The Fight Pit [Open]

[Osmond]

Roars of cheer and laughs of burly men filled the busy street that overlooked at the sea. The crowd had gathered in a big bunch this time, as they formed a circle around two people. The first a large, tanned man with more scars than monks in Etruria. The second, a mess of blood, sweat and fallen teeth. The first raised his fist up in the air with a victory cry, a small hand axe in his hand. The clink of coin passed from hand to hand in the crowd, bets were made around the circle. It was a busy evening and good entertainment was foremost.

The city of Jutes had this fight pits every so and then. Was more fun than gambling. And more profitable. And travelers from all around Elibe eventually saw, or even participated in these. Brutal, but effective way to find people worth fighting with.

The victor, however was not here for coin. Oh, no. He looked down at his defeated opponent, wearing a plated armor and a sword in his now broken hand. He'd need a good healer to get it fixed if he wanted to fight again sometime. But he came here looking for a fight, and by the heroes of old he'd get one. Who does he think he is, attempting to end the entertainment of strong men? It was a pity he was not that good with the sword. Osmond craved more.

The rush, the feeling of a blade piercing your skin and flesh, the feeling that your life may become his. That is what he enjoyed more than good food or good sleep. And the feeling of denying them the right to end you. By rending their will, their bodies. Proving yourself stronger. That was a paradise if he ever considered one.

Osmond took a deep breath, he was still energetic. He had an itch that needed to be scratched. And only the sound of metal clashing against metal could scratch it. He wanted more.

"Is there anyone else?!"

The crowd's cheer slowly faded into a quiet suspense. The men at the port looked around, hoping to see a new challenger to beat the current champion. They waited, and waited.

[Cefia]

It had been a long and stressful day for Cefia and all she wanted to do was relax. Perhaps she could find a room all to herself and read until she fell asleep at night. She would to, if it wasn't for the fact that she was flat out broke. It was idiotic and she knew it, losing all her spare money on gambling and drinks. Once the group had got her drinking and talking, they had an awful heavy clutch on her coins. It wasn't like payday was coming any time soon. 

She had no plans to sell an arm and leg just for a bed. If she had to, she could always sleep stuffed with a bunch of other men, but she wanted a different sort of life while on land. What was the best way to earn some quick gold on the fly? That was when she saw the crowd and their cheering. What really caught her eye was the throwing of coins. There was way to many people to see the center from the outer ring even for for her height. After quite a few nudging, she only managed to catch the end of the fight. A man was laying on the ground, his face caved in and blood strewn all around. 

It seemed as though she had stumbled onto a fighting pit of sorts. Yes, this would do quite well. This wouldn't be the first time doing this and her boss wouldn't mind as long as she was the one that won. As everyone quieted down and the man shouted for more, she quickly raised her hand. The men around her looked at her in surprise. Before they could say anything though, she pushed and shoved her way out of the crowd.

"I'll take ye on," she happily announced. There was quite a bit of muttering, but many of them conceded as they soon noticed the axes she carried. To lighten up her load, she removed her Dragon axe and decided for the more effective killer one. 

"Be it goin' to be fists or axes," she asked, holding her axe on one hand. She could feel her body heating up in anticipation. 

[Osmond]

The murmurs around the crowd grew louder, then faded into silence as everyone looked at the pirate for an answer. There was the off chance he'd back down. The response the woman got was an amused smirk. The man bent down towards the mess of a knight and retrieved the axe that had cleaved into his shoulder, making sure to clean off the blade on the fabric of his trousers before looking back up at her, eye to eye. He held both his axes in his hands as he stretched his neck, the sound of bones cracking were accompanied by his rough voice.

"Axes will make it more fun for us."

He looked around at the crowd, already a few whispers here and there placing bets on the current champion against the mysterious lady. Though they remained mostly quiet to make sure the would-be fighter's words were not missed.

"But they'll get one big show without them, that's sure."

The crowd roared in cheer as confirmation of such a thing. A fist fight would be more bloody, brutal and longer than any fight with weapons. Plus, it was less likely for any to die, which would keep guards, knights and captains away from spoiling future plans.

"But forget them. I can still fight without an audience."

A few men in the crowd snickered at his cockiness. He had won the fights, won them the money. They'd watch and bet no matter what he did. And Osmond was not thinking much about how much coin he could make in a day.

He looked at the woman over, she was well armed for a simple sailor, or even a pirate. She had experience, and something to show for it. Good, she was strong. Another giant for him to test his skill at. No more overzealous knights or loud drunkards. He'd get the fight he craved for.

He assumed his fighting stance, with both axes at the ready. His feet in a balanced, rocky stance that allowed freedom of movement. The circle was pretty wide for him to move around, and the crowd knew why. They watched the stranger in expectation.

