[clackno1]

"Why did you even pick this place?" Delos hissed as his foot sank deeper into the sludge beneath the murky water. The Doom Kitty on his back chuckled. "It would have been easier to train somewhere else, wouldn't it? But that's not the point." the feline tried to keep on the Gallizer's back as he trudged through the swamp. "What is the point? And why are you on my back?" he hissed again. Liam jumped from Delos's back to a tree before the Gallizer could shake him off. "The point, my friend, is to train somewhere hard so that we become good and essentially make ourselves better fighters. That is the point of training, is it not?" he flicked his tail. Did he really have to explain this to his companion? "You do want to become a better fighter, do you not?" he smiled in amusement as Delos sunk knee deep into the sludge. "Of course I do, I'd just rather not be a soggy one." he lunged at the feline but stumbled and almost fell face first into the mud. How in Evelon was he supposed to fight in this?

[1.1, 1.1]

[SpringsSong]

Ah, it had been a long time since Aila had gotten out of the Fire-Forests without having Deraj breathing down her neck, and without having to look at Ekal's chain that she had given him in her blind rage.  She was able to remove its curse, but she was still reminded of that blind rage she had for him then.

She drew in another breath as she dove through the trees in the swamp, dodging and evading as best she could, her eyes determined.

"Of course I do, I'd rather not be a soggy one."

She turned to the side slightly as she looked for the voice, or voices, her curiosity piqued.  Fellow battlers, maybe?

[26.6][1/39]

[clackno1]

Delos lunged again, sinking his claws into the trunk of the tree. "Come down her, Pussy. You can't stay up there forever." he slashed at Liam and put himself off balance, sliding a ways down the tree. "What was that you just called me?" Liam hissed in response. "You're a cat, you heard me just fine." Delos extended his long neck to snap at the feline in the tree above him. Liam hissed as he dodged the attack, leaping from the tree and onto Delos's back. The Gallizer whipped around as he tried to reach the Doom Kitty. His short arms no help in this situation he tried to use his head, going for the tail.

Liam was barely able to dodge Delos and had to jump off him in the end to get away. He landed on a small patch of dry land and turned to see the Gallizer sloshing through the water after him. "You're too slow, speed it up." he taunted his opponent as Delos got to him, claws slashing and tail whipping.

[SpringsSong]

Aila blinked as she found herself in what looked to be a bit of a heated training match between a Gallizar and a Doom Kitty.  After not even two seconds, she felt rather large next to them, but that was only natural, she supposed; her being a Paragon and them being what they were.  She knew, however, that it was unwise to judge one by their size, for she was maybe one-fifth her Paragon size in human form?

"Training, are we?" she called out, hoping that they weren't too busy in their battling to overlook or ignore her.

[26.8][2/39]

[clackno1]

Liam dodged his opponent easily. He was able to get back onto Delos and covered his eyes, hanging on to his neck. Delos couldn't see Aila appear and was too distracted by Liam to notice another presence. "You could say that, Miss. Is that what brings you here?" somehow Liam was still able to be polite, even while hanging on for his life while Delos stumbled around trying to pry the feline off of his head. "Who are you talking to, Liam?" Delos demanded, not appearing to be in a very good mood. "A dear lady that you do not have the pleasure of seeing." Liam replied. Delos managed to crash into a tree, allowing Liam the chance to escape into its branches and leaving the Gallizer to fall into the sludge.

Delos got up and flicked a bit of mud from his tail. "Dang cat." he muttered and turned to see Aila. That was embarrassing. Having a girl watch you fall in the mud, defeated by a house cat. A Paragon several times larger than him but still a girl.

[SpringsSong]

Aila gave a slight sympathetic chuckle, trying her best not to seem like she was laughing at the Gallizar for having fallen into the sludge.  She swatted away a few bugs with an effortless swipe of her claws as she nodded in response to the Doom Kitty's question.

"Aye, that is indeed why I am here," she said.  "Fighting's always been in my blood, and a little training's never bad for one if they hope to last in the competition."

Here, she quickly grabbed a lick of flame from her tail and covered her claws in it, showing that she was fairly skilled with fire.  After a few moments, she said, "Name's Aila.  Yours?"

[27.0][3/39]

[clackno1]

"It's a bit hard to fight without an opponent, no?" Liam said, noticing her lack in company. "Unless you're looking to train by yourself?" Delos had given up in his attempt to get the Doom Kitty. Liam had the size advantage in this case and also the tree. if he didn't come down and fight fairer Delos would never get him. "I am Delos, and that is Liam." he said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Aila." Liam added in politely. No matter how cuddly and harmless he seemed, Liam was actually a conniving mastermind. Delos knew it better than anyone.

"I believe my companion here is itching for a fight and since he has no hope of winning against me I was thinking maybe he'd have better luck with you." Liam wasn't one to ask of others so he put questions into statements, a proposition of sorts. Delos looked the Paragon up and down, not liking her size or ability with fire. He was smaller than her but that only worked if you were agile enough to get in close and dodge attacks. Delos was fast but not all that agile.

[SpringsSong]

Aila smirked as she said, "Well, a couple of my companions are training as well, but as Nyera needed far more training than I, she headed out a long time before us--us being myself and my other companion, Ekal." Here, she glanced at her Ballama before she chuckled, adding, "Oh--and, of course, I have my eternally watchful companion, Kaltai, here."

