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Ugh. There being only a handful of “hearing enhanced” individuals in this tournament (herself and Rylen the only ones she knew about), the fox girl was beginning to think they were setting this up on purpose. Granted, at least it was only bothersome, and not painful, otherwise she would have climbed up into that DJ booth and torn some wires out, or something. Also, while she didn’t mind pop, it had to be good pop, not that pretty-boy crap that she’d thought she’d gotten rid of back in the states.

So it was, the crowd would find their up-and-coming tournament sensation standing on the east edge of the stage, looking completely brooding and unhappy. Too bad it was a concert and not a party or club, otherwise she would have had the DJ bring up a good beat, and show off some of her meager breakdancing skills. Too bad she’d just have to settle for watching for her opponent, ears flattened somewhat against her hat. Yup, she was wearing her hat again, with there being less danger of losing it here than in the last round. Other than that, her outfit was the same. She’d begged (read: bullied) the officials into dragging Dan’s machina, along with her weapons, up from the bottom of the ocean, and thus had her trusty staff and daggers back, settled into their usual spots on her belt, after a good cleaning from the salt water, of course.

The vixen rubbed one of her ears, glad that her hearing was back to normal, even if the music was bothersome because of it. She’d hated being deaf; it felt like such a weakness. Also, her arm was completely back to normal as well, the doctor’s having removed those damnable screws and bars, and the bone finally healing to its regular density. While she waited, she tested it out a bit, rolling her arm and throwing practice punches, loosening herself up while also making sure a sudden hyperextension wouldn’t send her into fits of agony.

Hmm…that gave her an idea. Something to please the crowd, and warm her up. Robyn couldn’t breakdance to this, but she could sure as hell spar to it. The cursed girl moved a little more into the center of the stage, and with nary a warning, flew into a series of fast and flashy martial arts combos. She spun, ducked, punched, kicked, and clawed, sending the crowd into a roaring frenzy at the display of prowess. This was what they had come to see. They wanted to see blood, and Robyn was showing that she was quite capable of bringing that blood from her opponent. Her hair whipped around, tied back into a ponytail, and slowly but surely, her grumpy expression morphed into her trademark grin. This was what the fights were about, Selene be damned. It was about pushing yourself to your limits, and finding you had more to give. It was the joy of knowing your skill, and having fun with it. The rush of moves was getting her blood pumping and her adrenaline racing, getting her combat ready and her mood up.

It didn't matter who her opponent was, this late in the tournament, all the scrubs should have been wiped out. Which meant she had a challenge ahead of her.

Robyn, by that point, had really started to get into her show, but she was still observant, and hell, it didn’t take a genius to figure out something was going on when the music changed. Her movements slowed, bringing herself down slowly into a relaxed pose, right leg somewhat forward, and her gently fisted hands resting lightly against her knees.

The fox smirked, breathing a little more deeply than normal, but she was most certainly not out of breath. She herself watched Rosalyn as the announcers…well, announced her presence. The succubus would indeed draw Robyn’s gaze, but it was apparent by the look in those bright green eyes that the fox girl was not under the same spell everyone else seemed to be bound by. Oh sure, the girl was hot, and Robyn definitely noted that, giving her opponent a once-over. But Robyn herself could hold some of that same “magic”, although the sources were very different. The fox flashed a fanged grin, a predatory grin, raising one hand to lightly push the brim of her hat up even as she somewhat mimicked the other girl’s pose.

“I prefer “sexy as hell”, but cute’ll do too.” Her tail lashed playfully as she winked at Rosalyn, blowing her a short kiss. Most of the male audience, and some of the female, went wild at that. Two sexy girls about to tear each other up? There wasn’t a single camera that wasn’t pointing center stage, and the crew were already arguing over who got the rights to sell the video online.

But Robyn wasn’t concerned with any of that. She hadn’t gotten a chance to have much fun during her fights, and flirting? Definitely right up her alley. Her southern twang rang out over the speakers as she made a two fingered salute, still smirking that predatory grin. “Ready when you are, hun.”

The crowd went wild over Rosalyn’s actions, whether she was paying attention or not. Normally, the crowd would be screaming for the fight to start, but, in this case, they were making an exception.

Robyn had pretty much tuned out the audience as well; they were of little importance right now. What mattered was that she seemed to have found someone who played the same games she did. And that that person thought they could actually mess with her that way. It was laughable. And indeed, that’s what she did, laugh. Although, it should actually be called more of a chuckle. A loud and long chuckle, but a chuckle nonetheless.

She gave the girl another wink. “Foxes may be sly, but never slow, hun.” Considering they’d been keeping their gazes locked on one another, her next action should be very visible, even in the flashing lights. Robyn weakened Selene’s cage the slightest amount, allowing her bright green eyes to start flickering with a glowing red. At the same time, a tattoo faded into being around her neck, the only visible part being a fox paw, clutched around her artery, with the limb trailing down and behind her back. While she was still smirking, her gaze was dark. “And demons are even worse.”

