Getting Caught Fighting With the Boys.

[†Kazira Astras†]

Kazira was frustrated. Every-time she wanted to sign up to fight but every-time that she wanted to sign up she was told that she wasn't allowed. She growled under her breathe. Moros sat beside her and watched as she dug through her bag. She was up to something and that little fact was enough for him to keep giving her weary glances. She let out a soft 'a-ha' before she pulled out her cloak. They never said that she couldn't wear a cloak. She had bought a male shirt and breeches earlier and had changed into them. They were obviously a little big on her but she could deal with it. She put on a mask that covered the lower part of her face and pulled her hair into a thick ponytail. It wasn't uncommon for males to have longer hair if they had been traveling and that was going to be what she told people if they asked. She had bond her breasts as tightly as she could while still being able to breathe and be comfortable.

She pulled the cloak on and walked to the sign up table and signed her name. She was happy all she told them that her name was Astras and didn't use her first name it wasn't common but it did sound quite feminine. Moros watched with deadpanned eyes. she was seriously doing this just because they would not let her sign up as a female. All she had to do now was make sure that her bindings didn't come loose or have her shirt cut since she didn't want to wear armor. She glanced at the roster to see who she was fighting. Lancelot. She didn't care who she fighting as long as she fought. She wandered to the arena and watched a few fights and sighed. The competition from what she saw was not what she was expecting...it actually wasn't all that impressive. She was anticipating her fight with the unknown man. She walked onto the arena when it was her turn and waited for her opponent to appear. She hope that the fight wouldn't be to short she was itching for a good fight. She stood there looking over the crowd, the hood of her cloak covering her roaming eyes.

Tag: Lancelot
When: The day of the sword fighting contest
notes: Just wanting to have fun with this ^~ hopefully Lance wont beat Kazira too bad

[Deleted]

Lancelot wondered if anybody would remember him, let alone recognize him. His first regular visit to Camelot had not been a long one, hardly more than a week as it seemed. He had defended Merlin from a Griffin, and been introduced to Gwen, and rapidly felt attracted to the girl. He had then been introduced to Prince Arthur and had begun his training as a Knight of Camelot. He had faced his final challenge as a trainee by actually besting Prince Arthur with his broadsword. Of course, what Arthur did not know, or anyone else in Camelot, that he had already received training to be a knight in Wessex, but his dream had always been to be a Knight of Camelot. He reached his goal, but he only kept his Knighthood through the darkness hours. By the next day, his forged seal of nobility had been found out and his knighthood stripped. Arthur did release him from the dungeons, and he did go out and kill the Griffin creature, with Merlin's help. However, even with that, he would never be a proper candidate for a Knight of Camelot, in King Uther's eyes.

Lancelot had made one secret return to Camelot after he had left Camelot after he had killed the Griffin, and had seen his Gwen, after he had helped Arthur rescue her. He had seen no one else, though, and he had not explained what he had been doing with himself in his absence. In truth, he had returned to Wessex, where he had resumed his knightly duties, and begun to move up the ranks and become a favorite of the King of Wessex, Ethored, and when his primary benefactor, the Earl of Huntingdon, had passed on heirless, the king had appointed Lancelot in his place, which also made him the second-ranking military officer in the kingdom, King Ethored,having no heirs either. Lancelot had strongly advised the king and his council to sign the peace treaty, and had now accompanied the king, here, to Camelot.

He had ridden in through the gates of the city, on the right of his king, but with his helmet on, there was nobody who could see his face, to recognize him. He had stayed close to the knights of Wessex who had made up the king's entourage, being billeted in the old training grounds that Lancelot of course, was well acquainted with. He had thought about participating in the jousting tournament, but that was where he expected Prince Arthur and much of the local nobility to focus on, so he decided the focus on the swordplay. He decided not to wear his formal uniform, but to present himself as an ordinary a knight that he could get away with. He did wonder, though, who he might draw in the first round of the competition. He walked to across the grounds, hoping that he would not run across any of the few people that might actually recognize him, and made his way to the sign-up table.

He walked up, requested a form, and simply signed it, Lancelot Du Lac, of Huntingdon and Wessex. He walked over to where the combatants were all being listed and he saw that his name was paired with someone called Astras. "Never heard of them," he said to himself, as much as to anybody else. he knew, of course, that that that meant next to nothing. There were many from the 5 kingdoms, even among the knighted classes that he would not have heard of, he reasoned. He headed over to the arena, just to get a feel of the place, for the most part, so he would have as few surprises as had to face. He was not wearing his colors as either the Earl of Huntingdon, or as Lord Protector of the Wessex. He did have his mail on and his 2 long-swords wore sheathed down the sides of his back, with the hilts of the swords just being exposed above each shoulder. He also had a few knives that he carried in his belt, and he carried his circular shield on his back, in the way of the ancient Spartans.

