Match of the Millennium

Description: The two teams remaining in the competition press on to the peak of Zack Island to face off in the finals, where Junko is said to await the champions. Who will emerge the Kings or Queens of Zack Island? And even if they do, will they be able to hold onto it - or even still want it - after all of this?

[TANWEN]
"Almost there now."

There's definitely a bit of an atmosphere in the Jeep as Lou drives the four finalists (and one sunburnt Welshman and two camera girls) along the jungle road, broken at least briefly as it passes by a colony of meerkats crawling over the massive, half-eaten form of a thirty-foot-long snake.

"Oh! Now, that's the biggest snake I've ever seen, it is," Tanwen says, leaning out the side to get a better view and probably threatening to inadvertently smack someone with her tail as she does so. "There's those giant rats again, too! Good thing we haven't brought any Zack Coins with us. They're little bandits, they are! Hellooo, giant rats!"

One of the meerkats turns around from its feasting, snake blood dripping from its mouth, and stares at Tanwen.

"Eep!" Tanwen throws herself back into her seat and then some, eyes going wide. "They're so scary!"

"Let's keep our legs and arms inside the vehicle, kids," Lou calls back as the Jeep thumps over yet another pothole, waking Winn in the front passenger seat and nearly losing one of the camera girls in the process.

"Do you think Junko's going to be there when we get there? And do you think I can get her to autograph my sword?" Tanwen asks the others in the back of the Jeep.

[HAWKSLEY]
The lucky person to get smacked by Tanwen's tail? It's Hawksley Moore. He doesn't call out though, or even curse at his fellow Celt. Instead he takes out his magic mug and stares into it meaningfully before commanding in his broad Irish accent. "Flaming Volcano."

The majestic metal bound mug starts to fill with a blend of rum, brandy, pineapple juice, orange juice and orgeat syrup. Once it's reached the brim, Hawksley blows on it, igniting the liquid and creating vivid orange fire with bright blue at the centre of its flame. "Well would you look at that." He states proudly, a beaming smile shared with the other occupants of the Jeep.

Despite his brashness, he's not a bloody eejit, so after everyone's had a chance to enjoy the show (with the possible exception of Lou, since he's driving), he snuffs it out and takes a long sip. "Feck, that's the stuff. Anyone want some?" He offers to the others, more than happy to share the pleasure.

When they pass the snake, Hawksley can't help but point it out, though it's not like anyone could miss it. "There's the fella who swallowed Coco Pops. Jesus, she was raging about that, so she was. It took me fecking hours to convince her all the spit was out of her hair."

He laughs along as Tanwen talks to the meerkats and then he realises that the last time he and Henry had been alone with Atlantis, it'd been when they'd encountered the furry foes at the cottages. It feels to him like weeks since it happened, but it's only been a matter of days.

The Irishman allows himself a brief moment to enjoy the heat on his bare torso, before he's turning to Tanwen with an incredulous look. "If Junko is there, she can autograph my arse."

[CHEVY]
There's a sharp intake of breath from Miss Chevy Beaumont as Tanwen belts out that 's' word. Chevy leans the other way to account for Tanwen leaning forward, in no hurry to get her own eyes on the grisly sight.

It's not until Tanwen mentions 'giant rats' that Chevy cranes her neck to look -- only to have the whole jeep shake when Tanwen practically dives for cover. She doesn't need to look too close to see the blood-soaked maw. She's seen enough nature documentaries for her mind to fill in the rest of what she -can't- see.

Though, as Hawksley carries out his fiery incantations, Chevy wonders aloud, "... Are those the same critters that were givin' y'all such a hard time, Hawksley?" She gives a half smile as he snuffs the flames and takes a sip -- and soon finds herself shrugging in response. "Sure, I'll try a sip..." Chevy may not be a heavyweight when it comes to drinking, but she is interested in anything that can take the edge off any of the number of stressors weighing on her mind at the moment.

Stressors... like the one Tanwen just casually throws on out there.

"Nngh. Don't give her that chance, Hawksley, her autograph would come out like a cattle brand."

She starts to fiddle with the buttons on her blouse, as the jeep makes its way closer to the volcano's caldera. It's certainly not lost upon her that the waterbender's skills are potentially overshadowed by the volcano itself, Hawksley, Tanwen, and the aforementioned phoenix goddess...

"Henry, now..." she comments with a wry grin, "I hope you're gonna be alright with all this fire 'n brimstone we got goin' on..."

[HENRY]
Henry is trying some form of prefight equipment check in the back of the bouncing jeep. While trying to sharpen his sword would be stupid and would probably result in at least one K.O. before the fight even started, probably his own, he can poke at his shield. The poor thing has definitely seen better days, and now the surface sparkles a little in the sunlight from bits of glass embedded deep in the wood from a falling disco ball.

He very pointedly does not look up when Tanwen mentions the meerkats, but he does go at least one shade paler. Maybe others will think it's the snake he fears. (It's not.) Instead he busies himself with checking the metal rim and leather straps of his targe. "I think I'm going to need to replace the straps." He mutters to no one in particular.

He merely shakes his head at his mentor's offer of a drink. For a rich kid, he's surprisingly milquetoast about certain things, like drinking.

Chevy's question has him looking up, then over towards the smoking volcano. "Eh, it's not bad. So long as it doesn't explode." But then he squints and thinks about it. "Can she make it explode?" He asks, no need to say who she is, afterall, they've just been commenting on her scribing skills vis a vis Hawksley's bum.

[TANWEN]
"Oh, can I try -" Tanwen starts to say.

"No, Tan," Winn interjects groggily from the front seat. "It's booze."

"- cachu hwch," Tanwen finishes her thought, staring longingly as she's denied a taste of the fiery beverage. She looks back over her shoulder at the snake. "Are Coco Pops bad for snakes, then?"

When Hawksley suggests an alternative surface to autograph, Tanwen raises her eyebrows at him. "Oh, I suppose that would be a bigger space to write on," she says, looking down over her own shoulder, "but I think I'll stick with the sword, I will. Especially if it's going to be a branding. The paint would probably just wash off."

She leans over toward where Henry is inspecting his targe, her attention drawn by the shield, which is clearly more LARP-ready than her own refashioned dartboard. She doesn't seem to pay much attention to anyone's personal space in the process, being still unaccustomed to not behaving like a pet around people who are seated.

(She did, after all, identify as a cat for years, and as a small dragon to this day.)

"I like how sparkly your shield is," she tells Henry, before craning her neck to look at the steaming caldera. "Oh, probably. That seems like just the sort of thing that an angry fire goddess would do."

"On that note, we're here," Lou says as he pulls the Jeep to a stop atop the desolate peak, parking in a relatively flat space that appears, oddly, to have been designed to be a volleyball court at one point. The net has long since blown away. Next to the court itself is a space laid out as a battle arena, scrub brush dotting the landscape around a wizened fighting ring big enough to support four.

"By the way, didn't the old Zack Island get blown up because the volcano erupted?" Tanwen mentions. "I don't see her. Maybe she's down there having a bath," she adds, running over to the precipice of the caldera to peer down into it, shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand. "It's a bit smokey to see, like."

[HAWKSLEY]
Hawksley eyes Chevy, considering the meerkats some more. "Well Henry and I were after thinking it was those furry fellas who were messing with Morgie but it was something else altogether." The dark-haired man looks distinctly uncomfortable as he continues his tale. "The thing is, Chevy, I don't know what the feck was giving us such a hard time, because I couldn't get a clear look at them. It was like they were blending in with the trees or some shite. Then one of them spat in my eye and it burned like a bastard." He brings a finger up to touch the affected area, which thankfully now shows no signs of swelling or soreness. "What do you think they were, Henry?" He dares to wonder aloud, curious about what the blue-haired boy believes.

Passing his mug to Chevy, he gives her a smile, curious what she will think of the conjured cocktail. "To be fair, cailin, with the states I've been in, it's a wonder I've not had a branding on my backside by now. It's been bruised plenty of times, I can tell you that. I think you may even have give me some, when you threw me on the ground that time in Abigail's scrapyard."

Looking back towards the lad he's teamed up with, Hawksley can't help but notice him turning a whiter shade of pale. "You alright there, fella?" There's a concerned expression on the Eire man's face but he's soon laughing loudly as Tanwen wonders about snakes and a diet of breakfast cereals. "I'm talking about Coco. You know the mad lass who kicked you?" He refreshes the Welsh woman's memory. "It's just what I call her. She calls me Lucky, like Lucky Charms, you know?" There's a roll of his eyes after saying that but he doesn't seem too bothered by it.

Before long the foursome have reached their destination and lively Lucky is leaping out of the Jeep as soon as he can open the door. He moves over to Lou, slapping him hard on the shoulder. "Thanks for the taxi ride, fella. I've got a feeling we're in for a fun fight."

[CHEVY]
"Spat in your -eye?-" repeats an incredulous Chevy. "That sounds like a Buck tactic if I ever heard one... I'm just glad y'all both came out of it alright!" She looks between Hawksley and Henry with some concern.

The Carolinian's chin dips downward as Hawksley brings up their fight in Metro City. "Well, heck, I -hope- it warn't an actual 'brand.' I still feel bad about dislodgin' Albert's shoulder yesterday, just..." Keeping her eyes low, she mumbles softly, with the barest hint of her usual luster, "I don't ever wanna -hurt- no one, y'know?"

Thankfully, the more lighthearted topic of breakfast foods brings a more typical smile to her face. With a snicker, she gives the Irishman a light shove on the shoulder: "I guess that makes y'all a pair of cereal offenders!

When Henry declines the drink, and Tanwen has it declined on her behalf, Chevy -- with no further competition -- takes herself a good long sip. Which gives the fiery drink plenty of time to work its magic. With widening eyes, Chevy exclaims, "Whooooo! That has some -fire- on it!" She puffs out a few breaths, wafting the air with her hand. "It's like Tan's fire breath in liquid form..." Panting for breath, she gives the Welsh dragon-girl an affectionate nudge.

She's brought down to earth a little bit when the possibility of Junko exploding the volcano comes up. "Oh, uh..." She laughs, mirthlessly. "Yeah, she can make it explode. So if I look a bit... distracted..."

She fidgets with the buttons on her blouse. A light sheen of sweat glistens upon her skin. For a moment, it looks like she's considering peeling the blouse off and marching into battle with just the bright red lifeguard-style bikini she'd gotten from Zack of All Trades. But... aside from that fidgeting, she seems to zone out a little, lost in thoughts about her encounter with Junko...

Lou's announcement jars her out of her reverie. Almost instantly, Chevy's expression brightens as she rises to... well, not her feet, but that sort of half-crouching, half-standing posture one gets when it's just about time to disembark from a jeep. She claps a hand on Lou's shoulder, grinning. "Thanks for driving us around, Lou! Y'all be safe, now -- I'll try an' keep an eye out for ya, best I can..."

After fetching her buckets and pole from the back of the jeep, she moves to take Tanwen's side, while facing Hawksley and Henry. "Y'all too, alright?" She balls a fist, eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. "If anythin' crazy happens with the volcano, I'll do what I can to cool things off!"

[HENRY]
"It's not supposed to be sparkly." Henry states, managing to sound more annoyed than petulant. But his expression turns to a small frown as he checks the metal rim of the shiled. "I'm gonna have to have dad send out a new one to the ship when we get back, I think this one's taken too much abuse." He sounds almost sad about that, patting the edge of the shield like it's an old horse about to be put out to pasture. "Be gentle with it." He says a bit jokingly with a look to Tanwen.

As the topic moves back around to the jungle creatures he shakes his head. "I dunno, maybe some sort of science experiment from that lab the others are checking out. I dunno anything like that that's normal." He contemplates for a moment, adjusting himself as a jolt in the rocky path sends him bouncing. "If they can make things like Gears weird, invisible, tree-climbing monsters shouldn't be impossible, right?" Then again, he thinks with a Hollywood movie mindset sometimes.

