<strong>Aulus getting a dose of the hospitality here…</strong><br/><br/>It was embarrassing having to admit to letting his guard down.  Aulus felt somewhat embarrassed having succumbed to the relaxation of the estate.  Even during his time at the camps the centurions always reminded him and his fellow legionnaire to always be alert and never assume the enemy is at rest.  This was the punishment sent by Mars for making Aulus think he could simply ignore him.  Now he was trapped in the sacred sand grounds of the Ludus, with a woman bearing a sword towards him.  His body still remained dazed if not unbalanced from the drop off the balcony earlier.  His eyes though still remained awake as they focused on the female gladiator.<br/><br/>And focus he had to for he was coming right at him rage in one hand and a weapon in the other, and ironically he was without a weapon.  Quite the déjà vu, that this moment would mock them being the next match to satisfy that woman’s request for blood this day, and now it called for Aulus.  The young soldier had no time to think about the irony of this battle but now focused his attention at her arm.  He had to be careful because he had so little time to determine his next move before she strikes, and he had to be accurate.  After the second step he took note of how her body was positioned and could only assume that his next move will create the opportunity to strike her and recover while he figures out his situation.  The only cost though that this move requires is that gods demand blood, his blood even.  For this moment Aulus gladly would bestow the gift.<br/><br/>He had to give credit to the female gladiator for her ability to fight.  Her blade was aimed perfectly at his neck as she charged at him.  To her mind she was already so close that it may have cause wonder as to why he had not moved or dodged, despite having such a small amount of time.  Perhaps she was still under the spell that he was still stunned.  No he decided to do something trickier, more…..entertaining.  His neck tilted while spinning along with his body in a 540 degree counter-clockwise motion, while at the same time his hands were already in motion to capture and strike.  The first 360 was to first help him gain momentum for when he would finally strike, which made this move all the more dangerous being that he still needed to complete a 180 degree spin before the sword could strike his neck. During his spin he had kept his hands at body level, palms open while spinning, each hand serving an individual mission, the first being his left hand which rotated counter clockwise to move towards her attacking arm.  The counter clockwise movement would allow him to have his left arm grasp her wrist grasping the sword without threatening his arm or hand. With his hand now at her wrist he could then alter the trajectory of the blade unfortunately he could only move it so much from his neck.  The sword would certainly make contact with his neck but it would only graze his neck giving the sacred sands his first drops of blood.  The cut was not a lethal nor painful wound which would allow Aulus to pull her sword arm down to the floor, but she would not allow her to fall yet.  At that moment he could then coil his back pushing towards her chest, so as to prevent her from using her mid range level of attack.  If the surprise was enough for her and he can get within range he could then finish with a final counter attack.<br/><br/>His only free arm available in this dance so far was his right one.  He did however not require his hand but elbow instead.  Contracting his muscles he pushed his right elbow back in a striking manner aimed directly for her head, and with the given close range of the attack, it would be difficult to avoid unless one was able to release from his left hand grip and pull back from their current position to him.  The speed of the attack also clearing the fact that this strike was meant to stun not damage the receiving end.<br/>