As he entered the arena he searched its floor out for his probable opponent. Within a few moments he had settled on an individual who seemed to be well buried behind the folds of a large cloak. He had been in enough fights and contests to realize that he should just ignore the other fights that were going on around them and to concentrate on the one that he was about to involve himself in. He quickly and confidently strode up to the hooded figure. Since there were no other apparent opponents standing before him, Lancelot felt that this one was the one. "You are Astrid, I assume? I am Lancelot ..... Lancelot du Lac, currently of Huntingdon, in Wessex. Are you ready?," he asked as he drew his 2 broadswords out, in a ready position.

[†Kazira Astras†]

Kazira nodded her head at him. He was handsome as most males that she meets are. She drew her sword and daggger silently. She was a bit miffed that he had called her the wrong name but didnt voice it...for once. Even if she tried to changer her voice it wouldnt sound anything like a male's. She shifted her feet and when the signal was given she attacked Lancelot swiftly but held back in order to gauge how he fights. She brought her sword in an upward swing hoping to catch him off guard. If this were a real fight to the death she would have just flipped over him and cut his throat but this was just till submission or the opponent yielded. And should that person be her she would just continue to fight. That was just how she did things. She used her dagger in a sidways swipe and then repeated the action only going down wards. She was fighting like she was dancing to and unknown beat and each step she took didnt look like one that you would take to make the expect move.

Kazira was naturally faster than him in her mind. For one she didnt wear the armor that he did and her weapons were light weight. But being a woman she was also aat a disadvantage. One, she was shorter and her build was much smaller though she knew that you couldnt really tell with the cloak but the height difference was one that she knew she would struggle with. Another thing she just realized was that he was much stronger than her just by beinga fully grown male. This caused her to frown. The Armor was going to prove to be a hassle as well but it could also work to her advantage...Hopefully nothing will happen. Should she lose her cloak tha would be find but should something happen to the over shirt that she was wearing well lets just say that she would be mortified angry and disqualified seeing as she wasnt even supposed to be fighting. She didnt take another step to think about how it would look for Lancelot to fight a woman and the thought never crossed her mind at any point in time when she was attacking said person. This might not end so well with her.

[Deleted]

The fighter in front of him nodded their head in recognition of him as their opponent. He eyed his opponent over and something didn't quite seem right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. perhaps it was the way they were dressed. It did not appear to be that they were wearing any type of mail, and were dressed way too lightly for heavy battle. Lancelot did not believe in a lot of defense either. A good offense served as a defense, but cutting down prospective foes before they could get in range. The outer garment seemed to be all wrong, as if they were trying to hide some part of their appearance, for example, by hiding their face. They probably were doing it just to play with his mind, he thought. Of course he had mis-pronounced their name on purpose, to try and get inside their head a bit. Sword-fighting did require physical skills, but he always found the thinking component and the emotional component to be at as important.

It was almost as if he saw some female aspects along with male, in the way they carried themselves he thought. He could see by the way that parts of the cloak had moved that they had pulled some type of weapon, maybe more. So, as in battle, he had to be prepared for anything, whether it be sword or something else. He decided that it would be best for him to wait on them to make the first move. He could see an apparent change in foot movement, and seeing the signal, reacted to where he thought they would go. He hoped that they would not be familiar with one fighting with two swords at the same time. He easily caught their upstroke with one sword, and tapped them on the shoulder with other, just to let them know he could, and thereby, to infuriate them. Momentarily he saw what the other weapon was .... a dagger ..... and he easily deflected its slash in one direction and then with the other.

Lancelot quickly understood that he had to constantly adjust his fighting style since she was using two weapons with different reaches and characteristics of use. So he was constantly readjusting his distance. He was going to have to take care of that dagger soon. He wasted little time in dealing with it. He placed the end of his sword between their wrist and body, rotating the sword, which knocked the dagger from her hand.. As his opponent was down to one sword, Lancelot rather gallantly re-sheathed one of his swords and he fought with left hand with his remaining sword. With a deferential nod he immediately engaged with his one sword, driving his smaller opponent before him with relative ease. His opponent was quite quick, but he knew that there were few in the 5 kingdoms, outside of Arthur himself, who were as nimble with a sword as he was. Their swords crossed and he shoved his opponent back roughly on behind. As she hit the ground, their head jerked back, dislodging the hood on the cloak, at least partially.

