the gauntlet discussion

There are stables and trails.

Charize had decided that she would forego all human interaction after finding er placement in the first competition. Honestly, it felt like she'd been robbed. Her time was close, but not close enough. Normally, she would have been training away her frustration, but feeding horses was enough work for her. Or at least, it was a distraction. This was, though, only the first competition. It was just an early wake-up call for her to do better and she would heed it. Simple as that. Her times would improve and everything would be fine. She nodded as she thought of this all, almost chanting it in her head. Like she was trying to convince herself. The towel draped over her head and neck was partly to keep the sun off her and partly to hide the fact that she may or may not have been angry crying. Who even angry cries? It's not a thing, and she was certainly not going to admit it being one. It was just sweat and everything would be fine.

The only sounds filling Abigail's ears were the sounds of her rhythmic jogging against the dirt trail and the soft panting of her breaths. The sun beat down on her, causing sweat to trickle down the curve of her neck and tendrils of her hair to stick to her cheeks. Abigail didn't mind the exertion, however; she had nothing against training and training and training some more, as long as it got her somewhere. Holding the tenth place in the first competition was good, but it wasn't great. No, she needed to be in at least the top five if she wanted a chance at winning the race. The first spot would be even better.
The thought that Abigail had at least nine people to go through before this was all over was both frustrating and exhilarating at the same time. More people meant more competition, but more competition meant training harder and improving herself. Abigail didn't mind a little bit of healthy competition, so long as she won.
When she got to the horse stables, she slowed down, swiping the sweat away from her brow as she tried to regain her breath. She was about to keep on walking when she noticed a figure with a towel over their head feeding the horses, and she paused, cocking her head to the side. "Hello? Who is this?" she called out, wiping her sweaty palms against her pants as she drew closer to the figure. She couldn't see the figure's face because of the towel, and she wondered who in the world would decide to go feed the horses at a time like this.

It couldn't have been more than ten minutes, but Charize felt better. At least, she told herself that she felt better. She stopped in time to take a break, and to hear someone calling out to her. As much as she didn't want to interact wit anyone, it wasn't like she could just tell them off. That wasn't right. The voice did sound familiar, though.

Sighing, she took the towel off her head and wiped her face with it. When she looked up, though, her spirits were not lifted any further. Staring down the brunette that she had developed an unsettling animosity for was not what she had expected or wanted. Matter of fact, she would have taken that Pierce kid over her at this moment. But she wasn't going to give the girl any sort of satisfaction.

"Hello," she greeted politely. Because that was what you were supposed to do, even if you wanted to choke the girl in front of you.

As soon as the figure took the towel off and spoke, Abi realized that she shouldn't have just kept on walking. She should have full on sprinted away from the stables. Mistakes had been made. Very bad mistakes had been made. The polite smile that had been curling on her lips froze and twisted into something unrecognizable, and for a split second her whole body stilled in mid-step, as if afraid to draw closer. But Abigail King could handle being classified as anything but a coward, so she smoothed her features into a cool mask and continued to draw closer to the stables.
"Ah. Byion. Didn't realize I'd find you here." she said, stopping a few feet away and eyeing the other woman wearily. Of all the people to run into, why did it have to be her?
She was silent for a few awkward moments before she cleared her throat, shifting her gaze around at anywhere but in front of her. "So." she began slowly. "I heard you got disqualified by a minute. That must sting, doesn't it? To be so close yet not close enough?" Really, she wasn't intentionally trying to be a shit, but...
Okay, maybe she was trying a little bit. But only just a little.

She wanted to punch Abigail King right in the throat and that kind of reaction was not what she wanted. Charize prided herself in being relatively kind to others — being critical could be perceived as bad, but she meant it only with the best intentions. And right now, nothing that came to mind that she wanted to do to Abi was in any way good. And that was bad. So, she didn't bother with enacting them.

