[PRP] How to Proceed (Khombo/Agni)

[Meepfur]

Umkhombo hadn't exactly expected the decision Turiya had made - that she had approached him for his help with - to go over well, but he hadn't expected her to turn up in the Bonelands a few days later, either.  It had gone very poorly indeed, apparently: poorly enough that rather than stop at the Outpost, she had continued right on south, and was still fuming when she arrived, even after the long walk.  He'd been out patrolling, so Khazine had gotten the brunt of her ranting before Tala had found him to inform him of the turn of events.

It wasn't critical enough to cut his patrol short for, but at least he'd had time to gather his thoughts and prepare.  Taking the runaway Firekin in wasn't an issue at all - she could be a Busisa, just like the couple of huria who had joined over the years.  But she was leaving the desert under extenuating circumstances, and was the daughter of one of the Regents.  He had ideas for how to proceed, but how it would or wouldn't work in diplomatic terms depended largely on Agni-pariksha.

So now he was at the Outpost.  Waiting.  Turiya, still stubbornly angry, had stayed back by the spring, insisting that she didn't want to speak to her mother (or, probably more accurately, didn't want to listen to her).  

[Meepfur]

Politics in general were fairly unfamiliar territory for Umkhombo to start with - in fact, their previous meeting had been his one and only firsthand experience with inter-pridal diplomacy - but add in someone else's family dynamic, and it became a particularly murky situation. Granted, he'd been aware when he'd accepted Turiya's request that things wouldn't go as she thought they should, and had certainly thought over what would happen if things went south, so to speak, but still. Being face to face with one of the redpelted Regents, whose daughter had enlisted his help to break tradition and then run away to the Bonelands when it hadn't gone over well, was going to be...awkward, at best.

He wasn't precisely unfamiliar with disapproving in-laws, as he'd hardly been popular with the Qyrhyeshti in the beginning, but... Well. He was largely just waiting to see what shape Agni-pariksha's disapproval would take, so that he could respond appropriately. He returned her greeting with a respectful nod. "Agni-pariksha."

A pause reminiscent of their first meeting: where to start? Any doubt, just as before, was expertly hidden in confident posture and carefully controlled expressions, but it was quite a trick to pick out where and how to begin; there was no need for an obvious statement of why they were here, but he also doubted that pleasantries would be appreciated in this instance. Neither too roundabout, nor too direct...it was frustratingly delicate, and he didn't like it at all.

"I'm keen to hear your thoughts, Regent." Acknowledgement that the issue was in her court; it was a member of her pride who'd broken her pride's rules, after all. Albeit with a bit of help. From him. Which he had no qualms about, frankly - it was very much a cultural norm (an expectation in fact) to honor such requests, and if he were being very honest...conpared the requests he occasionally received from Ithambo lionesses, on some level had had much fewer reservations.

Ecavi

 

[Meepfur]

The long silence was frustrating in and of itself, on top of everything else it was practically maddening. It took a great effort to keep from lashing his tail back and forth and betraying the irritation that was beginning to develop...and then she turned away. His tail did lash then, just once, but then she turned back around and adopted a familiar stance.

Ah. So that was how this was going to be? Fair enough...but he didn't fight like a redpelt, and had no intention of starting to today. There would be no sheathed claws, and the Umholi tucked away what reservations he had about the political wisdom of fighting - sorry, 'dueling' - one of the leaders of their only allied pride. If that was what she wanted, that was what she would get.

The dark male nodded his understanding of what she intended, then after a moment more burst into action. His warband in the Impibutho had called him 'rhino' for a reason: he hit hard.

Ecavi

stealing/slightly modifying the old Jahy system, I think it makes more sense for these two? less fruitless swiping. XD
1: Miss or Bide
2: Light Hit
3-6: Medium Hit
7-8: Hard Hit

 

[Meepfur]

It was likely a reckless plan - if it could be called a plan at all - for both of them. It wouldn't look good for either one of them to lose, nor would it look good for them to actually hurt each other...but it was inevitable that they would. There was no point in doing this if they weren't going to do it; just dancing around each other or wrestling like cubs wouldn't solve anything. Not that this would.

Umkhombo knew that, but he also knew that refusing the challenge would lose him some amount of respect. There wasn't a 'good' decision here, so. Here he was, earnestly trying to beat the snot out of someone who was technically an ally.

A reality that quickly faded, battling a worthy opponent in the desert sand. He hit hard, but he also hit fast, with great efficiency of movement. The Qyrhyeshti had taught him how to fight, and for generations they had fought to kill or be killed, and to get it over with quickly and decisively.

Ecavi

 

[Meepfur]

The circumstances of the fight, and whatever concerns he had about it, were driven further to the back of his mind with every blow and counter, until it was as if they'd never existed at all. It was easy - too easy - to fall back to his days in the Namib, first fighting to repay a debt and then fighting for his pride and a certain lioness in particular...but always for his life, knowing that to lose was to die. In the Impibutho, too, savagery had been necessary.

And it came naturally, especially with sand under his paws. The wisdom of the fight didn't matter in those moments, nor did the potential to hurt his ally, who had ceased to register as such.

Ecavi

 

[Meepfur]

Going at the fight as hard and fast as possible from the beginning had given him an advantage that he pressed, but all the same, his opponent didn't crumble before him. She withstood every hit, and soon enough, was coming back at him with full force of her own. But just as she hadn't allowed herself to give, neither did he. He endured every blow without thought for how he'd feel later - let alone how he would look later - and after a particularly sharp one that caught him across the face, shoved forward again, but she was at least his equal, and nothing would give.

With every second that passed, the reasons for the fight slipped further and further away, and the blood in his eyes obscured them almost entirely. It was just another fight, and with just the right series blow, maybe he could finish it-

It was actually the thought of the force necessary, as he blinked blood from from his eyes and readied himself to strike, eyes roving over where claws could rend, where fangs could clamp down and rip, that shook him loose from the fuguelike state of relentless violence, and he redirected, throwing the blow recklessly wide and leaving him open.

Ecavi

 

[Meepfur]

Redirecting mid-strike had left him off-balance, and when hit with the large female's full force, he went down, hitting the sand with a grunt. Lips pulled back as he gave voice to a guttural growl and snapped - aiming for nothing but air, but needing to give voice to the sheer frustration that had risen within him, with himself and so many things. He was pissed, not at the Regent but at how easily she'd gotten past his self-control...at having to have such perfect control in the first place.

The snarl gradually faded into a rumble, but that would linger until and unless she let him up. "Are we done?"

Impatience. Irritation. A serious crack in all the careful diplomacy.

Ecavi