[†Kazira Astras†]

"Oof!" was the sound of Kazira landing on her rump. The man was good that was for sure. Kazira even if she had been trumped would admit that her opponent was very skilled. She had been shocked slightly when he had dislodged her dagger from her hand. She didn't mind but it made things slightly harder. She didn't have her bow and there wasn't enough space to get good shots off. Her sword was the only thing that he thought that she had. She mad many hidden weapons on her. Some even from other lands if she lost her sword she could always get out her sais.

When she landed she didn't realize that her hood fell a little showing what part of her face she had uncovered. Her face was cleaned and her tanned skin shown crystal clear without any scars or anything. Kazira's eyes were clearly feminine with long eyelashes that fanned out and brushed over her cheeks lightly. She kept her eyes on Lancelot not making a move to blink. Her eyes showed her determination and strong will to not give up. She rolled backwards and flipped from the ground letting her hood fall completely when she landed on her feet sword positioned and ready to strike. She pulled her feet closer and bent her knees more she made a small pause before attacking again only after the man had put his other weapon away. "How quaint" she thought. "This man actually wants to fight on somewhat even ground." The thought though sweet also amused her greatly. She was a little miffed at the man because she knew that he was trying to get inside her head. The tactic is one she had seen many fighters use it to win the fight. She, for once, was actually fighting gracefully. She continued to attack him relentlessly not giving him a chance to find an opening with her attacks. This fight was very entertaining, it had been a while since she fought someone who could knock her on her butt.

Kazira dropped low to the ground and swiped Lancelot's feet out from under her the smirk showing in her eyes but not in the over confident way people tend to do when they are able to knock someone down. It was a smirk that showed him that he is not the only one able to knock someone down. She had steeped back a few feet and waited for him to get up. She didn't want the fight to end and she doubted that it would soon but that just might not be the case ans she dodges his attacks. The cloak she wore was getting on her nerves though. It wasn't allowing her to truly move and she was afraid she would trip on it she quickly pulled the ties and let it fall to the ground. She was very thankful that she had bought the men's shirt it was baggy and didn't show off any of the womanly attributes that she possessed.

[Deleted]

Lancelot indeed was puzzled. His adversary had indeed gone down, as he had planned and expected them to. He found them to be a bit too overconfident, not protecting their dagger hand well enough, and putting too much of their weight forward, allowing him to get them out of position and off-balance, and easily taken off their feet. It was the way that they hit the ground, and recovered. It was almost as if this man were a woman. They were good. They had plenty to be confident about, he thought. But it was strange.

He wondered what other weapons they might have hidden in the folds of that cloak ..... or elsewhere. The cloak that fell back from the face indicated everything that he needed to know, and then some. The lower mask hid much, but there was nothing really hiding the eyes, forehead. or the hairline and hair itself. He was speechless, though, only momentarily. "I am sure you know, maiden, that females are not supposed to compete in games such as these. I am of the knightly persuasion, being the Lord Protector of the Wessex, and I will fight fairly. That being said, I was never for rules that permitted the exclusion of anyone who desires to participate."

He watched her flip over backwards, showing her great agility, understanding that it would allow her to make just as a rush at him. She recovered quickly and pressed him as hard as he could. This was a contest, so he had no desire to hurt or kill here, especially when it would be found after the fight that she was a female. Obviously she had decided that the best defense was a good offense, and as long as she kept the pressure up he wouldn't be able to take the offense. He wondered if it had been the best of choices to put one of his swords away. He could tell it bothered her, that he thought himself good enough to handle her with only one sword, but he considered now, that the other might be handy to have too.

He saw her next move coming, but it was not like that meant he could stop it, as he tumbled to the ground. The tumble though, was something that he was prepared for and the recovery that followed allowed him to pull a long-knife from his belt, not the second long-sword. He, of course knew that the knife would be more useful for close-in fighting than the the long-sword would have been. "A very nice move, mademoiselle. It would have been even better if I had not been expecting it." He had been waiting for her to get rid of her cumbersome cloak,and when she did, he planned to use it to cloak his movement and come over the top with a downward arc of his longsword and an upward slash of his long-knife as he walked by her position. Being shielded for only a moment was what all required.

