[JRP] Step Up (Hroarr, Ana)

[Talencia]

Hroarr technically didn't really have to take a turn facing those who wished to enter the pride. As a captain, he could side-step that in favor of letting his reavers take the responsibility. That wasn't really his style, though. If they needed to do it, then he would too. If he couldn't face the same trials and troubles as they, he didn't consider himself worthy of leading them.

Today he arrived to find a dark female awaiting him. He took a moment to assess her as he approached. She was small but wiry, reminding him somehow of a patiently coiled snake, muscular without being bulky or large. Her sharply contrasted yellow markings were clean, though her forelock was a bit tangled and long. She watched him just as closely, taking in his size, his balance, his posture. This could be a rather interesting fight, if she could hold up here end of it.

"Alright, come on then," he invited her, giving her the benefit of tensing himself for her initial onslaught.  

[Talencia]

Ana had taken the time to figure out what the process was to become one of the Stormborn. It hadn't surprised her that it required fighting prowess, but it had been a little daunting. Fighting wasn't something she had done a great deal of, though her body was well-honed by travel and hunting. She supposed that hunting was a sort of combat, but taking down prey was an entirely different matter from taking on a larger lion than herself and expecting to get the best of him. She eyed the male approaching warily, taking a deep breath and unconsciously tightening her muscles. This wasn't going to be easy, by any means.

However, just before she opened her mouth to present herself and her challenge, he merely invited her to attack him. This threw her entirely out of kilter, leaving her feeling unbalanced and at a loss. She had been looking forward to introducing herself by her new name, the name that seemed to fit her so much better than either her cub name or her adult name had previously. But now he'd stolen that from her with a casual indifference. Irritated, she lunged forward and swiped at his face, more a move of pique than a real attack. Unfortunately he wasn't playing by the same rules, or so it seemed to Ana.

When she lunged at him, he could see she wasn't prepared, and so easily dodged her clawed but generally aimless strike. He ducked his head to the side and swung his much larger paw. He kept it closed in a fist, whalloping her upside the head and sending her staggering to the side, eyes filming with a brief daze. "Focus!" he growled at her in admonishment, as he would have one of the training Freeborn. "Think before you strike!"  

[Talencia]

She shook her head, trying to clear the stunned feeling from her brain. He was right, of course... she needed to stay clearheaded and move with purpose rather than pique. She squared her shoulders and began to circle him. He pivoted rather than circled, forcing her to wear herself out. Catching on to this, she growled softly and pinned her ears. Time to get clever.

She zeroed her eyes in on his ribs, just above his elbow, pausing to coil her muscles in clear preparation for her next attack. She let him see it, and once more dove for him, eyes still pinned on that point on his body. However, this time she'd used her head. As he braced himself and curved his body to cushion her charge and get at her neck, she swiftly changed her angle. Instead of diving for his ribs, she twisted her neck back towards him and raked his jaw with her teeth, both along the side and in the more tender underside.

He was ready to give her another lesson in tactics when she did the unexpected, catching him unawares. He felt her score on his cheek and under his jaw, felt the hot pain of torn skin and blood. However, rather than dismay or chagrin, he felt a bright flash of battlejoy. Here was a girl who could take care of herself! His own jaws closed on nothing, of course, for she actually bounced off of his heavier shoulder, using her own lighter weight to her advantage.

He chuckled deep in his throat, almost a sort of vibrating snarl. He didn't compliment her aloud, but his eyes shone, and his tail lashed, and he watched her almost hungrily, looking forward to the next round. Under his breath, he murmured, "Come on, girl, come on!"  

[Talencia]

Ana saw the gleam in his eye and grinned fiercely back. "Focus you asked for, and focus you got," she told him sassily, tossing her head to get her long bangs out of her face. She licked the few drops of blood from her muzzle and dropped her mouth back open, inhaling his scent. He was strong, in his prime, and clearly used to being in charge. She paced around him once more, learning more about him from observation.

He had many scars, though none looked too serious. His pelt was a fascinating one, dark like hers, and also like hers streaked across with a bright marking that stood out. But whereas her own hide merely had swirls of a bright yellow, his looked like a burning tree, with rippling flames etching shapes across his body. It was almost hypnotizing, so that she had to drag her eyes from the colors and focus once more on his motion. No sense in inviting a surprise attack just because she found his markings appealing!


Her words amused Hroarr, eliciting a wide and toothy grin. Good, she wasn't intimidated by him! He fairly towered over her, though he knew very well that this didn't ensure that he would defeat her. He worked his jaw a bit to be sure it wouldn't distract him, then arched a brow as she spoke again.

