[PRP] Face-Off [Iloziya x Naima]

[Ctrl F Greenie]

To say that he'd had a long night wouldn't be entirely false, the duel weighed heavy on him - not because he would have to fight Naima, but because of what the duel might mean. He'd taken pride in not having others know who he was and in a matter of minutes he might be unveiled completely.

As he rose from his 'sleep' he stood slowly, purposely and stretched allowing himself a chance to take the time to enjoy these moments. If he was going to blab about himself today he wanted to do it while feeling relaxed. "Now how much do I tell her. She did only ask about the Great Lion." He muttered to himself as he busied with some odds and ends around his den, not that they needed to be arranged in anyway shape or form, he was simply avoiding leaving his home to seek out todays competitor.

Eventually he gave into the inevitable exit and was greeted with a warm sun, soft breeze and call of some birds. This would have been an ideal day to sunbathe, could he convince her to do that instead? No, that would make him appear weak and probably whiney. The only way to get through this was to just get it over with.

So Ziya left his home to head towards their original meeting place the evening before. He wasn't sure that'd be where everything would happen, but he imagined that she may think the same way - worst case they could potentially spend all day just trying to find each other? He wouldn't be so lucky.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

He was most assuredly not lucky; just as she had mentioned previously, she had a knack for finding him. It was as if he had a magnetic pull that tugged her in his general direction. Besides, she had already confessed (rather publicly at that), that she was supposed to duel the disgruntled Reaver because she'd gotten on his nerves. Tethys had been understandably neutral towards the news, merely raising a brow at her otherwise standard antics. Frankly, he was just curious as to how many pieces she'd show up later as... Would she be whole, or would the healers be gluing her back together?

It was with a surprising amount of enthusiasm that the lioness made her way towards Ziya's home. He might have set out late, but she was always on time and she was definitely a morning person. His sleep might not have been ideal, but her's had been fabulous. One might have been so bold as to say that she was confident about today; she'd felled the big bad captain before, so she was bound to be able to take his Reaver down too, right?

...Granted, she'd probably have to play dirty.

Truthfully it was a guarantee; her tiny self could only win by exploiting an individual's weakness. Whether Ziya cared for it or not he was probably going to get kicked in the shins, knees and even his most vulnerable places so that her ladyship could win. Well, this was all under the assumption that she could get near him first, she was going to have to remember how she'd managed to do that with Tethys the last time.

"Oooooh darling challenger!" she sang. "It's time to duuuuuel!"

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

There she was.

Iloziya knew deep down that Naima wouldn't miss this chance for the world - win or lose she was the determined type - stubborn to the core. So to see the pale pelted lioness up and appearing to be filled with energy came as little surprise, unfortunately for him. "Good morning Naima." He stated plainly, ignoring her sing-songy attitude as best as he possibly could.

"Are you ready to be done with this?"

He asked her, also with very little enthusiasm. If there was an audience - which it appeared there would be, they wouldn't be getting an incredible show from him today - at least not emotions wise. He'd fight her like he'd fight anyone else that challenged, she had challenged and won her way into the pride so she was more than able to do this.

His only genuine concern was the after, if there was an after.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Well, you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, clearly," she pointed out.

She hopped up on to her back legs and gave a little series of punches into the air; if there had ever been a bundle of energy. it was her. She was more than ready to take him on and she'd have enough enthusiasm for them both as well. He might not put on a show but she was ready to kick his butt from here to the Pridelands if she had to. Maybe if she battered him hard enough she'd get all of that tension out of his muscles as well.

"Come at me, Ziya," she challenged and gave her paw a little wave. "I was born ready for the likes of you, your days are numbered!" she announced with a confidence fitting of a Viking. She might not have been a warmonger, but she had a fire that did prove useful and now that Tethys had taught her how to use it, she would make him proud. She wasn't a time waster, that was for sure, she might have wanted to be a bard and sing her little heart out but that didn't mean she couldn't kick a butt or two if she had to.

"Soon the secrets of your kitty will be mine," she pointed out and gave a merry smile.

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

What had he done.

Iloziya regretted this deal with her almost immediately as he had made it and yet he had still uttered the words. She was a morning lioness, he wasn't a morning anything if he could help and that shone brightly today - Ziya wasn't rocking his day at all.

