[DUEL]Killing Time

[SilverLutz]

Citrabanu was...happy. That wasn't to say he'd not been happy before now, but things had progressed in his life in a way he hadn't expected. He'd thrown himself into his training when he'd started his apprenticeship, his golden eyes on the prize: Battlemaster. It was a rank he'd worked towards all his life and...

...and he still wasn't there. For years it ate at him how he never to be able to win, how he'd lose at the last second. But he'd learned so much from all those he'd battled, those he'd beaten and those he'd lost to. He learned from the smaller, quicker rogues. He'd learned from the powerful, brute-strength pureblooded Firekin. He'd even dueled with the General herself. He'd lost both times, but had apparently impressed Mate'moto in other ways, because she had sought him out after for more personal reasons.

And thus his new look on life. He had a mate - he was still in disbelief at that - and cubs were in his future. He was going to be a father, and he wanted to be one that his cubs would be proud of. So here he stood again on the dueling sands, waiting for someone to join him. Hopefully he could continue to hone his skills with a new sense of vigor and purpose. No longer was he doing this only for himself, now he was doing this for his family.

Ecavi

 

[SilverLutz]

Citrabanu didn't have to wait long - one never did on the training sands. Old and young Firekin alike were always eager to test their skills and keep them sharp, to train and better themselves daily. He gave a little nod of his head in respect to the older lioness, not letting his guard down despite being the younger of the two. Age brought experience, after all, and he was sure she'd seen things he'd only ever talked about in practice.

He took a few steps forward, making the space between them smaller, eyes locked on his sparring partner. Citra waited just a few moments before charging forward - it was a reckless move but one he favored, setting himself up for a returned blow but bullying his opponent back in the process. He lifted a paw to strike, landing a solid blow to her shoulder. He tried to twist out of the way though he knew he'd left himself open, an easy target to strike.

Total: 3

Ecavi

 

[SilverLutz]

Somehow Citra had moved quick enough to dodge the swipe, but he knew better than to get cocky. His opponent was staying still and making him do the work of dodging and running around to get a better position and he knew stamina was one of his weak points. He’d been working on it with his speed but it was certainly a shortcoming that he didn’t want to expose so early in the duel.

Turning to face her once more, Citrabanu changed his tactic to match hers. Rather than darting back in like he might have done a few moons ago, he instead began to circle her, waiting and watching for an opening.

Total: 5

“Ecavi“

 

[SilverLutz]

Citrabanu continued to circle his opponent slowly, looking for a feint, a twitch of a muscle, something that might indicate she was going to attack. She was fast, almost too fast for him to have time to react when she finally did strike, but he jerked out of the way just in time to avoid her paws. Playing defense wasn't something he was good at and he dug in his paws, gaining a bit of momentum to surge forward again.

This time it was his paws that missed, catching nothing but air as he tried to strike her leg again. Damn it...not fast enough that time.

Total: 6

Ecavi

 

[SilverLutz]

In the past, Citrabanu would have snarled at himself for allowing a strike to miss. That sort of mentality had been his undoing quite a few times, though, and dueling with a much more easy going lion had made him realize that taking his losses or failure as a bad thing would only be his undoing. Learn from his mistakes, grow from them, and move on.

The swat to his nose did draw a startled snort from him and he focused again, eyes narrowing just a bit with concentration. He couldn't let up now, she was still very much in the duel. Another swing and another miss, letting him know she was definitely still hanging in there and not giving up.

Total: 7

Ecavi

 

[SilverLutz]

Citrabanu fell back on instinct, letting his body move without trying to overthink it. Somehow he managed to pull back and twist enough that she missed her mark, and now here they were, side by side. Citrabanu didn't even give himself time to think, making his move just as she dropped to the ground.

His swipe made contact with the top of her head, but just barely due to her quick movement downward. He definitely hadn't been expecting that, though now it was easy to loom over her, his paw coming to rest just beside her head.

Total: 9

Ecavi

 

[SilverLutz]

Citrabanu waited, wary that she might try once more to get him off his paws, but when her body went lax he knew it was over.

"Very good," he agreed, stepping back so she could get up. He gave a thankful bow of his head, knowing that they'd been quite evenly matched throughout. Her tactic at the beginning of letting him wear himself out might have worked a few moons prior when he was all about power, but thankfully he'd taken enough loses now to know there was more than one way to battle.

"I'd be happy to rematch any time," he offered with a little smile, knowing that a lioness like her wasn't going to lose to him again. Just as he learned from her, she had certainly picked up on his own habits and preferred methods.

Ecavi