Eglantine guesses correctly; Lamia isn’t expecting them to drop down and grab her knees, but what she sees is her opponent’s head dropping into prime knee strike range, and when they lunge forward, she brings her knee up in an attempt to hit them in the face. In the moment that her knee lifts, her balance is shifted to the other leg, and with Eglantine’s forward momentum, it’s likely she’s going to hit the ground- unless Eglantine spontaneously aborts their attempt to ground her.
A knee to the forehead can’t possibly have hit anything important, surely? At least it’s the strongest part of Eglantine’s downturned face. And they’ve got surprisingly used to being hit in the head, this being what one might call one of London’s more interesting occupational hazards. It hurts, yes, but it won’t be nice for the attacking knee, either, and Eglantine’s already in motion, to grab onto Lamia and use all their weight against her now offbalance legs. They’re a little dizzy, true, but this doesn’t require much thinking right now, just grabbing.
Lamia laughs as she falls onto her back. With Eglantine clinging to her leg, she hooks it under their arm, and slides her free leg* over their shoulder, locking her ankles together behind their back. Then she twists, trying to flip them onto their back and switch positions, with herself on top.
(OOC: *Since she kneed Eglantine in the forehead as she was going down, I’m picturing this leg free, or at least in a better position to slip loose)
Lamia has already indicated a desire to become better acquainted with Eglantine’s head. How very obliging it is, then, for Eglantine to help her do so! Still hanging on as Lamia twists and writhes, Eglantine makes several very firm attempts to introduce their forehead to Lamia’s belly. Really, repeated headbutting is just like shaking hands, in a way!
And how fine a conversational partner Lamia is, and how quick to get on top of new developments!
edited by Eglantine-Fox on 7/9/2016
Lamia flips Eglantine onto their back, and gives them a curious look as they keep jerking their head forward, to thump it against her. They might have done better if her legs weren’t locked around them, with a knee digging into the side of their neck. From this position it’s her choice whether she wants to try to choke them out or pummel them in the face, provided they can’t break free. She gives them a friendly little squeeze with her knee as she decides.
Despite the vulnerable position, Eglantine’s grin up at Lamia is roguish, as one of their hands releases Lamia’s leg - scrabbling helplessly? Not quite. Their hand comes up, and drops something slimy and unpleasant down the back of Lamia’s trousers as they thrash about. If they’re lucky, the surprise will give them a moment to get loose. If not? At least they’ll get to see the look on Lamia’s face.
Eli observes with absolute confusion. He’s not writing anything down, mostly because he has no idea what he’s witnessing.
When in the world did Eglantine grab something slimy? Lamia’s back arches in disgust, and she wears the expression of a very regal cat that has just been doused with cold water. The woman has a one-track mind, though, and if anything the nasty surprise just fuels her drive to win. She clamps down with all the strength in her legs, and waits to hear ‘Uncle.’ Soon, she hopes, so she can get whatever the **** that is out of her pants with alacrity.
(OOC: Approximately this, minus a few steps. Also, she switched to a different fighting style when she got grounded.)
Eglantine’s laugh becomes a cough, and they manage to choke out a few words. “You win. I give.” Where the Hell did Lamia learn to fight like this? Wherever it is, Eglantine wants to take an educational trip there sometime.
Lamia releases her grip instantly. She gives Eglantine a light-hearted pat on the cheek, and stands up. Angling her ass towards the wall so that no one watching can see, she shoves her hand down the back of her pants and grabs for the slimy unknown that Eglantine sprang on her, and holds her hand out to the lamp light to see what it is, nose wrinkled.
“That was… unorthodox.” Elias claps while Ezekiel looms without a word. “Excellent fair of it. Lamia, are you still accepting challengers? I promised you a fight when I recovered.”
As Eglantine climbs slowly to their feet, rubbing their neck, the slimy surprise is revealed - a chunk of rotten potato, from one of the ruined crates that an onlooker had crashed into. A pungent thing, really, but basically harmless, unless one were silly enough to eat it.
Lamia gives the bit of potato a disdainful look, and tosses it on the ground. "Good fight," she says, speaking to Eglantine for the first time since the fight started. "I like surprises. Although, I could have done without garbage in my pants."
She turns to Elias and flashes a smile that instantly brightens her features, all traces of disgust and disdain over the sneaky potato attack vanished. "Absolutely."
Ezekiel removes Elias’ cloak and drapes it over one of it’s arms, standing aside and looking ghoulish for the audience.
Eli does some quick stretches, throws his shoulder and assuming a stance that not many have seen. His knees are slightly bent, his back is straight and both his hands are open and halfway extended toward you.
“Come then, take your medicine.”
(( I’ve decided to stick with the design of Eli that had him being more muscular instead of skinny, so this may prove interesting.)
“No blades, no firearms. We never forbade potatoes,” Eglantine comments, grinning. “Congratulations, though. Your skills are… quite something.” They climb up and retrieve a bag they’d left on the roof. “A token for a victor.” Eglantine tosses down a garland of silk flowers. “Asphodels. The lilies of the underworld. I thought them apt.”
"Thank you." Lamia catches the garland. Although she once professed her policy for not accepting gifts, perhaps she can make an exception for something won fairly in a fight. She handles the silk garland gingerly, examining the details of the fabric petals lovingly. She’s obviously deeply, deeply pleased with the token. For a moment she looks around for a safe place to set them down, and then she walks over to Ezekiel, and hands them to her with an air of reverence. "Hold these for me?"
Elias is already raring to go, whereas Lamia was thoroughly distracted by her lilies. The smack talk elicits a peal of laughter from Lamia, and she moves back into position across from him. She eyes his stance. "Kung fu?" she guesses. "Tiger style?"
“Just a little something I picked up back in Russia. Did a stint for The Imperial Army, a decade on the streets of Spite? Did plenty to iron out the kinks.”
Ezekiel accepts the garlands with a similar air of reverence.
“If you’re ready to go, Lamia. So am I.”
"Something Russian. I should have known. Well, this should be fun."
Lamia shifts into the same fighting stance as before: Square hips, legs shoulder-width apart, with her right leg slightly farther back from her left, balancing her weight easily on the balls of her feet. Her fists go up to frame her head, and she tucks her chin down. Then she comes at Elias, trying to slip inside his reach and grab him by the back of the neck. She’s going for a clinch, trying to drag his head down to the side and make it that much more difficult for him to hit her. Simultaneously, she uses the front of her right leg to knock against his shin in an attempted sweep.
(OOC: Uh, actually I need to edit this, if you don’t mind. I’ll let you know what changes I make when I make them.
Update: Okay, I rewrote it so that instead of trying to drag his head to her chest, she’s trying to drag it to the side. Nothing in your post should change.)
edited by Lamia Lawless on 7/9/2016
Eli’s eyes don’t leave hers as he moves into both of her attacks. He steps over her right leg and sinks his weight downwards, allowing the grab for his neck to connect only for him to snake his arm in with hers, attempting to lock to the joint. He keeps his other hand poised to strike, but does not move to do so yet.
(Yep, that’s fine!)
(To clarify, the joint lock is aiming for the wrist on the arm that tried to grab his neck.)
edited by The Absurd Rogue on 7/9/2016