she doesn't move until the moon rises high enough that the beams can cast light light through the holes in the roof of the hollows. she's been here just long enough that her eyes have adjusted to the darkness, but even so, saga is careful as she makes her way to a wide room. the ground is soft underfoot but relatively clear of debris and she absently bats a larger stone off to the stone.

she wonders, briefly, if magnus will be delighted or disappointed she's already planned to ascend the ranks. perhaps both. he should know, at least, that she's not one for idle hands. saga lifts her split face to the moon and her eyes slip shut. soundlessly, her lips move, raising penance to vellen. asking him to lead her paw, whether it be in win or loss.

that done, saga lowers her head. she circles once, clears her throat, and roars out a challenge: defend your position. her weight settles onto her squared limbs, tail curling around one hind limb and her outstretched claws flexing against the stony ground, covered in that inch layer of dirt.

saga vs @Brigid
for Gentry
0/3

long way down to the bottom of the river

Hold my hand Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down. The wolves will chase you by the pale moonlight. Drunk and driven by a devil's hunger. Drive your son like a railroad spike into the water, let it pull him under. Don't you lift him, let him drown alive. the good Lord speaks like a rolling thunder. Let that fever make the water rise and let the river run dry. And I said 'Hold my hand.'

code by corvus

It is eerily quiet within the caverns, perhaps more so than usual. The mahogany woman lies in wait, her ears flicking precariously atop her skull as she rests. Sleep evades her even now, with the recent events in her life she found it quite hard to simply just sleep her time away, not with all of the complications that had surmounted around her. So instead she remains stretched out listening to the wholesome quietness until it is no longer. A call resounds through the caverns around her and the woman rises with ease. Her suspicions were correct, Magnus' sisters intended on digging their claws into the Hollows in any way, shape, or form - however what they wouldn't be anticipating would be the response from the blind woman. Respect was earned, not given. She took her time making her way through the caverns and at this point she knew them like the back of her own paws. She could smell her opponent before the brief bits of moonlight cast her shadow in her direction. Saga. Brigid stifled a chuckle, it was cute how she wanted to show her worth. The blind woman squared her shoulders, ears plastered against her head as her hazy gaze was sent in the general vicinity of the challenger. "Let's not waste each other's time, hm?" She said then with a smirk before she was lurching forward, after all Brigid was never really a woman of words, she preferred action. Long, measured strides brought her as close to her opponent as she could manage before she attempted to strike outward with her left front forepaw, hoping to aim for Saga's chest and slice. Meanwhile she tucked her head ever so slightly to protect her own neck in the process, her tail splayed out stiffly behind her to help support her balance all the while. Brigid vs. @Saga For Gentry Round 1/3 Hits: Rolling 6d20: 20 + 10 + 12 + 9 + 3 + 8 Dodges: Rolling 3d20: 6 + 4 + 7

yumpy

when brigid arrives, saga's eyes narrow. "brigid," her voice is flat, just this side of judgmental. she's never outright disliked the woman, but finds her disability... damning. she'd married into the sigrun, perhaps that was why vellen let her continue on in the family. she almost calls the whole thing off; would magnus deny her the rank if she takes it from a blind woman? she scoffs, but the woman shoves aside any concerns.

she lunges after a moment's warning, and saga's dark lips twist. her opponent in larger and her strides wider - she's upon the chimera in a moment. her left paw swings out, claws wide as they crash into saga's left forechest, just below the shoulder. her pale fur is bright with red, almost immediately, the wounds standing out stark on her monochrome body.

brigid ducks her head slightly and saga reacts like a coiled snake, thrusting her head down and to her left. her jaws open and attempts to wrap them around brigid's left forepaw, the one that sliced through her chest, and grip hard - enough to tear the flesh but with less pressure than ever would be needed to fracture or break anything; they're fighting for a rank and she'll not maim a pridemate. simultaneously, she swings her right forepaw up and flexes her claws as she tries to slice along brigid's sides, along her ribs, in a wide arc.

