Tournament Arc! (Forrest Waldstein vs Al Ciendra)

[Forrest Waldstein]

Once again into the fray, Forrest entered the arena. The crowd seemed louder than before, having seen the results of his previous bout. Forrest found it harder to ignore the noise produced by the rambunctious crowd, but pressed on nonetheless. He was facing another unknown opponent by the name of Al Ciendra. He may have heard the name in passing from overhearing conversations from other students, but otherwise did not know Al. It seemed Forrest was the first to arrive again, leaving him with only his thoughts and a wild crowd.

Al Ciendra... Someone else I have yet to meet. Why do I keep getting paired up with people I don't know?... I guess that means I need to get out more... Forrest's thoughts wandered, hoping to pass the time aimlessly until Al Ciendra arrived.

His thoughts wandered, thinking of home, Oakhearth. He imagined the life he left behind, and how he changed as a person. It was for the best to put some distance between him and his great-grandfather, after all. Now having spent time reflecting on that relationship, he understood where his great-grandfather was coming from. He gave Forrest all the necessary skills to make a difference in the world, and so he would do just that. Perhaps it was fate that brought him here in the first place...

[Al Ciendra]

First round won and uhm...at least two more to go!
Despite her lack of understanding of how a bracket worked, Al felt confident that she could beat her peers; heck, she could probably take home this whole tourney!

Especially against some guy named "Forest",. she was just going to roll over him like wildfire!
Al snickered at her own pun as she entered the arena.

With a hop and skip, Al was in the ring, eyeing her opponent with a cock of her hips.
Wow, he looked kind of small for a guy, eh, no matter. A fights a fights, and Al was gonna treat this one just like any other, hopefully Forest was a bit nicer than Nocte.
"Yo! You ready to get this started? Cuz I'm raring to go!"
Al exclaimed with excitement as she did a few light stretches in her starting position.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Forrest's attention shifted to Al as she entered the arena. He was not expecting a masked, energetic woman to appear before him. No matter, she seemed eager and ready to start this fight, if not slightly cocky. Unlike Bastion, he didn't immediately see what weapons she had with her. Add in the fact that he didn't know her Semblance and Forrest couldn't help but feel gripped with uncertainty. At first, Forrest wasn't sure how to feel as she eyed him up.

She's probably just trying to get a read on you, gauge your abilities, that's all... Forrest thought as she began her stretches.

"Me too. You must be Al. I'm Forrest Waldstein, nice to meet you." Forrest spoke calmly, adding in a friendly smile as he walked over to her. He extended his hand out for a handshake.

Though amicable on the surface, he understood that he would have to analyze his opponent as much as he could before the match began to give himself the best chance possible. After all, it would be disadvantageous for him to enter this fight with no information whatsoever. The handshake not only offered an opportunity to be a good sport, but Forrest could also gauge how much possible strength she possessed from the handshake.

[Al Ciendra]

Al was a tad surprised as Forest walked up to her amidst her stretches for a handshake, but it was a very welcome gesture, so stopped her light exercise and walked over to meet him in the middle of the ring, hand extended for a firm shake...which Al was a bit too excited about, shaking his hand very quickly, he could hear a faint giggle from underneath her mask.
Despite her internal comment about his size, Al still had to look up to him now that they were close up, guess she was wrong about that, to be fair she was simply used to much bigger guys around her, boy and best-friend going at 6'6" and 6'5" respectfully.
Al internally shook her head, focus!
She had a match to win and a tournament to crush, for little else but bragging rights and that bet with Aster.
"It's nice to meetcha!"
Al cheered as she then twirled around, walking back to her starting position, then reaching into her cloak pulling out two revolvers, spinning them in a flashy manner as it was obvious that she was excited as she got into a combat stance.
"Let's get this party started then!"

[Professor Wednesday Haptasnytrir]

The hand of fate had its spindly prints all over this fight, of that, Wednesday was sure of. Was there any clearer indication of its influence than the meeting of these two elements so at odds with each other? This bout was pre-ordained and one she had to witness for herself the moment the first bracket concluded and their names were spat out from the sorter. Be still her beating heart... no use getting worked up from the start.

