[Open] A Gladatorial Queen

[kree_soldieress]

WHO: Lauri-Ell, Tony Stark, OTA
WHERE: Ul'Dah
WHAT: Coliseum Fun, Alchemy Lessons, Lamenting Beautiful Women
WHEN: During Event
WARNINGS: CW: Alcohol Consumption in last prompt
NOTE: In Coliseum threads Lauri-Ell will be wearing This armor. In other prompts Lauri-Ell will be clad in these clothes.

I - To Fight Together | Ul'dah Coliseum | Open

Perhaps it was not the best for them to be making names for themselves. The Agrii had said to keep secrets, and that was one of the best things they could do. However the idea was to find answers for the Agrii, and when it came down to it, there was one way in which Lauri-Ell was very talented. One way in which she was good at getting to what she needed.

Combat.

She had been made for it, after all, and that was why Lauri-Ell had gravitated toward the Coliseum. What was more, there were so many people around. Surely if there were secrets to be found, she could find those capable of talking about them here. It even seemed this place had more active people of the species she was often mistaken for. So she had chosen to linger here, gathering funds with which to help supply the ships, but also to try and form connections to hear more information.

Of course some of it was fun, including now, when Lauri-Ell was being randomly paired with another gladiator to challenge a larger beast within the Coliseum. And when she found it was another He Row, she smiled.

"We shall win the day, my friend," she assured them with a nod. "Are you prepared?"

II - Agent To The Stars | Ul'Dah Coliseum | Closed to Tony Stark

Okay, so maybe her not-quite-but-mostly-Roegadyn looks were a bit more commented upon than expected. After a particularly intense fight in the Coliseum, Lauri-Ell had been coming out, still in her armor, to catch her breath, maybe even go find a meal. That meant going through some interior corridors, which normally wasn't a problem. Except... Except she found herself being stopped by a Hum- Hyur, who looked up at her intently.

"Hey you. You're the new Sea Wolf fighter. I got some questions for you. You've clearly got a different skin-care routine going on, how do you keep your skin so brightly blue?"

"What?" Lauri-Ell asked, quite clearly confused by what was going on now.

III - Alchemical Creations | Ul'Dah Alchemist's Guild | Open

While combat was the life she had been created for, healing was the life she was choosing. Learning from Billy and anyone else was something she was glad to do. And to find there was something here that she could learn which might allow her to feel on par with the others was wonderful.

Chemistry wasn't that bad, she thought. This? This wasn't entirely chemistry. Learning was an experience, with each little potion, with each little careful measurement and brew. None of which was easy with hands as big as hers. But they were easy.

"Could you pass me the red landtrap leaves?" she asked, gesturing to the basket of supplies she had set out. She had sensed someone was close to her, and she didn't mind using their hands.

IV - Surrounded By Beauties | Ul'Dah - The Quicksand | Open

It was nice, getting off of Agra-10 once in a while, getting to see life in a populous place, enjoying the rush of people around. Lauri-Ell was liking it, the reminder that there were places out there that people just... well, were.

Of course with that there was also more people. Specifically, more women. And oh, what an experience it was. That was in part why Lauri-Ell was at The Quicksand right now, sitting at a table, sipping at a drink. And oh boy she's sighing deeply as another woman walks past the table.

"We need more female He Rows," she mumbles to herself.

Comments

I - Coliseum

[tempredmental]

Keith was definitely ready to go. He nodded at Lauri's question.

"Ready as I'll ever be." He gave her a small smirk, and then drew his weapons, ready to go.

[kree_soldieress]

"You are skilled with this weapon?" she asked, picking up the massive maul that she had taken up to replace her hammer. "And are you the quick sort of fighter, or the hard hitter?"

She needs to understand how they will work together.

[tempredmental]

"I fight with swords all the time," he said. "And I tend to go for the quicker moves... especially against larger opponents." He also tended to stay low. A lot of his fighting experience with Voltron and the Blade of Marmora had been against bigger opponents. Galra averaged around 7 to 8 feet tall, sometimes bigger. Keith was only 6. So, he used that to his advantage when he could. There were the odd few Galra that were shorter, but they were often stockier in build, and still usually moved slower than him.

[kree_soldieress]

Ah, that means he would be competent. Very good to hear.

"My weapon is very heavy, and this can slow me. It is nice to have one with speed nearby."

She grinned at this actually. This could be fun.

