[duel] Looking for my pops (Ro Vasuva & Saoiraed)

[Princess_Feylin]

"I just hope this is the right pride. Mari said 'warrior' and that other lion said 'soldier.' Not quite the same thing."

Ro Vasuva distinctly recalled the lion who had told him that a pride of soldier lions dwelt in the desert. He had recalled him with unpleasant epithets several times as he made his way farther into the inhospitable desert. He was not sure he was cut out for a life in this harsh clime, but his mother had told him that his father came from a pride of warriors, and from what he had heard of this pride, it was probably this one, the Motojoujamii-Simi. And if the desert was in his blood, well, he would survive it. Somehow.

Nevertheless, the lion was panting in the sun and wishing he had stuck to his plan to travel by night once he got to the desert, but he had a difficult time sleeping in the heat of the day. He had a difficult time doing anything in this kind of heat. Why any lion would choose to live in this place was beyond him. And yet that was his intention.

"Because, clearly, I am insane," he muttered to himself. The words rasped in his dry throat, lending his voice a more sinister sound than usual. Motion caught his attention and he rasped, "Hello. What's this?"

((Ignore the roll here. Oops.))  

[ShinosBee]

It was hot hot hot! But not so hot, not really. There was a stiff (as far as he was concerned) breeze kicking up a few plumes of sand, and Saoiraed was hopeful that it wouldn't lead to yet another sandstorm. Not that he minded retreating to the sandstorm den shelters, but it did make things require cleaning up, and the cramped quarters weren't exactly the most spacious.

Ahh well. Sooner or later another storm WOULD kick up. Better to get in some exercise while he could. And that was exactly what had the red and white lion stalking around south of the training grounds. As a...a guard...he was expected to typically do rounds. The southern outpost was one of his more usual haunts, perhaps thanks to the massive lion's surprisingly friendly and upbeat attitude. He'd been complimented for his handling of incoming rogues before, and given the main of them seemed to come from the south...well. He never really minded watching out for interlopers, even if it wasn't exactly the core of his job.

And speak of the devil! It looked like he'd have some introductions to do. The male picked up pace as he left the southern outpost behind, calling back to several others on duty that he'd be back in a moment. They'd all seen the lion wandering their direction (though said rogue didn't seem to have noticed them just yet) and would keep a keen eye. At the moment the outpost was nigh empty of prospective lions - with no one else to attend, there wasn't much to distract them.

"Hail, friend, and hold there, if you don't mind!" He called out as he came tromping up through the sand, red cape fluttering a bit behind him. "You've come to the edge of the Motoujamii-Simo lands! Given you've come so far through the desert I take it you were seeking us?" Why else would anyone come this far out? Even if someone was lost they'd surely have turned back by now. "State your name and your intentions, if you don't mind. If you mean to join us, then fair warming, you'll have to fight to earn a place. This land, clearly, is not kind to the soft." Despite his words, the male grinned. "I commend you for making it so far. If joining is not your intention, you will be given a spot to rest, and water enough, and then we will escort you back south."  

[Princess_Feylin]

"Hello..." Ro replied, startled a bit at the use of the term "friend." It was not the sort of greeting he had been led to expect. Perhaps he had stumbled across the wrong desert pride? Except the red and white lion had repeated the same mouthful of syllables the rogue had uttered.

"My name is Ro Vasuva."

He allowed himself a quick grin although the effect was spoiled when his tongue darted out of its own accord in a vain attempt to moisten his dry nose. It was a less than pleasant experience, given the dry and raspy texture of both. He would not be repeating the motion if he could help it.

"It was my hope to find a place in your pride," he agreed. "If that means a fight, I'm willing."

He did not add anything further as he moved forward in an attack, stumbling a little as the sand shifted beneath his paws. He cursed again but did not fall back, following through on the attack despite his less than ideal start.  

[ShinosBee]

Aha! Well at least he seemed to know what he wanted! The bulky male was happy to accept his challenge, abrupt as it was. Saoiraed at least was operating on a hometeam advantage - a life of walking on sand made him accustomed to its shift and slide. He ducked the darker male's eager but sloppy attack, darting to the side and lashing out with a quick swipe of a huge paw. No claws, just a firm smack on the side.

"So! Come to join up for any reason, Ro? We get all sorts, and if you win this, I'd like to at least know something of the reason." He circled the rogue, tail swishing in anticipation.  

[Princess_Feylin]

Ro inhaled on a hiss as his opponent's paw struck his side. It wasn't so much that it hurt as it surprised him and, to be honest, it embarrassed him. He was better than this. Not that he had been trained as a warrior specifically, but he had learned to fight and he had not been unsuited to the pursuit. He took a deep breath to ground himself, cautiously assuming that he would not be attacked as he answered his opponent's question and using the time to collect himself and adjust his plan of attack for the terrain.

"A rogue told me this is a pride of soldiers and I had been looking for such a pride. I believe I have family here."

Up until his name quest turned out to have been an exercise in futility, Ro had expected to be a Neumar, which meant he would have to know how to fight, and after his mother told him his father was a warrior he had devoted more time to training in the martial disciplines before leaving the pride to find his demon. He had also become somewhat obsessed with the idea that finding his father would help him to find his demon.  

[ShinosBee]

The paler lion continued to circle, eyes never leaving his opponent and smile never wavering. He really did look the part of interested friend - aside from the lashing tail and ready-to-pounce disposition. But Ro was right - it wasn't exactly fair to just go all out. Rogues always took time to adjust to the loose footing here. The goal also was to test them, not injure them.

"Is that so? Family? I see!" It was interesting to think about - Firekin didn't typically breed with outsiders, but given their more recent forays into the bonelands and roguelands...it was technically possible. He certainly had the coloring, if not quite the size. Saoiraed had no idea or even concept of demons, but he was already mentally trying to compare the male to Firekin he knew. Hmm...  

