Round 1: Kaya Yakone vs. Edward Jackson

Kaya breathed in the cold wind. There was something refreshing about the arena, a perfect numbness that danced up her fingers and weaved its way up her sleeves as to hug her body in a crisp dew. She stepped into the arena and slipped a little, regaining her balance in an awkward slide. So this was where she was to battle? It surely was exciting. She had never battled anyone before, but she had to get better if she wanted to face that Arbor girl. Maybe she would kill the Arbor girl. Kaya pressed the semicircular corner of her sleeve to her lower lip thoughtfully. She'd never killed anyone either, now that she thought about it.

Edward was back in familiar territory. Back in dark, cold, and wet caves, fighting for his life. Although this time it was for a different reason. It was a simulated battle. A tournament. He crossed his arms, looking around, looking for any sort of advantage point before the battle began. It was too dark to see in the farther corners, and his eyes hadn't quite adjusted to the dark because of the light at the center of the cave. He shivered through the sweatshirt he was wearing; he'd never liked the cold.

"Um..." Kaya took another slippery step forward, balancing on one foot as she skated a bit forward. She smiled and supposed it was a bit fun. "You can start, sir, if it pleases. I don't know how to." The small girl gave something of a gossamer smile, a weird thing on a battlefield awaiting death. The cold steel of a knife stuck firmly to her leg, nestled under her sock, but she made sure to pay it no heed. It did not exist. Not yet. It was her little safety tool, for if all was good and done.

Was this girl...laughing? That was new to him, although he wasn't going to challenge it. "You sure about this?" he asked her, grabbing his bo staff out of his pocket. He left it unextended for now, however. He was cautious to just come out and attack the girl because he had no idea what her gift was. Getting a clear look at the girl, he thought that Kaya didn't even look old enough to be attending the school. But he didn't speak up, there were lots of people that didn't look their age.

"Yessir." She smiled sweetly, then gave a small bow, a curtsy. There was a weird sense of balance there despite slipping a lot initially. She seemed light as the air, as if floating over the ice. "Go first," she said. "I do not know how." A step backwards was what she took after the curtsy, but that was all. She looked up with expecting, wide brown eyes, and her fingers were red. Possibly too red, maybe even glowing. Was that real? It could have been a mirage, the twinkling of the light bouncing off icicles.

Edward thought he saw something glowing in her hand, but it disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. Could he hit this girl without her giving so much as a fight? He wasn't about to go rushing in there, he still had a lot he didn't know about this small girl. He decided to keep up the polite front until she revealed more about herself. "No, I believe it's ladies first. Give it your best shot." he said with a fake smile.

"I won't go first, sir." The girl slowly made her way backwards and plopped down on a nearby rock, swinging her legs a little. She looked at him patiently and crossed her arms. "It's men first in my village. They hunt and get the first consumption of meal." she smiled. "I was an exception though. Still, I insist, you attack me. You seem like a strong person." Kaya pressed her sleeve to her mouth, making an 'o' around it and watching Ed.

Damn it. This girl wasn't going to give him anything, was she? He decided to take a stroll around the out edge of the cave, getting a feel for what it was like. It wasn't a large cave, but it wasn't exactly small either. He was walking a steady pace, whistling slightly as he did so. As he got closer, he asked the girl, "When you say you were an exception, what did you mean?" Maybe if she answered, it would reveal more about her gift.

"Are you trying to inquire about me for the fight?" Kaya grasped the corners of the rock, leaning forward, then backwards, then forwards once more, rocking a little. Despite the breathy silence of her voice, it echoed loudly off the cavern walls, so much that Kaya looked up everyone once in a while, to the dark ceiling. "I'd not say. You're pretty smart, though, Mister Opponent." She didn't know his name, and decided to improvise on it. Each time she kicked the rock, it clacked loudly and emptily.

Edward was starting to get tired of this. Pressing the button on his staff, it extended with a wsshh! He twirled it around a few times, closing the distance between he and the girl. He hadn't hit someone in a long time, it would be nice to do so again. As he got in range of the girl, he brought the staff back and swung it at the girl's head, hopefully at least knocking the senses out of her. "Please, call me Edward."

When the boy began to inch closer, she thought to get off the rock, but with each step it seemed less and less appealing to take the chance of stepping forward to do so. Finally, with his massive weapon, he swung, and Kaya lay out over the rock to avoid it. In the process, she slipped off it backwards and rolled over her head awkwardly, scrambling to stand. "Nice to meet you," she said calmly, despite the rapid rise and fall of her chest. She walked a bit backwards, and raising one finger, flung a red light to the rock. It hit it and absorbed it into its realm, pulsing in a red aura. "I'm Kaya," she said. "And that rock will explode if you don't touch it in the next...2 seconds." She made her way backwards rapidly, to run away from it, but promptly fell on her ass, letting out a breathy oof.

Two seconds? Easy. Using his speed, he quickly ran to the other side of the cave, hoping that the explosion of the rock would hit the girl on the chance that she lied to him. He didn't trust anyone, especially someone that he had just met in tourney of all things. After waiting for the explosion, he was disappointed when there was no boom. "Oh ho ho. You almost tricked me, you little devil." he said, laughing. "But I've learned not to trust anyone." The humor was gone from his face as he stooped and grabbed a rock the size of his hand, tossing it in the air a few times before chucking it at the girl with full force. He didn't expect it to hit the girl, but he had to try.

Kaya smiled despite the trick not working. It was worth a shot. When he threw the rock, it startled her for a brief moment, but she realized that stepping to the left was all she had to do to keep it from hitting her. It crumbled on the cave wall behind her. "Now you know I don't make things explode," she said. "But what do I do? What is in my sleeve?" She even made the point to roll down her sleeve. She thought it would be cool, revealing her bare arm. A cold wind burst through the cavern, but she didn't seem to mind.