As she was herded over to this "arena", Ivy couldn't help but get a good look at the guards. They were covered from head to toe in that same strange material that she had noticed all around the place. It looked incredibly strong and kind of shiny. Again, she was the one practically leading them, almost skipping a bit as they turned down a hallway. She knew that she was outside the moment a blast of icy wind hit her face. That same instant brought relief. Oh, how wonderful it was to be outside again! To be close to Nature! ...So, this was an "arena"...? Ivy could see that it wasn't a natural-made object, or even an object for that matter. It wasn't a creature, it wasn't alive, nor was it dead. Then again, the creature wasn't sure what she should be looking for, so as the guards abandoned her in the open she kept looking around. The "arena" had to be somewhere. Whatever it was. Ivy was able to look over the mass expanse of the area without actually moving. It was empty all except for one thing; another being at the far end of the area, opposite from where she was standing. The one called "John". Even from her distance, Ivy could see that the being had a worried yet determined look on his face. So, where was "arena"? Who was "arena"? Was it even a thing? Confused, Ivy considered trying to ask John if he knew. "Ask" meaning to get his attention and hope that he understood. She began to trot towards him, getting to a close enough distance and stopping when she realized something. John looked as if he were in a defensive stance. ...Oh, right! The fighting thing. Ivy suddenly remembered, her tail wagging back and forth. They were going to be fighting. It sounded like a fun game. And Ivy loved games. So, it was imperative that she try and put on the best show. And when one of them won, they'd probably be able to go home. Or maybe something else fun would happen. Getting into a play-crouch, Ivy wiggled her behind and let out a (far from normal-sounding) mock bark at John, occasionally jumping around and making more high-pitched noises. Hmmm...maybe she was expected to actually do something. Aha! She had the perfect idea! She would tackle him. Wiggling her haunches again, the creature suddenly began to bound towards John, her speed only increased a bit over what would be considered normal. She wasn't really trying; she just wanted a well-aimed play tackle.

John got into a combat stance, shield raised and sword drawn, he was as nervous as ever. He then attacked, not with sword nor shield, but with Earth. launching pebbles and rocks, he started a quite painful, yet minor, assault. Hoping to have caught his opponent off guard, he charged at Ivy, moving quicker and more swiftly than his armor would have identified. After all, he did craft it himself, and a perk he had intentionally added was flexibility. He slashed repeatedly, then jumped over his opponent, taking but two seconds to recover, he turned and began to stab at Ivy. After he drew his sword back into position, he lashed outward with a shield bash, and then resumed it back in it's place. Blocking any and all forms of attack he drew earth upwards to guard his body, encasing himself in a volcano-like shield. But this was only a distraction, John then forced the walls of the stone shield in all directions, dealing who-knows-what worth of damage, he'd just have to wait and see. For now, however, he was not satisfied, he knew it was not over just yet, and so John flipped backwards, landing on his feet in a crouched position. He drew his shield up, hiding behind it, hopefully long enough he could regain some of his stamina. He began to think of what it would be like, winning this battle...he would feel happy that he lived another day, but he would never forgive himself for fighting to save his own personal being...