[DUEL] Prove Yourself (Shetani & Evadne)

[MangoMeow]

Shetani was on a mission, this time for a more personal reason than anything that had to do with the pride or her job as the Mind. She'd noticed lately that Ajani had seemed overly distracted of late, but had not thought anything of it.... until a few days ago. Now he was downright jolly. Which wasn't a bad thing by any means - she was happy that he was happy - but it left her massively curious.

Some digging revealed something completely unexpected though.

For as much as she pestered and badgered him about finding a mate, she hadn't expected him to actually do it. Well, they hadn't said anything about being official, but Shetani was a smart lioness. She could read in between the lines.

Now, don't get her wrong, she loved her brother and really did want to see tiny nieces and nephews running around. She would be the best aunt. But to not say anything to Shetani about it? Oh, that wasn't going to fly. She needed to make sure this was an upstanding Outlander female that he was hooking up with, after all!

That said, her hackles were calmed somewhat at discovering it was Evadne that he seemed to have attached himself to. (or perhaps it was the other way around - that seemed like something Eva would do) She knew this lioness. She was one of her Guides, and had traveled with their group in the rogue lands.

But Shetani wanted to be sure.

With that in mind, the black lioness stalked her way to where the Guides usually hung out, fully intent on challenging this female that was out for her brother's heart.  

[MangoMeow]

Evadne had no idea what was coming for her.

The white lioness was humming cheerful tunes as she tidied up after a learning session with some of the cubs. There weren't many in the pride yet, unfortunately, but that was no reason not to educate them. She pouted at the lack of cubs, before idly wondering if Ajani might be interested in helping her fix that.

You know... among other things that would result in cubs, she thought with a gleeful grin. Okay, she'd admit it. She had a crush, and she was pretty sure it was reciprocated. She hoped so anyway.

They were actually going to go out together again today. Ajani said he had something special planned this time, and she wondered how it would differ from all the other times they hung out. Yes, the two had started spending quite a bit of time together since those duels. She was surprised other people hadn't noticed yet.

Well, someone had, as Eva was about to find out.

She hadn't noticed the black form stalking through the shadows towards her, and even if she had, the resemblance to her crush would have put her guard down regardless.

Eva yelped as a paw came flying out of nowhere and swiped her down flat on her back. Wide, black eyes stared at the familiar form of the Monarch's Mind, and she shivered at the piercing purple eyes glaring down at her. Uh-oh, had she done something to step on Shetani's paws? The Mind may not be as much of a fighter as her brother, but she was certainly more than capable of holding her own in a fight.

"Uh, hi, Shetani."  

[MangoMeow]

Shetani's eyes narrowed down at the other lioness, judging and accessing her. "Evadne." It was said almost pleasantly, but the icy undertone bespoke her true feelings. Clucking her tongue, the Mind lifted a paw and began circling around her, keeping close to prevent Eva from standing once more. "You're a good Guide, a good girl, but I do wonder why you thought that certain events would go unnoticed by me."

"Certain eve-"

Shetani cut her off, "I care very deeply for my brother. He's one of the few that I hold above all others, bar the Queen herself. So when it comes to someone trying to court him." She glared down at her, "Oh, Eva, dearest." She smacked her alongside the head, "Get up and prove your worth."

Oh. Oh. Oooooohhhh....

In retrospect, she probably should have seen this one coming. The twins were as fiercely protective of each other as they were of their pride. She just... hadn't been expecting the hostility from Shetani. Her, for all intents and purposes, boss.

Welp, she wanted to challenge her for the right to court Ajani, and that was something Evadne was willing to do. She... well, she wasn't sure if it was love yet, but it certainly felt like it. And if that meant going through his sister first, she'd do so.

Rolling herself to her feet, Eva nodded and crouched. Eva was fast, this was a known fact to everyone who knew her, but Shetani was known for her prowess and swiftness. Biting her lip, she shifted on her feet and then lunged forward in an intent to get the upper hand. Diving to the side at the last minute, she aimed a paw at Shetani's side.

Shetani was nothing if not quick to react though, and she wasn't the type to show mercy. Flipping herself around, she whipped her head forward to snap her jaws around Eva's arm. She ignored the high-pitched yelp from the other lioness, and instead flipped her around onto her back once more.

"Tsk, do you really think Ajani needs someone so timid in their attacks?"

Eva cringed as she pulled herself back to her feet, before scowling at Shetani's words. Fine, if Shetani wanted to play dirty, then she'd play dirty.

She charged forward once more, but this time, she decided to take a page out of Ajani's book.

Brute force.

The black lioness had been expecting Eva to pause and access the situation, maybe wait for Shetani to make the first move - but the sudden headbutt into her chest had not been what she thought she'd do. Eva was always good at doing the unexpected, after all.

She felt the air forced out of her mouth, as the two went tumbling backwards, and she snarled as she started biting, scratching and kicking the other. They devolved into a ball of furious hissing and roaring, ignoring the wide-eyed looks from those who were outside, looking in on them. It was a cat-fight that neither female wanted to yield to.

Evadne saw her opening a split second before it actually opened up to her. Her head hurt, her ears hurt, her sides hurt - everything hurt. This wasn't like her play fights with Ajani. She'd had enough.

As Shetani's legs pulled back to kick at her once more, Eva curled herself in and then kicked all four paws into the Mind's stomach. Shetani was launched across the room, but Eva didn't let up yet. Whipping herself around, she pounced on top of the other lioness and slammed a paw down against her jaw.

"Yield!" she roared.

There was a moment of angry spasming on Shetani's part, before she finally scoffed and plopped herself down. Despite the snarky look on her face though, she couldn't hide the content gleam in her eyes as she gazed back at Eva.

"Will you take this seriously then, if you pursue him?"

Eva's sides were heaving from the effort of fighting her, but her hackles lowered at Shetani's question. Gazing back levelly, she gave a confident nod. "Yes. I always did and I always will because," she paused, and then lifted her head up high, "I love him."

The two stared each other down for another moment. Then, Shetani smirked. "Alright then. You have my blessing." She snorted, "Not let me up. You're starting to make my jaw ache."

She stared down uncertainly for a moment, and then jolted. "Oh! Right, sorry." Scrambling off of her, Evadne threw a slightly shaky smile back.

Shetani snorted again at that face, heaving herself back up to her feet and shaking herself out. "Carry on with your duties," she replied with a flick of her tail as she made her way out. Before she turned the corner though, she shot one last warning look back at her, "And you had better not break my brother's heart."