|
|
|
|
|
Tanakako rolled 5 4-sided dice:
1, 2, 4, 3, 4
Total: 14 (5-20)
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 11:14 am
 It had been a miserable morning, and the day seemed set to continue in the same manner. The rain was pouring down in thick sheets that had soaked through his fur the moment he had stepped outside, and turned the ground underpaw to slick, cold mud that made the simple act of walking a test of balance. Cold and soaked to the skin, Lucivar was padding through the forest on the inland side of the pride, patrolling the boarder. Not that he thought any sane lion would be out here in such horrid conditions. He could barely see a foot in front of his nose, thanks to the constant waves of water pouring from the sky. The wind had mercifully died down but it had left plenty of destruction in its wake, whole tree limbs littered the path he walked, making the going even more difficult and the downed leaves made everything slick and slippery.
Grumbling darkly under his breath he heaved a long-suffering sigh and with his head lowered, plodded on through the drenching downpour.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lorne_Sionn rolled 5 4-sided dice:
1, 4, 4, 2, 1
Total: 12 (5-20)
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 11:43 am
 Esui looked out across the beach in front of the make shift den he had made his own these past few weeks as he sought entry into the Stormborn lions that made their home on this weather swept coast.
He admired them, admired them, respected them, and was learning much from them. The older lion he had lost his challenge to, twice now, had shown him how they used their strength and ferocity in combat. Rather than be discouraged by the losses, Esui had dissected them, turned ever move over in his head, replayed it, and had begun to adapt the martial skill of his Pride to defeat it, or in the very less, incorporate it.
Now, as he often did, he missed his Shīfu. The lion was wise, and a veteran of many battles. Sighing, ignoring the rain that had already soaked him past the point where dry was even an option, Esui began the simple, slow, movements of the counter he was working thru this afternoon. (Word Count 857)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 12:53 pm
Sometime later he broke out of the forest and stepped onto the rocky beach that ran along the bottom of the cliffs. It was on top of those cliffs that the pride made their home and these very rocky slopes had been Lucivar's playground since he had been very young. Born outside the pride but taken almost at birth by his father to the warrior pride, he had grow up fully immersed in the pride's ethos and doctrines. A stormborn from the depths of his soul the young adolescent was well on his way to proving himself a capable and talented warrior.
Pale blue eyes squinted through the murky sheets of rain, ignoring the sting of the salt from being this close to the storm-whipped seas. After a moment he paused, one foreleg raised, as he struggled to see through the gloomy daylight to the yellow flash of colour he could just about make out through the rain. A challenger? Flexing his shoulder, the claw wounds that ran down his side had almost healed from the fight with the dark lion named Ruzanski. The pair had been relatively evenly matched and Lucivar had conceded to a draw, allowing the dark stranger to enter the pride. The likely hood of yet another lion being out here on such a day for a simple stroll was very small, so Lucivar assumed it was yet another challenger. Feeling anticipation fill him he strode own the beach, expertly stepping over the slippery rocks with their covering of deadly slick seaweed, toward the bright yellow blob.
"You wish to challenge the Stormborn?" He called.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 1:08 pm
Esui turned, the movement smooth, despite the slick footing. Golden eyes regarded the blue eyed stranger with an unnerving calm. Only the very slight shifting of his front paw gave any indication that he readied himself for what might come out of this meeting.
The Tianxia born lion inclined his head respectfully, his voice as calm and steady as his eyes, though his syntax was awkward, as if he spoke different language than the young Reever who paced toward him.
" Come I have to be Stormborn. Challenge I will face. Honor it is."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 1:18 pm
Ok.. well that wasn't an accent he had ever heard before. Clearly this lion was from a far distant pride.
Mentally shaking himself the young stormborn nodded slowly. He was a fighter, but he wasn't dumb and he had worked out what the other had said without out much effort.
"I will be your Challenge."
Padding forwards he moved down the beach a little way, so thy would have a relatively clear arena to fight in and neither of them would risk breaking leg on the jagged rocks higher up.Lucivar could have remained on the slippery rocks where he would have had the advantage, no matter how talented the yellow stranger was, Lucivar had spent his entire life training in this place and knew the rocks as well as he knew his own den.
Spreading his weight evenly he turned to face the other male, blue eyes calm yet piercing in their intensity, focused on the bulk of the yellow one's body, the place one could predict a movement from rather than the paws which were often so misleading. He waited for the challenger to make his first move, ignoring the rain that pelted the par of them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 1:31 pm
Esui bowed low, a graceful dip of his shoulder and head. His movements were fluid, more like a dancer than a brawler. The golden pelted male brought his own gaze up to focus on the other lion's shoulders, his own relaxed.
