Welcome to Gaia! ::

As she prepared for her first match, Amagada had to admit to herself that participating in the Sky Ceremony was a bit absurd. It was probably best left to younger lions than herself, and not only that, she was an alu'nadi! But she was the alu'nadi of Mantis Clan, who were meant to be the warriors of the Ela'wadiyi, and she probably had more actual Mantis blood than anyone else in the entirety of the pride. When she thought about it that way - and mostly she chose to - it made perfect sense for her to join the Sky Ceremony. She would be setting an example for her clan! It was certainly did not have anything at all to do with the events of last year's Festival. Not one little bit.

She shooed away the spying raven that had been given to her then, having no desire to listen to the homunculus' cawing while she set about the very serious task of not making a fool of herself. She was here to set an example, and losing in the first round would not be acceptable.

"Wasola," she acknowledged with a dip of her head, appraising the younger female. "It is an honor to meet you in battle."

With the match begun, she moved in to strike, opting for a good offense.

Amagada found it a bit unfortunate that she'd been matched with someone from her own clan first, and privately wondered if it had been intentional...still, at least they hadn't matched her against her own daughter or granddaughter! That would have been awkward indeed. But whether she or Wasola won, there would be one less Mantis in the next round, and reduce their chances overall. On the other paw, at least if she lost, she could make the excuse that it was because Mantis were so well-trained, instead of just that they were younger.

She struck a grazing blow as Wasola made an obvious attack, and had to stifle the urge to correct her as though it were a lesson, although twisting quickly to hit hard while the other lioness left herself open was a correction of sorts.