It started out fine...

She was fourteen when the area karate regionals came around. Never mind the fact that it was early December, and her mid-terms were coming up, and she was still trying to come to terms with her new breast size. Like an idiot she said she'd be there, layered on sports bras, and trotted to the gym.

The fights were simple exhibitions, points awarded on execution and touches rather than beating an opponent into the ground. In her third bout Aya was getting tired, and her opponent, a human from two towns over she'd met in the ring before, was as well. That was probably why things went wrong.

Three points in he flubbed a spin kick and his ankle buckled, making the attacking foot lash in an unexpected direction. She didn't get a block up in time and he tagged her hard on the ribs, taking them both to the floor. The referee blew his whistle, hard, halting all conversation as paramedics came forward to access injuries.

One cracked ankle on his side.

Two cracked ribs on hers.

They both managed to facepalm at the same time when it was announced they were unfit to continue. "Next year," they mouthed at each other around the pained wincing as they were bandaged.

Mix and Mingle

Aya adjusted the dress another time and winced. The loud colors really weren't her style but Darlene was going to pot luck, with Traver, and she wanted to look bright and cheerful despite the early spring rain pouring down. Hence the bright, spring dress and matching makeup. Bright in defiance of grey skies!

The veggie, meat, and cheese tray they'd 'assembled' was a comedy of errors mingled with nice. Nice crackers, but the cheese was cheddar cubed badly or american cheese slices folded into quarters. The meats were cheap ham and pimento loaf chunks, and the veggies were...poorly cut. They had tried to make them look fancy and had ended up failing just enough to show they tried. The bowl in the center of the snack tray held ranch dip straight from a bottle. Colorful saran wrap (to shield from rain) was the crowning touch.

Sure, they didn't do domestic well, but Traver and Darlene were still damn fun people to be around!

"I kind of want to cry over the snack tray," Aya admitted, eying the poor thing.