[†Kazira Astras†]

Kazira could see the realization that seemed to creep into Lancelot's eyes. Great she thought with an inward sigh. He knows what I am. Well at least I'll be able to finish the fight and then get yelled at by someone. She let a smile grace her features not that anyone could really tell with her mask over her face. "Yes Sir I do know that us females arent allowed to truly participate inthe 'festivities' but I happen to love fighting strong oppenents." She let out a dry laugh and a small grunt as she blocked his attack having to use both of her hands to keep her sword steady. "I am glad though that you will fight me as you would a male. That makes me have hope for the male gender." she said the last part in a sarcastic jocking way.

She attacked and blocked for several more swings and continued to laugh lowly. "Well that attacks that are expected can be the most surprising considering many woudnt think that the person would actually perform the action."

Kazira could feel the grip on her weapon slipping and sighed. While she was proficient with a sword she couldnt do it for to long, she had luckliy manuevered herself closer to her dagger and with a coy smile she let her bodyflip and her hand wrapped around her dagger and she held both in front of her. She loved her agility sometimes. She was thouroughly enjoy the fight and it to be more interesting so she sheathed her sword and her dagger and pulled out her sais. To those who dont know what sais look like they have a longer middle point and two shorter curved points makeing them look similar to mini pitch forks. Many didnt know about the weapon she now held the only disadvantage was that she had to be at a closer range and that left her open to many attacks.

she ran at him and pushed her sais an "X" andcaught his sword and began to push him with her weight. "So are you having fun yet?" she asked mirth lacing her voice.

[Deleted]

It was not totally unexpected that this fighter was a woman to Lancelot, it was just the shock of the final confirmation. He could tell that she read it in his eyes as well. Although some might look at this as a gift of an opponent, Lancelot understood quite clearly that although this was a female, she was obviously no slouch as a fighter. He had seen that already. he also realized he was in a no-win situation here. If he won, as a nobleman and a knight, he would not look very chivalrous in the defeat of a woman, and if she won he and his noble position would be dishonored by a loss to the fairer sex. Since he was going to lose whichever way he went in the aftermath, he might as well have the honor of victory, he thought grimly.

"Yes, well maiden, you have put me in an awkward position, by what you have done by trickery. You have made you choice. I do hope that I can provide you with the strength in an opponent as you are seeking. If you win or lose you are likely to face more consequences than you assumed, facing the Earl of Huntingdon ..... the Lord Protector of the Wessex." Lancelot, rethinking is overly chivalrous attitude, and given the apparent skill of his opponent unsheathed his other long-sword as well. "Yes indeed, as you wish, I will fight you as I would any male adversary on the open field of battle. I would have less concern for the male gender's welfare than survival of a specific member of the female," and there was nothing in his sarcasm that was the least bit joking.

He let her take the offensive, as it seemed that her aggressive nature lent itself to anyway. Being a female, he thought that it likely that her skills had gone unappreciated, and she would have a natural tendency to be aggressive .... perhaps overaggressive and he would use that against her. "I'm afraid I am not one who underestimates any foe, although I will try not to be too hard on you," he said, attempting to goad her.

Here at the mid-point of their struggle, as he saw it anyway, he elected to merely counter-strike with her. Her advantage was her agility, which, if allowed he allowed her, she could use to devastating effect. His advantage was strength, experience, and endurance. The more strikes she made the more fatigued she would become,and the more prone to a dangerous mistake she would be. He also used the time to get her into a regular rhythm, one where he could easily predict and time her next move,so that he could attack and reverse her at a time of his own choosing. Sensing her own weakness he thought, she decided to make a change in weapons. She made a very agile flip, so that she could execute the weapons change .... unfortunately it would rob her of even more of her energy. Still, a wise move, which would have been even wiser, if he had no experience fighting against a sais.

Unfortunately for her, he had a great deal of experience, knowing that her weapon would be effective only at short range. She advanced on him, but his weight was far superior to hers, and with a surge forced her back. Knowing the short-range nature of her weapons Lancelot kept her bay with one long-sword, and feinted to his left, waiting for her to surge forward, while pulling back and leaving her nothing but air to lunge at, he hooked her sais-wielding arm with his other long-sword, whipping her arm, bringing his other sword across her upper chest before impacting the dagger in her other hand. "Oh yes, I'm enjoying this to no end," he smiled.

