Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)
She wasn't exactly ignored as she moved towards the walkway. Without fail, each and every man that had seemed magically and mentally inactive to her, turned their gaze towards her when she passed nearby, and without the glasses on some of them, she saw eyes of the most startling hues and colors.
Emerald greens that truly reminded her of solid gemstones in their clarity, blues, but gold and amber were the most common, a haunting, bright tone that stuck in her mind as unique. She'd seen people with amber tinted eyes, but never with this level of raw color, as if solid stone had been carved into a facsimile of eyesight. But they could see her, that much was certain.
Step by step she made it to the walkway unmolested however, and as she approached, she saw something that probably seemed a bit more expected to her then the initial ring itself, and it's temperament had.
Down the walkway was a large chain link cage where 2 men were engaged in fevered hand to hand combat, each blow and counterblow seeming to be bone crushing in it's raw strength. She could Feel the raw energy from the 2 in the cage, it was like seeing a mage working his magic, only in this case, all the power was strictly internal, every ounce of power went to strengthen the bone and skin, empower the muscle, increase the speed, and indeed, if she hadn't become familiar with Jessica by now, she'd have had trouble following the flurry within the cage.
The cage itself likewise hummed with it's own power, provided by the 4 towering men standing at the posts. She knew in her bones that fence would survive a volcanic eruption before they allowed it to break or be breached. It was sobering, to see power like this harnessed in such a blatant, specialized way, even more so that she couldn't normally see it unless, like these 2 men in the cage, they were actively using it.
The fighting continued for several long moments before her, before a blow caught 1 of the combatants in the cheek, and River watched as his skin cracked, and then crumbled like crushed stone to the floor, the man struck kneeling in defeat as the cage opened, and the victor emerged with his fists high, the crowd losing their minds at the conclusion.
River, or at least her telekine side, which was she could tell, enhancing her eyes to drink in all of what she was seeing, could tell what had happened. This had been a battle of endurance and raw power, and the loser's defenses had finally fallen below what he needed, and he'd been damaged. Even now she could see the currents of that thick, curling power, like lava, and where it had faltered, and... surprisingly, how quickly it recovered as he picked up the pieces, and placed them back on his face, the injury fixing itself as it's broken parts were restored.
The man who'd won was being led through another door, while the loser, a dark skinned man, between tan, and midnight along the contours of his limbs and muscles, stood slowly and stretched, before turning bright white eyes on her, and she saw the first emotion she'd seen out of these creatures, apart from rage since she'd entered. Curiosity. He stepped from the ring, bowing to the assembled crowd, this place seemed full of ancient gestures, and then moved towards the entrance of the walkway, waiting patiently. His eyes sparkled and his lips curled upwards in amusement as if to say 'Do you Dare? Would you Know Me?'
