Getting to know each other [Daiken]

Ryker pulled his right arm across his body, stretching out his shoulder blade.  It was a little stiff, but it wouldn’t be a problem with just a bit of stretching.  He and Dante were rather excited, after all, and planned to be completely ready.  Since he was the only one in the empty sparring room that the hotel had attached to the recreation area, he started a round of dynamic stretching as he waited for Delta Daiken, who had agreed to have a bit of a workout with him.

His slender, though very well-toned frame was clothed in a pair of black gym shorts and a close fitting tank top which revealed the inside edge of the Celtic cross tattoo on the right side of his chest.  He had considered going barefoot, but had decided to try out a pair of split toed athletic foot wear.  Calling them shoes seemed out of place, as they were extremely light and not designed for heavy outdoor use.  However, the padded floor of the exercise room suited them perfectly.  Even as he stretched, Ryker could feel the quality grip on them.

Dante was just as eager as Ryker.  It had been far too long since they had been able to put their combat skills to use and, from what he had seen, Daiken would most likely be the best opponent.  Though, he would have to compromise his fighting style slightly, since it was more designed to target and destroy joints and he did not want to cripple his own Delta.  He cringed slightly, imagining explaining that to Noctavia.  Finished stretching, he began to warm up with a few simple acrobatics.  Hook kicks, hand stands, various stages of hand balancing, general, slightly acrobatic shenanigans as he waited for his opponent to arrive.

He moved happily inside the Game Room. It had been a long time since he had the opportunity to fight someone with skills. His last opponents where finished in 10 or 15 minutes. He always trained by himself or with Slayer’s help, pushing him to the edge to then regain control instantly, but that was more mental training than anything physical. He was surprised the Beta himself asked for him to have a sparring match, when he had the Elite as well, who was much older than him for the few details he knew about the Eternal members. It would also be a good way to get to know him better, and maybe a bit of information about the pack in general that the Alphess didn’t have the time to tell him. A smile curved his lips slightly remembering the last time he saw her in the masquerade dance. He had been working with his Delta duties with the Warriors and other issues, including that little surprise he had been preparing for Noctavia. Everything crashed down right before the dance and the construction broke his arm and some pieces necessary for it to work. The worst thing was that he arrived late and made her wait that night. With a long sigh he stepped into the sparring room where the Beta was already stretching for the match.

Daiken showed a half smile and bowed his head in respect. A thin and long black bag rested over his shoulder. He thought of having a bit of fun with him after a clean hand-to-hand combat, just if he was interested to. Leaving the bag stood up against the wall, he neared the Beta with a long crack of his neck and then his back, every vertebrae popping one by one as they arranged along his spine. Hiding half of his body was just his boxers under a pair of loose black pants. Black bandages around his hands and wrists, combining with the large tribal tattoo marking his entire right side. Little scars along his frame, the one in his chest of five claws highlighting above all, and a long single one crossing his left eye, both made by his own brother many years ago.

His bare feet stopped a few meters from Ryker. “Good evening Beta Ryker. It’s a pleasure and an honor to be called here tonight for this match. Is it in your wish to start right away or do you want to have a conversation with this contestant before anything. Please, feel free to say or ask anything.” ‘Don’t interfere unless I call you, Slayer. I don’t want any problems with the Beta.’ Even when there was no answer from his wolf, he knew Slayer will never do something against him or his reputation, unless he has a good reason for it.

Ryker’s nose twitched slightly, picking up the scent of the Delta and he looked over at the door.  Well, he certainly looked ready for a match.  Grinning, Ryker twisted his legs around and lightly landed one at a time on the ground, righting himself from his handstand.  “Delta Daiken,” he greeted, returning the respectful tip of his head.  “What say you that we dispense with the formalities while it’s just us in here, aye?”  They were going to be fighting, after all.  He held out his hand, offering a shake.  “I’m glad you could make it.

“We don’t have to start immediately, if you don’t want.  Actually, I would appreciate a chance to talk.  I’m afraid I haven’t had much chance to get to know you, for which I apologize.  I trust you’re settling in well?  Noctavia tells me that you’ve been seeing quite a bit of each other,” he said, smiling warmly.  “She’s quite the handful, isn’t she?  I do wish you the best of luck with that.  But what else have you been up to?”  

