Gareth and Carl vs Marigold and Blue. Burgandy is on the side
Current Match Score 2-0
Gareth POV chapter.
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Gareth had been right. There was nothing to be done. The final point, and the thing that pushed them over the limit was simple exhaustion, and not on Blue's part. Both Carl and Gareth had worked together. Sprinting from side to side, and occasionally back to back. They held on for an impressive amount of time. The ground under their feet was broken, repaired and rebroken. Gareth felt his mana reserves getting more of a workout then… perhaps he'd ever tried for.
There were a few moments of tension. Where the ball was so close to the edge that Carl and Gareth hoped and prayed that Thyme would become their lord and saviour. Declaring a point to them. That the ball was out of bounds. That their effort was worth something. Perhaps it was, perhaps it wasn't. Thyme was clearly an impartial god and the ball didn't ever fall out of bounds.
Gareth and Carl had struck at the edges of the water formation. Struck at the centre. They'd tried to go under it, and they'd tried to go over it. Though they were especially careful with that last one. Sadly, it was not to be. Blue held strong and Marigold mostly just relaxed. Perhaps if Gareth and Carl hadn't been so clearly trying their hardest, she would've gone for a distraction play. Perhaps a bit of a striptease…
But that would've been too disrespectful even for her. The determination that both men showed was exceptionally appealing, and it felt wrong to spit on their efforts. Even Blue was starting to feel a bit bad for what she was doing. Not enough to stop of course, especially not after coming so far. Not after clawing their way back over that fucking mountain to return to the tournament. To give up in the face of determination? That would be an insult to her team, an insult to herself, and an insult to the two trying so hard.
Gareth was the first to fall. The hardened stone flooring was nice for sprinting around… up until it failed to absorb the water from all the sweat fast enough. When his foot slipped out from under him, Gareth had a hollow moment of panic. A horrible feeling that it was all over, just because he'd been careless with his footing.
But Carl had come in flying. His feet surrounded by burning fire. The wonderful bastard had practically glided over the ground, even overshooting the ball by a bit and managing to hit it back over the wall. Gareth struggled to his feet, ready to run for the next one… when he heard a crash.
Gareth turned around and saw Carl stuck on the ground now. His feet were completely red and his shoes were crispy. Clearly they weren't designed for that trick. Carl's face was filled with pain, and regret. Knowing he could not stand. Gareth saluted him, and ran for the ball's inevitable return. He even managed to smack it back twice as Carl stumbled to his feet… and it was not the fourth return, but in many ways the third, that would be Gareth's undoing, despite returning the ball in question.
Blue had sent the ball right to the opposite corner to Carl who was in the back left. Gareth charged at the front right section of the court, and new he didn't have time to slow down and turn. He also knew Carl wasn't recovered enough to catch the ball if he hit it straight up. So Gareth just kept running, slipping on the sand as he whirled in place and smacked the ball back into the water.
As he did so… the momentum of the turn and his previous run caught up to him. The sand under his feet went flying and he fell down into the dirt. Gareth was panting. He legs were weak but he WOULD NOT GIVE UP HERE. Gareth surged to his feet… much too late. The ball was already about to touch the ground at the other end of the court.
Gareth collapsed down onto his knees and then faceplanted into the ground. Defeated.
"THE PASSION! THE FEVOUR! THE DESPERATE STRUGGLE FOR VICTORY! YET IT WAS NOT ENOUGH! BLUE HAS CRUSHED THIS GAME, AND OWNED THE SCOREBOARDS BUT SHE DID NOT BREAK THEIR SPIRITS! I WANT EVERYONE TO TAKE FIVE, NO TEN MINUTES! I'm ordering a ten minute break for everyone.
"You want food? I'll make sure there's food. Water. Expensive mana restoratives? I probably shouldn't but you bet your ass I will. I want to say there should be no hard feelings this day, for that was truly a work of art! What a match! If I had more control over the rules of the tournament I'd be handing out bonus prizes or points. Alas, I do not. So eat! Drink! Restore your ailing minds and bodies! And Carl get over here and let me heal your feet" Yelled Thyme. Even if they did lower the volume more towards the end.
Green sprinted over and pulled Gareth into a hug, "Great job honey, come on, let's get you something to drink," whispered Green. It was rather comical seeing her pull Gareth into a hug, then a princess carry without any issues at all.
"Thanks Green," responded Gareth.
While that was happening, Asteodia walked over to Carl and gave him a hand up, pulling him to his feet and then letting his arm rest over her shoulders to support his weight as she took him over to Thyme. "What, no princess carry for me?" asked Carl.
"Hey, you're not getting married to me, so no princess carry for you. Heck, you didn't even invite me out to dinner," said Asteodia with mock offence.
"Heh, sorry you're missing a crucial part I find necessary for a romantic relationship so there will be no ring for you," said Carl.
Asteodia snickered as they got to Thyme who quickly healed up the burns. While that was happening, Green was setting Gareth down at the table that had suddenly appeared and started piling food onto a plate for him. Gareth thought Green was going a little overboard, but he didn't complain about the pampering.
Marigold and Blue slid onto the other side of the table and Blue said, "Sorry about the water… I didn't think it'd be quite so effective. I mean, I'd do it again… but I do feel a bit bad about it,"
Marigold nodded, "Yeah… sorry for coming up with it," admitted Marigold. "I didn't think it'd be so good either, but when Blue admitted to her worries about not being fast enough to cover the front I came up with it… and damn did she run with the idea. Sure it won me the round… but what am I going to do when I have to fight that nonsense?"
*Wait… Marigold came up with that! I assumed Blue had figured it out while she was watching us all from the sidelines. Damn, flirty Marigold might be… but she's got a real brain between those ears.*
"Yeah… it was pretty brutal. How much mana was it costing?" asked Gareth as Green tried to feed him bits of fruit. *Green, I'm not sick or injured… this might be a bit too much pampering. Plus it's just a lot of food. Ah whatever I can't bring myself to stop her.*
Blue winced before answering, "Honestly… it was super cheap. I didn't need to create any of that water, and I was basically just getting it to spin about. It wouldn't stand up to a proper attack… but a air-filled ball that floats to the surface? I don't even need to reinforce things much. Just keep it up in the air and spinning. I could probably hold it for like an hour without breaks… maybe longer,"
*Damn.* "Guess we know who's going to win this particular challenge," said Gareth.
Blue nodded awkwardly. "Yeah… sorry I didn't mean to just… destroy this contest the way it seems I have. I'm not going to stop, but I do feel a bit bad, especially when it wasn't even my idea. I would've taken the credit if Marigold didn't throw herself under the bus just to keep the annoyance focused on me…
"But whatever. If Marigold is taking credit for her idea, she can take some of the heat. It's a great idea and I'm super glad I was partnered up with her first so I can stomp the rest of my matches, but I do wish things were different. Perhaps if another mage was to fight me, or Kat was using her demonic energy things would be different… but aw well," finished Blue with a shrug.
*I guess the real question is how much effort do I put in. With the win Marigold and I managed, we're ahead of the pack. I'm not sure if it'll come down to individual point wins or if Thyme will just allow a tie for second place… but it looks like that's where Marigold and I are headed with Blue solidly in the lead. Should I try to change it? Or more accurately… CAN I do anything?*
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