With a gesture Lily directed Brucie from one cover to the other, putting him in a position not far from her target. He was an asian man, either japanese or chinese, but which exactly Lily couldn't quite tell. He was walking down a street of sorts, between an old, ruined building and something that looked like it had once been an excavation machine of sorts. Brucie was around the corner of the building ahead of him, and Lily some distance behind, crouching behind a giant wheel of metal, Mouse at her side. 

He looked... ordinary. Of course, that was no guarantee that he was, only that there were no obvious weapons on his person, or signs of his capabilities. He did carry a baton of sorts, reminiscent of the ones a conductor used. Was he music oriented? Or was it something more direct, as in directing nearby objects to do his bidding? She wouldn't know until she fought him.

He was alone, however, which meant that he had either not let his first opponent live, or he had discarded her. That only made things easier for her. It was a two versus one, instead of a two versus two. But she still could not allow herself to get complacant. He was still a victor of a previous battle, and by all accounts looked uninjured, hinting that he had been strong enough to defeat his opponent without taking a single hit himself, or had the ability to heal. She would have to be careful. 

Beside her, Mouse pressed his nose against her hand - a simple gesture. Yet, she simple comfort that came from something as innocent as asking for a little attention brought a smile to her face, and rid her of some of her apprehension. She allowed herself a moment of distraction to scratch his head, before returning her attention to ther next opponent. All she was waiting for, was Oren to announce the beginning of the fight. Granted, they had never explicitly said that it was necessary, and even made a point to say that they only [i]preferred[/i] if they got to announce the beginning of a fight. So, by the given rules, she was well within her right to sneak up on him and kill him before he even had a chance to retaliate. Or, at least there had been no mention of any such rules, only that they were not allowed to attack anyone who was no their opponent. 

But even then, it was safe to assume that attacking without any announcement wouldn't garner her any favours with the College, so she had to wait for Oren. 

[hr]

She didn't have to wait long. 

The familiar drone came zooming in from over the building Brucie hid behind, not a minute after Lily had considered just attacking without warning, and caught the attention of all participants. The baton-wielding guy stood straight and looked up at it, idly tapping the tool against his leg. 

From the speakers of the drone came the ever familiar voice of their commentator, "Good evening, ladies, gentlemen and... things in-between. It is I, Oren the Orator, here to spectate and offer witty commentary. Now, for the participants. In the furry corner, we have Lily, a cunning little vixen with a penchant for grouchiness, along with a few friends of hers! And in the musical corner, we have an equally grouchy and overgrown lizard: Jiang Zhao, also known as Angry Dragon! So, leeeeeet's get ready to ruuumbleeeeee!" 

Lily didn't waste a single moment. She set off a flash of light, signalling for Brucie to start. He leapt out of cover and charged, cackling all the while. Lily stayed at her hiding spot, tails moving at a frantic rate behind her, charging up.

In the distance, her opponent flicked his wrist and a song started to play. And almost as soon as the first tone was struck, a small horde of dark riders appeared as if from thin air and circled Brucie. Already Lily was analyzing them, able to see clearly even from a distance due to her inhuman nature. They looked real, and menacing even, but there was one problem - they didn't leave hoofprints in the ground, giving away the illusory nature. She reached out with her mind, took hold of the illusion, and squashed it, the riders dissipating instantly. Seeing this, Brucie rushed forward again in a mad dash. 

Jiang flicked his wrist again, starting a series of rapid and intricate movements, and the song changed again, this time becoming rapid and energetic. Around him the ground burst into flames, forcing Brucie into a stumbling halt lest the flames roast him. 

"You!" Jiang demanded, leveling his baton at the now circling Brucie. "How did you stop my riders?!" The sounds were muffled, but even from a distance Lily could hear. 

Brucie grinned widely, answering in his rusty voice. "Ain't got no reason to tell ya, pumpkin." He chortled, much to the annoyance of Jiang, if his expression was anything to go by. "But this is a tournament, boy, you shouldn't let yourself be distracted so easily." Brucie stopped then, and made a pointed glance to somewhere behind Jiang. Realisation dawned almost too slowly, the song changing to something that could only be described as metal at the conductor's command, surrounding him in a shell of iron a fraction of a second before exploding bolts of fire battered against his armour. 

"Iaowai!" He shouted from within the metal shell, piercing the music. "Breaking the rules! Not allowed to attack someone else's opponent!" 

"That's where you're wrong, kiddo," Brucie said, chortling. "We're not breaking any rules. We're [i]both[/i] your opponents." He walked up to the metal wall, striking it with an experimental fist. It left a small dent, but little else. "You're outnumbered, chap. Come out and face your death like a man!" 

Far behind, Lily had abandoned her previous hiding spot, instead standing in the middle of the street clad in an illusion hiding her from view. The music still played, and the metal wall surrounding him would protect him from her lightning, and her fire would prove of little use. 

How would she break through it?