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Ryder raised his hands in mock terror. "Oh no. Please. Don't kill me." He rolled his eyes and adjusted into a more appropriate fighting stance. "If you really want to get your ass kicked, then come on." She's only an archer. Clearly not as much experience as I've had in close range. Plus I still have a dagger. This should be too easy.

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"Well, since you said please," Nova sneered. She rocked from foot to foot for a moment, thinking, Okay... I've just gotta be quick, strike fast, stay low. She suddenly sprinted towards him, swinging her fist tightly and hard in an attempt to land a quick blow, her eyes intense.

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Ryder dodged quickly but clumsily. "Yeesh. I was kidding. Someone's a little over-eager." He hopped backwards, putting some distance in between them. "Come one. Don't make me hurt you. I don't want to deal with the karma backlash."

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Nova bounced lightly on her feet, her hands raised defensively, with a sneer on her face. "I dunno, Ryder, I'm having fun so far. Why? Are you not having fun?" she pretended to pout.

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"So much fun. But I can't just punch you in the face. That'd be cruel of me. You're obviously in over your head here." Ryder mocked her as he quickly kicked out a leg in an attempt to trip her.

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Nova reacted quickly, using her speed to leap over his leg, stumbling slightly upon landing. "You can move quicker than you look," she commented, her voice having a surprising lack of sarcasm. She ducked quickly to avoid any possible hits, then aimed a punch at his stomach.

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Ryder didn't dodge, reacting to the hit with only an exhalation of air as the wind is knocked out of him. Man... Hits harder than I thought. He grabbed at her while she was in close proximity, trying to grab her before she could jump back.

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Nova grinned widely in satisfaction upon feeling her hand meet his stomach. She tried to jump back out of striking distance but felt his hand clench around her wrist before she could evade him. She growled and pulled back on her wrist, trying to pull free. She also attempted to land a kick with her opposite foot.

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Instead of pulling back, Ryder maintained his grip on her wrist and shoved forward, trying to throw her off-balance. Her kick landed on his ankle and tripped him slightly, throwing his weight behind his shove.

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Nova's eyes widened slightly as she was thrown back by the force of Ryder's weight. She landed hard on the ground and was stunned for a moment, shaking her head slightly to clear her mind. She noticed him tripping, but wasn't able to move out of the way in time to avoid his fall. She gasped slightly as he fell after her, his hands hitting the ground on either side of her head.

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Ryder's eyes widened as he looked down into Nova's eyes. "Uh... " Whoah. This was not the plan He tried to recover with a taunt. "I think this means I win."

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Nova's eyes remained wide open as he met his blue gaze. She laughed slightly and snickered, "No way, you tripped and got lucky. I thought you were supposed to be a fighter." She's sensed that his hostility had diminished, and she felt her own slipping away.

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"Oh, I assure you I am. I just didn't want to hurt you." Ryder grinned cockily. "I thought you were supposed to be an archer. Where'd you learn to fistfight?"

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Nova blinked. "Oh. Well, I have an older brother back home that I'd wrestle with a lot. For fun, obviously, but it wasn't very fun when I kept losing, so I had to sharpen up," she explained openly, then paused, a bit surprised at the turn their exchange had taken. Their faces were still only about a foot apart, and she could see there was no hostility remaining.

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Ryder blinked and then looked embarrassed as he realized he was still on top of her. He rolled to the side quickly and lay on his back for a moment before propping himself up on his elbows and grinning sheepishly over at her. "Uh.. Sorry about that. That's cool... About your brother I mean."

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Nova chuckled slightly as he quickly rolled to the side and tried to recover smoothly. She nodded, acknowledging his apology. "Oh, yeah, thanks. He's a good guy," she smiled slightly thinking about her brother that she hasn't seen in quite a while. She blinked slightly and glanced at him carefully, wondering if it was a mistake to let her guard down.

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Ryder nodded quickly. "That's good. It's good to have a good brother." That sounded stupid. You idiot. What's wrong with you? She's a Rabin! Get up and stab her! Ignoring the voice in his mind, Ryder returned the slight smile and pushed himself into a sitting position.

Ryder grinned. "Nice to meet you, Nova." He took a moment to think before answering. "Hmm, no there shouldn't be. Why?" He tilted his head slightly and examined the girl in front of him. I should definitely be stabbing right now. Or threatening to stab. She's a Rabin.

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Nova relaxed a bit, knowing that no one would stumbled upon her talking to this Brom. He's nice enough. There's nothing wrong with a Rabin and a Brom just talking, right? she convinced herself. She took a breath and smiled. "So, how's life in the Broms?" she asked curiously.