Then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, both markings were gone, and it was just the normal fox girl standing there. Robyn had had her mind messed with, weakened, and beaten on numerous occasions since she’d turned 16, thanks to the fox spirit. Some admittedly hot-as-hell girl would have to work very, very hard to phase her.

“But I’m willin’ to oblige, if that’s what you want.” Of course, Robyn hadn’t failed to notice the whip curled at Rosalyn’s waist. So it was, she knew exactly what she was doing when she slowly closed the distance between them, tail swaying behind her as she walked. If Rosalyn showed any sign of hostility, her hands would dive for her daggers. But, if the girl was sincere about having a little fun first….

Her voice was smooth and low as she smirked. “How…intimate…would you like to get?”

Robyn got pretty close to the other girl, stopping only a few feet or so away when Rosalyn spoke. As the words flowed out, the fox girl noticed a tug in her mind, much like when Selene was trying to subtly (or not so subtly) influence her to do something she didn’t want to, like indulging in her violent side. Luckily, Robyn was quite used to those little tugs, and promptly squashed the suggestion, still staring into Rosalyn’s eyes. Selene swarmed in her mind, sending flashes of anger and various other images that basically translated to “Who the ******** does this girl think she is that she can mess with me?” Robyn gave the spirit a swift mental kick, but she had a point. Her opponent didn’t seem to realize that they were apparently on equal footing here.

The vixen had a few options. She could pretend like the girl had caught her in whatever she had done, and then surprise her. She could just straight out attack. Or…yeaaaaah….

Her expression fell, no longer smirking, but, almost disappointed? ”Aww, and here I thought you wanted to get to know me better. Now you’re tryin’ to send me away?” Her expression grew sharp and her eyes narrowed. ”Tsk tsk.” She glanced at the crowd around them, those who could hear what the girls were saying booing as the succubus derailed the flirting. ”Me? Their champion? Pah. I could care less about them; I’m much more interested in you.”

Her eyes were still sharp as her smirk grew. ”How ‘bout instead, you come over here?” Robyn beckoned with one finger, flashing a fanged grin. Right when she had started speaking, she’d released her pheromone, glad she was close enough for it to take effect. Now, the question was, how much would it work? Rosalyn’s suggestion worked on sight; Robyn’s worked on smell. Not that anyone could smell what she was doing, oh no. Just laying out the means of application.

She’d used it before on Omi, with interesting results. She wasn’t even sure it would work on the girl, seeing how similar they were, but it was worth a shot. The fox girl would suddenly seem very interesting, center stage worthy, ironically enough. A desire to be closer to her, in any and every way possible.

Of course, it was entirely possible that Rosalyn would throw off her power just as the fox girl had thrown off hers. But the only thing she would lose if it didn’t work, was time.

[Seduction: Active]

Hmm. Robyn wasn’t quite sure if it had worked or not. Rosalyn could be pulling the same thing she herself almost had; pretending it had worked, then “surprise!” Or, it could be having an interesting effect, like with Omi. Or, it could have worked exactly as she had wanted it to. No matter what was going on, the fox girl was alert and on guard, even if her posture looked relaxed. Her right hand had done the beckoning, while her left was settled against her leg. As with nearly everything she did, there was a reason for this. For of course, since Robyn was left-handed, that was the side that was ready to take action, should anything unusual arise. Also, even if everything went according to plan, she was going to need that arm to move fast.

So, as the succubus stepped even closer, Robyn shifted a slight amount forward as well, having the pair so close, they were almost touching. Almost, but not quite. Rosalyn seemed to want to remedy that though, bringing her hand up, reaching towards her face. Pity it wasn’t the right hand, would have made the vixen’s job easier. The purple-haired girl wouldn’t feel any warmth, even when her face was inches from her opponent’s. She chuckled, and the whole crowd was silent at that point, even with Erin Karter back to singing. They wanted the action, and it seemed they were going to get it. Only one more second…

”Maybe later.”

With that, Robyn’s left arm was nearly a blur as she plucked her dagger from its sheath, and aimed to thrust it directly into Rosalyn’s gut. At the same time, her right arm, which had been hovering around her torso, moved to block or defend against any incoming attack, whether there would be one or not.

Such a shame, really. She had been enjoying the flirting, and the back and forth. It was also quite a bit of fun to somewhat copy everything the succubus was doing, even down to the abilities. They were quite alike, it seemed. Except for their motivations. Rosalyn was about control of others. Robyn was about control of herself. The tournament allowed the fox girl to give in to Selene’s wishes, without killing anyone. Sex and violence were the constant tugs on her psyche, and she had spent 8 long years to have the control she did now, to prevent her from tearing apart anyone who struck even the slightest nerve. And she’d found the hard way that ignoring Selene completely was even worse, since the desire built up until it weakened her enough that the fox demon could take over.

So, she tried to find as much enjoyment as possible in what she did. Hence, the flirting. Unlike Rosalyn, Robyn would have actually been interesting in a little side fun. Hell, she might still be. But there would be none of that suggestion stuff. And the fox girl had to teach her a lesson as to why messing with her was a bad idea. The vixen gave as well as she got, and oh man, was she giving it now.

