The King catches the first blow on her shield. Bringing it to bear is instinctual, bone deep, without thought, and it sends her ass over teakettle.

Idiot. Of course it does. The blows aren't nearly enough to meaningfully harm her, but anything that hits hard enough to knock her over will [i]still[/i] knock her over if it's absorbed into the shield. And if she goes into that wall, it's over.

Crowd of people, and the idiot brings a sniper rifle. Use that. Force him to risk hitting--no. Unacceptable for them, and if worry of hurting the audience has slowed him down, she sure can't see it.

Six shots. One massive--[i]OOF[/i]--hit, five smaller--[i]oof oof oof[/i]--hits, rapid fire. Reload. Enough time to get up, but not enough to set herself, not enough to brace, [i]block![/i]

Not enough time. Unprepared, the bullet catches her shield at an angle, sends her spinning sideways, the ricochet digging a furrow into the arena.

Why did she leave the spear buried in the ring? Idiot!  

Unless…

She's still spinning, sideways instead of down, though the next five shots to the shield fix that. But when the reload is up, she's ready.

No forwards progress, not yet. But she can [i]use[/i] the kinetic energy, use it to shove her sideways. Angle the shield, so she vectors towards--

One iron-gripped fist lashes out, and closes around the spear, still buried point-first in the floor. The shaft bends and moans under the combined assault of statue and the follow-up shots, but holds, keeps her upright.

Never let them see you bleed. "You know," she calls out, "I'm starting to see why this crowd doesn't--"

Purple in the barrel. Wait for iiiiiit…

Six shots. Six acrobatic spins around the pole. But when next the twink reloads, she's still on her feet. 

"Doesn't like you," she finishes, and dashes forward with a grin.

Watch for the purple glow. Wait for it. Bury the spear as deep as it goes, and anchor for the storm. Let the energy of the rifle whip you around the pole, and advance with the roar of the crowd.

He's not stupid. By the second reload, he's going for the spear. She scoops low, takes the energy and lets it flip her forward, spear and all. By the third, he's shooting the ground, and now she has debris to kick in his face, block his view.

"I'm not surprised you'd think she's just a dog. She was made that way! Did you never ask her whether she wanted to [i]stay[/i] that way?"

She's inside the guard now, one hand on the barrel, one hand on the spear buried in the floor, and eyes inches from his.

"So how's about, instead of focusing on her not being [i]safe[/i], you give me what I need to keep her safe and [i]happy?[/i]"

[6,5,4, +2. [b]13[/b] on Overcome.]