[Duel] Turiya vs. Qalb-az-Khorshid

[Meepfur]

((still backlogging things~))

Turiya was restless. She'd always been one to get bored very easily, and that had held true from cubhood right through to adulthood. She hated being idle, and was very much dissatisfied with anything that became routine. Now that she had fully settled into her role as a soldier of the pride it had lost a lot of the lustre it had once held for her. It was, obviously, a very structured life to lead, with a lot less 'real' fighting than she had dreamed about in her youth, which shouldn't have been at all a surprise, given that things had been peaceful throughout the entirety of her relatively short life thus far. There were stories aplenty about the turbulent past of the Motoujamii, from when they had been feared tyrants to a pride split by civil war to one united but then threatened by the Nergui, but they were all just stories.

These days, nothing like that ever actually happened, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but all in all it was rather boring. Her actual job was mostly patrolling, training, and sparring, and there were only so many weeks of essentially the same routine with little variance that she could tolerate. The arrival of their migratory neighbors to the south some months ago had been a welcome change, especially with the surpising discovery that some of them actually knew how to fight; she'd heard that, with the exception of the leading males, they were mostly hunters, so finding out that some of them were capable fighters had been unexpected. Granted, they were a faction that was apparently not an original part of the Ithambo'hlabathi, but they were now, and it was a welcome discovery.

It had been different, and a style unlike what she was used to, because Khazine and her kin were mostly quite a bit smaller than the average Firekin, and relied more on speed and precision than brute strength, but they weren't to be underestimated at all. They might be little, but they were vicious. But after awhile, even that, too, began to feel like more of the same. It was still interesting, still a good change of pace from time to time, but it wasn't new anymore.

So in this visit to the Outpost, rather than look for one of the southerners to spar with, she decided to test a rogue instead. He was a bit larger than average for an outsider, and looked to be right on the edge of what the pride considered acceptable coloration, but since that wasn't her call to make, it was a detail she dismissed and put out of mind. What she did notice, though, was that he was nervous - holding himself together quite well, over all, but there was a fidget in his stance, and uncertainty in his eyes.

If he was going to join up, he needed to be certain. She could tell already that this duel wasn't going to go his way, but maybe it would clarify something for him.

"Ready or not," she said with a grin, and gave no more warning before lunging forward to strike.  

[Meepfur]

While certain about his decision to join the pride, convinced and adamant that it was the right thing to do, Qalb-az-Khorshid was less certain about his ability to do so. Sure, he knew how to fight, he'd spent time as a pilgrim in unclaimed territories and was well familiar with danger, but it had been a long time since he'd done any fighting, and he wasn't exactly...overflowing with raw talent. He was certainly out of practice, and now that he was face to face with a Firekin warrior, it would be a lie to say that he wasn't intimidated and that he very much hoped that Psyche wasn't watching. He refused to let himself look, because he was nervous enough as it was.

It was probably daft as could be to have feelings for someone he'd now met all of twice, but there it was. He did. Maybe it had to do with how much time had passed since they'd first met, which had left him a lot of time to dwell on their encounter, on how she was doing, first out on her adventure and then back in her desert home. He'd thought about her so much more than he really should have, if he was being honest, and gotten attached to the very idea of her. He had been so eager to see her again, and when he finally had, she'd been so very sad, and he couldn't stand for that.

If there was even the slightest chance that his doing this could lead to happiness for her, it would be worth it.

Even if it hurt.

Even if the red-striped lioness hit like a rhino.

The force of her blow sent him staggering, left his head ringing in such a way that he couldn't even retaliate, just move back while he tried to shake coherent thought back into his head.  

[Meepfur]

Oh, precious little rogue! So very much not ready, apparently. Turiya couldn't help but laugh, although it wasn't a cruel or scornful sound. She enjoyed fighting - and winning, of course! - with every fiber of her being, but she wasn't a malicious sort. Which was why she gave him a moment, rather than pressing her attack and knocking his tender head into the ground. "Do you need a minute?" she quipped, circling around the golden male. "Take your time, I don't mind."  

[Meepfur]

"I'm- I'm fine," he insisted once he could string the words together, shaking his head again to further clear it. He wasn't sure if it helped or just rattled his brains around some more, but it was worth a try. She was laughing at him, and he supposed it probably was ridiculous - the fight had only just started, and already he'd needed a breather! This was...definitely going to be as difficult as he'd been afraid it would be, but there was no going back now.

He took a deep breath and bounded towards his opponent, swiping out with a heavy swing of his paw.  

[Meepfur]

It was a move Turiya could see coming from a mile away; the rogue was clearly not a very experienced fighter, as his body language gave away exactly what he was going to do before he had a chance to do it. She danced easily out of the way of his attempted strike, although she didn't take the opportunity to strike back. She wasn't here to humiliate him! Maybe, however, she could teach her something.

"You're way too obvious," she told him. "If you look where you want to hit before you actually do it, I can tell what you're going for."  

[Meepfur]

"But if I don't look first," he complained, confused, "How am I supposed to aim? Surely you don't just swing blindly, or you'd never hit anything!"

"You do need to see your opponent, but you can't just stare right at the spot you want to hit! A lot of it is practice, which you obviously don't have," she noted with a chuckle. "Fighting's a lot more than just hitting things. Come on now, try again!"

He felt ridiculous; he knew she wasn't being condescending, but he still felt like a child. Still, he did try again, and this time, he did connect...and suspected it was because she'd let him.  

[Meepfur]

"Better!" she declared brightly. True, she hadn't moved as quickly as she could have, but just kicking his a** wouldn't teach him anything. If he really meant to join, he'd be doing this again, and if he was ever going to win, he needed better technique than what he had. He wasn't hopeless, just very green, and very nervous. Two things that were simple fixes.

Pity or no, though, she wasn't going to let him completely off the hook. "But," she added, one large paw reaching out to sweep his forelegs out from under him while he was distracted by the simple fact that he'd managed to hit her, "You still need to pay attention!"  

[Meepfur]

Oof! Down he went, his own feet taken right out from under him - how embarrassing! But she was right, he needed to pay attention, not let himself be distracted, even by his own continuing humiliation, and so he rolled to his feet and up into her, trying to unbalance her.  

[Meepfur]

Poor rogue, she almost felt bad for doing that to him, but he really did need to l-

"Hey!" His head cracked right up against her chin, causing her to bite down on her own tongue. Not exactly a conventional move, but she couldn't deny that it had worked, and had to laugh at herself - and utterly missed in her attempt to strike him, because suddenly it was very difficult to take any of this seriously.  

[Meepfur]

"Would you- would you stop laughing at me already?" Words he was laughing around himself, because this was just such a ridiculous mess. A spectacular failure on his part, sure, but at least he had lucked into dueling someone with a sense of humor, and enough pity to try to teach him something instead of mocking him or writing him off.

"Alright, so I definitely...need some more practice," he panted. "But I'll be back!"  

[Meepfur]

"You'd better be," Turiya replied with a snort, "And next time, you'd better mean it. If you're not sure, you'll never win."