[ROUND 2] Thutmose vs Bahati

[Epine de Rose]

She had, miraculously, won the first round of the Sky Ceremony. It was the first time in which she had ever been successful and she suspected this was in large part due to the training sessions she had had over the last few years. She'd had more than her fair share of losses in those years and she had learnt a fair few things since then.

...It was only fitting that it finally paid off.

Nevertheless there was no rest for the wicked; she had been called up to her next duel and now she found herself awaiting her next opponent. Hopefully it would be another even match again, she had enjoyed the last one and hopefully Wasola had too.

Thus, she turned her gaze towards the other entrance of the ring and waited patiently for her new opponent to greet her. Toes of her paws crossed, she would be up against another good one!

Pollack

 

[Pollack]

He had originally decided to enter the tournament mostly to just see what this part of the festival was all about, he had no real expectations of doing well in the endeavor, let alone actually winning the first round!

Ah, such was his unpredictable luck coming in right on cue.

None-the-less Thutmose could admit that despite his surprise at the sudden situation he had found himself simply enjoying the trill of participating. It was relaxing in it's own right, much different from any other fight he had encountered. Hell, he found himself cheering for his opponents just as much as he hoped to continue pushing forward!

And that's exactly what he would be doing with his next round as well.

Epine de Rose

 

[Pollack]

Rolling his shoulder Thutmose slowly strode into the ring, his red eyes scanning the field before they landed on Bahati. ...Wait, this couldn't be right. She certainly matched the description that he had been given, and she was waiting just as any other challenger would be.

But the woman was nearly half his size! He'd be liable to break her with a friendly pat on the back!

With his face twisting into a bemused stare he finally greeted her properly, "Evening. This might be obtuse to be asking but...am I in the correct spot? I'm looking for one Bahati?"

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

He was new, he was definitely new. He didn't have the same look as those who had been part of the pride for a considerable amount of time and as a consequence, she wasn't surprised that he might not know who she was.
To be honest, he might also have been part of another clan and that really would have excused his lack of knowledge... But it didn't really excuse the fact that he seemed so shocked that he was facing off against her.

...Alright to be fair, she was very small and in the last few years she hadn't been terribly successful, but she had been working hard to improve herself and it was starting to show! She wasn't about to let him assume he'd been paired up with someone weaker than he was; granted she might very well end up weaker than him but she'd teach him a thing or two about judging her too quickly.

Or she'd try to anyway.

Thus, in answer to his question she gave a very cliche tut and left the introduction to the side. Perhaps that would answer his question? Regardless, she knew an opening when she saw one and she was perfectly happy to exploit it - this was exactly what she did as well as she leapt forward following her 'tisk' and promptly made to smack her paws against his nose.

She'd start with a startle and work from there, keep the lion on his toes!

Pollack

 

[Pollack]

To give credit where it was due Thutmose had seen this particular lioness around. They were of the same clan, that much he knew. However the two hadn't had the pleasure of previously introducing themselves, course with as large and diverse of a pride as the Ela the idea of 'I haven't met you' was more the rule than the exception for him at the moment!

Especially for someone who preferred to keep his head down to the grindstone like Thut.

She was successful at giving him a startle! Jolting his head up at her sudden dash forward his body instinctively moved to bounce backwards, though not in enough time to stop her surprise attack. His nose wrinkled at the mild sting, it certainly wasn't something to fall over writhing about, but she had literally smacked her point right across his face! "...Well then. Good luck to you as well." He mused softly.

That was one way to start a match-up he supposed.

The problem was that he honestly didn't know how to proceed further. She was clearly a reasonable fighter and taking this matter seriously, but on the other hand, he was actually scared of possibly hurting her! He couldn't outright forfeit the match, not only would it perhaps disqualify her for the next rounds, but he highly suspected with this particular lioness if her earlier reaction was anything to go by she would be insulted by the action.

He had no other choice but to press forward, he might not be willing to put much effort into the fight but at the very least he could make it seem like a convincing win. For both his and her sake!

Straightening out his shoulders he lurched forward, his paw coming up to swipe at her feet to aiming to seem like he was attempting to knock her off her balance.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

Hmph, she'd used that paw swipe to the legs too many times to know how it worked. Nimble that she was, she leapt over his swipe and squirreled her way round to his other side. She wouldn't be that easily caught, especially by one who currently lacked conviction - at the moment she surmised that he wasn't entirely sold on her own capabilities and while she was a touch insulted by this (she at deserved a chance), she could also understand it, at least in part...

