[DUEL] Movements (Qalb-az-Khorshid & Eish)

[mouselet]

Eish didn't often participate in the testing of rogue lions who would join the pride. It wasn't that she had no interest, rather that her interest was easily caught by other things, such as the patterns left by wind upon sand, the marks left by paws upon sand, the faintest of scents carried into the desert upon the strongest breezes...

...some people thought she was a little weird, to say the least. But, she was still Firekin born and bred, even fireless as her fur proclaimed. And so she found herself confronting a golden male, colored like the sand itself.

He'd been hanging around the Outpost for a moon, or so she'd heard. Or had she seen it? Regardless, the time past mattered not and it was the time present that counted. She stood before him for endless long moments, until the wind and sun were right and then, only then, did Eish attack. Best he see up front how harsh the desert could be.  

[Meepfur]

A month.

A month.

Qalb-az-Khorshid was well and painfully aware that he was pushing the limits of how long he could linger at the Outpost. He had lost four duels. Four. Despite being a relatively young, relatively large lion who did know how to fight, and had been training incessantly since he'd resolved to join the pride. It had been within his grasp last time, but the sand had been his undoing at the last, humiliating moment.

And this...this would be his last chance. Maybe for awhile, or maybe forever. Psyche had been nothing but supportive, but if he failed again and had to leave, would she even want him to return. Perhaps it would be better if she simply moved on.

His latest opponent's opening blow hurt, but not nearly as much as that thought, and it was a pain he used to lash out in retaliation.  

[mouselet]

The blow she received hurt, but Eish had suffered worse. It was not as painful as the sun was bright, after all. And a good retaliation for what she'd done to him. Yes, even if there was no trace of red in his fur, there was fire in this one. Or maybe just frustration at spending a moon trying to join the pride.

He must have very strong reasons, to have tried and failed so many times already.

Still, the sun was harsh and the sand was slippery, and Eish could see that if she let up, relaxed her guard, it would go ill for them both. If he was to become Motoujamii, he must be the best. It was her duty to help him reach that peak.

With this thought in mind, the white lioness attacked once more, holding nothing back.  

[Meepfur]

She hit him a second time, showing no more mercy than her predecessors. Not that he expected any, as that would defeat the entire purpose of this process, but it would be a lie to say that he wasn't tired - not physically, but emotionally. He still wanted this - more, even - but he kept building himself up only to be torn down again to start over, and it was by far the hardest thing he'd ever done. Was it like this for others who tried to join, or did fate just have it out for him?

He tried to put it out of his head and moved to attack again, but slipped in the sand and missed.  

[mouselet]

Hmmm. Down on the ground now? The sand was unkind. Or perhaps he did not know enough to listen, to watch, to see what would happen. Truly, Eish wished to help him, but she could only do that if he managed to defeat her, or at least sufficiently impress her.

She wanted to hold back, but the sun and sand insisted otherwise. Sighing, the white lioness attacked her opponent yet again. The world was cruel, and so must she be.  

[Meepfur]

Another hit, like salt in a wound. It didn't go this poorly when he trained, so why did he get so soundly boxed around every time it actually mattered? He found his feet again and reeled back to give himself room to move and a moment to collect himself.  

[mouselet]

When the gold lion showed signs of wanting to regain his feet, Eish saw no reason to prevent him. After all, it was best to face one's fate standing tall, rather than cowering against the ground. Although he wasn't wincing away from her too much...yet.

Still, the lioness took a step back to provide her opponent with some space, allowing him the chance to regain his breath and composure. She did not want to beat him into the ground, after all.  

[Meepfur]

It was good of her to give him a moment to right himself when she could have just pummeled him into the ground, which by this point was a kindness he most certainly didn't expect. And since she was kind enough to give him that moment, he owed it to her to give it his best effort.

...which meant lunging in to strike at her, which was an odd way to show gratitude when he thought about it that way.  

[mouselet]

Well, this was certainly more of what she'd wanted to see from the start, Eish thought as she took the blow. It forced her backward a couple steps, which wasn't great in terms of combat, but did show promise. Perhaps he'd gotten frustrated with the attacks she was landing. Either way, this was more like it!

Borne onwards by her joy in the fight, the lioness ended her judgement with another strong swipe. He wasn't defeating her today, but at least it had been fun!  

[Meepfur]

Everyone in this pride just hit so damn hard; did a single one of them ever have a bad day, or were they always this on point with everything? Or did he just keep getting lions who went especially hard on him for some reason? His colors weren't the most traditionally acceptable, he knew. Or maybe fate was trying to tell him something. Well, if it was, Khorshid refused to listen, because he wouldn't give up unless Psyche told him to. Which...she might, after this.

The male struck out one more time, but it wasn't anywhere near the sort of blow the pale lioness had landed again, so he backed off and bowed his head respectfully. He knew without being told - or worse, smacked again - that he had failed today. Again.

So many times that he should make himself scarce.

mouselet

 

[mouselet]

"As it seems, today is not your day," Eish told the stranger. The lioness didn't bother telling him that she'd seen his defeat from the start - there was no need to diminish his resolution.

"Still, you have heart. Perhaps you can find the fire within to bring out your true strength. Another day." The Huntress nodded courteously before heading home once more. It had been exciting, but he must be rather disappointed by another failure.