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Raullaur	The tournament continues, currently in a bit of a lull, with lower-ranked fighters competing before a crowd that is if not as reduced in quantity, doesn't necessarily have all the big spenders, either. Currently, one of the lionmen is fighting a monk, with the pair about even...and neither of them too flashy. And because it's one of his men fighting, Raullaur is watching from one of the boxes, ears flattened and tailtip twitching slightly as he eats a chilled fruit salad. "You do better than this when we spar," that rumbling bass voice goes. "Are you being paid to take a fall?"
Bright Journey	Bright Journey hasn't been at the Arena every day, to be sure, but she has definitely been stopping in from time to time to watch the action and chat with a surprising number of people in attendance...sometimes about issues of the day, sometimes about nothing at all. Today, though, she walks in with a large, colorful, no doubt fruity drink deftly in hand. She gives Raul a quick and cheery grin as she takes a long sip. "Well! This isn't bad at all. Could use a -bit- more rum," she comments, "but not bad. Good morning, Raullaur. How goes the show?" She pauses to take a look outside the box, at the action below. She of course spots the pertinent fight immediately. Hard to miss the lion man. "Hrm. Sandbagging? Sorry to hear that. Maybe this isn't his first bout today, I heard the schedule got snarled a bit when two of the referees penned different results in the same spot in the bracket."
Tiziri	%TTiziri is present, sitting in the stands with a jar of wine. She mostly looks a little bit bored by this one. Though when she hears Raullaur's voice saying that she ends up looking over and at least gets something else interesting for the moment. Though she first takes a big swig from the jar before looking more closely as though making sure there's nothing else worth seeing first. But there's Bright Journey there too, so this starts to get a little more interesting. So she takes one more swig before standing up and making her way down over to them, not seeming to care about any hecklers who care she's moving closer. "Hey." She says in a languid sort of voice, waving with her free hand.
Raullaur	"Depends on if he accepted a contract to lose the fight or not," Raul replies. "And even if he has, he should make it look good, unless he was paid to do this..." He muses, "If he /has/ a contract, then he needs to do it right." On the arena floor, there's a thunk of a staff followed by a slash of claws, and both combatants, split apart. Tiziri gets a grin and a wave. "Hello yourself. Come on over." He gives a slight smile, "And no matter what happens in the ring, it'll get straightened out...later. Still waiting for my slot to come up. Tiziri, good to see you. And Bright Journey, it's been far too long. How are both of you doing?"
Bright Journey	Bright Journey, well, brightens when she sees Tiziri. She holds the door open to the box seating and looks pleased to usher Tiziri inside. "Come in! Though I say it who shouldn't, since this is Raul's box. But he's not one to say no to pretty young girls, which I shamelessly abuse." She smirks and closes the door behind Tiziri before pulling up a chair. "As for your soldier, Raul, isn't there an honor clause or something about not taking a dive? I mean, I don't run a mercenary company, but I wouldn't be training them to be actors. "Anyway, to answer your question, I'm doing quite well, thank you! You both know what I've had on my mind lately, of course, but even gallivanting about, my wanderings have had some purpose. It's been...interesting...but I've actually been putting some effort into finding some of the most intractable people around and helping them to see things my way." She grins and takes another sip. "Still haven't talked the guards at the palace to let me in, but I get the feeling they have extra incentive."
Tiziri	"Some stiff competition, no matter how elite the forces joining. I'm surprised you have one of your people in it." Tiziri says. "Always a risk if you look bad you lose business. One reason among the many I'm avoiding the contest." She has an impish little grin on her face. Tiziri isn't really waiting for an invite either, merely making herself welcome it seems, as she goes towards a seat and plops down on it, draping her legs over one side before taking another swig of her drink. "Gallavanting about is the best way to gallavant. I know I enjoy it. Admittedly, I've been enjoying a different sort of thing lately, watching this and participating in the seeming non-stop parties that go with it with all my worth."
Raullaur	"If his opponent hired him to take a dive, then he's fulfilling the contract. And if a a client wanted us to lose, well...as long as we didn't take casualties, and there's enough geld to pay for the loss of face...I'll tell you know it'd be a lot more for us to lose than to win." Raul stretches slightly and rolls his shoulders, wincing a bit. "And company is very good, so thank you both. As for the guards?" He chuckles slightly, "I suspect they cling to duty, so maybe if you can make them think their duty is best served by doing what you want...I bet they would listen." Raul nods, to Riziri. "It is fun. I just am getting too many people asking me when I get in the ring. Starting to grate a bit. As for what's on your mind, Bright? Tiziri and Fudou brought up an...interesting idea. A way I might be able to heighten your stature, and perhaps seize my own goals."
