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The atmosphere was tense but Mazimwi could hardly feel any of it. Excitement was what he felt. It was time; they had been training and waiting so long for this moment and he was ready. There was nothing that he and Skugga couldn't accomplish and as long as he was by her side, Mazimwi could overtake anything and anybody in their way. He ran alongside the purple lioness watching everything around them carefully. The lion was waiting for Skugga's signal and then it would begin.

Nodding at her command, Mazimwi moved to her other side and crouched low barring his teeth. He was very confident in his abilities and was ready for anything the Warrior could throw at them. They were the perfect team and in no way could Mazimwi forsee what was about to happen.

Moving slightly behind Skugga, he knew she would make the first move. Her cunning and his brawn were an unbeatable pair. He was anxious to get this over with; the rebellion had brought out a different side to him. He made eye contact with Skugga once more. It was time.

For a moment Skugga almost thought that they would be able to take the other lion by surprise, but the challenging roar makes it very apparent that he has either seen or heard them coming. Pity. It would have been fun to rip him to pieces in an ambush. She was not feeling any fear, only excitement and a brief flash of disappointment as their opponent turned to go after Mazimwi. But that meant an opening for her, and Skugga took off after the warrior, longing to bite and tear into his flesh.

The warrior was moving quickly, but Skugga pushed herself as much as she could and leapt with claws extended, aiming for the back of his legs and the sensitive tendons there.

Predictable. The briefest of smiles twitches across his muzzle as the pair react precisely as he anticipated. His actions, in contrast, could not have been foreseen by the untested Dhati; years of training have taught Aula how to mask his true intent and attack without warning. He whirls about when Skugga begins her leap, impossibly fast, with one heavy paw swiping inexorably towards her face.

Claws sheathed-- for now-- the blow connects with a solid thwack and sends the smaller lioness tumbling head over heels.

The large lion does not waste any time inspecting the damage he has wrought; he'd calculated that she would pose no threat for at least the next few moments. Another guttural snarl shatters the air and Aula'nafsi bounds towards the other male, his gaze flicking away briefly to take note of the pelt he wears.

Once again his flank is exposed to the lioness. Has she learned her lesson?

Raising a brow, he barely noticed the Mizi's smile as he spun around and went for Skugga. Growling, Mazimwi was beginning to realize that this warrior had a lot more experience than they had guessed. Angered that Skugga had been harmed, Mazimwi felt his blood boil as he quickly calculated his next move. There was no way he could outpower this lion; they had to outsmart him and he thought that would be enough. Running away was not an option.

He lunged at the larger lion unsheathing his claws anticipating drawing the warrior's blood. There was nothing more that he wished for at the moment except to kill the lion in front of him.

Mazimwi hoped to distract the lion long enough for Skugga to get her claws into him. There were strategies that they had discussed beforehand but rage and passion was getting the best of them.

Skugga took great pleasure in finally feeling her claws sink into something, but before she had the chance to bite down or try to cause more damage her target was snatched away. Instead she found herself almost face to face with Mazimwi and had to sidestep quickly to get out of his way. A disappointed growl was all she had to say on the matter.

The furious energy that worked as an advantage when she fought with less seasoned opponents was not helping her at all right now, but Skugga didn't realise this. A less experienced fighter, even one bigger than herself, could be overwhelmed and ground down by her anger and refusal to give up. It had happened in the past and perhaps those victories had made her a bit too cocky for her own good.

Running away might be the most sensible option at the moment, but Skugga was still sure they could (and would) win this. The fact that she had managed to injure her opponent fuelled that belief and Skugga told herself that it had been excellent strategy to make the warrior focus on Mazi while she was sneaking up on him. Never mind that her original plan had involved her doing the distracting, they were winning because they worked so well as a team. The two of them could easily outsmart any Mizimu lion!

She signalled discretely to Mazi, letting him know what to do next with their agreed signs. They would both attack their opponent and he would throw himself at the warriors legs, hopefully making him lose his balance and opening up for an attack from her. She bared her fangs in a snarl as she waited for Mazi to make the first move.

His ears perk as he notices the pair of them signalling to each other-- they do have some sort of strategy, as untrained as they are-- but he wastes no time trying to decode their own secret language. Instead, the seasoned Veteran reads the signals they don't even know they are providing to him. The male will move first, and then the female. Another attempt to distract and then attack, perhaps?

A quick scan of his surroundings gives Aula'nafsi the lay of the land, but there are no natural formations nearby that he can turn to his advantage. An open space-- nothing stopping them from trying to circle him once more.

Heavy brows raise briefly in surprise when the male charges directly at him, ignoring the obvious advantage of flanking the enemy. But Aula is more surprised by the sudden shift in his opponent's centre of gravity. Did he trip? Well, far be it from him to take advantage of a situation; the large lion lunges as Mazimi throws himself towards his feet. The next few moments are a blur of raised dust and frenetic exertion. At some point during the scuffle Aula realizes that for some reason his opponent had meant to throw himself to the ground, but that hardly matters now.

Instead of meeting an unprepared enemy and knocking him to the ground, the Dhati finds himself quite thoroughly pinned and helpless. Sharp claws press through his mane to find flesh, while another set of claws are poised upon his exposed belly.

Aula'nafsi chuffs heavily, raising his head to pin the lioness with his gaze. Will she attack, or yield, or beg for the lion's life? He remains silent. It's her move.

Confusion overtook Mazimwi; what just happened? The other lion lunged and Mazimwi was throwing himself at the lion's feet. This was bad. There was nothing he could do as he was helpless and unable to move. Looking at Skugga, Mazimwi knew that all was lost and he wanted her to leave. There was nothing left for him and he was ready to lose it all as long as Skugga lived. "No!" He watched her lunge towards the Mizi lion and he struggled to get loose.

They could lose here but Skugga dying wasn't an option. He forgot everything; all that they had worked for. The Dhati. The Mizimu. Nothing existed in this span of time and Mazimwi realized why he was here and it wasn't to protect the Dhati.