[Duel] What Doesn't Kill You (Astrophel/Ruber)

[Excited Apathy]

Astrophel had taken far longer to recover from his second duel. Huozin had left more than a few decent marks on him, and the mostly-black lion wasn't about to go into another duel unable to do his best. But as with most things, time had healed his wounds, leaving scar tissue that would likely fade with more time. It had little effect on his smooth, confident gait, although there was just a bit of something more...measuring...in his eyes. He didn't intend to be caught so unawares again.  

[mouselet]

Whatever lesson Astrophel might have learned in the intervening time since they'd last met, Ruber hadn't learned a thing. Oh yes, he'd practiced hard under Battlemaster Chaka, but he still hadn't seen any very good reason to change...all...of his opinions. He'd begun to grudgingly accept that yes, perhaps a lioness had every bit as much skill within her as a lion could have, and thus were much closer to equals than he'd ever thought before.

However, none of that served to get rid of the red lion's cocky and overbearing attitude. He smirked as he came to the border, recognizing the big lion waiting for him.

"Well well well. Back again for more pain?" he asked condescendingly.  

[Excited Apathy]

"Of course," Astrophel replied, not missing a beat. He flashed white teeth in a grin at the other lion. "Although whether it will be your pain or mine could be considered an undecided matter. Shall we find out?" He didn't bother waiting for an answer, opting instead to make the first move. A first move that caught only air, but as long as he wasn't actively being wounded he'd appear unbothered by it.  

[mouselet]

Ruber snorted as he made an unnecessary dodge. What, did the other lion think that in the intervening time since they'd last dueled that he'd gotten worse? That swipe hadn't been anywhere near him! Absolutely pathetic.

The red lion reached out with a swipe of his own. It didn't connect solidly, rather it grazed his opponent before traveling back into the open air. Not great, but at least he'd shown the other male that he meant business!  

[Excited Apathy]

A low chuckle rumbled from Astrophel's chest as he turned and charged. No duck and switch this time, instead it was simply a straight shoulder-to-shoulder collision with the intent of sending his opponent to the ground. Maybe putting the other lion in a more compromising situation would whittle his sneering down a bit.  

[mouselet]

Ow. Okay, ow. That hurt. And more to the point, Ruber was flat on his back. Not at all a good place to be in any fight, let alone a duel with some random rogue. Breathing heavily, the red lion took the time to regain his feet before he would even consider attacking again. That, at least, was something that had been pounded into his thick skull. Recover your footing, recover your thoughts. Try not to just flail wildly as it wasted energy and looked stupid.  

[Excited Apathy]

Astrophel had no intention of wasting his advantage by allowing his opponent to gather himself. A fierce, wild expression somewhere between a snarl and a grin crossed his face as he launched himself at the other male, extending claws before raising a heavy paw to strike at the side of his head. If he drew a bit of blood in the act of rattling the red lion's skull, well...he had a hard time feeling any remorse for it, really.  

[mouselet]

Ruber roared involuntarily as a large paw impacted the side of his head as he was recovering from the last blow his opponent had struck. Good gods, the other male was strong! But all this did was enrage the red lion further. He reached for the offending paw - and the limb it was attached to - with his nearest weapon.

His mouth.

Ruber bit down, hard, on the other lion's paw, grinning with satisfaction as he tasted blood.  

[Excited Apathy]

An ear-shattering bellow of pain erupted from the black male as the other clamped down on the offending paw. A second roar was decidedly more threatening, however, as he rose up to batter his opponent's face with his free forepaw. One way or another, his paw would be released--and with luck, he'd send the red lion reeling to boot.  

[mouselet]

Another blow, this time to the other side of his face, caused Ruber to snarl and release the paw. He spat out a mouthful of fur to emphasize his anger. His own paw came up to retaliate, but having taken two strong blows to the head in succession, Ruber's aim was not what it should have been.

His flailing paw missed wildly, which only increased the red lion's frustration.  

[Excited Apathy]

Well, it looked like he'd finally rattled something loose. The thought amused Astrophel, even if his thoughly bitten paw had him in enough pain to prevent outward laughter. This influenced his next attack, as he leapt foward into a swinging attack at the shoulder into a slicing blow with claws, rather than a heavy one. And if he was entirely honest, tearing the other male up looked pretty tempting right now--so there was that as well.  

[mouselet]

Ruber roared again as he felt the claws slice into his shoulder. It had beena while since he'd taken an injury like that and he always did manage to forget how much that sort of thing HURT. Particularly when all they'd been trading until now was bruises. Blood, however, was a whole 'nother story.

He batted ineffectually at the bigger male, but none of his attempts were even touching the other's mane, let alone connecting.

"Enough!" the red lion called out at last. "That's enough! Fine, I'll take you in." The words were voiced grudgingly, and purple eyes glared at the tricolored male.  

[Excited Apathy]

Astrophel deliberately hesitated just enough to give the other male a bit of doubt as to whether he'd actually accept the surrender. When he did stand down, he was favoring his bitten forepaw, but had donned his confident aura once again. "Well then, let's get to it. And if you wouldn't mind showing me to a healer while you're at it...looks like you could use one yourself." Gloating? Maybe a little. He'd earned it!