When the others seems to agree that Junko could make the volcano explode, he gives it another dubious look, one that continues as he climbs his way out of the jeep, slinging his shield over his shoulder and grabbing his sword, giving it a little twirl.

The flashy swordwork gets him looking at Tanwen, Max might not have been impressed by his showmanship, but Tanwen seemed the type to at least give him some appreciative words or maybe even a clap. Maybe the sullen teen does have a touch of an ego.

He crouches at the edge of the caldera, or as close to it as h can get before looking to the others. "Gentleman and gentlelady's agreement we try to avoid shoving each other into the volcano pit?" He asks, trying to sound like he's joking, but there might be a serious look in his eye as he asks the question.

[TANWEN]
"Oh, right," Tanwen says as Hawksley points out that he was referring to his girlfriend. She looks pensive for a moment as she turns back to the others. "If I were to be nicknamed after a breakfast cereal, which one would it be?" Her eyes light up. "Oh! How about Horn Flakes? Or Nice Krispies?"

"Hey, no problem," Lou replies to Hawksley as he and Winn take up seats atop the hood of the Jeep in place of a proper commentary table while one of the camera girls films the pair of them and the other takes scenery shots.

"So, Winn... which of these teams are you expecting to do well today?" Lou asks awkwardly.

"Well, Lou, I reckon I'm hoping that Tanwen will win, I am," Winn says, reasonably, before adding, "But I don't really want her fighting that Junko, I don't. To be honest, I thought she was just playing a heel, like on the wrestling, but it turns out she's actually not very nice."

"Make sure we cut that bit about Junko," Lou turns to the camera to say. "And me telling you to cut the bit about Junko, obviously. God, I miss having a production manager."

"Really?" Tanwen asks Chevy as she compares the beverage she's taste-testing to Tanwen's own breath. "What is it you reckon my breath tastes like, then? Maybe I should try it, so I can say if it's right or not. Unless you'd rather be tasting my breath, but I think it's not a good idea."

"I've got to say, Winn, your dragon kinda reminds me of my granddaughter. What's it like raising a teenager that's also a dragon?" Lou asks.

"I'm forty-seven!" Tanwen shouts out.

"She acts more like she's nine, though," Winn covers his mouth to stage whisper to Lou. Then, he lifts his shoulders, pulling a face. "It's not boring, like."

"Oh, if you don't want it anymore after it's over, I'll trade you mine for it," Tanwen offers to Henry as she presents the dartboard she's equipped with. "But you can't have my sword, though. It's the Legendary Dragon Sword, it is."

Indeed, to anyone who knew nothing about combat props or real katana, the slightly curved and totally blunt blade that Tanwen is brandishing would be virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. To someone with Henry's expertise? Well, it's probably a step up from the ignominy of fighting someone armed with an umbrella pole, at least.

[HAWKSLEY]
"Bit more stealthy than Buck." Hawksley grins at Chevy. "They both know how to cause some pain though." The Irishman is fresh from a fight with the farmgirl's fella and he's still sore in some places the shapeshifter struck.

Moving up beside his friend, Hawksley kisses her lightly on the forehead. "Even if you did hurt me it would be grand. It's not like any of us are naïve about what we let ourselves in for. Besides, I've spent most of my life battered, bruised or bleeding. I keep going back for more, so I obviously don't mind it too much. As for Albert, he seems like a tough kid. He'll be right as rain before you know it."

He snorts with laughter as Chevy makes her quip. "Very clever, cailin and likely true." Watching the waterbender's blue eyes as she takes a good gulp of the booze, he nods in approval. "All the best things have some fire in them." Although with the talk of Junko, maybe he's speaking too soon. It's definitely a relief that they've got someone so skilled with water on-site, should things get too hot to handle.

Hawksley listens to Henry's musings on the matter of the monsters. "Sounds plausible given recent events." He admits. "I'm glad I'm here instead of in the lab. Science was never my best subject at school." He catches his mentoree seeking out the approval of his opponent and smiles to himself. The lad is a showman and he appreciates an audience. There's no shame in that. As for the American man's proposed agreement? "Ah, come on now. What do you take me for? Do I seem like the kind of fella who'd throw someone in a pit?" He has no plans to do such a thing but there's no harm in having people wondering for a bit of fun.

Tanwen's talk of which cereal she'd be seems to have Hawksley taking the time to consider it. "Dragon-Os obviously." He decides. Did he just make those up? "Anyway, since we're all here and Lou and Winn are in position, how about we see about a scrap? Coming ready or not, Chevy."

Hawksley's dark eyes glimmer with mischief as he drains what remains in his magic mug. Savouring the sweet and spicy blend, he holds it in his mouth before setting it alight and blowing the flames in the Atlantis mentor's direction! "There you go, Chevs. I thought you might want some more, since you enjoyed sampling it so much."

COMBATSYS: Hawksley has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Hawksley         0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Chevy has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Hawksley         0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Chevy

COMBATSYS: Chevy dodges Hawksley's Hedonism.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Hawksley         0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0            Chevy

[CHEVY]
Chevy wasn't quite ready for Hawksley to swoop in with a kiss to her forehead. But once he makes contact, her cheeks flood red and she starts to shrink away. "... Yeah, you're probably right," she answers quietly. It's a perfectly innocent gesture from Hawksley, and yet, it's unleashed a flood of emotions in the Carolinian, who curls her fingers around her deer-antler necklace.

It might be more clear what she's been thinking about when the topic turns towards the nature of Hawksley's and Henry's assailants. "Oh, that's interestin', yeah -- though I'm sure Buck would have more to say about that. For me, like, if it ain't a farm animal I don't know squat..."

She's more or less in usual form by the time Henry offers a reasonable agreement, cracking a smile at Hawksley's teasing. "Yes! I'm halfway surprised you warn't shovin' me into the pool at Rodrigo's party. I saw that same glint in your eyes as when you dusted me with flour that one time, mister!" Resting a hand on her hip, she shakes her head. "But yeah. I -think- we can all agree that lava is bad for us!"

She... does seem a little apprehensive about Tanwen's cereal name suggestions. "... Keep goin'..." It isn't until Hawksley suggests 'Dragon-O's' that Chevy shows her smile again.

But... then something feels off.

She looks to Winn -- and she looks to Lou. And she hears Hawksley's warning.

Yeah, she doesn't like the drink -that- much! Chevy leaps backwards, with the gout of flame mere inches away from setting the redhead ablaze! Her buckets slosh behind her as she holds her palm out towards Hawksley. She begins spinning her pole behind her as she stares at him through the hot, rippling air...

"It ain't the same once you put your own spin on it!"

After one quick glance over towards Henry and Tanwen, she winks back at her student -- and then vaults toward Hawksley! She swings her pole forward, thrusting it towards him like a polearm. Her goal, though, is to get the handle of one bucket looped around Hawksley's hand. And if she manages to ensnare him, she'd suddenly lash the pole hard to his left, spinning him around so that she can bring him into an armbar takedown!

"You're startin' things off a bit hotter than I'd like, Mr Moore!"

COMBATSYS: Tanwen has joined the fight here.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Hawksley         0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0            Chevy
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tanwen           0/-------/-------|

[TANWEN]
"Dragon-Os are okay, I suppose - oh, we're starting," Tanwen notices as Hawksley goes to breathe fire at Chevy. Tanwen turns back to Henry with a slight smile. "Don't worry! If anyone goes falling into the volcano, I'll catch them and fish them out!" she offers. "And if it's me, I'll be okay. Probably."

Traditionally, red dragons are immune to fire damage, after all. Tanwen has discovered that at least certain types of fire don't count. Lava, on the other hand, seems like it should be pretty standard compared to holy water. Hopefully, no one will have to find out.

"Alright, Henry! A na ferima ohtan! A tire!*"

She then spins around as she's bringing her shield to bear, letting it slip into her hand like a discus. Then, finally, she shouts out: "Yalin pilin luceo!**" while letting her shield fly Captain Wales-style at Henry!

* 'It's time for battle! Be guarding!' (Exilic Quenya, language of the Noldor and Gondorian Men of Middle-Earth)
** 'I cast Magic Missile!' (lit: 'I summon an arrow of spells!', Quenya, language of the Noldor and Vanya in Aman)

COMBATSYS: Henry has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Hawksley         0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0            Chevy
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Henry            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Tanwen

COMBATSYS: Henry blocks Tanwen's Magic Missile!.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Hawksley         0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0            Chevy
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Henry            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Tanwen

[HENRY]
"Wait.. you're forty-seven?" Henry asks, looking bewildered at Tanwen, and at least its enough to distract him from musing on the lava pit. He's scrunching up his face, the teenager trying to figure out how that works. At least until it's clear the fighting is starting, at which point he pops to his feet, slings his shield of his back and onto his arm and gives his sword a flip for good measure.

He doesn't need to understand Tanwen's words in order to drop into a fighting stance, shield forward and his sword held out to the side, the tip steady as a nocked arrow pointed at the dragon lass.

"Firm oat and tire to you, too." He says, because that's what he heard, or the best he can aproximate, maybe thinking its some sort of Welsh saying for duels or something.

He's aleady on guard though, and the magic bolt washes over his shield making the little bits of glass sparkle. Maybe he should have sparkly shields more often, it's certainly impressive looking.

He shifts his lead foot and drives his sword into the rocky ground between him and Tanwen, knowing she's seen his chi-geyser before, but instead he flicks his sword upwards, sending a rock and a cloud of gravel flying in his opponent's direction.

COMBATSYS: Chevy successfully hits Hawksley with Battleship Chains.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Hawksley         0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0            Chevy
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Henry            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Tanwen

[HAWKSLEY]
Hawksley doesn't seem to notice the effect he's had on Chevy with his affectionate gesture, but even if he had he likely wouldn't have acted any differently. The truth is he's a tactile sort of fella and contact with those close to him feels as natural as breathing. Besides, he wouldn't dream of causing any bother between she and Buck. He loves both his buddies and is thrilled to seem them so happy together.

"I was gonna throw you in that pool, like." Hawksley openly admits. "But then I thought you might enjoy it too much, given your relationship with water." He sends a wink her way and then laughs at the memory of the mess they'd caused with the flour back in Sunshine City. "You know, Zog went and scoffed all that food before I could get any leftovers. I was looking forward to that apple stack cake too."

Chevy handles Hawksley's fiery gift with grace, dodging out of the way of the flames deftly. "Aw, spoilsport. I was only having fun with you, so I was." When the redhead pole-vaults towards him, he lets out a loud whistle. "You wanna get yourself in those Olympics, cailin." He suggests.

The commentary from the Cork cruiserweight soon ceases when he finds himself caught up in the bucket, causing a single cry of "Feck!" Once she's got him where she wants him, the Irishman finds himself spinning in a circle before being dropped down to the floor, causing him to catch his breath. "Brutal, Miss Beaumont." He murmurs, allowing himself only the briefest of moments to compose himself before he punches upwards with his free hand, seeking to find whatever part of the female fighter's form he can. He'll then make a grab for her shoulders, looking to pull her face-first towards him, where he'll greet her with his knees.

Whilst all this is going on, he's aware that the action has also started between the mentorees. Tanwen is talking in some mad and mysterious tongue. Maybe it's Welsh. "Come on, Henry. You've got this, fella!" He calls out to him. He believes in the blue-haired boy but he's under no illusions, these two women are going to give Hollywood Heat a tough battle.

COMBATSYS: Chevy counters Buzzkill ES from Hawksley with High Tide EX.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Hawksley         0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0            Chevy
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Henry            0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0           Tanwen

[CHEVY]
Miss Beaumont knows Mister Moore means no harm -- but there's more than a few witnesses to the affectionate gesture, and at least -one- of those witnesses has been known to rub it in on a number of occasions. She isn't keen on giving Lou any more incriminating footage!

