[Round 1] Bahati x Wasola T'sagi

[Epine de Rose]

It was that time of year again, and in the last few years she hadn't had much success. Nevertheless, she'd grown more confident over the years and the once shy lioness was rather looked forward to these duels nowadays. Not that she ever really got anywhere with them, she was a bit clumsy when it came to battle, but it was the participating that counted. Well, at least it was the taking part that counted for her even if there were others who might disagree.

As it was, she'd been called forward and it was time for the tournament to begin, meaning that she was going to have to put her game face on again! No pressure, or anything.

Oddly enough, the lioness didn't feel any pressure this time and that perhaps, was a sign of just how well she had truly settled into her home. While it would be nice to prove herself, no one would give her grief for failing in the grand scheme of things. Heck, some of them might even cheer her on as a returning contender even if they, like she, didn't hold out too much hope if she happened to come up against someone who was truly destined for greatness!

Smiling, the black lioness took a few steps forward to greet her opponent and waited patiently for him, or her, to make themselves known. After all the pleasantries were over, they'd be able to see where both of them went from here...

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

It was Wasolas second Sky ceremony, and she hoped it’d go better than last time. Being pitted against her own alu’nadi had been nerve wracking, and she was ashamed to admit she had cracked under the preassure. This would be different. When their names were called she knew she wouldn’t be fighting anyone from mantis clan. That should mean an advantage for her, right?

She went to face the other lioness, nodding a greeting.

Epine de Rose

I guess we’ll just go again

 

[Epine de Rose]

The lioness wasn't as big as some of the ones she'd seen, but then again, the Ela had always been a little smaller than those in the roguelands. She found comfort in it, if only because of how petite she was. She fitted in, and as the lioness came into her sights she afforded a small bow in greeting and took the opportunity to weigh her up.

Overall... the black lioness had a little more confidence, at least it wasn't a male this time, she'd been stomped in both of her previous festivals by a male so it would be refreshing to face off against her own gender. Famous last words however, as there were no guarantees she'd get terribly far, looks could be deceiving and she might very well lose to a warrior hidden beneath kind eyes...

Annchen

*Facepalms at the dice* Oddly my quotes aren't working properly at the moment so I apologise if I'm a little slow!

 

[Annchen]

”Greetings,” she said, ”I’m Wasola T’sagi of the Mantis clan. May the best lioness win.”

Perhaps a bit too formal? It just felt weird to just start fighting without at least some introduction. Last year, with two mantis members facing off, they didn’t need it. Wasola took a deep breath and made sure her fighting stance was good. Low center of gravity, all four paws planted firmly on the ground. She wouldn’t go down easily this time!

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

It was perhaps a touch more formal than Bahati was used to, but that didn't necessarily mean she thought it was a bad thing. Certain lions acted in a particular way and on this occasion, Wasola had opted to be very polite. She would return the favour as a result, and provided the slightly larger lioness with a bow of her own. It wasn't one that was native to the Ela, but there were some things that she couldn't quite shift from her time outside.

"A pleasure," Bahati replied gently. "I'm Bahati, of the Wolf clan -" she paused for a brief moment to consider how best to finish this and elected to go for the simplest conclusion. "It's an honour to face you in combat," she finished, settling for the most cliche (but appropriate) reply she could give.

It was with that in mind that she regarded the lioness's new stance; she was squaring off and this was something Bahati could use to her advantage. After all, the black lioness had never excelled against big lions paw to paw. She had to be more agile to fell a giant and on this occasion, she was going to employ the same tactics.

With this in mind the lioness went for quick and agile - this was her strategy and she was going to stick with it. Thus, it wasn't long before the lioness was barreling forward, only to feint to the left and come towards her from her flank with her claws partially bared!

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

Bahati. Wolf clan. And from the amount of tattoos and her approximate age Wasola figured she couldn’t have grown up there. But that was not important, was it? Wasola was nervous, and her thoughts were going all over the place. Perhaps it was her being distracted, perhaps it was just a good feint, but Bahati managed to fool her. She really should have known better.

