[PRP] Trying A Challenge Take Two (Gabriel x Lesedi)

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Gabriel padded toward the border of the pride again. She had done this a few days before, challenged, and lost the fight. She had taken some wounds which she nursed until they were no longer a bother. Once the wounds were not in the way and affecting how she moved, she had trained more with her brother to prepare for another attempt to enter the pride. She had to win a challenge to get in, and she was going to keep training and returning until she succeeded at this task. Her brother would be doing the same, yet again since his luck was no better than hers really.

Gabriel got across the border and took a deep breath. She was ready for this challenge. She would know the outcome soon enough, but it was not comforting to know that this was her second attempt because the first one had not gone well. She had made a very big mistake the first time. This fight, she would not make that same mistake. She just hoped she also did not make any others. One never knew what stupidity they were capable of until one went to battle and got cocky, or so she believed.  

[Mogami]

Another day, another challenge. It seemed there had been a lot of those lately and Lesedi was starting to realize why the old blood Stormborn seemed to be so wary of newcomers. So many new faces around the pride… one of those had been entirely his responsibility. It was a shame that he couldn’t wait proudly for Ruzanski’s return to tell him that he’d patrolled the borders and defeated all the challengers that he’d faced and still found time to get two new thralls in the pride. And almost perfect record, he’d been so proud. Hopefully, he wouldn’t fail again.

“Are you here for a challenge?” he asked with his brow furred when as he drew closer to the dark figure. Another lioness! Lesedi exhaled deeply and tensed. This one would not get past him!

 

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Gabriel waited for the defending party to arrive. She might have been a little nervous when she arrived, but the nervousness did not last long. She had arrived at the place of challenge, and had simply waited for a lion to approach. She had been lucky in entering close to where one was, so she did not have to waste her breath on a challenging roar to bring one to her. The day seemed to be starting out well from her perspective. By the time the male got close enough to speak, any sign of nerves was long gone. The lioness was ready, and she was going to try a different tactic today.

Gabriel had lost her first challenge, where she had let the defender make the first move. Her losing was due to getting a bit cocky when she was winning and giving the male an opening that she should never have given. This time, she was going to make the first move, and she was going to watch herself on the cockiness no matter if she was winning or not. She refused to make that mistake again. The answer to Lesedi's question came in the form of Gabriel suddenly springing forward into a run and trying to knock him over. It seemed a fitting answer to whether or not she was there to challenge.  

[Mogami]

Lesedi almost grinned, enjoying the resemblance between this lioness’ sudden attack and the one he’d faced just a few days before with the darker male he’d defeated. He was feeling quite smug about that one actually and he barely held his ground against the lioness. She was just a female, after all and there was no way she was going to best him with a physical attack… right?

Wrong. Lesedi was stunned by the fierceness of her attack and as he was thrown back, there was a hint of surprise in his expression. What the…? This was nothing like that other lioness who he hadn’t managed to defeat simply because she had been much faster and more agile than Lesedi and had tired him off before he could plan his attack better. Oh, no. this one was attacking him head-on and Lesedi found himself in a crouch on the ground, trying to get back up to make a counterattack, knowing she probably wouldn't just stand there and let him do it.  

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Gabriel was glad that she had always gone up against her brother for practice. Usually a female would have been weaker than a male, and had the lioness only ever trained and fought against her own mother, that likely would have held true even for her. Having a brother had been to the lioness' advantage because it allowed her to build her strength higher. Azrael might have had a bit of a disadvantage, but with as hard as his sister worked and drove him to work at training, it was not likely that he had suffered any for having only a sister and mother to spar against.

Gabriel was happy with the results of her first real attack on this male she had challenged. She had him down on the ground and crouching. His crouch was at a good angle to get to her feet, so she would have to be careful there. She aimed a bite for his shoulder and tried to shimmy her way over to be more at his side than in front of him. This would keep him from getting her paws as quickly or defending himself but only if she could get over before he did get those attacks in. She lost a bit of force in her bite by trying to turn as well, but hopefully she would not pay for it later.  

[Mogami]

Lesedi lifted a paw to defend against the new attack but he was visibly off balance and not entirely successful. His fluffy mane gave him some protection against her teeth but the bite still hurt and he knew there was a massive bruise forming on the spot. Growling viciously as he often did when duelling, he twisted his neck to grab the lioness’ legs but she was on his side now and a safe distance from him mouth. It was a good move, as if she had planned her attack well and anticipated the Reaver’s movements. And like an idiot, he had once again underestimated a lioness and he was paying dearly for it.

He decided that he desperately needed to get back on his paws and regain his balance even it cost him enough time for her to attack again. The priority here was to be battle ready as quickly as possible so that he could catch his breath and finally land a hit of her. Well, that was the plan, anyway.  

