[CHAL] Hit me. (Surya x Astrid) [FIN]

[[Eskimo]]

Sūrya had started out by pacing far from the steep cliffs of the Myrsky Syntynyt for over an hour. He'd crept closer as the sun rose, for as the sun rose, so did Sūrya's confidence. The male was hungry for a battle--hungry for entry into the pride he craved to call home. He hadn't had a real home, not ever. The family he'd left behind in his adolescence was a joke. He wanted comrades. Kin. He wanted to be around others he could relate to, fight with, achieve glory with. This place was it, he knew it.

Now he was close and the lion amped himself up further by pacing quicker, shorter--gaze locking manically on anything that moved. Finally he started to call out lax jokes, then threats, then challenges. Time continued to pass and he mumbled, then snickered, scoffed, chuckled, then roared again above the crashing of waves, a mess of emotions and energy. He wanted someone. Anyone. He wanted--no, needed to fight. He needed to win. If anyone--

A figure appeared through the fog and Sūrya felt his muscles tense. He smirked in greeting.

"You're gonna fight me?" he asked, something in his tone not altogether respectful.  

[ChexaRain]

It was one thing, Astrid grumbled, to have her friend's mother meddle to get her to a Reaver status. But she just had to open her mouth when they were looking for someone to put on patrol of the borders today.
Of course, Astrid was thrown under the bush without a moment's notice, and Astrid could only glance in her direction to see her smug grin before she had to run out and take her rounds.
She had no qualms with the job, of course... when it was empty.
But she avoided it all the same because she just didn't want to have to challenge someone.
And then, there he was.
She groaned under her breath, eyeing him up and shaking out whatever weakness she could. When he questioned her, she angered slightly, though he wasn't wrong.
"And I take it you're here to challenge your way in?" She questioned sarcastically, ignoring his tone and giving one of her own.  

[[Eskimo]]

Sūrya sneered, but it quickly shifted into a careless grin. He was happy to see a pride member. It meant he was closer than before to gaining entry into the stronghold. Plus she had freckles. He liked freckles.

"You guess correctly," the male said. He positioned himself into a fighting stance, body low, hair bristling and tail lashing. He was ready. He was ready. Suddenly the smile was gone and he was glowering.

"Go on," he said, "hit me."

But he didn't wait long.

A spark lit Sūrya's eyes and he sprang forward, claws and teeth bared and ready to latch onto any anything soft and tear-able they could find. Blood, bone, sinew...

He'd go for the gut first.

ChexaRain

 

[ChexaRain]

Whereas the lion readied himself for a fighting stance, Astrid's fur ruffled out of one pure instinct: fear.
She was way, way out of her league on this one, but she would have to stomach it or never hear the end of it.
"Hit yo- EEP!" She squealed, managing to duck herself down as he sprung on her, quickly scrambling for higher ground as she stammered, "Does that r-really count as a 'Go'? I thought we'd, I don't know, count to three or..." She frowned, no.
She couldn't keep doing this. But she had an idea.
Mid-tirade, she made a gutsy throw and started looking for something that would give a definite height advantage, kicking rocks in Sūrya's direction to at least make some attempt to slow him down.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you it's not nice to attack a lady first?"

[Eskimo]

 

[[Eskimo]]

Sūrya balked.

He watched in utter confusion as the lioness dodged and stammered with what could only be described as fear. Battle-shy? How? He listened with vague attention as she rambled on, his body still keyed up for the fight, but the snake in the path had really stopped him in his tracks. Just as he was preparing to shout at her, he was showered with a rain of gravel and stones.

"ARGH!" he cried, mane shaking and paws swatting about in a feeble attempt to stop the onslaught. When it ceased he was seething, sclera red from dust and debris.

"I don't see a lady here," he growled darkly, "only a COWARD!" With a roar, he leapt towards her again.