[Seduction: Active]

Damn. Robyn, still staring into Rosalyn’s eyes, noticed when they flicked down to her side, and knew she’d been caught. Of course she made the attempt anyways, and due to how familiar she was with her daggers, the fox girl was at least able to slip the blade out of its sheath before the succubus grabbed her wrist. Unfortunately, only one side of the weapon was sharp, and it was the side pointed away from Rosalyn. Her hand pushed forward, trying to bring the weapon closer to its original destination.

Then the hand came for her throat, and it was only the fact that she had been expecting something like that, that allowed her right arm to rise up, grabbing her opponent’s wrist and holding the hand back from its target. Even though her hand was nearly touching the other’s, she still wouldn’t show any reaction to the heat coming from there. But, Robyn’s smooth expression was gone, her eyes narrowed and fangs bared, although the corners of her mouth were still quirked upwards in a smirk. They were almost exactly the same height, even if the vixen’s ears made her seem taller, so if the other girl looked up, they would be face to face, and she would see those green eyes were fierce, but excited; it was clear she was enjoying what was going on.

And possibly planning something else.

”Like I said before…” Robyn’s left hand suddenly shot down, her longer arm meaning Rosalyn would either have to let go or be dragged down with it. "Foxes are never slow." Whether Rosalyn went down or not, Robyn’s left shoulder would dip down as well, allowing her the leverage and angle to punch at the succubus’ jaw with her right hand, still gripping Rosalyn’s left. Considering the fox girl’s strength, getting hit by a punch from her would feel like getting hit with a sledgehammer, or some other similarly sized dense piece of metal.

Even after the punch, Robyn would keep her grip on Rosalyn’s wrist, nails digging into the girl’s skin, although luckily, she hadn’t extended her claws yet.

[Seduction: Active]

Well. This was a surprise, even if it shouldn’t have been. Robyn of all people should know not to judge a book by its cover. Or in this case, someone’s strength based on their size. The only reason her left arm wasn’t stopped completely was because it was always easier to push than to pull. Her right, however, was a different story, since they were both pushing. Her punch connected, but it was weak compared to what it could have been, and the succubus barely showed any reaction to it anyways, aside from a slight turning of the head.

Since having her body lower than the other girl’s was not a good thing, the fox girl’s shoulder rose back to its appropriate height. Again, thanks to her arm length, and the fact that Rosalyn had a hold of her wrist instead of her upper arm, the move would be hard to prevent, even if she were to try to tug her back down.

It seemed, though, that Rosalyn wouldn’t try to force her slight height advantage, instead going to squeeze Robyn’s wrist, incredibly hard. The vixen’s face changed from a smirk to a scowl as she felt the crushing pressure, the corners of her green eyes crinkling as she fought the pain. That…actually hurt. It wouldn’t crush it, or even break her wrist, but damned if it didn’t hurt like a b***h. Compared to a normal human, Robyn had a high threshold for pain, but in this world where everyone was superhuman, the fox girl only had an average tolerance for pain.

Ok, so. Getting in this girl’s grip was not a good idea, even if it wasn’t too bad right now. All it took was a little leverage, or one wrong move, but Robyn wasn’t going to let that happen. First things first, she had to get her wrist out of there so she could gain her hand and arm back. The cursed girl’s wrist suddenly twisted inwards and up in a rotating movement that focused on pushing through Rosalyn’s thumb; the weakest area of the grip. Considering the aptly named “thumb escape” technique could even be used against people many times stronger than yourself, their roughly equal strength should mean a success on Robyn’s part.

The other hand, well that was easy. Here, she was the one with the grip. Her right hand loosened the slightest amount, only enough for her arm to rotate up and over the succubus’ without actually having to move her opponent’s arm, leaving the back of her hand facing towards Rosalyn now, and slightly down as her grip resolidified. Her legs bent slightly, stabilizing her balance, her torso leaned back a little, and then she pulled. Pulled with all her might.

Robyn wanted to pull this girl up into the air, swinging her up and over her head, body twisting to the side, then smash her down the other side to the stage in a thunderous crash. If her thumb escape had been successful, the fox girl’s left hand would do nothing but pull itself out of Rosalyn’s reach. If it hadn’t, and the succubus still held that crushing grip, Robyn would let her arm go slack, following the arc of her opponent’s trajectory, only to suddenly pull down once the other girl made it over her purple-haired head, adding more slamming force to the throw. Because of the angle needed to prevent herself from twisting an arm, this way would cause Rosalyn to twist sideways through the air and then on her front for the landing, whereas the one-armed throw would have her basically doing a frontflip, only she’d be landing on her back instead of on her feet.

From the moment she started the thumb escape, the possessed girl would have started pooling energy in her hands, somewhat similar to Rosalyn’s own technique. The temperature of her hands increased, but there were no other signs of anything happening.

Yet.

[Seduction: Active]
[Flame Claw: Charging]