He shot her a grin before starting the motorcycle. He made sure she was ready before he started off, heading to the least violent fighting ring that he could remember off the top of his head. Now, since it was a fighting ring, it wasn't violence-free. But he was sure that they didn't beat each other to a bloody pulp, and he was also pretty sure that there was a limited amount of druggies as well. You could call it a classy fighting ring, if those things could be called such.
When he started the motorcycle and they headed off, her grip tightened slightly and she smiled. The thought of a fighting ring was a new one and she was both curious and slightly worried at it, she hoped it would be at least a little exciting.
He was still having seconds thoughts as to if he should be taking her there. But she insisted that she wanted to go, so he'd take her. But he would be at her side at all times. Who knows what kind of people were there, and how they'd treat a pretty girl like Jynna?
Her mind wandered as he drove, from the graffiti she just drew on a wall to the fighting ring she was going to. This day had been fun so far and she loved it, it beat going to class.
Rhydar eventually pulled up to a large building that looked pretty plain from the outside. Cars and motorcycles and trucks were parked all around it, and the faint sound of cheering could be heard. He shut off his bike and turned to look at her. "You sure? Just think of it like this: do you like boxing?"
"It's alright. I mean, I don't watch it in my spare time or anything but it's still cool," She replied, pulling off the helmet and setting it down as she hopped off the bike.
He sighed. "Alright. Suit yourself." He got off as well and slipped his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. "Remember what I said?"
Jynna nodded and repeated what he had said before when they were by the graffiti, "Stay by your side so nothing happens to me."
He nodded and kissed the top of her head, murmuring, "I'm just worried that's all," before pulling back and leading her towards a set of doors with grouchy looking bouncers guarding them.
"I'll be fine Rhydar, I can handle myself and I'm not stupid." She gave the bouncers a friendly smile even though she saw they looked quite grouchy.
Rhydar nodded at them, and they let the two in without a word. His grip on her hand tightened slightly as he led her through some halls. The cheering grew louder. "I know, I know," he sighed. "I'll try to behave myself." He shot her a quick smile.
She smiled back and focused on the sound of the cheering, "You better, because I don't want to have to get you out of any fights, for any reason."
"I'm more of a cheat when it comes to fights. Less punchy-punchy and more tricky-tricky. I know when to back off when I need to." He let go over her hand to wrap an arm around her waist as he opened a door for her, the source of the cheering revealed.
A huge crowd was gathered around a fenced off platform, where two muscular guys were throwing punches and dodging hits. Whenever a fist or foot connected, the crowd went wild. You could tell who the majority favorite was by the screams–if they dodged or landed a hit, the crowd cheered. Usually, the favorite got the loudest cheers.
For a moment she just looked around and took in what was happening. "Now I know why you asked if I liked boxing," She said, slightly amazed by the size of the crowd gathered around the ring.
He nodded and gently ushered her through the door. "It's basically illegal boxing. The crowd can place bets on who'll win, and the guy that owns this place gets a cut of the bets–no matter who wins."
"Well, I get why he would run this place then. He must be decently loaded, just from this crowd." She walked towards the crowd a little, not really knowing where she was going.
He came up to her side and grabbed her hand again, leading her to a semi-empty area. The two fighters were still going at it, dodging more than hitting.
She watched the fight out of the corner of her eye as he led her to the empty area, questions popping into her mind somewhat quickly.
Rhydar looked over at her. "I can see those gears moving in your head. What's on your mind?"
"Just questions, that's it," She replied, looking up at him before back to the fight.
"And what would they be?" he inquired, sliding an arm around her waist.
She leaned against him, his arm around her waist slightly comforting, "Have you ever been in a ring like that to fight?"
"How do you think I learned?" he asked, only kinda joking. "Yeah, a few. It was mainly to get my mind off of some things going on in life. I only trained and was part of only a single fight. That was all I needed."
Jynna thought about his answer for a moment before asking the next, "Next question, do you know a ton of people here?"
"Eh, no. I know like… two people. The owner and one of the retired fighters. I'm basically unknown here." He tugged her close when one guy eyeballed her a little too long for his liking.
