[PRP-BATT] Sock it to me [Deimos + Nahori]

[nepsah]

HP: 15/20
Dmg Dealt: 1

He should've seen that coming, honestly. He flailed slightly, body threatening to lose balance at the sudden jerk of his leg. He stumbled as soon as he was freed, one arm flying out to the side as he passed her in an attempt to right himself - he wasn't even trying to hit her in that moment but hey if it connected, it connected, right? Unfortunately he didn't quite gain his footing the way he wanted to. He continued forward a few steps before finally managing to settle into balance again at the cost of what felt like a twisted ankle. Damn- his good ankle, too. He hissed slightly under his breath, then turned to face Nahori once more.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

deals 6 damage

That flailing arm did manage to clip her. It didn't hurt much, but it was a good reminder she needed to reconsider her strategy next time or, honestly, just jump out of the way a little faster. The maneuver had largely paid off in getting Deimos out of her face and giving her an opening, though, and it was a good boost to her normally low self-esteem. Nahori was far from skilled enough to get away with underestimating her opponent, but she started to think winning might be possible as long as she remembered what she'd been taught and kept her head on straight.

Without much hesitation, she darted forward and faked to the right, hoping to catch Deimos with a hook to the side. There was a good amount of force behind it, enough that Nahori could feel her shoulder complaining as she swung. She'd need to work on that, it would probably wind up sore even if he never hit her there.

--

HP: 11/20

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

HP: 9/20
Dmg Dealt: 1

Just as she'd wanted, he flinched away from her fake. He took the hit right on, freezing up for a moment as pain shot through his side. Belatedly he attempted to shove her hand away and stumbled backward, coughing as he tried to get some more air into his lungs. She certainly could hit hard when she wanted. He'd have to keep a better eye on what she was doing- but then again he wasn't sure how to tell a fake swing from a real one- he'd have to ask Forera about it next training session.

He moved back in to attempt another hit- this time a punch aimed for her left side. He preparation felt right, but once he'd actually swung his arm something felt off about the aim.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

deals 0 damage

Nahori quickly drew her hand back to avoid getting swatted, but it only made the effects of her overextended punch more apparent. Yeah, that stung. Rolling her shoulder reflexively, she squared up with Deimos again only moments before he came in with another swing.

There wasn't enough time to dodge or pull her arm up far enough to block, but his aim wasn't as true as it had been, either. She thanked her lucky stars for that, but he still managed to clip her already hurting side yet again. It was enough to make her wince. Still, she sucked in a breath and threw her own punch in retaliation, hoping to catch him off guard with how quick she reacted. Unfortunately, thanks to the twinge in her shoulder, it was considerably slower this time.

--

HP: 10/20

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

HP: 9/20
Dmg Dealt: 2

Clearly... he needed to ask Forera to focus on more hand-to-hand stuff with him. He managed to twist himself out of the way of her punch, but short of elbowing her as she passed by he wasn't really able to get much else of out his body. Lack of sleep effecting his reflexes? Possibly. He decided to put some distance between himself and Nahori, or at least try to, and instead of turning to try and get another attack on her he kept his momentum going forward. Now they'd both have to turn around to face each other. Dei breathed in heavily- he wanted to end this quickly before he started getting too winded.

saedusk

rip... so many low dmg rolls.....

 

[saedusk]

deals 0 damage

The elbow caught her around the upper arm and Nahori sucked in a surprised sort of breath. Should have expected something like that, but at least it didn't hurt too badly.

Truth was, her biggest enemy right now was her own stamina. The recent gym habit she'd picked up helped, but Nahori hadn't been going long enough to see any significant effects. As she traded little blows back and forth with Deimos, the constant moving and attempting to dodge and trying to get a good hit in had her breathing just as heavy. At the end of all this, she'd definitely be exhausted.

Squaring back up with Deimos, Nahori tried to decide on the next best move.

--

HP: 8/20

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

HP: 9/20
Dmg Dealt: 6

This had to end- she seemed to be feeling the effects of their traded blows too and he was not keen on this ending because one of them was just, too tired, or something. Or maybe that was a good option- he'd only said it was whoever gave up first that lost, not like this was a fight to the death. He moved in again, forcing himself to move faster than his protesting legs wanted to, and threw a quick punch for her left side again. Repeated hits to the same area would bring her down faster, right? Right. This time the thrown punch felt perfect, maybe she'd go down this time.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

deals 5 damage

There just wasn't enough time to think. Honestly, Nahori should've known by now to keep her guard up on that side. How many times had Deimos hit her there, twice, three times? So many she'd lost track, at least that's what her bruised flesh and equally bruised ego felt.

When he hit her this time, it wasn't a joke. It hurt and it hurt bad. Nahori didn't just wince, she whimpered, crumbling in on herself. This read exactly like the end of the road and really, she should've called it there. She should've thrown down the white flag and lamented the loss, but accepted her limits and pledged to work past them in the future.