Bright Journey	Bright looks at Tiziri sidelong and laughs. "Oh, my, that sounds like fun. Sounds like you need more stamina around the keg than in the ring. I should join one of these nights." She pauses and looks at Raul, considering. "I admit, I haven't forgotten what I told Makara when it sounded like he was only putting half a thought into traipsing into Raksi's domain. I know he's at least one of you, but...still. He could have hamstrung my efforts before I even got there. And I'm not going to lie, Raullar, I'm half afraid whatever you have in mind might do the same thing. But Tiziri told me you had a good idea. I vaguely remember you telling me what it was, Tiziri, but it's been a while, I admit. I don't remember the details." She takes another sip. "Pray elucidate."
Tiziri	"I'd say I'm doing pretty good. Considering I'm not missing anything." Tiziri pauses a moment and grins weirdly, "Anything." She leaves it cryptic at that before she stretches out and looks instead to Raul. "I do. It does seem to violate the spirit of the games too, any my own sense of honor to take a dive. But, if it works for you, it works." Then she takes a deep breath and a truly deep draught of her drink. "You're not wrong about Makara." She says, shaking her head a little bit. "But yes, go ahead, Raullaur. I can remind myself, and hopefully assuage some fears. Though I'll again point out to you both, that visiting Raksi will test you, probably in ways you are not prepared for, and will be very much intended to discomfort you in every possible way."
Raullaur	"This is still your trip, so if you think it won't help--or hurt your chances--then that's the end of it. I won't go with you, but will try myself after you return." After nodding gravely to Tiziri, he turns his regard back to Bright. "The idea is this--I come as a powerful supporter...and try to conquer an area near her domain. Routing out a foe to increase her security, to try to show power. But power that is not a threat to her--that can work with her, work with you. But my goal is to ultimately take lands for my tribe, you know. And this...is a much higher risk, but also reward, compared to simply seizing one of the hundred kingdoms."
Bright Journey	Bright frowns thoughtfully, idly swirling her drink around in its glass and watching the colorful patterns shift and blend into one. She looks at Tiziri and offers a knowing smile. "Sounds to me like you're enjoying being the least drunk one wand watching everyone else...well, do what they do." She grins, but then turns more serious as her expression hardens, looking at both Tiziri and Raullaur. "I won't deny that I know I will be tested. I...am not sure entirely how, but that's part of the challenge, of course. I will overcome it." Her expression is firm, her pink eyebrows furrowed as she presses her lips together. "I'm not who I was when I started this journey, and I don't just mean in raw power. I feel like I have learned much--that when I hone my edge now, I am not -getting- ready. I -am- ready. I'm just getting -more- ready." She sits down and leans forward. setting her drink aside for a moment to look at Raul in the eye. "So long as she doesn't see what you're doing as prelude to invasion. I'm sure she's seen that both ways in her long life. You're right...that -is- higher risk, higher reward. But who lives in those lands already? You're talking about conquering someone, are you not?"
Raullaur	"I am indeed. At least the land. The people if they do not leave. And part of the test is...who at her borders would she see driven off? Do any cause her trouble? Does she simply respect strength and might?" He looks to Tiziri. "I definitely do not want to invade her lands, or cause trouble for those she protects. Fool I may be, but not a great fool."
Tiziri	"What can I say? I may be small, but I'm pretty good at holding my alcohol." Tiziri claims, grinning, still looking pretty tired, even sounding it. Unless of course it's all an act. Who can tell? "So yes, I think soldiers is something she may be willing to accept. Though I still remain unsure how she'll react to the return of your kind." The latter said more softly, canted in an attempt to make sure it is only audible to those in the box. "If you were aware how you'd be tested? It wouldn't be much of a test." Tiziri says, smiling darkly, if a bit sympathetically too. "One thing I do expect is it will not be about power. She knows you'er that, it will be about you, and your own morals, ideals, and hers as well. I can only say with certainty it won't be something I've seen before either." "And Raullaur - if you come, at first it had better be alone too. Me being there will only account for so much otherwise." A pause, "Well, and in company of the rest who come with me. I mostly just mean no army."
Bright Journey	"That's something I've been meaning to ask, Tiziri," Bright replies. "It sounds like she respects something more than just raw strength, but I'm not sure she won't want to test me that way too. I'm not sure she'd confine it to just one or the other, you know? But you know better than I do, so I'll bear that in mind. If it's about doing the right thing..." Bright gets a faraway look for a moment. "I believe I'm on one of the most righteous patsh one might expect, frankly. But I'm not sure that is something I could say without sounding horribly arrogant. I try consciously to have at least a little humility, after all, and while I know all of us are powerful...we are not perfect. No one is. She herself is a great example of why we are not always the best in the room." She pauses and looks at Tiziri curiously. "I expect she will test my spellcasting ability to some extent, if the subject comes up. Do you have any other insights on what we might expect from her? My skill in combat, for instance. This certainly all feels a bit mysterious." She grins, but the smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. Clearly, she's taking this seriously, and there's a part of her worrying.
Raullaur	Raul grins. "Of course not an army. Not for a friendly visit. If I come to stay, the tribe will come as well, but not until then. As for our return...I wonder if she remembers who we were? Were we friends? Enemies? And should it matter?"