The professor nudged open the door to the announcers' booth with the tip of her boot, hands otherwise preoccupied sifting through the video footage of Al Ciendra and Forrest Waldstein's previous bouts. A flick of her finger sent the file to one of the booth's screens for a wider shot as Wednesday settled in. On the face of it, Forrest seemed the underdog when Al could set alight his conjured foliage and feed her own fire-based abilities, but she wouldn't count the lad out because of the incompatible abilities. Forrest had proven how versatile his plant constructs could be as evident from how he'd locked down Bastion Sandstone in the closing moments of his first bout. Al might just end up burning through her reserves getting past his obstructions while Forrest picked her off. The fight really could go either way depending on how the two decided to approach things. Wednesday personally didn't favor one student over the other, and was content to watch the fight play out as it would.

Didn't mean she couldn't psyche the two up a bit. Keep it interesting.

"We have our combatants fresh from their first taste of victory in the initial bracket of the Beacon Pep Rally! Savor it while you can, students, because only one of you will get another shot at it while the other is getting acquainted with defeat and harder battles! Ready yourselves, and take your marks!"

[Forrest Waldstein]

Did she just giggle?... Forrest pondered as they shook hands. Though during the very brief handshake, he could have sworn she felt very warm. Was it simply a trick of the mind? Maybe...


Forrest nodded in reply before walking to his mark. He noticed the flashy display of twin revolvers from his opponent, his uncertainty slightly assuaged. Forrest unsheathed Grashalm, transforming it into its repeater form. He figured it would be a more practical decision as opposed to running in with a shortsword.

She's... very energetic... I shouldn't underestimate her though. For all I know, she could very well be a skillful Huntress hidden under all that bravado... She did make it this far, after all... Forrest mused.

The buzzer sounded, signaling the beginning of the bout. Forrest reached for a Lightning Dust round and loaded it into Grashalm as fast as he could. With equal swiftness, he aimed and fired directly at her center, hoping the round would hit its mark.

[Al Ciendra]

As the buzzer sounded, Al didn't need to see much to know how forest would attack, she could hear the parts of his weapon shift and click into place and that round of lightning dust was also a dead giveaway.
With another, much louder, laugh, Al side stepped his shot easily, both revolvers drawn and still in a sideward leaned position Al unleashed a volley of shots, they weren't very powerful nor accurate, but they also weren't meant to do damage to Forest, they were a simple distraction.

Now leaning into a full on sprint, Al rushed forward, reloading her revolvers as she did and loading one of her guns with lightning dust as she did, Al was about to leap, but recalled her previous fight, yeah she should keep that habit for the Grimm, instead she stuck to the ground one of her weapons shifting into its axe form as she went to sweep at Forest's legs.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Is it... normal for someone to laugh that much?... Forrest pondered as Al sidestepped the Lightning Dust round. He backed into a wider, more defensive stance, throwing up his off hand in an attempt to protect his head from the distracting volley of revolver fire.

She's fast! Forrest thought as he transformed Grashalm to the shortsword form, Al closing in quickly on his position. She seemed intently focused on closing the distance, which Forrest could exploit.

From behind Al, Forrest conjured some vines, reaching and grasping each of Al's wrists. He worried that the vines would not keep her restrained for long, so Forrest acted quickly. Forrest swiftly slashed Grashalm at Al, aiming for an unarmored portion of her leg before stepping back. Seamlessly after stepping back, he leapt up and back into the air, transforming Grashalm back into the repeater form. Forrest reached for a Dust round, producing an Ice round and loading it into the repeater in midair. Even though his instincts told him to fire immediately, he waited to see what Al would do next as he landed a fair distance away.

[Al Ciendra]

Al had expected to face resistance of course, otherwise this would have been a really boring fight, but not this.
She grunted as her swing was stopped even with all that momentum as something held her wrists in place, this also gave Al no time to lift her weapons in defense and as such Forest's cut found its mark, yet Al gave no response besides gritting her teeth.

