The only thing worse than being surprised by the little twerp was having her insults ignored. Her ears steamed but remained flat as the other feline simply laughed. Did one seek to laugh at Toblerone? Surely not! More, more revenge! She imagined cramming miles high of dirt and dung down the other's prone throat, if only she could reach and strangle her! Her vision remained clear (except for the sting of mud) and therefore she was absolutely convinced that she was in the right, she was in control, except for the obvious part where she was not.

Her paw glanced heavy, only partially satisfying the charging beast. By now she was unable to stop even if she wanted to. She would certainly have rather avoided the ramming puncture of claws into her shoulder, creating deep wounds that would deceive with miniscule blood but be a pain in the healing. And she just... didn't understand... how her final leg betrayed her, caught up in a sweep of pain, the pain adding to all the rest of her confusion; she didn't understand why she was falling, not even gracefully or with a maiden's delicate constitution into darkness, but like a very conscious and helpless walrus into the mud. That... that wasn't supposed to happen! She glared upward, ignoring the new blood trails leading from her front leg, so very angry that she was literally crying. That was it. She was angry. "Oh wow, I hate you! You - you jerk!" She sniff-snarled and tried to swipe out with her less injured forepaw at the jerk-lioness's nearest forearm, by now just to splash some sour grapes rather than from any attempt at victory.

Toblerone vs @Dobromira
EM Gentry
Round 3/3

Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 1 + 12 + 10 + 13 + 8 + 17

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 13 + 20 + 6 + 14

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 13 + 14 + 19 + 15 + 20

@Toblerone VS. @Dobromira FOR EM GENTRY
— RESULTS —

Toblerone Hits: 1+2+3+5 luck = 11
Toblerone Dodges: 1+3+3 = 7

Dobromira Hits: 3+3+4+3 luck = 13
Dobromira Dodges: 3+3+0 = 6

Toblerone Successful Hits: 5
Dobromira Successful Hits: 6

DOBROMIRA HAS WON THE CHALLENGE FOR EM GENTRY!

Please allow the challengers to respond to the fight results first. As per the site rules, if 3 days go by without a post from the challenger(s), they can be skipped. Whichever comes first! Any posts made before this will be removed, unless you are posting to another fight.

Well don't go around tonight
Well it's bound to take your lifeAnd down she went, into the freezing mud where she apparently belonged.

Dobromira released her hold to avoid being taken with the other woman, muzzle furrowed in a silent snarl as she now loomed above the once giantess. Her final attempted strike was met, the hound's foreleg swiping against the blow as she sought to smack the large limb aside, earning a few more bleeding stripes across her leg regardless. It was done, that much was clear to anyone observing.

Disgust welled like the blood running down her muzzle and arm at the sight of tears in the woman's eyes. It mixed poorly with anger to create a foul, noxious mood in the hound as she swept her tongue again across her chin to gather the blood there, spitting it from the side of her mouth to speckle the dark terrain below. Pathetic. Were this the pack's caverns, this was where she would have torn the blush woman's throat from her neck. But here...Mistress Tiamat had said things were done differently here, so the fool was allowed to live until someone else finished where she had started.

Welcome to Ecrosia, Dobromira's voice almost monotone as she watched the downed giantess for any further flailing before taking a step back to give her room to stand. I am Dobromira, and I don't think you'll last long.

She was tempted to leave it at that, turn and walk away back to her previous business. But the hound remained where she was, removing her gaze from @Toblerone to glance at @Bruno ♔ and @Adeodatus with a tilt of her skull. This is where the king steps in, yes? Doling out ranks and all, or not. What mattered was that the other's mettle had been tested and found... lacking.

Parting her jaws, Dobromira released a low roar for the mire king, seeking @Alaric's final judgment.

There's a bad moon on the rise

_{BG — ART — CODE}

this world is dying in our arms

"It is indeed," he rumbled, hardly surprised that @Dobromira was the one that had answered the challenge. As he appears he looks from one to the other, betraying little of how he felt about it all. "It seems you won't need to summon one of the others after all," and there is a faint grin given to her for that. "The rank is yours, I look forward to seeing what you can do with it." His focus slipped to @Toblerone , then. "Make sure you get yourself patched up." He had no open ranks to hand to her, so she'd have to try again sometime. With no further ado he turned to leave, picking a trail that would lead him to the borders to carry on his patrols. -exit-.

code // art

Well don't go around tonight
Well it's bound to take your lifeNone of them would have to wait very long for Alaric'a arrival, the king making his appearance and decision a in one brief swoop before making his leave in addition. And so it was done, Dobromira had won both the fight and the title. She dipped her head in acceptance of the role placed onto her shoulders, offering onlya few words to the king's retreating form.

I will do my best to not disappoint, Master Alaric, the hound said before straightening and glancing back over to the rest of the gathered Ecrosians. She was a step higher than she had been before, two, in fact, that she knew of. If challenging for rank here was like it was where she was from, then she expected thst down the road blood may well be shed to keep it as she had done to earn it. Higher on the food chain indeed, but that didn't mean she could allow her guard to slip.