Saga vs @Brigid
1/3
For Gentry

Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 4 + 14 + 18 + 16 + 6 + 3

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 10 + 8 + 3 + 11 + 16

long way down to the bottom of the river

Hold my hand Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down. The wolves will chase you by the pale moonlight. Drunk and driven by a devil's hunger. Drive your son like a railroad spike into the water, let it pull him under. Don't you lift him, let him drown alive. the good Lord speaks like a rolling thunder. Let that fever make the water rise and let the river run dry. And I said 'Hold my hand.'

code by corvus

There is a cool indifference as Saga regards her with a curt "Brigid". It isn't as if the two women weren't cordial with one another, after all they were familiar. But if there was anything that was certain it was that they would both fight tooth and nail for what they wanted. Brigid would not belly over simply because she was blind and she didn't expect Saga to take things easy on her either. She didn't want her pity, she wanted her to show her what she had to offer. Closing the distance between herself and her opponent was relatively easy and when her claws sliced down the left side of Saga's chest Brigid felt invigorated; it was enough to spur the blind woman onward and left her hungry for more. In one swift movement Saga is lashing out, her teeth clenching Brigid's left wrist within her grasp. A low snarl is uttered as her skin splits, droplets of blood immediately coursing down the paw all the while. Simultaneously she manages to slice down the left side of her ribcage causing decent lacerations that not only would bruise the area but send blood spilling as well. With determination Brigid forces her left front forepaw back to the cave flooring, ignoring the ripping of her flesh between Saga's teeth for now. Instinctively she swings her hips outward and to her left in an attempt to slam Saga's right shoulder area with a hip check. She hopes to catch her off guard long enough before she twists, her jaws then snaking out as she attempts to clip the right side of Saga's face with her teeth. Brigid vs. @Saga For Gentry Round 2/3 Hits: Rolling 6d20: 2 + 7 + 6 + 16 + 10 + 20 Dodges: Rolling 3d20: 18 + 12 + 1

yumpy

brigid wrenches her paw free from the woman's mouth and after a moment's hesitation she relinquishes the hold to keep from shredding the limb too badly. her right paw scratches along her opponent's side and settles back on the ground just in time for the current gentry to swing herself in a perpendicular manner. surprised by her agility ( and impressed despite herself ), saga lurches backwards in an attempt to avoid the collision. it only delays the inevitable, however, and as she shifts backwards, the impact of brigid's hip on the edge of her shoulder spins her in the opposite direction. with her weight on her hips, brigid's ram pushes saga's front end to her right, so that they're standing perpendicular again: brigid's hip to saga's ribs. she's not finished, however, and swings her head around in an attempt to snag the face that had been there moments ago - but because of her shift, brigid's teeth clamp into saga's left side, above the ribs, and unzipping flesh there. pool wets the pale fur and she lets out a groan of discomfort.

she turns, then, whipping her own hips out to her right so that they are nearly head on once more. as she turns, saga swings her right forepaw out again, this time her extended claws attempting to wrap around brigid's already wounded left forepaw and dig in. simultaneously, she pushes forward, intending to do her best to slam her chest and lowered head into brigid's chest. she hopes that, combined with her attempted hold on her opponent's paw, can unbalance her opponent.

Saga vs @Brigid
2/3
For Gentry

Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 20 + 9 + 3 + 11 + 18 + 4

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 9 + 2 + 17 + 5 + 18

long way down to the bottom of the river

Hold my hand Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down. The wolves will chase you by the pale moonlight. Drunk and driven by a devil's hunger. Drive your son like a railroad spike into the water, let it pull him under. Don't you lift him, let him drown alive. the good Lord speaks like a rolling thunder. Let that fever make the water rise and let the river run dry. And I said 'Hold my hand.'

code by corvus

+10 Attend a spar or challenge to assess the wounds - 1/2

the idea of a rank challenge isn't wholly unheard of -- but having it come from within the hollows? now, that is new. there's a short pause between an unfamiliar voice calling out the challenge and an unfamiliar voice taking up the task. and then -- the sounds of their scuffle echo through the hallways, impossible to ignore. the fur along his spine raises as he hears the sound of teeth and fangs clashing but still he comes nonetheless -- nervous, flighty steps bringing him closer even though he clearly doesn't want to. a fight always has at least one loser and he's here to access their wounds and patch them back up. it means, of course, he has to watch; cherubic features are set in a dismal line as he watches the two lionesses scrap.

code; background; art;

while he might not wear obsidian's banner anymore, the call he hears is too juicy to pass up. slinking into the hollows like an uninvited guest, the skagos man takes a moment to rub his fur along the hallway walls as he wanders towards the call. observing a challenge here was nearly impossible but still he tries, and arrives in time to see brigid and saga scrapping for a shared title. he understands little of it -- and doesn't care to understand -- but there's a curious bloom of emotion dwelling in his chest at the sight. he's seen brigid fight in these hollows before, though it'd been for fun; this fight seems a bit more serious, if only for the prize at the end. he remains on his feet, tense and attentive, as he watches the two women fight -- looking for all the world that he belonged there, even if he clearly didn't. a shame, truly, that saga called for the challenge here instead of the pit: it'd be a far easier thing to play this visit off as curiosity. alas, the skagos man is probably showing his hand by lingering here -- even as blood spills upon the stone.