Okay, so there was just a little bit of an ulterior motive for stalling their match, but it was perfectly innocent.  Ryker had always tried to live by the words tattooed on his hip, after all, and was a firm believer in the “everything counts” method.

He shook his hand firmly with a small smile. He was already liking this wolf. No wonder why Noctavia mentioned him so much as she spoke about friendship and loyalty. Just when he talked about her, a small shine appeared in his green amber eyes, giving them a slight tone of aqua, just like always he thought about her. It seemed that trust was from both sides. He wondered what else Noctavia told the Beta about him. Maybe he had a chance after all. He was still doubtful as if the Alphess could have the slight interest in him, speaking about a ‘more than friends’ thing. “You don’t have to apologize about anything Ryker, I know the duties of a Beta could be as hard as the ones of the Alphess. Speaking about it, if you ever need some help with anything, feel free to call me.” His words and manners relaxed a bit after he asked to leave the formalities behind, but he always showed the respect and acknowledge he deserved.

“Just a bit...” ‘Not as much as I wish.’ He kept the last part for himself as another smile appeared, like revealing his true thoughts. “You are right, she is quit a lady I must say, and thank you for the luck, but, can I ask, for what?” Why he would wish him luck apart for having all his work as the Delta done. He never revealed anything to anyone about his feelings for the Alphess, or was it so obvious? Did Noctavia tell him something else that made him create the idea of something happening? He was really interested in anything she told him. “Well, apart from training and teaching some little things to the Warriors in fighting and other areas, I...” He didn’t want to reveal anything to the Alphess friend. He knew he wasn’t going to say anything, but still, he wanted it to be a surprise, and be her the first one to know. “I had been fixing some things. I had been more a mechanic lately than a werewolf.” He laughed slightly and walked to one side or the room to rest his back against the wall.

“Ryker... I know we are just getting to know each other, but may I be honest with you? The Alphess has all her trust in you, and I will take advantage of that to put my own trust in you as well.” Crossing his arms he looked to the floor slightly, feeling nervous by just talking about her. “I... I have feelings... strong feelings for our Alphess... I don’t know why or how, but I know you can’t order your heart. I am happy I was able to find someone that could break through all my defenses and make me feel so weak every time I am with her. I believed I was never going to found someone with that ability again, but I am also worried and even disappointed.” Looking back at the Beta, Daiken made up a smile to hide his lack of confidence. “I don’t think the Alphess would be interested in looking at the Delta as something else than a friend or a pack member. I believe that’s what I get for falling for the very own Alphess. I don’t say I will not try. I will and I am someone to not surrender no matter the cost. I just want to know if I will not be decapitated after doing someone I could regret.” He sighed a chuckle and shook his head. “What I had been doing, is a little surprise for her after I... ask her to have a date with me.” Looking back at the werewolf he turned serious again. “Ryker, please be honest and tell me if I should just keep my distance from her and bury my feelings so deep to just live with them. I don’t want to make everything awkward with her as I plan to stay in this pack as long as she allows me. Maybe she even has feeling for someone else and I am just in the way.” He never thought in telling the Beta all this, but the topic came up and he just wanted to make sure before trying anything that could put his life in the edge.

It was a bit of a relief to see Daiken’s posture relax a little bit.  Ryker could handle all the formality pretty easily, but not when he was in shorts and a tank top and not when it was coming from a half-naked guy who was about to spar with him.  That just made it feel weird.  He gave a warm smile and nodded in reply to Daiken’s offer.  “I’ll certainly keep that in mind, thank ya,” he said.  His question, seeming fairly naïve, cause Ryker to blink once.  “Good luck handling that much of a woman,” he clarified with a conspiratorial grin.

He was glad that someone was tending to the instruction of the warriors.  He himself had been putting together a system to help with that, but had not had time to implement it yet.  Finding out that Daiken had been fixing things was somewhat surprising and Ryker replied with arched eyebrows.  “Really?  I am glad that there is someone that’s not an omega that’s mechanically inclined.  I’m good with computers, but mechanics tend to be quite a bit beyond me, regrettably.”  He wondered if Noctavia knew of this immensely useful skill as Daiken dropped his bag over against the wall.  Probably not, he decided.