Aila's eyes lit up as the fire suddenly left her claws.  "Oh?" she said, smirking.  "Is that so?  Hm..." she said thoughtfully, looking back at him from time to time.  "I suppose a little spar would not hurt any," she said finally, taking a defensive stance.

[27.2][4/39]

[clackno1]

Delos sighed and examined the situation. A very large paragon with fire on her side as his opponent wasn't looking so good. Why did that stupid cat have to get him in such trouble all the time? He'd like to see Liam up against Aila. That would be a good battle. Delos would use the element of surprise and attack first. He did have speed on his side. Maybe Aila wouldn't be able to move that fast, especially with the trees limiting her movements. Well, he could only hope. Sprinting forward, Delos feinted to the left and swung his tail to wrap it around her leg and pull her forward to hopefully put her off balance. The other option was that she could pull him right off the ground if she caught him quick enough.

Liam watched the battle from the safety of the trees with interest. Watching Delos get pummeled would be entertaining and a large blow to his ego. That fire trick might be a problem, but with all the mud and water around Delos would figure out something. Eventually.

[SpringsSong]

Unfortunately for Delos, Aila had almost been expecting that sort of a trick.  Just before he could have pulled her off-balance, she quickly shifted from her Paragon form to her human form, her hands cloaked in the pink flames from her tails.  She smirked slightly as she jumped free from his tail and quickly scaled a tree, not seeming to mind that she was wearing a dress as she did this.

"I suppose I ought to have mentioned that I can shift forms, shouldn't I?  My bad," she said, chuckling as she jumped from the branch and shifted her forms yet again, sweeping up the Gallizar in one swift motion.  "However, I find the ability quite helpful sometimes."

[27.4][5/39]

[clackno1]

Ugh, this girl had too many tricks, he thought. Fire and forms? What was next, invisibility? That wouldn't be good. Delos was no good in trees, he was built for speed, not climbing. He'd have to wait for her to come down. Unfortunately she shifted forms in the tree. Delos didn't enjoy being held, he wasn't a lap dog. He slashed out at anything he could reach and used his tail like a whip to try and escape. He somehow managed to land on his feet in the muddy water. It was better than going face first. Until she came down from that tree he was going into defensive and dodging anything she threw at him. Fireballs included.

"That's quite a handy trick." Liam purred. She was more vulnerable in her human form because she had no weapons but she was smaller and more agile than her Paragon form and when it was used like she ahd so kindly demonstrated it could be a great weapon. Liam wondered how Delos was going to figure his way around that one.

[SpringsSong]

"It is indeed a handy trick," Aila said, her voice almost a purr as she landed, her front claws still cloaked in flames.  "I had to learn how to quickly shift forms when I first awakened as a Goddess of my original home realm, you see; whenever we were called together, the only way to get there was by turning into a dragon.  Without that form, we were as good as mortals.  There was no way, honestly, that you could have distinguished us from mortals--unless you got close enough to see our Marks."

Even as she said this, she shifted to her human form, placing her hand on her cheek.  Almost instantly, the area just above her fingers shimmered, and a black music note appeared there.  However, as soon as she removed her hand, the symbol began to fade.

[27.6][6/39]

[clackno1]

"A Goddess?" Liam piped. "Did you hear that, Delos? We are in the presence of a Goddess." To Liam it was just something that would annoy Delos. Delos had heard and he wasn't liking it. The fact that she was a Goddess didn't make much difference now that he was fighting her. It just gave a small explanation for the flames. Still on the defensive, Delos slowly bent down and scooped up a bit of mud with his front claws. He needed a opening, a point where her conversation with Liam would distract her enough to make herself vulnerable.

He leaped and threw the mud at the same time. One clawful at her face, the other t one of her hands to, hopefully, douse the flames. Maybe it would delay her just enough from changing that he could get an attack in. He slashed at one of her legs and changed direction, heading away. As he moved he used his tail to try and trip her, morphing the move he had used before into something he could use while moving.

[SpringsSong]

Aila was taken slightly aback, but even when she fell to the ground, she didn't seem the slightest bit fazed.  "Ah, my bad.  I shouldn't have let myself get distracted like that in a battle situation.  Nyera and Ekal say that's my biggest weakness; I start talking at the most inconvenient times."

She got up and flicked the mud off of her hands, and then her face.  "A wonderfully-placed shot, I might add.  Doubt I could have dodged it even if I were in my Slynx form."

[27.8][7/39]

[clackno1]

Delos grinned when his attack hit its mark. He was back in his original position, having gone in a horseshoe pattern almost. "That's probably my fault, dearie. I get too talkative sometimes." Liam flicked a bit of sludge off his tail. The splatter had come his way and he had managed to dodge most of it but not enough. Ugh, now he felt slimy.

Delos hissed when she mentioned a slynx form. He hated cats, very much. No doubt that had developed from Liam. One cat was hard enough to deal with. Two at once? No way. He didn't give anything away, though. Giving her that information wouldn't help him. Though they'd be more evenly matched if she were in that form. And yet she'd be more adapted to the terrain. "Thank you for the compliment, I pride myself in my aim. But just wait until it dries. Very uncomfortable." he had it in between his toes, his fingers, under his claws, and on his tail. Not to mention the stuff on his neck spines.