Chevy's stomach lets out a lamentful groan at the memory of Appalachian-style baked goods. "Well, now you done got me cravin' some stack cake. We'll just have to make more when we get back to ship!"

"Fun?" she answers with a grin. "You were about to make Chevelle flambe!"

Luckily for her, her trick with the bucket kept hold. Hawksley will find that the technique leaves his one hand temporarily entombed within flash-frozen ice, bound up within the bucket. He will -also- find that Chevy suddenly scoots towards his entrapped side as he punches, letting go of the pole and its buckets as she slaps her palm into his inner forearm. Grabbing hold of his wrist, she harnesses his upwards momentum to tug his arm within its socket -- not displacing it or anything, but just using his arm as leverage. Meanwhile, her free bucket hits the ground with a clamor and a splash, drenching the feet of both fighters with frigid water.

But -- she can also sense that the brawler is trying to raise his knees. To circumvent that, she leans her palms into his shoulder, leveraging his arm as a handle by which to twist him back to the ground! And then the affectionally tactile fella might get an unwitting treat as the sunscreen-soaked ginger rolls her forearm and then shoulder across his upper body -- and also, kinda, the back of her head into his face. But that's, like, tangential!

Once Hawksley's been rolled into the remains of the one-time volleyball court, Chevy tumbles free and back to her feet before retrieving her pole and buckets. Barking over her shoulder to Henry, she notes: "I 'unno what she said, but I'm guessin' 'magic missile!'" She squints a bit, though, as she hears the sound of rocks and gravel grinding against one another. "Watch out, Tan!"

Rocking to one side, she uses her pole to assist herself back to her feet, bobbing back into a ready stance.

"Aww, I ain't brutal... just lucky!" There's a pause, and a frown, as she questions her use of that particular adjective...

COMBATSYS: Tanwen blocks Henry's Thrown Object.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Hawksley         0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0            Chevy
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Henry            0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0           Tanwen

[TANWEN]
"In human years," Tanwen makes a point of specifying when Henry questions her declaration of age. "That's more like seventeen in dragon years, sort of!"

Really, the math isn't exactly parallel, if the System Reference Document charts that she's basing her claim on can even be trusted when it comes to real live dragons. The 'magic bolt' rebounds off of Henry's shield at an angle, forcing the dragon girl to strafe to chase it and leap into the air to make the catch and return it to its intended (?) position as her own shield. Just in time for a chunk of volcanic rock from Henry's seismic stab to score a 20.

"I'm not allowed to drive, and I don't like oats very much," Tanwen says with a strange blend of confidence and confusion, "but cheers anyways!"

She takes a short skip toward Henry before aiming a swift, sandaled kick at his shin!

COMBATSYS: Tanwen successfully hits Henry with Light Kick.
-**- LUNATIC HIT!! -**-

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Hawksley         0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0            Chevy
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Henry            0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Tanwen

[HENRY]
"Oatmeal is good." Henry counters, not really getting where the breakfast conversation is going but willing to keep up with it regardless. But what happens next he's going to regret being caught on camera.

He tries to move out of the way of Tanwen's kick, only to lose his footing on the loose ground, he falls over, sliding several feet down the slope, only stopping when he cracks his head on a large rock. And not in a way that sounds particularly pleasant.

At least he gets to his feet after a moment, looking little dazed and more than a little embarrassed by the fall.

He shakes his head, trying to clear not only his thoughts but the dust that his slip and slide stirred up around him. "Meant to do that." He quips lightly, though it's clear he's taking a moment to gather himself after the fall.

COMBATSYS: Henry focuses on his next action.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Hawksley         0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0            Chevy
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Henry            0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Tanwen

[HAWKSLEY]
"I think it's been established I can't be trusted in the kitchen, so you can make the cake and I'll watch you." Hawksley responds to Chevy. "And eat some afterwards." He adds with a grin.

Despite the fact he's taking a bit of a beating, the brawler seems in sunny spirits. He tries to wiggle his hand inside the bucket but it seems it's firmly lodged there for the present. "Well I suppose this is one way to take the heat out of the fight." He jests, before watching open-mouthed as Chevy switches over to his chilly side. When she manoeuvres his arm to her will, he's unable to prevent it and he soon finds himself with cold feet for good measure. "Jesus. You're on form today, Chevy." He praises her. "Maybe I should just surrender myself to you now."

Of course the Irishman has no intention of doing so. He's no quitter and will fight with everything he's got to the end. There's also the matter of the Hollywood in their team to consider and he wants to give Henry the best chance of victory he can. It seems like his mentor, the younger man has got off to a bit of a rough start. Hawksley happens to catch a glimpse of him as his head hits the rock. The boxer finds himself holding his breath until he sees the swordsman get back up, upon which he gives him a beaming smile. "Good fella. It's not about if you get knocked down, it's if you get back up again." Maybe he's a Chumbawamba fan. The lyrics certainly seem to fit his lifestyle.

Back to his own battle and Chevy is determined not to let the dark-haired lad rise. Not only does she defend herself against his knees, she also uses her upper half to suppress him further. He feels himself grow sticky from the sunscreen and inhales its scent, causing him to cough. He's still hacking away when he rolls on to his back, bruised but not broken. "Brutal." He repeats. "I'm Lucky, remember?"

As he stands, there's still a smile on his face but the look in his eyes is steely. He approaches his redhaired opponent slowly, keeping his gaze on her the whole time. He can see she's ready for him and he's hoping to take her by surprise.

In a sudden movement forwards he tries to sweep the water bender off her feet. If he's able to get her into the air, he'll throw her towards the two middle-aged men sitting on the Jeep, curious if either of them will bother to play catch.

COMBATSYS: Chevy blocks Hawksley's Power Throw.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Hawksley         0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0            Chevy
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Henry            0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Tanwen

[CHEVY]
"Thanks! But I ain't gonna let you off -that- easy..." Chevy grins, glad to see that Hawksley's still hanging in there.

She's also glad that Henry and Tanwen are able to keep the banter flowing freely. She even chimes in for a moment, after Henry: "And drivin's good too! You're missin' out on the best part of adulthood, right there!"

She really just hopes Tanwen doesn't try to turn cars into magic missiles.

Like Hawksley, she draws in her breath upon seeing dear Henry knocked down the slope, only breathing a sigh of relief as he lifts himself back over the ledge. "Yeah, hang in there, Henry... "

But then Hawksley's she's struck by Hawksley's lyrical reference. "... Dang it! Now I got that song stuck in my head!"

But now we're caught up to where Chevy insisted that it was just luck that's won her success in slamming the Irishman to the ground -- and said Irishman clarifies what he believes to be the factual state of affairs. Wincing as she's called 'brutal' again, Chevy offers a friendly, if chastened, snicker. "Right, yeah -- I knew that."

In the next instant, water spilled from the grappler's buckets shows her flight path as she's swept right off her feet! She winces at the sudden torques applied to her arms and side as she's hurled backwards towards the jeep! But, by curling into a ball and swinging her pole and buckets, she's able to leverage the remaining water to help her regain control. As such, she snaps out of the toss just a few feet in front of Lou and Winn -- who might also need to dodge if they're going to avoid getting wet from the flung water.

For her part, Chevy has a plan to recoup her losses. Hitching up the waistband of her cut-off shorts, she starts to swing her pole and buckets in a wide figure-eight pattern. And the air begins to respond -- growing dark at first, before a light drizzle begins to make its pitter-patting announcements upon the former tennis court surface.

... Chevy's also -humming- the hook of that Chumbawumba song. It might just be a happy accident that the pitter-patter pattern seems to be to the beat of the song.

"Yeah, it warn't cool -enough- yet," announces Chevy, her hair and blouse starting to streak with moisture. "Hope you're okay with a spot o' rain!"

COMBATSYS: Chevy gets ready to turn the tide!

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Hawksley         0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1            Chevy
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Henry            0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Tanwen

[TANWEN]
"Oh dear!" Tanwen says, eyes going wide as Henry ends up tumbling headfirst into a rock after her kick. "Well, at least he's only gone and knocked his head," she murmurs quietly, apparently forgetting that people who aren't dragons usually aren't very good at getting hit in the head. "So I'm going to keep going!"

She pursues Henry down the slope, her weapon and shield at the ready. "By the way, isn't oatmeal porridge, which is uwd? I don't think it's very nice," she says as she comes in with a twirl that sends her tail whipping toward Henry's face - this time a very intentional maneuver, unlike the events in the Jeep. "Maybe if they made porridge with fish in!"

COMBATSYS: Henry interrupts Quick Strike from Tanwen with Crane Vigilant.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Hawksley         0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1            Chevy
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Henry            0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0           Tanwen

[HENRY]
Henry carefully dabs at the back of his head, his fingers coming away red, but he's had worse blows in these fights. That bump is for the medics to worry about later. "I'm fine." He says when he sees Hawksley looking in his direction. "I've had worse falling off the parallel bars." Wy he was using gymnastic equipment without padding beneath him is another matter.

Tanwen's comment on porridge has him making a face. "Fish oatmeal? No.. just no. Berries, or.. other fruit, but not fish."

But as that tail comes towards him he spins around, meeting the tail with a kick, which is a maneuver certainly, but the blade of chi that spings from his foot and makes a glowing arc in front of him as he does so, slicing out at the dragon lass is another mater.

[HAWKSLEY]
"Mission accomplished. You're welcome." Hawksley responds, humming the tune of the catchy nineties classic along with Chevy.

The Irishman almost manages to send the North Carolinian to join the spectators but her smart thinking stops her from colliding with the cheeky commentator and kindly Welshman. Neither of them react with enough speed to stop themselves getting soaked though. "You did that on purpose!" Lou protests with a scowl, standing up to start wringing out his shirt.

Meanwhile, the mentorees are going at it with their swords and shields. "I love porridge and I love fish but the two together can feck off." Hawksley decides. "I'm with Henry, give me some blueberries any day or even better, cooked apple and cinnamon."

He gives Henry a thumbs up as he brushes off his blow and then hits back with his kick and slice combo. "That's the stuff, fella."

Facing Chevy again, Hawksley raises his dark eyebrows. "I'm from Ireland, cailin. We have a feck load of rain. How do you think it stays so gorgeous and green?" Whilst she's contemplating the weather forecast, he goes towards the girl, grabbing her and trying to grapple her into a headlock. If he happens to do so, he'll start punching her repeatedly in the head. And he was calling her brutal?

COMBATSYS: Chevy blocks Hawksley's Submission ES.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Hawksley         1/------=/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2            Chevy
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Henry            0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0           Tanwen

[CHEVY]
Is it true that Chevy splashed Lou on purpose? "I warn't -tryin'- to..." she calls back over one shoulder, tilting her hand in a sort of apology: "Sorry!"

But while she's regaining her footing, and the rain begins to fall in larger and larger drops, the hayseed takes a moment to look over towards Henry. Tanwen's casual dismissal of head injuries is cause for concern -- but she smiles when she hears Henry's responses. He's... *probably* okay, she reasons. And maybe *too* okay, she realizes, once he manages to turn the tables on the littlest dragoness!

"... eh, I'm with you there, fish an' oatmeal sounds weird. Fish and -grits-, though -- dollop some cheese up in there and that could work!"

There's only so much time she has to banter with the second-gen folks though, before Hawksley Moore gets his say in the matter. With Chevy more or less rooted in place due to her miniature rainstorm, she doesn't move her feet -- though she -does- manage to snake her bucket and pole up between herself and Hawksley, so that their little wrestling match turns into a dangerous game of keepaway. The rain makes it difficult for Hawksley to maintain a hold on the Carolinian. He moves one way and Chevy's slippery moves carry her out of harm's way. He moves a different and the bucket's there to block his advance. He -is- able to get a few slugs in here and there -- but her laughter makes it tough to gauge whether she's ticklish or outright punch drunk!