Ryker’s head dipped in an earnest nod when asked if Daiken could be honest.  “Always,” he said.  He observed Daiken’s body language, interested in what was going on behind it.  It was certainly an interesting revelation, realizing that he had more or less become the confidant of the Alphess, and, therefore by proxy, of her potential mate, as well.  A few months ago, that knowledge would have made him virtually giddy.  Now, though, he simply accepted it with sincerity and solemnity.  It was rather an honor that the Alphess trusted him enough to share at least some of her secrets with him.  It also spoke volumes about Daiken’s feelings that that simple fact was enough for him to place his trust in Ryker, as well.  While he listened, a smile grew steadily across Ryker’s lips and his head nodded a little bit.

Now, how to respond?  Look at you, playing councilor, Dante commented, finding the situation nearly as humorous as Ryker did.  “I don’t want to speak out of place, but I also know how you feel and am well aware of the futility of trying to dictate who you love.”  He took a deep breath, considering how to phrase and balance his answers.  “Being careful not to say too much, I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Daiken.  The best advice I can give is patience.  The fact that you’re a Delta doesn’t really enter into her considerations, but this is a tumultuous time for the pack, so there is a lot on her plate.  The balance of power is shifting around, so that situation is taking a lot of her consideration, for the time being.”  He chuckled a little bit and shook his head slightly, again finding the situation probably more humorous than he should.  “In fact, I think that asking her on a date would be a pretty damn good idea.  She definitely could use the break.  And if she tells you that she can’t afford the time, just let me know.  I’ll kick her out of her room for ya.”  He grinned and gave an impish wink.  Hopefully that had allayed many of Daiken’s doubts while maintaining Noctavia’s privacy.  If she wanted to tell him details of her reticence to move into a relationship, she would do so.

The Delta listened attentively to Ryker’s words. He was honest and careful with his words to not give him fake hopes, but at the same time encouraging him to continue. With a new smile filled with new hope and confidence, he moved towards him again and placed his hand and forearm vertically straight in front of his chest waiting for him to shake it. Not like the formal handshake they performed before, but one a bit more confident and friendly. “Thank you Ryker. I appreciate the honesty and that you didn’t mind hearing a man’s problems about love.” His eyes widened slightly realizing he just said the word love. He was still trying to find out if it was love, but if she didn’t felt the same at some point, he hoped it wasn’t. “And about the date, I will happily ask her in a couple of days, just when I finish that surprise I am working on. I will tell you if I need your help.” Returning the wink he stepped back a few steps.
 
Just with so little time and words exchanged between them, he already knew he could put his faith and trust in him. Since he was young, he always knew who was someone to trust and with whom he should be careful. His brother was one of those, but he always denied it, until he killed their father and then tried to kill him, twice. His first and formed mate also suffered the same fate, as well as his sons and pack. He knew his suspicions where right, but he ignored them, confident that Tanken was the same caring and confident brother he once had. He knew he was going to have another encounter with him, and that was always made him reconsider the fact to be a member of a pack. He was putting in danger everyone there. Tanken wasn’t one to attack his true objective. His method was much worse than that. He always attacked the one that his pray cared and loved. The thought of him trying to attack Noctavia or Ryker, one that he knew could be a very good friend and ally soon, was sickening. They were both much older than Tanken and Daiken, but still, Tanken always used some technique to have an advantage. Poisonous knives, venom, steal, toxins, anything that could be of use against his own kind. He passed many years studding drugs and elements to know what were the most dangerous solutions. He already used some with him as a laboratory rat, just like when he just came to New York and Teimhnin found him bleeding to death with a poisoned dagger in his abdomen.
 
