[Duel] Qalb-az-Khorshid vs. Erle

[Meepfur]

((still backlogging away~))

Qalb-az-Khorshid had had a very, very strange week. Spirits, he'd had a very strange several months, starting with when a total stranger had propositioned him about wanting his cubs. In a very polite, sweetly awkward sort of way, which had been especially odd given that it had all be coming from a fairly large, muscular lioness of the infamous Firekin. So. Very strange. Fast forward to his coming to visit all these months later, hoping to meet the, ah...results, only to find that there were none. Which somehow had him volunteering to join, because of course that was a terrific, well-thought-out idea.

Not that he regretted it, not for a moment. He was just worried he would fail at following through, and crush Psyche's renewed hope. He did wonder, quite often, what she found special about him; while he'd often thought of her, he'd told himself it was a silly notion to be besotted by someone he'd spent relatively little time with and then been apart from for months. He'd thought of her far too much, built up an ideal of her in his head, and yet in meeting her again, she hadn't failed to live up to it. It seemed impossible that she had been through anything similar, but it wasn't as though there was any shortage of males around here, so...

Thoughts that had circled around and around in his mind over the last week, from his first failed challenge to the days training to be ready for his next. Thoughts he needed to put out of his mind for now, or he'd be too distracted to focus on the task at hand.

Facing his new opponent, he nodded, trying to look confident, and took a cue from his first fight, lunging forward to strike first. It had worked for Turiya, maybe he could make it work for him.  

[mouselet]

Erle was thrilled to be participating in this, her first real duel as a Firekin. Oh sure, she'd sparred with people (mostly siblings) before and after leaving as a huria, but that was different. Practice. Not at all the same as facing a potential new pride member.

He was fast, too, the lioness realized as he struck her shoulder solidly. She batted the offending paw away, taking a couple steps back out of his reach to recover.

Still, that was certainly a good way for him to start off, by attacking her full out. Erle supposed it remained to be seen if he could keep it up.  

[Meepfur]

It...it had actually worked! His practice had paid off! Khorshid was pleased and proud as could be that his imitation of Turiya had scored him a hit - maybe a little too pleased. Eager to keep up such momentum, and playing over her advice to not let his eyes give away where he intended to strike, he swiped again.

...and missed. It was possible he'd gotten a little bit ahead of himself.  

[mouselet]

Well, that could have been bad, or so Erle reasoned as she watched her opponent's strike go wide. This was, after all, a key reason why she'd backed up while attaempting to brush him off after that impressive first attack. Still, one hoped that he hadn't already shown his full range with two measly attempts. There needed to be a lot more to a lion if they were going to join the Motoujamii.

The yellow lioness decided to wait and see what he did without input. She held her ground, but didn't venture any attacks. Nor would she retreat. Often, the battle went to the most patient, not the one who flailed around soonest.  

[Meepfur]

Well, that was...that was embarrassing. He'd let himself get too excited over landing a hit and subsequently failed to land another. He needed to calm down and slow down, and remember why he was doing this, why it was so important to do this right, and yet not dwell on it so much that his nerves ate away at him. It was a fine line, and one that he didn't quite know how to walk.

His opponent held her ground without attacking, and he took a moment to steady himself before attempting another strike - one that barely touched the lioness, but he supposed it was better than missing completely.  

[mouselet]

Erle wondered if she was making the lion nervous. After his rousing opening, he'd faded quickly and now it almost seemed like he was afraid to strike a lioness who was merely standing still, watching him. Well, maybe it was unsettling to fight someone who just stood and watched. And had thus far only moved defensively.

So she'd experiment a little. Erle lashed out with a paw of her own, one that wasn't intended to land a full blow. Just to see what her opponent would do in response to that.  

[Meepfur]

Maybe it had been a mistake to remind himself about why he was doing this, because once he let those thoughts back into his mind, they all but took over. If he failed a second time, would Psyche even want him to try again? Maybe, after seeing this, she would decide that he would be a terrible choice to sire cubs. That he wasn't strong enough, or a capable enough fighter. She had an important rank, after all...wasn't it important that she choose only the best?

Which, so far, it looked like he was not. As the yellow lioness' blow glanced off of him, he tried again to land one of his own.  

[mouselet]

...this was getting pathetic. She'd noticed his build was smallish and slim, as opposed to her own Motoujamii born-and-bread size and musculature, but that wouldn't stop a lion determined to join the pride. But the longer this duel wore on, the clearer it became that her opponent just wasn't committed to it. He just didn't have the drive to win, and so even if she did nothing, it seemed clear he was going to lose.

Well, Erle wasn't one of those lionesses who simply had to dominate everyone in her path. She aimed another blow at him, but again checked its power and destination to avoid doing a serious amount of damage. If he knew anything about combat, he'd be able to tell that she wasn't even putting as much force into these as she would in practice.

Frankly, he wasn't worth it.  

[Meepfur]

The sad part was, he was really trying, he really did want this...and that was the problem. He was desperate, and nervous, and couldn't get out of his own head and, more importantly, out of his own way. Though it wasn't for lack of trying, it seemed his first blow would be the only one he would land today, and it was utterly humiliating.

As humiliated as he was, he couldn't just give up now, even if he felt like he was just wasting her time. He tried, one more time, to land a blow, but it was barely worth even mentioning.  

[mouselet]

She was very tempted to just stand there and yawn in his face. But that would be inescapably rude. And mean. Frankly, Erle pittied him more than anyhting else, and his pathetic excuse for a blow wasn't even worth dodging at this point. She wasn't even certain how he managed to kill enough food to eat, he was so gentle and weak.

Bah, enough of this. The lioness was clearly wasting her time here, dueling with this pathetic excuse for a lion. Straightening up and squaring her shoulders, Erle charged straight at her opponent for a savage headbutt. It was a fitting way to end this awful combat attempt.

"Hmph. Fireless one, come back when you find gravel to put in your guts. Or, better yet, don't return at all," the lioness informed her opponent coldly before turning to go home.

Maybe she wouldn't tell Geni about this duel. It was just too ridiculous.