"Dunno, Mister Moore, I ain't ever seen it! Maybe Buck an' I will have to come for a visit!"

She won't put her immediate proximity to waste though -- for with Hawksley so close, she's hoping he might not notice her reaching for the most stable handholds she can manage on the brawler: his belt loops! And if she manages to grab hold of his waist in such a manner, she'd use the water to blast the pair upwards, assisting herself in hauling Hawksley up, up, up into the air -- so that she can slam his back even harder onto the floor when they land!

"What's at the end of this rainbow, Lucky?!" And if the cameras are at -just- the right angle, they might be able to see a rainbow in the midst of it all...

[TANWEN]
Fortunately, injuries on the scale of a bumped head are probably within the purview of the NFG's 'medics' on the island, which are basically comprised of a few girls and boys who've taken mandatory first-aid training, two of whom are filming this fight. Otherwise, one might have to rely on - as Hawksley is familiar with - the local flora and a self-styled herbologist with even fewer actual qualifications.

"Fish porridge is lush, though. It's what the Vikings ate, and they conquered the West with a couple of little boats!"

(It could be supposed, perhaps, that the Vikings conquered the West so they wouldn't have to eat fish porridge anymore.)

"Eep!"

The exclamation comes as the result of what amounts to a kick in the tail and a chi version of something from Roadhouse jabbing her in the backside. She leaps up in the air as she lets out the yelp.

"That's not very nice!" she protests, whirling around to face Henry with a frown as she rubs her sore rear end with the hand of her shield arm. As she does so, the skin around her shoulder blades starts to stretch and redden, rapidly forming into a pair of red dragon wings while her hair deepens in hue and her horns appear to grow. Scaly patterns appear around her throat and face at the same time.

"I'm going to have to get serious now, I am!"

The ferocity of her words and expression is undermined by her high-pitched ever-pleasant Welsh lilt and the fact that her scowl ends up looking more like a pout.

She runs forward at Henry, trying to smash her dartboard-shield into his face to stagger him. If that works, she'll reach out to try and grab hold of his head with her shield hand and pull him around and backward double. If she succeeds, she'll try and step her legs over either side of his head, secure his head between them, then drop down on the ground, smashing his head against it beneath her hips!

COMBATSYS: Tanwen successfully hits Henry with Arch Dragon EX.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Hawksley         1/------=/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2            Chevy
[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Henry            1/-------/=======|>>>>>--\-------\0           Tanwen

[HENRY]
"I'm pretty sure all they had was fish porridge, if it's your only choice it doesn't mean it's good." Henry retorts. He looks upwards as it begins to drizzle, then over at the fighting pair of Chevy and Hawksley. Really? Do they have to make everything wet?

With a grumble he looks back to Tanwen, only to take a step back as she launches at him with dragon-face. "What is it with people and having weird dragon bits?!" He must be talking about Buck. He doesn't manage to bring up his shield in time, instead getting grabbed and slammed into the ground, luckily, he seems to be able to brace himself somewhat against the blow to his still throbbing head. He might have words for the dragoness about that later. But he doesn't let it slow him down.

Instead he flips his sword in his hand in a reverse grip, and while still below Tanwen, tries to just drive it point first into her backside. Brutal, but this is why you don't let someone with a stabbing implement in close.

COMBATSYS: Chevy successfully hits Hawksley with Strong Throw.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Hawksley         1/----===/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2            Chevy
[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Henry            1/-------/=======|>>>>>--\-------\0           Tanwen

[HAWKSLEY]
Lou doesn't look impressed by Chevy's apology and mutters something under his breath that sounds like "offsides."

The sword fighters are having themselves a splendid scrap a few feet away but there's scant time for Hawksley to study them too closely, since he's got a water bender on his case. "I'm singing in the rain. Yes, singing in the rain." He starts, in a tone that's mostly off-key. "What a glorious feeling and I'm happy again."

One might expect the firestarter to do a dance but he's got other ways to exert his energy, such as fighting with the farm girl. "You and Bucky Boy are more than welcome to come and stay with me, so you are. My mammy will feed you and I'll make sure the drinks never run dry. I could even get Coco to come over, but I dunno if she would, like. The place has not got the best of memories for her."

There's only the slightest hint of sadness on Hawksley's handsome face before he's back to his smiling self, even when Chevy thwarts his attempt to put her in a headlock. "Are you laughing at me?" He questions her, his expression one of amusement. "Or is the Flaming Volcano finally getting to you?"

Chevy is soon back on the attack, grabbing a hold of his belt loops. "She's only trying to pull my pants off, so she is." He declares in mock outrage. "Try and compose yourself, cailin."

He can't keep a straight face and is already laughing before the last of his sentence slips out of his mouth. His mirth soon shifts to astonishment though, as the duo dart up into the air! "Jesus!" He gasps, looking down at the ground below. His gaze is still fixed there when he crashes into it head first.

As he blinks up at his assailant he sees two of her, and what's that? Is it a little man dressed in green carrying some gold? "It's only a leprechaun, so it is. Hello, little fella! Have you come to bring me some luck? I fecking need it."

Getting up with a groan, the dizzy dark-haired lad lunges towards Chevy. Delivering three rapid jabs in her direction, followed by a right-handed cross punch and then a final jab for good measure, he just hopes he hits the right redhead, because he's still seeing double right now!

COMBATSYS: Chevy interrupts Cherry Bomb ES from Hawksley with Marsh Slam.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hawksley         2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>-\1            Chevy
[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Henry            1/-------/=======|>>>>>--\-------\0           Tanwen

[CHEVY]
Hawksley seems to be appreciating the rainfall, amidst the odd little dance that has Chevy slipping and weaving in between the brawler's attacks. "Mm... we'll work on her. I know it'd be a blast with all of us... And naw, I..." She breaks into another laugh. "It's just -fun-, that's all! I cain't catch hold of ya...!"

A moment later, she does catch hold. And she's almost immediately teased for it too, which gets her laughing even -more!- "Haha... hush up, you! I'm -tryin'- t'be serious here!" she exclaims, just as she manages to put Hawksley onto the ground.

There's a brief lull in the combat -- which gives her a moment to open her ears up to the rest of the environs. Like Lou, muttering something about 'offsides.' "... I'll make this up to you Lou, cross mah heart!" And to Henry, disappointed about the rain: "... My bad, bro! Me without water's kinda like you two without swords an' boards, though... yeah?"

In the next moment -- Chevy can see that Tanwen's declared her intent to get serious! But that also comes hand-in-hand with the Irishman laying down the law with his fists. Chevy still has her pole low and parallel to the ground when he approaches -- with her momentary distraction, she isn't -quite- in the best position to defend. When the first punches come in, she steps backwards and tries -- unsuccessfully - to swing her head and shoulders out of harm's way. She ends up getting socked in the cheek and jaw for her trouble, her head lolling back with each impact!

The moment that Hawksley rears up for that right cross, though, Chevy's able to correct her footing and slam her pole right under his arm level, stepping just inside of his cross!

And that's when the pole flash-freezes into place, ice cementing itself against his rain-slickened skin!

Chevy barks out, as she continues to launch herself upwards into a front flip, loosely holding onto her ice-cold staff as she inverts overhead. "I ain't seein' no leprechaun -- you'll have to point him out to me!"

In the next moment, her feet touch down behind Hawksley -- and the waterborne grappler flips -him- over her head in mimicry of her own flip. It's just that his landing might be a little rougher, as Chevy seeks to whip him over her head and then slam him down onto his chest!

Releasing the icy hold, she pulls her pole and buckets away while rubbing her cheek. "Shoo-ee... that's gonna be a shiner a-fore long..." She happens to glance over to Tanwen -- and breathes a silent prayer that her protege will be able to weather Henry's attack!

COMBATSYS: Tanwen blocks Henry's Fierce Strike.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hawksley         2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>-\1            Chevy
[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Henry            1/------=/=======|>>>>>>-\-------\0           Tanwen

[TANWEN]
"My dragon bits aren't weird!" Tanwen declares indignantly from her dominant position atop Henry's head. "Human bits are weird! Like, why do they even need bottoms?" Obviously, Tanwen is worldly-wise enough to be aware of how the digestive system works. Rather, she is referring to the ways in which the shape of the gluteus maximus differs from those of reptiles like herself, who are obviously superior.

Henry is already maneuvering to drive the point in, though, and fortunately, Tanwen happens to be looking over her shoulder in contemplation of her own question and spots the sword being driven into her human-shaped heinie. On instinct, she shifts her hips to redirect the weapon and makes a defensive squeezing maneuver - trapping the weapon before it can push in too hard while her tail wraps around to momentarily disable it.

"Oh! Maybe that's why?" Tanwen posits on the purpose of her posterior. "For catching swords?"

Fortunately, Winn is too busy trying to dry his shirt off over the caldera to suffer the possibly-lethal embarrassment an awareness of the situation might have induced.

Tanwen uses her tail to flick the sword away before rolling backward on top of Henry so that she's straddling his hips, before puffing her chest and cheeks up with an inhalation - soon to be released toward his face as a directed plume of smoke! If that works, she'll then follow up by bonking his head with both her shield and her blunted blade!

COMBATSYS: Tanwen successfully hits Henry with Dazzle!.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hawksley         2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>-\1            Chevy
[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Henry            1/---====/=======|>>>>>>>\-------\0           Tanwen

[HENRY]
"Um, for something to sit on?" Henry says rather matter-of-factly, with a flat look up at Tanwen. "You know, instead of sitting on me?" As his sword is deflected he grumbles in frustration, and tries to pull himself free of Tanwen's pin. Something he's unsuccessful at as he takes a face full of smoke. And a blunted sword doesn't mean much when you're cracking it into someone's already damaged skull.

"WILL YOU STOP HITTING ME IN THE HEAD?!"

Henry roars, probably loud enough to echo across the volcano. He adjusts his grip on his sword, the blade flaring to life with crackling red chi. "And get off me! You are so not my type!"

Way to drive the dagger home there Hollywood. He swings the crimson blazing sword in an arch towards Tanwen, leaving a line of chi alicing theough the air in the swords wake. He may be on the ropes.. or the ground. And he's pretty sure he's seeing two of the dragoness, so he

OKAY JUST DELETE BOTH OF MY POSES ABOVE AND I'M PUTTING THIS TOGETHER ELSEWHERE

"Um, for something to sit on?" Henry says rather matter-of-factly, with a flat look up at Tanwen. "You know, instead of sitting on me?" As his sword is deflected he grumbles in frustration, and tries to pull himself free of Tanwen's pin. Something he's unsuccessful at as he takes a face full of smoke. And a blunted sword doesn't mean much when you're cracking it into someone's already damaged skull.

"WILL YOU STOP HITTING ME IN THE HEAD?!"
Henry roars, probably loud enough to echo across the volcano. He adjusts his grip on his sword, the blade flaring to life with crackling red chi. "And get off me! You are so not my type!"

Way to drive the dagger home there Hollywood. He swings the crimson blazing sword in an arch towards Tanwen, leaving a line of chi alicing theough the air in the swords wake. He may be on the ropes.. or the ground. And he's pretty sure he's seeing two of the dragoness, so he really hopes the wide swing will get the right one in he tries to slice through both.

[HAWKSLEY]
It's almost becoming comedically bad for the Hollywood Heat lads. They're both taking a battering from the Atlantis women and the boxer gives Henry a look of empathy as they endure the ongoing assault from the formidable female fighters.

The Second Seasoners are having a strange old conversation about dragon bits and bottoms that Hawksley hasn't quite caught the gist of. He does hear something about Tanwen not being the American's type though. "What are you into then, fella?" The Cork cruiserweight asks curiously. "You seemed to have good chemistry with that Skye lass in the stream I saw. She had a bit of a strange hairstyle at the time, like."

