THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES [Starla]

[Starla]

Grinning at the red that dripped from her blade, she let her golden gaze sweep from the weapon to the man in front of her. She let her attention be grabbed by the muzzle of his weapon training on her again, and with a quick dash, she landed in the dust behind cover again, his bullets flying past. She growled, and lifted herself to her feet, still crouched behind the concrete barrier. Dodging bullets, literally, was a little less than what she had imagined when she’d signed up for this dance. She knew, obviously, that firearms were an entirely likely eventuality, and that many others used them primarily, but she hadn’t expected to run into someone trying to use one exclusively.

She ran her tongue along her teeth and inched her way to the corner of the barrier, before she lunged from behind cover and slashed out at his chest, aiming to strike at something vital. He had been waiting this time, though, and was quick on his feet, jumping back quickly enough to avoid anything important, her blade biting into his upper arm, catching the meat of his bicep, staining his sleeve red.

Inwardly, she cheered, as she retreated away from an expected counter, her blade lifted to defend against the knife that didn’t come. She smirked, and let her eyes find his. “You’re better at this than you look.” As she watched him, she heard the voice of the bane of her existence calling to her from the crowd. Of course she would be here. Anytime there was even the slightest chance for some form of public humiliation, Odessa would be there to jeer at her.

Without glancing her way, she lifted her hand and flipped the woman the bird.

You charge at Enver Marshall II with your sword, and swipe at their torso.As they jump back away from your attack, your sword hacks into their upper arm.

[Indigo]

Indigo figured he could use the support. Even if he said he would be alright, he had it covered and don't add more to her plate during the holidays crunch time she was there. Of course she would be. He had to know that she would show up. Especially after the way he was last pulverized. Besides the obvious reasons of being there she had a feeling there would be some big rollers betting in these events. Especially when some of Harper Rock's public figures were in the arena pounding on each other. What better place to circulate her cause for the community. Even in battle a little art could go a long way.

Indigo slipped through the spectators dressed street casual. It wasn't like she would be getting dressed up to help her boss wherever he would need to be next once the playtime was over. a few squeezes and wiggles and her finding her spot with a clear view of what was taking place. Which was about the time she caught the single finger salute going out somewhere. The crowd was fired up and she immediately felt the whistle of air racing through her formed lips to join in.

"She is going to kick his ***. He can put that in his next book and sell it."

Of course the voice and the statement close to her caught her attention. A beefy nothing but business guy occupied the space next to her. His teeth were showing, which seemed to be a few molars short of a full set. His hands were bunched up ready for a throw down as soon as it presented itself. Her exotic blues gave him a quick once over as her smile surfaced. It could be a slow process. Nothing too overwhelming. She had ideas, designs. Perhaps first tactile applications of watercolors. Large canvas for a guy who had a difficult time seeing the finer points and benefits of such an activity. He could work his way into sculpture. There was a story to tell waiting to be told under that shaved to shine head of his.

"If it happens I bet he will. He is an open book." She nodded and eyed her manicured hand as she dared to extend it out towards the fellow spectator. "Indigo Knight. And you are?" The roar of the crowd at the sight of blood had her eyes checking briefly on Enver. She winced.

[Enver Marshall II]

Something was said about 'Barbie-Girl,' causing Enver to turn and see who was the culprit behind the words. Obviously, it wasn't directed at him, but Enver's interest was captivated for a fraction of a second. Did Blondie have enemies out there too?

It was so much a distraction that Enver didn't see the blade rip into his upper arm until he felt it, then saw his blood on the sword. That was what he got for allowing his attention to....drift. Miss Knight. He saw her from a crowd of dozens. She was dressed appropriately for the 'event', but that didn't matter. She stuck out. In a good way. Enver's eyes trailed the direction she wandered, until someone threw something against the cage-beer. Definitely beer. Enver knew that smell anywhere. No one needed a vampire to recognize the smell of something no better than piss water in his eyes.

Right.
She was moving again and giving him a compliment, which wouldn't give her one back in return. She was doing alright, but no need to stroke the ego. There was only room for one ego in this cage and that was his. He did, however, reply with a shot in her direction as a silent 'thank you,' and reminder that she was correct. He was pretty good at this, because Enver had learned years ago how to be defensive while being hunted by a pack of assholes.

You fire wildly at Starla, but your aim is poor. You do, however, hit them once in the leg, tripping them up.

