For the start of their duel, Ri'vashi had been cautious. Without a weapon, she was at a disadvantage, so Gallus could easily put her on the defensive. However, with this attack, she completely inverted her behavior. Instead of dodging his attack, she actually moved [i]into[/i] it. For an unarmed combatant, rushing in against a blade was seemingly suicide, and yet it was exactly what she was doing. She did not push away his shield; she grabbed it. With all of the might a Cathay werebear could muster, she yanked at the shield in an attempt to pull it from his hands. However, the other part of her attack was where she was more likely to fail. With her other hand, she attempted to strike at the flat of his blade to protect herself from it. If her hand did not touch its edge, then she would be safe, but failing in that would mean injury. In an actual fight, such an injury would not likely be lethal, and would not end the fight, but it could disable her use of that hand. If her strike landed wrongly in this duel, she would have to continue with only her other arm.

---

Ma'tanza gave another, brief sigh, then hummed lightly to bide time as she thought of a response. She was not necessarily angry with Tzirret, but evidently, she still was not exactly pleased with him either. Regardless, once she made up her mind, she gave a smile that was only moderately forced before she responded.

"Yes...yes, we can talk, this one thinks. Maybe do something else as well. We could go for a swim, or find some of the others? Bheja and Qa'habi are training, Ma'tanza thinks. Do you know if Sabine and Peiter are doing anything?" She asked.