[i]Is this how the knights of Zaldar fight?[/i]

Solarel stood in silence for a moment as Angela accused her. The Kathresis felt sluggish around her, the neural link flooded by thought - the struggle to Speak Not against the whirl.

[i]You mean you don't know?[/i]

She's stunned by the idea. Frozen by it worse than if she'd been the one in the cold. The idea that someone might not obsess over their opponents the same way she does. Did Angela not [i]watch [/i]either of her previous bouts? Did she not come to this fight prepared for Solarel the infamous, Solarel the trickster, Solarel who would use every underhanded technique in every book to steal every win? You only have her measure [b]now[/b]? 

She's [i]offended[/i]. A pride she wasn't even aware of is wounded. This isn't about love or victory any more. This is about proving a point. 

As Angela leaps up to the stone she stands upon, Solarel jumps back - clearing the blast radius of the anti-armour mine she concealed beneath her feet. Is this what you think love is, human? To rush blindly forwards in your determination to get what you want? She's been silently screaming her truth from this mountaintop and you still can't hear? You think your loveless determination merits her blade?

She does not even look around at the legless, smouldering wreck of the Barn Owl. Come back when this is to be a [i]duel[/i], girl, not an act of self gratification.

[Defy Disaster: [b]10[/b]]