To The Victor [Audi & Esha]

[Audi]

She had won. She had won.

She should be sleeping, letting her body heal, but thoughts twisted and coiled in her head like restless snakes, keeping her awake despite her closed eyes. Due to her injuries, the bare floor inside the book fort she usually slept on had been covered in pillows. Even despite that, it was hard to find a comfortable position to lie down in, as no matter what she chose, there was a wound or a bruise or a pulled muscle to aggravate. But she had won. All that hard work, hours of gathering ingredients, preparing them, mixing concoctions, creating her outfit... it all paid off. Audi breathed out a giggle.

But... now what? The past few weeks had been filled with so much frantic preparation, she forgot what her time used to be normally filled with. Other kinds of work, she supposed. But it seemed so distant now... all that mattered was that she had won, all on her own. She was proud of herself, and she was sure that her master would be proud, too, but... he was dead. And there was no other approval come from anywhere. No back-pats, no praise, no hailing, even Tony didn't seem terribly pleased to see her win. Her fingers curled into a fist in frustration. Well, his opinion didn't matter anyway. He was just a silly bookworm plant.

Audi tossed and turned again, ending up on to her back with an angry stare aimed at the blanket ceiling of her fort. Well, she won, and she took the prize, the prize that she wasn't yet sure what would end up being. And if anybody had a problem with that, they could take it up with her... with the champion. Yes.

She had won.

[Esha]

Dotted across Esha's skin was bruises and scrapes. It hurt less to walk around in stone form, for the top few layers of derma anyway. It gave her the appearance of a rather scraped up statue but the lack of feeling in the other form was worth any strange looks. Ever a complete hero in the face of pain, Esha was going to stay gargoyle and in her room until it all passed. That was the plan, anyway.

The stonegirl opened the door, shut it behind her with her foot. Her jacket was shucked off and thrown onto the nearest bed along with a massive sigh. Esha let herself drop onto the bed after it, lay on her front and turned her head to face her roommate. Her muscles protested- another reminder that warming up isn't a redundant thing to do. Noted for the next time she'd just sit out. She chuckled, despite herself. "I think Ghandi was onto something with the non-violence vibe he had going."

[Audi]

The problem with the prize was not that she didn't have any ideas -- it was that she had too many, and none of them good enough to make true. Audi rolled them around in her head idly. Maybe asking Rendaz for a personal power source, or Kale for lab equipment... Her musings were cut short and her ear twitched alertly at the noise of the door opening. Somebody walking in without knocking could only be Esha... or one of Audi's defeated opponents, come to exact revenge.

Or both. She smiled to herself.

"Who's Gandhi?" she asked, wincing with pain as she rolled to her stomach to be able to see Esha. "I suppose he had a point, anyway."

[Esha]

"Ghandi believed that civil disobedience was key to getting Indian Independence. Got his bullet in the end, pacifism aside. I knew a guy that saw him in the flesh once. Apparently." Esha shrugged, she didn't really know if it was true and the guy in question wasn't here to be quizzed. Which was alright, because Esha didn't really like him.

Thinking back more than a few years wasn't a familiar exercise for Esha, so her face scrunched up in thought. Did he have a point? The stone girl was inclined to say yes. "I suppose he did have a point. If I'd not fought I'd not be all sore. How are your war wounds?"

[Audi]

For a moment, Audi considered whether Indian Independence was something she wanted to find out more about, but just as Esha changed the subject she came to the conclusion that no, she didn't really care. That knowledge was of no use to her, really. She hummed, touching the skin near the nick on her muzzle. If she had not fought, she would not have won...

"...Could be better, could be worse." Her eyes slid halfway closed. "I'm not getting up unless I must. You?"

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