[ carolina may not be surprised when maine doesn't seem to register her words (or her as anything but a threat) but it still stings. she still wishes he had.
she blocks the first few blows easily enough, even when she can feel the places where her forearms are going to bruise. despite the fact that she's backing up slowly as he swings at her, already preparing to use the space against him if she has to, carolina looks calmer now than she did before his power activated, more focused. their spectators don't have anything to worry about yet.
maine still moves quicker than he should, though, still advances just aggressively enough that she can't block him perfectly forever. a missed block during a round of sparring might lead to her losing her balance for a moment, a sore spot she didn't expect to have. a missed block here means maine's fist impacts her shoulder with enough force to knock her off balance, catching herself in a crouch, the fingers of one hand touching the ground briefly before she has her legs under her enough to dive out of the way.
a roll has her landing on her feet behind him, stretching one hand before she quickly curls it into a fist, checking to make sure that that blow hasn't impacted her ability to throw a punchβ or to take one. it doesn't feel good by any stretch of the imagination, but it's no reason to tap out.
when maine lunges at her again, carolina's tactics change. no longer purely defending, she's countering his blows with ones of her own, well timed punches and kicks aimed to disable him without any lasting damage. if maine had a weapon, she'd be focused on disarming him, but the same tactics don't work when he's using his fists. especially when it becomes apparent that her strikes don't slow her teammate down as much as they should, that they're wearing one another down unevenly. she needs a few seconds to catch her breath, to try getting through to him again.
she dodges one of his punches, turns on one leg as the other aims a kick at the centre of his chest. it's harder than any of her blows have been so far, but she still doubts it'll knock him back as far as it would anyone else.
that's alright, though. carolina only needs a few extra inches between them to comfortably call up her shield, one arm held level with the ground in front of her as if to carry the semi-shimmering wall. the stance isn't necessary, she's learned, but she has better control when she gestures, doesn't leave it all to her imagination. ]
You know who I am, Maine. Just focus.
[ she's breathing heavily, probably should take better advantage of the break her shield gives her, but carolina's doing this to help her friend and she's nothing if not stubborn. ]
no subject
she blocks the first few blows easily enough, even when she can feel the places where her forearms are going to bruise. despite the fact that she's backing up slowly as he swings at her, already preparing to use the space against him if she has to, carolina looks calmer now than she did before his power activated, more focused. their spectators don't have anything to worry about yet.
maine still moves quicker than he should, though, still advances just aggressively enough that she can't block him perfectly forever. a missed block during a round of sparring might lead to her losing her balance for a moment, a sore spot she didn't expect to have. a missed block here means maine's fist impacts her shoulder with enough force to knock her off balance, catching herself in a crouch, the fingers of one hand touching the ground briefly before she has her legs under her enough to dive out of the way.
a roll has her landing on her feet behind him, stretching one hand before she quickly curls it into a fist, checking to make sure that that blow hasn't impacted her ability to throw a punchβ or to take one. it doesn't feel good by any stretch of the imagination, but it's no reason to tap out.
when maine lunges at her again, carolina's tactics change. no longer purely defending, she's countering his blows with ones of her own, well timed punches and kicks aimed to disable him without any lasting damage. if maine had a weapon, she'd be focused on disarming him, but the same tactics don't work when he's using his fists. especially when it becomes apparent that her strikes don't slow her teammate down as much as they should, that they're wearing one another down unevenly. she needs a few seconds to catch her breath, to try getting through to him again.
she dodges one of his punches, turns on one leg as the other aims a kick at the centre of his chest. it's harder than any of her blows have been so far, but she still doubts it'll knock him back as far as it would anyone else.
that's alright, though. carolina only needs a few extra inches between them to comfortably call up her shield, one arm held level with the ground in front of her as if to carry the semi-shimmering wall. the stance isn't necessary, she's learned, but she has better control when she gestures, doesn't leave it all to her imagination. ]
You know who I am, Maine. Just focus.
[ she's breathing heavily, probably should take better advantage of the break her shield gives her, but carolina's doing this to help her friend and she's nothing if not stubborn. ]