Xaih

New Beginnings Tournament.

"...yes, you did say that," Xaih spoke with a sheepish smile. Brilliant communication! Her thoughts were with great sarcasm, but she refused to dwell on the embarrassment for long. Anna's tone changed to a more serious one, and her smile faded to resemble a similar tone. She questioned to move to the corner to perhaps discuss future events in private, away from the brutes who occupied the room. She nodded and followed Anna to their destination, to then sit beside her. The secrets would be shared later, perhaps.

Then came a question, perhaps a bit loaded for Xaih. Was she afraid? And what was she afraid of? There was always the fear of failure looming over her every so often, reminding her of its presence, but she assumed it was natural, universal to people, rather. Her opponents didn't worry her in this sense. She would do her best with what she had and what they would eventually throw her way. It was her way of life, after all. Prepare for what you can control, and expect what you cannot.

After a moment, she would finally answer. "I'm anticipating the moment," she said, fixing her eyes back to the other fighters. "I'm not afraid to lose, or to lose my life to them. Death seems..." she trailed off, her thoughts entering a personal territory she felt Anna might not want to know. She turned her gaze back to her and repeated with a quiet chuckle, "Well, I'm anticipating the moment." Quickly, she questioned, "Why do you ask?" She never believed fear to be an absence of courage, or wrong to have, and she hoped there was a mutual respect in that regard.

@MelonHead

New Beginnings Tournament.

She half expected him to say as much. Naturally, no one arrived anywhere to lose. Nonetheless, she remained silent after in continuous observation. Xaih watched him calm the wolf down, but the threat, and need for her precaution, was not in the growl.

Another man entered the room, offering a lighter tone to the growing tension. His booming laughter and hearty voice seemed almost grandfatherly. Xaih reminisced on a lesson from his simple attitude, which best described the theme of the moment: to live in the present, the now, and enjoy it. It could easily be a disguise. After all, he did come practically as unprepared as she in regards to wearing any protective gear, and that usually garnered suspicion. Regardless, she never minded reflecting on the positive memories of her past. She had so few shining dimly in the gloom that loomed over her. Her lips curved into a small smile.

A voice interrupted her thoughts back to the reality at hand. He spoke through a microphone, though they couldn't see him, and welcomed the entrants to the tournament. She stood from her chair, the strands of her hair sliding off her shoulder to behind her, freely hanging from her ponytail. She took a few steps away from the chair to stand closer in the center, listening closely. She wasn't aware of a cash prize to be awarded to the winner, which was a delight to hear.

To her right, she heard the unmistakable pitter-patter of footsteps in water after the announcement. Quickly turning her head, she spotted a redheaded woman nearing her with a somber face. Her thoughts returned back to home once she looked in her eyes. A touch of death crossed this woman's eyes, although Xaih didn't believe her to be dead. She had those eyes engraved in her memories, empty and cold, where they could rip the soul right from your being if they wanted. The woman seemed animated enough, but then again...

Xaih turned to her as the woman finally stopped beside her. She knew her name immediately and offered assistance in the tournament, of which she would hardly turn down, especially in her condition. The dripping water, and the woman's apathy towards it, also suggested that this woman may be of help in other aspects. She offered a smile to the woman's dismal tone. "I would appreciate that, thank you. And you are...?" She trailed off, but she was trying to be polite. Being able to have a mentor was wonderful, but she felt it would be disrespectful to not know their name.

@Melonhead

New Beginnings Tournament.

The lobby was finally beginning to fill up with the other competitors: a man with steps too loud and one who enjoyed the silence, much like her. Although, as she learned in the past, first impressions hardly lasted. They were in a comfortable lobby, and tensions were relatively low. Xaih kept her observations to herself, nonetheless.

The loud one seemed more wanting to share his thoughts, however, and it was only slightly bothersome that he decided she was a gypsy. She may have been nomadic, but it wasn't her choice, and she certainly wasn't free-spirited. To be fair, she did steal on occasion, for necessity of survival, naturally. Still, she didn't feel the need to correct him. First impressions hardly lasted.

Another loud person entered the room rather abruptly after what was said, and trailing beside him stepped an oversized wolf. That would cause some concern in a fight under a multitude scenarios, especially in tracking. She quit fidgeting with her hair and folded her hands together and narrowed her eyes in thought. He seemed confident enough, but perhaps too much.

"Who knows," she chimed in, "Maybe three might prove to be too much for you."

New Beginnings Tournament.