[Starla]

Starla quirked a brow at the man’s silence. For such a charming personality on the screen, he left much to be desired in the way of banter, or for any exchange, really. His icy silence, in supplement to his public demeanor made for an unsettling combination. That had to be a part of his tactic, to get into her head. To make her doubt herself. She tightened her grip on her sword as she tightened her grip on her resolve. She knew for certain that the man had more experience than she, simply in the way he held his sidearm. He looked prepared, like he had done all of this before, countless times.

She took a slow breath and calmed her nerves, watching closely as he lifted his arm. It was then that she ran, closing the distance between them. She felt the bullet’s bite long before she could hear the gun’s bark. The sting of the round hitting the bone of her thigh almost floored her with pain. She tripped, and swung her blade, the blow ringing against the bone of his arm with a jarring force as he lifted the limb to defend himself. The force of the blow caused a tingling in her arm as she backed off again, separating them once again as she tried to take a mental inventory of his defenses. There had to be a way to break through, to strike at him where it would really hurt. She grit her teeth against the pain in her leg and gripped her sword so hard that her knuckles went white.

You slash at Enver Marshall II, and they raise their arm to defend themselves.Your sword slices deeply along the edge of their forearm.

[Enver Marshall II]

You take a couple of shots at Starla, and one of them rips through their throat!

When her sword slashed at him and cut into his arm, Enver jumped back and let out a growl of frustration. So, being quiet didn't work to intimidate 'Barbie girl.' Enver moved to get away from her and the cheap beer smell, coughing from the swill they served in this place. Even if this place was illegal, underground or whatever, they should have some standards. And he knew a cut of betting money went to the house. So why the cheap crap?

As he moved away from his opponent, Enver heard the crowd roar. It seemed they liked him getting his *** kicked. That was cool with him, was no hard feelings. Enver was used to people of all sorts of walks of life being against him. They despised him because he was rich. Successful. And privileged, he had even heard. He couldn't relate to anyone here, he reckoned and so that made him a common enemy or target. Never mind that he busted his *** to get rich, stay rich and be successful. No one cared about that aspect of his life-when he lost half of everything to his first ex-wife. **** all of them.

The thought made Enver angry. He didn't know a single person outside of Indigo in this place and they already pegged him as the piece of **** that deserved an *** kicking. He lifted his gun and spun to face the woman and pulled the trigger once. When he saw where the bullet made its entrance point, he took a page from the first person he faced. He raised his left hand and gave the booing crowd a nice, stiff, middle finger salute.

[Starla]

She was getting confident.

She had come into this fight completely aware of her youth and inexperience. She'd had little cause to test herself against another of her kind since the... night. She hadn't known her own strength, her own power. She surprised herself.

That confidence, though, was ill earned. She could sense the distance between herself and Enver, but she was sure that she could close that gap in a blink. She knew that her blade would take another bite. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and lowered her frame, ready to charge. She planted her foot, her weight shifting forward just as the crack of the man's weapon filled her ears and pain ripped through her throat.

The pain was a surprise, her entire body recoiling in shock, her hand shooting to her throat as she fought to regain her balance, the sudden jump of her weight from forward to back tossing her figure out of balance. Hand holding her blade, she thrust the tip of the weapon into the dirt, offering a third point of contact between herself and the ground, catching herself before she tumbled backward onto her ***. Her fingers squeezed at the pain in her throat, blood gushing from between her fingers as her golden glare turned on the man as the shock of sudden pain subsided.

She tightened her grip again on the weapon, her anger feeling like a fire in her blood. A thought came to mind, and she couldn't help but give life to the idea. It was a long shot, but it was something different. Something that the man might not have expected. She focused her power, drawing on her inner strength, and focused on the man standing away from her, his weapon tightly in hand, his middle finger lifted to the crowd.

She could sympathize with him, with the disdain that a crowd of total strangers felt for him.

She'd felt that scorn herself, more times than she cared to revisit.

That hardly excused him for the cruelty, for the shot that send so much of her blood splashing across the floor, destroying the white of her jacket.

She squinted in her concentration, focusing her effort on the man's mind as she attempted to bombard him with a confusing onslaught of thoughts and emotions. She grit her teeth with effort, and the frustration at the apparent lack of the power's effect.

I didn't get the c/p here, but she failed an attempt at using Confuse.

[Enver Marshall II]

You take aim at Starla and offload multiple rounds, but they are too quick. They slip into cover, causing you to miss every single shot.

