George A. Custer. George jotted on the paper. He handed it to Autie, who scribbled her name down next to his before passing it on.

At the entrance to the arena, as the group signed up, a tall, dark cloaked man stood around, having already filled out his application to join the tournament, and next to him was a smaller young woman. Both of them obscured their appearances in cloaks, and he looked over at the new people entering and signing up. There were oh so many of them, all signing up to have their companions fight...for what? Some glory? Maybe they wanted some acknowledgment on the streets...any way, the plan was going swimmingly, and he could freely act here due to the circumstances of Companion Fighting Tournaments. These new people were quite intriguing, and a small grin made itself apparent on his face. He started to walk over to the group.

Following him seemed to be an unearthly chill.

Red looked up at the approaching man and tilted her head to the left, causing her cap to slide over and catch itself on her ear.

"Oh, hi!" she greeted him cheerfully. Mari did not say anything. She was beginning to get uncomfortable with all the people around her that she didn't know. This caused her to express less and less emotion, and speak very little.

Sarah walked up to the table where people were signing up. She grimaced impatiently as she waited for the line to move up.

Rayea nudged her side. Looking down, she sees him smiling at her, revealing a mouthful of sharp fangs. She giggles as his tongue lolls out, and she affectionately slaps him on the nose.

He nudges her forward. The line had moved up while she was playing around with him.

Pouting playfully, she moves forwards, to stand third in line.

As she waits, she hums, rubbing his wing. He purrs at the pleasant sensation, content.

She absent-mindedly moves up to the second place in line. She scans the other people around her, but doesn't see anyone she recogizes.

Soon enough, she ends up standing in front of the desk. Looking over the sheet, she scans it.

It is the purpose of this agreement to exempt, waive and release Releasees from any and all liability for injuries to you or your Companion, damage to your property, and wrongful death, including if caused by negligence, even negligence on the part of Releasees.

Releasees in this case means the Organizers of this event, its event hosts, other participants, chaperones, sponsors, drivers, and each of them, their officers, directors, agents and employees.

For and in consideration of the undersigned Participant's being allowed to participate in Tournament events and activities, Participants waive, release and relinquish any and all claims for liability and cause(s) of action, including for personal injury, injury to your Companion, property damage or wrongful damage occurring to Participants or their Companions, arising out of participation in Tournament events, including fighting, recovering and showmanship and/or activities incidental thereto, whenever or however they occur, and for sch period said activities may continue, and by this agreement any such claims, right, and Causes of Action that Participants may have are hereby waived, released and relinquished, ad Participant does so on the behalf of the Participant's Heirs, Executives, Administrators and Assigns.

Participant acknowledges that they have retained a copy of this Liability Waiver and Release, have read it and understood it, and further acknowledge that in signing this agreement, they have not relied upon any representation of Releasees. The Parties expressly agree that this Liability Waiver and Agreement is intended to be as broad and inclusive as possible under the law.

Signed: Sarah Newbern, and on behalf of Companion, Rayezest.

Mei scan the documents with Seer's vision.

You got all that? She says and then signs the document.

edited 21st Feb '11 9:12:07 AM by Vyctornian

The cloaked man felt uncomfortable around so many humans, but disguised it well. He simply looked down at this person and said, "Hello there, you seem new around here...I have never seen you around here before. What made you decide to join the tournament scene?" He had to keep his voice nice and soft, belying his dislike of people.

The cloaked woman just watched, she looked utterly stoic, and clenching her hands over and over again, as if she needed them ready for a task.

edited 21st Feb '11 5:11:15 PM by NickTheSwing

"Well, I figured it would be fun, and Mari-" Red turned to Mari, smiling, and then saw how silent and expressionless the girl had become. Her smile faded. It always bothered her, seeing Mari like this. "Oh... Umm... she's not in the talking mood right now."

Red turned back to the newcomer. "But she thought it would be fun too!"

Zach and Esmerel signed and all the wavers were eventaully passed to the bald man. He nodded and directed the group towards the entrance. "You go on ahead. First fight's about to start." Zach nodded a thank you and looked at the cloaked man. "Hello."

edited 21st Feb '11 5:52:34 PM by Bindlestick

He looked at Mari and Red and said, "Well, that sounds...somewhat odd...no wanting for glory?"

