[center][h3][i][color=f7941d]Mary Stradford[/color][/i][/h3] 
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[color=f7941d]"What should our opening speech be? Should we be enigmatic or energetic? Hopefully the stadium looks dull enough that we can be easily seen even from the nose bleeder sections. Do you think we have enough time to buy some gunpowder for a few pyrotechnics?[/color] The chattering of Mary Stradford was the only thing heard in a small corner of the waiting area. The small figure of Tiamat sat patiently upon a familiar looking boulder as her partner paced in circles. A silent sigh escaped from the Water Spirit's lips as she awaited the sounds of commencement from the Colosseum, her usual blank expression present upon her face even as Mary constantly bombarded her with ludicrous ideas. When the situation quickly deteriorated at the square, the sahuagin quickly ducked out of the center of attention, grabbing her partner and absconding quickly even as the teen tried to remove herself from the small Spirit's grip. The state of affairs the duo had left behind were payed no mind by the Spirit, only the safety of her partner mattered. 

Of course, the shorter girl was later berated by the brunette she had "saved", Mary believing that the opportunity for widespread fame was lost at that moment. However, the announcement for the gathering at the Colosseum washed those thoughts away, replacing them with the anticipation of what the duo came to the city for in the first place: The Tournament. Mary's mood had quickly turned positive and excited after that, leading to their current situation. However, the human had been strangely insistent on bringing the boulder she had entered the city upon, naming the small piece of landmass "Rocky" in honor of "the fun times they have had together". Tiamat had just waved it off as another peculiarity, but during the waiting time she had come up with a few different reasonings to her partner's apparent madness.

They had next to no clue on what their opponent possessed within their arsenal of abilities, this "Isabelle Kaiser" originating from an entirely different academy than the duo. In addition, their ranged options were quite lacking, only their strength and skill being any kind of deciding factor, as well as Mary's unpredictability and her own inhumane speed. "Rocky" could very well be their ticket to victory, as the Spirit hardly believed any sort of "fair" shielding could stand up to the destructive power of thrown meteorites. Even if the speed of the giant projectile wouldn't compare to the terminal velocity of a hurtling meteor, it would still pack quite a punch.

[color=f7941d]"Tia! Are you even listening to me? We need to practice our battle poses!"[/color] the excitable, yet currently whiny, voice of her partner shattered the current thoughts of the Water Spirit. Tiamat's eyes refocused onto her surroundings, near instantly noticing the mock pout present on Mary's face, clearly annoyed by her partner's apparent disregard of her ideas. With the ghost of a smirk that Mary just barely caught, Tiamat hopped off of "Rocky" and brought her attention towards her partner's new scheme. Of course, before any planning could be made, appeasing the craziness of her Song Knight came first.