Team Three & Four Abandoned

@Percival Gray | @Dealla Prince | @Koko Riddle

On the floor, Nico had been struggeling with herself. Her sobbing was probably noticeable, but it had gotten more quiet and inwards. The tears didn't stop coming but instead of wailing, she was sniffling instead. Every so often, she would've looked up at the ring, observing her team members and their rivals. Koko was still going strong and Percival Gray was there aswell.

Everything around her sounded so far away. The crowd that was roaring with excitement to see the children cut into each other, to punch each other... Everything moved in slow motion for a while.

Still on her knees, the dhampir looked at her hands. They were once pale. Now they're covered in blood. Her own and abit of another. Anxious, the dhampir dug her hands in the fabric of her armpits, hoping it would wash off there. That it would dissapear. Of coure, it didn't.

Her face covered in blood from the tears she cried so much, Nico looked up at a girl approaching her. It wasn't clear who at first, the redhead felt so dizzy.. Maybe because of all the blood she lost...
Up on closer inspection, she recognized the girl as Dealla... The Ravenclaw amidst the snake den. She didn't know her super well, but for some reason, her presence was all she hoped for right now. Maybe it was because she wasn't a Slytherin, or maybe just because her voice was so gentle.

A small shock went through the dhampirs body as a hand was laid upon her shoulder. She didn't mind it at all. She just wanted comfort. Proof that Dealla was actually here...

Slowely, Nico got up and nodded, her eyes hesitantly looking into the Ravenclaws. 'W-..What about the others..?' A hoarse, quiet voice that would seem to break at any moment if she'd continue talking.

Stats:
Stamina: 10 | Evasion: 8 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 6 | ArcPower: 2 | Accuracy: 6

Thump.

She stumbled backwards, nearly falling over, and she clutched her stomach, taking her hands away from her face for a small moment. Her throat burned for a moment, and she grimaced, hissing before she felt a fist connect with her face. Koko's chin snapped up, and she nearly fell again, just barely righting herself as she hunched over, huffing to catch her breath.

Her head was spinning. Koko backed away, closing her eyes for a moment as she swayed on her feet, and she clenched her fists in anger. While the girl was generally cool-tempered, her blood was now boiling, and she was ready to fight back.

Koko reopened her eyes, and while her vision was still spotty (it hurt, it hurt, and she couldn't see clearly), she was motivated. She ran towards Percival (like a madwoman, one might say, but she would disagree), and she, almost without thought, chambered her fist for a punch.

Koko would then, still blinking stars out of her eyes, attempt to land a hook to Percival's temple before leaning back and attempting to throw an axe kick to his shoulder area. She then leapt back again, and she would attempt to dodge if Percival tried to hit her again.

Actions:
1 - Attempt to throw a hook to Percival's face
2 - Attempt to axe kick Percival
3 - Dodge an attack

Interactions: @Percival Gray

Bam!
Two of his strikes managed to land flush on his opponent, who only just managed to keep upright with a glassy look in her eyes. Percy could only mentally cringe to what he was being forced to do, it went completely to what he was taught not to do by his parents. Although, he had to do what was right for himself and Hogwarts as a whole "I'm sorry Koko, but you've only gone and done this to yourself..." he grunted as he watched the girl catch her bearings in front of him. In the meantime, he loosely let his arms hang beside him as he lightly kept on his feet.

Suddenly, his partner Dealla had something to say. While she spoke he kept his eyes on Koko at all times and reacted to her comments as anyone else would, in shame. Their actions were both indeed yet it was needed in order to get what they desperately wanted, she just couldn't see their true purpose. His eyes lowered slightly for a few seconds in reflection to what he was doing, but flickered back to life as Koko made her move. The pureblood shuffled back as she threw her punch, quickly trying to lift his guard up in time to block the hook and move away from the next attack.

@Dealla Prince would call the brawling children 'idiots' and spit venom at Victor. He would not live long enough to regret his role in this farce. He gave her no answer, his gaze past her as he watched @Koko Riddle and @Percival Gray fight it out. He simply let out a sigh and nodded towards the exit of the ring.

"Nico, let's go," the Ravenclaw announced to the emotional dhampir. The girl had went from an enraged monster to a sniveling child. The later was honestly preferable, Victor hardly had the stomach for fisticuffs, whatever the involvement of claws would bring was certainly more than the Slytherin was equipped to handle even if it might have been a necessary evil.

Of course there was still blood. @Nico Shymane's crimson tears would stain the ground. Her blood. Her vitality. Her power, given freely not that she would fully realize. She was given an out, Dealla had given it to her. It was her idea to leave. To just get out of here. All she had to do was announce her intention to step away., To forfeit her spot in the fight.

