Proof of Fang: Yuki Kazikura vs Shimmerlace Snuggleblossom

[Malkavia]

It was a Japanese crowd. You could tell from their obedience to Yuki’s cues. One moment they're roaring kudos for putting another opponent down, then in the next moment. You could hear a pin drop. Need a hand?

And what would Angelina think of a scene like this one? Shimmerlace could just picture her lilting, mocking voice, Losah express, next stop: solving the large motor skill issue. Shimbah learns how to walk while Yooki Toots supervises.

Shimmerlace slammed her bare palm on the mat. Pink fog billowed from her wrist, and a staff expanded from its spring loaded cartridge fast enough that it seemed to blink into being, golden pommel on the mat, glittering jeweled heart pointing straight up. Shimmerlace used her grip on it to push herself up before swinging it around – inches in front of Yooki Toots’ nose.

”I bear the salt of another world. A fey tree stands and climbs of its own power.”

The bell for the second round hadn't rung, and Shimmerlace had no intentions of instigating any move that might jeopardize what was left of the match. If Yuki made no move to grab the staff, then after a beat, Shimmerlace would give another flick, and another puff of fairy glitter would see the Court’s Staff vanish into nothing

[CaptainL]

Yuki had made the offer to help Shimmerlace back to her feet. She knew this match was a tense one, and that both combatants had a lot riding on victory, but that didn't mean she didn't have respect for her opponent. For how...eccentric she could be, she had certainly proven herself a capable wrestler thus far, and Yuki had to give credit to her skills, especially knowing how new she was to wrestling. For that matter, even if she was invested in beating Yuki, she had never been obnoxious about it. She had never spited her as a person, or posited herself as superior - and that was more than Yuki could say about some opponents.

However, Shimmer had made up her mind - if she was going to get back up, it would be on her own terms. She sprung a staff from out of her sleeve, pushing it against the ground to help her back up to her feet. At the sight of such a trick, Yuki took a step back to give her space, her eyes wide. There were a few cheers that went through the crowd, too, impressed by the pink-haired girl's theatrics. Still, just moments later, Yuki let out a breath. She stood with her arms folded and her feet apart, and she rolled her head from one side to the other, working the kinks out of her neck, before she bent at the knees to sink back into a stance.

"...Okay, that's pretty neat," she muttered. "But if you're going to prove yourself, don't get caught up in being impressive. What's really important is training, and honing your skills. Especially for where you are right now." Nevertheless, Yuki's eyes narrowed as she watched Shimmerlace closely, preparing for when the action would heat up again.

[Malkavia]

The pin was bitter enough, but it wasn’t until Yuki started talking that the color started rising in Shimmer’s cheeks. Where you are now—Well, there’s no fighting that implication, is there? Angelina would have the right of it there too. If you fight and tumble and splat like a baby bird, you haven’t got any right to say shit when they start plucking your down. If Shimmer was honest, Yuki was being positively gentle.

”Well, Yooks…”

DING DING!

Round two found the Seelie Maître cringing at the hammer on the brass flange of bell. Her jaw snapped together as she hunched down and began to circle. There was tension to her jaw, but she kept her distance long and her movements cat-like slow.

”You didn’t have to accept this match. Or be half as kind as you’ve been—fuck knows what you’ve thrown, you’ve earned a bit of caterwaling and preening if it half suited you. You’re a fine woman and a better wrestler.” Was it stalling? Mayhaps. Her gut still ached, and every breath still made her gut loosen with relief. Still, something smouldered in the fairy’s eye. ”But the mystic arts aren’t for any layabout or showboating fuck and I don’t…dedicate to ‘em to be ‘impressive.’ Aight?”

[CaptainL]

Yuki sucked a breath in and let it out, and her fists clenched at her sides as she rolled her shoulders. The first fall had passed, and now the second was upon them. As the bell rang, she looked back up at her opponent, and her eyes narrowed in focus. She knew she would have to be ready. In just moments, she could expect the action to kick back into gear - her last match had been more than enough to teach her that she would need to stay on her toes at any given moment. In fact, even now, the snide tone in Shimmerlace's voice, and the nickname she used for her, was enough to make Yuki's eyelid twitch just a little as her body tensed up. She knew that both of them had dealt with the Marauder in the past, but it seemed that Angelina's influence went deep, and Shimmer's conduct felt all too familiar.

But for as much as Shimmerlace sent Yuki's thoughts flashing back to Angelina...she didn't do much more than that. Her impression fell flat. She might have talked like Angelina, but she wasn't backing herself up the way the Marauder would have. Yuki knew that if she really was across the ring from Angelina Tarrant, she would have already struck by now - she wouldn't dare to give Yuki a moment to herself. For all she boasted about not being all talk, Shimmer wasn't doing much to prove it. The bell had already rung, but she was just standing there, lost in her own monologue. Leaving herself open.

Yuki huffed under her breath. She wasn't even going to give Shimmer the satisfaction of talking her down, and acting like that was going to work. She was going to have to show her the futility of her actions. Without saying another word, without even so much as a smirk or a nod, the raven-haired girl lowered her head - and lunged in closer, getting into Shimmerlace's range to deliver a chop across her chest!