"I believe we will stand victorious then."

[tempredmental]

Keith nodded and then smirked.

"Alright. Let's do this."

He took a deep breath and stepped out, ready to go. Settling into a fight stance, he waited for them to release the creature they would be fighting against, sword drawn and ready. Gladiatorial combat in general wasn't something he normally would have participated in because of Shiro's history, and he knew that fighting in an arena situation would worry his brother. But fighting alongside an ally against a creature was a lot different than fighting against another person for sport, and potentially to the death.

This wasn't the Galra Arena under Zarkon's rule.

[kree_soldieress]

Lauri-Ell shifted in her armor as she moved to take a place a bit more between Keith and the gate that the monster would enter through.

"I must ask, in case our attacks require it. Are you willing to be thrown around a little to get into difficult positions?"

[tempredmental]

Keith's eyebrows shot up for a second.

"Thrown?" He blinked. "Uh... not something I can say I've done before..." But... "I've used jetpacks before, though. I guess it would be the same." Maybe a little less self-control, but close enough?

[kree_soldieress]

"It is called a Fastball Special, from what I've been told. It can provide one a position of advantage to attack an enemy from an unexpected angle."

And so it could be useful.

[tempredmental]

"Well, I've never done that before, but... I mean, I guess it would be similar to launching myself with a jetpack, right?"

Keith shrugged, the crowd's cheers getting louder as the gate before them started to slowly crank open in anticipation of the creature they were about to face.

"Though, considering we haven't done it together before, and I've never done it at all," and, really, it sounded like Lauri-Ell hadn't, either, "we might want to save that as a hail mary if we find we're struggling."

[kree_soldieress]

"Jet packs have more control," she dismisses as the creature strides out. Big. Quadrupedal. Horns. Sounds fun to her. She grins.

"This will be fun."

[tempredmental]

"No kidding." Of course jet packs had more control. Still, it was the closest analogy he had to make. "I hope you've got good aim."

And, yeah... that was definitely a really big creature with horns. For a moment, Keith really did wish that he had his Paladin armor. He didn't, and not just because this was some weird ancient fantasy place, but because apparently the Agrii didn't bring it for him. But that was fine. He'd managed to pick up something protective by making money through side jobs recently, so he wasn't completely unprotected.

He was thankful for that.

"Alright. Let's do this." He drew his sword and charged in, shield forward to use as a battering ram to start with and deflect those horns before taking his first swing at its legs.

[kree_soldieress]

Who needs a sword when you've got a massive mace? Lauri-Ell laughs as she runs for the other side of the creature. Better not to stick together. While the horns went down at Keith, her mace came in to slam against one leg. The creature made a pained noise and staggered back a step.

[tempredmental]

Keith caught the horns with his shield, grunting at the force against his arm. It knocked him a bit off balance, and he had to let himself fall back and roll to avoid getting hurt. He was back on his feet quickly, though, and the creature's larger size made it move a lot slower than him. He went low, ready to bring his shield back up if needed, and ducked underneath, going for a slash to it's belly. He'd slide on his knees if he had to.

II hello I am finally here

[in_extremis]

Tony's staggeringly normal looks were not being commented on nearly enough. Everyone here seemed to be extraordinary in some way, and if they weren't, they wore enough fabric and hardware to distract the eye. Tony wasn't about to start wearing frills, so he was really going to need more cash in hand to afford the jewellery, or at least a dermatologist appointment. He didn't expect that to be anyone else's concern down in these halls, where he was flashing the few coins he did have and goading particularly volatile-looking individuals into making the bets, or insisting they had the finest weaponry in the region and showing it off.

On a whole new planet, it should have been easy enough to avoid Lauri-Ell. Instead, now he was standing a few feet in front of her, looking over the shoulder of someone else who's body language suggested they also had their problems with her, had personal skin concerns, and probably also wouldn't look twice at Tony. Tony raised his eyebrows inquisitively at Lauri-Ell, not sure what he had just walked into, one hand up like he was in the midst of offering someone the money there, the other slowly bringing his sunglasses up to cover his eyes. This was probably fine, right? She was the one in armor, he'd barely gotten himself a proper shirt.

[kree_soldieress]

Maybe his looks are too beautiful to be commented on. Maybe one had to bask in silence. Who knew.

As for Lauri-Ell, she was frozen, nervous. What was even going on here?

"I said what's up with your skin? You got a condition?" the Hyur said.