[†Kazira Astras†]

Kazira was feeling the effects of using her agility to much; her muscles were beginning to burn. While she truly wished that she could use a spell to lessen the effects she wanted to fight fairly and if anyone had truly caught her doing it she would be killed and that was not on her to do list during this time. She grunted when Lancelot hooked her arm and let his other sword go across her chest. She was smiling during the entire time. She let out a laugh and looked at the man. She knew that for her she either won and proceeded on only to be caught by a less chivilrous man or she would lose to one that may or may not reveal waht she was. "You know Sir Lancelot if I wasnt so sure that this wasnt a fight i would say that you were a flirt." She pushed him away from her and she was glad that she held firm to her weapons.
She took on a more defensive stance and decided that she needed a new tactic because being on the offensive was waering her out more than it should. "Maybe this was not the smartest idea. I've never faught in males clothing" she thought absently. If she did fight, it was usually her leathers, those were lighter than the cotton like material. "I didnt do it out of trickery." She stated evenly. "It's not my fault that they thought i was a male when my voice is to high for one. Even a young child sounds different than my own voice does." She knew of the consequences that he was talking about and honestly she wasnt going to stick around long enough for those to be acted out on. She was gutsy but not stupid. Despite wjat others thought of her. She let an easy smile slip onto her face although hidden by her mask. "I too am having a grand time. I must say you are one of the better opponents that i have had the pleasure of fighting. She was not going to use the underhanded tatics that others liked to use at this point. She could fall and then try and blind her opponent (among other tactics) she didnt like them and so she wasnt going to use them. She could use her magic slightly to help her with an advantage but it would be to obvious to her opponent since he would be the closest to her.

[Deleted]

Lancelot was definitely a thinking-man's knight. His every move, if he knew what he was about in a fight, was planned several moves in advance. He knew that the woman that was his opponent was smaller in stature and mass. He knew that the athletic moves that she was making, as well as the heavy weapons that she was carrying, had to to be expending a huge amount of both strength and energy, especially compared to himself. He merely had to wait her out, and when she had expended enough of her energy, then, press his attack against an already weakened foe. He had heard her grunt as he had just made his move against her, and the sharp blade had cut a slash through her clothing left-to-right across the upper portion of her chest, exposing it slightly. He heard her laugh slightly as well as her following comment. "If I was flirting it would not be one who is attempting to pass as a man, I assure you."

She was obviously not weakened enough yet, as she responded by pushing his heavier mass back a few feet. He did notice, though, that her fighting stance had now changed somewhat, and that she was becoming more defensive, perhaps in an admission that she needed to conserve her energy. It was his turn to chuckle at her remarks this time. It was if she was trying to excuse what she had done by blaming others for not noticing her femininity. "You didn't do it out of trickery? I'm afraid you will have to pardon my skepticism, as your hooded cloak and mask tend to not make a very good argument for openness," he chuckled. He wondered himself exactly how well she had thought everything through, or the consequences of winning or losing, or if she had just acted on the spur of the moment, and had gone too far to back out, even if she had wanted to. He then chose to press the attack to her, forcing her to back up, as he wondered how the hooking action with the one long-sword had affected her ability to hold the sais. "I am pleased as well that you are finding this to be be such brilliant entertainment," he said as his strokes with either hand forced her back closer and closer to the wall. He wondered, though, with someone of her skill, what she would do when she realized that her situation had become too desperate for her to win through conventional means of sais and dagger. So, he kept a watchful eye on her, not knowing what female wiles she might employ.

[†Kazira Astras†]

Kazira knew that she was close to being cornered and she didnt like it. 'Damn males for being bigger than women.' She was not a happy little witch but let out a dry laugh at him. "Yes I could see where that would be a little difficult. And odd flirting with a 'male'." she stated with mirth. She was seriously tempted to concede to the battle but she wanted to have a definate winner not one on a forfeit. That was just plainly not her style. She could feel the air hit her chest and sighed well there went a perfectly good shirt she thought.

"Alright so maybe blaming them was a bit childsih" She gruted out and moved herself away from the wall moving in half circles still keeping the defensive and conserving as much energy as she could. "But hey I wanted to compete and a rule was not going to stop me. You'd be surprised at who is in disguise around these parts." She said in a joking manner. She was itching to reach for her sword again but she wanted to see how far she could push her short range weapons before they broke. They werent the best made weapons that she had in her arsenal and it wasnt like she had many places to hide other weapons on her body. "So what do you plan to do, to defeat me?" She inquired taking a slash at his face making a small cut. It wasnt too deep but it was just enough to cause it to bleed slightly. She felt a tad bit of guilt at doing that but shrugged it off. She was just trying to keep her self out of a corner. She was to much like an 'animal' to take being trapped lightly.

