1591/Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Date of Scene:	09 May 2020
Location:	Danny's Dojo
Synopsis:	Danny and Dinah have a spar, things get perhaps a little too personal.
Cast of Characters:	Danny Rand, Dinah Lance

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Danny Rand has posed:
The time had finally come.

Danny had sent Dinah a text about a day or so after their first date, giving her the address to his dojo with the assisting message of 'Ready to throw down'? Whether Dinah would answer the call is entirely up to her.

All the same, Danny was in his dojo, meditating while he awaited his opponent. He wore a dark green tank top (allowing the dragon tattoo on his chest to be partially seen) with black sweatpants and bare feet. He sits on the training mat, nice and cross-legged. He was, truthfully, excited to see Dinah again, but even more excited to see how well she can truly handle herself.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance's reply to the text is a simple one. 'I ain't no dragon.' followed by an estimated time. Her arrival is announced by the rumble of a motorcycle engine outside. A few moments later she enters the dojo and removes her leather jacket. Black yoga pants are tucked into biker boots, and under the jacket she wears a loose t-shirt that keeps slipping aside to expose the black sports bra beneath.

Dinah pauses just inside to remove her boots as well, setting them neatly aside with the jacket. "Permission to enter your dojo?"

Danny Rand has posed:
A smile as he hears the familiar sound of Dinah's motorcycle engine slow to a stop outside of his place.

Danny rises back to his feet then, stretching a tad as he turns to look at Dinah with a smile. "Hey Dinah." he was going to call her 'pretty bird', like she had mentioned being referenced in the past, but he wasn't sure how well that'd go over.

"Permission granted."

He approaches. "Doing good?" He asks with a bit more...care than the way he was speaking before. He waits for her answer before he speaks again. "So, neither of us hold back. We can use any weapon at our dispoal, though any superhuman abilities may be cheating, if you prefer. Either way. Oh, would you like some tea by the way?"

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance rises, bowing formally before stepping onto the mat. She leaves her hair loose and moves to take a position opposite him. "I like those terms, yes. No superhuman abilities, but anything else is fair game."

"And loser prepares the tea. Afterward. Allow me a moment to center myself, if you will."

The blonde slowly kneels, then, hands on her upper thighs.

Danny Rand has posed:
Nodding softly, Danny smiles. "Agreed."

At the terms of the victory, Danny refrains from being cheeky and flirtatious in his offerings of what else may be given to the victor, instead he kneels a safe distance away from her, about six feet, and he assumes the same posture. Though he had already centered himself, he does this so that both of them are constantly on the same level.

Its done out of respect rather than necessity.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance remains quiet while centering, controlling her breathing and going through the mental preparations before combat. She keeps her gaze lowered, and it is several minutes before she rocks back onto her feet and rises smoothly.

Toes flex and curl, and only then does she look up. "Ready when you are. Two falls out of three, or would you prefer different terms?"

Danny Rand has posed:
When she rises, as does Danny.

he seems to lift his knee a little bit and exhale sharply as there's a sharp crack of bone and a satisfying stretch of muscle. When he's finished with that motion, he puts his foot back on the ground.

"Seems fair. That way we get a second chance if one of us happens to falter." he looks Dinah in the eyes then as he assumes a stance of the Shaolinquan monks, ready for battle. "Remember: Don't hold back. I certainly won't be."

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance meets his gaze and she smiles as well, a competitive spark in those blue eyes. She eases into a modified judo stance, with closed fists instead of traditional knife-hands.

"Begin."

The blonde woman begins circling slowly, moving counter-clockwise.

Danny Rand has posed:
A spark of competition that exists in both fighters.

This was going to be spectacular and Danny knew it. At the call to begin, Danny begins to move in the same direction as Dinah. However, as he does so, he's constantly switching his fighting stances. That is, until he finally settles on Muay Thai and rushes Dinah with a leaping knee at high velocity and no small amount of physical strength exerted. He aims for her sternum so he could try and knock her to the ground.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance keeps on circling, holding the distance without changing stances or so much as altering her smile. Even when he attacks she waits until the last possible moment.

The knee is blocked with an efficient forearm sweep, and she continues the turn smoothly to strike with an elbow towards his temple. He wants to fight in-close? She apparently has no problem with that.

