2022-03-22: Falcon vs. Lizard
- Cast: Seolla Schweizer, Hazard Chevalier
- Where: Tokyo-3
- Date: U.C. 0096 03 22
- Summary: Two burning souls communicate with strength.
<Pose Tracker> Hazard Chevalier has posed.
This is just part of the life of a Gundamfighter, really.
The room is mostly empty save a few spectators. It's a boxing ring - the kind you'd use for any official match or training - and not much more. Not very fancy. Not very expensive. Not a high-tech facility where a lot of people sunk lots of money into making some kind of virtual environment. Just...a boxing ring.
Hazard isn't so much *used* to this kind of thing as he is...*prepared* for it. It's easier for him than making friends or understanding things like 'loneliness.' Kaworu's helped him on that front, sure, but ultimately that's something he still needs more time to process - a 'common sense' that belongs to other people, as he'd called it. This, this is the place he belongs.
Fighting is what a Mechasaur is for.
And he's Tibet's big-deal Gundamfighter, a symbol of resolve and strength from a country that ate a colony drop of enormous magnitude right in the face. He's had an exhibition match or two before. He's had a training match or two before.
Right now, he's waiting in the ring, hands behind his head. He's wearing clothes that are entirely too heavy for the heat of the base - his usual big cloak and heavy, well-worn adventurer-chiq outfit.
He's also not sweating.
Weird.
Gundamfighters are weird.
<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
The whole way into Tokyo-3, Seolla is marveling and gawking. Getting out is refreshing. No matter what it's for. It's fine that her reason here is a CQC training exercise between two of the most active on the ground rapid response forces on Earth - she's long internalized that military routines are simply the thing you go out to places for.
The sort of wistful, gawking, awe-filled expression fades to a resolute sour huffiness pretty quickly though once the low-rent nature of the place she's brought to is unveiled. Maybe its shocking normalcy compared to the usual stifling authoritative dark cleanliness is what unsettles Seolla. It's not a place so dark that it stretches on forever - it's not a place so bright that it boxes her in. It's just a place, and that throws her off just a little.
She steps forward in decidedly more athletic gear for fighting someone - lightweight polymer padding and armor everywhere important, gloves and yoga pants. Eyes darting around for any tricks or traps, first in the room itself - then anything perhaps beneath her planned opponent's cloak.
"So I hear you're a Gundam Fighter...hmmmm...I've only managed to catch a handful of matches before. I recognized Chibodee Crockett when I saw him, but you're unfamiliar..." Another glance from tip to toe on Hazard's outfit, Seolla quickly readying her stance, knees slightly bent, turned slightly sideways. "...is the cloak some kind of weighted robe thing? When things get serious you're gonna show off a bit by throwing them aside and revealing it weighs two hundred pounds? Not gonna let myself get scared just because of a trick like that, you know."
<Pose Tracker> Hazard Chevalier has posed.
"Ah, I'm kinda new on the circuit. I'm Hazard! Hazard Chevalier. I'm the Gundamfighter for Tibet." He just leaves that hanging there, hands still behind his head. "Nice to meet you!"
He blinks.
"Huh? No, it's just my outfit!" He grins.
Oh God his grin is full of super-sharp teeth. It's sort of like looking at a shark's grin, but like...a friendly, cheerful, happy shark? It's weird. Gundamfighters are weird, though. There's, like, literally a kangaroo.
Just a fucking kangaroo.
Just, in a robot.
And the horse.
Gundamfighters are weird.
"I wouldn't do anything like that to you. That'd be a pretty bad first impression, right? If I just...tried to show off like that or something to make you feel bad?" His hands finally come out from his mess of blue hair, and he scratches the side of his chin. "Or make you feel like you're weaker than me or something...?"
He even opens his cloak so she can see. There's nothing in it at all, save for his beat-up, yet still surprisingly heavy-for-the-temperature, outfit.
Once she takes a stance, though, both hands swing down to his sides. He doesn't take a martial arts stance - no karate motion, no hands up, nothing. Instead he leans forward (that looks like it'd put him off balance?), legs squat, arms out. It's *almost* like sumo - but it just looks so unsteady...
