[Duel] Katranak vs Wook

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Wook arrived with his usual friendly grin and hearty hellos. He was loud, and it was obvious the training grounds were a home within a home. He had met his mate on these very training grounds, dueled with her and eventually bettered himself along side her. They held a special place within his heart - especially with his desires to rise the ranks. Following a quick conversation with a young, hopeful lion he lifted his head in time to spy a lioness headed his direction. "Hmph." He made a small sound as he considered her pelt and the way she moved. Like a snake gliding its way towards him, he was a target.

Near seconds after watching the lioness walk towards him did he realize who she was. Names escaped him frequently, but he knew her as the first of many cubs to be born to a rogue Father. His thoughts were neutral on the matter, his own bloodline defied him the chance at arguing the necessity for rogue breeding. He didn't dare speak first, silence was a tool like any other, instead he chose to peer at her with his piercing purple eyes in curious wonder at her determined pace.
 

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Ready. Was what the lion had meant to say, but instead she was met with silence and a steady stare. Wook just couldn't open his jaws fast enough due to the sudden assault. With a small sound he made an attempt at dodging the blow by stepping backward, but her momentum firmly placed her presence within his space. Purple eyes grew wide and where a frown should be a wide grin grew giving him a rather insane appearance. The position wasn't great for him though and his inability to dodge caught up with him as he felt the collision run it's course. This meant pressing his paws into the earth and attempting to hold his own against the surprise attack. The whole ordeal knocked the air from his lungs and he had to inhale, deeply as he could, to gain back some form. "Ready." He finally managed to say - still wearing that same grin.

"But are you?" He taunted merrily, enjoying himself. Wook was firmly planted where he stood following the episode, she had gotten a paw up on him. He didn't dare look away from her. Collecting his thoughts to make hasty decisions was easy when it came to duels or fighting of most any kind. These moments were second nature. Now that the gap was closed he decided to take his chance on striking out with his left paw, claws sheathed - there was never a need to harm ones own soldiers or guards or that was his ongoing thought.  

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The miss turned his grinning face sour for a moment, but the moment passed quickly. He found himself dueling for fun and not for the pleasure of winning though she was stirring up his desire to do better.

Her next move was predicted, but not predictable. Wook didn't have a chance to blink before she was at him again. The unpredictable part was the unsheathed claws that he saw glint just before he narrowly closed the eye where they were aimed. He felt the contact almost immediately. His pelt hid the immediate draw of blood, but only for moments following her attack. True colors were shown in mere moments - he should have known better.

His head fell to the side a little as he dared to open his eye. Wook feared, for a moment, the worst but those fears subsided as his blurred vision focused. Close. His gaze returned to her in a glare that looked odd with the smile he opted to wear. There was no hesitation or second thought on his next act. Wook chose to swipe once again, this time with claws - he aimed for her face as well, shot for shot. His blow likely wouldn't likely do much in the way of heavy damage as he felt his footing give a little.  

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Please would also be the way to describe his final appearance as she backed off. Even her taunt rolled off his shoulders. She was adept in combat, as she should be, and he could see she aimed to go places with that continued determination and pressure applied. He was impressed.

"So it would seem." He finally decided to respond to her. Following his words he took in a slow breath to calm the sudden adrenaline that came with making contact in an assault. The whole fight was refreshing. "Is that?" He queried, but it was a rhetorical question for he wasn't finished with her yet.

Just as she had done to him in the beginning of their duel he turned on her - while they had been talking he worked his back legs to position for quick movement. And with his final question he launched himself forward to tackle the lioness. He found that he did well in close quarter combat, not that this battle was anything to go off of.  

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A Wook in motion doesn't stay in motion, not this time. Where he thought he would have a chance there was none. Her nimble movements got her out of the jam just as quickly as he had her 'pinned'. He felt the pressure of her back legs against his gut and was winded for the moment, but that was all it took as he watched her escape a possible embaressing prison.

She was gone, but he wasn't about to leave her alone.

Wook turned to fully face the lioness again. She was back to her feet following his attack. He paused, in what might look like hesitation, but it was more of a how can I trip her up? He considered himself relatively skilled, though not creative by any means. One thing he was good at was through his weight around. Striking out was great, but a pin would be better.

Looking a bit more fiercely determined than before he lunged forward again, this time paws out stretched and claws unsheathed. He didn't aim to do much damage, but he wanted a more firm grasp - if he managed to get her. Of course this put him in harms way just as equally as it did for her.  

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Determination helped him find his way to catching his opponent. Claws sunk into her flesh in a satisfying pace that helped adrenaline course through him. It didn't change what happened next..

Wook was moving at such a speed that he very nearly missed the fact that her sheer force was propelling him the opposite direction just as quickly. He caught glimpse of her face, it displayed the pain she must have felt when his claws set in, but that wasn't about to stop her - or so he discovered.

"Oof."

The sound he made was so quiet it could have almost gone unheard. It was made as he collided with the ground and settled amidst the dust that would eventually settle. He was breathing heavily now from their most recent efforts. This was a taxing duel, one he would enjoy recalling for plenty of time to come. At this point he realized his loss and simply took a moment to absorb it in silence.

Ecavi