Shaking his thoughts away, he wondered if it was a good time to reveal the danger he brought with him by coming into this pack. He also wanted the Alphess to know about him, but he hadn’t find time to tell her the entire story. She just knew that he has a bother and that they were now separated. With a deep sigh, he had the hope he was just going insane and exaggerating everything. Maybe later he will tell The Alphess and the Beta about Tanken. He was surely very far away causing misery somewhere else. It had passed almost a century since he last saw him. “So, Ryker, may I ask what kind of combat skill do you like to practice? I saw you are very flexible and precise when you were stretching before.”

Ryker moved forwards slightly and clasped Daiken’s hand in a firm grip.  He caught the slight widening of his eyes at the dreaded L word and grinned, though he managed to refrain from saying anything.  He had thought that perhaps Noctavia had had to force herself not to use that word, too.  She had certainly danced around it enough.  “Not a problem,” he replied.  “It’s my duty to help my pack however I can and I’m glad to do it.”  He nodded at Daiken’s assurance that he would ask if he needed help.  Ryker could already imagine the scene it would be if he had to try and force Noctavia out of her room for a date with Daiken.  Not that he doubted she wanted to spend more time with the Delta, merely that she would be able to tear herself away from work long enough to agree to it.

He could tell that Daiken was thinking about something, something rather serious, from the quick twitches of his facial muscles that Ryker caught.  However, he did not feel as though he knew the male well enough to ask him what he was thinking and, as of yet, had not yet found a way to piggyback onto the link shared between a human and the wolf inside him.  Still working on that trick.  It didn’t really matter too much, though, as Daiken broke his train of thoughts and changed the subject by asking what sort of combat Ryker preferred.  That drew a grin from the Irishman.

“Ah, but that would be cheating, now, wouldn’t it,” he said, backing up a couple paces.  He figured that was about as good a cue to start as they were likely to get, so why not go with it, if Daiken was ready.  Ryker figured that he would be, since it had been him that had asked whether they were starting right off the bat, in the first place.  “I can think of one good way to find out, though,” he added, lowering his center of gravity by spreading his legs slightly, left in front of right, and lifting his hands, held open and relaxed, in front of his chest, again with the left slightly in front of the right.  “Shall we dance?” he asked.  Running through what he knew about Daiken didn’t take very long, much shorter than Ryker would have preferred, in fact, but he was able to deduce one or two likelihoods.  He did not bounce on his toes, as many fighters are wont to do, but rather grew very still as he watched Daiken, waiting for his reaction.

Daiken laughed slightly as Ryker moved backwards to position himself in a defensive position. “It’s not cheating, but you are right. There is a good way to find that out, but, before anything else...” He moved to the other side of the Game Room near the bar. Taking out his iPod from his pocket, he connected it into the huge audio against the wall. Increasing the volume high enough to feel the music inside their veins, but bot as loud that it will hurt their sensible hearing, he put one of his favorite playlists filled with electro and techno music, some Skrillex mixed with them. As ‘Animals’ by Martin Garrix started to fill the room, he glanced an amused smile at Ryker and returned to his spot in front of him. “I always loved to move with the music while training, it helps to concentrate your movements and steps, and, it gives an entertaining feeling around us.” He grinned happily and rolled his shoulder back making his clavicles crack.
 
He moved a couple steps back to look at his opponent better and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly to oxygenate his brain and relax his thoughts. Standing tall and straight, he slight his left foot to the front and separated the right one slightly, similar to Ryker’s. His hands remained down at his sides, relaxed and his elbows slightly flexed. With a half-smile, he waited for Ryker’s attack, never liking the idea of giving the first hit in a face-to-face fight. If the idea was to kill, then the quickest and skillful first and single blow was the most effective.

Ryker grimaced slightly when Daiken cranked up the music from his mp3 player. Given a choice, he would have preferred to listen to his opponent, but he had fought fairly successfully in louder environments, so hopefully it wouldn’t be too big of a problem. He made sure that the grimace was completely gone from his face before Daiken turned around, though. The wording of Daiken’s explanation was interesting and planted an idea in Ryker’s mind, but he decided to simply wait and see what came from it.