Koko Riddle was not ready to step down. She was going to fight until the end. force her way to victory.

Koko attempts to throw a hook to Percival's face.
Attack 5 + 6 + 0 Miss
Evasion 17 + 5 + 5

She would swing wildly at Percivcal. The boy would duck and weave out of the way. He did not look like much of a fighter. Koko was going to land something on his smug face.

Koko attempts to axe kick Percival.
Attack 13 + 6 + 4 Miss
Evasion 18 + 5 + 5

Not her foot apparently either. A high kick that came crashing down, her leg sliced through only the air. Percival would back up, moving closer to Dealla and Nico. He had a choice to make, crush the girl or walk away.

Interacts with @Koko Riddle, @Dealla Prince and @Nico Shymane

His eyes watched carefully as she tried to find a receipt to his earlier strikes, first being a hook to the face. Percy saw it coming and quickly ducked and weaved the strike, before swiftly jumping backwards to avoid a kick that was surely going to do some damage. He bounced lightly on his feet with a strong guard up and didn't take his eyes off his opponent, almost in a different state of mind all together. His eyes had a fiery look in them compared to his cold stare, an indication that something had changed drastically inside of the young pureblood.

From the previous strikes he had gotten closer to the pair that were making their exit, yet he didn't dare to even share a gaze to them "Go..." growled the boy to the both of them, almost as a warning to go before they saw something they wished not to see. Right now he was on his own, his teammates choosing the peaceful route of leaving without harm. That was their choice, but their lack of grit and finding out the truth almost worried him to the core. However, he needed to ponder on that later due to the uphill battle he had ahead of him "Not much of a fighter?!" he shouted over to Koko with a piercing stare "I'm afraid your insolence has clouded your mind to think straight..." grunted the boy as he walked straight at her with a purpose.

There was no going back at this point, he had to do what was right for everyone, including himself. He raised his arm above his leading foot and kept his distance, throwing two quick jabs to the nose of his opponent before suddenly throwing a surprise shovel hook into her stomach to try and keep up the pressure in the hopes of making her quit early

Stamina: 7 Evasion: 5 Strength: 4 Wisdom: 6 Arcane Power: 7 Accuracy: 6
Ability: Fearless

Koko's hands shot to guard her face the second her foot landed, and she bounced lightly on the balls of her feet, attempting to keep her eyes on Percival. Her head was still spinning, and occasionally spots would cloud her vision, but other than that, she felt as fine as she could.

Well, let's change that to as useful as she could.

She opted to ignore Percival's words, grunting to herself as she glared ahead of her. What if... what if she could tire him out? What if she managed to dodge well enough to avoid his attacks? After all, Koko had never been the worst at dodging. She'd managed to evade plenty of attacks in Quidditch, but she felt her greatest asset would be how long she could last. Her determination played a huge factor in that, but still, Koko thought herself to be very strong in the areas of dodging and not giving up.

She felt a bit betrayed by Nico leaving her, but she still held on to her dignity. With a new goal in mind, Koko would attempt to feint left and then dodge to the right, keeping her hands up to protect her face - even if she was worried about her health, she had to admit that she wanted her face to look lovely just for the fun of it.

Action: attempt to dodge Percival's attacks by dodging to the left and keeping her guard up.

Interactions | @Nico Shymane
Mentions | @Percival Gray | @Koko Riddle | @Adonis Thorn | @Cassandra Ironwoods

None of the people still in the ring had shown any visible reaction to Dealla's words, and neither did Victor. It wasn't like she'd expected one at this point, and instead of trying again, she just shook her head and decided to focus on someone who actually needed her help - or seemed inclined to accept it, rather. It wasn't that the others couldn't use help, they were just determined to be stubborn and stupid.

So instead, she gave her attention to Nico. It was odd - the redheaded girl was older, taller, a prefect, but in that moment, with Nico looking so shaken, Dealla felt like she was the older one, like she had to step up and be a leader, someone to rely upon, at least for the moment. The blood on Nico's face was an unsettling sight, but although Dee hadn't known it before - she hadn't had thought or cared to ask the day before, hadn't had much time or reason to, either - after the display earlier, it would have been hard not to realize what Nico was. Not that Dee cared. She only did her best to ignore the blood, focusing on Nico's eyes instead.

"You can't help people who refuse to be helped," she said, casting a short glance back towards Percival and Koko. "I tried. From what I heard, you tried. You can't force them. They..." They'll be fine, she'd been about to say, but it felt and tasted too much like a lie to get the words out. She changed course instead. "The others in the first fight were allowed to leave after they forfeited." Ileen had. "They have the choice, they just have to make it." She'd raised her voice for the last few words, just enough that Adonis and Cash could hopefully hear her. They had a choice to make, too.