With Forest, whose name now fit way too well, gave her breathing room, Al got a look at the vines, she spun her weapons in her hands, hooking the heads at the vines Al cut herself loose with a reverse cross slash, twirling both axes in her hands as she looked towards Forest now further away.
Al loosened her combat stance a little as she then slumped her shoulders in frustration.
"WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT TO PLAY KEEP AWAY?!"
Al yelled in frustration, she knew it was the smart thing to do against her, but why was there no one she could just have a proper duel with?!
After she got out her frustration, Al lowered herself down into a runner's stance as with a battle cry Al set off an explosion behind her, launching herself forward and toward Forest.
Both axes now aimed at him, ready to slash into him with a whirlwind of slashes, as a flame charged up behind her mask, if he was gonna try and use more wood to protect himself she'd burn it to ashes on the spot.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Forrest's eyes widened as he saw the explosion Al had produced. Now that he thought about it, that Semblance made a lot of sense for someone named Al Ciendra...

Just my luck that I get paired up with someone with a Semblance that's practically a direct counter to mine... Forrest thought, annoyed at his circumstances. But no matter, complaining wouldn't solve anything, he had to do his best. This was the time to fight smarter, not harder. So, to everyone's surprise, he fought smarter by... charging Al?!

This is such a stupid idea... That's what I need everyone to think right now, especially Al!

Forrest loaded another Ice round, then a few normal bullets into Grashalm as he sprinted full-force towards Al as the explosion carried her towards him. He noticed the red-hot glow behind her mask, it was practically a glowing bullseye for his first Ice Dust round. The first shot aimed right at her metal mask and fired with a loud crack, hoping that would delay the inevitable wave of fire. The next shot, however, Forrest aimed low... too low to hit Al. As he fired his second shot, the Ice Dust round made a slippery trail of ice along the ground in front of him. Forrest seamlessly dropped to his knees onto the ice trail, sliding dangerously close to Al, and conjured a tree trunk to launch him away from Al. Staying too close would likely cost him, staying a fair distance away would probably be best.

That's enough pressure for now, I guess I should keep playing keep away, despite the fact that Al wants the opposite. Forrest thought.

[Professor Wednesday Haptasnytrir]

"It's a shoot out! Our combatants have opened up on each other with a hail of bullets and the fury of the heavens! Crossing the expanse is Ciendra looking to turn this battle into an up close and personal exchange of blades-but Waldstein is not having it!"

Wednesday threw her hand high as the other held the microphone close to her lips so that not one utterance would fail to be heard throughout the auditorium, her voice highlighted by the bark of gunfire and serving to amplify the intensity the students were bringing to bear. Light and sound burst in quick succession from the arena to the stands as the cameras captured every exchange to delivery a closer look for those seated farther away in the large screens. The full breadth of the experience was only for the two locked in combat, but her position afforded her more than others and Wednesday savored the view and sensations. Ahhh~, the song of battle was being sung here!

"Waldstein has stalled Ciendra's advance using his semblance to entangle her in a bulwark of vines! Such obstacles fail to hold her long as the wildfire frees herself and immediately resumes her assault, more fired up than ever before!"

The force of the explosion washed over the barrier, sending ripples along its surface and stopping any heat from reaching Wednesday. A tiny part of her wished to have felt it, but there was no helping it. Safety was important for this function.

"Come the fires of hell, the sylvan sentry advances forward, weapon at the ready! Will Ciendra get the clash she's been raring for-oOOO! What was that?! Waldstein immediately disengages after delivering a devastating attack!"

Nothing escaped her experienced eye, but she had to play the audience and build the excitement off of the lad's maneuver. Now she was waiting to see how Ciendra would respond in kind.

[Al Ciendra]

Al was still angry, these guys were meant to be the best, or at least the most confident students the school had to offer, yet she had to play tag two rounds back to back.
Why couldn't she have gotten matched up against Aster or Vlithra?
Wait!
Oh, yes finally!
Forest was rushing at her, with his gun, which was weird since she knew he had a sword, but who was she to judge him on his preferences?
This was a surprise, but a positive one, maybe Forest was cooler than she had thought.

Well, cool was one to put it as he fired at her mask, she grunted in pain as he head was knocked back and ice froze over her mask, nearly costing Al her balance, but she remained standing...and kept track of where he was with little issue as she could hear his feet scraping across the ice and stone, something Forest would now notice as well, as the impact had knocked Al's hood of her head revealing the two fluffy ears atop her head following every sound he made like radar.

