The Lounge (Round One)

Six begins to feel slightly...unsure of what to do right now. The amount of contestants surely had doubled, there's now way he could even try to get to know all of them. God damn people and their socializing, their big events. It was no matter though, he would simply just have to go back to his previous method and observe from a distance.

Doing so, the raccoon gets up from the couch he was at, finishing the water he had in his hand and then disposing of the cup it was in. He stands to the back of the room, against the wall, eyes set on the screen which would flicker through all the contestants. One thing he does notice, is that the contestants are majority, relatively young. Interesting. This whole concept was interesting, bring creatures together to...fight. For what? A vacation? money? Surely they didn't have to have people fight each other for that.


It didn't matter though, nor did he care, much. He let's out a sigh, stretching out his arms. The quiet raccoon then returns to watching the room, eyes darting around. Watching, scanning, judging.

'He's a cyan kid a he's a rude bugger. What have I gotten myself into?' "If neither of you know where the slushie maker is, then why're you here?" Blizz stated with an irritated voice, still slightly scratching her head. Talk about priority, Blizz knew how to even when she saw stars... 'Stars? Ugh shite...' *Thump* Blizz...landed her head on the table and didn't move. (Don't worry, she'll be fine... probably... wonder how she's gonne wake up this time...)

Envy watched Amber plop down and put her feet out, yet he saw the buffet out of the corner of his eye. He decided to call that "The snack pods.", which he ran over to and started shovelling food onto a plate. Envy then started walking back to his previous spot and throwing lots of food into his face, which would make quite the mess (Maybe even on other contestants.) 

He was attempting to eat his troubles down as well as just enjoying a snack. (Sorry if I screwed up grammar and stuff, I don't have much time.)

Poor Greg was grinning like an idiot at the Hyena now. Oh dear god he was easy - like putty in her hands.
"Well I mean..." he began with a grin, too much pride to blush, "Normally I'm a referee~" Oh. Aaaand he'd missd the point entirely there it would seem.
Still, he flexed a bit of an arm. Can't hurt to show off every once in a while right?
"I mean, for that normally I'm without the suit. A zebra comes with it's own stripes - one that a shirt would only conceal!" he seemed to think he was flirting? Maybe?
"So what line of work does someone with your looks cover...?"

She gasped softly, putting a hand to her mouth in a mockery of childish delight. 'Really now? You will have to show me that at some point~' she said softly, fluttering her eyelashes for added emphesis. Man, if only all people were this easy to manipulate, her work would be so much easier. She smiles bashfully at his question
'Alas, I find myself... unemployed. I'm not one to be tied down, you see. So much to do, so much to see... so many people to meet~'

Well.
This was awkward.
The griffon just watched as the poor fox just... slowly slunk away in a fit of blatant embarrassment. Her hand shot to her beak out of worry, and the other hand that was being offered to help him up, instead placed itself upon her hip.
"Would you at least like me to fetch you a drink, hon'?" she asked the genius hacker with a concerned frown. "You'll need to keep your strength up for the rounds, babe, and using your energy to crawl isn't that smart, is it?"

Her hand idly brushed through her hair in thought of what to do with this one. "How about we do yes and no questions, mmm? With thumbs-ups and thumbs-downs?"

The talented hacker ceased his crawling motion when the griffon spoke. His eyes darted from side-to-side as she asked him to get a drink. What kind was he supposed to get her? When she made another comment about his crawling around on the floor like an animal, no pun intended, the foxy hacker finally decided to stand up. He shook his head to indicate that he agreed with the griffon about losing energy by crawling. He then did a thumbs-up to agree with the griffon's new method of communicating with the mute character. After that, Malware stood at attention and saluted the griffon before walking off to find her a drink. While he was in the process of finding her a drink, Malware decided to play one final trick on Greg simply because it was Greg. Malware pointed at the wire that was in Greg's ear and caused it to produce a high-pitched whirring sound. Malware snickered with delight at his prank. If he did get kicked out, it would be well worth it. After Malware found an alcoholic drink for the griffon, he brought it back to her and held it out so that she could take it. The alcoholic drink was a bit strong, but Malware didn't care. As long as he got the griffon a drink then his mission would be complete.

