"...Really? Have you not? That is. Interesting."

A long, silent glance at Maelia. The flicker of a frown, the swish of a tail. An uncovered yawn, and a tiny shrug. Not worth the comment, in the end. Mirror released her thumb from her fist and looks down at her claw. The blood is seeped into everything now. She sighs and leaves her seat, swishing over to a table filled with bottled drinks so she can start pouring water over her wound and her fur. 

"I have been thinking," she calls across the room, "About the nature of Jacinta Niares' secret spear."

Half a bottle of water has been spilled out onto the floor, but at least her fur is clean again. She puts her thumb in front of her mouth again and sniffs it tentatively before dragging her tongue across it one more time. She does not taste blood. She sighs and drinks the rest, returning to her seat.

"Before this broadcast started, you indulged in speculation with me about the possibility of the [i]Roar[/i] containing thus far unseen technology. At this point in the fight I am forced to conclude that is, in fact, the case. [The Dawn Rises, And I Shall Feast]. Consider Jacinta Niares and her previous fights. She enlisted, I believe, a full dozen of her crew in this tournament under her name, each favoring different techniques to confuse the tournament as to her own capabilities. But the matches that bore out to be hers, truly, all featured a single hallmark: overwhelming long range firepower.

This should have been her key to victory. Smokeless Jade Fires is an inferior combatant at distance. Dala Hunters Seven Quetzal specifically employed Jackals as a counter strategy to hide this weak point. Jacinta Niares should have burned several opportunities by now to reattain a zone from which she could control the fight. But she did not. She did not panic when Smokeless Jade Fires took her distance from her. She did not wince when she was made to feel pain. On the contrary, she jettisoned her weaponry and engaged at melee spaces."

Mira shares a long look with Maelia that sees neither of them speak. Their eyes are enigmas to one another, but their faces scream out about the depths of their thoughts. Two minds occupied by a single puzzle.

"Smokeless Jade Fires is a goddess who prefers to cast herself as an underdog. She tries to win through the power of her aura, her mythos, rather than the raw might an older deity would most likely favor. But today, she and Dala Hunters have been fearless. Flawless. Beautiful dancers, we may not see their like anywhere else in this entire tournament. And the [i]Roar[/i] has remained poised the entire time."

Mirror looks at her empty water bottle and throws it at the table still covered in full ones. Her lips part in a brief smirk when it lands upside down on top of a row of other bottles.

"Unrivaled poise. She has abandoned her advantage, been unrattled by a goddess' sudden skill at arms or the synchronicity of her new aggression. Again and again, she allows a goddess to close within point blank ranges of her. Again and again, she sheds power hungry systems in the aftermath of the clash. Thrusters, weapons, shielding, armor. And a lack of regard for control of her zones. A weapon, therefore, that is difficult to control at range. One with enormous power requirements: enough to shed an entire mecha's worth of dead weight just to maximize the output of her Crystal Fire Drive. The metaphysical certainty of a kill shot. 

Maelia Dala, whose star name is Three Quetzal. I ask of you: what is the true shape of Jacinta Niares' blade? What fulfills all of these conditions that must nevertheless be an absolute surprise. In other words, what danger have we not made a weapon of until now?"

She clicks her tongue against her teeth, and waits. And watches. Be careful, Smokeless Jade Fires. You will not keep your Bride safe just by the magic of staying untouched. Not today. Can you shoulder the pain it will require to keep that soft, gentle heart gleaming?