Which is why it should come as no surprise that as soon as Al found a foothold she turned toward him, the blast of fire being released while not reliable to actually hit him at this range, it would ensure Al could recover, the blast also melted the ice on her face in the process.
Al left to wipe the wetness from her mask using her cloak.
Sneezing, somewhat adorably, if it weren't for the fact that she was glaring daggers at him.

Al was now cold and because of that furious, but, she also had a frustrating realization, Forest was too damn evasive for her to get close plus he also had a sword, so even IF she got close it wouldn't guarantee success, but his wooden defense was no match for her flames.
Al took a deep breath, calming herself down as she made her axe's transform back into the revolvers, pointing them at Forest, fire then began to flare up around Al, creeping along the surrounding floor like latching tongues.
"Time for some dodgeball!"
Al exclaimed with a cheer as the flames around her rose into the air
With a snap of her finger 8 small balls of concentrated flame shot toward Forest, they weren't meant for large scale damage but to puncture his defense like a rain of angry flaming arrows, giving Al plenty of time to charge up her favorite, a single fireball that she fed a bunch of her aura into, the ball itself was small but vibrated violently with how much energy was condensed in such a small space, Al kept is securely behind her back as she took a few potshots at Forest.

[Forrest Waldstein]

I see... She's a wolf Faunus... Her superior hearing might make things difficult... Forrest noted mentally as Al's ears became visible.

He took a brief moment to gather his bearings after the seemingly stupid and dangerous stunt that he had pulled a second ago, maybe cook up another strategy while Al took her time recovering from the Ice round. In terms of speed, they were seemingly equal, yet they used their speed in different ways. Forrest used his speed to evade and dodge attacks, while Al used hers in a more aggressive fashion. Kiting Al around probably wasn't a good idea because of their comparable speed. If she used her Semblance to boost herself, she likely would close the distance quickly. As for physical strength, Forrest didn't want to get close enough to find out. Given her aggressive fighting style, it was plausible to think that she could overpower him.

That's when Forrest noticed the eight fireballs, conjured and ready to hurl at him. Plus, he noticed a spark of light from behind Al. Forrest didn't like this one bit...

Think, Forrest, think dammit! Forrest pondered anxiously as the small fireballs sped towards him. Instinctively, he raised Grashalm and fired at the fireballs in quick succession.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Forrest managed to disperse two of the fireballs, as the third shot went wide. Forrest then conjured a couple branches to intercept some of the fireballs. Another two hit the branches and immediately burst into flames. The remaining four fireballs were closing in on Forrest's position. Forrest leapt and spun like an acrobat in the air, hoping to avoid the remaining four fireballs. He would have been proud of himself had he not felt the scorching heat of three fireballs his his left shoulder, chest and left thigh.

Forrest landed shakily after the failed attempt to dodge three of them. As expected, his Aura did protect him, though it didn't stop him from feeling the burning sensation. Forrest watched as the light sparked into something greater than the combined power of those eight fireballs from earlier.

I can't let her fire that one at me! Forrest took a brief moment to conjure a large, gnarled wooden hand between them. It swept across the arena floor, aiming to grasp Al in its clutches. Forrest hoped that this put her in a dilemma: either dodge the wooden hand and lose the fireball she had been charging up, or let herself get grabbed by the hand, losing her maneuverability and make her vulnerable to an attack.

[Al Ciendra]

Forest's defense surely was annoying, so much so that it was actually really impressive, Al watched as the small fireballs were shot out of the air by an amazing display of precision, blocked by his semblance which proved to be very reliable throughout this fight and then the last four Forest went to dodge, Al was ready to applause her opponent as he passed the first one, but then flinched as the remaining three hit him dead on, Al flinched a little, but Forest got back up, so it was all okay in the end.