"Your choice, then..."

[Malkavia]

The chop cracked Shimmer’s chest, whip-like and loud enough to reverberate through the steel ventilation overhead. The fairy herself gave yelp and backed up one, then two steps, hands to her chest. Pain fissured through her sternum like spiderline cracks in a mirror, and she grit her teeth and mentally heaved back on this and all the accumulated exhaustion of the first round, shoving it into the cracked and shaking glass bottles.

Yooks—Yuki toots. Yuki Skybeastly Sugarboots, whose wings carried talons.

The Scion had been right about one thing. Here was an ideal opponent. Generous enough to toss the Lioness a match, mature enough to offer genuine hammer-to-the-anvil effort, and. And! Now she carried enough grit of the real and harsh world to remind you of the important facts. For instance: No one gives a rancid rat’s shite about “mystical arts” if you don’t carry the win. A point, again, where Marauder and Skybeast coincided in their thinking. The fairy shouldn’t have needed the reminder, after the big ol’ tip her “fans” had given her in the gibbet.

A growl guttered in Shimmer’s throat. She’d started in her corner, and Yuki’d pushed her practically back-to-cable against the ropes. Her eyes blazed, and she hopped, lightning-quick to the first rope. Her knees bent, thighs pistoned. Eyes locked on Yuki, Shimmerlace gave a shout and launched her glittering pink self cross-body at the Skybeast.

[CaptainL]

Shimmerlace was going to make big, high-faluting excuses for her actions. She was going to launch into a monologue in order to prop herself up from the criticism Yuki was throwing her way. But in doing so, she was doing the exact opposite of what she was trying to achieve. Yuki didn't care about excuses, and she wasn't here to listen to Shimmer ramble. If she really wanted to prove that she wasn't all talk, she would have to show her she was worth taking seriously as a threat. To that end, Yuki wouldn't entertain her outburst with words. She would show her opponent the sort of action she was looking for - by throwing a chop straight across her chest!

As the pink-haired girl went reeling, Yuki dropped lower, bending at the knees to sink into a stance. Her eyes locked onto her foe, setting her in focus. She had just landed a glancing blow - now, the ball was in Shimmerlace's court. Yuki wanted to see how she was going to respond. That was what would tell her if Shimmer had taken her lesson to heart or not. And, sure enough, her response was much more to Yuki's liking - she wouldn't put on any theatrics or give any speeches; she would just throw herself against the ropes to bounce back at Yuki!

The brunette nodded her head, seeing that Shimmerlace was at last taking this seriously. But she couldn't just stand around watching, either. Shimmer was now flying back at her at full force - and Yuki had to be ready for it! If she let her hit her, the momentum she had built behind her charge could well have bowled Yuki off her feet. But she wouldn't let that happen. If Shimmer was out to impress Yuki, it would take more than just the one move. She was going to have to keep up with her challenge. And it was up to Yuki to keep up the pressure on her!

In an instant, Yuki jumped back up, acting on reflex to protect herself! Her hands shot out in front of her, as Shimmerlace came near. If she could time it just right, she would grab for the girl's arm - and pull her in closer to try and drag her off her feet, taking her down with an arm drag! The momentum of her charge would still carry through to Yuki, but she would ride with that - she'd throw herself to the mat so that she would pull Shimmer down, then kick up her hips to roll back and land on top of her. If all that worked, Yuki would keep a hold of Shimmerlace's wrist, pulling back at her arm - and from there, she'd grab the joint with her other hand, giving it a firm twist to put on the pressure of a wristlock!

[Malkavia]

Plucked from the air–that's what it felt like. As if she were soaring along, wind in her face, and some ground-tethered lasso lasso grabs her wrist. Up and over she goes, and, ker-fuckin-splat.

As soon as she hits the ground, Shimmer’s fingers press into the mat. Teeth grit, she tries to roll, but Yuki’s weight keeps her pinned chest to mat. While the feychild’s mind darts for a response, Skybeast takes a handle on her wrist. She twists. The sinew in Shimmer’s arm wrenches tight and pain arcs from hip, up the back, into the throbbing joint.

Wrist-lock–ok. She knows that one. Except when her brain reaches for the counter, the shelf’s empty, like the five-times reviewed math formula, night before the test, flown the coop. Mouth goes dry, frustrating heaves, she groans. Every second she hesitates, cheek to mat, sputtering and shaking and growling, is another opportunity for Yuki to tighten in or transition to some worse coil.

So she YANKED.

Wrong move. The force of her rotation exacerbated the torque on her shoulder. Halfway through the movement a shudder ran through her, she hitched her breath, gasped. Her face turned red and the shout that gulped up her throat caught on the forced intake of breath.

Don’t you fuckin’ tap. In spite of the stars of pain burning holes in her shoulder joint, she didn't–-and that was all she could manage.