Tiziri	Tiziri merely shrugs a little bit. "I'm not so sure she will. Or won't." She giggles a bit, though it has a rather sardonic air to it. "Remember, she knew your kind before. She knew those at the peak. The truth is she -knows- what you can do. Or at least may habve the ability to do. What she doesn't know is who -you- are. That's likely what she'll be testing. Who you are. What you are capable of as a person - not skills, but... mentally, morally, ethically. What your boundaries are." Tiziri looks deathly serious then, even sitting up. "The rumors that you've heard are likely only the start. Indeed, I imagine it could be worse. She is the stuff of nightmares should she desire." Then to Raullaur she shrugs, "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. Just recall it's been a very long time."
Bright Journey	Bright is quiet, listening carefully to Tiziri's every word, absorbing everything in with attention and care. Eventually, she turns to Raullaur, and Bright has a chance to sit and think about what she's being told--not a lot that's brand new, but...still. A lot to absorb. Then a realization dawns, and she looks up as soon as she has a chance to claim the floor again. "Tiziri...you've mentioned this before...about how she knows us of old. But...you know who -doesn't- know the us of old? Us." She frowns deeply. "There's a few books on the subject, but none of them agree and with us talking about meeting someone who -remembers-...it takes on an urgency we've never had before. Do you know what she knows about us? About...I don't know, the whole of Creation and why things collapsed? I feel like she might be expecting me to know more than I do. I...remember my mate, and not a whole lot else. And even that is rather spotty."
Raullaur	"I do not recall even that. All I know are the tales of the tribe's founding. I guess my mate did that after my past self was killed, but Hunter-and-Huntress vanished into myth and legend, and we know not what happened." The lionman shakes his head, mane twirling a bit. "As for who I am? I have already been through tests. I will meet these newer ones, harder, unafraid...if I go with you."
Bright Journey	The sound of the crowd is quieter here in the box, of course, and the doors are securely closed. The action is starting to die down a bit in favor of a breather, and as a result, the din of the crowd outside has calmed down to a softer murmur. Here in the box, though, it could fit a dozen people, but only three are inside. As the three have a quietly intense conversation, Bright is just talking when she frowns and looks up and behind all of them, to the back corner of the box. "Quiet," she says, her voice low and even, but clearly a command, not a request. "Just heard a boot scrape, maybe." She gets up and starts walking...almost stalking towards the back of the box. She's wary but unafraid.
Tiziri	Tiziri continues to looks rather sober about the whole thing, swirling around her jug of wine but not really sipping it. "I'm sure she's forgotten more than you know too. Yes." That seems like it might have been a bit of a lighthearted quip. "Though honestly, it is a good reason to meet with her, and see if you can gain access to some part of the libraries of Mahalanka. There is much to learn there!" Yes, she sounds pretty wondrous about said libraries too! "Though no, I cannot even begin to theorize on what she might know about you. For all I know she knows everything. Then again, it could be nothing. Again, I just don't know. She's tremendously smart, the most knowlegeable sorceress in creation, most likely. So I'm sure she knows a lot." Here, again, Tiziri gets a more deathly air about her. "But she may also decide not to share any of it. It will be for her to decide." "And again, on the tests. On talking with her at all. She is devilishly smart. Clever beyond all reason. Her mind works on many levels." That's when the call for quiet is made and she stops too, seeming utterly relaxed all the same...
Bright Journey	Bright Journey nods to Tiziri, clearly paying attention to everything the young Lunar has revealed, but heads towards the back, eyes and ears open. She's hunting for someone that might have been there...but there's no one hiding behind the wooden chairs. No one even invisible, or hiding in the shadows. Instead, behind a decorative flourish of russet-colored stone is a small, glinting talisman of gold foil and clear, pale stone, carved with an Old Realm glyph. At first it makes no sense, but another soft, subtle scraping sound comes from the perfectly still talisman. Wood on stone, subtle but in the utterly silent room, noticeable by everyone. Bright murmurs one word, pointing at the glyph. "Clarity. We have a problem, you two."
Raullaur	Raullaur goes quiet and still, but opens his muzzle, tongue curling as he inhales, smelling and tasting the air, with only the three of them and various food and drink there. Ears perk, and he listens closely, then growls. "Eavesdropping? Who? Where?" A darker grumble now.
Tiziri	"Ack!" Tiziri says, clearly frustrated with herself. Looking momentarilly caged animal too, getting to her feet and crouching now on the edge of her chair as she looks around a bit, eyes suddenly wider. "I don't like this. At all. We were lazy. all of us." She takes a deeper breath, "Not good not good not good." She looks more closely at it...
Bright Journey	Bright gingerly picks up the talisman, but it's a solid object and doesn't do anything in response. She narrows her eyes, then tugs off her voluminous black cloak, wrapping the talisman in layer after layer of cloth until any sound would surely be muffled. "You're right. We were careless. We can take the chance that whoever's listening -might- not yet know what we look like. I don't know if it can send sights, but I tend to doubt it. We should leave now on the off chance they haven't yet seen us."