Gray clouds rolled and rolled, a distant fog congesting the ground in small patches. It was late, or early. The grass was cool, and the vacancy felt misplaced. It was a shame the world was to miss such an event. Leather was wrapped, methodically and exactly in such a way that exacted the optimum usage. Fingers curled, clenched, and unclenched. A red weskett was worn, along with black slacks. Knee high boots of an explorer from 5th Avenue to weave and protect her shins. Emlyn's eyes were jaundiced irises of wretched yellow. She stretched one arm over her head turning, and doing it the opposite way. She continued to stretch. Emlyn had secretly been aching for this meeting again. There was so very much that they adequately expressed to each other with this approach. It was grassy to usher in the spring.

The little brunette didn't mind such a downcast morning. It worked in perfect syncopation with the mood that Audrey was in. She wore a clean white tee-shirt and a pair of blue jeans that hugged curves usually hidden by wool and drab, matronly plaid. Dark hair was pulled back into a lynx tail. The sneakers she wore on her feet, dirty and threadbare trainers, were comfortable enough. She reached their mutual playing field with all of the awareness of a zombie. Baby blue eyes were streaked through with red and the flesh around them was dark and sunken in. Dirt and broken concrete gave way to dew kissed grass and Audrey stopped walking and looked around until that Sad Sam gaze landed on her "play" partner.

"Hey Em."

"Hello Audrey."

Emlyn pulled a bent leg up and up, one then its twin. She was an avid follower of Yoga. And she knew the value of a good stretch before anything. Hair was tightly twisted into a French braid. It was kept close to the skull, moussed to a wet shine for the sake of aerodynamics. She brought her hands to the ground, her feet hip-width apart. One could tell she knew what she was doing. When did a high maintenance woman like Emlyn not know what she was doing?

Emlyn it seemed was slightly more prepared than Audrey was. Of all of the strange things in her life to become habits, her bi-weekly fights with her sister had to be one of the strangest. On that field, they weren't surrogate siblings. They were animals, and not the cute and cuddly kind. They were the creepy kind that carried babies off into underbrush. She watched her sister stretch and the intensity of the upcoming situation wiggled and wormed its way through that day dreamy fog covering her brain. She didn't stretch or copy cat Emlyn's stance. No. She wasn't that graceful when it got down to brass tacks. Instead her body began bouncing, weight shifting from one foot to the other in a series of quick little bunny hops.

A pair of shoulder rolls was complete, and Emlyn brought clenched fists to the eye level, her elbows loose. The Mage Adept was limber and possessed a finesse that was all the greater when she prepared her limbs. Long legs began to move, and the deathly thing had begun. Those legs were exacting, quick, and worst of all powerful. Emlyn was light on the ground, and a bit more energetic this time around. She had almost half expected Audrey not to show. She knew nothing of Audrey's new sleeping schedule, if there even was one.

There' was an unspoken question playing on pale, paintless lips. Who was going first? Audrey tilted her head to one side in a hound dog display of confusion, one bandage wrapped fist grinding against the palm of its outstretched twin. Before one word could escape her mouth, Emlyn was already circling her like a coyote dancing around a lamb. One step forward was all that it took. One step and everything that had been that sleepy eyed teenager was gone. She wasn't as disciplined as her sister, but she was quick and that small frame gave her an advantage- no matter how slight. She curled her body almost in half and ran at Emlyn with all of the blind determination of a bull in a fighting ring. The grass gave way to dirt with the force of one foot skidding through it and she stopped and straightened herself up a few feet away from her sister.

Emlyn sidestepped, even if the woman was indeed intending to miss. But she twirled quickly, using skillful feet to remain balanced and in primary form. No jewelry there. Not even Charlie's red-gemmed ring. Those stayed back in the shack, left with a pretty envelope written in her handwriting and sealed with a kiss. A doctor's note to tell her redheaded lover where she had gone in case he awoke. The morning was cool, but the sun tickled with the warmth of the day to come. But right now, she was quick, sharp, and ready.

All of the despair and the anger turned into a raging paranoia at the sight Emlyn's inertia. Was she toying with her? Audrey blinked in an attempt to deflect the sun's first rays of light from her field of vision and ended up shielding her eyes with one flat stretched hand. She took to her heels again and hurried toward the other woman only to stop when she was close enough to actually smell Emlyn's perfume.


Orange blossom. Alright then.

Audrey's legs bent at the kneea and the girl used the ground as a spring board, leaping up as high as gravity would possibly allow. It was one of those legs that shot forward to send one sneaker clad kick to Emlyn's pretty head before the laws of physics sent her tumbling back to the ground and- surprisingly- her feet.

A distinct grunt came from Emlyn's throat, sternum successfully jabbed by rubber and force. It knocked the wind out of Emlyn, had her gasping afterward. But her feet peddled away from Audrey and she tried to stay as vigilant as she could despite being so winded.

There wasn't time for showboating. Phantom back pats and butt slaps would have to wait. Audrey stretched her leg out, bandaged wrapped hands rubbing it with the affection one would offer a dog after it had went outside and not on the carpet. But she kept her eyes on Emlyn, the smug, albeit psychotic, smile on her face practically screaming out her sentiments to that limb; good girl.

The fiery depths of Emlyn's yellow eyes were fogged with pain, but she did recover. She was back to moving, but breathing still ached. Those legs were quick, but she was grinning. It was good to start slow and work one's way up to the more intensive portions of a fight. It was more natural, and carefree. She gradually recovered enough to be lively again, and quick. She hoped it was quick enough. But she stayed defensive. But what kept her grinning was that the best defensive was a good offensive.

?What are you doing? Are you just gonna let me beat you up??

Audre looked slightly let down at that prospect. This always started out as fun to Audrey and, above all, it was therapy in its most primitive form. To have that taken away, to have that urge to hit not just something, but someone pulled out from under her was almost enough to bring a tear to her eye. Gathering her second wind, she hurried toward Emlyn with the same blindness that had peppered her earlier moves. One pretty little hand curled into a fist so tight that her knuckles gained an extra shade of paleness and it was that punch aimed at Emlyn?s stomach that stopped her from simply running the other woman over.

Emlyn had energy. And that was aided by a sudden burst of pain that gave her incentive to be more expressive with herself. Two leather wrapped hands clutched her sister's bandaged fist and pulled. Audrey gave her the bullets to fire herself into the air. Emlyn tugged her to the ground with a shove, using Audrey?s stolen hand as a switch that was turned to 'Down'. A near battle cry of exertion came from Emlyn in an elegant roar before that long and powerful leg came up by her head, and downward like a guillotine of flesh, well manicured muscle, and bone. Perhaps wearing those heels all of the time really had paid off.

The blow struck Audrey and when it hit, it hit hard. Something cracked in her lower back and it was that something that sent pain shooting up her spine and straight into her brain, making the world visible only in bright flashes of terrible color. Something in the back of her mind whispered for her to stop and with each wave of agony, the voice only became louder until it was a plea. Everything would feel better if you just slept, Audrey. Just curl into a ball and take a nap. Make the world go away. Like most voices of reason, this one went ignored and Audrey pushed herself up, rested her weight on trembling arms and aching knees.

And when that blow landed, Emlyn was already gone. Gone a few feet away, stepping quick and swiftly with perfect footwork. Less pretty this time, and more practical. That goes there if that stays there for the best balance. You could take a blow if your foot is there and the other is there. Always be ready to brace, if not prevent, a blow. She was still filled with energy, having used the least amount of the two of them. And she was ready to continue.