[Cefia]

So it was to be an axe fight. This was going to be no different then the usual it seems. One of them is sure to end up on the ground half-dead if they were lucky. She gave the scarred man a small understanding smile. Yes, it was no different except for all the people here, watching them.

"Aye, ye call," she answered as she straightened up. Taking her free hand, she delicately removed her monocle and slipped it into a pocket beneath her clothing. She had no intentions of breaking the glass that let her read. Among the crowd there were people constantly placing their bets and whispering about the oncoming fight. It was highly likely that these men were placing their bets on the incumbent champion. This only meant that there might be more money if she won the match.

"A fight is a fight," she grinned, this time showing her teeth at her opponent. As he went into a battle stance with his weapon, she took careful note of both. She could still fight with both axes, but seeing as how bulky each one was, the two handed style has fallen out of her favor. She lowered her own stance, gripping her axe with one hand and preparing for the actual fight to begin.

As soon as it did though, she charged forward, far quicker than one might expect from someone of her ilk. She charged forward in strides, this was going to be her testing the waters. When the blood starts rushing, her berserker blood went crazy. As soon as she was within range, she slammed her axe down with daunting speed from just one hand.

[Osmond]

Osmond let out an amused roar at her initiative to shed blood. Yes, she had a spine, he liked opponents with strong desire to beat him to a pulp. He'll regret it if he remembers this fight. He reaffirmed his grip on his axes. Her downwards slash was met with both axes meeting the hilt of the weapon, just under the head. With a twist of his wrist he parried the attack to his right, redirecting the blow away from him.

The crowd roared again in excitement, seeing the fight start up incredibly. They were not for honorable duels and prayers to the grateful departed. This was not some fancy tourney. This was a dirty, muddy, salty fight. They wanted blood, and they would get it.

Osmond had parried the blow with both axes, and in a single move he moved his whole body around. His footwork was important, and just as fast as a starving thief in an apple market. The crowd had seen him perform this move on the knight from before. His feet would naturally sidestep around her, with his body following soon after. Showing her his back for less than a second before the momentum continued, bringing forth an axe from her left side.

The blow that came was fast, not nearly as fast as a Swordmaster with his weapon of choice, but much faster than what one could anticipate from an axe. Osmond was not a usual pirate, and only the most foolish of his opponents had seen that sudden axe a last time before falling into darkness.

[Cefia]

When the fight had actually gone underway, the actual fighters had become rather wordless. This was now more about survival then actual money by this point. One wrong move can lead to a missing limb or worse, a missing head. Even then, she would not back down. This was her fight and the man needed a good bruising so he can get his worth out of it.

So he ended up parrying her attack. It was within her expectations though, so she was not too surprised that her axe failed to make its mark. However if she just let it to its thing, then she might be caught off balance. No, she had to use her firm control to quickly get back in the match. It was a good thing too, as she noticed that it wasn't just a simple parry, he was getting ready for a counterattack.

He was definitely nimble and had the footwork of an experienced pirate. A more sane person would have tried to block or parry his oncoming blow. However with her experience it was better to lop off the problem before it became one. So she tightened the grip of her axe, before it even made it to the ground, she turned her body whipping the axe around with her, and brought it down much harder then before. Perhaps fortune was smiling on the both of them as the axe managed to bat aside his attack instead of gutting him. She wasn't expecting to have connected either, but instead her backup attack kicked into motion. Even before she swatted aside the axe, she was already moving forward. Using this force, she aimed for a head butt. The man had another axe after all and she was already within range of it, might as well make do with what she had.

[Osmond]

His movement was canceled by the broad axe the woman carried. He took a good notice of the axe when it was inches from his face. It was not military standard, and it's superior design made it easy for it to give a fatal blow in most angles. He'd have to measure his distance or he'll end up worse than the knight.

He was getting impatient, as no one had drawn blood yet. His body tensed up as he watched the woman quickly regain her balance from the second parry. He smirked, his blood heating up for more of this. This would not end soon, so help him those above and below.

His face was soon met with her aqua-green hair, as she hit his face with a rather nasty headbutt. Osmond fell into a brief daze, his idea of counterattack dissipating away as his whole body backed away a few steps from her. He made a mistake there. But it can be easily corrected.

The crowd made a mocking boo at their current champion, as he failed to get the first hit. Not first blood, but still it meant she had the upper hand. Osmond shook his head again, reaffirming his senses before assuming his battle stance once more, giving her time to do the same. A nasty grin on his face as he devised a way to attack her.

He let out a loud laugh as he raised both axes above to his left, both at the ready to come down as he charged her with his usual speed. However as soon as he was within striking range, his tactic changed entirely. A feint!
He suddenly ducked below her waist and brought both axes from each of her sides aimed at her ankles in a pincer attack.