Dobromira lingered only a little longer before going to lick her wounds that were starting to sting in the aftermath, giving anyone who had anything to say, or spit, at her their chance.

There's a bad moon on the rise

_{BG — ART — CODE}

Bruno watched with tense interest as the fight raged on, a slew of insults thrown as weapons between the women. It was funny to think that only a matter of weeks ago, Bruno was the one calling Dobromira a bitch. How much had changed. The larger one fell, Dobromira looming over her pink figure with a clever remark. "Welcome to Ecrosia. I am Dobromira, and I don't think you'll last long. This is where the king steps in, yes?"

"Right," Bruno confirmed with a nod of his own, gathering himself to his paws to try and close some of the distance between them in a show of support. "Well done, Dobromira," the prince praised, only a gleam in his eye to hint at his satisfaction. Just then, a familiar voice rang out to announce that very king's presence. Bruno dipped his head to his father's scarred form, allowing him the floor to speak his piece (as if there were any doubt in Dobromira's place).

He quirked a brow as Alaric congratulated her, bestowing the rank in question with an almost jolly mood about him. It struck Bruno as odd, but perhaps the boy was just not accustomed to seeing his father proud. Without any further discussion, the king departed. He twitched his whiskers with mild annoyance, having prepared himself for a discussion about the lioness and what his support of her meant.

No matter.

"Do you need more formal patching-up, or can I offer you a meal of celebration?" Bruno proposed. Waiting a moment for a response, he would take his leave from the scene.

---

-exit- @Dobromira @Alaric
+5 - Observe a fight (Dobromira vs Toblerone)

_CODE

Her face screwed up, tears dripping through mud and blood, and a voice echoing in her head i hate you i hate you i hate you! This had not gone how the new recruit thought it would have. Not at all. If there was an opening to twist chaos to her advantage, she had not seen it. She had been on the defensive ever since her ankle got snagged, and even after the fight ended there was no recourse.

The victor got the speech. The underdog did not. How had her mother - her real mother - played the victim so successfully, when losing hurt, when her thoughts were all tumbled and she felt like multiple strands of beating emotion all pumping together? Adrenaline was too fleeting and did not provide inspiration for witticisms of speech. She glared up at the black and tan, managing only a "you suck," and that interrupted with a muddy hiccup. It hurt to speak. Speaking used so many internal muscles.

She gasped as her neck craned, looking up (enviously) at the male who announced himself with poise, who awarded rank with poise, who did not care that she was new and had already been usurped should he not care that she was very pretty and pathetic looking? Roan would have cared. Never that she was pretty, but he would have noticed that she was upset.

Roan had also been unmovable. She wished to be aloof, but above her were vultures watching on a rail rail, surrounding, conversing. She rocked herself to her paws, nursing a yes sir to the king's retreating form that she could not steel herself to speak. Too much pain. And uncertainty. What did that mean? Get patched up, echoed the advice, and she could not analyze it yet but it seemed very wise. She limped off, tail low, tuft curled under with stiff indignance, hateful toward all yet impotent.

-exit

Well don't go around tonight
Well it's bound to take your lifeIt looked like a wrap as everyone took their leave from the scene of the battle, which suited Dobromira just fine.

The newest member of the mire had only offered her a single pair of words that were easily ignored, instead she turned her attention to Bruno as he dangled the choice of seeking healing or food after a rare bit of praise. She dipped her head in acknowledgement of the latter before lifting it and spitting another small bit of gathered blood from her tongue to the side. The wounds weren't bleeding as badly as they had been, and would surely soon scab without issue.

Thank you, young master. I can tend to my wounds later, they aren't severe, the hound replied, turning her gaze to watch the pink giantess disappear with a calculating gleam in her whisky brown eyes. Dobromira had a feeling that food would settle heavy in her stomach after a fight, but a meal would help give her strength for healing.

With a nod to the last remaining onlooker, Dobromira followed the prince with her head dutifully low.


exit

There's a bad moon on the rise

_{BG — ART — CODE}

The battle was fought and Toblerone was not the victor which - in truth - did not surprise the Devorre demon. But as Dobromira looked to him and asked about the announcement of her newest title, he would push himself upwards into a standing position, knowing that he can't give it to her but it didn't matter as Alaric arrived and announced it to those there. Watching as the newest ranked member of the Mire left with the prince - or one of them at least - and Alaric told Toblerone to keep trying, he would let himself be excused silently and turned to go back into the Mire with just his silence.

exit

The American Nightmare

When night comes creeping My cruel hand will rock you to sleep I'm the American nightmare With American dreams Of countin' the bodies while you count sheep I'm the American nightmare Yeah, I'm living the dream I'm slashing my way through the golden age of the silver scream

code by corvus