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Move 1: Hit

Well.

Mat stood at the edge of the sands where the next battle was to be fought, tail swishing in irritation. Apparently she and one other lion had an extra battle to go through to see them to the next round. She wasn't sure why she and this male had been selected, but she wasn't happy about it. The lioness was sure her opponent couldn't be, either. Having to jump through one extra hoop to reach the same level as the three other contenders? Bah...she could do it.

"Whoever wins this little extra round had better go on to be the General," she growled, letting her irritation be known to Vasuman. He was the brother of one of the Regents so she supposed it was nice to know he wasn't immune from this little random selection process, but it didn't mean she was going to go any easier on him. Letting her irritation fuel her, she let out a snarl and darted forward, eager to get the spar underway. She charged at Vasuman full-tilt, ready to slam her shoulder into his chest.

Move 2: Glancing blow
Total: 5

Mat felt her shoulder connect with the large male which sent him enough off balance that her retreat mostly worked. She felt his paw nick her on her hindquarters as she darted back, bright eyes peering out at the dark red lion from her own black pelt. They were here for a reason, she thought to herself as they circled one another. Perhaps they were the best of the best and they wanted this fight to happen now to give others a chance. Either way, she couldn't let her guard down. She was battling yet another soldier and she knew that Vasuman wasn't going to go down easy either.

This wasn't a match where biding her time was going to do her any favors. Vasuman wasn't going to let an opening escape him and neither was she. She darted in quickly but not as full-on as she had at first, putting on the breaks to swipe at the male's paws, hoping to get him to hop back and away from her attack.

Move 3: Miss
Total: 6

He was quick, Mat had to admit. For lions of the Firekin's size it was sometimes hard to find a large lion that had speed to match their strength. Often they were lumbering brutes rather than quick on their feet, but even soldiers had to learn how to avoid attacks that were simply too powerful to take full force.

Settling herself onto her paws and getting her balance back, Mat found herself being charged at. She lowered her head, ready to pounce, but saw the weight change at the last moment. The nudge to her shoulder would have sent her tumbling, but thanks to her quick reflexes she managed to absorb most of the blow and only stagger a few paces to the left.

Or at least, that was the plan. As she staggered she reached out to try to catch Vasuman while he ran by, but her swipe was a little too late and it sent her reeling. It took her a moment to catch her balance, but she found herself on her paws, facing the other lion once more. Thank the gods for reflexes and her training.

Move 4: Hit
Total: 9

Mat bared her teeth as Vasuman charged in for another attack, this time with a roar that seemed to split the air. She returned his vocalization with her own, twin noises filling the air. She was going to go down without a proper battle and this wasn't over yet. Although he had her in size she knew that wasn't everything when it came to battles. In this case, though, she certainly felt his strength as he plowed into her, knocking her from her paws. She slid a few paces in the sand before getting to her feet, her chest and shoulder aching from where Vasuman had slammed into her. It seemed his own attack had thrown him from his paws as well.

Using the daze Vasuman seemed to have knocked himself into, Mat took the chance to charge forward. She ignored the ache in her shoulder as she ran forward, striking at his head with a paw. If he was already rattled she was sure that was the area to aim for. Hopefully she could keep him on the ropes, so to speak.

Move 5: Hit
Total: 12

After landing her hit, Mat was quick to disengage far enough that any wild strike might go wide. And wide it went, thankfully, because she knew that fighting from desperation or pain was sometimes more dangerous than a well thought-out move. She had seen prey animals take down well-trained hunters before and it wasn't a pretty sight.

She didn't keep her distance for long, though. With one more roar she charged forward, eager to end the spar. She lowered her head as she charged, throwing her weight into her shoulder and into Vasuman's chest to try to topple him to the sand once again.

Mat stood a safe distance from Vasuman, breathing heavily as she waited for him to rise from the sands. It seemed he was done, though, which allowed her the luxury of relaxing for a moment. She let out a slow breath before lifting her head, ears back in a defiant way. She had gone an extra round against a formidable opponent and come out on top.

His honest-sounding congratulations allowed her a tiny smirk in return, and the nudge had her pushing back in a teasing way.

"That's right," she agreed. Had she been the loser she would have said the same thing and she would have been roaring and cheering for him the rest of the tournament. It seemed she had one more on her side now. Pleased with herself and the outcome, she headed off of the sands as well to rest.