It was all very important, she was sure, but after a while, Mary was nothing but bored by the goings-on in this place of brutality.  She continued to watch for what she could learn about various parties’ powers, but even that was barely holding her attention.  The one fight she’d wanted to see, the one person whose powers she wanted to study for her own personal reasons, had forfeited without using his powers at all.  The rest of these fighters, why did they matter?  They were of no import to her.  She had not fought them, and they were all too low on the totem pole for her to really care.  The information she gained here would be unimportant.  She would not needto defeat them, since it wouldn’t do anything.

Taking out Sickle, though, and a whole segment of this city’s vulnerable bomb would crumble.  Maybe it would blow.  Maybe it would all fall apart, leaving the city safe.  Maybe if they killed him, they could quiz his spirit on that pyromancer who’d killed their mother: someone that important was more likely to know something, right?  But she’d been robbed the chance to really see what he could do.  They couldn’t go on the offensive yet.

But then something went wrong, and she leaned forward on her bleacher as the atmosphere changed.  The next battle was 3v3, but apparently that hadn’t been the original intention?  She frowned as people got up to place new bets, leaning side to side to see around them into the pit.  Being so short was certainly not an advantage here.  The girl in front of her turned about, a hooded teen with a book, eyes wide as saucers, and Mary nodded to her before trying again to get a good look beyond.  And then a different voice came over the intercom, and she stood, glancing first at the row of backs between her and the speaker, and then into the cage at the person whom the speaker mentioned.  She saw the change there, saw his will bend to that of the speaker, and a shiver went up her spine.  A mind controller.  She had to get out of there.  She pulled an explosive-filled pen from her pocket, gripping it tightly as she looked for some way to get out of here, but it was total chaos.  Half of those in attendance were trying to escape, half were eagerly stealing their seats to see what brutalities this Master-fueled fight would unveil.  No one paid any mind to a weak little girl like herself.  Or to the girl in front of her, whom Mary noticed, even through her sudden fear, opening her book and flipping through pages of monstrous drawings before hovering her hand over one.

It was a conspicuous movement, obviously intentional, but her hand was shaking.  Mary stared at it, remembering the girl’s face.  She’d been scared before there was even a threat.  What was she?  A summoner?  Would something come from that book?  A shapeshifter?  Would she transform into that drawing?  And if she did, would she be able to control herself or a summon in that mental state?

Mary leaned over her and grabbed the hovering hand, pulling it away and kicking the book shut with her foot as she did so.  [color=00aeef]“Hey, what do you think you’re trying?”[/color] she yelled over the din, trying to make sure the other could hear her.  [color=00aeef]“There’s a null-magic field!  We can’t fight!  We gotta go!”[/color]  She was being a bit insincere, since she’d realized that something must be wrong with the field if that master was able to mind control someone while in it, but she tried to make it sound like the truth.  Maybe this other girl could fight, but she didn’t have the power to.  If she could get away without, that was preferable, and if she did have to, maybe claiming this girl as an ally would help.

[@Lasrever]