Mixed Martial Arts

Log Info

• Title: Mixed Martial Arts
• Emitter: Aryia
• Characters: Aryia, Venom, Choler
• Place: The Colosseum
• Time: December 12th, 2021
• Summary: On a cold day in the Colosseum, Aryia and Venom are training. They take note of a goblin in a red gi that topples over a training target and gets stuck. They help her out, and get to asking some question. Aryia recognizes Choler from Thurid, and shares why she knows her. This doesn't last long, as Choler says they have something they have to do, and leaves. The two mutes shrug, then go get food.

The Colosseum. Midday.

It's cold. Yet, the midday sun has melted the ice and snow that has accumulated about, and the training areas are abuzz with stalwart folk that want to make a name for themselves, or the twin gods that watch over this sanctified space.

One such soul braving the chill is a scarred mul'neissa woman in a green buckle jacket strapped tightly closed, gloves on, and a black face mask that covers her nose and mouth. She's doing steady punches on a heavy punching bag, seemingly pulling each strike. Focusing on form over power for the time being.

And, well, the ringmaster sort of banned her for a bit for breaking too many targets. So, she promised to pull her punches. For now.

The Collosseum's seen plenty of epic struggles.

Times of strife.

Heartache.

Death.

Tonight, it seems, there will be more of the training than that.

Not far from the Mul'niessa is the shrouded figure of Venom, who's most obfuscating bits of attire are showing the patched rigors of mortal combat, who is currently kicking at some free swinging targets, trying to refine her recovery time.

At least one other person braves the cold and snow. With furs added to her basic gi, and sturdy boots replacing her sandals, the Goblin stares dubiously at a wooden man post. Huffing, she climbs the lower slats, and adjusts a few of the higher ones. Dropping back down to the ground, she begins a routine, smacking the different slats with hand, elbow, knees, feet, and in one case, her forehead. After a time, it begins to form a rhythmic pattern.

She begins to vary the pattern, jumping to reach the higher slats with foot and hand, eventually climbing high enough to strike at what would be the head. Snarling suddenly, she leans in and chomps on one of the slats, pulling hard enough that the post topples over with a crash.

The elven pugilist's gaze slides from the target she's punching, to the shrouded figure. It lingers slightly before giving the heavy bag one final smack from an elbow before sliding over to the figure. "If you follow through on the kick, land on that foot, then pivot around, you can crescent kick with your other foot on the back swing when it comes down," she offers as a suggestion, her eyes crinkling slightly in a way that denotes a smile behind the mask.

The rhytmic hitting is picked up by sharp ears, her turning to see the gi'd goblin going at it on a target. She tilts her head to the side. Aryia has... never met this one before.

The crash is met with a blink, and the mute elf curiously approaching, seeing if all is well. <Handspeech>

Venom's routine, such as it is, comes to a quick pause as she catches awareness of the greenclad elf drawing near, one of her hands reaching out to still one of the bags that swing along a path that, with a breeze of what have you, present a problem for either of them.

She nods to the suggestion, before her hands come together and twist, flick and splay to form her answer of, "I'll try that, thank you." <handspeech>

With the crash, her head cants a little to one side before pivoting to see what all the noise is about as Aryia does.

Are those tooth marks?

Choler is laying in an awkward position upon the post, an arm and leg on either side. One of the slats prevented the post from laying flat upon the ground, so her hands and feet both dangle just above the ground. To top it off, she's wedged between two slats, her hips stuck fairly well. She tries nonchalantly to stand, and gets more and more desperate as the other two approach.

Aryia approaches, her glowing gaze blinking as she raises two hands up in a calming manner. She couches down, inspecting how the goblin was stuck before nodding to herself and grabbing the top of the target. She nods towards Venom, beckoning her over with a flick of the head to help lift it up.

Without any real reason to contrary, the veiled one moves closer to the fellwed post and the goblin pinned by it.

She lifts a hand in a silent 'hi' before glancing toward Aryia.

There is a nod, and the shrouded one sinks to her haunches with her back locked straight, and her fingers curl and lock under the wood as best she's able.

A nod follows, and the enigma stands by.

The Goblin grunts and clings to the post as it's returned to the upright position. She gives a big push with her hands, and drops down to the ground, albeit with her gi pants shoved as high as they can go. Awkwardly hopping from foot to foot a few times, she gives in and simply uses her hands to smooth things out.

She turns to peer at the two others, sniffing curiously at them.

Aryia gives a wink to Venom on the sly before there's a silent huff of effort. Post returned, she dusts her hands off and looks down at the gi garbed gobbo.

There's some eerie staring.

Then a wave from the hip. She points at the fellow martial artist, then twirls her index fingers around each other. "You sign?" the gestures mean, but was already halfway pulling out a journal from a specifically tailored pocket.<Handspeech>

Venom gives a nod on Aryia's cue, and her veils ruffle with the huff of effort she puts into helping to wrangle the post back to a better alignment for all involved.

Once it's handled, and she and Aryia are being... sniffed at..

That does seem to be coming up a lot, lately.

The veiled one gives a little bow and repeats her silent wave.

Hi.

Choler continues to peer curiously at the two, her eyes flicking back and forth. She waves in return, and squints at the sign language. "Hi.", she says quietly, her voice scratchy. "I uhm don't know the thief's hand signs. Uhm, I speak a few languages. Maybe Khazad? Gobbo?"

Aryia was undeterred, save for the frown behind her mask from being sniffed. Thankfully, that was hidden away. She shakes her head, pops open her journal, and writes with a pen. Scribble scribble, sci-scribble. She turns it around, and shows the pages. In practiced Tradespeak, it reads:

"Hello. I can't talk. My name is Aryia. This is Venom." There's a little arrow on the page that points to the veiled figure beside her. "I'm interested in your practice. And this target you're biting."

