Welcome to Gaia! ::

She was nervous. She had never done anything like this before so the fact she had made it through the 1st round had been a huge feat in her mind. Though she hadn't boasted about it, she hadn't wanted to seem smug or come off as snobbish or something.

So she was to go up against Paropakari. She wasn't familiar with the name though his markings were quite familiar. They definitely stood out in a crowd and she was fairly certain she had seen some cubs running around with some much like them. It was quite likely she had seen relatives or at least offspring of his.

Preparing herself for the second round she gave a small shake and squared up against him with a smile on her face. She was sorta enjoying this and having a fun time of it to be honest with herself.

It was her turn to go first and she hoped she did well. "Good luck." She said to him with a smile and a bow. This was the first male she had gone up against so she was a bit nervous about the whole thing. She took in a deep breath before moving forward and taking a solid swipe. She felt her paw connect, while lightly it was still a good hit she believed..

So far so good, she hoped he was able to get in a good hit or two in the process. She knew that she had at least one hit and if that was all she got the whole round she would be at least pleased with that.

As he struck it was a solid hit and she was glad that so far it was so good. They were both tied, one hit and one hit. She had to re position herself after his strike and did the best to give a solid attack back, her paw just glancing against him. It was still a hit though and she did what she could to not smile.

This was quite fun and she was very excited that she was looking to be ahead once again. Though the last fight had been nerve wrecking, each of them missing many times before Amaris had come out on top. This time she was seeming to do quite well up front.

She braced herself for a hit that never came and she took the opportunity to move forward in an almost brash manner and strike, her paw landing squarely against him.

That was three hits and she couldn't help but feel a beam of pride spread through her and she turned to face him properly.

"It was a fine duel." She said to him, pride in her eyes and in her voice. She knew this was as far as he would go, but he had still done well she had thought anyway.

While she felt a small pang of guild that the male hadn't beat her she was still fairly excited about the whole ordeal.

And it was all over- as soon as it began. She landed another, fair hit and that was that. When her paw made contact with his shoulder, he had to skid to a stop, for the lion was intending to use his momentum for his next attempted attack. He righted himself and, panting, he bowed his head to the victor.

"Well fought, Amaris!" He smiled at the lioness and did a mental inventory of all his damaged and undamaged parts. Well, he was truly no worse for the wear. That was a nice thing about duels like this, especially as he was apparently not quite the fighter that he'd thought he was (which was not much of one to begin with).

"And to you! I'm Paropakari Chochokpi, of the Bird clan. You may know my mate, Gopala, and I better for the nine, bright adolescents running around." He smiled a crooked smile. He loved nothing more than his mate and their giant family but they were sure exhausting most of the time.

He shook his head, though.

"It's better this way. Gopala is a real worrier, and the kids don't need to get any ideas in their heads from watching and start trying out any moves they learned out on their old man."

"And you?"

"Perhaps!"

He watched the lioness leave and wondered the next time they might run into each other. He supposed, per tradition, next year at the next sky festival. He hoped she'd do well in the meantime and at advance at least one more round to make his loss more palatable.