Danny Rand has posed:
A counter-attacker?

This will be very interesting indeed.

Danny twists on his heel as soon as he lands after Dinah so smoothly deflects his knee with a sweep of her arm, his hand catching her elbow perfectly as it comes to strike at his temple. Seems she wasn't the only one with quick reflexes. In an effort to shove her elbow away from him so there's a tad bit of space, Danny will all the same try to unleash a flurry of quick strikes at Dinah.

A kick toh er leg, a punch to her gut, a roundhouse aimed for her head, and final kick to her chest are all aimed, and all or none could actually hit.

Dinah Lance has posed:
When Danny catches her elbow, Dinah actually smiles a little more. She twists her arm, and as he kicks her leg she grabs his forearm.

They go down together, with Dinah landing on her back and pulling Danny down. From here she'll try to leverage her falling weight and get a leg under him for a throw.

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny smiles when she grabs his forearm just as his kick seems to land. They both go down together, with Dinah pulling Danny on top of her. She does manage to get her leg underneath Danny despite his best efforts and he is thrown with the momentum, though surprisingly enough? Danny is skilled in such. He pushed off the ground that was at her sides and when he is thrown? he flips onto his feet like he did an extreme front flip.

A master of adaptation.

He allows Dinah to get up though as he enters a stance, knowing full well she would likely get up quickly the same. He attempts to throw a punch aimed for her gut as soon as she does so. A feint of mercy.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance rolls smoothly to her feet whether the throw completes or not, the loose blonde hair not hindering her in the least. "No holding back." she reminds him, blocking the punch and returning one at full speed towards his face.

She will spar this way for a little while, a punch to face then the solar plexus, with both hands ready to block any counters.

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny smirks just a little bit. "Fair enough." he accepts the reminding. She throws a punch suddenly at his side and he manages take it straight to the face, though the punch to the solar plexus is caught at the wrist, with Danny attempting to leap off of his feet and put Dinah in an armbar.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance rolls with him when Danny leaps off of his feet, but he manages to get her into the armbar. They go down together, with Dinah landing in a soft grunt.

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny manages to roll with Dinah, though he successfully captures her arm, he works to get himself into a good enough position so that he can provide a full extension, with both of his legs over Dinah's torso and her arm firmly in his grasp as he tries to lock in the submission properly, unless Dinah can secure her hands or wriggle out. They were both on their backs, with Danny going east-west and Dinah positioned north-south, so to speak, like forming a cross with their forms.

All the same, he pulls far back, though he's careful not to actually hurt Dinah if he manages to get the submission in.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance pulls back on the captured arm, but only a little. He gets his legs over her torso, pinning her to the mat. With her free hand... he left one hand free!... she starts at his closest shin and works slowly upward with almost deliberate slowness. In other circumstances it might even be sensual.

Then she finds a spot behind his knee and presses firmly into the pressure point with her thumb. Depending on a number of things it's enough to possibly numb his leg below the knee, cause significant pain, or likely a distraction.

Enough of a distraction, perhaps, for the blonde to twist her captured wrist free.

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny has the armbar locked in, but alas, Dinah's creativity manages to do wonders for her.

The spot behind his knee is firmly pressed, causing Danny intense pain that he tries to power through, but eventually he must let go when it starts feeling numb, causing Danny to release Dinah's arm and roll away, stumbling a tad before he finds his footing. (though Dinah could still take him down at this point)

Danny looks at Dinah with a smirk. "That was a smart move. One of the only few ways to escape an armbar. I'm impressed." Danny states with a smile.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance rolls to her feet as well, coming up smoothly. "Thanks. Not a lot of people can execute a flying hold like that, either." she replies. She doesn't go after him, and the circling doesn't resume either.

"Would you like a short break to work out the leg? I could take care of it for you in just a few minutes, if you'd like."

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny smirks at Dinah's compliment as he does indeed sit back a second as he holds his leg. "Ahh, that hurt quite a bit. I was going to refrain from using pressure point techniques because they can sometimes be really dangerous, even for more paralysis kinds of uses, but...well, serves me right." Danny laughs a tad.