The cloaked man looked at Zach and said, "Hello there, hmm, I must be going to watch the first fight."

He walked off, as usual, these new meat type of people had nothing on their minds but fun. Little did they know about the real nature of these tournaments, or of life itself.

He decided to watch the first fight, and then decide what to do next. This whole thing was a lure for the exact people who he wanted in one place...for their due annihilation.

edited 21st Feb '11 6:49:59 PM by NickTheSwing

Mari watched the man go expressionlessly, then took a deep breath. She did want to see the first fight, so she proceeded inside. Red took notice of this and caught up to her.

Sophie frowned, listening to the chatter around her.

"C'mon, the first fight's starting soon!" one man called urgently over his shoulder to his friends.

Sophie shrugged and followed him in.

Shortly after, the cloaked woman followed him, going through any people between her and him quietly, and she looked back at Mari and Sophie as if scanning them over.

edited 21st Feb '11 9:19:23 PM by NickTheSwing

Ayajeak had stayed in place while the people filtered around her into the entrance. She wanted to be near the last one in, maybe watch from a spot near the entrance. Apparently the first match was starting soon. It made sense that they would want to have as little time between starting and ending the fights as possible, they would move right from signups through every round in one sitting, and the entire event may be over before the end of the day.

In fact, to Jeek, it was the only thing that made sense.

She bounced her thinking off Vareth. He may not have the head for the criminal element but he was more the brains of the two. Sometimes the pair relied on Jeek's instinct, sometimes it relied on Vareth's. This was a situation where they could use both.

Everything here seems too formal, Vareth. The release form was written as if they could actually enforce it with legal power. They did not take any prize pool money or any sort of an entrance fee from us. What goes to the winner? To which ends are they hosting this event, with the danger of being imprisoned for a non-trivial length of time or outright killed, if not for profit?

It does seem off to me. Do they not run great risk of other criminal operations... shutting them down?

I haven't heard of anything like this through the normal channels, but it's too organized to be a fresh startup. Potentially big enough for several families to know about it. What could be under this?

Let's find out. All I can say is we need to be on our guard. Figuring out the 'why' and 'how' is why we signed up in the first place, remember.

Unlike you, I don't like waltzing into something without knowing how it works. I like to be prepared.

Vareth just mentally snorted at the apparent insult. He enjoyed the unknown, what about it? So far they hadn't gotten into any trouble. Except maybe, here.

The pair moved inwards as the first match was apparently starting.

edited 21st Feb '11 10:47:05 PM by SOCR

The only indication that Mari was bothered by being constantly looked over was her folding her arms. Otherwise, she remained completely silent and completely expressionless. The girl could easily have been taken for the companion out of her and Red, if not for Red's unusual clothing.

Red, on the other hand, was whistling in a horribly off-tune manner. It was impossible to tell what she was trying to whistle.

edited 22nd Feb '11 8:38:24 AM by AnnoR

Boreas smiled a small, subtle smile. Only Ryan saw it, and only Ryan reacted by placing a hand on his Companion. "Don't get too carried away, " He warned, as they filed off towards the first match.

"Ready for this, Autie?" George asked his companion. The fairy fluttered up behind him and landed on his shoulders. "I was born ready!" she declared. Her feet bounced on his chest. "Come on, I want to see the fight!"

And off they went.

On the way to watch the fight, Ryan, predictably enough, tripped over someone's foot- whether it was his own or not was anyone's guess. He had a split second to see the person who he was falling on, but it seemed to be a young male, just about his age, who was a few inches taller than himself. Of course, how he gleaned so much in the few seconds before collision is anyone's guess.

The sound of a person's body colliding with another's was a common sound to Boreas. He recognized it the moment Ryan knocked into Ayajeak. In that moment, he turned around, and immediately knew what had happened.

"I'm sorry for Ryan's clumsiness, young sir, " He said wistfully, as he extended a hand to help the young man up to his feet.

edited 22nd Feb '11 3:33:46 PM by Kuiper

Perhaps observing from the entrance was not the wisest choice. Some people had clumsiness to spare.