The hand on the other...hand, was less impressive, she knew he was panicking after getting hit like that and in his panic made a mistake.
This wooden construct would never block what she had prepared.
Al chuckled, a wolfish grin under her mask as she grabbed the charged up attack from behind her, the fire was blue in color, the air warping violently around the projectile as it simply hovered in Al's hand.
Al reeled back, her laugh peaking like mad as she launched the fireball, it sizzled and roared as the air burned around it.
"BLOCK THIS!" Al shouted just before the fireball hit the hand.
The wood burst into flaming splinters, creaking in agony as the fireball made contact with it and ripped the hand in two, the wood held little resistance and the fireball went out the other side barely slowed down, what ever it hit it would blow it away in a brutal explosion that'd disintegrate what ever was caught in it.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Forrest stared dumbfounded at the massive blue fireball as it ate the wooden hand for breakfast. If he didn't think fast, Forrest would be its lunch. The fireball was still coming at him fast, so Forrest had to move rapidly. This was the opportunity Forrest had to seize. Thinking quickly, Forrest loaded an Ice Dust round into Grashalm and proceeded to sprint towards the imposing blue sphere. Counterintuitive? On the surface, yes, but Forrest knew better than to try to fly too close to the sun (or in this case, a massive blue fireball).

While in a full sprint, Forrest conjured a wooden ramp. Once its formation was complete, Forrest took aim and shot the Ice round at the wooden ramp, freezing the surface of it. As Forrest approached the ramp, he dropped to his knees and began to slide on the iced surface. Forrest slid up the ramp and into the air, twisting his body and arching his back to account for the curvature of the fireball. It seemed the angle of his ramp was a bit off, as he went towards the wall. Forrest maneuvered himself again to run along the wall, quickly conjuring some more branches to hamper the path of the fireball. Those branches gave him just enough leeway to clear the blue fireball. Forrest landed shakily, rolling to reduce the impact of the fall.

That was WAY too close for comfort... Forrest thought once he had safely landed on the other side.

[Al Ciendra]

Al watched Forest pull off another amazing escape maneuver, but at this point she was expecting it, her frustration was hidden behind her mask, but she could work with this, creating the fireball was straining on her aura, but considering it hadn't hit anything it was still there and keeping it going was much less taxing than creating a new attack of similar power.

With an upward flick of her hand, the fireball would fly upward, turning around in an arc and then hovering in the air, Al did not give Forest any longer to recover as with a stomp of her foot a 10-foot tall wave of flame was released forward towards Forest, the roaring red wall was approaching rapidly intending to keep the pressure on Forest, even if it hit it would not deal much damage as it was meant to distract.
While Forest was defending against the flame wall, Al raised her hand, snapping it shut in a fist as the hovering fireball crashed downward like a mortar shell, intending to crush her opponent with the pincer attack.

[Professor Wednesday Haptasnytrir]

Scorching blaze against verdant foliage in a cycle of growth and destruction. Wednesday easily foresaw the fight sputtering out into a battle of attrition with a small hint of irritation, but such feelings were quickly smothered when Ciendra pierced Waldstein's defenses. Atta girl. She'd changed tactics once the rhythm was setting in and made her opponent pay, putting him on the backfoot. The moment's significance filled Wednesday's mentor heart with joy to witness the firecracker realizing her potential, whether intentionally or unintentionally. There would be plenty of time for an after actions review of sorts to ensure Ciendra became aware of herself. Wednesday penned a note on her Scroll as a reminder even as her gaze remained fixed on the arena. The corners of her lips tugging upward in anticipation of how Waldstein would address the shift in momentum. If he managed to survive the next few trades.

"The battle rages on! What once approached a stalemate now tips in favor of Ciendra! Waldstein is forced to scramble for ground as his opponent keeps him on the defensive under a relentless inferno; her blasts fleet as flame and oppressive as a wild fire. It seems no matter what he throws her way, she reduces to ash!"

Odds were stacking against Waldstein's favor, that much was clear from a glance. He was spending a lot of effort dodging attacks while not reciprocating with any of his own. Not that it could be helped, Wednesday chided herself. An overhead camera oriented itself to feed her a personal view of the fight keeping both combatants in frame. Internal musings left uninterrupted by the flashing of lights and groaning of rapidly proliferating plant life; all distractions she filtered out when attuning herself to the flow of combat. Wednesday's initial belief that either combatant had grasped this flow was adjusted in light of deeper observation. Both could do with some additional lessons for overreliance on their Semblances, or at least advisement on wiser applications.