[Deleted]

Lancelot could see quite clearly that she was taking on a more defensive stance as he pressed both his attack and his physical advantages. He knew, though, that if she saw an opening, that she would be able to go on the offensive, especially since this defensive posture allowed her to conserve energy and rest a little. He knew that his greater mass and height, as well as his two longer-range weapons, gave him the ability to move her pretty much any direction he wished, as he waited for the inevitable misstep which would allow him to take enough of an advantage to finish her off.

"I am glad to see that even in your present situation that you have not lost your sense of humor," he smiled somewhat grimly. "Ouch," he responded to the light wound that she had given him, which just reinforced his determination to win. He then saw some uncertainty in her eyes, at least what he perceived, as uncertainty, and understood that this was the moment that he had been waiting for. He knew that although he had been fighting with two swords he had favored the use of his right-hand, as the vast majority would. However, what most did not realize, at least at the first fight with him, was that he was truly ambidextrous, and just as able and skilled with left hand as with his right.

He feinted with his right hand far to her left, and drove with his left far to her right, driving her off-balance back against the wall. This left her front and part of her right open for assault. He surged forward, trapping her right arm against the wall, while his sword itself now laid across her neck, as his body trapped hers against the wall, and he smelt the aroma of the perfume of her body for the first time. At the same time he brought the long-sword in his right-hand down across the back of her hand in a clubbing motion, hoping to effectively disarm her. "Yes, mademoiselle, that is just what I intend to do," he said as he looked down into her face, they being separated by only a few inches.

[†Kazira Astras†]

[glow=red,2,300] [/glow]

Kazira leaned against the wall with Lancelot not even two inches from her face. Her eyes glanced to the cut on his cheek and she smiled. That smile turned into a soft giggle and that giggle turned into a laugh. here she was being pinned to a wall. "Oh yes my present situation is actually quite humorous especially now." She stated. A plan formed in her head. Well he'll probably expect this but here goes nothing. She thought. With a smile that he couldnt see do to her mask she headbutted him and used whatever momentum she had to push him down to the ground while pulling out another dagger and she landed on top of him her legs on either side of his hips using her legsto pin his arms and holding the dagger to his throat.

"This is fun" She stated with plenty of mirth lacing her voice. She was terribly surprised that her mask hadnt fallen off with everything that was going. If it did the match would more than likely end the match. The msk was the only thing that hid her identity and she was glad that her shirt hadnt ripped anymore that it already was. "So how were you going to defeat me?" She asked in a curious voice. She wasnt trying to be snarky or anything she was trying to keep this fight interesting and amusing. She highly doubted that she would win but she wasnted it to be fun and different.

[Deleted]

Lancelot had been in many scrapes such as this one before. However, none of them had been with a woman, he admitted. This one, he thought, was a pretty tough fighter, compared to women he had met and even most men. This one was not likely to give ground easily. Was he going to kill her then? No, that would be nearly as embarrassing as being bested by a female, or would it have been worse, he pondered. If he didn't kill her, as he well could, if she didn't surrender, which he expected not, she basically had 2 choices. She could kick him in a sensitive spot between the legs, or head butt him, and attempt to roll him into a vulnerable position where she had the advantage. He just wondered if she thought that he did not have a plan for that scenario too.

"Humorous? I'm afraid that you have a sense of humor not many besides me would appreciate then," he said with a smirk somewhat uncharacteristic of a noble knight. He did not have long to wait, since as he imagined, this one wasn't too lazy when it came to fighting, and making snap decisions, as her head snapped against his. He was glad that she had opted for the head, and not someplace that could cause him more permanent damage. As she pushed him to the ground she obviously didn't realize that he wasn't resisting to much. Even as she pinned his arms she didn't apparently realize that she was way too far up on his body, allowing his legs freedom of movement, although his arms were disabled.

Smiling, he said, "Yes, this is quite a bit of fun, much more-so than I expected when the competition started. How was I planning to defeat you?," he asked as she held the dagger at his throat. "Well, if the 5 or 6 men that currently surround us, who happened to be my knights, did not intervene, I would probably doing something like this." Using one of his long legs, he hooked one of her arms flipping her over backwards, and even making contact with her jaw with his heel as he straightened his leg and she tumbled backwards through the air, and dropped her dagger in shock at his reckless act.

[†Kazira Astras†]

Now Kazira was not one to actually plan most of her attacks ahead she generally just went along with whatever was going on. With Lancelot,though, it was hard to just go with it because as soon as one of them got the upper hand the other would pull something and they would be at a stale-mate. This, was one of those times. She laid on the ground having landing on her back thus knocking the air out of her lungs.

