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[attr="class","ithread"][attr="class,"brawler"]it's easy to spot the head of white hair amongst the crowd. iris quickens her pace to reach the man quicker. "hey!" she waves in greeting.
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after their first meeting iris had managed to get a decent grip on the game, training regularly, mastering controls and attacks. her level was now significantly higher. she still beams with pride at the thought.
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she squints at the warrior, something seems off about him. "are you alright?"
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Oh god, she saw him. [break][break]

Oh god, he's stuck. River moves to stand straight, only to quite dramatically discover that he's frozen to the side of the wall. Great. Wonderful.[break][break]

He realises this when he tries to pull his arm up to wave back at her, only to give her a half little pathetic wave from his thigh.[break][break]

She asks him if he's alright and he nods, awkwardly, while clearing his throat and making a subtle tug to pry himself off the wall.[break][break]

"Yeah, totally alright. Let's go, little lady, we have a boss to kill."[break][break]

Well.. if he could pull himself off the wall, first. So much for looking cool and hot, River.

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[attr="class","ithread"][attr="class,"brawler"]"right!" she perks up at the mention of the quest, already raring to go. she summons her knuckledusters, the ice glinting in the light--iris had found them while she was out training and had since grown accustomed to her weapon upgrade.
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"i think some people are already fighting it, we should hurry up." she says as she turns in the direction of the boss. after taking a few steps, she glances back at the man who hasn't moved a budge.
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"you are...coming right?" maybe she'd misread the messages he'd sent.
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River takes a glance at her fancy new knuckledusters, and his eyes widen at it. She had new gear, already? What were the odds she had already left him in the dust. Did she really even need his help anymore?[break][break]

His voice seems lost when her excitement grows, when she mentions that other people were probably already fighting it. When she turns away, he attempts another aggressive yank to free himself from the wall. Desperation doesn't look good on you, River.[break][break]

And then she turns, catching him in the act while he's struggling, and he's blushing.[break][break]

"Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'. I'm just.. ahh.. "[break][break]

He sighs, giving one more tug, and ripping his virtual shirt along with it. What was with this game? Was this a glitch? [break][break]

River runs a hand through his mane of hair, reaching out for her hand or wrist, awkwardly trying to ignore the situation and get along with it.[break][break]

"Sorry, let's go. Sweet dusters, by the way. Where'd you find those pretty pieces?"

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[attr="class","ithread"][attr="class,"brawler"]if iris noticed the sound of tearing as the warrior got up from the wall, it didn't show--well, more accurately, all thoughts of it flew out the window as soon as he grabbed her wrist. "h-huh?!"
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another moment or so passes before she processes his words. she tries to play it off. "oh! i fought a mini boss," she can't help the pride in her tone, especially when she remembers she fought it alone. "dropped these after i killed it." iris secretly hopes the man is as impressed with her as she is with herself.
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"maybe this boss will drop some cool stuff too," she thinks aloud. that'd definitely sweeten the deal.
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They make it a few hasty steps past the wall he'd previously been stuck on before he drops her hand. If he's still sweaty, he brushes his palm against his pants awkwardly to wipe away, both figuratively and literally, the situation at hand.[break][break]

Instead, he chooses to marvel at her words and how excited and proud she appears to be. His eyes widen in surprise as he takes it all in. At some point, just before the boss thunders into view, he reaches for her hand again in order to inspect the dusters.[break][break]

"May I?"[break][break]

If he may, his thumb brushes against the back of her knuckles softly, tilting them to see them catch the light. [break][break]

He grins, then turns around to face whatever beastie they'd stumbled across. It seems it had already taken care of a couple of parties too weak to take it down themselves.

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[attr="class","ithread"][attr="class,"brawler"]iris is more than grateful when she spots the boss in the distance. ignoring how hot her face feels, she disappears into the ground with DIG--the sooner she got away from the warrior, the sooner she could calm down.
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the arctozolt seems preoccupied with the remnants of the last party it fought. iris takes advantage of its distraction and bursts out the ground right under it. the pokemon stumbles and cries out in pain as it tries to regain its balance. iris is forced to take a BOLT BEAK before she retreats to a safer distance. thankfully it doesn't have much effect against her ground typing. she glances at river before using NO RETREAT.
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there was no running now.
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River's own face remains hot, especially at how rapidly she disappears into the ground. Had he overstepped? Damn it.[break][break]

He turns away a moment to whisper under his breath, cursing himself for his overzealousness and awkwardness. But now is not the time to be worried about how bad he is with women - they were under attack.[break][break]

Iris is the first to aggro the Arctozolt, taking advantage of her ability to be in close-quarters. River does his best to get close by SHIFTING GEARS, boosting his speed considerable and his attack by a little. This action is closely followed by a DRAGON RUSH as he plunges his draconic sword into the shoulder of the beast.[break][break]

He is quickly struck by the bird's rage as it whirls on him, attempting to shatter his armor with its ICICLE CRASH. It leaves the man open for a brief moment before he was able to defend himself and parry, using two hands to push his greatsword against the Pokemon's power.

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[attr="class","ithread"][attr="class,"brawler"]she tunnels her way back underground as the boss shifts its focus to river. the warrior was more than capable of holding his own. locating the boss once more, she lingers underneath, using NO RETREAT before she moves up to attack. she lands a swift quick on the arctozolt, following up with CLOSE COMBAT.
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her speed proves to hinder her as an AVALANCHE of snow falls on top of her--twice the usual power, thanks to her attack. as iris struggles to break out of the snow she's hit with another BOLT BEAK. the attack creates an opening that iris darts out of. immediately she hits it with CLOSE COMBAT.
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iris takes a moment to catch her breath before moving in to attack once more. after a few more rounds, the beast collapses to the ground with a final roar.
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River prepares another SHIFT GEAR while the pressure relents, picking up speed rapidly and improving his attack. It enables him to be more agile, to dodge incoming attacks and hit harder. They're winning, slowly but surely.[break][break]

And, with the help of Iris' NO RETREAT and CLOSE COMBAT, the boss eventually goes down with a dramatic thud. River's grip on his sword grows tighter when he watches Iris disappear under the AVALANCHE, encouraging him to DRAGON RUSH the side of the Arctozolt in order to protect her. Fortunately, it seems she'd well-versed in combat and not one to go down without a fight. [break][break]

The warrior sets his sword down, blade first as he rests on its hilt. He breathes a sigh of relief as the beast goes down. He offers the girl a tired smile, wiping sweat from his brow.[break][break]

"I don't wanna overstep, but I'd say we make a pretty good team."

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[attr="class","ithread"][attr="class,"brawler"]iris sighs as the battle comes to a close, her knuckledusters vanish as she unequips them. her knuckles are only slightly sore.
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stretching her arms, she turns round to face river. "yeah," she smiles, "we do, don't we?"
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