[CaptainL]

With her fingers wrapped around Shimmerlace's wrist, Yuki had her opponent under control. Her eyes narrowed in focus as a serious look crossed her face. She could feel the tossing and turning of the pink-haired girl's body beneath her own, and she rocked back and forth in tune, but she knew she couldn't stop now. Now, she had Shimmer right where she wanted her - she might have been resisting, but it wouldn't be enough to stop Yuki. This was her chance to take charge of the match. And, as she was quick to remind herself, that was important. Yuki was here to prove she could take on whatever challenge was ahead of her; that she wouldn't let her loss to Angelina hold her back. Shimmerlace saw Yuki as her litmus test; if she could beat her, she could beat Angelina. If she faltered now, she would fail them both. If Yuki wanted to live up to the expectations that were being placed on her, she couldn't fall behind now. She needed to give Shimmer the utmost of her potential!

All those thoughts ran through Yuki's head as she held onto her opponent's arm, and the thought of each stiffened her fingers as she held on with the determination to prove herself! She gave another firm yank back at Shimmerlace's wrist, looking to extend the joint just a little bit further, and to put just a little more strain on her foe! But she wouldn't stop there, either - now that Shimmer was down, Yuki had her chance to take things a step beyond. Biting at her lip, she kicked up her legs then, attempting to throw them around Shimmerlace's bicep. If she could get a good grip, she would pull back, using her legs to keep her arm straight and transition into an armbar!

[Malkavia]

Had she ever stepped off the ropes and not wound up splattered, smothered, crotched, or crushed? It had been almost a year’s worth of matches, now, yet…

Caught up being impressive. The phrase kept throbbing, louder and hotter in her gut than the lock fraying her arm. It made her jaw lock teeth into lip until the skin split. A child showing off—A lifetime’s work stitching the fey weave of a twilight sky into reality gets shrunk down to that. Push back and they punch you in the gut, and not even a grunt to acknowledge you'd flapped your lips.

Whiiiiinahs…

Yuki’s weight shifted and Shimmer’s brain spun into overdrive. She cast a mental image of the two knotted-up wrestlers, orange and pink. A spike of pain from the tightened lock sent a ripple through the picture and a gasp through her lips but--focus. There's a tilt in her balance, a shift in the legs pinning the fairy’s chest to the mat—and there's the path. Armbar, but spied a second early.

...Don’t get…

Roll. Disrupt the leverage. Shimmerlace would try, following the imagined play just on the edge of her vision, to move with Yuki’s rotation instead of against it. Tuck the legs in, continue to roll. Then her free arm would try and snake around Yuki’s leg, get a grip on the skin, and she'd push to keep on turning until Skybeast shoulders pressed against mat.

...Treasurah.

[CaptainL]

With Shimmerlace seemingly down and vulnerable, Yuki was ready to move in for the kill. She had her by the arm, and it seemed that she was buckling under all the pressure Yuki was willing to bring to bear against her. Her teeth clenched as she kicked up her legs to sling them around Shimmer's arm, ready to transition from one hold to another - to put more pressure on the Feychild. Yuki wasn't exactly a submission specialist, and she usually let her strikes and aerial moves do the talking for her. But right now, she saw that she had the chance to keep Shimmerlace down, and to keep her locked firmly under her control. Besides, while the pink-haired girl had definitely thrown her some curveballs, Yuki wasn't exactly convinced she was on her level. Even Yuki's submissions, she was sure, could do the job.

But it seemed like those curveballs hadn't stopped coming! Just as Yuki went to move into position to lock her legs around Shimmerlace's chest, the Young Lioness rolled her weight to the side! Yuki could feel the surface beneath her give way, and she let out a gasp. Shimmerlace still had some surprises in store up her sleeve; in fact, she was showing a respectable command of counters, as she managed to get Yuki by the leg and push her over a little further - using that grip on her leg, then, to roll her into a pin!

The referee quickly came to their side to start the count. "One!" But it was the speed with which Shimmerlace had countered that held Yuki back more than her strength or skill. She stayed down a second, looking up with wide eyes, but that was because she was taken by surprise at the predicament she'd so suddenly found herself in. She hadn't realized Shimmerlace would still have so much fight in her!

Yuki, however, would waste no time setting that matter right! Before the ref's hand could come down a second time, she bucked with her hips and kicked her legs into the air. She wasn't just looking to escape the pin, though. Shimmer had started a chain of counters - and Yuki wanted to keep it going. Yuki was impressed with what she'd accomplished thus far, but she wanted to see what else she could bring out of her if she kept the momentum on her, and forced her to keep adapting! If Shimmerlace wanted to prove herself, she'd have to outdo Yuki at her own game!

Yuki hoped that by swinging her legs up, not only would she break out of Shimmerlace's grasp, she would also be able to throw those legs around her head, ensnaring her in a headscissor! Keeping Shimmer's head under control, she would again roll her weight to the side, trying to pull her down after her. Now, it was up to Shimmerlace to show Yuki she was capable of keeping up - and Yuki was cautiously eager to see what she could do next.

"I know you aren't all talk," Yuki muttered. "The key is knowing when to apply your skills! That's what I want to see!"