Venom nods, either in acknowledgement of Choler's reply, or, given the timing, an affirmation of Aryia's identifying her.

Her hands slip beneath her poncho for a moment, emerging with similar wares to the Mul'niessa, in preparation for any questions that come her way.

The wee woman steps closer, standing on tiptoe and squinting at the written words. "Oh, mute eh?" She nods slowly. "I am named Choler. Nice to meet you both." She eyes the dummy she'd been battling, and tries on her best innocent look. "There's no biting at all.", she says softly, "Though I know stuff gets a little blurry when I get going fast."

Choler turns to face the dummy again, and goes through a quick pattern, slapping and striking with hands and elbows. "It's an art I learned from my master, lots of fast hand strikes, with the occasional kicks. The uh... unorthodox maneuvers were thought up by me."

Aryia's eyes -quite literally- light up as the name leaves the goblin's lips. She nods at the assessment of her vocalization abilities. A brow is raised at 'no biting', yet she looks at where there was biting on the target. There's a near silent chuckle, seen in her shoulders moving. Some more scribbling.

"Oh! Choler! I know of you. Through my friend Thurid. Nice to meet you!"

She watches the demonstration a moment longer, her tilting her head to the side before adding onto the pages: "I do something similar, but I just pick up what can from others. I've never seen a target like that before."

Venom seems happy to let the demonstration go on without remark, as it were. There is a glance to the Mul'niessa at the sound of her scribbling, then she turns to see how Choler responds.

The Gobbo leans forward to read a bit more, and blinks at what she sees. "Oh, you know Thurid? Yeah, she and I are friends. How'd you meet her? The guild, on a mission?"

She looks back at the dummy. "Yeah, this is an amalgamation of a whole bunch of training dummies. You can get any kind of configuration by moving the slats around. And they're a specific wood, it springs back at about the same pressure as a person blocking and resisting."

Aryia smiles behind her mask. Unseen, but it does reach her eyes, crinkling them. She answers the question first. Scribble. Show.

"Neither, actually. I met her at her temple. Around when I first got her. She's a good person."

The explanation makes her brows raise, her glancing towards Venom. With their teamwork thus far, the veiled enigma could easily read the 'oh wow! That's cool!' expression in the torch-bright eyes.

Venom cocks her head a little at the explanation.

Interesting.

The concept is sound, but the veiled woman spends a moment or two trying to figure out the mechanics of the vectors, though she makes no remark in any medium.

Feeling the look, her attention turns toward her silent partner, holding for a moment, then nods.

Her hands come together, and she starts to write something.

The precisely scribed note, when presented, reads:

No mystical infusions?

"Oh, you follow the same faith as she does?", Choler wonders, a slight tint reaching her cheeks. "She is an awesome person." The Gobbo's eyes flick back and forth between the two, perhaps reading some of their communication. She squints at what Venom writes. "Erm. I don't know what that is. So er no? Maybe? I don't know."

Aryia shakes her head at the question. No, it does not appear that the mute elf does follow the same faith. She scribbles some more.

"Yes, she is."

She tilts her head to the side, her leaning over some to read Venom's note before making a very soft 'ah' sound behind her mask. She reaches forward with her pen, and scribbles on Venom's journal:

"It doesn't use magic?"

She tucks the pen behind her ear, looking at Venom with an amused expression in her eyes as her free hand flits about. "I wonder if Vaera could make something like this?" <Handspeech>

Venom's poncho rises and falls, likely a shrug, but, even as she is lowering her attention to her notepad to expand on her question, Aryia is moving in to scribble her addendum.

Which is show to the goblin, and she looks to her partner again.

She tucks her writing implement amongst the fingers of the notepad hand and signs in reply, "Is she going to have time? I may be able to puzzle it out." <handspeech>

The Gobbo's expression becomes unreadable for a few moments, something hiding in her eyes momentarily. "I guess on a guild mission, then?" She swallows noisily. "And my name came up, I guess?" Rubbing at a cheek, she squints at the paper again, and then her eyes flick back and forth, trying to watch the hands as they sign.

"No, no magic. Just patience, and knowledge in picking the right wood." Her colouring reddens slightly, around the cheeks and ears.

Aryia smirks behind the mask. Scribble scribble.

"I just know you two are good friends ;)"

More scribbles. "Oh! Okay! It looks very useful for us two."

Holding the pages out once more to Choler, she gestures back to Venom. "Ah, that's a good point. Maybe I can help you piece it together? I'm not that good at woodcraft, to be honest. Do you have any questions for Choler here? I don't want to hold her up from training overlong." <Handspeech>

Choler squints once more to peer at the writing, and she blinks. Her eyes widen and she stares at Aryia, as her cheeks flush a deep pink in colour. "I uh... I have to go.", she says in a small voice. And then, she runs, taking the most efficient path to the doors.

Venom shakes her head, signing, "We can probably leave her to it. It may be interesting to watch a little while longer, though."

She scribbles a quick note, showing Choler:

Thank you.

Though that just in time for the goblin to suddenly decide to be... elsewhere.

Headcant.

Huh.

Cue shrug, and the enigma tucks her impleents back under the poncho before she steps over to where the dummy had fallen, dipping into a crouch to sift through the snow for any splinters from those 'not-bite' marks.

She looks over her shoulder to Aryia, then, "Hungry?" <handspeeh>

Aryia blinks as Choler suddenly departs. "... oops," the mute signs idly before giving a soft sigh. She puts her writing utensils back into her journal pocket, and idly watches the veiled woman for a few moments.

Urge to dote rising.

She snorts, knocking her knuckles against the 'not-bite' marks and jabbing a thumb over her shoulder. "Yes, let's go." <Handspeech>

-End Scene-