Enver was making the rounds of flipping everyone off. Well, almost everyone. Not Indigo and not the woman that seemed to be against team barbie, or whatever she had called her. But everyone else, he made sure to wear a smug smile as Enver stood in one spot, but made a circle of middle fingers to everyone. Yeah, they wanted him to fail last time and he almost did. It was close. Real close.

Unarmed combat was not his friend.
Enver had learned that well when he was fighting to keep lady girl off his *** that night. But guns? Guns were his thing. Typically. Without sounding creepy in a multitude of ways, Enver was intimate with all sorts of guns. He appreciated the challenge of building things with his hands, from the ground up. Much like all his businesses in Harper Rock. But, when that was completed and he had four successful ones running, Enver found owning yet another business to be either too time consuming, or not worth the effort. Especially since he had been a married man and now a 'dad.'

When he was done with his circle of 'give no fucks' to everyone who deserved it, he faced his opponent and noticed her standing there. What was she doing? Enver put his two hands down and cocked his head to the side, before rubbing at his jawline. She looked...constipated. Did vampires get that? He felt a little bad for her as she stood there, squinting at him. He raised a hand as if to say, 'please don't lose your **** now' [in so many, many ways], before Enver shrugged and then took a few aims at the woman who seemed to be back with things as all his shots missed the intended target.

[Indigo]

Indigo stood there as the man snickered at the scene in the arena. His head bobbed in approval as his thick meat hooks slapped together. Each time the palms connected she blinked. After the third time she felt it was going a bit overboard. Her gaze drifted to the blonde who apparently dodged an attempt on Enver's part.

"Go for the weave!" Her voice called out. Indigo typically would not suggest such things but it was clear some work had been done.
"You see any of his movies?" The lips doing the moving caught her attention. Namely the remnants of his last snack that were hanging on to the edges. "He couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper sack in that either." He huffed matter of fact. "Maybe he should just try bagging her and save some face that way." The smirk spreading across his face had more to give. "Daniel James. You can call me Buddy, Sweetness. Everyone does."
"Indigo, Mr. James." She corrected. "My name is Indigo."
"Of course it is, Sweet thing."

Indigo had the feeling a whole different approach was about to roll in.

[Starla]

It was obvious that her idea wasn’t working. The way that he looked at her, only made the whole thing more frustrating. She made a quiet growling sound in her throat as she dropped her hand, just as Enver lifted the mouth of his weapon to point in her direction, a quick series of loud barks jumping her into action.

She moved quickly, diving to one side as each of the bullets that had been intended for her zipped by harmlessly. Decisively, she rolled to her feet and rushed forward with a flare of her irritation in her golden glare. The shimmering, crimson edge of her weapon raised, flashing again in the light as she lunged toward the man, closing the gap between them once more to take another swing.

The arc of the weapon was wide, but sure, the solid weapon coming down across his torso. It was lined up to be a brutal cross-body cut, just as his arm raised to try and knock the strike aside. As it did, the edge of her blade bit into his arm again, her blow deflected off he bone. She’d sliced into that limb so many times, she was shocked that the thing was still hanging on. She moved forward again, passing through with her momentum and sweeping aside, creating space between the two of them.

She lifted her sword and gave it a quick swing, slinging the blood clean from the steel with a wet splat against the floor at her feet. Clearly, her powers weren’t going to do a thing here, the few that she had, but her sword arm was plenty strong enough to do some of the heavy work it seemed. That much was hopeful, at least.

You slash at Enver Marshall II, and they raise their arm to defend themselves.Your sword slices deeply along the edge of their forearm.

[Enver Marshall II]

She was in close before Enver knew what was going on, and she managed to get a nice gash into his arms. He had heard Indigo mention something about...weave? Was that not Blondie's real hair? Hell if he knew. Enver didn't really know what women got up to to make themselves look different or more attractive, but he could understand it. Working in Hollywood, Enver was well aware of the things people did to sell a certain look.

He wasn't casting any judgements, but he also wasn't the hair pulling type. Well, in most scenarios. He smirked, then shook his head before Enver took advantage of her close proximity. He focused on something-anything that would trigger something within her to get her to back off and away from him, thanks to a nifty power on bridge to another path he learned ages ago.

You cast a lingering illusion on Starla, which taps into their deepest fears and plagues them, dropping their intelligence