[DUEL] Don't Give Up

[SilverLutz]

Citrabanu sat at his usual spot on the dueling sands, waiting for someone to stop by that wanted to spar. His spirits had been laid a bit low by his previous duels, most of which had ended in failure for him. The last one had hurt the worst, though. He had lost to an oddball of a lion who he had been sure he would beat.

Was he worthy of the title of Battlemaster? Was it a foolish dream to pursue it? He had a long road ahead of him if he wanted the rank for his own with the rate he was going.

Taking a deep breath, Citrabanu narrowed his eyes and lifted his head, scanning the sands for challengers. He would get the honor of the title. He would work hard, duel as many fellow Firekin as he could, and improve himself. Every failure was a lesson to be learned. He had taken something from every loss and although his confidence was a bit damaged, his stubborn streak was not. He'd prove to himself he could do it.  

[Seaki]

Ran shook her body, shaking away the dust that collected over the course of her nap. The warmth of the desert still made her sleepy, but she was slowly getting used to the heat. She stretched in the sand, pulling out any kinks that she might have gotten from her nap.

She took her time, leisurely stretching all her muscles out. She didn't want to ache later, after all. The best conclusion to a nap was a fight, and she was aching for a duel. She was still overly-cautious with duels. She was desperate to prove herself when she claimed her spot in the pride and she had a desire to prove herself.

Still, there were so many fighters in the pride, and she had only beaten one so far, and lost badly the very next duel.

She had a lot to learn.

Ran made her way to the dueling ground, hoping against hope that she could prove herself again, or at least learn from her mistakes.  

[SilverLutz]

It wasn't too long before someone made their way to the training sands. Citrabanu stood, golden eyes picking out the sight of a fellow soldier as the lioness made her way down to where he was. What was her name? Fan? No, that wasn't right...Ran? It was hard to remember names with all the faces he saw every day but Citrabanu did try to make a point to at least remember his fellow soldiers.

"Ran," he said as the lioness came within earshot. It was obvious she was looking for a duel, otherwise she wouldn't have come. He bobbed his head in greeting but didn't leave much room for pleasantries. He had one mission and it was to practice as much as he could.

"It's nice to see a fellow soldier on the sands," he said with just a small smile before he lowered his head again and began to slowly circle, falling into the traditional step for any lion who was about to fight. He gave her time to settle in before giving a little roar and charging forward. The memories of his previous duels came back to him - have fun with it, use agility as much as power, and don't underestimate your opponent. He ran at Ran full speed but at the last moment changed his pace, ducking to the left as he reached out with his right paw to strike her shoulder.

Total: 3  

[Seaki]

Ran was surprised when the other knew her name. She was bad with names, and she couldn't recall his - ccsssomething. She gave a smile and nod. "Of course," She responded, mirroring his moves. She was still learning all the social graces, having been a joining rogue. He looked born-in, he grew with the sands and heat while she had grown up in a cooler, tougher terrain.

Still, she could win. Or she needed to try at least.

She was startled, however, by his sudden movement. She gave a cry when he feinted, feeling the blow land upon her. She flailed uselessly and scrambled away. She clearly didn't hit him, but she could at least put some distance between the two of them.

She bared her teeth, determination lighting in her soul.

She just needed to land the next hit.

[Total: 1]  

[SilverLutz]

Citrabanu spun after he made his mark, pulling out of reach of Ran's strike just in time. Phew...their first exchange had gone well, he felt. For him at least. He'd been having trouble putting his more powerful moves together with the speed and agility he'd been working on for the past few days. That time it seemed to go off without a hitch.

Turning to face Ran once more, Citrabanu once again charged forward. This time he didn't feign in either direction and instead used his shoulder to shove his full weight into the smaller lioness. He was pulling his punches a bit in terms of power if only because he wasn't here to injure a fellow solider. Ran would probably be sore from the blows but no serious injury would befall her.

The only downside of such a head-on attack left him vulnerable for a return attack from the smaller soldier. Still, sometimes risks had to be taken.

Total: 6  

[Seaki]

The smaller lioness was still trying to get her mind together, when the other soldier launched his next attack. She moved to dodge out of the way, hoping her scramble backwards would somehow throw him off, but no.

The attack tossed her down. If this was a real fight, she'd likely be dead, and she was very fortunate that this was a friendly duel. Still, her heart beat heavy in her chest, and she could feel it in her throat.

The spark of fear lit within her her, but she squashed it ruthlessly.

