Nina's Tea Party (for Hawthorne)

- right on top of her, about to steal a kiss- or not.

"Wait, haven't earned that yet."

"Truly." She gave him another point even as he slid off her only to put her in a crucifix arm bar. A good move, it got a small grunt out of her as Leon cranked on her arm. It forced her to turn towards Leon- the move straining her shoulder- to get her feet against the bottom of the pool, steadying her as she gripped Leon and then tried to roll him onto his shoulders for a pin, which Anna was all too eager to sound off.

Leon smiled as he locked in the hold, "Hah. Nice. Like this? An... er... old friend taught me this a few years back." He left out that it was an old girlfriend out of some measure of tact. There were appropriate boasts to make in situations like these but talking about prior lady friends was probably not going to advance his cause.

"Oh, whoawhoahwoah!" He shouted as he found himself overturned by Nina. "She did NOT teach me that, though." He blurted out. Releasing his grasp and attempting to disentangle himself, he tried to twist himself out of the pin. "Hey, hey! Little fast, aren't you, ref?"

"One! Two!"

Anna was openly disappointed that Leon broke free of Nina's reversal. "Are you impugning my reputation?" she growled at the protesting Leon.

Nina was all too happy to let Leon go. She'd been in tight pinches before, but never against an opponent bigger and heavier and... male. This was proving to be... vigorous.

She clutched the shoulder Leon had been worrying. The strain was tolerable, but she thought to give Leon the impression of being more hurt than she really was by wincing.

"Now, Anna," she still teased her maid, "Be civil. And he has a point." She gave Leon a slight smile of approval.

Anna rolled her eyes but didn't deign to reply.

((Oh snap. Completely forgot about this match after my hiatus again. Crap.))

Leon rolled out, his body splashing free of Nina's grasp. Slowly he stood up, shrugging at Anna, "Was just a question..." There was no sense in whining further now. Nina seemed to be taking his side anyway. He returned her smile with a friendly nod.

Leon was now thankful for the chilly waters they wrestled in. That icy tea would at least make sure the bruising from Nina's scissors wouldn't be quite so severe tomorrow. As Nina seemed to nurse her arm, Leon massaged his waist, trying to ease the pain a bit. Didn't think I hurt her THAT bad... Should probably take it easy with that fancy stuff in the future... Still, he was fairly certain she had gotten the better of him so far.

With a grunt and a final stretch, Leon took combat stance again. His eyes would meet with hers, waiting to make sure she was righted and ready to go. Once so, he would bolt forward... only to misstep in the tea and lose his balance, falling forward and barely catching himself. After a brief moment for his brain to catch up to the rest of him, he'd try to turn his misfortune into a crude takedown attempt, trying to hook his foe's legs and pull them out from under her, if Nina wasn't able to take advantage of his misfortune first.

((You're not the only one ^^))

Nina appreciated Leon's continuing chivalry down to the moment he charged her - and doubly so when he slipped. He should have seen the smile that played across her face at that point.

I have him now...

The cold and resistance of the ice tea reminded her of a messy match in the fountain adorning the wide driveway leading to her home. The memory maneuvered Nina out of the way of Leon's charge without a single messy splash, her legs slicing through the black stuff instead of the expected sloshing froth. Her hands reached out to him, seeking to clasp him gently by the head and back- and then push him chest-first into the ice tea!