Once the Delta was set, Ryker offered a nod and the games began. For a moment, the pair simply stood watching each other. So, apparently, Daiken was of a similar opinion as Ryker and preferred to wait for the second move. Oh well. Carefully sliding his feet, Ryker moved to the left, steadily growing closer to Daiken. He gave a small burst of movement, both sideways and forwards, and snapped out a quick roundhouse kick from his right aimed for Daiken’s left, leading leg. However, no matter whether that hit or was blocked, Ryker leaped from his left leg and launched a much more powerful roundhouse leveled for Daiken’s right ribs. As soon as his right foot touched back down, though, he threw his weight backwards into a handspring, kicking out with his right leg towards Daiken’s chin as he inverted to discourage close pursuit, and landed back in his stance a safe distance from his opponent.

Daiken looked at his movements and moved one step backwards placing his left leg behind now. He looked at his next kick, managing to block the attack just barely with his right arm. The kick hurt but not as much if it would have hit his side. Using his left fist he tried to punch the inner side of his knee, juts filling air as he moved away from him. Curving his back and neck, his foot just brushed his chin, a playful and amused grin shown in his face. He was very good, and fast. Daiken used more the force and weight than velocity. This was going to be a very interesting match then.
 
Looking at Ryker, he loosened his fists and opened his hands again. He moved slowly towards him. Using a direct fist punch right at his face, Daiken hopped his distraction to work. He missed his hit, sending all his weight down to his right on purpose. He placed his hands on the floor and tried to trap his contestant’s neck with his forelegs. Taking advantage of his weight to throw him down to the floor in a lock, he made his body spin to the side.

Ryker felt slight connections from his second two attacks, but not as much as he would have liked, though he was learning important things about Daiken’s style from his probing attacks. Normally, those things might concern him, but this sparring area was nice and open, so he was not particularly concerned about that.

He started to shift his body to the outside of the punch, but Daiken’s weight was wrong. Rather than blocking or redirecting the punch, he ducked his head and shoulders towards Daiken and twisted forwards, under the punch, at almost the exact same time that Daiken planted his hands on the mat and went for a leg lock. One of Daiken’s legs, probably his trailing one, clipped Ryker’s left shoulder as he spun, but not enough to put him off balance. As he completed the spin, he lowered his own center of gravity and launched a sweep at Daiken’s arms which were all that was holding him up, at the moment. Whether or not the sweep was successful, Ryker threw his weight forwards into a diving roll directly away from his opponent, spreading his feet as he came around and rotating to face Daiken again, hands held ready in front of himself and a grin on his face.

He growled slightly as he failed to succeed his lock but already knew that possibility to happen fighting with him. It wasn’t going to be an easy fight. Before he could stand on his feet again, he felt Ryker’s sweeps and his own balance screwed up. Blending his arms he made his weight run along his body to his feet, being able to stand up again before his back could hit the ground. Turning to look at Ryker again, he returned the grin and launched again. This time he used more velocity and a similar kick Ryker used attempting to hit his neck. He preferred close fighting and he was trying hard to maintain the distance as close as possible. No matter if he kit him or not, he spun his left leg and lowered down his right, his front again facing Ryker’s, but his frame still curving down. He used both his fists driving upward to hit Ryker’s abdomen, exactly where his last ribs where. His force coming from his feet to his frame as he straightened his back, then to his arms and fists going up. With that he could either do an offensive or defensive move. If Ryker’s wanted to hit his head or shoulders, he could easily send his arms upper and prevent the attack.

He was a little bit surprised by Daiken’s display of agility as he flipped back over to his feet, narrowing avoiding crunching his face into the mats. Let’s not forget that, he thought. Little time was wasted before Daiken was on him again. It was obvious that Daiken preferred being close, so Ryker did his best to deny that advantage, leaning away from the high kick, rather than underneath. The slightly bizarre and sudden shift in stance caught him a little bit by surprise and he skittered back, emptying his lungs of air and flexing his abdominal muscles. This protective technique would make Daiken feel more like he just punched a wall than a person. It still hurt, though, Ryker remembered as his feet touched back down several feet back from Daiken. He reset his stance again, his grin growing a little wider. “Not bad. That almost hurt.”