"OK! Whenever you're ready!" He grins again. His shark-y teeth are at least pure white! He takes good care of them. Maybe he doesn't eat a lot of sugar? "Let's have fun!"
<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
A little 'tch' puffs out of Seolla. The shockingly friendly type only makes her trust less, and her eyes get a little leerier and narrower despite the attempt to break the ice. Such is life with her temperament!
"Can't go around assuming a dirty trick's not around the corner. That's what'll do you in. Hmph. ...I'm Seolla. I'm not any kind of Gundam Fighter, I just wind up getting myself in a lot of fights." It shows in Seolla's stance - surprisingly athletic and firm. The kind of muscle tone more from rigorously planned military drilling than any well-rounded martial art.
"I'm gonna be up front with you though...the way you're so easy-going about this sorta thing...it..." Her front foot tightens - and she launches herself straight into a rather predictable but astoundingly fast punch aimed straight at Hazard's middle!
"...It kinda pisses me off!!!"
<Pose Tracker> Hazard Chevalier has posed.
% "Ah...is that right?"
And then she launches forward.
Hazard doesn't dodge, and he doesn't block. Instead he just *drives* forward, raw strength against raw strength. Hitting his abs is like hitting a block of steel. It's like hitting something that's harder than a human should be, hitting something made of iron.
In fact it seems like Hazard is *nothing* but raw power. His hand moves to grab hers, to force her in place while he brings up his knee for *her* midsection.
"It's not that I'm easygoing! It's just that I'm...!"
"Well, this is just the way I live!"
<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
Seolla's fist impacts absolute firmness, and she backs off instead of committing to it - but she's left herself exposed to having her arm grabbed. She knows the proper technique for this, the way to twist and leverage against the thumb specifically, and it's not too long before she can turn her way out of the hold...but she still gets a pretty firm impact against her middle, which is...still pretty sturdy, shockingly so for seeming like a rather normal human. But it definitely still knocks her backward, and she stumbles, trying to get her footing, letting out a few coughs, then wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Should've figured you weren't all talk, even if you can say something so simple like such a dummy...!" Seolla rebounds, shifting to the side in a brief feint like she's going to go in for another punch, maybe somewhat higher - until instead, her leg sweeps out to try and trip Hazard up!
"Must be nice, being able to fight for the hell of it, just cause you're crazy strong! How much did it take to get like this...? Are you some crazy person who likes training all day, or did this - hgh ! Just happen to be how you turn out all casually...?"
[Entertainment] Anti> dragon valor, because i've never heard of it before
[Entertainment] Anti> bam
[Entertainment] Arriety Hearn> i also vote dragon valor actually I wouldn't mind seeing it again but
[Entertainment] Arriety Hearn> my attendance is spotty so also don't count my vote too highly
[Entertainment] Beam Coat> Oh this is to set up a randomizer, I think I have to play something less actiony first though due to injuries
<Pose Tracker> Hazard Chevalier has posed.
Seolla's foot sweeps under him and catches him by the ankle. He drops to the mat with a loud thud, cloak flowing around him, obscuring his upper body.
"Ah..."
He hops back up from the neutral position, instantly transitioning into a tackle. Again, he's just kind of Too Fast, Too Strong, for a baseline human. He's definitely modified *somehow* - Seolla herself would probably be more than aware of that kind of thing - so that answers that question. He's a bulldozer, a wrecking ball, a human-shaped engine of raw physical power.
The tackle is meant to slam her to the ground, where he can leverage superior strength to hold her down and fight. His eyes are sharper than they were when they were talking - more...tuned in? Focused? Something.
"Well," he says, "I represent Tibet! If I didn't work my hardest to be strong, then that says that my country's weak!"
<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
Against most people, Seolla could keep up, even if there was a disparity in training. She's been fighting people bigger and stronger than her as long as she can remember. The tripping -should- buy her some time, to get a better approach that can actually neutralize Hazard, to get him to tap out.
He's right back on his feet before she can really reposition.
"Ghhh- what the hell are Gundam Fighters -made- of?" she grunts in frustration as the sheer force of Hazard's freight train of a tackle bowls her onto the ground, sitting upright. Eyes wide from the rapidly encroaching hold, Seolla tries one last approach. Hazard may be sturdier and stronger - but is he heavier? In a last-ditch surge forward, Seolla's knees bend to offer her a bit more leverage against the ground, arms reaching out to try and grasp Hazard around the waist. The effort's not easy, by any stretch - the laws of physics don't think kindly of smaller things trying to lift slightly larger things from a posture like this...but it's something just barely within her physical capabilities to pull off.