Ryder stared down on Boubka " That Cat attacked me. " he said Growling. he looked  around at the other  competitors and then turn back to Bobka, his eyes turn black as he smiled towards Boubka.

"Oh believe me, I know all about that! I used to be like that myself!" he scratched his head, "Eh... unfortunately my landlord, uh, wasn't a fan of the idea so... here I am!" he grinned enthusiastically, "Still, not that I can complain, when I get to meet-"

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Sudden dramatic music began to play as the names and faces on the screen began to rearrange themselves. It looked like different people were being paired up on different screens!
"Ah, er, sorry, I have to take this!" the Zebra darted up to stand next to the exit, raising his voice;
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Round 1 is about to begin, and we know just who's fighting! So; if I read your name out, head to the elevator, head on out, and we'll be guiding you to your randomly assigned arenas! Some of the arenas this time include an ancient colliseum, a nightclub, and the most exotic of beaches! Everyone ready? All right..."
He paused, taking a few seconds to check the different screens and listen to his earpiece before speaking up;
"Wolf and Envy, meet up and head on out, you've a brief flight to your location! Rin and Malware, time to get acquainted, you've quite the way to travel! Sassafrass and Esme, get your walking boots on, you're close by! Twilight and Ryder, hope you like history, you're a small drive away! Cruz and Boubka, to the high street with you! Froshana and Sora, to the high alleys!" Greg pause for breath, and to allow the participants to start making their way out, "The rest of you, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show! You have this round at the very least, to analyse your opponents!"

-----

(Actual fights will begin tomorrow, thought I'd give people chance to filter out and such here before things properly begin. We're all prepared. Are you?~)

As his name is the first one called, Wolf turns away from the window and heads over to the nearest table. Once there he sets down his glass which isn't quite empty, then looks up at one of the screens to see who he was fighting. To his surprise, he recognized Envy.

*He was that feline I briefly crossed paths with in the forest... right before we lost Travis to those humans in that flying machine...* he thinks, *Wonder if he remembers me at all.*

Wolf glances around and spots Envy before he begins walking towards the room's exit and the elevator beyond it.

*Guess I'll find out what he can do soon enough.* Wolf thinks, *And I'll see what I'm capable of too.*

'Wait what.'

Froshana had only just returned to her seat and was snacking on a couple of things on her plate. The sudden noise and activity made her pause mid-chew and she looked a bit wide-eyed at one of the screens. Her attention shifted over to Greg as he began to announce the fights. Once her name was mentioned, a sinking feeling hit her right in the gut. She found she was no longer feeling snacky.

It took a few moments for the hedgehog to peer around, looking at the image of her opponent on the screen and then having to find her here in the lounge. Once she spotted the vixen, she swallowed the food that was in her mouth.

'Oh gods, I'm so not ready for this...' she thought. Nerves aside, though, Froshana took a quick drink of water from her glass and then stood up. She made another glance at her opponent before starting off towards the exit. Her fingers were rubbing against her palms as she walked and her quills had started to bristle juuuust slightly, giving away some of the tension the hedgehog was feeling.

'No backing out now...'

"WHAT?! You people passed up the opportunity to see a tipsy person fight?! What is wrong with you?!" Blizz somehow heard the roll-call, and her face in disbelief, even though her ears were covered by her large headphones. "I'm not really complaining, but NOT wanting to see such a thing? Get outta here." She truly wasn't angry at all, but by then she'd be...sober, and wouldn't be as entertaining in her opinion (Don't fuck with the Russian, head my warning...).

Maxie took the beverage in her hands delicately, a surprised raise of her brow. Her hand covered her beak with a slight giggle and blush, and her wings gently wafted at her own face, "Ohoho~! What a gentleman! Thankyou, honey, but I don't rink. I was more asking if YOU wanted one, but that gorgeous mask would get in the way there, wouldn't it?"