The slight twitch of her brow would be the only show of irritation before her features resettled to a cool indifference. She wasn't going to give in to that. No, not at all. "Nothing I can do about it. Just gotta do better next time, " she dismissed. She didn't remark on Abi's placement, though. She was sure the girl would tell her anyways.

Truth be told, Abigail didn't spend a lot of her time and energy trying to goad or poke at people. She had much more important things to focus on. But with Charize Byion, she couldn't seem to resist. There was just something about her attitude and her mere presence that made Abigail want to poke and poke and poke until Byion poked back.
So she was a bit disappointed when she didn't receive much a response, and she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back on her heels as she took in the other woman carefully. "'Just do better next time'?" she echoed, lifting a brow. "Is that your life's motto? Don't try your hardest the first time, fail, and then just do better next time? No wonder you were disqualified, with that attitude." Abi tilted her chin up, her lips curling up ever so slightly into a sneer. "If you're not going to take this seriously, you should just give up." she suggested happily. Abi liked competition, yes, but she didn't like Byion. She could live without one more competitor.

There were a few choice words that came to mind when Abigail spoke. A few that she did not have the mind to speak. The silver-haired girl regarded the girl with masked disdain, smile taut and not quite as polite or friendly as she had been working hard to maintain. She squinted, turning her head away from the sun. She couldn't deal with this right now. She really couldn't. Charize still wasn't even over the fact that she'd failed and here was this King girl shoving her own success in her face. She kind of wanted to put that hand to hand combat training to work right about now.

Instead, she shrugged, looking over at Abigail again. She wasn't going to be pressed by this, nope. "I don't really see how that's any of your business." Her words were a little more clipped than she'd intended, but no matter. "Shouldn't you be focusing on maintaining your time and improving it? Tenth place is great, but it's not better ninth. I'm sure you can do better if you put your mind to training rather than goading other people. You look like a smart enough girl to know that, at least." Maybe she'd said too much, but she didn't particularly care. She placed one hand on her hip, using her towel to swipe some sweat off her neck.

Abigail was starting to see a few cracks in the stone here and there, but this Byion girl was definitely stubborn, she'd give her that. Abi was tempted to just admit to a draw for now-she would never admit 'defeat', oh no-when Byion turned to face her again. Abigail pressed her lips together into a thin line, but whether it was because she felt mildly annoyed or mildly amused, she couldn't quite decide.
Letting out a hum, she raised her hands and gestured to herself before making it a point to brush away a few stray strands of sweaty locks. "Why do you think I'm out here? Not to feed the horses, that's for sure." she clipped out, giving Byion a pointed look. "Tenth place isn't good enough, no. I need to be faster. But while tenth place isn't better than ninth, it is better than nothing. You look like a smart enough girl to know that, at least."
Abigail looked up at the sun still beaming down on the both of them, letting out a soft sigh. She was wasting precious time here, with someone who couldn't be bothered two try hard the first time. Glancing back at Byion, she smirked. "When you're ready to get serious for once, let me know. Maybe we can race. I always like to have a boost in confidence." With that, Abigail turned on her heels and started back down the trail at an easy, arrogant job, small clouds of dirt puffing up beneath her feet.

Charize was simply not thinking straight. That was how she was going to look at it. Abigial infuriated her, so it was expected that some inclinations towards doing bodily harm to the girl, but coupled with her already aggravated nerves from the competition, she was down right livid. And Abigail had no right to even think about provoking her. Get serious? Really? Abigail looked like she never took anything seriously. She could feel her nails biting into her skin, jaw clenching as she stared over at the girl. She'd been good about schooling her emotions, but now they weren't as in check.

Abigail would not see it coming. How could she with her back turned? It wasn't exactly honorable, but Charize couldn't stomach this girl. Towel and morality discarded, she lunged for the girl. Her fingers twisted in her hair, arm jerking her back before she wrapped her other arm around her neck. Okay, so maybe this was getting out of hand, but if you thought about it hard enough, this was like teaching Abigail a much-needed lesson. Like if you provoke someone enough, they will try to put you in a chokehold. She kept her feet planted, well aware that if she could be lifted up, Abi could potentially flip her over.