While Wednesday was confident Ciendra was burning through her Aura reserves trying to land a hit, the fireball was at least being used wisely with the latest construct of fire to be fielded. A passing pincer execution.

"Could this be it for Waldstein!? This could be the finishing blow that sends him out of the main competing bracket and propel Ciendra to the next tier!"

[Forrest Waldstein]

It was just his luck to notice things took a turn for the worse. Shortly after he landed, he noticed his shadow rotate from his feet like the hand of a clock as the fireball changed its position. A stomp from Al produced a fiery wall, headed right for him. As if that wasn't enough, the fireball was about to come crashing down on him. Forrest only had a very brief moment to react, and with the little time he had on his side, he had to get creative.

There's no way I can protect myself with Sylvan Anthem, it's simply too hot for the plants... Wait, I GOT IT! he thought, conjuring up a plan in the old cranium. Forrest's well of ideas had yet to run dry.

Forrest reached for a Gravity Dust round and loaded it into Grashalm. A different variant from the previous bout, surely this would get him out of this sticky situation. At least, that's what he had hoped. As the violent flames encroached upon him, he aimed at the fireball and pulled the trigger. With a sharp crack, Grashalm sent the Gravity Dust round home. When the great ball of fire swallowed the bullet, the space around the impact zone twisted and distorted briefly before removing a sizable chunk from the fireball, reducing its size. It seemed that this type of Gravity Dust bullet had briefly created an empty vacuum, snuffing out some of the fireball by depriving it of the oxygen it craved. Although it didn't completely solve the problem, it certainly mitigated it.

Unfortunately, Forrest had to endure the remainder of the fireball and the flame wall. He braced as much as he could before his body was engulfed in Al's blue flames. He knew his aura would protect him, but the searing pain still radiated all over his body. Without his Aura to protect him, he would surely be immolated to ash. Once the flames had passed, Forrest had fallen to one knee, his aura beginning to flicker. He may have been temporarily down, but it was still too soon to count him out.

Shit... I can't take another hit like that... Forrest considered, still baring his teeth from the pain and trying to pat away any remaining wisps of flame from his green combat attire.

[Al Ciendra]

Forest's defense once again proved to be impressive, and Al was gritting her teeth in anger as he seemed to have another defensive answer for her attack.
But, sometimes raw power was all that you really needed, her attack powered through Forest's counter-attack.
Al smiled, she was not one to enjoy another person's suffering, but finally landing a solid hit on Forest, and what a hit it was, it felt great!
Al yet held herself back, to a menacing chuckle as she walked closer to Forest, she could see his Aura flicker, she was so close to victory, she could practically taste it!

"Well then, it seems I was a pretty bad "match" up for you after all, "Forest", considering, I crushed your plans faster than a chimney churns wood."
She giggled at her own joke, not sure if her opponent could even hear them over the ringing he no doubt heard in his ears.
She waited, for him to get up and make his last stand before she'd end this duel.
"Now, then, let's end this!"
Al drew her dual axes, slicing through the air with the ringing of metal as a blue cross slash of flame raced towards Forest, Al right behind it ready to exploit any attempts he could make at guarding.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Although the burning sensation had faded by this point, the ringing in his ears did not. All he could hear was some muffled speech from his fiery foe, her mask making lip reading all but impossible. Therefore, Al's message quite literally fell on deaf ears. Forrest stood back up, groaning as he brought himself back onto his two feet. He noticed the blue cross slash of flame headed for him by this point, using the tried-and-true redwood tree escape, launching him upwards into the air.

I've gotta think of something quick... I got it! Forrest recalled an important detail from before: her wolf ears. Her ears were tracking his every audible move, perhaps this plan would bring them to an even playing field.

Moving quickly, Forrest reached for a Combustion Dust round, loading it into Grashalm. Forrest did not hesitate to pull the trigger immediately. Although one could say it was poorly aimed, the truth was that he didn't need to aim.

