Board Thread:Roleplay/@comment-31049256-20170802162903/@comment-28358106-20170806034159

(S9/Lil/Ant) Thomas chuckles. "Of course I did! It's so rare we get to do these things together, I hardly had time for the place to register.  I get so swept up in the moment that I didn't take stock of how great it really was.  I guess that means we'll have to come back." He puts a patronly hand on her head and gives her an affectionate rub.

Lucida shrugs self-deprecatingly. "Only from what I've read. Tournaments aren't exactly rare back home, as Iveria has the largest coliseum in the Realm and even the Capitol has two arenas.  I've never seen a smash tourney, though, so this should be a blast!"

Antoinette looks to Maria, putting her hands on her hips and giving her a warm, genuine smile. "You should be proud of what you've done! It's a very brave thing to break a stereotype like that.  During our match, you should---"

The approaching group catches her eye, and she turns a deep shade of crimson. "...O-o-oh! My goodness..."

Thomas, Lil and the group arrive at the edge of the arena, next to their corner. Thomas walks up, his eyes twinkling.

"Well, now, this is a surprise. I would have expected you to tell us that you were going to be in a match, Antoinette," he says, humor edging his voice as he folds his arms.

Antoinette turns an even deeper shade of red and she begins to fidget, twiddling her fingers, her armored gauntlets giving off a metallic tinkling. "Oh, u-umm...I didn’t want to alarm you, My Lord. These bouts can get quite intense..."

Thomas looks to Gabriola and gestures to Antoinette. "Gabriola, this is Antoinette Valais, steward of our household and all-around amazing Saintaur. She's a Paladin."

Antoinette turns rapidly, her hooves clomping. "R-Rebecca, Maria, this is Doctor Thomas Ibrahim, my patron Lord, and his daughter Lucida Ibrahim, and Sun-Mi and Lilrava, two of our foster daughters!" She rattles off quickly in a wavering, high-pitched voice, her silver tail swishing as if it were batting away a cloud of mosquitoes.