ChexaRain

 

[ChexaRain]

Her nostrils flared as he called her a coward, and she turned on him just in time to see him leap at her and send her tumbling.
She quickly grasped him and dragged him along, using the force of her fall to try and throw him over as she fell back.
"I'm NO coward!" She gasped out, struggling to put a distance between the two of them and feeling the strain on her muscles from disuse.
Breathing heavily, she barked at him, "Cowards.... wouldn't belong... here... without being a Thrall."

Of course, she'd never mention the fact she'd been a Thrall once already. That might just be something he could hold against her once he won.
She just hoped he didn't murder her in the process, he seemed hostile.

[Eskimo]

 

[[Eskimo]]

The cliffs rolled and sand splashed as Sūrya went tumbling along with the lioness. She was more adept than she seemed, he thought, grabbing him like that. As he slid away from her throw, his shoulder scraped a rock, but he didn't feel the pain. That happened sometimes. It was a warning sign that the little spark in his brain was going to erupt at any moment into full-force flames, roaring and searing everything in their path. It was like savage and frenzied sleep-fighting, and he never had memory of it after. It's not that he hated it, but he was too pissed off to want that to happen now. He tried to stay focused, tried to shake himself and will himself to stay present.

The dust and sand made the lioness look like she had even more freckles.

As if time had rewound itself, Sūrya was suddenly grinning roguishly again as he had when the female had first approached him. He almost seemed friendly.

"You have some fighting spirit," he remarked with minor appraisal, his chest swelling as he tried to catch his breath. "And...maybe some skill," he shrugged, as if allowing her a favor. "If you'd actually try, anyway. But I feel like you won't. Or maybe...you actually can't," he continued. His eyes lit up again, but the friendly expression remained. "Maybe you are a coward...or a Thrall...but you could prove me wrong," he offered, "so go ahead." The smile faded and he searched her face for a moment, looking for something or just waiting. His lip curled and he bent his head low, eyes transfixed, claws sinking into the sand. "Go on," he urged in a growl.

"Hit. Me."

ChexaRain

 

[ChexaRain]

Astrid didn't know what to make of him, and she took a step back uneasily. She was full of self-doubt, her own inability to fend for herself coming to mind.
She took a deep breath. Now was definitely not the time for this, and even with her fears, she could not let him pass with his personality, fit for the pride or not.

She charged head-on, hoping to at least catch him off guard with the move and aimed to headbutt him in the face, secretly hoping she would give him a bloody nose to go with the piece of her mind she'd already offered.
If that didn't work, well.... She'd have to face those consequences later.

[Eskimo]

 

[[Eskimo]]

The charge was sudden and Sūrya moved to brace himself or dodge, but he got caught up in the decision between moving or staying. Part of him wanted to get hit, wanted to lose himself to the fight and throw himself head-long into the violence, but his instinct tugged at his paws to move. Amidst his indecision was the split-second realization that his paws were not suited for quick movements in sand.

All of this transpired in a mere second with the end result being that Sūrya could not do anything but take a full-force headbutt straight to the face.

After a thick CLONK sound, the lion staggered but one step backwards before his consciousness left him and his body landed heavily on its side, sagged, then lay still save for the gentle rising and falling of slumbering breaths.

His head would not feel so gentle when he next woke, and neither would his ego.

ChexaRain

 

[ChexaRain]

She hadn't expect to make contact, much less send the poor guy falling down. She herself landed on her haunches, holding in a shriek as she put her paws to her throbbing forehead.

She quickly shook it off, no time to panic no- Wait.... was he breathing?

A momentary lapse in judgement made her quickly scramble to his side to check if she'd killed him or not, holding her breath until she spotted the motion in his chest and sighed.

"That... was unexpected." She scoffed, proud of herself for a brief moment until guilt set in. "I am so, so sorry for that."

Unsure what else to do, she patted him awkwardly and looked around to see what she should do before deciding her rounds were up for the day. Surely she'd been out here patrolling around long enough that she could request a change of shifts?

She took off as fast as her legs could carry her in hopes that when he woke up, he wouldn't come looking for her.
She would die the next time for sure.

[Eskimo]