OOC: sorry for the wait guys!

---

She was in luck. The woman had forgotten about the third party in this violent dance of theirs, and Tiamat managed to grab the nub of a tail that existed on her back end. Of course, with such a short tail that put Tiamat in range of attacks from Dobromira's back legs, which put her injured leg in danger. However, unable to put weight on that leg and holding it up and slightly to the right ended up working in her favor.

The woman's left leg lashed out, trying her hardest to hit Tiamat's injured one, but it was simply too far out of reach. Instead, she kicked the uninjured leg, drawing a muffled grunt through Tiamat's closed jaws. She made a mental note to keep the injured leg even farther away, stretching her neck to distance her limbs from the lashing hind legs of her opponent.

Her ocean eyes sparkled with mischief and the thrill of the fight as she attempted to yank the woman backward by pulling with her jaws with a swift movement, much like a dog would tug at a toy. In a more normal situation she might have tried an attack with her claws, but since she was balancing on one front leg she had to rely completely on her jaws.

@Bruno ♔ and Tiamat vs. @Dobromira
Claim of Dobromira
Round 1 2 3
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 1 + 11 + 3 + 13 + 12 + 8

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 18 + 3 + 9 + 5

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 20 + 19 + 4 + 16 + 12

image by rabbit, code by anyu

Did she just... taste it? In those split seconds between attacks, his mind registered this with bewilderment. He reeled with the events – she had punched him, hit off the mark, and then tasted the blood on her claws. His stomach lurched with unease, though the pace of battle did not allow for deep reflection on the matter. He was pulled back to the present.

Bruno snarled as his teeth met flesh, pleased to sink his fangs into something despite the change of target to her left cheek. He lowered his paw to the earth following the satisfying slice of her shoulder, almost taking the time to applaud his successes when he felt warm, hot iron dead-on his left eyeball.

"Ugh!" Dirty, filthy woman. The prince snapped his eyes shut, tensing the muscles into a squint and blinking rapidly to try and clear the revolting liquid that half-blinded him, a mix of their respective fluids in equal parts. This was a far cry from his youthful days spent tussling Tai on the beach – he knew it in his heart, with some abstract forlorn feeling. That was until he felt the sharp agony of her head against his.

Stars spun around the yearling's head, his paw striking out instinctually to try and hit something rather than stand there starstruck. Bruno attempted to stomp on the rogue's right forepaw with his left, straining to see as the fluid finally began to clear from his eye. In pain, enraged, Bruno lurched forward again to try and snap his jaws around the bridge of her nose in another greedy bite.

---

Bruno & @Tiamat vs. @Dobromira
claiming Dobromira
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 3d20: 13 + 6 + 1

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 6 + 9 + 3

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 8 + 2 + 7 + 18 + 15

last round!

_CODE

Refusal.

Refusal to acknowledge how fast the icy world turned around her, how easy it was to fall prey to confusion as fangs and claws grasped and pulled her one way or the other. There was no room in the kicked dog's mind for anything but to keep going.

Devil at her back gripped the end of her tail like an irritating flea, far too close to her spine for comfort. There was pain, yes, but that was secondary, tertiary even. She could deal with it later if she yet lived. It was the devil at her front that drew the most blood, and so was her main focus.

The frothy globule of blood and saliva had met its mark, the sound of disgust it drew making a snort of amusement puff from Dobromira's nostrils. When the crash of their skulls came, she was not unmoved by the rattling of her fangs. She relished the painful edge it tore into her mind as a trickle of blood seeped from where the skin of her forehead split slightly on the harsh impact.

Flailing came next, the boy lashing out like a beast in a trap as he tried to bring his paw down over hers and his fangs back to her face. Dobromira's back legs steadied themselves against the ground as Tiamat tugged at her, threatening to topple the hound as she tucked her head almost too late. Not the full-muzzle grab that had been sought, but the tender tip of her ear was caught in its stead, splitting as it she tore free with a jerk of the head and several drops of red into the air. There was only so much more that she had to spill before she became too weak to go on, and that gave the woman a final burst of flame.

Using the weight of his paw over hers as anchor, Dobromira drove force into her free limb; claws extended as she sought to making a sweeping slap across the youth's own face before tugging her opposing paw from under his and twisting her body like a striking snake, trying to extend the lengthy swing to include anything of Tiamat's that she could have.