Ayajeak was looking into the center of the chamber they had entered, she did not notice the person who fell onto her. Vareth leapt from her shoulder with a squawk as she fell to the ground face-first, turning to take the impact on her shoulder and bicep. Her legs were pinned underneath this assailant, who looked about her size. He scrambled off her and his companion- far larger than the two of them- offered her a hand to help her up.

She took the offered hand and hauled herself to her feet. The man's heir was white and eyes an odd light blue, but otherwise he seemed like a normal human. She nodded, still looking at the strange eyes, when he apologized on behalf of his partner. Jeek then looked back to the entrance and backed out of the way a bit more, so the two could proceed inside unobstructed.

Vareth chittered a bit at Ryan before giving up and resuming his typical perch.

Zach and Esmerel moved onwards, hoping the others would follow. They found themselves in a tunnel blocked off by a steel grate. The tunnel was littered with air frsheners and discarded snack wrappers. Several people stood or sat around the tunnel, some pressed against the grate, faces flush with excitement, while others sat on the rough stone and tried not to breath too much. Zach and Esmerel stood at the back of the croud, patiently waiting for the fight to begin.

Red was a bit too short to see over the crowd. She looked, slighly pleadingly, back at Mari. Mari flashed a brief smile and began to scan the area for a good spot.

"Would you like to watch with us?" Ryan asked, his usual cheerful self returning to him. It was perhaps out of embarrasement, or perhaps to abide his feelings of guilt over knocking someone down. Meanwhile, Boreas had already entered to observe the fight.

Ayajeak looked at the boy still talking to her with a mix of emotions. On one hand she'd prefer is he just moved along. On the other she'd probably be in his company for a good amount of time, considering how many entries were on the signup sheet, and whenpush finally came to shove she'd like to know how an adversary reacted. Besides, he seemed so eager, at and at the same time so... repentant.

Somewhat like herself, she supposed.

Humor the poor kid at least, he's genuinely sorry

Jeek nodded, more to herself and Vareth than to Ryan, but immediately after the action she found herself amused with how well it suited both purposes. She fell into line behind Ryan and Boreas. Vareth shifted from her shoulder to Boreas' hair.

"I don't believe we exchanged names during our violent introduction. You companion, I believe this to be said your name is Ryan. I'm Jeek, and that fancy hat is Vareth." Vareth chirped in acknowledgment. Ayajeak looked to Boreas. "And what would your name be?"

edited 22nd Feb '11 5:31:20 PM by SOCR

"Boreas, " Boreas replied cooly. He seemed to look Jeek up and down a moment, nodded, and then continued. He said no more words in reply, and seemed happy to leave it at that.

Ryan did not. "My full name is Ryan de- oh wait, I probably shouldn't give it out at such an illegal place. Heh. Anyway, nice to meet you two. So, does Vareth talk, or chirp? I think he was chirping at me after I, uh, knocked you down, but I can't tell if he was talking really fast or just chittering."

Boreas had no idea how the boy could keep talking after such an embarrassing stunt. He paid it little real mind, though.

The wall mounted speakers blared to life. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the tenth annual New Relhama Companion Fighting Tournament!! We've got an exciting lineup this year, folks! For our first match, we have an up and coming fighter, thee CRUSHER!" The first rusty steel gate opened. Out of it stepped an enormous humanoid figure, every inch covered in chitonous plating and dried blood. Its eyes were twin rubys and its teeth were yellowed slabs the size of tombstones. "Versus our reigning champion... THE TICK-TOCK MAN!!!" The other gate opened with a shriek of metal against stone. Out stepped a smallish humanoid creature. Its skin was rubbery and eggshell white. It had no discernable facial features aside from the ticking clock face. The Tick-Tock Man cracked his knuckled. It was fairly clear which way this was going to go. "Readyyyyyyy... FIGHT!" The Crusher charged at full spedd and then... he was dead, orangish blood pouring out of the gaping wound on his back. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Tick-Tock Man wins! And now, a brief intermission."

NUKED

edited 22nd Feb '11 5:54:19 PM by SOCR