As for his own battle with Chevy, the brawler just can't catch a break. He's soaked through, his tanned skin is glistening with raindrops and his denim shorts are sticking to his thighs. As he blinks towards the water bender, drops from his dark hair fall down on to his face. Somehow though he's still smiling.

"Why do you wanna be serious?" He wonders of Chevy. "Life is much more fun when you can have a laugh." Apparently she agrees, since she's doing plenty of it herself.

Her head is jerked back a couple of times by Hawksley's jabs but the Irishman knows he's not doing nearly enough to have any real impact. He sees the pole coming before he feels it. As Chevy skilfully uses it to flip forwards, Hawksley can only stand and watch. Before he knows it, she's behind him and he's hurtling through the air, crash landing on the dusty ground as his chest hits it hard. The move well and truly winds him and he starts to wheeze and even shiver. "You scared the leprechaun off with your wicked ways." He teases, trying to push himself upwards. "I dunno about you but I think we need to warm things up around here."

As he scrambles to his feet, he thrusts his fist against the ground. Immediately, a circle of flames starts to form around he and Chevy. When he's fully standing, he turns to face her, staying still for only a split second before he's darting forwards to deliver a lightning-fast punch, with the intent of sending her flying through the ring of fire.

COMBATSYS: Chevy counters Burn Baby Burn from Hawksley with King Tide EX.

[                             \  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hawksley         1/-------/<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0            Chevy
[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Henry            1/--=====/=======|>>>>>>>\-------\0           Tanwen

[CHEVY]
Two fights taking place at once is... a lot to take in, at times. On the one hand, Chevy wants to know if her student is about to get impaled by a blunt sword or some such. But on the other, uh, the blow-by-blow commentary track offered by Tanwen is more than a -little- concerning. Chevelle's cheeks burn brightly as she keeps her attention locked upon Hawksley. "I don't think I even wanna know," she admits.

Luckily, all's well that ends well -- for her student anyway! For Henry it's a bit different -- the fact that he's shouting is... positive? She adds to Hawksley's teasing with her own: "She's alright, yeah! Y'all would make a cute couple."

She wouldn't press too hard on that though -- considering she's -trying- to be serious, for some reason that Hawksley challenges her on, both with his words and his attacks. She deals with the latter before answering the former, with a half-smile. "... Well, I'm *tryin'* to mix things up a it, y'know...?"

That smile fades when the Irelander accuses her 'wicked ways' of scaring off the leprechaun. By itself, that's not much of a dig. But combined with the stress Chevy's been putting herself through -- and the constant needling from folks like Lou -- it hit a sore spot. And she doesn't have an immediate response.

The wall of flames that blossoms into existence, though, reminds her that actions speak louder than words. And seeing the flames rise up like miniature versions of the pillars of flame surrounding the island is enough of a sign for the waterbender to keep her cool.

She's faced this attack before. At the time, the technique was peerless. Distinctive. Unmatched. Invincible.

And once again -- the fist is there. And, once again, she steps sharply to one side, her pole slapping against the firmly corded muscle of Hawksley's forearm.

She plants her palm against the Irelander's trailing shoulder. And with the pole's leverage acting as a fulcrum, she steers his forward momentum into a different path -- one that has his back slamming into the ground with a wet splash!

It's at this point that the hayseed's aquatic mastery takes over, with the pool of rainwater he'd landed in suddenly turning into a waterspout. Chevy grabs hold of an arm and a leg, whirling Hawksley around in two full revolutions, with the column of water percussing into him upon each orbit like a shower massager on full! This iteration of attack is a -bit- different than their previous Metro City fight, as she applies a bit more torque to Hawksley's limbs -- but the end result is similar, with Hawksley being slammed once more into the ground! Water is flung every which way, hissing into clouds of steam upon encounter with the wall of flames!

"... I ain't -tryin'- to be wicked, though...!" she insists, a little after the fact.

COMBATSYS: Tanwen fails to interrupt Lion Rampant from Henry with Dragon Crown EX.
- Power fail! -

[                             \  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hawksley         1/-------/<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0            Chevy
[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Henry            2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\-------\0           Tanwen

[TANWEN]
"Well, yes, but you could just lie down instead, like a normal species," Tanwen says haughtily as she argues with Henry. "And I'm only sitting on you so I can try and pin you down!"

Tanwen gets a bit of the sensation that others might feel when exposed to her roaring dragon breath as Henry starts to get heated on the subject of being hit in the head, causing the dragoness to startle. "But, um, where do you want me to hit you, then? Won't it hurt more if I hit you somewhere else?"

She's still coming to terms with the idea that head injuries are somehow less concerning than others for humans. As a horned dragon, she's rather designed for cranial collisions, even in humanoid form. Then Henry makes an announcement that flabbergasts the dragon girl.

"Not your type?"

The thought hadn't even crossed her mind so far, but now she finds it concerning. Was she making some sort of romantic advance on Henry without realising it? She's only barely gotten over the crisis of her battle with Albert and the confusion of Schroedinger's (Glasgow) Kiss since yesterday. Are her dragon hormones raging out of control without her even realising it? Is she going to get a reputation as a tarty dragon - no, the tartiest dragon in the world (by default)??

"Oh no," she murmurs as she feels another crisis coming on and her cheeks flush red. Well, there's only one thing for it: close her eyes and try to win Henry over with another Glasgow Kiss by way of apology.

Unfortunately, closing her eyes means that she doesn't really see the sword coming. And as she's swinging her head toward him, she's suddenly sliced across her bare belly, leaving a bleeding cut. Wait - was that a real sword??

"Oweee!" Tanwen rolls off of Henry, holding her stomach as she rocks back on forth on the ground for a moment. Her tightly-shut eyes start to glisten at the corners. "Cheeevyyy! Henry said I'm not his type!" she bawls.

[HENRY]
With Tanwen finally off of him, Henry rolls to his feet and levels his sword. It's surprisingly stead given the numerous bonks on the head, the bleeding nose (that might be broken) and the face ont of his eyes is well on the way to swelling shut. The problem is that sword isn't pointed at Tanwen, but about two feet to her left. "I'm not down yet. Even if there are two of you." He murmurs, then blinks a few times in confusion.

Closing one eye, then the other, he adjusts where his sword is pointing, getting it aimed a little more in the Welsh dragon's direction. Mostly.

"Where'd the other one go? Not that she was my type, either." He says squinting again at Tanwen. Wow, he's really driving that point home, isn't he?

But he still manages to go back on the attack, though it's hardly a straight line he's moving in. One might assume he's added some drunken brawling into his style from being around Hawksley too long, first stumbling a few feet toward the right, as he pulls his sword back, a few stumbles to the left as chi wraps the blade, extending its length by a few feet into something more akin to a knight's jousting lance than a sword.

Then clarity seems to snap back into his eyes for just a moment, as he suddenly bursts forward at full speed, seemingly intent to make himself some dragon kebabs with his chi-lance as he drives his weapon on course for Tanwen. Hopefully.

COMBATSYS: Tanwen blocks Henry's Horse Courant.

[                             \  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hawksley         1/-------/<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0            Chevy
[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Henry            2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>------\1           Tanwen

[HAWKSLEY]
It's a broken man who looks back at Chevy when Hawksley realises that his flames failed to set the fight alight for him. As she steps to the side and not only avoids his fist but hits back hard herself, his knees start to buckle.

Aided by the farmgirl's hand, Hawksley finds himself flat on his back for not the first time in this battle between fire and water. All around him it's wet and when the waterbender begins to whirl him around he feels like vomiting the Flaming Volcano back up.

As the power of the water causes the Cork fella to rise and then fall again, he closes his eyes, deciding to just go with the feeling. He's too faint for the moment to try and resist and if he's any hope on recovering then he's gonna need some rest.

The Irishman can hear Chevy's words of protest about her wickedness and it's not like he ever believed she was. The timing amuses him though, given that it follows her forceful assault. He can also hear the exchanges between Hollywood and the Dragon. Is the Welsh-woman having some sort of tantrum? Ah well, it's not his problem, but the starry-eyed sword wielding stuntman is. As much as Hawksley would like to stay still and surrender to the pain and exhaustion he's experiencing, he is now part of a team. Like with the lads back home in Ireland, there's no way he's gonna leave the blue-haired boy to battle on alone whilst there's breath in his bruised and battered body.

He opens his dark brown eyes and looks down at his hands with their rough skin and scarred knuckles. In front of his gaze they set ablaze, with the flames spreading further up his arms as he stands. There's a stagger to his motions as he moves closer to Chevy and starts to throw out a series of hooks and crosses before finishing by trying to find her face with a full on punch.

His efforts cost him and he collapses again. The question is, does he have it in him to give it another go at getting up?

DELETE ABOVE

It's a broken man who looks back at Chevy when Hawksley realises that his flames failed to set the fight alight for him. As she steps to the side and not only avoids his fist but hits back hard herself, his knees start to buckle.

Aided by the farmgirl's hand, Hawksley finds himself flat on his back for not the first time in this battle between fire and water. All around him it's wet and when the waterbender begins to whirl him around he feels like vomiting the Flaming Volcano back up.

As the power of the water causes the Cork fella to rise and then fall again, he closes his eyes, deciding to just go with the feeling. He's too faint for the moment to try and resist and if he's any hope on recovering then he's gonna need some rest.

The Irishman can hear Chevy's words of protest about her wickedness and it's not like he ever believed she was. The timing amuses him though, given that it follows her forceful assault. He can also hear the exchanges between Hollywood and the Dragon. Is the Welsh-woman having some sort of tantrum? Ah well, it's not his problem, but the starry-eyed sword wielding stuntman is. As much as Hawksley would like to stay still and surrender to the pain and exhaustion he's experiencing, he is now part of a team. Like with the lads back home in Ireland, there's no way he's gonna leave the blue-haired boy to brawl on alone whilst there's breath in his bruised and battered body.

He opens his dark brown eyes and looks down at his hands with their rough skin and scarred knuckles. He's a born fighter and he's gonna bloody well battle on. As he stands, there's a stagger to his motions. He moves closer to Chevy and makes a grab for her arms with the aim of preventing her from defending herself from what he's planning next. He starts trying to smash his head into her forehead repeatedly, letting out cries of agony with every attempted blow, whether they hit or miss. By the time he's finished there's blood trickling down his face.

He's give it all he's got but his efforts have cost him and he collapses again. The question is, does he have it in him to give it another go at getting up?

COMBATSYS: Hawksley has reached second wind!

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hawksley         0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0            Chevy
[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Henry            2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>------\1           Tanwen

COMBATSYS: Chevy parries Hawksley's Numbskull!!

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hawksley         0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1            Chevy
[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Henry            2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>------\1           Tanwen

[CHEVY]
Hawksley being down for the moment gives Chevy a chance to catch up on what her student is doing -- though, that sudden outburst causes the hayseed's eyebrows to knit together. She swings her pole around in a wide swath, shepherding water back towards her and filling her buckets while she observes. She doesn't mind helping the dragon girl reach her full potential, but she is a bit irked at what, perhaps rightfully, could be considered a tantrum.

Drawing in her breath, she manages to dispel the frustration from her face and her voice when she replies with level calm: "Yeah, Tan... He also asked you to stop hittin' him in the head. Are you still tryin' that same tack?" She adds, with a helpful grin: "Don't let it get to you over-much..."

But then her blue eyes spot motion from Hawksley. She wasn't sure if he was down for the count -- but, seeing him push back to his feet just makes her grin grow larger. Nodding in challenge, she brings the pole back up to a diagonal position in front of her! "Alright! Let's give this one more go, Mr. Moore!"