His Shīfu had been very thorough with Esui's martial education, and the young lion's muscles were kept loose as he appeared to circle wide around his challenger. At what would have been the apex of the elliptical, where his body would have begun to turn toward the blue eyes lion's side, he exploding into action, the tensing of his shoulders happening a split second before he moved.
He cut the circle latterly, moving thru the Stormborn, striking..not as his chest or exposed face, but at the back of his forepaw. He did not slow as he connected, allowing the momentum to carry him past his opponent. Pivoting on quick paws, he ended turned back to face the tan colored lion.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 1:38 pm
Lucivar kept his front facing the other male as the pale lion circled, paws neatly stepping round and yet not once was his balance off center. The moment the yellow lion tensed, Lucivar's body coiled into itself, muscles building in readiness. So when the challenger launched himself forwards, the pride-born male reacted instantly, his own body driving away to the side, the opposite reaction to what most lions would do. The attack missed entirely as Lucivar was not where he had been, but several paces away. Yet as he went to spin round and launch his own attack, his paw hit a clump of slimy seaweed and he tripped, his muzzle crashing into the sand before he managed to recover.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 1:48 pm
Esui did not hesitate and as the other went down he was on him in an instant. One paw sat heavy on the Stormborn's shoulder, the other three keeping his balance on the slick footing as his teeth found the back of neck, biting down through man and fur, to lock onto muscle, piercing.
The Tianxia lion made sure he put enough pressure into his bite that is drew blood, but not enough to seriously maim or injure his opponent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 1:52 pm
Lucivar knew he had made a serious mistake and could not recover fast enough. Feeling the fangs of the other lion close on his ruff he tossed himself backwards, rolling on his shoulder as all four paws sliced upwards, seeing the vulnerable underside of the other lion's belly and chest. As soon as the stranger released his grip Lucivar was up on his feet, maw gaping open as he shot forwards, using his muscular hindquarters to power him into the other youth, their close quarters putting his strength at an advantage.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 1:57 pm
Esui might not have had the strength of the other, but he was fast, very fast. With surprising agility, he evaded the strikes of the other, dancing out of the way lightly. As the other lion came at him, he dipped his shoulder and used the other's shoulder to roll away from him, striking at his hind end, claws hooking into flesh before he spun away.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 2:06 pm
Lucivar was ready for the evasive move, being as it was one he employed constantly himself in training. Instead of letting the other get way he snapped his front end round, quick as a snake, and while his opponent's claws were buried in his rear he sunk his own into the pale lion's back, hanging on with one paw as sharp fangs sunk into the meat of Esui's shoulder. Lucivar's other front limb flew out, tangling with the challenger's front limbs, effectively rendering his speed useless and setting him off balance, Lucivar's full weight carrying him forwards into the stranger's body.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 2:28 pm
Esui cursed himself mentally, he'd made the mistake of thinking that this young male would be as slow as the older one he'd fought twice so far. His folly, and it would cost him.
He twisted himself half around, his paws coming out to swipe at the other's nose, to distract as he shifted his weight, fighting to get clear of the Stormborn.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 2:33 pm
The swipe was ignored, leaving three deep slash wounds across the top of his muzzle that instantly started to bleed. Instead he sank his teeth deeper into the yellow shoulder, one paw still stuck fast in the challenger's back, claws snagged in fur and skin, the other reaching to snag one of Esui's front legs, claws extended and spread wide.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 2:42 pm
Esui was lion enough to admit defeat, there was no shame in it. He'd come here to learn this Pride's ways, to learn their fighting style. He was beginning to understand that they prided strength, but not brute force, had great skill, but not the elegant finesse of his people. Yes, he could learn much more form them...and perhaps, in time, they could learn from him as well.
Silently, Esui turned his neck to the side, offering the large pulse of his neck in concession to the fight, yielding to the young Reever. His golden eyes as calm as they had been through the entire engagement.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 2:53 pm
Feeling the sudden shift in the body pressed against his own, he paused, breath puffing in a misty steam only to disappear into the yellow hide between his teeth. After a moment he slowly released his grip, disentangling from his opponent and stepping back. The pair of them were utterly soaked by the rain that was still pouring down, the sand, long ago turned to a grayish sludge, coated them both and turning yellow and brown fur a dark, muddy grey.
Shaking his mane form his eyes he regarded the other male, only the faint puff of steam from his nose proving they had just recently been tangled together in battle. He was hardly much of a talker, ever since he had grown from cubhood he had been a lion who rarely spoke, but he knew he had to offer at least something to the stranger. he didn't feel as if he was competent enough to offer advice on technique or even a comment on the other's skills, though it was clear the yellow stranger was a fighter, talented too. His style was subtly different and that intrigued Lucivar, making him hope this one stuck around and won his place with the pride... Lucivar wanted to know more about him and his method.
"You can not pass this day, but I hope you will try again. I would be honored to be your opponent a second time."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
