37th Trial of Ymiden, 720
Underground Fighting Arena
Underground Fighting Arena
For the first few moments, Valmond merely scoffed. Soon the scoffing turned into pure humourous chuckling. Then his laughter died into a stoic expression, one of stern disposition. He finally came to realise that Isodol was serious. Was her proposition so outlandish? It wasn't like he knew anything about her, good nor bad. Therefore, he couldn't make any assumptions as to her character or her reputation. His laughter seemed like an ignorant accusation to her unworthiness and Isodol didn't like it.
"I'm serious," she deadpanned, losing her smile in all but a singular heartbeat.
Valmond noticed her dejection and straightened his back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed," he explained. "I've just never had anyone take up my case before. Are you sure you want to manage such a novice?"
Isodol contemplated for a moment. Regardless what ranking he held in the arms of unarmed combat, he had shown his true colours up on that ring. He surely hadn't seemed like much of a novice then. He might have been an underdog, sure, but she felt like he held much promise, a lot of potential. It would have been a complete waste to look him over. Besides, someone might snatch him up as their own and claim the bounty that came with trusting their gut. Her natural greediness encouraged her to jump on this opportunity while it was still fresh.
"You give yourself too much doubt," she said waving her hand in the air by way of dismissal.
"I apologise."
Isodol's crystalline orbs reached Valmond's brown eyes. They were like mud, murky and undiluted. She tried to see past the darkness, but came up empty. She didn't know what he was truly thinking or feeling.
"It's okay," she said quickly, reaching out her hand so that it laid against his perspiring arm. A spark of emotion hit her all at once as soon as she did. She tasted something sweet, like candy with a heavy concentration of cocoa mixed within. He was most entirely a mess of entwined threads, a web of indecision. She tried to salvage any one sense of emotion, but there were too many to be able to grasp just one. Excitement, confusion, concern, worry, anticipation, all the adjectives infiltrated her mind like buzzing mosquitoes wanting their first taste of human blood. She tried to concentrate, to bring to light the main emotion that was plaguing the man. She tried to assuage his doubt, but she couldn't seem to grasp anything singular. Instead, she reached into the mass of twirling and swirling feelings, each denoted by a string connected to other strings connected somehow to a ball in the center; she grasped at it with her phantasmal hand. She willed her spark to travel back to her, bringing what she held with it. And thus many emotion breached the otherwise intangible surface.
Valmond held a face full of confusion. There were even hints of contradicting emotion sketched into his unblemished face. She, too, felt the contradiction. She felt confusion and excitement coupled with almost indiscernible amounts of anxiety. She also felt the need to do something spontaneous, impulsive.
She took a few seconds to refer back to a nostalgic moment she had had only a short time ago. She recalled the desire to be one of the participants fighting inside the ring. She recalled wanting to enhanced her skill at unarmed combat, perhaps even win a fight against a noble adversary.
Bringing her wants to life, she verbalized her thoughts to Valmond. "Perhaps you could show me some of your tricks from the match."
The awkward air between the two had dissipated. Valmond's mixed emotions had vaporized in the air like the moisture had been continuously evaporating from his skin.
Isodol hoped for a positive affirmation to her wishes. If he didn't act upon her request, then the awkwardness was sure to resume. Instead, her worries were silenced by his acceptance. "Sure," he stated. "That sounds like a good idea."
The crowd was starting to disband as the night crawl along. Only a few matches had occurred after Valmond's, and soon there were only a few stragglers adding an alcoholic beverage under their belt before returning to wherever it was they hailed from. Finally, when Isodol was sure she couldn't take any more waiting, her patience growing as thin as the first glaze of ice to a new winter fall, only a few people remained.
Valmond started to make his way up the steps and under the rope that designated the barrier between observer and competitor. Isodol deftly followed after him, subconsciously wringing her hands in anticipation. She wasn't anxious per se, but with attempting to try anything new, she was unable to accurately predict what would happen; she didn't know what to expect. She hadn't exactly be trained by anyone before, especially not by someone who was experienced in the way of martial arts.
"Show me your defensive position," Valmond practically commanded.
Oh shit, Isodol thought. Here we go.
