@SanctifiedSavage
There was a flower tucked into her hair.
It was a rather small detail, especially considering her current circumstances. But Nathara had learned that it was often the smallest things, the seemingly insignificant, that could turn the tide of a battle.
And that's what it felt like, the arena. A battle. It was as much a clash of wills as it was of strength and skill. So it was no coincidence that she had been allowed to keep the small bloom when it happened to fall from a merchant princess's confection of an outfit in one of her earlier fights. She wasn't quite sure herself what had possessed her to snatch up the flower before its petals had been completely stained with the sand and dust of the arena, but still she had.
She tilted her head and watched her opponent's eyes skate over her warily. A veritable behemoth of a man, clad in little more than a loincloth to expose every inch of rippling muscle that covered his body. She could already see the gears turning behind his eyes, practically hear his derision and confusion:
This is who I must fight? A little girl with no weapon and a flower in her hair?Nathara smiled, and her pure white eyes narrowed to cunning slits. She slid her left foot back, sinking into a defensive stance with her arms raised to protect herself-- all the better to play into the misconceptions she hoped her opponent held.
The other gladiator suddenly roared, charging forward. Nathara did not move, just stared him down as he came closer...closer...now!
With the speed and grace of a striking cobra, the young woman threw herself into the air and arced over the gladiator's left shoulder, twisting in the air to wrap her legs around his neck as she bent toward the ground. Surprise was on her side, and all it took was a deft shift in her balance to change the trajectory of her leap and send them both crashing to the ground, slamming the mountain of a man's head into the earth while she herself slipped easily back to her feet and danced away.
She turned to face him again, once more sinking back into that innocuous, defensive stance.
Let's get this over with.