[DUEL] Livius/Zawadi

[RuIerr]

A new addition to the pride, the ever-ambitious Livius padded into an open area and glanced about. Earlier, when seeking to join the pride, he had met a nice, pretty black lioness that promised him a duel when he became eligible. Eager to prove himself and move up in the ranks, the lion roared out a challenge, hoping that the female would be near enough to take up the mantle.

It was important to be strong for his family in the Ukuhlwa'Izwe, sure, but it was even more important to him to gain status. After two failed attempts at joining the famed Stormborn, Livius heard of the rise again of the Outlands, a pride famed for their superior skills. Immediately, Livius had sought out the lands and lions within with the intent of finally (once again) belonging to something greater than himself - ever since his original pride, the Ashnai'le had disbanded, he felt eager to find his place in this world. And finally, he had found it. Now, to get on with this duel... he glanced about once more, believing to see the lioness slowly start to approach him (although, with the stormcouds above, he could be mistaking) - he was about to find out.

 

[RuIerr]

The young seer heard the roar and immediately saw a flash in her mind of the swirled lion she'd met just a few moons ago, Livius - an ambitious lion, he had forewarned her that he'd be seeking a duel with the intent to move up in the ranks, she just didn't expect it to be this soon. Padding towards the sound, she smiled. Coming off of a recent win, the Unbranded was soon to be granted title of Scar - a minor honor for a former rogue, but an honor nonetheless. Though not with the same aspirations as the lion she now approached, it was important to Zawadi that she prove herself worthy within the pride.

"I believe you were looking for me?" The lioness inquired, her bicolored eyes flashing as she grinned toothily. Even with the smile, Zawadi could feel her nerves start to build again. Livius was a strong lion, that much was evident from just taking a moment to size him up. He was practiced as a rogue - but he didn't know what the Outlands had to offer. Releasing her claws, she narrowed her eyes. "Your move."

 

[RuIerr]

As the female drew closer, Livius felt his lips pull into a grin. He would thank her for her appearance, but the large lion was a man of few words, and thus chose not to waste any. He bowed his head slightly, a sign of both reverence and thanks, before unsheathing his own claws. Although he had practiced his fighting skills much since hearing of the re-banding of the Outlands, that did not stop his tail from twitching with both anxiety and excitement at what was to come. This was his chance to finally show everyone what he was made of - none of those previous failures mattered now. All that mattered was what the future held, and he imagined himself victorious.

Crouching down, the lion roared once more and leapt at Zawadi - the name returned to his mind the second she made her appearance, with those striking eyes of hers - and aimed his claws towards her left shoulder, almost immediately feeling a connection when she failed to move out of the way.

 

[RuIerr]

Without even uttering a word (she would soon learn that this lion tended towards silence), the male before her crouched down and leapt towards her, immediately connecting with her shoulder - deep. Zawadi roared out in protest, determined to regain her position as lion with the upper hand. But with his largess - and, it seemed, his speed - her experience and position within the pride meant nothing. Wincing, the lioness took her right paw, claws extended, and slashed towards Livius' cheek.

 

[RuIerr]

When he saw the paw headed toward his face out of the corner of his eye, Livius dislodged his claws from Zawadi's left shoulder and jerked his head back. It succeeded - but not in doing much. Her claws still connected with his skin, slashing down his cheek just enough that he felt droplets of blood spring into his vision. His face screwed up into what he recognized as a wince, and a familiar feeling started to creep up onto him: rage. It didn't take much to release his inner monster, but here it was.

"Oh, now you've done it," he muttered. Kicking out his back feet, he aimed to trip her - and, feeling them connect with some part of her furry body, hoped he succeeded.

 

[RuIerr]

Zawadi cursed herself as she watched the lion jerk his head back, successfully dodging at least part of her attack. Although, she was pleasantly surprised to see blood bubble up to his skin. The lioness cheered silently, but was cut off almost immediately when she felt something large knock her off her feet. "Oof," she exerted, splaying out on all fours. She realized rather quickly what had happened - Livius used his feet to trip her up. Ruminating on how smart that was, the black female recognized that she was in a vulnerable position. She could see the male about to spring again, and immediately began to hustle her way back up on all fours.

 

[RuIerr]

Fortunately, the trick worked - his back feet had been successful in splaying Zawadi out on all fours. Almost immediately, he could see her mind working, focusing on how he had accomplished that. He smiled, feeling victorious, before readying to spring again - eyes grazing over her as she scrambled to get up. As she rose to her feet, Livius remained low and leapt forward with the aim of knocking Zawadi directly onto her back. If he could pin her down, he'd won - no question, she would be too small to get up from beneath the weight of his body. He felt his front paws connect with her shoulders...

 

[RuIerr]

Zawadi was in an awkward position - basically sitting, belly fully exposed - when Livius' paws connected with her shoulders, slamming her onto her back. She scrambled, trying to use her front paws to hold him back, but his own claws dug in at her shoulders, holding her down with the entirety of his body weight. Cringing at the pain it caused, Zawadi suddenly recognized the shallowness of her breaths. She looked up, glancing into the deep tawny eyes of her opponent, starting to breathe heavily. Welp, it looked like she could chalk this one up to a loss. But with that little trick tripping her up earlier, it seemed as if she couldn't have lost to a worthier opponent.

 

[RuIerr]

Connecting with her body, Livius felt her body give as she slammed backwards into the grass. He grinned, tempering his breathing to calm himself down after this apparent victory. Realizing his claws started digging into her skin as he watched her wince, he sheathed them once again. "Sorry," he muttered, the beast in him calming down and taking shelter deep within once again.

Beneath the wincing, Livius caught himself once more admiring the color of her eyes. Half pink and half purple, they shined, even without the sunlight to aid them. 'Thanks again for your willingness to fight me - sorry it didn't work out for you this time," he said, smiling still. "Looking for a rematch?"

 

[RuIerr]

Zawadi noticed the male taking notice of her in turn, and wished she felt uncomfortable about it. In truth, over the years she'd become all too familiar with male attention, and when the perpetrator was attractive, she couldn't find it within herself to hate it one bit. She smiled back, nodding in response. "Yeah, yeah," she said dismissively, rolling her big, beautiful eyes. Then, she became aware of the fact that he still had her pinned down - even without his claws, it wasn't the most comfortable and, quite honestly, was just kind of weird.

"Congratulations," she said, meaning it - then, "Now get off me," she huffed out, using her back legs to bicycle kick his body off of her. As soon as he was off, she rolled over and sprang up - feeling a bit of soreness in both of her shoulders, particularly the left one. Zawadi took a second to shake out her fur. "Let me know when you're ready for a round two," she stated, chuckling before swishing her tail and sauntering off, attempting not to put too much weight on her left side. She'd get him next time, she resolved, although she felt a surge of pride watching an Unbranded claw his way up in the ranks.