It doesn't matter if I shoot her, she just has to hear it! Forrest thought as the Dust round struck the ground, only a few meters from Al. The Combustion Dust round erupted into an overwhelming display of fire, force, and deafening noise. Forrest wasn't sure how Al would be affected by the knockback at that distance, but surely her ears would be pounding.

[Al Ciendra]

Al saw him jump away and high in the air to escape her one single attack, hah!
He was getting scared, no doubt, and was overextending, overextending way too much, he wouldn't be able to dodge her as easily in the air, considering she could fly and Forest could probably only drag himself around via some vines.

Flames sizzled at her feet, ready to launch Al up into the air and shoot into Forest like a human bullet, ready to have her axes tear his aura shield into pieces.
Yet, her literal tunnel vision would cost Al, she had seen him load his rifle yes, but not with what, the shot would miss her anyway.
As Al leapt to start her flight she was instead knocked to the side and her flight ended with Al instead landing on her behind, shaking her head, fuck, what was that?!
It knocked her back, was Forest wanting to keep her grounded?
No matter, she'd just swat him out of the air with a projectile.

Al extended her hand and saw the light of her flames yet....no sound, through the adrenaline it had taken her a few moments to realize the ringing in her ear, the flame extinguished as Al clutched her head screaming in frustration and pain.
A yell that rung out and then turned into another battle cry, she didn't need to hear him, his green silhouette could be picked up easily, even with her half blindness, she swirled around, scanning her environment, relying on her one eye was so much harder it took her a moment to spot him.
There!
She found him, Al charged at Forest, her axes at her sides, a literal mad glint was in the eyes of her mask, as now driven by adrenaline, cockiness and her drive to win Al struck down on Forest with her blazing axes.
Not once checking her aura counter, slowly but surely approaching red.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Forrest landed, noticing that his plan seemed to stall her, albeit for a few seconds. However, those few seconds had to be put to good use, otherwise he'd be wasting time. It was precious time that he needed, unless Al finished the match in a heartbeat, which was a possibility. It was now more than ever that Silvanus's advice applied to his situation...

All combat is based on deception... Appear strong when you're weak, and appear weak when you're strong. Forrest mused, as if replaying the exact moment in his head. It finally clicked for him! Forrest had produced yet another stratagem.

I really need this to work right now! Forrest thought, producing a Fire Dust bullet. However, this was not the bullet he had planned to use. He made it look as if he was about to load that bullet into Grashalm before performing a subtle sleight-of-hand trick, instead loading a Lightning Dust bullet into Grashalm. Taking aim, Forrest waited as Al hastily advanced towards him. He had to time this shot right. If he fired too soon she'd dodge it, fire too late and it would most likely cost him the bout. So Forrest waited some more, placed his finger on the trigger, and took a deep breath...

BANG!

[Al Ciendra]

Fire Dust?
REALLY?!
Had this guy not been paying attention to her semblance ever in the last...however long it had been since the fight started, well thanks, he was wasting his time and let Al proceed without care, reckless abandon even, she was too close now for him to change ammo or change his weapons shape.
Al slashed down, entirely aware of his gun being aimed at her, she'd take the shot head on if it meant she could get that little bit closer for her axes to finish the fight.

BANG!
This wasn't fire dust.

Al was stuck mid-motion, reeling backward from the power of the shot, something she could usually power trough, but her muscles weren't responding, electricity was coursing through her veins causing them to spasm, worst of all, the bullet struck her mask, her face was being electrocuted.
Al screamed in pain for the few seconds' electricity was claiming her body.
But she wasn't done!
THIS WAS NOTHING!

Al forced herself to move forward through the spasms, her body aching in pain, as her axes yet came crashing down on Forest, Al laughing manically as her masked face was live with electricity coating it an eerie blue light.

But, she stopped, laughter dying down, the buzzer for Al's aura gauge going red had hit red the second the bullet found its mark, finally, way too late, a familiar orange glow could be seen around Al, her aura shattering, as the girl fell forward, axes clattering to the ground.
"...fuck."
Was all she could really say, as her vision was getting blurry and the ground was coming uncomfortably close.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Thankfully for Forrest, his ploy was successful. The bullet struck true, sending azure bolts and sparks throughout Al's spasming body. Forrest winced as he saw the bullet impact her mask, and worry consumed him as she attempted to power through the pain. The worry only grew as he saw Al's body go limp and fall forward after seeing her Aura shatter.