Xaih tilted her head to the side a little in confusion. A waitress, she thought, in the room labeled for fighters only?

He left before she could point out the flaws in his logic, but it didn't matter much. He was finally gone, and she could return to the silence, waiting for the others who belonged in the room with her.

New Beginnings Tournament.

Xaih wasn't aware of how long she was waiting for another fighter to enter the room, but she considered her patience to be a virtue. She recalled how brash she used to be, and how much effort she wasted in using aggressive tactics. She almost lost her life because of it.

The sound of the door sliding open snapped her back into reality. She opened her eyes, as blue as ice, and stared at the man who introduced himself as Lysander. The name was familiar, but he looked like a stranger. Perhaps it was simply a common name, or maybe her memory failed her in this instance. Either way, he was worried about finding his way to a viewing room. If she was correct in her assumption, he wasn't a fighter meant to be in that room with her. Even if she wanted to help him, she could be of no assistance. She remained seated, hoping for a short conversation.

"I'm afraid I'd be just as lost as you. Have you tried retracing your steps?"

Obviously, it wasn't a helpful question, and she may have come across as less than inviting. It was her nature. Regardless if she knew this man from years before, she wanted to ponder very little on the subject. She had other events to prepare for.

New Beginnings Tournament.

Four years ago, she was broken, left to rot beneath a hellish sky of red flame and falling debris. The flesh that bound her whole had been ripped and pulled apart, right down to the bone. She wanted to scream, but the fumes of the fire filled her lungs each time she gasped for air.

As she choked from the fumes, and lay on the cracked earth, she captured a glimpse of the man who left her for dead. He won, after all, and it was only fitting that he would be free to escape. In an ironic twist of fate, her body would mold with the elements, and she would be forever lost to the black. She could have laughed.

Xaih stepped to the center of the lobby, her leather boots echoing softly though the empty room. While this particular setting was certainly new to her, she was first introduced to rugged areas, a drunken crowd, if there was one, and leaving a fight on an empty stomach. While in recovery, she grew more accustomed to a life of peace than aggression. The people who helped her, they reminded Xaih of the ones in her village--privileged to live on a and of abundant resources, yet lucky enough to not live under the rule of a merciless God.

Unlike them, however, she could not sustain a lifestyle of peace for long. She wasn't ungrateful, but she couldn't live with them.

Looking around, to her far right she found entryways to other areas, and to her left a small resting area. Her boots clicked against the floor once more as she made her way over to the small set of chairs and sat down. She flipped her long black hair over her shoulder and immediately started to move her fingers through the strands. Quietly, she waited for the other competitors to arrive, and with both eyes closed.

She needed to keep her memories close, and to remind herself she made the right decision.

New Beginnings Tournament.

Woo! :)

New Beginnings Tournament.

I'm sorry to say I'm going to be backing out. I'm going to be working on a roleplay idea I have, and I anticipate it'll take up just about all of the time I allow myself for writing. I wish you guys the best of luck though.

@Estella

Good luck!

I am also still interested if this is still going down.

New Beginnings Tournament.

@MelonHead Teach me your ways, if my character is suitable for your style.

New Beginnings Tournament.

Name: Xaih
Age: 24
Height/Weight: 5'8", 135 lbs.
Personality:

From her aggressive and unfortunate past, Xaih originally blossomed into the expected: brash, aggressive, headstrong, and a bit too bold. Through her years away from her family and her home, and combined with her years of training, she began to follow a new path, one she was sure to be unobtainable. Down this road, she found her center. Outside of combat, she would no longer be brash and bold, but reserved. During combat, she would be aggressive, but critical. In the company of friends and her sister, however, she is calm, friendly, and quite talkative. While she has changed in many ways, she never forgot the reason for these changes and what she did.

Appearance:

Equipment:

Xaih has only her outfit--no weapons or gear. Her outfit consists of leather arm guards that can take a small amount of damage, leather boots for trekking long distances, a light blue sleeveless shirt and dark gray padded, formfitting pants.

Abilities:

Xaih has natural command over the element of water, a gift from her father. She is restricted, as she cannot conjure water out of nothing, but she has a strong manipulation over it to where she can take the water from nearby plants. She can also turn water into ice and use spikes as a make-shift weapon for both close- and long-ranged attacks or defenses.

Xaih has little experience with hand-to-hand combat, but she is a great acrobat. Due to her average size and slightly smaller build, she relies on long-range attacks and her acrobatic skills to escape sticky situations.

Experience level: Low-mid tier.