[ eventually — after his mind processes this encounter and doesn't feebly write it off as some wayward dream. for all mydeimos' calm fortitude, equally unshaken stoicism, of a resolve incapable of crumbling under the weight of quick, successive burdens regardless of the sacrifices, what may never be had again — phainon knows better than to add onto that ever-growing load, much less meet him on a shaky foundation, however temporary in its half-assed presentation.

for now, phainon falls into step beside mydeimos, only proceeding further, footfalls hurried and enthused, upon their arrival at the broad, open space. he looks over his shoulder to address the other man, turning fully once there's a considerable distance between them, stepping onto their own little makeshift ring. ]

Are you really boasting about your accumulated riches to me, Mydeimos? [ said with a lift of a brow, a toothy grin, a hand now planted upon his hip.

phainon can't say the same for himself. he ended up with a... training dummy for an opponent, and in his typical broke glory, he only really has the promised 5,000 numis to his name after the fact. not much of a practice round that he was hoping for, less interactive and engaging than he'd like. but this — mydeimos has always promised experiences worth remembering, and a typical spar isn't exempt. ]

So are we playing by the rules they've provided at the arena? Or shall we up the stakes? Just to give it an additional kick to this.