A change had come over Anselme -- he had grown quieter, his movements stranger and more erratic, as if he was controlling himself by strings from a great distance, every muscle twitch either too strong or too weak, no confident in-between. Often, and for long stretches of time, he looked at nothing. He walked as if his head was too heavy for the rest of him. He had grown, but it was hard to tell how much. He was sullen and unresponsive. At a zoo, an exotic animal turned its back to the glass pane, blurry with fingerprints. They could've named the thousand-yard stare after him. He was passing through when the sounds of fighting leeched through the dark hallways. Dim flashes of moonlight against bared teeth. The smell of blood. Heavy breathing, guttural snarls. His eyes shone briefly, a luster that orbited around each dilated pupil. Deep inside, he recognized the meaning of the fight. He understood savagery. It was as simple as two and two making four. For a moment he tapped into an ancient realization. The fighters looked like they had merged into one writhing body. He continued onward, deeper into the caverns. His heart fluttered in his chest. For the first time in his short life the world opened itself up to him. Don't mind me, just a cameo -- exit Anselme

He's a little late. Oops.

As @Saga inwardly believed, Magnus was not surprised that his sister had so quickly launched herself at a rank within the Hollows. The fact that it was @Brigid was.... well, was unfortunate the right word for it? Both women would make fine Gentry - Brigid had already proven this, and he knew Saga well enough to feel confident in his assumptions on her prowess. Still, he preferred them to be allied, not at odds with one another, and there was every chance that this would be seen as personal.

There wasn't much he could do about it except witness it, and pick up the pieces. He would spot @Hakon - wayward cousin - and the larger man draws up alongside him wordlessly. His absence had been noticed, of course, but Magnus knew nothing of the scuffle between the Skagos and his beau. Given Hakon's tendencies to be a fucking hermit, the disappearance was... accepted. Tolerated, as simply being part of the package. He saw a wounded flank and assumed that he'd been roughhousing with some stranger, as they were all inclined to from time to time. A glance was sent to @Elijah, brows arching up but otherwise maintaining his expression, before shifting back to the two duelling women.

@Anselme, bless him, went unnoticed.

the finest fury is the most controlled

code by corvus

A few seconds slide by and in those moments Brigid is listening intently to her opponent. She can hear her paws on the cave floor as she attempts to shift backwards but it is too late, her own hips are thrust against Saga's shoulder causing a residual bruise to her own flank but it was well worth it in Brigid's mind. There is shuffling as Brigid's hips line up alongside Saga's ribs and when she reaches out to snap her teeth end up landing on the skin just above Saga's ribcage. She attempts to grab and pull, hoping to nip the skin but not cause anything more then superficial to the Sigrun woman. What she isn't anticipating however is just how quickly Saga manages to maneuver, and before long Brigid can feel claws wrapping around her wrist, digging back into the damaged flesh before she's quite literally slamming her body into her chest. She exhales in a sharp gust from the impact as Saga's momentum forces her backward. A ferocious pain ripples through her chest and Brigid can sense that a deep bruise will blossom across the flesh. Despite this however the blind woman spurs onward, ignoring the steady flow of blood from her wrist and the stinging sensation along with it. Jaws snake outward in an attempt to snap at the top of Saga's head, hoping to leave a mark along her brow bone if possible. All the while she allows her hind end to hold the brunt of her weight as her left front forepaw is proven to be useless at this point. She can feel the exertion and tiredness of the fight leaking in her bones and eventually she rocks herself backward in an attempt to put space between herself and Saga once more. Brigid vs. @Saga For Gentry Round 3/3 Hits: Rolling 6d20: 5 + 7 + 13 + 16 + 2 + 15 Dodges: Rolling 3d20: 5 + 8 + 16 Luck: Rolling 5d20: 18 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 8

yumpy