Abigail had thought everything was said and done. That there was no need to stick around a failure. There was training to be done, competitions and challenges to win. It was her arrogance that had lulled her into a false sense of safety. It was laughable, really, for Abi to think about everything except keeping her guard up around somebody she had just insulted.
Well, she had wanted a response.
Before she could pick up speed, she suddenly felt fingers curling into the loose strands of hair at her neck, her head jerking back painfully as Byion lunged at her. She lost her footing, stumbling back and letting out a startled oomph as an arm suddenly wrapped around her neck. For a brief moment, Abi felt the initial panic one would when undergoing an attack. She grunted and scrabbled at the restraining limb, her heart beginning to pound. But then her mind cleared, her heart slowed back down to a lazy tango, and a smirk danced across her lips. She may not be the strongest, and she may not be the best at hand-to-hand, but she had grown up with three older brothers. She knew how to get out of chokeholds.
She stopped trying to pull Byion's arm away from her neck, instead gripping her forearm tightly in one hand to keep as much initial pressure off her neck as possible. Then she jerked back with her free elbow, jamming it sharply into the other woman's side. At the same time she twisted her body violently, flinging herself back instead of forward so that the momentum would send them both crashing to the ground. When she found her opportunity, she managed to twist her way out of the hold, rolling away from her attacker and coming to a crouch a few feet away, breathing heavily and coughing a little. She glowered at Byion, a hungry look in her eyes as she dared the other woman to strike again. "Well. Go on." she rasped, sneering. "I told you I always appreciate a boost in confidence."

Charize wasn't sure what was worse: losing control the way she did or the elbow to the side. Her grip slackened, pain radiating around the area of impact. She'd gotten her fair share of bruising, but it was partly unexpected. She hadn't had time to brace herself — she'd been much too focused on wanting to squeeze the life out of Abigail. The world shifted and suddenly she was on her back, taking the full weight of both she and the King girl. It was enough to force the air out of her lungs. She gasped for air as the other woman rolled away from her. Charize, though, was no fool and knew that being down for much longer would be a mistake.

Rolling back and bracing her hands on either side of her head, she kicked back up into a squat. The challenge in Abigail's eyes did nothing to change how much she wanted to knock her lights out. Maybe leave a bruise or two; show her what she meant by trying hard. "Let's see if that confidence will cushion your flat ass when I knock it down." Pushing off from the balls of her feet, she lunged at Abigail again, arms encircling her sides. Using this to catch the girl off guard, she reached one hand up to nearly claw at her face.

Would one say that Charize had an angry problem? Not if they'd seen the way she usually acted. Her current self was a stark contrast to her more mannered and self-proclaimed "responsible" behavior. She'd no doubt take responsibility for this when it was done, though she doubted — when she was of more sound mind, that is — that she'd be proud of this little situation.

Abigail scoffed at Byion's threat, but before she could reply properly her opponent was already lunging at her. Abi barely had any time to react when Byion's arms suddenly wrapped around her sides, and she let out a soft grunt as her back greeted the hard ground. She jerked her head back as Byion lashed a hand towards her face, but she didn't move away fast enough. Sharp nails bit into her cheek like claws, the skin breaking in some places. Hot pain flashed through her face as warmth began trickling down her cheek, but she wouldn't let something as small as a few scratch marks deter her.
Abi struggled against Byion's hold, managing to pull one arm free so she could grab at the hand trying to scratch her eyes out. Gripping the wrist tightly, Abi tugged it away long enough so she could rear her head back and slam her forehead against Byion's face, aiming for her nose. The impact was just as jarring for her as it was probably for the other woman, making her own head throb. But because she had been expecting it, Abi was able to recover faster.
Hooking one foot between the other's legs, she used her advantage to twist her body and flip them over, struggling to pin Byion down. Her chest and head ached, her cheek was weeping tears of crimson, and she was quickly growing tired, but Abi still had enough energy to glare the other woman down. "What was that about knocking me on my flat ass?" she demanded through heavy pants, her sweat stinging the wounds on her cheek.