"I keep running into...ghhh...such...big dummies! Just cause you're...in the Gundam Fight...doesn't mean the whole country's propped up by your muscles! Doesn't matter how strong you get . . . can't change the world with just a bigger punch-!"
<Pose Tracker> Hazard Chevalier has posed.
Seolla gets him around the waist.
Hazard is just fast enough to get his own arms around her shoulders before she drives him upwards to piledriver him.
It doesn't go great for him. He winds up landing backwards, bouncing on the mat and laying against the ropes for a second. He blinks once. Twice. A third time. He's not quite sure what just happened. Theoretically, he should've thrown her to the ground when she threw him, but in terms of technique she's *much* better than he is. The guy is just overwhelming raw disgusting levels of brute strength - sure, there's *some* technique there, he's not a pure idiot or something - but he's definitely in the 'unrefined' category.
He blinks again, sort of processing what happened and he stands up. "Ahaha...you're really good."
His arm goes behind his neck to stretch. "Yeah, I know that. I don't even think I can. It's just the thing I'm supposed to do, you know? Honestly...I don't really know what I'd want to change the world to. But whatever it is, my fists wouldn't do it. That's just..."
A beat.
"...all I know how to do, I guess?"
He squats for a second, stretching his legs, looking at her. "What do you want to change the world to be like, Seolla?"
[Entertainment] Beam Coat> I think so
[Entertainment] Emilia Eschonbach> It's a good story though
[Entertainment] Arriety Hearn> Yeah it's such an unexpected source of it but still good
<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
It takes a lot out of Seolla to reverse the hold and toss Hazard back - and when she does manage it, she's wiping her forehead and gasping for air, puffing and rising to her feet opposite her sparring partner. "...J...just barely. ...it's clearly not...that great for the long term. Surprised I pulled it off. ...gotta make sure...not to get myself in that position too often, if it takes it all out of me..." She bends over, planting her hands on her knees, gazing at the ground a little bit, sweat dripping down regularly, making the mat just that much more slippery.
The armor-breaking question hits her.
"...what would I...change the world, to..."
One of those well-trained reactions kicks in.
It feels like her stomach is about to turn inside out.
Eyes squeeze shut. Seolla suddenly jerks upright, a grimace firm on her lips, eyes almost judgmentally wide. There's something painful there for a moment - which she vents out by seamlessly transition to a blurting, blustering outburst.
"It's the same as anyone else, isn't it? It'd be a place of rainbows and ice cream and skipping along merrily in the meadows and all that!" Seolla steps forward, and pushily baps Hazard right on the top of the head with the side of her fist. It'd probably kinda hurt if Hazard weren't made of tougher stuff! "People like you...always so earnest and blunt and dopey about this kind of thing! Honestly! Turning around and asking something impossible to give a real answer to...it's a pain in the butt."
There's that sort of exaggeratedly steamed scowl across Seolla's lips, a raggedy little 'ghhhhhhhhh' fuming from there, before she steps back once, arms crossed, lips pouting. "...I do get to say I pulled off a reversal on a Gundam Fighter though, so I'm gonna say that's enough world-changing for today!"
<Pose Tracker> Hazard Chevalier has posed.
Hazard watches her reaction. The shut-eyes, the stand-up, the painful look. He doesn't say anything. He just...watches her. It's sort of like being watched by some random lizard staring from a rock - like, the lizard knows you're there, it's curious what you're doing, but ultimately, no judgment. It's a lizard. Why would it judge you?
Hazard's a Hazard. He's not really that judgmental.
She bops him on the head. He blinks.
"That's...not what I'd like the world to be like," he says, oddly, as she steps back. His eyes are locked on hers. "I know that's not what you mean. But I don't think that kind of peace is something I could achieve. I don't really..."
He stops.
Then he laughs. "Well, anyway. Yeah, you did really good! I wasn't expecting that at all. Most people don't try and match my strength, let alone try and take advantage of it!" He stands up and stretches his arms again. "It's not really the kinda thing you usually think about fighting a guy like me. I'll have to remember it going forward! I'll have to read up on that more."