Unfortunately for him, this meant that she had even more to prove when it came to this duel. While he might not be entirely convinced by her abilities yet, she was just going to have to make this point abundantly clear. This meant that, from her vantage point, she really only had one option. It was for this reason that she rather unceremoniously pounced upon his rump and sunk her teeth into his rear flank.

Yup - she'd taken the decision to take a chunk out of his rear end. If he'd been playing fair with her than she might have just left it at a nibble!

Pollack

 

[Pollack]

Hmm, he had to hand it to her that she certainly was a lot more agile and quick on her feet than he had originally given her credit for. Course with her smaller stature and obvious experience it wasn't that much of a shock that she could dodge her way out of most of his attacks - even if he was actually putting his heart behind them!

Perhaps she wasn't made of glass as he had previously had thought, after all big surprises did come in small packages!

A point that came to bite him in the a** literally with her next move! Letting out a surprised yelp his head craned around to look at the lioness currently chewing him a new one. Furrowing his brows together he stared at her with a bewildered expression for a few seconds. Sure, this was a technique that was useful in spooking injured prey and possibly overwhelming their back legs with one's weight but this?

....Well this honestly reminded him of a cub's attempted at tackling their parent.

Well there was typically one reliable way to get a rowdy cub off of your back; pinning them right back! Hey, if she wanted him to start taking this more seriously than he certainly could. With a slight shrug of acceptance Thut flopped over onto his side, rolling over her to get her to release him from her grip before bouncing back to his feet.

He had expected such a spry creature to spring back into action, yet...she wasn't. s**t. His face twisted in concern as he stepped back over to her. "Bahati, are you alright?" He asked as his paw tenderly nudged at her side.

They might have been in a duel, but they were still pride mates! Her safety came first over some silly tournament.

Epine de Rose

Bahati get up, you are doing him a frighten

 

[Epine de Rose]

Lame, that must have been a move all male's made as he wasn't the first and he probably wouldn't be the last to do it. For a time she simply lay where she was as she contemplated how best to respond; a play-dead as it were, but as she gave a mental count of how many successful strikes she had made, she noted that she need only make one more in order to cross the finish line!

Now there was a thought...

As Thutmose made the mistake of falling for her acting 'skills', she took the opportunity to make it clear that she was perfectly fine. From her vantage point she also had the perfect position anyway, and while she didn't aim to maul, she went straight for his throat. A single hit was all that it would take to see her victorious and it would perhaps settle his nerves - she might be small, but ever since moving to the Ela, she had gotten much healthier and much stronger.

She was made of sterner stuff now!

Pollack

 

[Pollack]

Holy. Lee. s**t!

Thut's concern instantly morphed into shock as his body lurched backwards from the sudden assault. His paw instinctively shot up with claws out, at the ready to counter attack to pry her off of his neck.

Yet instead of attacking his body relaxed.

This was merely a display of dominance, and a solid one at that. He could feel her teeth pressing into his mane, mere inches away from real flesh (and doing some real damage!) Sure, there were ways he could perhaps knock her off and continue to fight, but it was a question of why at that point.

She had won fair and sqaure.

With a low sigh Thut's paw that was still raised in the air came down onto her shoulder, gently patting it as a sign of submission. "Congratulations." He finally spoke, a mild smile gracing his face for a brief moment. "You fought well, I look forward to watching you kick more arse in the next rounds." He remarked with a uncharacteristically playful tone.

Though he had lost Thut felt a sense of relief. The pressure to succeed and prove himself had been lifted off of his shoulders, and for that he was glad. He could honestly say that he was proud of his accomplishments in his first Sky Tournament!

For now he could sit back, enjoy a good meal, and watch his fellow competitors duel the rest of the event out. He was more eager to see who would win it all than actually disappointed that he was no longer in the running.

And hey, there was always next year!

Epine de Rose

Last post from me! Congrats Bahati, I'm so proud of you!
<3

 

[Epine de Rose]

She'd won!

She gave a little hop between her paws in celebration of her victory, and with good grace, gave a small bow. Thutmose really could have done better and she knew it, but for now this would probably prove to be a valuable lesson for him. Most of the Ela were quiet small in comparison to those in the rogue lands and they shouldn't be judged on their size. In the coming years, she anticipated that he'd be less likely to go easy on them at the start and actually battle in earnest.

Still, credit where it was due, he was brand new and he had already made it passed the first round.

"We shall see," she replied modestly, a smile on her own lips. Evidently she wasn't one to count her chickens before they hatched, but at least she wasn't feeling apprehensive either. She'd done better than she ever had and so far, she was proud of everything she'd accomplished... For now though, she needed a quick rest before the next round.

Pollack