Hawksley may be running low - but Chevy's been fortunate enough to still have a few gallons in the tank. (And her buckets, thankfully!) As Hawksley advances, she steps gingerly backwards, spacing herself out to cause the Irelander's attempted grabs to miss by mere centimeters.

And when he overcommits with his headbutt, she's able to take a small twirling hop backwards to avoid it.

"Ooh! That was close!"

But, she's also up to something. She whips the pole to her left, causing both her buckets 'clack' together at the outside lip -- giving the impression that she's wielding a large hammer! The momentum of the motion causes her to whirl into a fierce counterclockwise direction spin...

And if it works like she'd practiced many times before, her spin would also put her right hand in range of Hawksley's wrist! If she manages to grab hold, she'll take him along for the spinny ride -- tugging him off-balance and pitching him shoulder-first against the ground!

[TANWEN]
Fortunately for everyone involved, Tanwen's tiny teeny temper tantrum time-out coincides roughly with the span of time that it takes Henry to point his sword at her properly. She turns the waterworks down to a sniffle long enough to blink at Chevy innocently. "Boys don't like being hit in the head?" she says with awe in her voice at the revelation before her eyes flit to spot the sword pointed at her. "Eep!"

She stops wasting her draconic power on throwing a fit and hops back onto her feet with the help of her wings and tail, sword and shield at the ready to defend against the weapon that's being leveled more or less in her direction. As Henry stumbles toward her, she helpfully shifts her footing to make sure that he stays on target without really thinking about it. It's only when he seems to gain clarity that she realises what she's doing, letting out another little yelp as she turtles down and hides behind her dartboard. The makeshift shield gets neatly cleaved in twain by the chi-lance, which also manages to score a grazing wound along her shield arm. Shaking loose the useless pieces, Tanwen flaps her wings, the beating of them lifting her off the ground with some effort.

"Okay! I'll be hitting him everywhere /except/ his head, then! Maybe that will make me his type!" the dragon girl declares as she brandishes her blade. Her skin starts to glow with orange heat as she gathers her dragon magic before diving down toward Henry, swooping with the intent to tackle him to the ground once more! If she can manage to pin him again, she'll quickly turn around to make sure she doesn't hit him in the head before bringing her sword down in a burst of fiery energy - one that would send her flying as well!

COMBATSYS: Henry counters Dragon's Descent from Tanwen with Stag Guardant.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hawksley         0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1            Chevy
[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Henry            1/-<<<<<</<<<<<<<|===----\-------\0           Tanwen

[HENRY]
Henry sags a little after his rush, almost stumbling and falling over as he turns to try to keep Tanwen in his line of sight. He's breathing heavily, and for a moment his sword dips to the ground, the tip resting in the gravelly dirt as he uses the weapon to prop himself up a bit.

"Most people don't like getting hit in the head." He murmurs between panting breaths. "I don't think it's a boy thing. Well, boys do have a place they really don't like getting hit, but you should ask.." He waves off to the side where Tanwen's minder is by Lou, indicating that's an adult in charge question.

He takes a deep steadying breath and puts his weight back on his own feet, bringing his sword back up, as he watches Tanwen in the air, seemingly trying to gauge her trajectory.

He smiles, it's faint, but it's definitely there, as he shifts his shield, dropping it slightly so he can grip in by the arm straps.

As the dragon dives at him he brings it up, his red chi glinting along the surface as he swings it right at the oncoming dragon like an oversized set of brass knuckles.

It makes contact with the oncoming Tanwen, ringing like a bell, the chi seemingly absorbing most of the blow, wavering and rippling before shooting outwards in a retaliatory, crimson explosion.

There's a brief moment where Henry's face displays just a touch of shock that it actually worked, but that smile comes creeping back after a moment.

COMBATSYS: Hawksley blocks Chevy's Riptide EX.

[                          \\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hawksley         1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1            Chevy
[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Henry            1/-<<<<<</<<<<<<<|===----\-------\0           Tanwen

[HAWKSLEY]
Hawksley rises up to fight on, but as soon as he does Chevy is back on his case. The Irishman is clearly injured and his sluggish speed is no match for the nimble North Carolinian as she gets herself out of harm's way. He places a hand to his head and then uses the back of his arm to wipe some blood away from his face, which only has the effect of smearing it across his skin.

As Chevy starts to spin towards him, Hawksley stiffens. She still manages to get a grip on his wrist but he uses what strength he has left to resist being dragged down. Leaning forwards, the lad places his hands on his thighs and bends forward a little, considering his opponent carefully. As he watches her, he raises his right hand and a ball of fire starts to form in it. Moving in rhythmic circles towards the farmgirl, he lets it create fiery trails through the air before attempting to slam it into her using his palm.

Whether this works or not, Hawksley will take the time to steal a glance towards his mentoree. He's just in time to see Henry swinging his sword towards Tanwen and hitting his target beautifully. "Fecking brilliant, Hollywood!" He praises the blue-haired boy, a beaming smile on his bloody face.

COMBATSYS: Chevy blocks Hawksley's There's A Star.

[                           \\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Hawksley         0/-------/=======|=======\====---\1            Chevy
[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Henry            1/-<<<<<</<<<<<<<|===----\-------\0           Tanwen

[CHEVY]
One trouble with Chevy's particular style is that water isn't the best source of grip. With both her hand and Hawksley's wrist fully saturated, it's hard for the hayseed to keep hold of her opponent -- and once he puts up that much resistance, she decides not to force the issue. Instead, she lets the momentum of her pseudo-hammer carry her a good distance away, twirling past it a half-turn to return the three-part weapon to its usual, balanced state.

Panting for breath from the exertion of swinging that much water around, she turns back to Hawksley just in time to hear about Tanwen's new unbeatable plan at winning over Henry's heart. Not wanting to burst the dragonlet's bubble, she commiserates with a small laugh. "Yeah! Just make for some good solid hits -- an' we can talk about what y'all two really like, *later*, yeah?"

Her eyes twinkle as she shares a moment with Hawksley, prior to his approach. Unfortunately for her, that twinkle isn't just a trick of the light, it's from the burst of fire he's slinging her way. Baring her teeth, she draws in her breath and flicks one bucket sideways across her centerline. In the process, a splash of water is unleashed from her bucket. With a hiss of steam as it passes through the water, the concussive blast slams into Chevy's sternum, forcing her backwards two steps and knocking some wind out of her lungs.

Chevy grins faintly; as the burning sensation passes, a bracing chill runs down her spine. Upon hearing Hawksley's comment on Henry's battle, the farm girl's starting to get the sense that the fight is closer than ever...

"Whoo yeah! It looks like you're runnin' on vapors now, Mister Moore!"

With that announcement, Chevy decides to temporarily throw caution to the wind as she barrels towards him! With her pole trailing behind, she seeks to ram her shoulder into Hawksley's chest, while holding tight against his arm and his ribs! If she manages to secure a hold, she'd see to use her momentum to topple the groggy brawler over, slam his back into the ground -- and then roll off of him as quickly and efficiently as possible afterwards!

[TANWEN]
There's a loud, piercing cry from the conflagration of flame and red chi released when Tanwen crashes into Henry's shield.

"Ohhh noooooo!!!"

The dragonette goes flying horns-over-tail through the air, nearly tumbling down the slope into the caldera from the force. Coming to her senses, she digs the claw-like nails of one hand into the volcanic soil, fingers raking small trenches in it as she continues to slip until she finally stops. She puts her sword between her teeth to free her other hand to help pull herself back up from the precipice.

"Drrr wrrr! Rrrr rrrkrrr!" she reassures the others as she takes a few moments to drag her dragon booty up the incline before appearing over the crest. She holds a hand up to give a thumbs-up signal as she shimmies onto the flat arena before standing up completely, her hands and front and bikini now covered in ash and dirt. The wings have disappeared, along with most of the other signs of her transformation, though her horns and tail remain. She takes the sword out from between her teeth and spits out a bit of volcano grit to one side as she takes her (imitation) Dragon Sword in both hands. "That was amazing. I feel a bit like Frodo now, I do!" she says with a smile. "Do you reckon some eagles will come and save us if the island blows up?"

"Focus, Tan!" Winn calls out from the Jeep. "Oh, sorry, I'm supposed to be neutral, aren't I?" he says, looking to the side at Lou, who shrugs. "Good luck, Henry, I suppose!" Winn adds.

"Oh, right," Tanwen says, a look of determination coming over her face as she brandishes the sword in both hands and stares down Henry. "I've decided I don't care if I'm not your type, even though I definitely know what it means," she says with airs of draconic pomposity.

COMBATSYS: Tanwen focuses on her next action.

[                           \\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Hawksley         0/-------/=======|=======\====---\1            Chevy
[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Henry            1/-<<<<<</<<<<<<<|===----\-------\0           Tanwen

[HENRY]
Tanwen's tumblr down the mountain give Henry a moment to compose himself, taking a deep breath and raising his arm to let his shield slide back down from his hand onto his forearm. He does at least wait until Tanwen is back up on solid ground before he's on the move once more.

"Can't rely on eagles to save us." He says simply as he takes a few steps forward, his sword blazing to life once again. It's probably quite the testament to his stubborness that he can even get his chi to flare that bright. He doesn't hear much of the banter going on around him, probably because there's a soft ringing in his ears the medics are going to have to deal with later, but mostly because he's focused on his opponent for this match.

And then he's running full tilt for the dragon lass, using his momentum to going into a spinning blade dance, his sword licking out again and again to try to sneak through her guard.

Should a blow land through, he follows up with an uppercut from his shield arm in an ettempt to launch both of them into the air. Finishing the maneuver off with an acrobatic twist and a strong overhead strike from his sword to knock the dragoness back down to the ground, twin gouts of chi spreading off the blade like a pair of blazing wings. (Not those type of blazing wings, though hot wings would be welcome.)

COMBATSYS: Hawksley dodges Chevy's Aggressive Throw.

[                           \\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Hawksley         0/-------/=======|=======\====---\1            Chevy
[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Henry            0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0           Tanwen

[HAWKSLEY]
It's hard for Hawksley not to be distracted by the other brawl happening beside he and Chevy. Henry and Tanwen are talented fighters and their banter back and forth is pretty damn amusing. The dragon has a talent for drama. Perhaps she should be trying her luck in Hollywood too! Not with Hollywood though, as the pair of them now seem to have reached an agreement that their relationship won't be of the romantic kind.

Meanwhile, back in his own match, Chevy creates another steamy moment by meeting his fire with her water. If he's disappointed, his dark-eyes manage to mask it. "I'm running on empty." He admits and yet, he's still standing. At least for the moment.

As the waterbender rushes his way, the Irishman knows that his body won't cope with another knockdown. Leaping to the left and landing close to Wynn and Lou, he gives the two men a cheery grin. "Alright, fellas? Are you enjoying the action?"

Before they get a chance to answer, he's moving towards Chevy and he seems to be holding something in his hand. Once he's close enough she'll see that he's managed to swipe the commentator's keys to the Jeep and he's intending to use them as a weapon against her, aiming for her exposed throat!

COMBATSYS: Hawksley successfully hits Chevy with Small Random Weapon.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[                         \\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Hawksley         1/-------/=======|=======\=======\1            Chevy
[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Henry            0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0           Tanwen

[CHEVY]
Chevy's surprised by Hawksley's sudden maneuverability -- though, she's hardly disappointed by it! Hawksley has been one of her most formidable opponents in the NFG, and she's glad that he's still raring to give the best performance he can!

She twirls her pole expertly, using the counterbalancing weight of her buckets to swing herself back to an upright position. She lets out a small huff of exertion in that motion -- though she's safe for the moment, as Hawksley's busying himself... making small talk with the announcer and Tanwen's guardian? Chevy arches an eyebrow, and practically gasps: "Hey, we -are- still fightin', right?"

