Blue withdrew a marble and squeezed it before tossing it at his companion. It touched the armor, and the woman jerked, her eyes rolling up before she hit the floor.
Kira easily held her quarry against the table as he struggled to rise. "Underestimating us was your second mistake."
She leveraged his forearm higher, hearing the joint stretch and pop.
She glanced over her shoulder to find Devon and Rheya, their backs to her as they faced four of the man's fellow initiates as they stepped away from the bar.
The two's show of support was surprising, a fact Kira forced herself to ignore as the Tuann clad in orange accented synth armor stepped forward.
Finn was quick to meet him, casually inserting himself between the oshota and Kira.
"Move," the oshota ordered.
"The day I accept orders from House Dethos is the day I hang up my blade," Finn said mildly.
The other man's lip curled. "If you can't control your mongrel, I’ll be forced to do it for you."
Kira snorted from where she still held her prey against the table. She'd like to see him try.
The oshota's cold, furious eyes found hers. She was sure it was meant to be impressive. Unfortunately, the effect was lost on her. She'd never learned to fear people who sent the inexperienced to do their work for them.
"I will break his arm," Kira warned him.
It wasn't personal, though she'd be lying if she said she wouldn't get a certain amount of satisfaction from the act. It was simply smart business—incapacitate an enemy so she could move onto the next.
Maybe it would make the oshota rethink this course of events. Probably not, but Kira still had to try.
"Dethos, you know what to do," he rumbled.
Resolve snapped into the four facing Devon and Rheya. Seconds later, they surged forward. Devon and Rheya braced to meet them.
Blue whooped and charged forward. "Show them the gristmill! Show them hell!"
Kira cursed, yanking on the man's arm. His shoulder joint popped amid an agonized cry. She lifted his head and smashed it into the table, stepping away as he slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Raider whipped the chair he was holding back before crashing it over his assailant's head. The man's eyes rolled up in his head before he hit the ground with a thump.
Raider plunged past Kira with a wild grin. "Just like old times."
Kira didn't let herself linger on the truth of that statement, following on his heels as he darted into the fray.
A woman in the training armor of Dethos stepped into her path, a dangerous glint in her eyes. She swung, and Kira ducked, nearly getting a knee to the face. She twisted, stepping into the woman's space and hammered an uppercut into her stomach. Air left the woman in a rush as she staggered.
Kira grimaced and shook out her hand. For training armor, that stuff was surprisingly sturdy.
The woman's lips twisted in a snarl, her hands coming up in a stance Kira recognized as the air bubbled and a rune started to take shape.
"No, you don't," Kira muttered. One hand swept up, knocking the woman's hand away so she couldn't finish what she'd started. Unused ki crackled, nipping at Kira's skin and lifting her hair away from her head.
Kira thrust with her palm, hitting the woman's chest and catching her off guard. A grunt left her as she swayed, tripping and falling to the ground at Graydon's feet.
He regarded the woman with an amused twist to his lips before his gaze rose to find Kira's. "I didn't know we were at the gift-giving stage of our courtship. I confess I didn't get you anything."
Kira leveled an unamused stare on him.
"Or perhaps this is your way of inviting me to take part in another practice bout." He bent in the barest of bows. "I accept."
Kira ignored him, focusing on the woman at his feet. "Ki only works if you're faster than your opponent."
Unfortunately for the woman, Kira was used to people far quicker—one of which was currently standing over the woman.
There was a snarl on the woman's face as she struggled to rise. Graydon got there first, pressing a hand into her shoulder and pushing her down. "She's right. You're not prepared to go up against someone like her. You should stay down."
The woman twisted, a retort already on her lips before she caught sight of Graydon. Her eyes widened, and a gasp left her instead of the harsh words she'd planned.
Her shock had a ripple effect, Graydon and Wren's presence causing the fight to peter out as the rest became aware of the two.
Graydon straightened, flicking a coolly entertained gaze over those assembled. Rheya and Devon disengaged, panting as they snapped to attention.
Both looked disheveled but happy, their expressions caught between pride and chagrin. Rheya was sporting a red mark around her eye that hadn't been there before the fight. No doubt it would be black by the time morning rolled around. The skin around Devon's knuckles was bruised and busted, his opponent carrying the evidence of how they got that way.
Out of the confusion, Raider sauntered over to Kira, handing her a piece of armor. "Here."
She bobbled the unexpected package, before cradling it to her chest as she looked to Raider. What exactly was she supposed to do with this?
He read her unvoiced question and shrugged. "It fell off the unconscious guy when you dislocated his elbow. Thought you might want it as a memento."
How thoughtful—and complete bullshit.
That piece of armor was a slap in the face against their attackers. Every soldier knew you had to take care of your equipment because one day that equipment might save your life. To be relieved of a critical piece of armor in such a way implied the wearer was untrained, or worse—lazy and negligent.
Raider knew this.
He had always been a vindictive bastard. It seemed time hadn't changed him.
Kira tossed the piece at the woman. "Here. This is your friend's."
The woman caught it, her expression caught between humiliated and furious.
At Graydon's side, Wren observed the chaos. His thoughtful gaze landed on Blue and the unexpected weapon she held in her hands. One part looked like a slingshot, the other was a two-inch narrow energy beam like the ones Kira had seen the Tuann use with a weapon that looked like a bow, the beam acting as the arrow.
"Lady Blue, I see you've made use of your off-time to make a few modifications to a standard Tuann zuipi," he commented.
Blue blushed, the energy beam dissolving as she lowered the slingshot, putting it behind her back as if to hide it. Raider and Kira fixed her with similar expressions of disbelief.
Blue shrugged at them. "What? I got bored."
Graydon's lips twitched before smoothing out. "Would someone like to tell me what is going on here?"
"Nothing that concerns the Emperor's Face," a strong voice said out of the crowd.
Kira caught sight of Finn next to the strange oshota, his guard up and looking vaguely homicidal. It looked like the initiates weren't the only ones who had come to blows.
Graydon raised an eyebrow, his attention settling on Dethos’s oshota. "Nial, why am I not surprised to find you in the midst of this?"
Nial ignored the statement, his expression stony. "Even you can't interfere in a challenge."
Graydon looked around, noting the way Dethos outnumbered them and the interested expressions of those surrounding them. "Is that what this is?"