K-keep it together, Yue! It wasn't a fluke, it wasn't a fluke! You can do this, ok?

But it's never that simple, is it? You can't do a thing, succeed so surprisingly, and just... do it again. Not when you don't really know what you did in the first place! Not when you're so flustershaken nervous that you can only sorta remember how it felt when you were there in the middle of the motion and all. It's the problem with flying before you know how to walk, y'know? 

First thing, she steps with the wrong foot. That kinda thing shouldn't matter when you've got four of 'em (and you don't plant a one of 'em to attack with your sword!), but it hits her right in the heart just the same. Why's her front left paw wrong? Because last time it was front right. And good form matters when you're trying to be the best swordmaiden slash tea maker slash wolf slash girlfriend you can be, so this single step might as well cut her power level in half right then and there. And... and it's not like she had a lot've that to go around startin' with either, is it?

Her second charge is as straight as her first, but there's so little heart in it that even Kat could probably parry her. For Tianic? It's no problem at all. Her massive sword slides into place with a move so simple and yet so practice it pulls an appreciative "mroof" out of Yue's jaws even as she bounds backwards to avoid the classic pivot-into-overhead-counter that smashes into the floor where she'd been a second ago. Meeps! And Yike! Wait, what?

No no no, come on come on! Focus, Yue! It's all right, mistakes happen. You're not a bully who took advantage of an unprepared opponent, you're a good girl who's been practicing as hard as anyone's ever done before you. It wasn't a fluke, ok? It wasn't! So just... focus on your paw work and everything'll be ok. She snuffles a deep breath through her nose (and smells excitement! Adrenaline! Churros? Ooooh~) and plants all four feet firmly on the ground. Just, just do better than that last time. That's all you gotta do, Yue. 

She circles round and comes in from behind this time. It's a basic flank, but with the speed she's fought so hard to master that oughtta be enough, right? It's not. And it's not because even though she thought and thought and thought about her front right paw the entire time she was going, she noticed partway through that her front left was leading again. Again! It's like all her instincts were betraying her right at the most important part! Oh goshies, here she comes!

And that blow's parried even easier than the first one! Wowies, Tianic, you've got some really fast feet, didja know that? That spin! That swing! Yue could barely twist her neck in time to block it, and even then she only got enough of it to go flying in the air instead of cratering into the ground. But don't think she's licked yet! You don't need to think about what foot you're leadin' off with at all when you're diving down from the sky!

In she comes, and this time she feels it! The confidence, the poise, the ability to focus on the actual attacky part of her move! She's a fluffy canine comet and she's coming for that point! Come on Tianic, give it your best! See if it's not en--

THWACK! THUD! Fwumpa fwumpa fwumpa fwumpidy fwump fwump... thwop! Yue yelps in surprise and almost drops her sword when she's sidestepped completely and then smacked all across her side with the flat of that ginormous blade. She tumbles end over end, making all those sounds you're already playing in your head just now before skidding on her chest and... dropping. And then she really does spit out her sword, 'cause she needs a moment.

And for a second, everything's awful. She tried her very best just now! She was clever and turned around a blow, and she didn't even gunk up her technique (such as it was), and it wasn't even close to enough. Hyra's shouting something at her, but among all the clapping from this super huge crowd it's a little hard for even her sensitive wiggle-ears to figure out quite what it is. Probably telling her not to bother coming to practice tomorrow. That's rock bottom, it is. For a second, everything's awful. And then that second passes.

And the second, erm... second? It's not so bad! Yue shakes and she wuffs and she pushes herself back on the ground, and her eyes blaze fierce with the will to win. She bends down to chomp her sword and settle into a Wolf Sword Stance (which is where you're a wolf with a sword, and you stand), and... her heart's racing? Like, in a good way? And oh goshies gosh and goshikers, look at Tianic! The way she's planting her feet! The way her shoulders are set so broad and proud, so powerful! She looks... she looks like she's gonna charge without even waitin' this time!

And her face! Eeeeeeee, her face! Her eyes! Her [i]smile![/i] That's a girl who's takin' everything just so super seriously and got so darned sure she wasn't good enough to even be here (and goodness don't that just sound familiar?), but she's doing it! She did it! Somewhere up above her special someone's looking at her and beaming, and Squire Tianic's heart is so full of life and light that she's just about glowing, cutie that she is. You go, girl! Way to be! That was, that... that was so cool!!

Yue's own face lights up in spite of herself. Her tail wags in that kind've way that tells her straight off there's no way she's gonna be able to stop it maybe even for the entire rest of the fight. And her legs are gettin' a little wobbly and it's harder to breathe than it was before, but so what? So what? That's just the height up here. That's just old sore muscles from all that running she's been doing, plus a good solid hit from a certified [i]warrior![/i] That's not gonna stop her, no way and no how! This is so much fun! Let's go to five... no, seven, no! Thirteen points! Come on, you wanna go too, right? You wanna play too, right??

She gets one more second to feel things before it's time to go again. She never thought for a second that losing could be so much fun! Just one more second, then it's serious faces and waggy tails and clashing swords again, yeah? And in that second, she... she thinks about the look on Qiu's face, back when Yue bit that first cookie. When she just seemed so... w-well, ok, she's um, she's... y'know, not sure. This is only one second's worth of thinks, uhuh? But it feels the same. She's sure it feels the same as that. And maybe even the helicopter chase after. Not that it was gonna stop her from comin' back and throwin' everything she's planning on picking up while she's floating up here right back in her smug (and pretty!) dragon face, but it changes how she feels about it, y'know? Makes it less scary and more, oh! Shoot! Second's up!

Yue whirls about in a circle - the Chase My Own Tail Technique - and builds enough momentum to counter Tianic's charge head on despite how much smaller and lighter she is than the squire. And the look of admiration that flashes across her opponent's face makes her feel lighter than a hot air balloon. It makes her feel so cool and special that she wishes the Demon Swordswoman was here to see what she's done with all her ghost lessons. And that feeling doesn't do squat to help her with the rain of blows that comes crashing down every which way she scoots right after, but no matter how badly she's gettin' outclassed right now her heart keeps singing just the same. 

This! Is! So! Much! Fun!! Come on, come on, let's play! Let's play! You're having fun too, right? You are right? Let's go! Come on, come on, chase her! And she's off like a cuddly bullet across and around the arena, on paws that could run on flower petals without knocking them from their stems. 

[Fight: 1, 1 = [b]2[/b]]