"AL!" Forrest shrieked as he ran towards her, abruptly dropping Grashalm on the arena floor. Forrest made it just in time, catching Al before she hit the ground. He turned her around and put her down gently so that she was laying on her back. He went down to his knees, visually inspecting to make sure that she didn't sustain too much damage.

Poor Al, she must have really tuckered herself out... thought Forrest.

"You okay?" Forrest inquired concernedly.

[Professor Wednesday Haptasnytrir]

Green lad certainly had tenacity. Waldstein grit his teeth in the face of certain demise and made his chances of survival go from nil to scant, a laudable achievement given how quickly he'd thought of it and put it into action. There was Huntsman material in him if Wednesday ever saw in a student. Though perhaps a different weapon would service him better than the rifle he used. Ghost loading was a familiar tactic to her, and the technique readily showed its strengths in this fight. Another idle musing to bring up for when Waldstein could speak with her when he wasn't scrapping by by the skin of his teeth. It was working for him, but there was always room for improvement. Sentiments that Wednesday kept when her eye hovered over to take in the Aura reserves of both combatants. Waldstein seemed the loser of this bout with his Aura just managing to stay in the safe zone, but Ciendra wasn't much better off. As far as the professor was concerned, this was still anyone's fight. Especially if Waldstein could pull another miracle out of his ass.

'Speaking of...'

Ciendra had charged in, forgoing picking Waldstein off at a distance and guaranteeing her win over the winded target. Her desire to end the fight coupled with adrenaline and tunnel vision was costing her; something which her opponent cashed in on mercilessly. The chances of pulling off a turnaround were steadily building as more blind spots were being stacked onto the pyromancer, the wild fire being smothered until-BANG!

"Waldstein weathers the brunt of the inferno and Ciendra dashes in to finish him off while he's downed, but deception cuts her ambition short! There is life yet in the lad as he robs her of the advance!"

The screeching of chair legs dragging across the floor, and ultimately tumbling onto it, was lost in the sound of battle. Wednesday stood for the final moments shouting into the microphone creaking in her grip.

"Neither will give in until the other falls! Each attack they make to end their opponent chips away at their own lifeline! It's a matter of who can deliver the finisher without taking themselves out in the process! The ground beneath their feet has been scorched black and the tiles broken from the growth of forest towers. And-hm?" Did Waldstein just?

Ringing out louder than all of the cheers and crackling blaze; a light snapped the air in twain made white all screens directed at the arena. Wednesday blinked the spots away while following the noise of the buzzer signaling how an Aura had breached into the red. Fingers flew over the Scroll and replayed the last few seconds of the fight, a filter reducing the all encompassing glare to reveal the bolt of lightning streaking across the arena and slamming into Ciendra, the young woman now laying still on the ground. Waldstein rushing to her side soon after.

"We have our winner! Forrest Waldstein pulls victory from the fiery flames of defeat! An incredibly close bout well fought by the both of you. Please standby while our medical staff sees to our combatants' hurts." The last part was made to Waldstein as Wednesday closed off the microphone feed to exit the announcer booth and check up on the two students in training.

[Al Ciendra]

All the yelling from the commentators booth, cheers of the onlookers and Forests shouts all became white noise for a bit as all that Al could really hear was the ringing of her ears and the buzzer going off, she had lost.

Al expected to eat dirt soon after, content to just lay there for a bit in her half concious and defeated state of mind, her body would scream at her anyway if she tried to move and her drumming head wasn't doing her any favors either.
Everything was just too loud.

...the arena floor was surprisingly gentle and soft?
Oh, Forest had caught her, Al didn't resoond at first, doing her best to assist Forest in moving her on her back, without giving away how much that hurt, Al just gave him a thumbs up, it took her a few seconds to finally and shakily get up, mostly by herself.
"I'm fine."
She sounded hoarse, her voice more akin to someone was scraping wood against each other, all that yelling and the electrocution had really winded her.
Yet, despite that the frustration was palpable in her voice, as once she found the strength in her legs Al simply walked off without another word.