Into the dragon's den (for Aeri)

[ThatPolishDude]

Kate's initial assault sputtered short as Athena ducked low and went to grapple, no doubt hoping to haul Kate off her feet and slam to the ground. But that motion took time, not much by most standards, but this early on in a fight, long enough for Kate to react. She'd sprawl, using Athna's own grip around her waist to drag her lower beneath her, further reinforcing it with an elbow to the back!

This was not all for her plan, however, as she would then wrap her arms around the woman's neck, rolling them over in such a way that she'd land straddling the other woman's lap as she'd squeeze her arms tighter around her in an attempt to choke the woman with a guillotine!

"First time for everething"

[Aeri]

An elbow sunk into her back, causing Athena to wince a little bit- Kate was surprisingly skilled in the arts of MMA. Sure she had watched a couple matches, but she hasn’t paid too much attention to what was going on.

A mistake she paid for, as she sunk to a knee and biceps started to coil around her neck. Shooting her wrist up to block the opponents full access to her neck, she and Kate rolled in a way where Kate was straddling her lap- but Athena was still in a sitting position. She swept her foot quick as possible, dropping a hand to Kate’s hip, before lifting both of them up..

And being reckless.

She shot up, tilted forwards and let gravity do her job, before spiking Kate down head first into the ground with all of her force, bashing her into the canvas like a hammer!

[ThatPolishDude]

Kate did not manage to get full control of Athena's neck, but the angle she did get was still good enough to be worth a squeeze, that was until she felt her opponent's hands on her hips. It was an awkward position to stand up from, but somehow, the redhead still managed to start doing so, and it took a split second for Kate to realise what was happening.

Immediately, she let go of her opponent, getting rid of a vital anchor for the attempt at a slam, using her hand instead to slow Athena's rise as she herself got up and sent a knee directly for the woman's jaw before backing up a few steps.

"You're gonna have to put your serious hat on, I'm not as easy as the rest"

[Aeri]

A knee scraped her jaw, and the positions were reset. Kate was good at this, and then Athena realised something- she would actually be weary after the fight.

A small smile curved on her lips, but she didn’t explain it. Raising her palms in a defensive stance, she slowly crept towards Kate..

And then lunged.

Both of her fists smashed downwards, for a feint.

Twisting, Athena smashed her heel upwards and right into Kate’s jawline for a solid heel kick!

[ThatPolishDude]

Kate saw the shift in her opponent after what she said and smiled in return. Now they were gonna dance for real. And that was the part that had her confused when Athena threw both her hands forward, not really something you'd do... And that was the point that the woman's kick connected with the side of her head, sending her stumbling to the side, hand meeting the mat for just a second before she got back up.

She was not gonna stay indebted, though, of course, the time it would take for Athena to pull back from such a committed move should be roughly the same as it took Kate to get to even footing, and as soon as she got it, she'd spring straight back in! Swaying as if to build momentum for a punch she'd focus on evading anything Athena would try to throw at her this time as she'd close, to close for what she pretended before throwing an upwards elbow to the other woman's jaw, hoping it would open her up enough for Kate to slam her fist into her side, right around where the liver should be!

[Aeri]

Now it was getting intense, and Athena was getting feeling in her limbs. After a while of no real action, she had been feeling a little rusty but Kate had sharpened her back up almost immediately.

Just as she steadied herself, Kate would lunge.

Athena brought her fists to her face, intent on avoiding the blow but- it never came. Too late, she realised it was a feint and just barely turned her body to have Kate’s fist meet her abs instead- a rough blow, but better than a liver shot. Athena however, instead of backing off, went all in- wrapping her arms around Kate’s head and bringing her face close and into her own collarbone, keeping her close as she went for a devastating series of knees to her own abs to return the favour!

“You’re dangerous- I like it!”

[ThatPolishDude]

Kate managed to connect but not quite the way she intended, landing her in Athena's clutches where she was quickly met with a knee to her gut, then another, each of which was followed by a sharp breath and a groan of pain, she had no plan however to just stand ther and be a punching bag, when the third came up, she'd cut it short, puting her hand on the woman's thigh before it could build momentum, then sliding behind it while her other hand went to the small of Athena's back, stepping at an angle past her and lifting her up to then swing and slam her to the ground!

"Oh, I'm just getting started" she'd shoot as a reply, a wide smile on her face as she'd place her knee on the woman's chest and move to slam her fist down onto her head!

[Aeri]

Kate was good, but Athena could take as much as she got. While getting the purple haired wombat in a situation where her abs would be aggrieved, Kate managed to stop her midway, grasping her thigh and holding the small of her back.

Athena grinned at her.

“Damn, girl. You shoul- NGH!”

Unfortunately, Kate never found out what she should do, as she slammed Athena into the canvas, dropping her knee on the boobs, restricting her breathing a smidge and then her eyes widened as a fist smashed into her lip, knocking her face to the side, droplets of blood spattering into the mat.

But Athena, when knowing she was gonna fall, had lifted her leg up just enough. Her flexibility was high, and she hauled her leg up, smashing it into Kate’s chin from below in a vengeful kick!

[ThatPolishDude]

Kate moved fast to get the throw in before things got worse for her but as she tossed Athena to the ground and got on top, she was not given enough time to get a propper full maunt before the woman reaached her leg up, slamming it up against Kate's chin, the impact of it forcing her up to her feet, head snapping back as she'd stagger, her vision blurring for a moment before she snapped back to reality with her back hitting the cage wall.

She tasted blood in her mouth, wiping the corner of her mouth and smiling. "Decided to wake up I see" She said, her tone teasing even though she did not intend it to come out that way, not that she minded. Now that they both got properly warmed up, she pushed herself off the wall and gestured to Athena to come at her!

[Aeri]

“What can I say, you’re very invigorating~”

She teased, leaning forwards. Her fingers curled, as she bounced on the balls of her feet for just a second and then.. she snapped.

Lunging forwards, shifting her weight from left to right, she made sure to try and corner Kate against the cage. Her forearm struck out, sacrificing impact for a more guaranteed hit to Kate’s forehead, aiming to shove her face into the cage, using her momentum to pinion the woman against the steel wire and smash her knee directly into Kate’s liver!

“The room you’re gonna stay in when I knock ya out is on me, by the way!”