[R1 Winner] Waguli Taipa vs. [Amaris]

[Anderleit]

Despite being born into the pride, Waguli felt like she'd been living her life on autopilot. Stay quiet and do what needed to be done, day in, day out... She was stifled! She needed a change! That's why signing herself up for the Sky Festival had seemed like such a good idea...

Now, it just seemed crazy.

She faced her opponent with an answering nod, and a nervous smile. "And to you." The smile slipped from her face as she began to circle the other lion, looking for an opening. Nothing to worry about. She'd just think of this like any other hunt.

AstoriaFallen

 

[Anderleit]

But she couldn't seem to manage anything except circling. Try as she might, the urge to attack her opponent just wouldn't come. It was easy when she was hunting, but this wasn't just some wildebeest. Staring across at eyes so similar to her own, the tattooed lioness couldn't figure out where to begin.

Come to think of it, Waguli couldn't immediately remember ever hitting someone else before. Even when her sisters had positively infuriated her, the idea of striking them... Well, it had honestly never crossed her mind. She'd spent her cubhood singing and dancing much more than she had play-fighting. She struck out rather feebly with her teeth, but snapped nothing but air. Maybe if she'd had a bit more of the latter, she wouldn't be choking right now.  

[Anderleit]

The lioness shook her head, snorting in disgust. Come on - she had to get her head in the game! Maybe she had been a little rash throwing her lot in for the Ceremony, but now that she was here...! She couldn't just do nothing! Her only saving grace just now was that the other lioness seemed as new to this as she was.

Waguli feinted left, as if she would resume her slow circling, before striking out for her opponent's cheek. Just a light tap, nothing serious, but at least she would be able to say that she got a hit in.  

[Anderleit]

She gasped at the returned hit, instinctively hopping away. There was something nice about this, as long as you didn't think about it too much. Narrowing her eyes at the other lioness, Waguli cut to the right with a swipe at her flank. She couldn't help but grin at the impact. That one felt like the most solid hit yet!  

[Anderleit]

With a family full of performers, she'd spent a lot of time on the sidelines. So she knew what spectators liked, more or less. As far as Waguli was concerned, no one could say that hadn't put on a good show. Sure they'd started slow, but now it was neck-and-neck - and she was trying really hard not to feel the pressure.

The solid hit rattled her though, enough so that she wasn't one-hundred percent confident in the way she lunged forward. Her teeth bared as she kicked out for the passing lioness and clenched tight as she felt nothing but the whiff of wind under her pads.  

[Anderleit]

A groan rolled from Waguli's throat at the touch, and she shook her hind leg reflexively, as if the limb had betrayed her. It was all in good spirit, though. When she turned back toward the victor, it was with a wide grin. "It was, a bit," she had to admit, laughing at the compliment. "I don't think I'd call that fighting well, though. Maybe I'll ask you for some tips when you win."

She bowed back, although the grin was even wider when she came back up. "I will be rooting for you to win, you know. It'll be so much better if I can say I lost to the future Champion.

"...I'm Waguli Taipa, by the way. Mind if I ask the name of my new Sky Ceremony favorite?"  

[Anderleit]

"Hey, don't underestimate yourself!" Waguli insisted, chuckling. "Or luck, for that matter. I look forward to seeing how you do." Sure, maybe she'd been one of the easier first opponents to go up against. But that just meant a little practice was in her future. Maybe she'd be crazy enough to sign up again next year...

The idea brought a smile to her face. A lot could happen in a year's time, certainly. "It was nice to meet you too, Amaris. Give 'em your all." She nodded once more, before turning to head over to the spectators. She might be one here, for now - and that was alright. Her loss was well-fought, the other's victory well-won. After this experience, though, she certainly didn't intend to stay on the sidelines for long.

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