Lemon was growing more and more fatigued, her tunic laced with sweat and her breath growing heavy; but her physical performance did not deteriorate what so ever.
Her speed was spectacular to witness, and each strike that Lilo wasn't fast enough to dodge, he was forced to block on his forearms.
Lilo was beginning to understand her form a little better. It was not to maximize impact or to perfect critical damage, it was simply an impeccable display of efficiency.
Every movement was a funnel of energy that lead to the next. It flowed like water, taking shape of whatever flexible form of power Lemon wanted to utilize on her opponent.
Her sweeping roundhouse kicks were like steel bats swinging past Lilo's head, and her side kicks to his stomach that he just barely dodged by hairs breadth, felt like javelin pikes rushing past him.
Even for her age she was formidable, perhaps even professional worthy back on earth's combat sports scene.
'What's the point of being good at hand to hand combat out on the field anyways? Aren't the gluttons going to just eat your kicks and punches? So useless. My expertise has been dwindled down to: get eaten or run. It's pointless.'
As if Jawbi could read Lilo's mind, he decided to share a lecture during the spectacle of a spar that Lemon and Lilo were currently engaged in.
"Gluttons are not the only enemies that shepherds face. We are meant to be well rounded. The center piece to our society. Be open minded and also vilgiliant on what all you will encounter in the outskirts."
"But I thought Kite Riders were the central part of our spires." An older student, who had just recently lost the spar to Lilo, asked in a pensive tone.
"They are, by far the most powerful and essential part; but we are what makes this place valuable to the Timbers. Without us, there is no access to the outer world. We are the barrier between hell and paradise; if the gatekeepers are tasked to protect us, our task is to hold the key beyond the spires and wield it with honor."
"Tell me, what warrior of honor lets the dogs do all the biting? The cravers are merely tools to our disposal. The essential parts of understanding combat is crucial in being a well rounded and capable leader. If you want to lead a pack of cravers, master your own art of combat."
During the lecture, Lilo recognized a look of discomfort in Lemon's eyes within the brief moments when they would occasionally pause from contact.
It wasn't because the ring of sweat on her uniform grew to drench her entire outfit. She could care less about her physical appearance, this was a fight.
It wasn't because she was putting in all the effort into the match with Lilo being apprehensive to hit back. She was more than willing to be the aggressor in this spar.
It wasn't even because of all the attention they were getting. She enjoyed being able to display her prowess to an audience of admirers.
It was for the simple fact that Jawbi had the audacity to yap away during their intense match.
The audacity that meat head of a man had to chat casually like it was a teachable moment while Lemon was putting her heart and soul into this grudge match was utterly disrespectful.
Her sweat coated forehead grew two lines where her eye brows creased and she bit her lower lip to stifle a growl.
"That's enough dancing little boy, quit being a bitch and face me like a man." Lemon snapped. "Unless your balls haven't dropped yet."
"Are you going to tolerate that?" Soda's instigating voice unexpectedly made Lilo pause in amusement.
'You're actually entertaining the idea of me shit talking her back? She's a kid! Plus we agreed to settle this peacefully yeah? We're in the spire of peace, we gotta stick to their culture bro.'
"Nahhhh, a little bit of trolling isn't a bad thing. C'mon it'll be playful, I promise." Soda says with a twinge of adolescent mischief.
'How are you the one being immature right now? Oh... well I guess I sort of forgot you are a child, I've been acting like one too recently so I assumed you were the mature one out of the two-'
Suddenly Lilo felt something build in his chest. A sensation of deep desire. One that was unfathomably strong and compelling. He had never felt anything to this degree of yearning before.
'Soda... is that... you? S-stop it. It's... very distracting and incredibly unbearable. I can't fight it off much longer!'
The soft giddy giggles of Soda rippled in Lilo's mind as the desire to speak questionable remarks grew like an infection.
Lemon switched up her stance, noticing that Lilo was having an odd internal dilemma, she chose to approach the fight differently.
Instead of attacking with strikes at a distance, she was planning to utilize her significant size advantage and strangle the bastard.
In swift succession, with a series of tumbling moves, Lemon closed the gap between them and latched her long arms onto his inner thigh; lifting him high above her shoulders and slamming him onto the cloudy floor.
Lilo was still desperately fighting the urge to speak Soda's thoughts; and now Lemon had him where she wanted him.
Lilo was pinned under her knee and squirming under her weight. She leaned in close to adjust her grip around his arm and neck, preparing to crank a choke hold.
A scent of her citrusy breath wafted over to Lilo's face, causing his eyes to water from the sour aroma. Her sweaty arms made it slick and easy to slide between his neck and shoulder, and Lilo's lips quivered before he spoke his last words before she had the opportunity to cut off his air ways.
"For the record, my balls haven't dropped... But I cant drop deez nuts on your chin." With hoarse breaths he finished his insult that Soda conjured up - finally freeing himself of the mind numbing cursed desire he had- and turned his attention to winning this spar.
Even though he wished to settle this dispute without finishing the fight; he was not about to let her win.
Even for a spar, Lilo was relentless and never forgiving to his opponents.
In the blink of an eye, he heaved his hips against her torso, gripping onto the back of her sweaty tunic with his frail fingers and masterfully maneuvered her weight over his leveraged frame.
He landed on top of her chest, with one leg behind the back of her head just like he intended to. Hooking his heel behind the pit of his knee, he tucked her arm across her throat and pulled her head down with both of his tiny hands.
His thighs filled with blood as his muscles clenched around her face, initiating the infamous triangle choke invented by the Brazilian Jujitsu masters long ago on earth.
This was a blood choke, so it was quicker to cause the loss of consciousness than lack of air would, but even if she wanted to take a breath...
The only thing she could breath in was the damp cloth that covered Lilo's sweaty crotch, just like he had promised before she was mislead to believe she had won the match.