And then the beeping started. Her attention immediately drifted to the TV screens, that read out various names. She looked for her own, but there was nothing to be seen. Was she not fighting this round? Ah, shame. Though what did catch her eye was that Boubka, Sora and Malware were all fighting. Honestly, she was feeling a little left out here. They got to have their fun, after all!

"Looks like you're up, darling~!" she laughed, her finger gently lifting Malware's chin up with a delicate and graceful touch, "And do me a favour, will you? Show the world what the great and powerful Malware 2.0 is made of, mmm..." A grin, and she turned on her heel, settling the drink from earlier onto a table.

Now it was time to actually take things seriously. And use these fights to a future advantage.

For a brief second, Esme's face was filled with thunderous anger, as she realised her entertainment was being cut short. Just as she was beginning to get some sway over him as well, and she didn't even get the chance to study any of the other fights first. She wasn't normally one fort stratergy, but even she knew she'd need all the help she could get in a tournement with serious fighters... fortunately however, a second passes and it returns to an amused smirk. 'Ah well, at least I'm gonna get the chance to kick the snot out of someone else... I wonder who the poor sucker is?' 

She paused for a moment as she glanced round the room, to make a note of everyone else who was leaving. She'd confess, she didn't catch all of their names, but she wasn't sure who this Sass person was, and was rather hoping to at least catch sight of her potential opposition. Failing that, she sighs lightly and begins to move towards the exit. She pauses for a moment, reaching deep into one of the bowls of snacks. She extracts a handful of nuts and pockets a few of them, before popping one into her mouth.

She gives Greg one last wink, before heading over to the exit, her smile becoming more and more genuine by the second. She'd just had the most wonderful idea for when she gets back.

When the obnoxious hacker saw his opponent's face on the TV screen, he immediately dropped everything and bolted towards the elevator. At first it seemed as though the fox had gotten cold feet and left. After a few minutes, the fox came back into the lounge with another phone in hand. Just how many phones did he have? It didn't matter now. What mattered is that Malware 2.0 was ready to fight Rin. The hacker then made his phone display a message. "G3T R3ADY T0 L053," the message read. This guy sure was full of himself, but did he actually have the skills to back it all up?

"OH!" He heard the music coming out from the speakers. Well that was some sickass music. Boubka was starting to get the feeling that he was in a movie or something. He saw his face paired up with another face. The face of a so called 'Cruz'. He tried to look if he could find that face, but he couldn't. Somehow this person wasn't there. Would he already be at the spot then? Maybe it's better just to go there and see if he shows up.

"Well uh...good bye then." He waved at Blizz before he stood up, giving a quick smile to Ryder, Six, Maxie and Sora. "Well then. Here we go!" His eyes were glowing. He was full of excitement when he took the elevator down. He closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm gonna do this for you..."

The whole time sitting on the couch in the room full of people, Rin felt calm as ever. She never really thought about how she was gonna defeat anyone of opponents in the fight in the arena, but did it that really mattered? All she wanted was some stress out. If she got a prize, she just would roll with it, and maybe live a bit of her life pacefully. She smiled as her big ears moved a bit. It was nice to observe those people, but she knew that she would need to socialize soon.

But then the beeping came.
And apparenty, she was annouced to be in a first bath of a fighters in tournament. That was actually great to hear, she just finished one book and didn't wanted to start another one. As she saw her opponent rushing out, she rather slowly pulled a little pouch out the backpack and strapped it just beneath the knee. Senbons might be usefull this time around. Cat thought, simply standing up.

Oh and the wild Malware 2.0 appeard again! Her mind simply commented, really trying to get her into the moo to the fight. Seeing the message that fox send to her.
"Loose? Maybe yes, maybe no." She walked right past him, leaving her backpack on the couch, and pat fox a friendly at on his shoulder. "But still hope for a good fight."
She finished as she walked out of the Lounge.

Aaaand that was a thing. Before Sora could elicit a proper response from the brown hedgehog, she was being called to arms. To battle. She immediately took that as her cue, and headed on away. "Well, gotta go." She gave a small wave to Maxie who without a doubt was going to observe how she did.

