up. Through a naive thought, she hoped that if she stared long enough at the stupid cat man's face, she could burn a hole through it. Of course it didn't work. The man continued on with his disgusting demeanor, even going to far as to advertise an eating establishment that was apparently close by.

Soon after he was done, he disappeared. Tsumiko thought that would be the end of it, but apparently not. From atop the dome on the screens to hovering right before then, the cat man now wore a very unhappy expression. He was a two-faced creature if she's ever seen one. He gave them a few words, telling the participants that the Coliseum as a whole was their sleeping quarters and to watch their backs. They were denied proper rooms to rest in. How quaint. The songstress could only imagine how many of the gladiators were going to forego sleep out of paranoia. This was only going to further decline their performance.

With the cat man gone, Tsumiko got to her feet and was ready to leave. Having to look at the red painted walls any longer was going to mentally scar her. She stopped, however, when the voice of the little blonde reached her ears. Turning to look at him, his request left her feeling rather uncomfortable. There were several dozen other participants that would be more than happy to rip the kid a new one. Despite what her mind told her, her heart said to allow him the space he needed. The entire ordeal was probably weighing heavy upon him, much like herself. If he needed her, she wouldn't be too far off anyways.

“Alright Sitri. Just be careful, okay?” she called out to him as he left.

With a sigh, Tsumiko's eyes drifted up to the guard that had been beside them the whole way. With a small smile, she placed her hand on his arm for a short, comforting tap. “Can't blame him, I guess. Though I should thank you for what you did for him. So... thanks.” She wasn't sure if it was a welcomed gesture, but she did it all the same and turned to leave for the great hall. Along the way, the songstress had put of her hood, sinking her features into the shadows it created.

As she found a secluded area on the far reaches of the hall, Tsumiko situated herself between a large potted plant and a pillar, leaning against the wall. Keeping to herself, she began to tinker with her targe, pondering possibilities and strategies alike. They had given them a small insight as to what the champion was like most likely to shake the combatants' nerves. But perhaps from what little they seen, one of them would be able to devise some sort of strategy against the supposed champion. The songstress wasn't able to get too far into planning, however, as she was soon approached by an elven woman. On any other day, Tsumiko would have welcomed her company with a smile and a greeting. Thought under current circumstances, she found herself glaring at the woman from under her hood. Every person had equal opportunity of being both friend and foe. She needed to keep that in mind.

Listening to the woman, took a moment to decide how she wanted to go about this. “My name is Tsumiko. Though before we get into any deal making or favors, I'd like to know your name.” She'd pause long to hear the woman speak what she will and then nod her head.

[Lenneth]

The black nodded at the young lady as they moved, thankfully for the kind gesture he presented what response he was allowed while they crossed paths, a quick bow of his had before returning to his duties and mixing in with his co-workers. There was a lot in mind for this solider of black steel and for the time being he’d need to keep it to himself.

Resting along the walls alone felt like such a nice little treat, their were so many humans around they Lenny was feeling a little overwhelmed with them all, all of their hearts ringing out loud to him like a quenching thirst that inched at him like a burn. It was sickening to have such a desire from these wretched realm’s sins but he knew he shared tis with his kin the addictive poison they all longed for. He couldn’t escape that fact he was variable to anything is lesser kin were despite how evolved Lenny had to make himself, it was rather depressing thought really. At least here he could pretend to be with his darkness again away from this wretched light and the humans whom it birthed, their blood lust, greedy and wicked hearts all were revolting delicious.

A moderately sized figured stood in the shadows as he walked over to the little Lenny, a pre-teen boy in his 15 year of life with short messy emerald hair, an athletic build and a composed stature. His attire bore a close nit niche of thievery and speed over power but his attentions reminded hidden. Quickly walking over towards the child the boy stood and stared downward at him with Lenny secretly peering out from arms ready to strike should this be a back stabbing dinner that they were warned about. But little did he expected the boy to knee over one of his legs and gentle rub his hand against the blonde’s hair, no magic was casted and he didn’t feel any points of influence either. Instead it was just a comforting rub. A little shocked Lenny looked up with his big old baby blues before the green haired boy offered him water, pouring out of a canister into a bowel for Len to peer at.