"Alright already." He said, trying his utmost to place himself squarely in a position to battle. Ziya hadn't had the most practice in regards to fighting, but was aware of some tactics he'd picked up from his ex home as well as during his stint in the rogue lands, having participated along side his fellow reavers also helped. So when he readied himself he chose to lower himself a small amount and automatically felt his eyes narrow at the competition to nearly golden slits. Finally he rolled his shoulders, a couple of loud cracks signaled a release and relaxing of his bones. The sound was music to his ears and he nearly felt the effects immediately - needless to say he felt ready, besides the fact that he hadn't truly slept.

It was that lack of sleep that betrayed him during his first move - which he gladly accepted and he hoped upon hope that she was just trained enough to know how to fight, but not how to avoid this typical advance. Iloziya lunged forward, low to the ground and aiming for her legs - seeking a weak point in his opponent.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

The bigger lions always went for that, unfortunately for him, Naima's legs weren't her most vulnerable spot. Tethys had made sure to drill her endlessly in regards to those particular weak spots until she had found ways to cover them. Generally speaking her weaknesses came in the form of her size, she was just a rather small lioness who didn't have a lot of brute strength behind her. If she'd attempted to use brute strength then she'd be a laughing stock to the community and she wasn't about to let that happen.

She had a rep to maintain.

Thus, the petite lioness darted away from him immediately, using several of the boulders around her to cover her tracks and keep an obstacle between herself and her opponent. Her aim was simple of course, she was going to go for her tried and true tactic; if it could work for Tethys then it would be able to work for Ziya too! Truth be told, it could be pretty funny to see Ziya with a bald patch in his coat, he was far too pristine as it was, maybe if he was less than perfect for a while he would loosen up.

Who knew? Maybe he'd just have a hissy fit when he lost, because she was too stubborn to lose herself!

Abominable Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

Shoot. Her training had gone well, so it seemed and he'd have to think a little bit more outside of the box to actually do anything while working against her - he also made a mental note to find a new way of initiating. Iloziya felt a rush to his head as he ceased his moment, the lack of sleep had certainly weakened him to a point that he wasn't prepared to admit. So when she bolted away he took advantage and used to mere moments to recover as much as lionly possible.

In these moments he had wished he had been present at her joining, as it would likely have given him a better idea of how she'd operate. Given her ability to scoot away he assumed she would be using that speed against him in all ways. He sighed, this was going to be exhausting and then he had to spill his story after if he lost? The whole ordeal went back to the original question 'what had he done'. If only he hadn't uttered those words - regret was taking it's form.

Iloziya felt lucky that he did have his size, brute strength though - it was worth it's salt in most cases, he just wasn't sure it'd be this case. Not one to give up though he began the chase, attempting to predict her path in order to cut her off and gain some form of contact as he assumed if he made contact that would be it, she'd be his and his past would remain just that.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

He could chase her all he wanted, the fact of the matter was she wasn't going to come out from behind the rock because she had leapt up on to it. Once she'd gotten on to the first, she had somehow clambered up, and up, and up, until she was perched above him. It was there that she had waited for the perfect opportunity to strike... As he drew ever closer she kept low to the tip of the rock and only plunged down when he was within the perfect striking distance. Her initial assault was a simple one, she needed to land on his back.

She didn't aim to do any lasting damage in this move, she only sought to land on top of him and coil her paws around his neck. In essence, she wanted to get her perch ready so that just like Tethys, he wasn't able to shake her off. She might have been a small lioness but she'd always been a very good huntress in the roguelands, and it had been in large part down to the fact that she seemed to be able to stick to others like glue.

Suffice it to say that she wouldn't be so easily removed from Ziya's back at this rate!

"Goooood morning!" she sang from behind his ears, her usual merry smile on her lips. Even if he couldn't see it, he'd probably be able to picture it, especially with that tone of voice.

Abominable Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

Doooooomed. Brute strength wasn't going to win this for him and he wasn't near cunning enough at the moment to evade her leap, things were falling out of place - which he had almost expected, just not this quickly. When he felt the sudden weight dropped onto his back his instinct was to shake, he even knew that would do nothing, yet instinct took over. "Get off!" He shouted.

Of course he knew that would do nothing, duel aside, this was still Naima. Then that sing songy voice of hers rang in his ear. "Damn it." He muttered. Then he thought on the matter briefly and began using his surroundings a little more - would they save him? It was a better possibility than simply sitting here and looking foolish with a lioness on his back. So he began to throw his weight about, noting where the rocks were that helped her gain the height needed to land on his back. As he approached a rock he threw himself against it, hoping to catch pieces of her with it.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

Oh, oh, oh - she knew this move!