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Gabriel was not entirely satisfied with how her attack landed. She would have loved to have done more damage and made the male lion give her more ground. Yes, she had him down in a crouch and had kept him there for the moment, but she could have done better, or so she thought. The lioness took another bite at the male, trying to force him to stay down and perhaps back up in his crouched position. If she could not get him to back up, she was at least going to try to keep him in a low position since it gave her the high ground and the dominating position in the fight.

Gabriel might not have been most pleased with herself so far, but she at least was smart enough to know that she had gained a good bit in her first attack or two regardless of if she wanted more. She was a lioness that had managed to, probably by surprising him, take a male lion down through force. Now she had to work to keep him down and beat on him. She had a feeling that was going to be easier said than done. Males were not usually easy to keep down and this one would likely be no different than most others.  

[Mogami]

Kathryn Dragonna

Lesedi was back on his paws and ready to strike but his efforts had come with a heavy price. She’d bit him again and he’d barely had time to do more than grunt at the lioness as he was focused on getting ready to fight back. Finally, he was ready to do something and not a moment too soon. Those darn hits were no mosquito bites.

As the lioness moved back from her last attack, Lesedi threw one of his paws at with as much force as he could muster. If it hit, he’d back away and prepare for another attack. If it failed, he’d go for a bite next.  

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Gabriel saw the blow coming, braced herself, and took the hit on her shoulder as she ducked her head down for an attack of her own. She reached under and tried to bite the under side of the male's swinging leg as she went. It was a very risky move, but she wanted to try to take out the use of one of his legs for fighting. The more she could do that, the quicker she could take him out of the fight. She was not here to get her arse sent off again. She wanted to win, and that meant taking this male down however she could. She certainly needed to use whatever means necessary to get him down.

Gabriel was doing pretty good in her own mind, but she wanted to make sure she won. She had thought herself doing well in that last fight only to have it turned into a loss. She wanted this victory with all her being. No, that was not quite the right words in her own mind. She thought she NEEDED this victory. That perceived need drove her onward hard. The lioness drove herself harder and forced herself to focus on her 'enemy' more. The hit he had gotten in had cost her quite a bit of force on her bite, but she would have to accept that for now.  

[Mogami]

Kathryn Dragonna

Lesedi groaned when she bit his swinging leg, the sound he let out a clear mix of pain and annoyance. As he placed his leg back down, the tan lion realized with no small level of surprise that the lioness had bruised it far more than he’d expected and that the weight he could put into that leg was limited. As in, it hurt like hell just to pretend nothing was wrong.

“Bloody hell, woman! Enough.” he snarled, leaning back when it seemed she was going for another attack like a rabid canine. He had never seen a lioness fight with such fierceness, it made it seem as though her life was at risk. “You are worthy of entering.”

“It’s your win.” He added reluctantly after a moment. There was no point in pretending that he had been impressed with her skill and was kindly letting her join because of it. Considering the condition of his leg, Lesedi knew that he would not be able to continue the fight without risking a serious injury. She’d done well. “You are now a member of the Myrsky Syntynyt. Follow me.” And now for a long walk to the heart of the lands, with Lesedi’s pride forcing him to hide the pain in his leg and walk without a noticeable limp. He wasn’t looking forward to it.  

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Gabriel pulled back when the male growled at her that the fight was over. She chuckled and looked at his paw that she had bitten. "I better be, or I will be adding a few more wounds to you." She was quite serious about that too. She would go right back to fighting him if he tried to take away her victory or pull something funny. She doubted he would try such things, but it did not hurt to be prepared for the possibility. One could never be too prepared in her opinion, especially when it came to the chance of a fight.

Gabriel should have offered him assistance with how she had beaten on him so hard, but she was not feeling so generous nor did she figure he would take the help anyway. He did not seem the sort to her. She waited patiently for the male to get himself together and start leading the way. He was the existing member that was letting her in, after all. She would have to keep an eye out for her brother as well. If he did not get in on his second attempt, she was going to give him one hell of a beating in training to get his furry arse in here the next time she could.

"After you, twinkle toes." Gabriel was sure the insult of calling the male light on his paws would not go unnoticed, but if it did, oh well. She was used to riling her brother and such things were usually quite insulting. She muttered to herself. "I do hope my brother has gotten in. Hopefully no pretty tail came along to distract him from the task at paw." She was not at all concerned about this male hearing how she spoke of her brother, or hearing her muttering to herself in general. She just followed along after him to get to the pride and start her new life.  

[Mogami]

Lesedi growled under his breath, doing his best not to rise to the mild provocation. While he would love to just give excuses and pretend it hadn’t happened, the truth was that she had completely won today’s duel and Lesedi believed she’d earned the right to boast… a little. She better not push it as Lesedi wasn’t known for his patience.

“I’ll be asking you for a rematch soon, Outlander.” Yes, he was using a half-insult that could also be applied to himself. Well, she didn’t know that yet.

- FIN -