Galleon's brain stuttered to a stop. Had she been that obvious? Vakornol hat noticed. East had noticed. That meant anyone listening knew. Her fin flushed a deep, embarrasseed red. Galleon experienced stage fright for the first time in her many cycles of life. She grinned sheepishly, in her usual stiff way.

"That obvious, huh? Sorry. Y'can't blame me--was feelin a lil off for beatin' on an old lady." She said. She couldn't hold back the indignant snort, learning about Vakornol's ancient time. Galleon from approximately 10 seconds in the future would kick herself for not keeping track of Vakornol's movement, but current Galleon wasn't that wise. "I think we're fellas of the same mind! Don't quite like the sound of that old time y'came from though--fighting shouldn't be no more than fun. Anyone who only cares about advancements ain't the type of fighter I like."

She'd had a similar conversation with Labradorite before--it was awkward to find herself somewhat on the opposite side. There was good news for Valornol, though-- getting Galleon embarrassed was the perfect way to get her distracted. She only realized Vakornol had gotten close enough for an attack when her outreached claws were closing in on her face.

Galleon shuttered her eyeslits. Before she could think to avoid or block, Vakornol's claws found their mark. She'd been expecting pain. What she got wasn't quite pain--she felt the gouges carved into her face, of course. But more, worse than that, was the very uncomfortable ringing from a hit near her facial pits. Galleon listened to her first instinct: swat the thing near her face away.

She swung her head like a wild bludgeon. Quite similarly, her swing went wide. Unsurprising, given her eyes were still shut. "Cheap shot!" She said, though there was little, if any, anger behind her words.


"When I speak"
When I think

Galleon shook her head until the ringing stopped. It was a thankfully short wait, during which she was relieved she didn't feel any extra claws come down on her scales.

"Somethin to learn." Galleon said, tucking away the nugget of info on old people fighting. The fight was called--had been called--sometime while she'd been shaking her head out. Galleon blinked. She'd won? She hoped no one would vilify her for the pulled punches. Regardless of the outcome of the match nor the onlookers, she wasnt done here yet. Galleon twisted locking eyes with Vakornol. She cleared her throat. "Good fight t'ya, Vakornol!"

She went quiet for a moment. It ended with a grin, bone sheets parted. "Hey, how 'bout we have a rematch sometime, huh? Someone like you's probably seen a lot. Y'also can hit hard." Galleon chuckled, feeling the full ache of one such hit. Maybe there was something more to combat than the vibes based system Galleon ran on. "I could always use new sparring parters, if you're willin'."

"When I speak"
When I think