[Duel] Qalb-az-Khorshid vs. Huozin

[Meepfur]

Three. Weeks.

These had been the longest three weeks of his life by far, which was really saying something, considering that he had been through not only his quest to find his name, but the landslide that had been the end of his birth pride. Then, of course, there had been the matter of adjusting to life in the Pridelands. But the desert? The desert was something else entirely. The heat, the sand, the lions - spirits, he'd thought he was a decent fighter, but up against them? He felt like a scrawny little adolescent again.

He wasn't a small lion, by most standards; thanks to his predominantly Pridelands blood, he was actually on the large side...but not compared to the Firekin. He had been rather on the well-fed side, as well, but he'd trimmed up quite a bit in his last few weeks at the Outpost.

It was training, training, and more training. He actually hadn't done poorly in his last duel, but his opponent had still landed more hits than he had. He'd been close, but not quite there.

Maybe this time, he would get it right.

...or maybe not.  

[mouselet]

Any Motoujamii member could judge a stranger for fitness and determine if they were worthy of joining the pride. Huozin himself had helped many lions in...though he'd held just as many out at paw's length. Still, it had been some time since his last duel, and even a Hunter needed to keep in practice.

The red lion was interested to see that his challenger had no trace of traditional red, black, or white, having a coat in various shades of gold instead. Still, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Psyche's coloration was fairly similar, and she had returned to the pride and become a Magistrate. So, one's colors weren't necessarily a problem.

One's combat skills, however, that was far more important.

Huozin moved quickly and decisively, lashing out at his opponent.  

[Meepfur]

This was his first duel against another male, and Khorshid actually rather hoped that maybe it would be easier; it certainly couldn't be any harder. He was beginning to see that the problem was that he was bad at fighting, but that the Firekin were just that damn good. To get up to that level took a lot of work, but the other side of the issue was also, just maybe, a little bit of luck. So far, he'd had absolutely none.

The other male started out strong with a solid hit, and Khorshid was quick to retaliate, although the blow wasn't so impressive.  

[mouselet]

Well, the boy was improving. This second attempt had actually touched Huozin...though there was nothing worthy of the word "damage." Possibly not even a bruise later, though the red male was unconcerned about these things. It wasn't the worst start he'd ever seen.

But it also wasn't the best, and the Hunter let loose another powerful blow against the stranger. Best that he see what he was truly up against before he actually managed to join the pride. If he was so determined.  

[Meepfur]

Perhaps it had something to do with their sheer size, but the brute force all the Firekin seemed capable of putting behind their attacks was impressive. And painful. The first time he'd been hit like that, he'd had a hard time shaking it off, but as time went on, he was getting used to it.

He kept his footing and his composure, and did his best to return in kind.  

[mouselet]

Ah, further improvement! Huzoin felt a smile stretching his lips as a solid blow landed. So so so, the stranger was not hopeless! It took a good hit to make the red lion's ears ring, but they were loud and proud of their tuneless dissonance. It was enough to make the Hunter wish to retaliate in kind!

It occurred to Huozin as he attacked full force once more that perhaps he should consider pulling his blows. He kind of liked this gold lion already, and wouldn't be opposed to letting him into the pride. But...he didn't want to take things too easy and be accused of laziness towards his own training, even if he wasn't a Soldier. So he'd be as rough as he judged necessary and hopefully the younger male would be able to stand up and win.  

[Meepfur]

This lion just didn't let up at all...so much for his hope that maybe, just maybe, he might be an easier opponent than the lionesses. One blow after another was a lot to take, and rather than flail out in response to the latest, Khorshid stepped back to gather himself and prepare for another go.  

[mouselet]

So, the younger male knew enough to take a step back and out of the fray? It was a good move, a wise decision that might, if he was so lucky, offer the perspective needed to come back and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Might.

Huozin prepared himself to offer another mighty blow, but the shifting sand beneath his feet was briefly unstable, or so it seemed, and the red lion's legs buckled beneath him. How then would the gold react to this, he wondered?  

[Meepfur]

A moment to breathe, for his brain not to be rattling around in his skull, and Khorshid felt a little bit better. It was certainly a better idea than reactionary flailing, but whether or not that would be enough for him to finish this out better than he'd started it...

Well, he was certainly going to try. The other male stumbled aa the sand shifted beneath him, and Khorshid jumped in to try to take advantage of that...but the sand wasn't much kinder to him, and his own footing went unsteady, dampening the force of his blow.  

[mouselet]

Huozin sighed as his opponent stumbled as well, with only the sand to blame. True, it hadn't been the best move made by the Hunter who should have known better and had the experience to anticipate and avoid the desert's traps. But for the boy to fall as well...it seemed Finar-si was dead set against him at this moment.

Sighing, the red lion pushed himself to his feet. Time to end this farce.

Regardless of the fact that the gold lion was already on the ground, Huozin stalked over to him and levered a last powerful blow, meant to keep him down until the Hunter had departed.

"I like you," he told the stranger. "But unfortunately, you're just not good enough."

With those kindly unkind words, Huozin turned his back and left.