"Well that was...unexpected." She said softly still trying to gain her breathe back. "I'm glad you get my sense of humor my fair knight." She laughed quietly her lungs hurt to breathe and tears formed in her eyes slightly cause she couldn't seem to catch her breath. "I'm not sure if i would have wanted you to do that or have your knights intervene she stated sarcastically bringing up her right arm to rub her jaw. At this point she didn't want to get up but she knew she had too.

Its getting hard to catch my breath with this stupid mask on she thought absently getting to her feet still a bit unstable seeing as she still couldnt breathe and her jaw was throbbing because of the whole heel to jaw impact thing. She was half tempted to pull her mask up just to catch some fresh air. That wasn't really an option at that point though. She finally decided that she would take a breath of fresh air when the fight was finished. She wondered what he had up his sleeve to get her to yield. Not that she wasn't full of tricks herself. She was planning to use a few sparks of magic as a distraction, it wasn't like she was cheating she was just using her natural talents that not everybody had. "Alright that actually might be considered cheating but only if he doesn't notice that its me." she thought to herself as she prepared herself and drew her sword. Well her short range weapons weren't really helping her further herself in the fight in anyway shape or form. So she decided to try again with her sword. She had another dagger it was rather thin but it hid well within her boot. She would use that as a last resort considering it was still rather thin. "Hopefully i wont have to use the dagger." She stated under her breathe to herself.

[Deleted]

Lancelot had found this fighter that he was facing to be quite resourceful. just about every new move that he had presented her with ..... he still assumed that it was a female anyway .... she seemed to have a counter move or a new weapon that she had successfully hidden away. It wasn't exactly a stalemate. He had been able to press an advantage or get the advantage back, but she was becoming an annoyance and he desired to finish with this match so that he could move on to another.

This time, though, he wondered just how quickly she was going to recover, as she laid on the ground, apparently vulnerable, with the air, at least temporarily, knocked out of her lungs. "That move generally is," he responded with a slight smile. However, he being the chivalrous knight that he was, especially knowing that she was a female, he did not press his advantage. He waited for her to gather herself and her breath back up, before he chose to move forward. It did mean a hindrance for him, but his code of honor would allow him to do no other.

"Well, I may be a nobleman, but that is no reason not to respect another's skill or attitude," he said in reply, with a quick nod of deference to her. "I did not imagine that you would care to have others interfere in what is a private contest. You didn't seem to be the type who would do that or want that." He watched, somewhat surprisingly, as she stiffly, and somewhat painfully, got up from the ground. "You do realize that there would be no dishonor in withdrawing from the contest now. I, for one, for example, would not require you to un-mask," he said, trying to be reasonable, while respecting her desire to fight on an equal basis in the contest.

He wondered how difficult it was to both fight and breath with that mask on. It couldn't be much of a help, he reasoned. He noticed as well that she was continually rubbing her jaw where the impact had taken place. She was lucky, he thought that it hadn't knocked her out. She could definitely take a punch. As she appeared to be unsteadily standing there before him, she drew her sword, as he wondered what she had in mind to battle him further, since she seemed to be weakening considerably, and he had no desire to see her come to harm.

[†Kazira Astras†]

She winced slightly at the throbbing portion of her jaw but she let a hidden smirk cover her face. Yes he was right she didnt want people to interfere with their fight. What fun would that be? "You're very right I wouldnt have appreciated others interferring." she gave a short breathy laugh. she was still trying to gain her breathe back and her mask still wasnt helping.

Kazira was holding her sword shakily. Her strength was weaining but she wasnt going to give up. she hada feeling that he was giving her some time to recover but she had a sinking that she wasnt going to win this one. She mentally shrugged, if it was to this man she could live with losing though she wasnt sure how she could live with Moros after this. She raised her sword more steadily and looked at him with shinning eyes.

"There may be no dishonour but it would greatly wound my pride as a fighter to withdraw from such a wonderful fight." she stated with good-natured mirth. "I highly doubt that anyone wouldnt take the oportunity to unmask me." She stated offhandedly.she changed her stance. "Now come at me. I cant wait to see what comes out of this fight."

[Deleted]

Lancelot watched over his opponent .... his obviously female opponent ..... quite carefully. He didn't trust her,not in the slightest. But ..... he did respect here .... he would respect anyone he thought that went to such a risk for a competition like this. She deserved a fair chance, he thought, his honor as a knight demanded that she be given it. So, instead of pressing his advantage, for the moment he simply watched and observed.