Spoiler:

“You should drink some water, you lost a lot of fluid after that display, don’t worry its clean”

Not one to trust someone right away Lenny paused as he looked at the supposed water and then back up at the boy offering it. It might have been some kind of trick but something was off about this man, he didn’t feel any veil intentions coming from him or even a lust for his tender little fleshly body but something else, something different and really foreign aimed at him. It felt similar to how Tsum was feeling towards the little sitri but there was something else to it he didn’t quite pin point yet. It wasn’t sinister but Lenny stilld didn’t trust it though for now he could at least act for it.

“Thank you…” Lenny said as he took the water and started to drink it slowly. The stranger then sat beside lenny and leaned his head over towards Len’s shoulder, confused the little heartless looked over to see the lad just resting there with his eyes close so he just leaned back.

------------------------------------Tsum’s location-------------------------------

“Oh I beg your pardon please forgive that rudeness” The elf women spoke as she adjust her outfit and hair, combing her hands through them to light the red threads ablaze in a firm light of warm and fire, setting her mane ablaze for just a few moments before it returned to its normal luster. “My name is Vehemence I hail from a different world as well as most here do. I’m also a witch in a certain manner too. You’re a new face around these parts, even as a spectator I’ve not sensed the someone like you before. What brings you to these games?” asking the witch then held her shoulders on each side and crossing her arm against her chest she intentioned flattered her self out of some strange reason to while scanning intensely at Tsum and rather close as she slowly leaned in her head.

[Tsumiko]

Tsumiko watched in wonder as the woman seemingly set her own hair on fire. She was somewhat grateful that her face was hidden, or else the woman would have plainly seen the concern in her eyes. It faded soon after though, apparently unnecessary as the flames dispersed and burned out. With an inward sigh, the songstress listened to what the elf had to say. From what she could tell, the woman frequented the games enough to be able to single her out as a newcomer. But the fact that the woman could sense the songstress's innate ability had her a bit on edge, wondering just how much she could make out.

“I came to better myself, though stayed for another reason. It is true that I am quite new to the Coliseum scene, but that doesn't make me any less of a fighter. Make no mistake, I won't go down easy,” Tsumiko did what she could to keep her words dignified, yet friendly. She had to question what the witch's motivation was, however, for singling her out. Was it because of the power she sensed? Or the fact that she was indeed a new face? Hopefully she just sought a friendly alliance and there was no malicious planning going on his the flaming elf's mind.

“What is this favor you wanted to ask of me?” she asked, curious, although skeptical.

---

Short post is short. My apologies...

[Lenneth]

The young elf laughed to her self lightly during Tsum tough girl words though quickly waved at her hoping to send a harmless gesture in it. There wasn’t a need to provoke the songstress for what this witch had in mind. She quickly wiped the tear out from her eyes before adjust her makeup a little while still facing Tsumoko, clearing her throat with a more serious expression hoping to convey something with a light hearted smile and a wiggle to her hip.

“ Sorry I mean no offensive, I wouldn’t have come here to greet you if your skills didn’t impress me already. I saw your display when you first sighed up and knock that fellow down it was quite empowering to see a strong women beat up that man like that. I even kept my eye on you during the preliminary battle royal, quite a feat to knock out that many veteran warriors like that and save your little friend there.”

Vehemence held her words for a moment while nudging from side to side at the people around them, the other warriors standing near them were all giving their watchfully eyes towards the two ladies there, each dripping in veil attempted to rid a few more numbers before the completions had started.  And by their looks they seemed to have a great deal of interesting between the red head and the sliver head.

“I was impressed by your power and aura though its made you quite the target here just like me, course these testosterone junkie’s are just old fashion pigs. But their not to be underestimated either and since your new and talented I’d thought I’d extend a partnership between us girls. We could help each other out making it through this show all the way before the end where we can settle the final winner and since we’d be partners both of us would be safe if defeated stays down. Until the finals we’d cover each other’s back, strategize etc etc. Hows that sounding?”  