After just a second of hesitation, she reached for Nico's hand, paying no mind to the blood smeared over the prefect's fingers, and squeezed it, trying to project the comfort that she tended to struggle to put into words, before trying to tug her forward, away from the ring, if Nico allowed. "Let's find a place where you can wash your face, okay?"

Stats
Sta 4 | Eva 7 | Str 3 | Wis 8 | Arc 6 | Acc 7
Evasive Maneuvers

@Percival Grey was going to win the match, that much was obvious. Too stubborn to stand down, let the boy walk away with the victory, he would be forced to earn it. @Koko Riddle was a durable young woman, had she considered her own physical potential this might have went another way.

@Dealla Prince would be forced to look on while she comforted @Nico Shymane. How her peers could so easily devolve to savagery. That was the easy answer wasn't it? Fault them for fighting, for succumbing to temptation, using this as an excuse to brutalize their fellow. That was half true, the answer to this puzzle was one that they failed to see. Fighting was an answer, yes of course. There were other options that did not involve this blood sport. That was the problem with people, they sought and they fought even when they did not care about the prize.

Percival attempts to jab Koko in the nose.
Attack 9 + 4 (jab) + 6 [19] HIT
Evasion (dodge) 8 + 3 (dodge) + 6 (dodge) [17]
Alluring: 63
Evasive Maneuvers: 78
Damage Done: 92, 748 health remaining

...and some were unwilling to fight but also unwilling to let it go.

Percival would strike the girl in the nose. She would see a flash of light and smell copper. She would feel her small, slender nose start to swell. It hurt, as it should, the boy was not pulling punches. He was willing to fight for what he wanted or at least for the sake of winning a prize that the obstinate girl.

Percival attempts to jab Koko in the nose.
Attack 14 + 4 (jab) + 6 [24]
Evasion (dodge) 18 + 3 (dodge) + 6 [27] MISS

The girl would take a step back and regain her bearings, she was not one to go down so easily. Far from a one shot. Well, that and Percival had the strength of a tranquized kitten. He would have to chip away at the stone edifice of a girl that stood between him and victory. He would try again but she would move swiftly to the left and his knuckles would hit only the air.

Percival attempts to shovel hook Koko in the stomach.
Attack 15 + 0 (shovel hook) + 6 [21]
Evasion (dodge) 19 + 3 (dodge) + 6 [27] Miss

The stubborn girl would not stand down. It was merely a delay of the inevitable. He was the only one fighting and he would strike her down soon enough. Stamina was a finite resource, but as long as nothing chipped away at his masculine form it was but a matter of time. Time before he took what was his or at the very least what she was unwilling to forfeit.

"He is determined," Victor commended him. "People often mistake ambition for deceit or malevolent intent, when in truth it is merely the willingness to pursue what you want more than the obstacles set before you." He narrated to nobody in particular.

Interacts with @Koko Riddle

The first Jab by Percival found it's mark on her nose and seemed to damage it pretty well, but the other two strikes seemed to miss his target all together. She managed to step away from his strikes and regain her bearings for another strike, forcing the pureblood boy to raise his guard back up once more. His breathing was starting to get heavy due to how much effort he was putting into his strikes, maybe it was time to slow down before he burned himself out too fast.

For now, his gaze sticked to his opponent. The crowd and everyone around him didn't matter to him now, almost as if he was dead set on getting this over with and moving one step closer to the next round "Koko..." he grunted over to her "You still have a chance... to go..." he said in between breaths in her direction, almost prepared to hear another one of her stubborn refusals that will drag them through a more than rough fight

Stamina: 7 Evasion: 5 Strength: 4 Wisdom: 6 Arcane Power: 7 Accuracy: 6
Ability: Fearless

It was not as if this had been going on for what felt like months where they signed up to fight but then refused to fight. They did not fight. They forgot to fight. They stubbornly stod in one another's way to serve as what, a barrier to their goals? Let those that wished to fight, that consented to do so by entering the ring. It was not fair how they forced their ideals on one another. How they were not willing to participate but felt that they could somehow demand the reward.

It felt like cheating in a game they were not even interested in playing.

He let out a sigh, they were convening. Again a halt to the brutality. A diversion from the ends that they might have had. A victory that regardless of this outcome they would never know, he was soon to die. Without Victor to move things along (and because it has taken months to get to this point and still not done), there was nothing to keep them here. Not that they were as trapped as they thought, it was simply a delusion. Everything less the blood and the violence that is.

He was not going to force them to fight, perhaps they would simply both stand down. Claim a stalemate. That they forfeit to the other, neither would win but neither would lose. Let those that wanted to fight an opportunity to win. To find the answers that they were willing to bleed to answer.

Had they not realized the common thread here was blood?