When she suggests taking care of it for him, he shakes his head. "Nah, its okay. I'll give you the first fall though. 0-1, your favor." he teases her softly, before he uses two fingers and starts making systematic and precise jabs at his knee/thigh region before he stretches it out firmly.

"Ah, much better." Chi techniques. They weren't fighting at the moment, so -technically- it wasn't cheating, right?

"You're good though, I'll definitely give you that." he remains seated though.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance watches him, taking a moment to roll her head around slowly like a boxer between rounds. "Thanks. And whether you've really punched a dragon or not, you're also very good." she replies.

She watches curiously while he works out his knee and thigh, head tilted a little. "Chi techniques? I've seen it done a few times before, but not outside of China." she offers.

Dinah looks around, then. "Do you have any water, since we're taking a short break?" And indeed, her skin is glistening and the blonde hair is damp.

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny smirks a little bit and considered a joke, but thought against it. With a soft smile, he rises back to his feet and approaches Dinah, moving into the kitchen of his lovely asian-inspired home to pour her out some water.

"Sure thing. And...I did punch a dragon."

He offers her the drink. "Working up a sweat?"

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance returns the smirk with a more playful smile. "Just trying to decide whether I'm Team-Jessica or Team-Danny." she quips back, following him into the kitchen.

"I don't doubt that you did. But the real thing is whether everyone's continued questioning makes -you- doubt it. Self-doubt is the worst kind."

Dinah accepts water with a nod of thanks, sipping. "Sweating is healthy in all forms of physical exertion."

Danny Rand has posed:
"Always bet on Team-Danny. But I guess it depends on which one you like more." Danny winks at her then with a small smile, flirtatious to be certain though friendly all the same.

"Nope. Trust me, you don't forget a sight like that. Like I've never forgotten a sight like yours. I haven't a doubt in my mind, the monks of K'un-lun trainer me to resist stuff like that. Whether I'm a good Iron Fist is up in the air."

he chuckles, a light shine on him as well. "True, true."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"Well for starters you smell better than Jessica." Dinah replies casually. "At least you smell less like the inside of a distillery." She takes a deeper drink, then.

"Be careful, though. A lot of guys think it would be fun to go a few rounds, maybe roll around on the mat with the cute little blonde. But this Canary is a bird of prey, and that's even without the sonic scream."

But they said no powers for this contest.

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny smirks. "That's true, though Jessica has her moments. Be aware that she pretty much always smells like whiskey or bourbon." He shrugs a moment.

When she tells him to be careful about rolling on the Mat with Black Canary, Danny smirks. "I'm more interested in rolling around with Dinah Lance, personally. She's pretty great."

Small pause.

"You have a sonic scream?"

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance chuckles softly at his assessment of Jessica. "I could've guessed that about her, yeah." Leaning her butt against the counter, she chuckles when he mentions rolling around with her.

"Be careful about talking like that, Danny. You might just tarnish that sweet image of yours." Yes, she's teasing. Probably.

"And yeah, I've got a sonic scream. It's a latent meta-gene that's affected my vocal chords. Way too overpowered to use in most fights, and also a bit dodgy to be reliable. If I've got a sore throat, a cold, or even dry mouth, then all bets are off. Likewise if I'm in a choke hold or take a shot to the throat."

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny makes a mental note to aim for the throat if he ever has a real fight with Dinah.

"What? something I said? I tend to usually be careful." A pause. "So you think I'm sweet?" he winks before he gets himself some water to refresh himself.

"Really interesting, though. All I got is chi. Oh, that reminds me, up for a movie later this week? or does the Black Canary prefer to be working?"

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance points with the hand still holding the glass. "I said you have a sweet image." she corrects. "I wouldn't want Jessica to think less of you if she knew you were flirting."

She finishes her water, then sets the glass down. "I'll show you what the scream does sometime, but destroying things usually makes a pretty good mess." Dinah pauses, then, considering. "We'll need to issue good quality earplugs to the team, even with ones with super-immunity. There aren't any muscles in the ears, and sound waves don't need to break the skin to hurt."

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny smirks a tad at Dinah when she plays the flirting card. "I think she already knows. Though I?m bad at it." Danny plans.