@Dobromira vs. @Bruno ♔ & @Tiamat
Claiming Dobromira
Round 3 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 4d20: 14 + 15 + 16 + 7

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 4 + 3 + 11 + 12

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 20 + 7 + 18 + 5 + 6

LION, CODE BY LARS

Dobromira was certainly a strange beast. Tiamat did not miss how she tasted Bruno's blood from her claws before spitting it back into his face. His reaction was what anyone might expect from such a mixture landing in one's eyes. Then there was the headbutt, and poor Bruno was seeing stars for a moment before he was able to recover. First he swung wildly, but then he regained himself to lunge at her again.

The beat between them was growing angrier, it seemed. She flung her free leg at his face with a sweeping blow, shifting her body as she did so. Tiamat released the tail, much as she was enjoying shaking it like a dog with a toy, and took a single backward step. More a hop, really, as she stepped back with her hind legs and hopped on one single front leg. The movement was just in time, but not enough to escape the full force of the woman's swing as she half-turned to finish the attack that was meant for both of her opponents. The woman's claws slashed shallow cuts along Tiamat's chest, blood blooming lightly from the torn skin.

Even with a broken leg, she was a slippery creature.

Her front end was useless in terms of swatting and clawing at an opponent. Instead of trying an attack with her front, Tiamat swung her weight around and attempted to slam her left hip into whatever part of the woman was now facing her. She didn't wait to see if the woman returned to her position facing Bruno. She simply swung around, hoping for the best. With luck it would knock her aside, ruining her balance and opening the door for more attacks from the yearling.

@Bruno ♔ and Tiamat vs. @Dobromira
Claim of Dobromira
Round 1 2 3
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 19 + 15 + 9 + 7 + 10 + 17

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 4 + 18 + 20 + 5

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 13 + 20 + 6 + 16 + 2

image by rabbit, code by anyu

He ripped a snarl from his chest as his bite missed its mark, clipping teeth against her velvet ear and sending out red fireworks as she tore it from his grasp. His mind was beginning to blur with adrenaline and fatigue, panting for breath with each swing they took as his body strained to keep up with the pace of battle. And still, he remained resolved to finish this.

As the haze of stars cleared, his head still panging with acute agony, he was just in time to witness the swing of her paw coming straight for his face. Its impact stung twofold, the mitt both slapping his right cheek and leaving light knicks from her claws. Impulse demanded that he lurch forward again with his parted jaws, elongated fangs reaching to try and snap up the attacking limb in his mouth before it could return to the earth or do further damage to the Ecrosian lions.

Again trying to take advantage of her own momentum, Bruno lifted his left forepaw once she tore hers from under it, attempting to strike his flexed claws against her flank as she whirled around in a tearing motion.

---

Bruno & @Tiamat vs. @Dobromira
claiming Dobromira
Round 3 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 3d20: 20 + 9 + 17

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 12 + 1 + 10

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 18 + 8 + 3 + 4 + 11

requesting judging!

_CODE

@Dobromira VS. @Tiamat & @Bruno ♔ FOR DOBROMIRA
— RESULTS —

Dobromira Hits: 1 + 2 + 3 + 3 luck = 9
Dobromira Dodges: 1 + 2 + 2 = 5

Tiamat Hits: 4 + 3 + 4 + 3 + 6 luck = 20
Tiamat Dodges: 3 + 1 + 2 = 6
Bruno Hits: 3 + 1 + 2 + 6 luck = 12
Bruno Dodges: 2 + 0 + 1 = 3

Dobromira Successful Hits: 0
Tiamat & Bruno Successful Hits: 27

TIAMAT & BRUNO HAVE WON THE CHALLENGE FOR DOBROMIRA!

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.

Torn at and harried from both front and back, it was clear that this dance was drawing to a close. Adrenaline was keeping the dark cloaked woman from facing the full reality of the damage done to her, but the body knew when it had enough.

Dobromira's last swipe cut through the skin of both targets, peeling a vicious grin across her lips as that final strike wetted her daggers. That mask of bloodthirsty satisfaction remained even as she was knocked from her paws, claws lashing across her flesh as the boy got in his own final blow. The hound landed heavily on the cold sand, attempting to catch herself but finding that her strength was lacking where the mind was willing.

Serpentine tongue swept across her fangs as Dobromira snorted, blowing away a drip of blood that had flowed down from her forehead and over her nose. The only proof of the red flowing down her inky flanks was the raw slices that parted the fur and how the wetness caught the light, but it was clear that the woman was bested. She was downed, that was that.

