"There's a nice bit of level ground just east of town we can use," Cocoa says. "I've camped there once or twice just to see the stars at night."

"Fun way to spend an evening." She follows Cocoa to the gates.

Cocoa waves casually to the guards as they pass, and then they're out. 

Despite the somewhat hilly terrain, the level area doesn't take long to get to. It's a small area in between two low hills with a couple scraggly bushes at either end. 

"Look good to you, Sable?" Cocoa looks over at his opponent.

"I've got no problem with it," Hyacinth says. She looks over at Sable.

"Works for me!" She draws her sword and stretches, limbering up for the fight.

Cocoa takes the other side of the clear space, and draws a pair of daggers from his bandolier. He lightly tests one of the edges with his thumb, then nods, satisfied.

"On three?"

"On three." She leans down just a bit, ready to lunge.

Hyacinth looks between the two fighters with a smile on her face. This is going to be so cool.

"Hyacinth, care to give us the countdown?"

"Right, yeah, sure."

She's done this a hundred times before in Realms of Dragons. She cradles her staff in the crook of one elbow and brings her hands together. 

"This is a death match between Cocoa and Sable. It will begin on the third clap of my hands. Wait for the signal..."

Hyacinth brings her hands apart, then together in three sharp claps. 

On the third clap, Cocoa throws one of his daggers, aiming for center mass of Sable's body. Then he darts away, his second dagger raised to defend himself as he pulls a second from his bandolier. 

Sable lunges into a powered leap, forward and up a bit, using her wings to twist through the air above the dagger, slashing down with a vampiric blade as she approaches him.

Cocoa's just as fast, and knocks the blow aside with one short blade while the second comes around for Sable to fall onto. 

Sable flares her wings and flaps to redirect, turning what would've been a deep stab into a light slash to her arm. She drops into a tumble and rights herself a few feet away, lunging into a low slash at Cocoa's side.

Cocoa's not fast enough to twist away from the blade, but his leather armor catches the blow and turns what could have been a serious injury into a wide bruise. He staggers, but retaliates, his daggers lashing out to try and catch Sable's unguarded throat and her stomach respectively. 

She flaps again to try to evade, managing to interpose her sword before the dagger aimed at her throat, and catches the other strike on her leathers, staggering backward, winded. She manages to retain enough focus to whip her tail out to try and catch Cocoa's ankle, though.

Cocoa feels his footing going, and chooses a headlong lunge forward, aiming to bear Sable to the ground and pin her. 

Sable rolls backward, trying to catch Cocoa in the waist with her feet and toss him over her.

Cocoa takes the hit with a whuff of exhalation, and is flung over Sable - but drops into a roll on the other side and comes back with another thrown dagger. 

It catches Sable in the left shoulder just as she's kipping back to her feet. She grunts in pain, lunging into a powered leap directly at Cocoa, saber wreathed in vampiric energy.

Cocoa whirls with his second dagger, and as Sable comes in he raises his empty hand to intercept Sable's blade —

There's a blast of wind from his palm, and Sable's blade is knocked aside violently, far out of space to recover. In the moment while Sable's guard is down, Cocoa strikes with his dagger and sinks it into Sable's throat.

"Sable!"

A stab of panic goes through Hyacinth, and it's all she can do to keep from rushing the field.

Sable sinks to her knees with a gurgle, giving Cocoa an impressed but pained look.

She quickly throws Sin a wink as she tips over onto the ground.

And then she's out.