He is still finishing off his water, but he does nod. "Both sound like great ideas. Maybe outside of city limits for the scream."

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance chuckles. "Outside of city limits? You make it sound like we're going to be setting off a bomb or something." she replies. "And you're not necessarily bad at flirting, Danny. You're just different than Jessica."

Dinah leans back on her hands a bit as she continues. "Jess seems to me like the sort of woman who knows what she wants and won't accept 'no' for an answer. Which means it's probably best that you two aren't involved with each other."

"Just a view from an unbiased, third-party observer."

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny nods softly to Dinah with a smirk. Danny finishes his drink before he ponders a long moment. "Are we? you haven't exactly given me a blast radius of how your scream works, but sound travels far. Though I wonder if you can sing? Long screams usually mean good singing lungs, right?"

As she mentions Jessica and him are better off not involved, he nods. "I agree. She's not the one I'm interested in." He falls silent as he looks at Dinah. "Though I prefer and choose a more willing and teamwork approach."

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance shrugs at the question about singing. "I've never really tried singing, actually. Not even sure I could carry a tune, but I could probably learn. I have pretty good control over my scream, though. It's good for stopping cars, breaking down barred doors and the like. I'm not exactly a weapon of mass destruction."

As for what he's implying about who he's interested in, yeah it's pretty clear that she gets it. "I honestly don't have a lot of experience working in teams. I've spent most of my crime-fighting career working solo."

She smiles a little, then. "And I'm not sure you really want to get involved with me, Danny. I've got a long string of broken relationships in my past."

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny chuckles a little bit as Dinah speaks of her singing skill. "Well if you've never tried, how do you know? Can't know if you don't try." He shrugs. "But trust me, You don't want to hear me sing unless dying penguins is your idea of good music."

Danny smiles at her when she speaks about being solo. "Be different territory for me too. Been solo my whole life. Good thing we're Defenders, so we can learn."

When she talks about involvement, he smiles. "Yeah, well, I certainly would still like to get involved. So, I've made my feelings known."

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance folds her arms, then, still leaning against the counter. "I definitely get that you do, Danny. I'm not saying 'never', but I'm sort of taking a break from impulsive decisions and breaking hearts for a while."

She looks down at her bare feet for a moment, then adds. "It's not you, trust me. But you're too nice a guy and I'm still dragging a lot of guilt around. Since we're making our feelings known."

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny still stands there a moment, though he had a feeling she would say no or at least spare his feelings with a 'not right now' and give him at least some measure of hope. Danny keeps his hands on his hips as he looks at Dinah, especially when she looks down at her bare feet.

"Well, whoever said it was impulsive? Trust me, I definitely thought about it. But...I understand."

He does?

"And, you know, I definitely don't want to pressure you or rush into anything. Truth be told, I wasn't expecting anything to become official or happen, I just..."

Pause.

"You know when you really care, and you just have to say something, damn the consequences? I'm just happy I was able to be courageous enough to tell you how I felt and not get kicked in the face....yet." he chuckles a little bit.

"But since you're dragging guilt around...I have a good pair of ears for you."

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance smiles at the offer, but she also knows that there's no way she is going to drag her relationship history out onto the table for Danny. Mostly because Dinah knows that she tends to speak first and think later, but combining that with the *rating* of some of that history... It just wouldn't be a comfortable conversation.

"I appreciate the offer, Danny, and I don't doubt that you're a good listener. But most of my guilt is best addressed by fudge ripple ice cream, chick flicks, and girl talk."

There's a momentary pause, almost an uncomfortable silence. "I definitely want to keep you as a friend, no matter what. You're the kind of person that I'd be very comfortable watching my back, and I really do like that. There aren't many people I can say that about."

Danny Rand has posed:
Yeah, thats probably wise. He knows that if Dinah did in fact like him in return, she wouldn't exactly appreciate if he had laid out his relationship history before her unless it was done in jest. Not that Danny's ever HAD a love interest before.

But, he nods softly a tad. "Well, I do have the ice cream, if that helps. But listen, who you were yesterday is not who you are today and all the bad, or good, that happens just serves as the building blocks for who you are today." Danny attempting to drop wisdom on her.