Daiken grinned and regained his position with his left leg to the front and hands open and relaxed. "I don't want to break the bones of my Beta." He knew well how to react againt a strong hit, his fists even hurted slightly. Cracking his nuckles, he took a deep breath and listened to the electronic music. This time he had to go faster and not stop. He waited for Ryker this time to get closer. Why to follow your opponent when he could come right to the right distance? He  started to walk to the side, surrounding Ryker, waiting for his neck move.





(sorry so short)

Ryker smirked slightly. He had missed this sort of fun. “Ah, well, I do appreciate that,” he said, chuckling lightly. He flexed his own hands, keeping the muscles loose and supple, as he watched Daiken start circling him. Ryker moved with him, shifting his weight smoothly from foot to foot as he rotated, never letting Daiken get to the side. It was an interesting game of cat and mouse, each player waiting for the other to flinch, but it wasn’t what Ryker was here for. Had it been a real fight, he would have been more than happy to sit and wait for his opponent to attack, but this was just practice. Sliding forwards and closing the distance between them, Ryker leaped forwards, snapping a kick straight at Daiken’s chest. As soon as he had traction again, he snapped a straight punch at his short ribs and, drifting to his left slightly, a knee aimed at Daiken’s gut, unless he was somehow prevented.


(No worries, it's a fight so the posts shouldn't be super long XD )

Daiken quickly placed his hands in an X form in front of his chest preventing his kick to cause any damage rather than a short time bruise in his forearms. He turned his body and blocked the second hit of his fist with his hand open, taking his easily and with a short smile. His satisfaction disappeared as quickly as it came. He got distracted and could react in time for the third one. His knee hit hard against his gut, air leaving his diaphragm in seconds. His muscles tensed as well as his entire body, not moving backwards or forwards. His face drop down trying to regain air again. With the force he had, Daiken moved his right forearm into his blended leg before he could retreat again. His eyes looked up at him, the pain and lack of air visible, as well as his will to continue and not surrender. Trapping his leg with her arm, he spun and leaned forwards, letting his body fall over his to try another key around his neck. He could just have spun further and let him go to hit a wall or column to then have a bit of time to recover, but in a real fight that would had mean death.

Ryker felt, rather than heard, that collapse of tissue that accompanied someone getting their breath knocked out of them. Despite not being able to breath, though, Daiken reacted incredibly quickly and had locked Ryker’s leg in place and started to twist in a take down. This was not how Ryker had hoped to end up. Bringing his left leg back and arching his back, he aimed to reduce the impact of hitting the floor to one side and mostly just his foot and shoulder. As soon as he felt Daiken’s weight shift towards the floor, though, he caught a hold of Daiken’s free hand and manipulated his wrist in a well-practiced motion to have it bent forwards, extremely near the limits of plausible flexibility, and used that leverage to twist Daiken’s arm forwards, placing his left hand against his elbow. He smacked the floor hard, no doubt leaving a pair of pretty bruises on his hip and shoulder, but he had the advantage of still being able to breath, thanks to his knee to Daiken’s diaphragm, as well as the complex hold on Daiken’s arm, threatening both his wrist and elbow joints. No matter how strong someone got or how big their muscles were, joints could never be strengthened to withstand force averse to their natural range of motion. Should Daiken attempt to maneuver Ryker into a more secure hold with his legs, Ryker would put more pressure on his elbow and wrist, stressing the ligaments near to their limits. He did not try to struggle away, though. While grappling was not his forte, joint manipulation was. His breath came hard and a slight twinge in his left side clued him into the fact that he had not landed properly. Probably a cracked rib, at least.

Daiken was over him now, on the floor, and very close. Just like he wanted, but now Ryker had his right wrist and elbow locked, waves of pain moved from his fingers to his shoulder. He placed his legs on the floor and pressed his back and shoulder blades against his chest using his full weight to maintain him pinned again the floor. Moving both his legs under his frame, he trapped Ryker's waist and pressed his knees against his bone-free part, attempting to press his organs against each other. The pain in his arm incremented and he could feel how the ligaments in his joins started to surrender and tear up with the force that pushed them to the opposite direction, his veins expanded and visible all along his arm with the blood trying to move through it. A loud snarl raised from his throat with the pain, his chest moving quickly with the adrenaline rising and the lack of air.