Charize's vision had started swimming when Abigail's head had slammed into hers. There was a ringing in her ears and flash before she was on the ground, sense rattled still. The impact of her back meeting the ground a second time was just as winding. She inhaled sharply, turning over as she arched her back away from the source of pain. She'd bitten her lip upon hitting the dirt, a thin bloody trail at the corner of her lips. Her body thrummed with both rage and pain as she blinked and tried to see straight again.

Abigail's remark only served to enable the Byion girl a center spot to focus on. The spinning images slowed to form the face of the girl she vehemently despised. She already knew what she was doing was wrong, so why not just make it worse. She kicked her legs out, knocking them viciously into the girl's shins. While it only served to topple the girl forward, at least they would both be down.

"At least I have an ass to fall back on," Charize croaked, sure she'd feel shame for that remark at some point. But not at this present moment.

Abi should have known that Byion wasn't going to just lie there and admit defeat. She let out a strained grunt as Byion's legs knocked into hers, sending sharp flares of pain through her, making her lose both her hold and her balance. She twisted her body as she fell forward, so as not to land on top of Byion and give her an opportunity, and her back connected with the hard ground with a dull thud.
The motion knocked the air out of her momentarily, but she still managed to find the strength to roll out of reach. Then she stopped, panting, adrenaline slowly dying out. She hoisted herself to rest on her hip, brushing her hair out of her face and shaking her head at Byion. "You keep insulting my ass, but obviously you keep looking at it." she pointed out smugly, raising a brow at her. "Besides. At least I don't have any extra weight to weigh me down." Abi was by no means above being catty, specifically if it was towards Byion.
She struggled to her feet, her knees throbbing, head pounding, and she gave Byion a withering look. "Did you want to get up again and throw another temper tantrum? We can go at this all day if you'd like, though I think we both know who already won." Honestly, Abi didn't think she could last that much longer, but that didn't matter. Byion had reacted first. She had thrown the first punch, and therefore lost control first. Byion could beat her black and blue, but in Abi's book, she already won.

Her breathing had returned, though if not more or less in the form of a soft wheeze. She didn't bother meeting Abigail's gaze, eyes closing. This whole fiasco was just a mess, really. A shame. She suspected her hands were covered in dirt and sweat and she'd be damned if she let them touch her face. A soft hiss left her as Abigail spoke. "I don't have to look to know, li'l girl." And that was all she would say on the matter.

Charize needed to separate herself from the very problematic existence of Abigail King and maybe get to the infirmary to get checked out. Her head throbbed still, though when she next opened her eyes she could see straight. That was good. She propped herself up on her elbows, the adrenaline still in her system but ebbing away now.

"Stay the fuck away from me," the silver-haired Byion spat out as an answer, accentuating her words with a glare before getting up to her feet. She brushed herself off, taking in shallow breaths, before heading inside.

Abigail huffed at Byion's remark, rolling her eyes. If she thought insults to her body shape would offend her, obviously she thought Abi had a simple mind like hers. She didn't care if she had the shape of a woman; all she cared about was winning the Gauntlet and bringing pride to her family and closure for herself.
She watched as Byion struggled to prop herself up, her eyes following after her as she stormed back into the stables. She scoffed, shaking her head. "Don't have to tell me twice." she muttered, turning to slowly limp down the trail the way she had come. She probably needed to head to the infirmary and get the cuts on her cheek cleaned up, but she couldn't be bothered with that at the moment. All she wanted to do at that moment was to get as far away as Charize Byion as she possibly could.