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Maebe's free, easy smile melted away when she heard those words and thought immediately of things she probably shouldn't have. She had no reason to believe Dawson had meant it that way, but she had no reason to believe he didn't, because only he would. His shield breathed against her, warming her skin until she could tell it had covered her with that thin sheen of protection that wasn't Thaw. She felt the rumble of jealousy within, but her own emotions far outweighed Thaw's petty moment.

"Oh." She muttered, the spark of bitterness finally in her voice for the first time that day. "As long as you feel better."

She refused to attack. She refused to do anything except stare at him with betrayal, as if his barrier had been some kind of insult. And it was. Taym would have never put a barrier on her when he taught her how to fight. She wanted to refuse it - she wanted to rip it off of her shield and her skin until she was raw and there was nothing but blood and her left, but she didn't know how.

So instead, she just stared at him.

"Fight me fairly, or don't fight me at all, Dawson. I promised you I wouldn't change. Now you have to promise me back. If you're just going to baby me like I'm some china doll that you're afraid of dropping again, then this friendship is over."

Now it was she who felt like she was about to drop the china doll. He fell silent and wouldn't even respond, and she knew she'd struck a blow much heavier than anything she could have done with Thaw. She couldn't stand back now, because she'd meant it, and she still meant it, but it was easier to stand up for herself when she could have hidden behind the barrier of apathy.

Now, he knew how she felt, and she'd struck despite that. She was more worried than ever.

He struck her hard, and she let a cry of pain escape before she could stifle it. They'd been doing so well. She'd been doing so well, and then she crumbled like a house of cards. She thought she was stronger than this.

Rubbing her face from the hit, she brought Thaw up to try and dive for him, and mistook where he was. Thaw slid right past his side, and her face slammed right into his stomach. She wasn't used to missing, but if it was going to be with anyone, she'd rather it be with him.

"I take it back. Apparently I deserve to be babied, because I fight like one." She snorted out, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "Don't tell anyone I did that."

She wondered, for a split second, if having a tummy really was good defense. Her own hand reached down to pat her flat stomach, and then she let the idle thought go.

"Exactly." She giggled out, gaining her footing for another attack. She surged forward, and then curiosity cockblocked her from taking anything seriously. Because tummy.

She poked it with her trident and bit her lower lip. "Does your size really help you take a hit? Real ones, I mean. Not that pathetic flop I just pulled a minute ago." Maybe she was too flimsy to be a Moon.

"Oh." Instantly, her curiosity vanished. If it didn't help protect him, or minimize pain, she no longer envied it. Perhaps it was just the idea of being allowed to have a gut that she envied. She idea that there was anything inside of her as attractive as he, that would have made up for even the slightest imperfection on her skin.

"Too bad, because it makes for such a tempting target." She grinned, digging the trident into the shield of his stomach. Her body hopped up as she did so, weakening the blow in place of enjoying herself while she did it. "I kind of want to bite your tummy, like, all the time." But then again, Maebe wanted to bite everything all the time.

What a good question.

"It feels so good to sink my teeth into something. I don't know. Satisfying. Like, I don't want to hurt anyone, I just like the feel of it." She ducked under the shield after it bashed against her, popping up between him and it, and got up on her toes. Her teeth sunk into his shoulder - enough to hurt, not enough to injure.

Then she shook her head like a dog with a toy, and growled.

Maebe was about to show Dawson the meaning of the phrase cheap shot.

He warned her to be careful about the taste of him, and her teeth gave way, just enough to be able to glare up at him threateningly. Her lips parted and her tongue stretched out long and flat, licking across the edge of the bite she'd just taken as if she was trying to heal it. That was the cheap - and soon came the shot.

She whipped her trident around and Thaw dove into Dawson's Fear shield, without Syn there to physically block it. She bent her knees and used the force of her entire body to push, shove, and break. All that while, that same hungry, threatening look blazed brightly in her eyes.

Maebe looked extremely satisfied with herself when she hopped away, side-eyeing him carefully in case he tried to sneak up on her. "You should know, Dawson, the old saying. You are what you eat. You can't leave a bad taste in my mouth."

She strode back to starting position, and crouched. Her expression softened with humored remorse. "I'll try to play fair now. I promise."

She surged forward and clanged against his shield, beaming up at him with a big, overly happy smile that said her promise was a coupon good for one use, and this had been it.

"Holy-"

She hadn't actually expected Syn to come at her like that.

When the weapon slammed against her shield, she could feel the earth digging under her feet from the impact, and she grinned despite the pain. "I like that." She admitted, even as she struck out against him once more. "You're finding new ways to use her, huh? I'm pretty impressed."