He saw the lower part of her face .... the part that was exposed .... give into the shape of a smirk, just as he saw her jaw twitch and her hand go to it to absent-mindedly rub it. "I didn't think that you would disagree with me," he said as he listened to her laugh and saw that she was struggling to fill her lungs with air again. "Now, as far as me being a noble, that would be a stretch, at least not one that is recognized here in Camelot. I guess it shows that it takes all kinds, eh? Would you want some help in getting up or maybe some help with that mask," as it was now Lancelot's turn to try to smirk. He just wasn't as apparently practiced at it as she.

He saw as she rose from the ground, slowly it appeared, that she was not quite as strong as she had been at first, when they'd started their little conflict. The shaking sword that she now gripped was obvious, as the fact that she was not moving with the same confidence and certainty that she had before. However, she still seemed to be determined. many men would have given up by now, he thought. He could see it in her eyes.

"Well then, what if we would both withdraw at the same time ..... fine Sir," he smiled back at her. "I have no wish to wound such a fighter's pride as yours, or break your spirit by slowly wearing you down. What true knight would find that to be appealing. It is enough that we have fought each other to the limit of our abilities. However, if it is your desire to carry on until the bitter end I will do as you wish," and Lancelot held his two long-swords in front, indicating his willingness to go on if that was what she wanted. "Very well ..... as you wish ......"

[†Kazira Astras†]

She smiled at him kindly and attacked him head on. She felt her hair slip from its confines of her leather tie. She used her sword to manuever his out of the way as she brought her leg up and kicked the underside of his chin. She back tracked away from him to keep from getting an serious hits.

"I want to thank you for your consideration about my pride. But maybe its a good thing to have one's pride injured every now and then?" She said softly her eyes flashed slightly as she mumbled under her breathe. "funem humo surgere scandalum occurret."

Moros watched from the sidelines and blinked rapidly as he saw the ground rise subtly and as it moved to trip Kazira's opponent. He just couldnt believe that she was using magic. She must have used a lot more energy than she was letting on. He wondered if she knew that with her hair down she looked even more feminine than she did before. It was a wonder than no one had stopped the fight already.

Kazira waited to see what her opponent and kept up the facade that she was still going to continue to fight but she knew that she would lose but she didnt want to just give in to the honorable man before her. Where was the fun in that?

[Deleted]

Lancelot did not like this at all. It went against everything that he believed in as knight. He believed that the code directed him to protect, not to fight women. However, he reasoned, this is what she wanted, and she was fairly proficient at it as well. reluctantly, since she wanted to proceed he moved forward to challenge her. She had such beautiful smile, though, and it relaxed his guard slightly, and then suddenly her long hair was cut loose as well, and as it cascaded down it diverted his attention.

As a result, he was only able to parry her attack away at the last minute. Fortunately for Lancelot, his great advantage in strength easily and quickly diverted her stroke from any area that might be deemed as being vital. However, he was not thinking clearly enough to realize that her stroke was not meant to be a killing one, but only to be a diversionary one. It was designed to clear his sword out of the way so that she could deal a crushing kick to the point of his chin, and all he saw for some moments were stars.

He was stunned, at least momentarily, but his anger rose quickly and he pursued her rapidly with his swords, but she was backing away just quickly enough to avoid his thrusts and slashes. All he came up with was sum slices through empty air, which may him even more incensed. "You are quite welcome ..... milady ..... but right now I would be less concerned about my pride that may or may not be damaged than whether I am going to slice up your hide in fillets. Personally, I don't worry much about pride, just doing my duty and doing it with honor."

Suddenly, though, as he continued to pursue her, it seemed that he could see and hear her mumbling something, but he could not discern what it was. Almost immediately, though, he felt the earth move under him ..... enough so that he could not maintain his balance and he fell to the Earth. It could not be ...... Lancelot knew that he was not drunk ..... and yet the ground had betrayed him. It was not possible that it was ...... magic ..... was it. Where was Merlin?

Given his position, though, he ascertained that he was in no spot to think much. He had to act before she could take advantage of his position on the ground. Quickly he slashed with his sword in a wide arc, gambling that she had unwisely stayed to close too him after his fall. The end of his longsword hooked her ankle and she came tumbling to the ground right next him. He quickly brought his longsword down across her throat, having the blade only make slight contact with her skin. "Do you choose to Submit or to die .... which is it to be ..... milady?"