"Yeah, I definitely want to at least be friends. In fact, before I said anything, I wanted to be friends first so we actually had a foundation, you know? that we weren't going in blind. Truth be told, there's no one else I'd rather have watching my back. But...I still care for you deeply. And...if its a matter of waiting, I'll wait as long as needed. You're worth that, you know?"

He then lifts his hands. "Not that I'm saying thats a thing, o-or that-" he pauses, then sighs. "Sorry, I'm bad at this. Never had this kind of conversation before." He rubs the back of his neck.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance's soft smile becomes a grin as he rubs the back of his neck. "Actually, you're doing a lot better at it than you think. Trust me. I've got a long string of 'Mister Wrongs' in my little black book, and the only thing THEY have in common is that they cared about the SAME thing..."

Ahem. Dinah's cheeks flush a little, even though she's cooled down from the sparring.

"Okay, this is already going in the direction I didn't want to take it. But I think you get the idea. I'm great at short-term relationships that end with the sunrise. Anything longer than that is going to be unfamiliar territory to me."

Danny Rand has posed:
A hint of understanding there in Danny's eyes, though what's also there is a distinct lack of judgement. "Heh, thanks. I'm glad you think so. It actually helps."

Though when she speaks of her past romances apparently only wanting her for the same thing, Danny shows a hint of sympathy there. "I'm sorry that your romantic life has been very...singular-purposed. But if it helps, long-term relationships are unfamiliar territory for me too. Then again, I've never been in one. So..." he ponders a moment.

"Tell you what. How about we get back on the mats and we find out who's the winner. You're already at game point, but I can catch up quick."

He kind of hints what the stakes -may- be, but he knows this may be slightly uncomfortable for her....but he take sthe chance that it might not be.

"Since I still owe you a second date, as per our conversation at your shop, If I win, I take you to a romantic dinner - where no romance needs to actually happen - and we can decide then if we are brave enough for that kind of stuff, or you can kick my ass and I'll adhere to any stipulation you like."

Plus it really encourages both to try their absolute best, whether or not the stakes are real or not.

"and if I'm being hardheaded, well...you have a killer right hand that you can swing at any time." he offers.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance brightens when he speaks of going back to the mats, but she holds up a hand when he mentions a second date. "Do me a favor, alright? Let's not call things 'dates' just yet. I thought we already covered that..."

Her smile returns a little, however. "And I appreciate what you're trying to do, honestly, appealing to my competitive spirit and all that. But I'm not going to gamble with sex... or even romance... as the stakes."

Yes, she just said that. Deep breath, Dinah.

"Tell you what, Danny. Team mates... buddies... good friends. I'm comfortable with all of that. And you can better believe that I'll be calling on you to work out my frustrations, too. There aren't a lot of people that I can just cut loose on, after all."

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny lifts his hands with a nod. "Done deal." at least not right now, when everything is...kinda crappy.

"Well, if it helps you feel better, I wasn't going to offer sex. Nothing wrong with getting something nice to eat. Either way." He approaches the training mats and he cracks his neck a little bit. "Now that I know we can use pressure points.." he mumbles to himself.

All the same, he turns to look at her when she essentially friendzones him, at least for the moment, he sadly nods. "Yeah, sure. That works for me." He decides to leave that matter largely alone now as he stretches his arms out on the mats.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance relaxes visibly with his acceptance, reluctant or not. "Let's put food on the docket, then. Loser buys." she replies, that spark returning to her blue eyes. "And for the record, I -let- you get me in that arm bar. I do some of my best fighting from a losing position."

One Yields to Win

"The offer is the same from me, by the way. If you ever need to just, you know, hit something. Give me a call. We'll go to Grant's and put the gloves on."

Danny Rand has posed:
A popular methodology among those in K'un-Lun and one Danny understands, though he does smirk. "Deal." He seems to brighten at least somewhat when she suggests that she let him get her into the armbar. "I'm sure you did, Dinah. I'm sure you did." the sarcasm in his voice is palpable.

Though he understands her reasoning.

"Well, these days, might be calling on you a lot then. What with all this hand business." He then enters his combat stance, and gives Dinah the sign to bring it.