Who was she paired with, though...? 'Froshana'? Well, she knew nothing about their style. About their capabilities. But it was down to Sora to use her environment to her advantage and anaylze moves. After all, she wasn't that great of a fighter.

She wasn't expecting the fight to begin so soon, though. Good call from Maxie to get her to stop drinking, otherwise she'd have genuinely gotten herself wasted by the moment she was called out.

The black vixen slightly smirked. That wouldn't be a pleasant sight for anyone. Instead, she went to her assigned area, and was off...

Time would tell if she'd be making it to the next round.

A huge sigh sounded from the avian. It seemed that, instead of being kinda angry for not taking action yet, he was relieved. Now he could see others fight and plan something for the upcoming battles.

As soon as others started leaving to their designated battlegrounds, Zephyr retrieved a notebook and a pen from different pocket of his clothes to calmly walk to a chair and sit, slowly and relaxed. His eyes stared at one of the screens, waiting for the moment that the first fights would happen in order to make some notes.

Although he showed a calm appearance, he was really excited to see how the other will perform... And build a strategy to face them later, of course.

Six kicks back a little, returning to a couch, taking advantage of the extra space that was made due to the contestants filtering out. His lifeless grey eyes were glued to the screens, darting between the various battles that were about to - or had already begun. Such interesting locations, he thought. 

The raccoon analyses the various locations, in the event that he may have to fight in one of these. He particularly liked the look of the skate park, it was a rather urban environment, something he was familiar with. His attention however, was sparked by the beach. He had only been to a beach a few times, and understood running around in sand can be quite...awkward feeling, due to the ground constantly shifting around beneath your feet. He was curious to see how the competitors would cope, and to see if he could learn anything.

Also, Six was primarily keeping an eye out for those with "super" powers, which was the main reason he was here, of course.

Greg smiled slightly as he watched the group of competitors exiting. That smile soon spread into a doofy grin as Esme winked his way. Part of him somehow seemed to think he'd won her over, rather than vice versa.
Shaking his head a little to clear it, he looked around the room. Wow it felt... almost empty now. It was such a contrast to how it'd been before, a more relaxed atmosphere overtaking the lounge.
Suddenly, he stood to alert, apparently new information being fed through to him.

"Whilst twelve of you are fighting, eight of you remain!" he declared. Well, supposedly eight. It seemed like a little less than that had turned up for the more casual meet-up. Oh well, as long as they turned up to the matches...
"For four of you eight, your opponents for the next round are on the battlefield, so keep your eyes out there!" he opened his arms, gesturing widely, "However, for you other four... well, you'll be fighting amongst yourselves. Your opponent could be in this very room with you! So perhaps you should be watching those who are among you!"

Amber barely listened to the list of fighting contestents, only picking out the names of her friends; Ryder, Cruz, and Envy. A sick feeling settled in her stomach at the thought of having to fight them. She shook her head, trying to clear those nasty thoughts and decided to relax and try to get a better knowing of her fellow oppentents. She peeked up over the edge of the couch, munching on a snack and looking over the people who remained in the lounge.

Everyone was getting called to their respective arenas. The crowd was slowly dwindling down to a select few.
Spark had some feelings he didn't know how to process. Anxiety? Fear? Excitement? Whatever it is it gave him butterflies in his stomach. He hasn't felt like this in a while.

He only smiled as he waited until his name was called.

With the start of the fights, Zephyr quickly began taking notes. Suddenly, he got up of his chair rather quickly and walked to the next screen to keep writing. 

Changing from TV to TV, he kept moving his pen. Without stopping his walking, he was making a continuous trip between different screens, making his writing a bit worse than usual, but it should be easy enough to read.

In his notebook, he was putting the facts, like powers, weapons and behavior. In his mind, he was thinking how to counter them or explaining to himself the advantages or disadvantages they would bring to him. 

Strangely enough, he seemed to be between calm and serious, fully devoted to the study of the currently fighting opponents. If, by any chance, he would have to fight one of them; he would, at least, have some knowledge that could give him an initial advantage. Or that's what he though.