Of course, while asking her question, she's reminded of the fact that she'd heard Tanwen's cry as she was launched over the edge -- and as she sees Tanwen crawling back, she pumps her fist in the air. "Atta girl! Yeah!"

She's a bit concerned when she sees Henry break into a run with his sword, but she has confidence that Tanwen will weather it alright. And so it's with a mild smile that she turns towards the source of motion near the jeep...

And she sees a glint of sunlight reflecting off the shiny keys in Hawksley's hand, racing towards her. Her eyes widen in shock -- for as someone who's worked on a number of prized vintage vehicles in her home garage, there isn't much scarier than someone running towards a Chevy with a crazed look and a fist full of keys.

It's just that now, well. It's a bit more personal than that. And as Miss Beaumont's pupils dilate, her look of surprise is swiftly replaced with one of morbid, absolute betrayal.

The deer is caught in the headlights. Or -- perhaps more accurately -- the deer antler necklace around her neck is. Sparks fly as key metal clashes against white gold. AN instant later, those sparks are soon quelled by a splash of red crimson, as the blade key slices across the flesh of Chevy's exposed throat.

She reflexively spins with the blow; her affinity with water has helped her deal with potentially morbid blows by letting her move with the flow of motion. But the damage has already been done -- and as Chevy bites back a cry of pain, she releases hold of her pole, one hand reaching out to wrap around the necklace that had been cut loose by the attack!

Her other hand is busy too, pressed against the gushing wound on her neck. Her white blouse is stained pink in places, blood and water dripping between her fingers. She seems to have caught the necklace, pulling it close to her -- but she's still spinning as she falls to the ground, collapsing into a low crouch.

All across the plateau... water drops begin to tremble.

She turns a fiery look over to Hawksley.
Her eye narrowed in a fit of rage.
Chevy has a reputation for being slow to anger.
And yet -- there it is.

A moment before, everything was normal. But now... Nearly every -drop- of water seems to leap free in a mad rush towards Chevy, whether pooled up on the ground, or still trapped in shirts. In mere instants, nearly every saturated surface is left bone dry by the sudden evacuation.

Chevy rises back to her full height, water encircling her in a raging whirlpool. She coughs once... twice. One hand stays curled to her throat, her ring and middle finger clutched around the necklace and its sundered chain.

She scoops her hand upward, blue eyes filled with determined anger as she glares back at Hawksley.

The gathered pool rises upwards into a rushing tsunami wall -- and then begins to tumble down towards the Irelander, seeking to entomb him within their watery depths!

COMBATSYS: Tanwen interrupts Phoenix Issuant from Henry with Spiral Dragon.

[                         \\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Hawksley         1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0            Chevy
[                            \\  < >  ///////                       ]
Henry            1/--=====/=======|=====--\-------\0           Tanwen

[TANWEN]
Tanwen's eyes go wide as Henry advances on her with sword a-swingin', the brilliant chi reflecting in her amber irises. She brings her own sword up to meet each blow, the weapons clashing loudly as the exchange escalates in intensity.

"With both of the younger fighters on the brink, this could be a decisive moment for them!" Lou announces.

"Tanwen's not really the younger fighter, mind, but I think so too, Lou, I do. And how about Hawksley and Chevy? I thought Hawksley was properly down, and now he's saying hello to us two like everything's tidy, butty."

It's at that moment that Henry swings his shield arm, catching Tanwen in the chin with the blow and knocking her flinching into the air.

"Uh oh. Looks like the dragon gal just got her bell rang, Winn!" Lou remarks.

"It's okay, Lou," Winn assures the commentator. "He's only hit her in the head."

Tanwen would seem exposed to further attack as both fighters fly up in the air - but as Henry twists around, so does she, shaking off the cobwebs as her grip tightens on her sword. And as they end up facing away from each other, both about to spin into their next slashing strikes at cross angles, Tanwen's extended tail smacks into Henry, throwing off his maneuver and leaving him open for her followup with the Dragon Sword! As she comes around for another pass, fire comes into the mix, blown forth from Tanwen's lips to create a blazing ring in the air around her, trapping Henry in a tornado of fire and scales and blunted steel!

Running out of steam as momentum pulls them apart, she drops down to land on the ground in a crouch like an anime samurai, panting heavily. "It's got a bit wet here, like," she murmurs breathlessly as Chevy's tsunami surges in front of her eyes.

[HENRY]
Henry realizes his mistake just a moment to late, trying to take on a dragon in the air. As the flames burn his already tattered clothes he closes his eyes trying to ignore the heat billowing around him as he collects the last of his senses in his still ringing cranium.

Well, one more loss isn't to much of a tarnish on his record, he thinks to himself. But it's not quite over yet. He feels himself slipping but he has one more acrobatic maneuver left in him.

As the flames clear, he's once more holding that glowing scarlet lance of energy, every last drop of what he had in him poured into making the weapon.

The last strength of his muscles are used to aim the lance downwards at Tanwen as he twists in the air.

The the chi explodes backwards, sending him and the lance rocketing to earth like a bolt fired from a ballista, the last of his energy and strength aimed at striking one last explosive blow against Tanwen.

He may be going out, but it's going to be with a bang.

COMBATSYS: Henry can no longer fight.

[                         \\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Hawksley         1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0            Chevy
[                       \\\\\\\  <
Tanwen           0/-------/--=====|

COMBATSYS: Chevy successfully hits Hawksley with Gulf Stream.

[                                < >  ///////////////               ]
Hawksley         1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0            Chevy
[                       \\\\\\\  <
Tanwen           0/-------/--=====|

[HAWKSLEY]
For the most part, Hawksley Moore is a nice sort of fella. He loves his mammy, is kind to old people, kids and animals, and always takes his turn buying the beers. Put him in a fight though and he's a mean bastard, as lots of unfortunate males in County Cork can testify. Before the NFG he hadn't had a full-on brawl with a woman. He'd wrestled with his sister Sammy and punched another of his sisters, Siobhan in the arm that time she teased him by stealing his teddy bear when he was a toddler, but real fighting? Never. His first opponent in Southtown had been John Doe, a good old-fashioned scrapper, and taking him on had felt pretty much like having a bust-up in a bar back home. Next had come the pretty posh girl Coco, who had begged him not to punch her in the face. The Irishman realised at that point that he was going to have to ignore his instincts and hit her just as hard as he would a big burly bloke. After all, if the women were competing in the contest, then they had to be considered just as tough a contender as himself. There could be no exceptions. Since then he's fought numerous female fighters and never held back with any of them, including his current opponent in both their one-on-one encounters so far.

Thus, when Hawksley's looking around for some way to stop Chevy, he doesn't care that she's one of his closest friends. He doesn't think about how annoyed his buddy Buck may be about him being so rough with his girlfriend. He's just thinking he'll do anything to win and it's not personal. But from the look on her face, it obviously is for the farmgirl.

She's furious with him, he can tell by the fire in her eyes. He looks back at her questioningly, surprised that she somehow didn't realise who he is when he's in the midst of a battle. He's no time to concern himself about that though, or the blood that's oozing from the wound he's inflicted on her pale neck. As for the jewellery he severed, any meaning of it is lost on the lad. He's not too observant about such things and until she holds it in her hand, he simply hadn't noticed it.

Henry goes down, battling bravely to the last and Hawksley swells with pride as he witnesses him go for the attack on Tanwen with the lance. "You're a fecking lion, fella." He yells to his protégé, sorry to see him out but knowing that he's given his all. Like her mentor, the Welsh dragon is a formidable fighter and there's no shame at all in losing out to her.

Of course, now that his tag team partner has gone, Hawksley is gonna have to try and deal with both members of Team Atlantis. Looking between the two redheads, he considers his options carefully. Before he can come to any conclusion though, vengeance is coming in its own watery way.

As the liquid is attracted towards its mistress, she takes full command of it, having it do her will. As Chevy looks at him in anger, the dark-eyed man knows that danger is incoming. He nods, just once, willing to accept whatever she wants to test him with and wondering for only the briefest of seconds if she can forgive him for the force he's shown. The tsunami travels towards him and Hawksley does desperately try to resist it, but honestly there's no hope. It gathers him up like he's featherlight, sucking him into its depths, damaging his body and disorientating his mind. His only hope is his fire, the opposing element to this enemy.

Curling up inside the wave, he uses everything he has to push upwards and free, his internal chi causing his body to burn brightly as his fists are set ablaze. He rises high and then crashes down, both of his hands formed into fists. With one he aims at Chevy, his action followed with a loud cry and then it's Tanwen's turn, as he directs the other at the dragon-girl. His efforts take every bit of energy he has left in him and he then crashes to the ground out cold. This time, there'll be no beating the count for the boxer.

COMBATSYS: Hawksley has reached third wind!

[                          \\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Hawksley         0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0            Chevy
[                       \\\\\\\  <
Tanwen           0/-------/--=====|

Or so he thought...

Some how, some way, a miracle happens and Hawksley once again gets up. Perhaps all those Sunday mornings in Saints Peter and Paul Church weren't wasted after all. Maybe the big fella has decided to look down on the lapsed Catholic and give him some credit for the years he put in when he was younger.

Or he could just be a determined fecker.

COMBATSYS: Hawksley successfully hits Chevy with Shining Light.

[                          \\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Hawksley         0/-------/----===|=======\==-----\1            Chevy
[                       \\\\\\\  <
Tanwen           0/-------/--=====|

[CHEVY]
Disagreements happen. Time heals all wounds of the non-fatal variety. Chevy might not like it -- but Hawksley has carried out a case study of the bar brawler style her father has used. With time, she might come to appreciate that. It'll probably be a minute before she'll feel up to sharing her vacation plans with the Irelander, though.

Her blue eyes cast a glassy gaze towards the fire and flames thrown down by her student. Just moments ago, she'd been invested in knowing just how far Tanwen could go -- and whether she could tame her tempestuous emotions throughout the fight. Now, pressed firmly into fight-or-flight territory, she seems impassive and detached, interested only in answering the binary question: is Tanwen up or down? And with that cursory glance, she turns back to Hawksley.

The whole time, her left hand had kept pressed to her throat. Once her tsunami crashes down, sweeping over Hawksley, she starts to pull her hand away. As she does so, it might become a bit more obvious -why- she's so cold and distant -- her skin is even paler than usual, rimed with frost. Colder blood is easier to control -- which is what lets her move about without worrying so much about blood spurting everywhere.

With that settled, she gives a brief nod to Tanwen before closing in to seal the deal on Hawksley! She starts to see him floundering about in the water -- but before she can recognize the chi attack for what it is, the shining fist is upon her! She holds her arms up to defend -- but as bar brawling -still- isn't her thing, she doesn't anticipate the hook correctly -- and it socks her right in the jaw! With an agonized groan, she whirls around in midair! A moment later, she splashes down onto her hands and knees. With glassy eyes, she finds herself staring at the chain of her necklace, as it flaps about in her wake. Not only exhausted, but now battered, she realizes ... Hollywood Heat has closed the gap.

And that realization is enough to earn a chuckle from her.

She coughs once more, letting her shoulder go limp. At first it looks like she's collapsed -- unable to go on any further. But she doesn't just stop -- she keeps rolling in that direction. The waves help push her back upwards. So that when she rises -- she's now turned right back to Hawksley.

The anger... well, -much- of it is gone, replaced with hungry determination.

"Ain't finished with me yet, Mr Moore!"

She reaches to her left side. The waves bring her pole into reach -- and she latches onto it with a grin.

And in the next moment, Chevy lunges forward sharply! Water splashes out of her path in a crescent as she aims to swing her pole at Hawksley's feet -- and if she manages to catch him by the ankle, she'd pull his feet out from under him and land him back in her watery domain!

COMBATSYS: Tanwen blocks Henry's Unicorn Respectant.