[Cefia]

The thing about headbutts was the fact that they were a double edged sword. At the very least they hurt like hell and Cefia always preferred to disorientate her opponents any chance she got. Who needed an axe when you could jostle their brains. Shame the man was hard headed as well. With how much skulls she had cracked though, the only inconvenience to her was the rebound. With the crowd cheering them on, she felt the blood rushing even faster through her veins. She shook her head, trying to calm herself down a bit more. This fight was going to end with one of them dead if she didn't get a control of herself now.

She took the moment while her opponent was dazed to calm herself. It was more difficult then it seemed though, especially with all the energy in the air. She gritted her teeth and tried to think of what to do next. Of course her more rational side had no answers, so she had to return back to what she knew best, beating them down until one of them can't stand up. When the man charged after her, she was fighting with a more responsive, almost passive aggressive style.

She moved forward herself, readying her axe and planning to see if she could body slam the other man down. She almost fell for the feint too, but she managed to react quickly enough avoid having her foot chopped off. Unfortunately the axe met a mark of sorts, biting into her leg. At the very least it was not deep. As soon as she felt the familiar stink of iron into round, her mind flared into overdrive. Even if it was for a moment, she took advantage of getting attacked to respond with one of her trusty fists. Some axes were useful for smashing bones, but some unfortunate people would realize that her fists was sometimes just as reliable.

[Osmond]

A subtle grin was painted on Osmond's face as his axe cut into her ankle. He did not feel the weapon strike bone, but it would certainly slow her down just enough. The real issue was that he was in no position to parry after she almost dodged his attack. He braced himself for the next attack.

He felt a fist like stone hit him square in the face, her unladylike fist dug into his nose, and they would both feel the bony nose of the man crumble under the force. It had been broken and mended before, it was no strange sensation. A minor deterrent, if you ignored the pain and the loss of blood.

"Ooooooooh!"

The crowd made an audible roar of surprise, seeing the woman draw blood first. A few of the men started to cheer onto the woman, coins being thrown into the pit as they cheered and whistled. This was a fight they were enjoying.

Osmond was in not the very least intimidated, or lacking morale. He was enjoying himself quite a lot. He smeared his arm with his own blood as he wiped his broken nose. His toothy grin growing winder with each hit. His axes spun in his hand as he reaffirmed his grip over them and charged with a loud enough battle cry to silence the crowd.

His movement was fast, using his footwork to move his whole body and attack from her left side, bringing both axes in a horizontal swing each, in a spin often compared to that of a hurricane. Both his brown eyes gleamed with pure bliss, and killing intent.

[Cefia]

Cefia could feel the wound on the leg, but chose to ignore it. Medical attention can come after her opponent was effectively put down. It was also very satisfying to hear and feel the distinctness of breaking bones. These fights were what she loved and by the looks of the man, he was no different. When blood is drawn, it only meant that this fight was going to get even more dangerous. A part of her wanted to end this as quickly as possible, while another just wished to lose all control and see how much punishment they can dish out before the man winds up dead.

The sound of the crowd cheering them on meant that they wanted much more of this violence. They won't be happy until one of them was either bleeding out on the ground or dead. Well they were the ones paying, not her. They can enjoy this all they wanted, she had to keep her eye on forcing more blood out of the man. As soon as he had his weapons ready on hand, Cefia had prepared her own. When that battle cry came and those eyes revealed killing intent, she knew that she couldn't continue the way it was before. This was time to get serious.

"Bad move," she barked out, a toothy grin flashing over her face. She was seriously going to die if she didn't go for the kill. This was no longer a blood sport, this was a real battle. She had only been using one hand with her axe, but she quickly grabbed it with her other. With each forward, she felt the muscles in her arms preparing for what was next. She met his axes with a heavy crushing and sharp blow of her axe.

[Osmond]

The woman would see her opponent's eyes overtaken by the lust for battle. Not in the form of an animalistic rage, but in a twisted bliss as he could smell the blood he had drawn. The bladed weapons clashed with a metallic sound. His dual attack would be easily stopped by a larger force, that was not his main strength. Not yet. He did not care. He did not wait for her move. He wanted to make her bleed, hear the sound of her bones being crushed and to prove the better fighter. He strafed to his right, moving around the woman and using his footwork to reposition himself on her blind side. Kicking her and attempting to unbalance would not help much. She was strong on her feet, and she was serious. Good, he wanted a real fight. Money, law, or the other people came later. This was their fight alone.

"Kill 'im!"

A man in the crowd cheered for the woman. They all could sense the fight would get serious now. Some of the people looked somewhat shifty, looking around for any possible guard seeing the upcoming bloodshed. Some even started to leave, fearful the strong warriors would turn onto them. Such are people with power.

Osmond could not care more what they thought. He was on her right side, once again using his signature technique on the woman. He swung both his weapons coming from his left. Almost behind her towards her exposed back. He would now see how fast and durable she would be. His mouth drooled for more.