[b]Injimo![/b]

The second that spear hits that teacup, Eclair knows that she just won the fight - and that the fight, paradoxically, just got [i]much [/i]more dangerous.

Injimo's tactics have shifted so suddenly and decisively it's like she's a different person. That first attack was brash, proud, imperious - the strike of a hero. The moment it was countered that hero vanished, all of the pride and strength that infused it blowing away on the breeze. Injimo was so ready to accept defeat that the moment it appeared probable it was accepted as inevitable. And within the zen of her defeat she becomes a dangerous weapon indeed.

"Lace stance, thread weaving," said Injimo, mirroring Eclair's narration of her approach. She swishes the edge of her spear and it catches a thread of lightning like a crochet hook. When she traces it through the air the lightning web lingers in place, forming a dangerous barrier that can only be moved through at the cost of electrocution. "Begin encirclement, clutter possibility space, create cognitive load -"

She snap-lunged, a feint that left a searing arc of electricity crackling in the air between Eclair and the hole the Architect-Knight had left in the floor.

She wasn't fighting like an opponent any more. She was fighting like a teacher giving a test. Each move was made to force a new, different reaction. Her guard was so standard, without a hint of inspiration, that it could be defeated by any secret move - but in so doing force her opponent to reveal a secret move. She was not fighting to avoid pain, incidental damage or humiliation - she could be dissected in a thousand cheap shots - but her stamina was such that her opponent would be forced to get more and more creative with what they showed. She stubbornly refused to take any risks that might allow the fight to end more quickly, refused to lose her composure in a way that would make her concede early. Beating Injimo was easy, beating Injimo without putting all of your cards on the table was [i]hard[/i].

"Doesn't matter what I'm into," she said, answering the question at last as she wrapped one strand of lightning around another, tangling them into a knot. "My job is just to keep you busy."

[Creating an opportunity for someone else]