[                          \\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Hawksley         0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1            Chevy
[                          \\\\  <
Tanwen           0/-------/-----==|

COMBATSYS: Tanwen dodges Hawksley's Shining Light.

[                          \\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Hawksley         0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1            Chevy
[                          \\\\  <
Tanwen           0/-------/-----==|

[TANWEN]
Still crouched on the ground, Tanwen turns around as she hears Henry leaping toward her again. She sees the energy forming into the sharp of that lance again - triggering flashbacks again to the notorious Saint that slew her ancestor all those centuries ago. A primal fear thumps in her chest as it swells with a sharp inhalation. "He's trying to slay me," she breathes to herself, before scowling with renewed resolve. "That's not very nice!"

With no shield on hand, she brings her sword up in a double-fisted grip, holding it in guard as she steels herself against the descending Hollywood duelist. It's practically folly to try and parry such a precise attack with such a precise blade - let alone such a precise replica of such a precise blade. But she manages to align it, the scarlet chi splitting as it drives into the Dragon Sword and sending sparks of energy flying in every direction until the core of the blow collides with her weapon. At that moment, the explosion sends her skidding back on her butt along the mountaintop with a squeal to stop next to Chevy - but she's not down yet.

"My goodness, Lou. That Hawksley doesn't stay down easy, he doesn't," Winn remarks, not looking overly concerned about the state of affairs.

"Like a bad case of jock itch, he burns and he burns and he just and keeps coming back," Lou says.

Tanwen is just swaying to her feet and dusting her backside off with her tail when Hawksley comes flying at her fist-first.

"What?! You're not allowed to hit me! That's not very nice!" she yells as she dives forward under his feet to avoid the flaming punch. It's from all fours that she sees the form of Henry lying on the ground, disabled for the moment. "Oh, I suppose it's alright, then," she says with a disdainful scrunch of her facial features before rolling onto her back, looking up at Hawksley and puffing up her cheeks and chest with another deep breath before releasing it in a flamethrower aimed at the Irish brawler's backside!

[HENRY]
Henry really isn't cognizant of whether or not his final assault lands. As he seems to pass out shortly after impact, the last of his energy spent in that assault.

Deflected to the side, he hits the ground and rolls, losing his grip on his sword which lays on the ground a few feet from where he finally comes to a stop.

Face down on the gravel at the edge of the caldera, he just sort of lays there for now, clearly out of the match, and definitely in need of tending to once the medics can get over to him.

COMBATSYS: Hawksley blocks Chevy's Corner Store EX.

[                            \\  < >  ///////                       ]
Hawksley         0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1            Chevy
[                          \\\\  <
Tanwen           0/-------/-----==|

COMBATSYS: Tanwen successfully hits Hawksley with Dragon Breath.

[                                < >  ///////                       ]
Hawksley         0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1            Chevy
[                          \\\\  <
Tanwen           0/-------/----===|

[HAWKSLEY]
There's a look across to the fallen form of Henry from Hawksley. He's not overly worried about the lad, since the medics will descend as soon as this match is done with. His attention needs to stay on the double assault from the awesome double-act that is Atlantis, if he's still got any hope of winning this for Hollywood Heat.

Chevy is dealing cleverly with the aftermath of the key attack, using her abilities to stop the blood from flowing freely, which could have caused her to faint. She doesn't handle Hawksley's fiery punch so well though, taking it straight to the face. He can see it hurt her but he knows better than to believe she won't be back for more.

As the redhead reaches out to him, he gives her a grin back and responds to her words. "I'd be disappointed if I was." When she lunges with the pole, he pushes back with his legs, managing to prevent Chevy from sweeping him off his feet but still suffering a fair amount of pain. That's nothing compared to what's coming next though.

The dragonette dodges out of the way of his fiery fist but she's still pretty pissed off with him for having a go. Her familiar cry of "That's not very nice" is sent his way. As she protests, he's about to correct her on the combat conduct when she realises that her fellow season two fighter is out of the match.

The Cork cruiserweight is facing away from the Welsh woman when she attacks and as he looks back over his shoulder towards her, a horrified expression appears on his face. "Feck no." He shouts, before trying to roll out of the way. The flames are fast though and find his denim clad backside in a direct hit. He lets out a loud scream as his bum burns, his shorts soon singeing to reveal the white boxer briefs below. He pulls the blood-stained and burned shorts off and throws them on the floor before getting up to confront Cadwallader. Charging forward he slips into a snap elbow, looking to send Tanwen tumbling off-balance. If she starts to topple, he'll follow this up with a powerful haymaker punch, to knock her down to the ground. If she does end up there, the Irishman won't be far behind her.

COMBATSYS: Hawksley can no longer fight.

[                          \\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Tanwen           0/-------/----===|=======\==-----\1            Chevy

COMBATSYS: Tanwen dodges Hawksley's Detonator.

[                          \\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Tanwen           0/-------/----===|=======\==-----\1            Chevy

[TANWEN]
Tanwen cringes a little as she hears the high-pitched that Hawksley makes when she sets his shorts on fire. It reminds her a bit of the equally-scary sounds that Winn makes when he practices his operatic falsetto. "Sorry!" she shouts quickly, exonerating herself from any wrongdoing in her draconic tactics. It's not like she's the only one who goes around setting people on fire, now, is it?

The Irish brawler then turns on her, apparently unstoppable in his determination to exact revenge for the violence that Team Atlantis have inflicted on him thus far. Tanwen scrambles back on her butt and palms and heels along the ground as he closes in, avoiding the elbow, then the heavy punch that follows. She's just about at the precipice of the caldera when Hawksley finally falls down between her legs, facefirst to the ground. The dragonette cocks her head, waiting to see if he'll keep fighting.

"Hawksley Moore? Are you okay?"

When he finally doesn't get back up again, Lou calls out, "It looks like Hawksley and Henry are both down for the count! Jeez. It looks like both teams left everything in the ring!"

"Tanwen's lost her shield, Hawksley's lost his shorts, and they've all been battering each other dizzy. It'll be a bit of a questionable victory if they've got to face the next challenge like this, Lou," Winn says with a slight frown.

COMBATSYS: Tanwen takes no action.

[                          \\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Tanwen           0/-------/-----==|=======\==-----\1            Chevy

COMBATSYS: Tanwen has left the fight here.

                                  >  ///////                       ]
                                  |=======\==-----\1            Chevy

COMBATSYS: Chevy lets the tide wash out.

                                  >  ///////                       ]
                                  |=======\==-----\1            Chevy

COMBATSYS: Chevy has ended the fight here.


[CHEVY]
Chevy was pretty focused on knocking Hawksley over. When he's able to hold his ground, though, she considers how close she is to keeling over, and backs away to a safe distance. ... That, and she can see that her partner's closing in, and doesn't want to get caught up in that dragonflame!

As she eases back, her hand closes once more upon the ruddy wound on her throat. It's hard to keep the blood chilled. And then her brow furrows, as her head starts to hurt for some reason...

Brain freeze!

One hand snaps to her temple as she staggers backward, the other bringing her pole up to defend in case Hawksley -does- try something. Her necklace dangles from the hand holding the pole, swinging lazily back and forth as the waterbender struggles to deal with the brain freeze. It's... probably a good thing that Tanwen has Hawksley so preoccupied!

She lets her breath out as she sees the Irelander turning his ire onto Tanwen. With the pain gradually fading away, she manages a snicker at the lengths to which Hawksley goes to keep himself safe from the fire. Maybe forgiveness will come sooner rather than later!

"Whew! Dang, that was -close-, y'all!"

Breaking into a grin as Lou and Winn call the fight, the hydromancer abandons her battle stance and heads over to Tanwen's side. Though, at first, she's looking to Hawksley and Henry.

"Hey, that was a fantastic fight, you two! Thanks for pushin' us both right up to the redline!" She smiles as she notes the medics are rushing to tend to Henry even as she speaks. "That one near 'bout came down to which direction the wind was blowin'..."

Then -- she presents Tanwen with her biggest smile! ... Though it might look a -little- creepy with all the blood spattered on her blouse, particularly now that it's starting to dry. With all that's happened -- and the necklace curled in her hand -- she's not exactly worried about how she looks at the moment. Leaning on her pole for support, she reaches over to offer Tanwen assistance back to her feet.

"Congratulations, partner! What're you gonna spend all your new experience points on?"

"Oh, wow! Hello, Mister Lou!" Tanwen says, practically dangling on her tippy-toes with the height difference as Lou presents the champions for the camera drone while the camera-medic-girls attend to Hawksley and Henry.

"Hiya, girls! And congratulations on becoming our NFG Zack Island Tag Team Tournament Champions - and therefore, the new Queen and Queen of Zack Island!" Lou says with a smile for the camera behind his sunglasses.

"The Queens?" Tanwen says, eyes widening.

"And since Tom's not here to share his thoughts, I think he'd say that was an excellent demonstration of sportsmanship and athleticism, and you should all be proud of yourselves for overcoming so much adversity," Lou continues on, his voice wavering a little with emotion.

"The Queens?!" Tanwen says, cupping her hands over her mouth as she starts to quiver.

"And that he's so sorry. ...For not making it, I mean," Lou adds, choking up a little. "So, uh, did you two have anything you'd like to say to your fans?"

"I'M THE DRAGON QUEEN OF ZACK ISLAND!!" Tanwen suddenly bursts out, leaping in the air and pumping her limbs. "I'm going to rename it DRAGON ISLAND! No, TANWEN ISLAND?!"

"I, uhh -"

Lou looks a bit lost for words as Tanwen starts running around in circles like an airplane.

"I'm going to have a REAL DRAGON LAIR under a VOLCANO, I am!!" the dragon girl shouts in a high-pitched voice.

"By the way, me and my granddaughter are huge fans," Lou murmurs to Chevy while the would-be viewership is distracted by Tanwen's antics.

"And I am going to have SO MANY SHEEP...!""

[TANWEN]
Lou slides off of the Jeep and steps carefully around the various puddles and unconscious fighters covering the ring to approach Tanwen just as she's about to accept Chevy's hand, interposing between them to grab both hands and lift them up. The motion causes Tanwen to squeal as she's brought up to her feet faster than she was expecting.

"Oh, wow! Hello, Mister Lou!" Tanwen says, practically dangling on her tippy-toes with the height difference as Lou presents the champions for the camera drone while the camera-medic-girls attend to Hawksley and Henry.

"Hiya, girls! And congratulations on becoming our NFG Zack Island Tag Team Tournament Champions - and therefore, the new Queen and Queen of Zack Island!" Lou says with a smile for the camera behind his sunglasses.

"The Queens?" Tanwen says, eyes widening.

"And since Tom's not here to share his thoughts, I think he'd say that was an excellent demonstration of sportsmanship and athleticism, and you should all be proud of yourselves for overcoming so much adversity," Lou continues on, his voice wavering a little with emotion.

"The Queens?!" Tanwen says, cupping her hands over her mouth as she starts to quiver.

"And that he's so sorry. ...For not making it, I mean," Lou adds, choking up a little. "So, uh, did you two have anything you'd like to say to your fans?"

"I'M THE DRAGON QUEEN OF ZACK ISLAND!!" Tanwen suddenly bursts out, leaping in the air and pumping her limbs. "I'm going to rename it DRAGON ISLAND! No, TANWEN ISLAND?!"

"I, uhh -"

Lou looks a bit lost for words as Tanwen starts running around in circles like an airplane.

"I'm going to have a REAL DRAGON LAIR under a VOLCANO, I am!!" the dragon girl shouts in a high-pitched voice.

"By the way, me and my granddaughter are huge fans," Lou murmurs to Chevy while the would-be viewership is distracted by Tanwen's antics.

"And I am going to have SO MANY SHEEP...!"

Log created on 10:39:15 09/12/2024 by Tanwen, and last modified on 17:37:26 09/27/2024.