His left arm loose Ryker's leg and picked up distance blending his shoulder and elbow to it's limit. The muscles of his biceps and fist tensing and pointing to the joint of his left hip and femur. That blow always caused a lot of pain and difficulty to walk. Daiken relaxed his arm and launched a hard punch against him.

Ryker grunted slightly as Daiken locked his legs around his waist as squeezed. That could be a problem in a bit, but wasn’t bad yet. He was amazed that Daiken continued to fight when Ryker had such an obvious threat in place and could break his arm, or at least severely dislocate it, with just a little bit more force. He was faced with a rather unfortunate dilemma, though, because he had entered into this fight with the distinct intention of not breaking any of Daiken’s joints, yet here he was, only a couple foot pounds away from doing just that. And still Daiken struggled.

He saw Daiken’s left arm draw back and figured about where he was going to aim for. He deflected the short punch by twisting his hips slightly. He hissed in pain at the impact, but he knew it didn’t hurt nearly as badly as it would have if he’d not moved. Plus, he still had use of his leg, as opposed to how it would be if Daiken had managed to land a shot on the nerve cluster that he had been aiming for. Right now, Ryker was out of options. This was Daiken’s fight. He was built for it and clearly favored this sort of brawling combat over the hit and run or bone aikido tactics that Ryker employed. He could either push a little farther and break Daiken’s arm quite badly or…

Ryker let go of Daiken’s arm and spread his own hands out, slapping the floor a couple times. “I give, I give. At least this round,” he said, still breathing heavily and grunting from the growing pressure on his abdomen.

Just when Daiken started to put more pressure in his knees and the pain in his arm grew, Ryker released his wrist and relieve came. At the same time he did that, Daiken released his grin around his frame and moved to the side he his body wasn’t over Ryker’s anymore. He let his back fall over the cold foamy floor to regain his breathe and normal heart beat. With a groan he moved his right arm over his chest and blended it in the right position. It hurt like hell, but he could also feel his ligaments slowly healing. With a sigh and a big grin in his face, he looked at Ryker.
 
The music around them filled him with energy and good mood. “Thank you for not removing my arm. I like it where it is.” He chuckled and sat up to look at him better. “It’s a habit to never surrender. Even if you start to take my limbs off one by one, I will always continue fighting. I would never give up, not even in a practice fight.” Daiken half-smiled and held out his left hand for him to shake it, the right one still hurting. “Nice fight, Ryker, but, are you up for the next assault?”

Ryker drew in a deep breath, feeling like he was reflating himself, before he rolled over and up to his feet. As he stood, he swung his left leg back and forth, feeling the abused muscles complaining at even that bit of movement. Carefully, he bent his right leg, keeping his left out straight, and stretched his hip. He chuckled lightly at Daiken’s words. “Aye, I was about to go through with it, but then I imagined Noctavia’s face if I had to bring you to Vitani with a mangled arm. It’s only practice, after all. That’s an admirable quality, though. I’ll certainly keep that in mind.”

Bouncing a couple times on his toes, Ryker nodded his head. “I’m ready if you are,” he said. Let’s try a different strategy this time, he thought. This time, instead of absolute still, he stayed on his toes, left foot slightly in front of his right and hands held in fists in front of his chest, mirroring his feet. He was grinning widely, because he was having a hell of time, but his eyes were still and focused, waiting for Daiken.

Daiken stood up to his feet moving his arm up and down blending his elbow and wrist. That was going to cause him troubles with what he had in mind for the next round. Taking a deep breathe he felt he was able take air in and out again without problem. Smiling wide he glanced a warning look of his amber eyes to Ryker.

Cracking his knuckles he lifted up his shoulders and took some steps back. He was using close fighting and always near the ground, now he needed to change that technics. The question was Ryker’s attacks. Where they going to be the same, or different, and how... His mind slipped to the music again, his eyes never leaving Ryker. He liked this, fighting with an excellent opponent without the need to kill it instantly. He never had the time to fight with his prays. His clan taught him to kill it as quickly and quietly as he could, like a good ninja. It was weird to take so much time fighting. His energy was decreasing rapidly with each attach.

-Ze Evil Alphess