it's the ultimate showdown (of ultimate destiny)

[captainobnoxious]

Thursday.

The day that'd been so longingly awaited since the meeting on Monday by both combatants.

The tables in the dining hall have been pushed to the walls for seating, everyone's had a paper shoved beneath their door alerting to them to the evening event, and anyone who had any business there suddenly does not. Seriously, those papers are like littered everywhere, unless you're not coming there's no way you didn't know there was something tonight.

On one side of the room is Sigrun with her weapon of choice: a pike she got from the vending machine a little bit ago, practicing her handling of it with a grace that remarks upon her life of combat experience, a quiet seriousness to her that's rarely seen. Her focus is on the opponent on the other side, twenty or so feet away, the clinking gears ever rolling.

Colress and Klinklang are also concentrated on what's about to go down, the man talking quietly to his Pokémon, all too ready to show the strength of the creature off to Sigrun. They'd been becoming reused to each other, Colress learning just what his frankly new friend (at least in evolution) could do, since that challenge put forth by the woman, and it's with confidence that the three now face each other, the air heavy with anticipation.

Let's fight.

Comments

[penduli]

Of course she can. [ HE SAYS WORRIEDLY, WITH A WORRIED EXPRESSION.

SIGRUN PLEASE DON'T DIE... ] Metal's really hard to beat though, and I don't think she's going to try and kill it, so... maybe it'll end up in a draw?

[ black's not a betting man, though, sorry stan ]

[goodforsomething]

It's not to the death! [He assumes.] She's just gonna pin it or somethin'!

[penduli]

What if pinning it kills it? [ LIKE... YOU KNOW HOW YOU GET SOMETHING STUCK IN A WATCH'S GEARS AND THEN IT BREAKS THE WATCH??? WHAT IF THAT HAPPENS HERE. ]

[goodforsomething]

Why would that happen?

[Not that he knows anything about giant gear monsters, but]

Colress makes it sound pretty tough, no way it'd die that easy.

[penduli]

Getting something caught in its gears could be bad for it, that's all.

[ ...oh god don't let Sigrun's arm get caught, that would be horrible, they don't have proper medical supplies to deal with amputations. ]

[goodforsomething]

Eh, Colress can get it out. I bet that happens all the time when you've got a bunch of gears for a pet. I can barely stop Mabel's pig and the goat from eatin' everything in sight.

[penduli]

Your niece has a pig. [ why is this surprising, black, you grew up on a sheep farm. ]

[goodforsomething]

Yeah, it's awful. She won it from a fair a while back.

[Which apparently meant that he had to actually let her keep it in his house?]

[penduli]

[ Shouldn't you just eat it... ]

You have a soft spot for it, don't you.

[goodforsomething]

Well, what'm I gonna do? Toss out the kid's pet? She barely forgave me the time I just tied it up outside.

[Stan, he nearly got eaten by a dinosaur...]

[penduli]

[ Wow. ] Girls really are all the same around that age. Does she own the goat too, or is that just a freeloader?

[goodforsomething]

Some freak tried to pay me with it a couple years ago. Just shoved this baby goat at me and went runnin' off! But it keeps the grass short.

[penduli]

I bet it looks pretty patchy though. [ Short but patchy. ] We'd make sure the sheep didn't stay in one part of the pasture too long or they'd ruin it completely.

[goodforsomething]

Eh, it's free! Plus he eats all the papers I wanna get rid of.

[penduli]

[ ...that's not a bad deal, not a bad deal at all. ]

Like lawsuits? [ HE'S... JOKING. Stan's a con-artist, but surely he's not that bad. ]

[goodforsomething]

[Stan laughs.]

'Course not! You gotta nip those in the bud before papers ever happen! [He's, uh...joking. Yeah.]

[penduli]

[ that gets a laugh too, gradually drifting off because he... he's joking, right? ...right? ]

And how do you do that?

[goodforsomething]

Mostly smoothin' things over. Sometimes a little paperwork.

[Sometimes threats! Luckily the Shack doesn't attract too much of that anyway.]

If all else fails, flee town.

[penduli]

[ He'd hope not, oh god?? Don't drag your poor niece and nephew into this?? ]

And how many times have you had to do that? [ don't say more than like maybe twice, don't do it-- ]

[goodforsomething]

Oh, I ain't done that for decades!

[This is not technically an answer to the question but okay]

[penduli]

That didn't answer my question, Mr. Pines.

[goodforsomething]

Three or four times before I learned how to get outta there early? [Stan looks thoughtful.] Maybe five? I was a teenager when most of this was happenin', it's kinda fuzzy.

[penduli]

[ ...ccchhrist. ]

You're a real criminal, aren't you. [ But he sounds kind of like... legitimately impressed here?? ] That's sort of cool.

[goodforsomething]

Eh, it ain't illegal if you don't get caught!

[Stan seems obviously pleased by the attention.]