[table][row][cell][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/mgxJ2Fd.png[/img][/center][right][color=gray][sub][color=FF6347][b]Location[/b][/color] [color=white]—[/color] [i]Colosseum, New Rome[/i][/sub][/color][/right][/cell][cell][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/DklmutF.gif[/img][/center][/cell][/row][/table][center][color=FF6347]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅[/color][/center]
[indent][indent][color=gray]When Noah Hayes made her way down to the colosseum to witness the sparring matches as she had done for the last thirteen years, she was in a hell of a good mood. The solstice festival was always a fun time, and the exposure it provided to her smithing business meant booked schedules and a nice boost of money in her pocket. She’d started off that morning with a joint of her favorite peach [i]herbal indulgence[/i] from her bestie Grover's ganja store, followed by the largest cup of caramel iced latte that was sold in downtown New Rome. Thoroughly content, the young woman pranced to the colosseum, making a mental note of all the bets she would place to hopefully get even more money in her pockets. She decided to check the roster one last time to double-check her choices… And noticed her name listed under the veterans sparring bracket.

[color=FF6347][i]“Goddamn it…”[/i][/color]

During one of Noah’s and big brother Ashton’s many collaborative smithing sessions in her workshop, the topic of participating in this year’s solstice tournament had come up. As to be expected, the redhead immediately roared with laughter at the thought. When she retired from legionnaire life, she had also shut the door on anything involving voluntary combat. Ten forced years of being a soldier under someone else’s command, being forced to do drill after drill after drill rain or shine, pushing her body to its physical limits each and every time, participating in quests that very much put her and her people’s lives on the line… She wouldn’t dream of doing something like that again. The last time she’d been in that arena was to celebrate the culmination of her mandatory service, and she had vowed to never step foot in it once more. But unfortunately for Noah, the idea had fully burrowed into Ashton’s brain. She had protested and tried her hardest to convince him against it, but the best she could do was come to a happy medium: they would [i]both[/i] join the tournament together.

Gritting her teeth and mentally cursing herself, the daughter of Vulcan made her way to the colosseum’s “locker rooms”. She made sure to shoot a few death glares at Ashton while they waited their turn, but wished him good luck all the same. Eventually, it was her turn, and she trudged to the arena with her axe in hand and body in full Minerva-gifted armor.

She didn't know whether this year's participants weren't as skilled as other years, or maybe she wasn't anywhere near as bad as she thought she was. But even with the disadvantage of being high on weed, full of coffee and completely out of practice, Noah somehow found herself claiming a spot in the top 8 of the veterans bracket. As reluctant as she'd been to participate in the first place, the redhead had to admit that watching the pride in Ashton and Derex's faces and listening to their cheers brought her the same warm, comforting feeling she got when her smithing work was praised. That fuzzy feeling soon evaporated, though, when she watched her brother forfeit the match against Gigi Russo, thus making her the next one in line to fight the daughter of Pluto.

[color=FF6347]“Yo, what the fuck?!”[/color] Noah yelled at her brother, watching in disbelief as the young man bowed to his opponent and left the arena without another word. That wasn’t part of the plan! If she had known that forfeiting was an option, she wouldn’t have even bothered to go through these matches like a damn show pony at the Kentucky Derby– ‘pride, honor and glory’ be damned.

Now, she was faced with two options. One: she could do the same thing Ashton had done by forfeiting the match and going back to her regularly scheduled, strictly spectator activities. Or two: she could go forward with the match and win the bet, leaving herself open to potential injuries in the process.

As much as she wanted to cop out and choose the first option, Noah went with the second one instead. She might have been known for being lazy, but never for backing out of a challenge she’d started or leaving things unfinished. She had already gotten this far, right? Might as well just see the damn thing through.

Contrary to Derex losing to Avery Pierce, the Hayes girl’s defeat came to nobody’s surprise. She put on a valiant display of talent and skill, unexpectedly giving Gigi a bit of a challenge in the beginning. Ultimately, it was the daughter of Pluto who came out victorious, thus marking the conclusion of Noah’s participation in the tournament. She might not have won the competition, but she’d won her bet against Ashton [i]and[/i] survived the whole thing with minimal injuries. All in all, it was a pretty successful outcome. 

After a quick visit to the medical tent to heal her wounds and get clearance from Lucius, Noah set off in the direction of the [i]cavea[/i]. She’d been planning to buy a beer and finish watching the rest of the matches when the familiar figure of a towering, dark-haired man caught her attention.

[color=FF6347]“Hey Lulu,”[/color] Noah called out to him, closing the distance between them. The daughter of Vulcan took up position right beside Luka Bolea, probably looking amusingly childish standing next to him and his twelve inches of height advantage over her. [i]Centurion Bolea[/i], as he preferred to be referred to (though Noah only called him that to tease him), was as strict with himself as he was with the legionnaires under his command. He didn’t accept laziness or excuses, nor was he ever satisfied with people giving anything less than their 100%. To him, losing meant failure: that he hadn't given his all and was being punished for it. If she knew him as well as she did (and she hoped she did, considering the many hours they'd spent together having heart-to-hearts behind closed doors), Noah guessed that Luka was beating himself up for the loss. [color=FF6347]“You holding up okay?”[/color]
[/color][/indent][/indent][center][color=FF6347]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅[/color][/center][right][sub][color=FF6347][b]Interacting With[/b][/color][color=white] — [/color]Ashton [@xAlter], Luka [@Thayr][/sub][/right][right][sub][color=FF6347][b]Mentions[/b][/color][color=white] — [/color]Grover, Derex, Delaney, Gigi, Lucius[/sub][/right]