[MATCH H] Ragnvard x Tollak

[Tanakako]

Stretching lazily the scarred Captain padded towards the ring where the Match would take place. He had already clocked Tollak hanging round the area where Ragnvard would be fighting and knew the younger lion would be his opponent. He had been seeking a way to measure Tollak’s progress since he had become one of his reavers and this event seemed like the perfect opportunity. Ragnvard knew the youngster had no hope of beating him, but that wasn’t what he desired to know. He wanted to see how far the young reaver could get by fighting the rest of the pride. Grinning to himself he stepped into the fight area, nodding to his protégé as Tollak saw him.

He was going to throw the fight, but Tollak didn’t need to know that. He wanted to test the younger male, not kill him, but a few nerves were never a bad idea. Moving to the far side Ragnvard stretched again, loosening hard muscles and more than happy to provide a show for the females slowly gathering round. Sure, he was going to deliberately loose, but it was for a very good reason, and he wasn’t bothered by loosing a match if it meant he gained new knowledge about one of his own fighters.

CaliWolfe

 

[CaliWolfe]

Tollak knew he was about to face Ragnvard, and that fact had him on his toes a little bit. Any reaver, or rogue for that matter would know to fear the captain the moment they laid eyes on him. It wasn't as if he was a small and weak limping lion that had a sour reputation, there was a reason people were cautious around the larger lion!

Mind you, this didn't mean Tollak was frightened off or anything. In fact, it was excitement he felt coursing through his veins, not fear. Imagine! Him winning against his own captain in combat. Granted this combat had rules where you couldn't seriously hurt your opponent but it was still a fight at the end of the day. A fight that matter, perhaps more than it should have, in Tollak's mind.

The young lion grinned as he watched his dark-manned opponent nod to him from the other end of the area. Then he willed his body to move, to fight. He kept his claws in, as per the rules of this little game, but he aimed a heavy paw for the reaver's face.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

Ragnvard confidently set aside all thoughts and distractions as he watched his younger opponent ready himself. Tollak was an accomplished fighter, and the pair often sparred together. But none of that mattered in this moment as Ragnvard dropped his head, lips lifting to reveal sharp fangs in a ‘come get me’ smile.

As Tollak sprang forwards, Ragnvard lowered his head, his body powering forwards from a crouch as he slid under Tollak’s paw strike, aiming to use his shoulders under the lighter male with the intent to flip him over. Ragnvard didn’t go for a direct attack himself, after all he wasn’t looking to score points. He simply wanted to make Tollak’s job as difficult as possible. So he would defend himself and seek to flip, trip or otherwise block the other male.

CaliWolfe

 

[CaliWolfe]

Tollak's body involuntarily released a 'oomph' sound as he felt Ragnvard lift his body off the ground. The male panicked as he felt his feet disconnect to the ground and his claws reached out to grab a hold on Ragnvard's back.

However that moment of panic was short lived. It was both relief and surprise that washed over him as the bigger male quickly flipped him over and he landed on the stony ground with a slight wince. Tollak looked up the male and felt his ears flatten. He wouldn't dare try to copy Ragnvard's move and use it against him, that'd just be a recipe for getting crushed. Instead Tollak decided to aim for Ragnvard's flank this time. A bit of a risky move- but the idea was to score the most points. And he was fairly certain attacks to the back and rump were point-scoring areas...

"Nnagh!" He snarled briefly with a leap from the ground, scrambling up as quickly as he could. He could do this. He was confident he would succeed!

Tanakako

sorry this took forever as well!!

 

[Tanakako]

Ragnvard waited patiently as his apprentice heaved himself back onto his paws and gathered his faculties. Ran’s smirk had remained, the older lion standing calmly, watching the younger with those golden eyes that saw far too much. The smirk darkened as Tollak shifted, the change in his stance and direction of his gaze giving him away. As the young reaver shot forwards with impressive speed, Ragnvard was already side-stepping, taking the blow on his shoulder instead of his more vulnerable flanks, the hard muscle under the thick black fur of his mane absorbing the power of the blow, though Tollak’s claws did manage to draw a few flecks of blood.

Quick as a flash, before Tollak could draw back, Ragnvard’s great head swung round, clouting his young protégé with incredible force, the ridge of Ragnvard’s brow colliding with his opponent’s cheek with enough strength to send any reaver stumbling.

“Come on!” He roared with glee, fangs bared. “Fight me!”

CaliWolfe

God, I am so sorry. I totally forgot about this!

 

[CaliWolfe]

'Oh'. So that's what it felt like to get your face smashed by a reaver's head.

Tollak side-stepped away from his captain in both surprise and faint pain. It was evident he hadn't expected his opponent to headbash him like that, though Tollak was by no means alarmed. He often used that very attack against rogues or other reavers when he was fighting them himself!