[Tsumiko]

Tsumiko watched as the woman gave her a gentle wave of the hand. Though she had to wonder just what the woman found so amusing. Perhaps something she said? The songstress didn't think anything she said as strange. Maybe there was a culture gap of some sort. Turning her eyes upon the woman as she spoke, it was revealed that she had been watched the moment she stepped into the Coliseum's arena. It left her feeling uneasy, yet flattered. Though when the red-head mentioned a 'little friend', Tsumiko thought for a moment that she was referring to Sitri. That would have been unlikely, however, as they had no interaction on the battlefield. Some critical thinking had her realizing that she was talking about the swordswoman that she had tossed aside to avoid the flame.

“I'd hardly call that woman a friend, but I did what I had to to avoid her sustaining any further injury than she had to. Call me soft in that respect,” Tsumiko would say, speaking her mind.

Soon after, she let her gauntlet baring arm fall to her side and scanned the area around her. She caught on to the stares of the many men around them. Were they also allies to the elf, or just another foe she wished to ward off as much as the songstress? Their watchful eyes had her on edge and ready to fight back should it come to it. On the outside, however, Tsumiko kept herself composed as she continued listening to Vehemence as she spoke.

Chuckling at the woman's nickname for the man around her, she was surprised by her straightforward request for alliance, and the conditions that followed. “That's fine with me, though I would like you to be aware that I'm only here to keep another participant safe, not necessarily to win. The moment he's out, I'll no longer hold much interest in advancing. It's not to say that I won't give every match my damnedest, because I will. But if you're fine with that, then I have no qualms with a partnership until then. Hell. If I make it far enough, then I'll likely stick it out till the end just to see what happens.”

Tsumiko grinned at the woman, the rest of her face covered in shadow. She wanted to lay everything on the table out front so that the elf knew what kind of conditional agreement she was getting into.

[Lenneth]

“Respect huh? you might want to take a break from such a kind notion to show to people that aren’t so willing show you the same, lot of desperate people here looking to take the top spot”

The witch of the flames untangled her arms while quickly easing her body before leaning down into a stretch, holding her head and flowing crimson hair to the side as the muscles lengthened and she cracked her necking the bone. She moved to wall closest to Tsum left before resting her back across it, parting her hair to her shoulders before knocking back and closing her eyes, Opening a few moments after them again to slightly turn her sights towards the songstress.

“That seems like a fair trade. I’m guessing the little boy that you were talking to while we were all getting patched up is the little fellow you want to protect which honestly may be just what he needed giving the circumstance. You may not know this but his been branded as one of the throw away member of these games, they are known as blood bags, slaves captured out on the streets and tortured till there is little left. Then as you just so what remains at as the fire works for our grand sponsor the asshole man with a size complex. That makes him less of a threat since no one would want to pass up a free an easy victory until the very last moment at least he should be safe for the most part. Best to worry about us now for the time”

Vehemence nodded her gaze over to the entrance just to the corner of them as a green hair pre-teen walked in holding a little boy’s hand.  Stiri looking a worn as his tiny hand rubbed eyes sleepy with just a nicely timed yawned, a little water from his mouth was dripping slightly but the teen quickly wiped it away. They both looked at the two lovely ladies before walking over to them, the little child with a bit more joy to his expression though clearly still drained appearance wise. He walked himself a little faster towards his friend with a brighter smile then before then seeing the witch with a questionable wonder at this stranger.  The pause was broke after the older boy came up and rubbed Len’s soft yellow hair before giving tsumiko his own puzzling looking. Wrapping the little boy with a large blanket he would join the elf madain at the wall though close to stiri before resting his own back down. Lenny shook off his head before offering some water to the singer before knocking down into a ball and shutting his eyes, rest called to him and now surrounded by at least two people that have shown him kindness he felt at ease.

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