Another stretch. Then he leans over and tosses her a towel. Then a bottle of water. "Here. You look like you need it."
...he is not sweating. At all. Even a little bit.
Damn that's bizarre.
*Damn* that's bizarre.
And it's not like he wasn't exerting himself...
There was nothing *casual* about the fight...he wasn't taking it easy on her or anything....
He does, however, grab *himself* a bottle of water, down it in one gulp, and then do the same for a second.
<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
Seolla does need it! She'd never admit that, and she's a little pouty when offered the towel and water, but uses them with a burden-relieving sigh, and drinks it down at almost the same sort of pace, letting out a big breathless exhale after it's downed - then crushing the plastic in one hand.
"Honestly, I'm surprised," Seolla thinks, eyes crossing slightly as she stares upwards at one of the lights. "...Like, you're definitely totally made of muscle. 100%. Even your brain's muscle. You're pretty dense and heavy, and you definitely know how to deliver some fierce offense. ...but, uh, hmmm. I thought it'd be harder to grapple you, and I guess that's what a patient opponent who likes to totally get people in a bind would do." Rubbing the towel all over her hair, Seolla parks it around her shoulders, giving a big upwards stretch with both hands, then parking one on her hips - the other pointing a finger right at Hazard's eye level.
"So I'm gonna say I need to be more patient, annoyingly, cause a heavier few punches and kicks like that coulda done me in good. And I'm gonna say, for you - look out for the kind of opponent who's gonna test your strength and your reach above all else. The sort who'd gradually get you deeper and deeper into a hole. If that makes any sense?" Arms crossed once again, a foot tapping on the mat. "I'm not any kind of martial arts instructor, so take that with a grain of salt! It's just the kind of pickle I can see a doofus like you getting into, alright?"
Side-eye glancing, then another shoulder-tension releasing sigh. "...But yeah, this was a good spar. Maybe when I watch the next Gundam Fight, I'll see how you do, and maybe I'll notice you overcome something like this, yeah?"
<Pose Tracker> Hazard Chevalier has posed.
"Hey, hey. I'm not that dense. I study a lot." Hazard's weird shark-tooth grin returns. "I read something every day."
He looks at his hand. The grin disappears. "I don't want to be able to do nothing but fight my whole life, y'know."
Then she points at him, and he stares at the finger for a moment. He looks up at her, and for a moment, it seems like he might be about to argue. Finally, he just kinda smiles. "I'd like that. I hope you do watch me. It'll be nice to have somebody who isn't obligated or working with me or just being nice in my corner."
He turns around. "Since this is supposed to be an exchange..."
"Don't open with a direct attack. It leaves you open to fighters like me who are more strength than anything. Open from the side. Go left or right, then attack with the opposite hand from the way you moved."
"Ahhhh, not that I'm that much of an expert!" He adds with an over-the-shoulder grin, "I just thought about it a second ago. You're a lot better-suited for something like that, I think. You used your leverage really well, so I thought, 'maybe if she twisted her torso, she'd have more weight to swing around, especially if the other fighter's reacting to motion...'"
"Ah, ignore me! You probably already knew all that stuff. Haha, I'm just trying to make sure I offer *something* as thanks for your help."
"Oh, uh. If you want something to eat, I can show you to the cafeteria. I don't usually eat there, though. They don't serve raw meat."
A beat.
"It's a Gundamfighter diet thing."
<Pose Tracker> Hazard Chevalier has posed.
"That's, uh, why my teeth are like this," he adds, pointing at his mouth after another beat.
<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
"...if Gundam Fighters eat raw meat, I uh. Don't think that's a future career path for me," Seolla murmurs, listening carefully to the straightforward nugget of fighting wisdom she's given in exchange. "Yeah...I mean, you have expertise! I doubt you'd wind up doing what you do without having -some- kinda insight. Getting in hand to hand fights like this...isn't really the -main- thing I'm trained at, after all. But yeah...I gotta start with something a little harder to react to, you're right-!"
She does, of course, follow Hazard along to the cafeteria, after a bit of a grumbly growl from her stomach!