"I am Anakain," she said proudly, as if the name should have significance. "You didn't give me a chance to introduce myself, but I think a name is in order after tasting your blood." Her wicked but mischievous grin made him chuckle again. She was a little spitfire! Even if she didn't win this challenge, he could tell she would not give up until she joined their ranks, and she would most definitely make a good addition to their reavers! He hoped she intended to become a reaver, at least. Shed' be completely wasted as a freeborn.

"Come at me again then, Anakain," he taunted her delightedly, "and I shall tell you my name if you score on me again." He narrowed his eyes and growled his next words. "But don't expect me to make it easy for you."  

[Talencia]

He wasn't pivoting this time as she circled, but merely watching her, turning his head and speaking to her after she'd spoken to him. She focused less on what he was saying, though that throaty sound of amusement or... pleasure?... did filter through. It sent an odd shivery feeling down her spine that she attempted to ignore, but couldn't quite. So when she dove for his haunches suddenly, she was once again unfocused and distracted. To her dismay, he clearly had been waiting for her to do something along that line.

Already committed, she couldn't stop while on three legs, with one over-reaching for the strike that never connected. In the slow motion that sometimes happens in battle, her paw descended slowly towards the ground, while her eyes rolled to see him bending in half with his own paw reaching out towards her dark haunches. She felt the impact of the force of his blow first, making her hind legs give some as she tried to lean away from the attack.

As her forepaw hit the ground, and her haunches began to finally move away and forward from the big male's paw, she felt the sting and tear of claws that had hooked in her skin and now were ripping free. She sucked a breath of dust in as time resumed a more normal pace. She spun around to face him, center of gravity defensively low, ears pinned and eyes dilated. That hurt! She snarled at him, hissing with whiskers spread wide.

He merely slitted his eyes at her assessingly and paced around her, not minding that he was going the long way and she was pivoting. Having to try to pivot with those clawmarks across her back and haunch would keep her off-balance more than enough. The question was, what would she do now? "Don't give it up, girl," he murmured to himself, not loud enough for her to hear. "Come at me, show me there is iron in that blood!"  

[Talencia]

The sad truth was that Ana was not at all accustomed to this sort of fight. Her closest experience would be taking on a large prey beast in order to feed herself. However, if she'd been injured this way from one of them, it was likely she'd have let it go and found something smaller and less capable of defending itself, merely for the sake of keeping herself fit enough to hunt another day.

This was not that sort of situation at all. This was something new, and something she was beginning to realize would take a great deal of work on her part. She was not well-equipped for it currently, though she was bound and determined that it would not keep her from accomplishing her goal. This was her chance to distinguish herself, her chance to make something of herself other than just a good huntress. This was her chance to excel and make for herself a name others would know and respect!

She gritted her teeth against the pain, eyes flashing with spirit. "I am Anakain," she muttered to herself, "I will not back down!" She attempted to think smart, and darted towards him, once more aiming towards his ribs. However, this time she tried suddenly shifting direction, hoping to get around his formidable jaws and around his other side before he could react. Had she been more practiced, had she been a little swifter and more lithe, it might have worked. Had he been less experienced, or had he not been so keen and knowledgeable, it might have worked. But sadly, she was not that lucky.

As she shifted direction, the ground beneath her paws betrayed her, letting her paws slip instead of grip. So although her body turned the right direction, her paws kept going their original direction. Time slowed once more, showing her his fierce expression as he shifted with her intent. His huge paw, claws extended, came arcing up as she careened downwards. His pawpads cupped her jaw, his claws drawing lines of heat as his paw continued up and her head slammed downwards.

The world winked out for a moment when her skull met the earth. She woke sluggishly to him leaning over her, watching her intently. He was careful not to show any concern or alarm for her safety. Whatever his own feelings might be, she had to contend for her place in the pride without being coddled. No one would hold her paw so she could become successful, certainly not him.

She sat up groggily, putting one paw to her head where it had hit the ground. He was pleased that she seemed to ignore her bleeding wounds. None of them were of any threat, though they were sure to burn. Pain was a part of life, especially if she was to become a reaver. It was good that she took her dose without complaint.

"You have lost your challenge, Anakain," he told her soberly, "but you have fought well. I am honored to have met your challenge." He stood from his crouch, looking at her thoughtfully. "You have not won today, and you may not win for many days yet." He waited for her reaction to that as sense returned to her eyes, and was pleased to see a flash of determination and a tilt of her chin as a reflection of that. "But I have no doubts that you will win, and that you will be welcomed into our midst." He gave her the faintest of half-smiles and gave her a stern nod. "Until next we meet, Anakain." And, true to his word, he did not give his name... after all, she had not managed to draw his blood a second time. Next time... perhaps she would earn that privilege.