A Sparring Call [CLOSED] 2/2

The second title earned an idle scratch of Tinker's chin. So, was Verst someone of importance on Arcose? The alien didn't know much about the place, so maybe it didn't mean anything. Verst seemed happy enough about it, though, so whatever.

The two of them were soon joined by another. Though clearly Namekian, his skin was far less vibrant, looking a bit unhealthy compared to others he'd seen. Maybe it was relatively normal, Tinker didn't know enough about Namekians to say. Verst seemed to know him by name, at least. "If you wanna join, fine by me."

The proclamation of putting himself below the Arcosian earned an amused shrug. There was a slight irony in Verst being one of the few that Tinker was around the height of, but the alien couldn't imagine that would stay true if Verst cared. "Well, assumin' your title and job mean anythin', I'd hope you were above me. I ain't done anythin' to earn any titles myself, only been a mechanic 'til lately. 'Sides, better to assume someone's stronger than you than the opposite, least 'til they prove otherwise. Lot less likely to get killed that way." It wasn't advice he always took, but he generally followed it. While fits of boredom or frustration could disrupt that rational view, neither was present enough to influence him at the moment.

Then a free-for-all was offered, with them all using their base power, unless Tinker misunderstood something. "Fair enough. No need to go all out right away." The Fauxbian took one of the positions Verst had marked before turning to face him. While his left hand remained free, his right remained stuffed in the pocket. He waited until they were all in position before he made his move.

Though Tinker knew he should have probably expected to receive an attack in return, he was expecting the Arcosian to attack him first rather than the Namekian. Kind of his fault, but that wasn't the most surprising thing. As he tried to swat the blow away with one hand, his hand was handily battered by the strike, guarding his chest but scratching up his hand in the process.

"Ha... That stings..." The Fauxbian growled, shaking his hand against the air. Though the claws managed to draw blood from the scaly hand, it wasn't too bad. It did hurt, Tinker couldn't deny that, but it wasn't anything too serious unless there was some poison in those claws or something. It also tore his shirt's sleeve, but he had plenty of spares. That wasn't exactly the foremost concern about this. "Yeah, yer way above me if that's your weakest. Some of us have to try to hit like that, y'know."

Tinker could have outpaced such a strike, but it would've taken far more effort from him. Whether that was through actually powering himself properly or simply striking with more power, the Namekian had effortlessly delivered a pretty solid blow without powering himself. There was usually some sign that you were powered up. Like, auras of power, temperature changes, or outright transforming your body. Stuff like that was pretty common, from what the Fauxbian knew. At least two were there when went full power, at least.

Tinker had noticed none of those in Gandigan, but he still pulled off an attack like that wasn't too far beneath a powered strike of his own. It would have probably matched one of his powered attacks from not too long ago, honestly.

"Yeah, I know. I know I need ta keep tryin' and not slack off with this. Thanks for the encouragement, I guess." Tinker figured most people would start weaker than he was now, though the confirmation didn't hurt. He had to wonder if he started stronger than most a year ago. Maybe he was, and he was just too lazy to care.

Still, that was in the past. Right now, Gandigan suggested showing his full power. "Well, if that's alright with you!" Tinker's power abruptly surged with those words as his teeth bent into a large grin. A familiar heat permeated the mechanic's being as the earlier pain in his hand faded from feeling. While some people had to make a show of actually activating their power, it was like a light switch for the Fauxbian. There was a clear increase in pressure around him, and it took some effort to maintain this, but accessing the power was as quick as possible. Intentionally so. He began to bounce on his feet, ready to move. "Alright, let's try this then!"

There was no point in trying to play around without this power; they both knew who was the stronger of the two, and Tinker wasn't so prideful that he'd try to power through a losing battle on that power alone. It didn't help that he was getting a bit tired of being the weaker party in almost all his major encounters thus far. He'd had plenty of unwanted experiences being completely outmatched, despite his training to try and avoid exactly that. Maybe this would be a more even fight, though that'd instantly change if Gandigan, you know, tried. Verst would've probably been a better match for him, but the Arcosian seemed to have drifted into the background for now. Kinda annoying after his loud challenge earlier, but whatever. If the raider suddenly didn't want to fight for whatever reason, he wasn't gonna force the issue.

Tinker heeded the Namekian's words about the disc; while he may have been able to dodge, it was far easier to take Gandigan's word about it and meet the attack head-on. In a practised motion, he pulled a ball out of his pocket and threw it with considerable force, flying through the disc and towards the Namekian. Though the disc ate some of the sphere's power, it still powered through with some momentum, largely undamaged in the clash. They were his answer to ki attacks, so they had to be durable enough to break through them if need be.

Honestly, it was reassuring to see the Namekain actually caught off guard. Tinker figured the balls should be surprising to most, at least the first time, but almost everyone else he'd fought was so far above him that any surprise barely mattered or registered. Sure, it was nice to theorize that getting beaned by a mach-speed baseball would be a surprise to those more used to energy balls and beams, but seeing that theory play out was something else.

"Maybe I've got a couple more tricks. Hope ya don't expect too much from me though." He casually began to bounce another of the balls against the ground a couple of times; careful attention would reveal that the ball spent only the slightest fraction of a second hitting the ground before returning back to the reptilian hand. Honestly, his style wasn't too complex, but the Breaker Balls could do a little

A number of swift steps were made around the flurry of claws strikes, the Fauxbian backpedalling before taking a far larger leap to get further distance. None of his steps were particularly graceful or elegant, but he was fast enough right now to outpace the attacks regardless. This was all how Tinker's theorizing in that year of training should have gone. He felt like he knew how to apply his knowledge. He knew how to move, how to fight. Even how to catch people off guard somewhat. He just had to get stronger, so all of that mattered. He couldn't exactly forget that the Namekian was holding back, but this at least showed the theories and practice were paying off.

After a second of practically running in place, Tinker abruptly leapt back towards Gandigan. As he surged forward, his entire body spun as he tried to land a wild tail swing on Gandigan. There wasn't an excessive amount of effort or force behind this swing, but it was still, practically, a heavy metal club being swung with the Fauxbian's entire body going into the swing. Assuming the blow landed, it would still hurt.

There was a satisfying clang as the tail sent Gandigan flying. Not the most satisfying sound Tinker had heard, but still. The man guy quickly recovered and started talking up the mechanic's relative state. Before he could properly consider the praise, it was swiftly put in check as Gandigan's knee smashed into his snout.

"Ngh!" Tinker grunted, throwing his own head back. He forced his entire body to go with the momentum, bending backwards and transitioning into a small leap and handspring off his free hand. This was enough to outpace Gandigan's attempted follow-up at least, though obviously a bit late for that initial strike. He figured he was relatively tough, at least by Fauxbian standards. Maybe that only worked out to normal toughness compared to other species, and that frailty was due to a lack of training from most. He couldn't say, not that it mattered right now.

With the distance made, the reptilian mechanic nursed his long mouth for a second. "Alright, my bad. Don't let that happen again." He murmured mostly to himself, though he didn't really care if Gandigan heard said murmurs. The other hand still kept a solid grip on the ball as he turned back. "My turn!"

Tinker dribbled the ball as he ran towards the Namekian before he chucked the ball at his stomach. With nothing immediately in its way, it should be hitting harder than when it had to plough through some energy first. He followed close behind his projectile, launching his entire body in a dropkick at the Namekian's head following the ball. The intent was to strike with his feet, but the claws were still there if Gandigan dodged the wrong way. The ball was actually the more significant of the two attacks, but pausing to give breathing room in between taking turns probably wasn't how a real fight would go. Best to keep up the pressure.