[Princess_Feylin]

"Indeed."

Ro had spent the few moments of respite afforded him by the brief interlocution working out how best to fight on ground that did not remain still beneath the paw. Probably the lions of the pride were accustomed to it and automatically factored it into their actions, but for him it had posed a stumbling block, almost literally.

The fight was a test, he reminded himself. He had figured that much out, but that didn't mean he shouldn't be trying his best. The white and red lion was larger than he, and clearly had spent much more of his life training for battle. Frankly, Ro would be outmatched in a true fight, but even in this he would not prove the victor if he did not stretch himself, despite the damnable heat beating down on his dark coat.

Once again he plunged forward, but this time he deliberately tried to use the shifting sand to his advantage and turn a planned slide into a means of making an off-sides strike to his opponent's flank.  

[ShinosBee]

Saoiraed could already sense improvement in the rogue. He had some training at least. A bit more fine tuning would improve a decent fighter into a superb one, and fighting on sand got easier with practice of course. And the proof was in the pudding, clear as day when Ro managed to surprise him and land a solid hit. Of course, it wasn't without a cost. Despite his size, guards had to be agile; he spun, shifting with the hit and returning one of his own onto the thigh of the black male. If he'd been using claws, if this fight was real, he'd be trying to hamstring the enemy.

Again though after the blows were traded he did not immediately follow up with another attack. The heat was hard on darker lions, and while it was no excuse, he'd noted the opponent's harsh breathing. A tolerance could be built up with time.  

[Princess_Feylin]

The follow-up blow to his thigh might not have had claws, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. His paler opponent was larger than he was, and the force behind his strike was enough to send Ro off-balance. Had he not already felt so off-kilter from the sand and the heat it probably would have been more of a problem for him, but at this point it all sort of melded into one massively difficult and disorienting battle that he would be pleased to have behind him one way or another.

As he spun to keep his balance Ru lashed out with one forepaw, remembering only at the last minute to draw his claws so that he would do no serious damage should it connect. It occurred to him that he ought to have asked if that was the norm for this pride, practice fights without claws. Among Ro's former pride it would have been unheard of, but he had dwelt with demons, which was another thing entirely. They liked to hurt people. He had a little of that himself.  

[ShinosBee]

Saoiraed frankly didn't expect Ro to recover quite so quickly. His blow came fast and hard, and though he ducked, it still landed upside his noggin. Yeowch! Well the little guy packed a wallop, that was true enough. The pale lion shook out the sting of the slap and tried to give one back - this time though he wasn't so lucky, and Ro had already moved out of the way. Despite the miss and his stinging snout, Saoiraed smiled. A bit more like hat and he'd have easy rights to claim the newcomer could fight, and let him pass into the pride.

Of course, there would still be a month or so of probational time, but that was alright. If the kid had family here it'd give him time to get to know people and learn about his ancestors' ways before being turned loose to really take up a rank and get down to the brass tacks of living here. Sao'd make sure to look in on him from time to time. He was frankly quite interested in figuring out just who might have done something to result in a rogue-bred cub in the first place.  

[Princess_Feylin]

Surprise and pleasure fizzed in Ro's gut as his wild blow connected with the hard bones of his opponent's skull. That was more good luck than anything else, he would have said, but probably not to another living soul. He understood that his welcome to the pride was dependent on how well he did in this battle, and so he would not willingly admit that anything he did well was the result of good fortune rather than skill.

Or maybe it was something more. If this was the pride that had produced his father, perhaps there was something...ancestral at work here, adapting his body for this unfamiliar style of fighting and harsh ground even though he still felt as if he was in an alien setting. The idea appealed to him, since it supported his conviction that his father was from this land. Maybe he would even find his demon here, although he wasn't going to hold his breath on that one.

Quickly he moved to follow his lucky blow with another, balancing on his hind legs so that he could strike with both of his forepaws. There were questions forming in his dry-mouthed silence, but this was neither the time nor the place to ask them. Part of the reason for his more aggressive attack just now was that he wanted this fight to end so that he could satisfy his curiosity, although a break from the action would be welcome too.  

[ShinosBee]

Saoi also hadn't expected the fight to go vertical, and though he surged up to meet the opponent (and would quite easily tower over him in most cases this way) he wasn't quite as fast as he needed to be. Two solid paws connected with his chest before he even was fully upright, and with a shove he was over balanced. Not even a swift hind leg stagger would keep him up, and he was forced back and down onto all fours again before he could counter.

"Alright, that's good, that's good." The white lion sighed a deep breath, shaking himself out again and eying the black lion. He'd done well enough. "It was Ro, right? Well I think you'll manage fine here. The sand's a bit to get used to, but if you are of the desert's blood I'm sure you'll manage. Hmm.." He eyed the dark lion over as his breathing settled. "When was the last time you had water? There's a little spring near the outpost...come on. We'll get you settled. There's going to be a lot for you to do in the next moon's cycles. Lots of people to meet too, I'm sure."  

[Princess_Feylin]

"Ro...yes..." he panted. It rankled to be so out of breath when his opponent clearly wasn't, but he had been the victor, hadn't he? It didn't really feel like a victory.

He swallowed a few times and tried again with the speechifying. "Ro Vasuva, in full, but I tend to go by Ro. And...it's been a while. I should have been more careful about that, but the territory's unfamiliar and I was told there was a spring around here...probably the same one."

He wondered if the rogue who had told him about it was really a rogue. It seemed like the spring was on pride lands, and would be guarded. How would he know about it otherwise? Well, it made no difference to Ro, particularly. He was going to get something to drink, and that would be glorious.

"I look forward to all of that. I like new people."