”Hit,” she said between gritted teeth as the other female grazed her flank with her claws. Wasola spun around and leapt for the other lioness, trying to get a hit in before the small female could retreat.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

That was a first!

Bahati had never successfully hit her previous opponents, perhaps it was all that practice and some guidance from more adept lions that had allowed her to improve so dramatically. What a difference all that time made!

Alas, it seemed that the lioness had allowed herself to become momentarily distracted by her success that she wasn't completely aware of her surroundings. Wasola would find little resistance to her own retaliation and it showed, upon her pounce she found her paws connecting with the black lioness's hide and Bahati went tumbling.

It was enough to knock her to her senses though and she quickly sprang to her paws, barely a headshake to return her composure and she had leapt forward again. This battle would be fast paced that much was for sure, if either of them left an opening then they were going to lose - that in mind, Bahati saw it fitting to try and get on top of the lioness. She'd tried it before with little success, but her balance had been all off in previous encounters...perhaps today would be different.

From the top she'd be able to take aim at more vulnerable parts right? At least that was her thought process!

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

Wasola was not impressed by the sudden addition of a feisty female on her back, and she decided to try a roll to get her off before she managed to claw or bite something sensitive. Her opponents mouth was closer to her ears than she liked, and she could feel claws in her back. She’d done this before in training, and it usually worked. The theory was to start rolling, giving the opponent a good kick with the hind legs to hopefully send them flying and then keep rolling to get back on her feet. Easy peasy, in theory.

Wasola rolled, wincing at the claws she felt, she then kicked out, but lost momentum. She needed to get up quickly unless she was going to end up pinned down.

Epine de Rose

Next one to hit wins!

 

[Epine de Rose]

It was the perfect way to unseat her, no one had ever done it before and as a consequence, the lioness soon lost her grip. She had learned some things over the year though and even as she was successfully tossed from Wasola's back, she was quick to roll to the side. There was an opening still, provided she could maintain her close proximity she could make one final dash and this was what she was going to try and do.

She didn't go for the throat though, the purpose of the Sky Ceremony wasn't to permanently maim. In fact, she was positive she'd be in trouble if she caused any damage to the lioness in that manner, thus she pounced again, this time towards her hindlegs - her aim was to unseat, to topple and to at least get the lioness into a 'vulnerable' position so that at least one of them could be declared the winner.

...That being said, there was nothing to stop Wasola from pinning her if Bahati was unlucky!

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

Wasola had been partly successful. Bahati was off her back, but instead of a graceful roll to get back to her feet she ended upp struggling to get up as quickly as possible. On the ground she was too vulnerable. However, as soon as she started to get to her feet the other lioness landed a blow to her hind legs sending her crashing down. With her nose against the dirt and her opponent somewhere behind her, she couldn’t see any way to turn the fight back in her favour.

”Yield,” she said, reluctantly accepting her defeat.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

She had won?!

To say that Bahati was incredulous was an absolute understatement and it would have shown on her face as she spun round to see if she had, in fact, been successful. Wasola had yielded, and the surprise remained on the black lioness's face as she finally let herself absorb the scene. They had been evenly matched, Bahati knew it, and she was grateful that on this particular occasion the spirits had chosen to grace her with an opponent that matched her well.

Somewhat breathless, the lioness provided a small bow of her head as the paler of the two admitted defeat. It had been close, Bahati knew this, and she wouldn't let this get to her head... even after her surprise had left her and she had grown accustomed to the news.

"Well fought," she offered in a soft voice and finally provided Wasola with a smile. "You did really well," she added. "Thank you for being my opponent," she concluded and took a step back so that Wasola would have the opportunity to gather herself and rise to her paws unhindered...

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

Wasola got to her feet, and took a few moments to groom down a unruly tuft of fur on her shoulder. She had hoped to make her clan proud by placing in the tournament so it stung a little to be defeated in her first match.

”It was a good fight,” she agreed, ”Best of luck in the next round!”

She was a bit sore, but her pride was worse off than her hide. Hopefully she’d be able to hide among the other spectators and take her mind of things by watching the remainder of the tournament.

-fin-