Well sort of.

As he slammed himself into the rocks she simply dug her claws into his shoulders. Her back claws sought his thighs and she adopted the stance she had used to win her Askorun. Suffice to say that she fully intended to outlast him, even if he threw her against the rocks repeatedly. Eventually he'd meet his demise, tiring himself out until he either fell over, or she ended up underneath him (not for the first time admittedly), but with enough left in her to give him a piece of modern art on his back.

It may not have been the most exciting of battles, Naima would never be able to go toe to toe with anyone larger than her... But it certainly demonstrated that there was more to her than met the eye at least. Perhaps Ziya could take comfort in the fact that he'd at least picked a reasonable lioness to dally with, even if she was utterly infuriating to him.

"Getting off would be a forfeit, I don't lose," she declared unapologetically as she dug her teeth into his ear.

Abominable Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

Finally he felt like he was getting somewhere with this and then he felt teeth sink into his ear, yelling out he decided that he'd have a good at Plan B. This lioness was certainly giving him a run for his money and at least he'd know for next time that he couldn't underestimate Naima - lesson learned. All he could hope at this point is that she'd feel a little of what he was doing to her and get a bruise or two. That way he'd have something to poke and prod while he told his story.

Ugh.

"Oh yeah? I'll just have to make you then.." He said, grunting with the effort of his next move that was something a little more extravagant than he expected. Pausing where there was quite a bit of room he coiled his legs and hoisted himself into a 'hand stand' so to speak that last seconds before he toppled over onto his back, and consequently onto her. "Ha!" He shouted, not sure if he even had anything to be excited about, but he hoped to celebrate if he could, before letting the pain set in that he knew would be an inevitable result of his choice.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

Oh god, yep, she knew this move.

She braced herself for the inevitable and as he crushed her beneath him, he would have made out the faint groan of the petite lioness underneath. This wasn't the first time she'd had a lion slam on top of her and to be honest it probably wouldn't be the last, this was her chosen tactic after all. However she didn't anticipate that it was ever going to get any easier, short of becoming completely immune to pain the bumps, bruises and potential broken bones were just going to be one of those 'risks'.

...But good lord was he heavy; she'd have called him fat but there wasn't an inch of it on him.

Alas, she urged herself to focus underneath him and then slowly, she began to repeat the torture she had performed on Tethys. Claws out, she began to slice at his sides, her movements might have been limited but that would only enable her claws to burrow into much more precise points until Ziya, like the Captain, had completely lost large chunks of his fur. In hindsight she rather wished she'd had her claws further up so she could take a longer line of hair off...but clumps would do for now!

They be a talking point at least.

Abominable Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

The groan was about as much satisfaction as he would get out of their quarrel it would seem as he did feel much like a winner as his plan went into full swing. His course of action had truly been the only one he could have thought of, but unfortunately it didn't really address the issue of the damned demon of a lioness attached to his back.

Iloziya inhaled quickly as he felt the sudden rapid movements of her paws doing gods only know what form of damage and as quickly as he could he sought to remove himself from the scene, but not before the damage was already done. "Naima, gods, what have you done!" He turned to see his back, nearest his hind quarters and the sight was not a pretty one. In those moments he lost dignity he didn't even know he had. His head spun with how quickly he'd gotten up, that and lack of sleep - it seemed to be working against him.

"God damn it, you win."

He cast a glare at her, but in truth he was proud - Naima was proving to be a resourceful lioness, albeit an annoying one. "You've earned your prize, meet me at my den this evening and I'll answer your questions."

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"I gave you a makeover darling," she pointed out as she managed to pull herself to her paws. She was a little achey, but anyone would be when something double your size had flattened you. Nevertheless, she was a touch proud that she had felled both the captain and his best friend, not may lionesses could say they'd done that and she had done it in style.

Take that, brute strength wasn't the answer to everything!

Still, as he strode off she couldn't help but grin at his missing fur clumps, that was going to take a while to recover from. In the interim he'd have to come up with a story as to how he'd got those injuries, maybe something more exciting that a lioness jumping on him and riding him into the sunset. That was for him to worry about though. she wouldn't intervene on that score, instead she'd simply go and get herself cleaned up - by the evening she'd be ready, and she'd be able to find out about this 'Great Lion' that he was so precious over...

Abominable Greenie