A growl formed on Tollak's lips. The fact that he had yet to score a point in whole three minutes the match had been on for was starting to annoy him. That topped with Ran's taunting was really getting under his skin. Hmm.

He decided he'd try a new tactic. It was a poorly conceived idea but it was an improvement over perpetually slashing at Ragnvard's face and getting nowhere because of that.

The young lion used his position of being relatively near his opponent to his advantage, and keeping his body low, darted forward. As he came alongside his captain the young reaver reached out with his left paw and attempted to dig his nails into Ragnvard's flesh. The way he figured it, if his captain decided to retaliate by smacking him it gave way to a small opening for Tollak to attack his chest. If his captain instead chose to bite down on his neck Tollak was trusting his brown mane would protect him long enough for him to start scratching at his captain's eyes. Either way, he figured this plan would work out decently...

Tanakako

No worries!

 

[Tanakako]

Ragnvard didn't move away, taking the hit with only the barest flinch as blood flecked his fur once more. He hadn't actually prevented many of his trainee's attacks, only lessening their damage by placing them where he chose on his body. This one wouldn't create any lasting damage and a new scar was hardly something to worry over considering the amount that littered his body under his coat.

Instead he took the hit, lifting his head high before clamping his teeth down on the back of Tollak's neck. he had bene aiming for the younger's ear, but had swiftly reminded himself that he wasn't aiming to win, but to test his apprentice. And an underhanded attack like an ear bite wasn't really going to test anything expect Tollak's pain threshold. No, Ragnvard wanted to know what Tollak would do when attacked in the manner of a rogue. Thus, the common but ineffectual throat-grip misplaced on the back of the neck. While he couldn't really hurt Tollak this way, he could hold on and effectively limit the younger's movement.

CaliWolfe

I suck!!! I'll try and tag this one faster!

 

[CaliWolfe]

Well he wasn't really in real pain thanks to his neck fur, Tollak certainly felt trapped. At first he thought he had gotten lucky and avoided having the bigger lion chomp down on his face or something... This opinion was quick to change.

He couldn't move. He jerked and tried to pull away from his captain's grasp on his neck but it soon became clear he wasn't going to let up. Well, now what was he supposed to do? He couldn't bite Ragnvard and he couldn't read what other attacks he might have had in mind from this position.

He could try ramming him against something. Like a boulder or a tree. Tollak spared no further thought on it and moved his hind legs closer to the rest of his body, almost like he was going to crouch. Instead he shoved upwards with his weight in an attempt to move Ragnvard or topple him over.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

As Tollak thrashed about, Ragnvard smirked to himself. They had never tried this in training and he was deeply curious to see what his young apprentice would do. He made a mental note to praise the youth later as Tollak quickly realised his predicament. The sudden shove upwards was a surprise, and while Ragnvard could have countered by shifting his weight forwards and over the top of Tollak to pin him down, he let himself move, front paws lifting up off the ground as Tollak forced him onto his rear legs. Thus off balance Ragnvard tightened his grip on Tollak's ruff and threw himself backward, dragging his opponant down with him by the sheer force of his weight. This would be over soon, Tollak only had one more point to score, but Ragnvard wasn't worried. He had what he needed.

CaliWolfe

Gaia sucked that time! I never got a tag! Sorry!!

 

[CaliWolfe]

The first thought that went through Tollak’s mind was the feeling that he had actually succeeded in his plan to escape Ragnvard’s mouth-hold. The second thought went more along the lines of “Oh Gods why did I think that was a good idea?”

He didn’t like feeling this helpless. This- this stuck. His captain was far from being as light as a feather and thus although the resulting crash probably hurt Ragnvard more than it hurt Tollak, it still hurt. He awkwardly landed partly on top of Ragnvard and partly on the dirt beneath them. Which resulted in a combination of him hitting sheer muscle and hard ground simultaneously.

Tollak made a grunt from the pain he was in, then he realized Ragnvard still had his teeth ensnared around Tollak’s neck. With a snarl of frustration at this, the gray lion did his very best to kick his captain’s exposed underside with his foot.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

The landing was hard enough to drive the air from his lungs, not only from impacting the ground but from having Tollak land on top of him. His apprentice might not be as large nor as solid as Ragnvard himself, but the grey lion was still a very well built, full grown male, and Ragnvard finally conceeded his defeat. Releasing the skin clamped tightly between his jaws he sucked in a deep breath of sweet air while simultainiously rolling away from Tollak's attack. He caught a glancing blow on his hip but was up and stood several paces away within moments. Grinning widely even as he panted from the effort of the fight he chuckled.

"Congratulations, apprentice." He offered, indcating the fight was over and that Tollak had won. "You did well. I look forward to your next round." Of course there were many things Tollak would have to work on, and Ragnvard intended to drill the lion on them hard. But not until after this whole contest was decided one way or the other.

CaliWolfe