[Round 1] Nathifa vs. Tiponi Ayatadoli

[oo Ded]

Nathifa couldn't say exactly what it was that inspired her to enter this year's festivities. A few now had passed since the ceremony in which she had joined the Shadow Clan of the Ela'wadiyi, yet this was the first that she truly took part in. Perhaps it was only just now that she was feeling comfortable enough to put herself forward. Just now that she was feeling at home and part of the group.

Regardless of the reasons, she was here now. The lioness had never really done battle before. Not in a sense like this. It was to be an experience, that was for sure.

"Tiponi Ayatadoli," she spoke, her paws neatly before her and her voice a kinder tone than would be expected of a lioness about to try to prove her strength. Nathifa was sure she had never met the lioness before. Even now, the name sounded foreign on her tongue. "It will be a pleasure to battle you today."

Andranis

 

[Andranis]

Inhale, exhale... Tiponi felt nervous. It was her first Sky Festival, her first time being around the whole pride. It felt... Exhilarating. But she also felt a pressure, of being a new alu'nadi, a first-generation born member of the pride within her family. She'd learned much about leading in her short life already, but it didn't stop her nerves.

This fight, this participation in the Sky Ceremony, was not only her feeling she was proving herself to the pride, but proving herself to her OWN self. "Okay... Nathifa of the Shadow Clan. I'm honored and ready when you are." She could do this.  

[oo Ded]

The smile on Nathifa's face was effervescent as she watched her opponent speak. It wasn't until she had heard a few words that the realization hit her. The voice, the name, the face... She'd heard word but never mad met the lioness, but she had heard the name of the Earth Clan's newest alu'nadi.

Suddenly nerves hit her and the white and gray lioness swallowed hard. This certainly wasn't the time to get cold paws.

Nahtifa gave the briefest of nods before she lunged forwards first, the entirety of her weight in the attack. Sure, there wasn't much weight to give, but Nathifa was rogue-born and thusly larger than many of the native Ela'wadiyi. Still, the lunge hit only air and the lioness skid into the ground, shifting to rebound in a way that made clear that the lioness was not bred for lion-to-lion combat.  

[Andranis]

She hadn't missed it, that moment of dawning realization. Even in an ever-growing pride, with many lions in it, Tiponi didn't think it unreasonable that somebody'd recognize her for who she was. Of course, some part of her had also hoped she could take advantage of being a twin, but that hadn't quite worked out yet.

When Nathifa made her move, Tiponi stepped slightly out of the way. It didn't appear she needed to, but she still made her move in direct reaction. Reaching out her paw, she gave the other lioness a tag on the shoulder. It wasn't a hard hit, more like a cub poking a friend during a game. But it was still a hit, and it counted.  

[oo Ded]

Well, this wasn't going very well now was it.

The lioness was feeling flustered. This was more than evident in the way in which she was unable to ready herself after her first failed attack. She had turned only in time to glimpse her opponent as she grew near and gave her a tap on the shoulder. It felt teasing and under her fur Nathifa grew red in a combination of frustration and embarrassment.

She moved forward again, doing her best to center her weight above her feet, swiping a paw, at the form of the lioness, only realizing after the fact that her movements had been too slow. Yeah. Embarrassing for sure.  

[Andranis]

Tiponi jumped out of the way before the other lioness could hit her, eyebrows up. The gray and white lioness may or may not have realized it, but she HAD come close to hitting the clay-brown lioness. In her haste to react, Tiponi swung a paw and missed, much more widely, than Nathifa had. Where Tiponi had felt the wind rustling her fur as the paw had passed, she was sure the other had not felt the wind of Tiponi's paw in passing. It was the young alu'nadi's first miss of the fight, and she worried that it might not be her last.  

[oo Ded]

Though Nathifa might not have felt the miss of the attempted strike, she saw it well. The sight of the brown paw sweeping through the air made the paler lioness take a sharp breath of air, ducking out of the way. It was perhaps an exaggerated motion to dodge the attack, but the strike hadn't made contact and that was good enough for her.

Her weight now centered and stable, Nathifa continued to press forward. She had no impact to recoil from and did her best to take the offensive, lunging forward once more as she aimed her weight at Tiponi's legs. She attempted to knock her opponent over and she felt contact. Regardless of whether or not the lioness went down, she hoped the move would be at least disjointing enough for her to continue to press forward.  

[Andranis]

She felt more than saw the hit. Tiponi's first reaction was to draw back in surprise, before she found herself stumbling. A graceful alu'nadi, she was not, it seemed. Not yet, anyway. Time would only tell if she found her paws, grounded herself much more. Near by, she could hear the chirrup and cheering of two creatures - The serval that was her constant companion, and the bird that had been passed to her. As she swung out at the other lioness for another strike, she thought remotely of the rumor that the birds were actually spies for the wanidatsi, watching the clans to make sure things went smoothly. Tiponi figured, she could report on her own. She was having a rough start, but she'd find her feet eventually, much like now.  

[oo Ded]

If her opponent had been distracted, Nathifa didn't notice. She herself was far too concerned with the swipe that had made hard contact to her jaw. The lioness stumbled back, mostly out of shock than anything. Blinking, she would have later sworn that she could see stars. The lioness, now thinking that she wasn't quite made out for this fighting business, did her best to regain her footing and return the blow, but found herself a bit disoriented. Instead, she centered herself and trait to be ready for Tiponi's next attack. Hopefully she'd do a better job at turning around for the next one...  

[Andranis]

Instinct told Tiponi to stop the fight long enough to make sure Nathifa was okay. It would show compassion, surely. But at the same time, they were still in a duel, and Kachina was urging her on to land a hit. She withdrew for a moment, uncertainty starting to set in. But she'd surely started this, right? She needed to finish it, as kindly as possible. This time, when she swung, she aimed for Nathifa's shoulder, going for as soft a hit as she could. Her hope was that it wouldn't be much different from her first, a tag like cubs playing. --  

[oo Ded]

It was that last tap--a tap like a child playing--that Nathifa realized that there wasn't really much going here for her. With a laugh, her posture changed. Muscles that were tensed and ready for battle became relaxed, and she stepped back.

"I concede, Tiponi Ayatadoli. Alu'nadi of the Earth Clan." She blew the bangs out of her face and shook her head. "I know when I'm bested." It was an experience, certainly. She wouldn't say that she regretted it. But... well. It certainly could have gone better. The clay lioness was just clearly the better of the match-up.