"It's just the way I am," she said, fingers coming up nervously to toy with her hair.

[in_extremis]

The only one who seemed to have a good idea of what was going on here was the person who was taking a very aggressive posture against people with skin conditions. That didn't seem very fair. Tony's eyebrows crept up higher, really not sure what to make of Lauri-Ell's meek response, and with a quick glance from side to side found that they were otherwise being ignored which meant what was to be made was that he was the one to intervene. His shoulders dropped briefly, looking put out and irritated, then just as rapidly he was squaring up and beaming as he swept toward Lauri-Ell, crowding the person who was getting in her face. "There you are, beautiful, we've been looking for you everywhere, the photographers have been waiting," he announced loudly, juggling the coins still in his hand to make a distracting chime.

[kree_soldieress]

The voice was a familiar one for Lauri-Ell, even if the Hyur flinched to hear it. For once, Lauri looked almost relieved to have Tony approaching. Even if she didn't understand what was going on.

"Photographers. Yes. They are waiting. I can't keep people waiting," Lauri-Ell said to the Hyur, before looking to Tony, half of a plea on her face. She doesn't understand, and she is trying to stay secret.

[in_extremis]

The anxiety rather than enthusiasm in Lauri-Ell's expression for her wonderful opportunity almost had Tony breaking enough to laugh, and he briefly tucked his chin in to bite his tongue and catch Lauri-Ell's eye over the frame of his glasses. Try to be cool. "Can't have that," he agreed, "Terribly unprofessional behaviour. Who's your friend?" He finally turned enough to acknowledge the existence of the other person, only for his eye to immediately skip over them and back to Lauri-Ell as he continued, "You know you can't be bringing random people with you to these things, the director is aesthetically sensitive, it can throw off his whole day."

[kree_soldieress]

"Regin," the Hyur says, given Lauri-Ell doesn't know his name.

"Just a fan," she decides to say. A fan of her fighting. But she wants to move with Tony. "Yes, I'm aware. I shall respect the director's desires. Will you help me get to the meeting?"

[in_extremis]

The other guy speaking up got Tony's full attention then, for a baffled stare at being provided this information that he clearly did not actually care for, letting his glasses slide down his nose to deliver the full force of his unimpressed squint. Hopefully that was still effectively chilling on this planet, even if Tony's other charms had so far been tempered. Maybe he was out of practice, because no one on Agra 10 seemed to find him particularly charming, either, and when he impulsively reached for Lauri-Ell's hand to deliver that help, the contact left him briefly blue-screened. Long enough for Regin to open his mouth again, so Tony had to talk loudly over him, "Of course, sweetheart, that's what I'm for, my hourly didn't get this high just because I'm so pretty." That was time enough for Tony to reboot, at least, pulling Lauri-Ell's arm through his properly to guide her away down the hall at a very confident saunter for someone who didn't know where this hall went.

[kree_soldieress]

Well that look has the Hyur flinching away a little. And Lauri-Ell gives her hand so Tony can lead her away.

It helped to move away, though. To walk away from the awkwardness of this moment. While they walk away she whispers.

"He made me feel uncomfortable. Thank you."

[in_extremis]

That hadn't been Tony's most dramatic extraction, he'd taken too many punches to the face to claim that, so he flapped his free hand dismissively for the thanks before patting Lauri-Ell's arm. "You know how a lady is supposed to be treated," he pointed out. "If you wouldn't let it happen to Rachel S., it shouldn't happen to you, either." Not that Tony had a good word for what was happening exactly.

[kree_soldieress]

"We are supposed to be keeping 'seek rat'. And I think Rachel S would know how to extract herself," she said with a sigh.

Yes, Rachel S had possessed a LOT of confidence and no patience for other people bothering her.

[in_extremis]

"Gal like you is very difficult to keep secret," Tony pointed out, veering with unearned confidence around a corner when they came to a crossroads. It had them going through a set of double doors that opened when Tony pushed them, so they must have been allowed here, as long as they looked like they did. "I don't know if you've noticed, but you kind of stand out. I don't think you'll be breaking any rules by leaning into that, it's a gift."

[kree_soldieress]

Once they were through Lauri breathed a sigh of relief.

"I am aware that I do. I look quite a bit like these 'Roegadyn' Sea Wolves. But my skin, it is more vivid. And my nose is wrong."

And it's frustrating.