Strangely enough, she didn't.

Nahori definitely wouldn't last much longer, but a final burst of desperation to prove herself and show him she wasn't a waste of space walking around in a military jacket pushed her forward. Uncoiling, she threw another punch straight at Deimos's chest.

--

HP: 2/20

nepsahhhh

 

[nepsah]

HP: 4/20
Dmg Dealt: 4

The punch hit him square in the chest, earning a mixture of a yelp and a grunt. He should have taken more precaution in his attempt to get her down- clearly she wasn't going to give up so easily. He wheezed, forcing air back into his lungs, then lunged again. This time he dove to attempt to kick one of her legs out from under her- maybe getting knocked to the ground would make her give up? He sure hoped- he was getting to the end of his rope.

He had to admit, the fact she hadn't given up sooner really spoke at least to her ability to hang on despite things looking bad. He still didn't really think he could take her very seriously, but at least he knew she wasn't the type to give up immediately when directly challenged (then again he supposed he already knew that from the ship- but he excused that as being part of a team).

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

In her bid to get away from the lunge she actually managed to see coming despite her own desperation, one leg took the brunt of it, swinging wildly out from under her. To her credit, Nahori didn't fall straight away, but it was obvious she wouldn't be able to recover. After a few flails, she tipped onto her side, her hip contacting painfully with the floor, then her elbow. It felt like something heavy had been dropped straight onto her chest.

That was it. She'd tried, but failed.

"T-That's..." she stuttered and coughed, then cleared her throat. "Okay... that's enough." It was hard to admit it, because Nahori had banked on pulling out a win to soothe her own wild anxiety. To be fair, she was exhausted enough that it wasn't tearing her apart yet, but it would all likely hit home later. Then again, she'd tried hard. Maybe that counted for something.

"You... you win."

--

HP: 0/20

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

He panted, coming to standing position and then leaned over- hands resting on his knees while he caught his breath. Despite being tired, he couldn't help but grin a little. She'd admitted defeat! Finally! He shook his head as he pushed himself upright, running a hand through his slightly dampened hair (and successfully making it even messier than before). "That's-- that's right I win." He sighed, stretching a little and then placing his hands on his hips.

"I guess that-- that wasn't so bad, though." He shrugged, watching her just in case she decided to pull anything funny at the last second. "I'm not actually gonna go anywhere though- you already made that not really worth doin'." Now that the fight was over, the spots she'd landed his were really starting to ache. She probably wasn't in much better condition.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Even if Nahori was vindictive and underhanded like that (she wasn't), she was far too tired to attempt anything funny. Instead she just rolled onto her bottom, hands splayed out behind her for support. It took time to gather the gumption to actually get up. If Deimos had darted from the room as soon as he claimed victory, she probably would've stayed on the floor a good deal longer.

"I... thanks," she replied, weakly brushing her coat off. She had no idea if Deimos actually thought any better of her now, but there was no point in pushing it or wondering. She'd done all she could do now.

"I wouldn't... stop you if you did. A deal's a deal..." She looked at him from where she stood, her expression droopy. Beneath that, she was actually glad to hear he didn't plan on wandering. It was the little victories, really.

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

Well- she seemed well enough to be able to sit upright. He shook his head, "nah see if y'gonna go places y'prolly aren't s'posed to be goin' you gotta like, do it in one go or don't do it at all." He shrugged, tucking his hands into his pockets. "Anyway since you're not like, dyin' or somethin' I'm gone." He turned on his heel - the bad one - then froze, hissing slightly. Damn that hurt. "Y'should really get better at bein' assertive though 'cause I mean, I wasn't up to no good but what if I was?" He looked back over his shoulder at her, "I prolly won't see you again 'less they do another thing like this but if I do, I hope you'll be more like... convincing, or somethin'. Otherwise maybe we'll have to do this again." He grinned, then shrugged. "So long then, commander." And with that, he made his way toward one of the exits... perhaps the medical area was still open? He'd probably at least need a brace for his ankle for now. Jeez...

saedusk

and fiiiiin?

 

[saedusk]

Who could deny Deimos was absolutely right? Nahori couldn't, even if she wanted to. Growing a backbone was something she knew she'd have to do, it was something Sarcel had already told her, but it was so much easier said than done. Sweeps of being under her mother's paw made it difficult to escape the lessons that had been drilled into her. Hell, she hadn't even totally escaped her lusus yet.

"If we... if we meet again, I'll show you... I can change."

It might not mean anything to him, and it was a promise that may or may not ever come to fruition, but it was something Nahori could cling to, at least. It was a goal. Maybe she'd never see him again, but if she did it would be go big or go home.

That said, she muttered one final, "Goodbye," and watched Deimos disappear past the doorway.

nepsah

fin!