He was obviously more experienced than her. She just had to try harder. She scrambled up again, moving away from the large male. She would just have to try again. She would be happy to at least land one blow at this point.

[Total: 2]  

[SilverLutz]

Tossing Ran off her paws hadn't been Citrabanu's intention but that's how it went. He could remember having his own paws knocked out from under him and a heavy, dark paw settling on his chest to keep him down. That wasn't a thought he wanted to remember right now, not when he was doing so well.

He let her get back to her paws before circling again, golden eyes watching her for any sign of a stumble or falter. He couldn't let his guard down, not now. It was how he'd lost the last duel. Even though Ran was smaller that didn't mean she wasn't as talented as he was.

Taking his time, Citrabanu paced a few more moments before pouncing. Unfortunately he fell a bit short, his swipe not even close to making contact.

Total: 7  

[Seaki]

The small lioness took the opportunity presented to her. He came just short of her, and it gave her the perfect chance to dart forward and strike him. It wasn't the best hit, but she landed one! She did it!

She gave a small puff-y laugh, but snapped her jaw shut. She scrambled away again, hoping to avoid another hit. She couldn't stay too close to him, his range was much larger than hers. She had to use her small stature to her advantage, but she wasn't quite sure how.

Its something she had to work on in the future.
[Total: 4]
 

[SilverLutz]

Citrabanu felt the tap from Ran against his leg and he knew that that victory felt like. In the duel against Ud he’d managed to get in one little hit the whole time. If that wasn’t frustrating he didn’t know what was.

Trying to get in another strike before she could scamper away, Citrabanu swung and missed yet again. She was quick, quicker than he could ever hope to be just based on size alone. He could work on agility and speed all he wanted and would never be able to reach the level smaller members could reach. He bared his teeth at his own miss, ears flat against his skull, disappearing into his mane. This wasn’t boding well.

Total: 8  

[Seaki]

Ran puffed out a breath when she escaped being hit once again. She was proud of her little strike, even if it was only a little one. Still, she hadn't won yet, and she needed to focus. Her dark eyes zeroed in on the large male.

She felt a little more confident - she knew he could still beat her, and quite easily, but she hoped against hope it would end in at least a tie. Either way, there were no hard feelings, and she needed to learn how to fight against larger opponents anyhow. Perhaps she could challenge him to a rematch in the future? She flashed forward, hoping to land another strike!

It didn't quite land as strongly as she had hoped it would, but it still counted.

If she could avoid him, and get in one more hit, she might be able to pull it off. She was getting tired, though...

[Total: 6]  

[SilverLutz]

The way Ran was able to dodge in again for another soft but sure strike made Citrabanu realize just how terrible he was at agility still. Sure, he was better than he had been, but he had a long way to go if he wanted to incorporate those sort of tactics into his fighting. That's when he'd be a Battlemaster...once he learned techniques that didn't come naturally to him and could execute them flawlessly. He still had a ways to go in that regard but, as with all his duels, he'd take something away from this one to build and grow himself with.

While his agility still needed work, Citrabanu felt like his speed had certainly improved. Rather than letting her scamper away, Citrabanu bounded forward and caught up easily with Ran before she had time to realize she hadn't put enough distance between them. One large paw struck her flank, a hard hit but one that wouldn't knock her off her paws.

Total: 11  

[Seaki]

Ran realized too late that she did not get far enough away from him to avoid another hit. The blow was hard and it hurt. She couldn't help but snarl a bit, turning on him to strike again.

It was little more than a shove though, and her muscles ached. She took a deep breath before scrambling a little further away. "I yield," she panted, sagging a bit from the exhaustion. She would have to, certainly, work on her endurance! "Good match."

[Total: 8 -- Winner: Citrabanu]  

[SilverLutz]

The little swat of retaliation barely hit, but Citrabanu knew he'd have to work on his own dodging skills if he wanted to be better. Still, it seemed the smaller Firekin was tuckered out and he held his ground, letting her catch her breath.

"Indeed," he agreed, feeling a bit better than he'd finally managed to win. "You're very fast," he added, not wanting her to feel poorly like he had the past few times. That and generally the winners of his duels had offered some advice, whether it was to highlight a strong point of his or to suggest a way to improve.

"Perhaps we can duel again some time. I'll work on my agility and you work on your stamina."  

[Seaki]

The small lioness beamed up at the lion, still feeling a bit proud of herself despite her loss. She would get better, and stronger. "Thank you," she told him sincerely. "I look forward to dueling you again someday!"

But first more training.

And a nap. Definitely a nap.