That's that, she rumbled in confirmation, sweeping her gaze from Tiamat to the youth whose name she never caught, a surprising lack of spite lighting the oaken depths of her eyes despite the viciousness of this first impression.

Dobromira rolled her head, revealing the smooth brown fur of her neck to the open air, holding her skull at a sharp angle to show off the tender mark. Take the lead. Or finish it, if you have the resolve.

Another gleam of tiredly grinning fangs. A dry taunt.

@Tiamat
@Bruno ♔

OOC Genuinely fine either way, this is permission to kill if either want to take the shot.

LION, CODE BY LARS

As Tiamat returned to her position of facing her opponent, the girl went down in defeat. Two opponents - even a yearling and a cripple - was clearly too much for @Dobromira to withstand, despite all of the confidence she seemed to have and her eagerness to fight.

And then the girl revealed her neck to the two of them, baring herself to their mercy. Tiamat chuckled darkly, taking a limping step towards Dobromira. "The girl is willing to let us kill her," she says with some amusement, her eyes glancing over to the young @Bruno ♔. "You will think it weak," she told the woman with a shrug. "But I will not take a life without a good reason. And this - " she gestured to their little assembly and the Passage with her bad leg " - is not a good enough reason." A promise, to herself, in an attempt to atone for past sins.

She turned her head to the royal yearling, one brow raised in question. She would not kill this girl, but she wouldn't- and probably couldn't- stop him from making that choice. Her morals and choices were hers and hers alone. She was no savior.

"Besides," she said with a sly grin to both of them, an afterthought to her earlier words. "If I go back empty pawed and Alaric asks why, I'd hate to have to tell him I've been killing potential members." And then her smirk morphs to a toothy, menacing grin.

image by rabbit, code by anyu

"That's that." The stranger's words put a stamp of finality upon the brawl, their chests heaving and their mouths parted with gaping pants. Bruno struggled to collect his breath as he looked upon the woman with a narrow glare. She turned her head upward, the implication of this initially lost upon the boy. "Take the lead. Or finish it, if you have the resolve." He blinked, his eyes trailing to that patch of naked, vulnerable fur. Suspicion welled up in his stomach first, causing him to sweep his velvet ears back against his skull. He considered that it could be a mere trap – an attempt to get them close enough to launch another assault.

"What?" Bruno asked incredulously, lifting his lip into a scowl. His mind raced to understand this sudden turn of events as he swept his gaze over to the older mire lioness. Funny that he had undergone all of this, largely at her defense, when he could not place her name. Was she laughing, of all things? Bruno furrowed his brows into a tight crease, unable to overcome the uneasiness that had settled upon him. He kept darting his olive gaze between the lionesses, unable to process what to do next. "You will think it weak–"

"What does it matter what she thinks?" He hissed. Oh, he loathed it, truthfully – to be unable to kill a woman, and still feel the need to justify it to her. "Nice try. You're not getting off so easily." With a dramatic roll of his eyes, Bruno attempted to shove a paw at her side.

"I said let's go." He insisted, then turned his attention to his pridemate. "Take up the back, will you?" They did not need their prize wandering off after all the fuss. Waiting a moment for buy-in, Bruno started off on their journey back to Ecrosia.

---

-exit- @Dobromira @Tiamat
+10 - Win a fight
+5 - Complete a fight
+5 - Claim a lioness

_CODE

It seemed that her captors had lost their taste for blood, at least for the time being, the boy being the more caustic of the two. The woman, @Tiamat, only appeared to hold a dry sort of amusement for the situation at large.

So they had chosen the lead, removing the metaphorical tip of a shared blade from the pulse of her throat. Something about it felt off, so far removed from all that had been drilled into her inky skull. The Circle had not been reached before her previous handler had been lost, or she was, but Dobromira had spent her entire life acclimating to the fact that a loss easily meant death. She'd seen it, She'd done it under the instruction of that handler. But it would seem for now that universal law was pushed back.

There doesn't need to be a reason, the hound inhaled, lifting herself back to her paws and rolling her slashed shoulder as she was shoved. A few grits of sand seemed to have gotten in the slices, transferred by paw and stinging the irritated flesh. Just a will. Or an order. The words were aimed at Tiamat, sensing that the brown furred boy was quite done with words for the time being. With that said, she allowed herself to led.

Exit

LION, CODE BY LARS