Annalise strode out of the cool shelter of the combatant waiting area, momentarily surprised by the collective chorus of nothing from the usually-ecstatic crowd. They had certainly sounded that way whenever she happened to pass by the arena on her way through the city, after all. Perhaps she'd just caught them at their most-excitable, she decided. In any case, she wished they might do something about the open-air colosseum. The sort of heat she and the others were enduring couldn't have been healthy. Then again, some of the others did seem to be wearing quite a bit less than she was, so perhaps that was the problem. She had no intention of revealing any skin unnecessarily today, of course, so the unfortunate climate was something she'd just have to endure.
Speaking of her skin, it was currently being concealed by quite a lot more clothing than what the other fighters had brought with them into the arena. Standing at a somewhat-unimpressive 5'3" and sporting a thin, girlish frame, Annalise was positively petite compared to Christie and Arihalna. Those around her would see a wide-brimmed hat made of red felt perched atop her soft, chestnut hair, adorned with a single large, white feather. Covering her torso was a matching red jacket, buttoned thrice up the middle, which led downward to a crimson skirt which fell to her mid-thigh. A pair of sheer, black pantyhose covered her legs and disappeared beneath her skirt, and a pair of fashionable traveler's boots adorned her small feet, ending just above her ankles. At her hip rested the scabbard of a thin dueling sabre, which was emptied almost immediately as Annalise spied her opponents.
As the rules for her match were bellowed out Annalise could be seen wearing a small, complicated frown. On one hand, it wasn't as though she hadn't known what sort of match this would be, but on the other, the prospect didn't exactly appeal to her. Best to get things other with quickly, she supposed. As scantily-clad as her teammate was, and as...unsettling as what she had said might have been, it was at least somewhat comforting to know she'd been lucky enough to be paired with another magic-user; and a powerful one, from the looks of things. This was going to be easy.
"I hope you're prepared. Good luck to you both." Annalise quipped confidently, raising her left hand from her side and deftly moving her fingers in preparation of her spell. No need to get up close just yet, she decided. They had the advantage as long as there was sufficient distance between them and their opponents. Tiny embers danced between each slender digit, before spiraling inward into a tiny sphere approximately the size of a marble, which was now clasped in her palm.
"Let's see how you deal with this!" she shouted, tossing the marble flame at Alison, attempting to hit her square in the stomach. Assuming it connected, the sphere would suddenly expand again, engulfing Alison's dress in a plume of radiant fire.
Were that to fail, Annalise would imbue herself with a speed-increasing spell, then prepare to dodge in the case of an incoming counterattack.
(Annalise is making an attack to strip using her spell, but she's not putting any energy into it just yet. She's keeping her distance and attacking Alison's dress, then speeding herself up if there's still time for that. Sorry for the delay, guys.)
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