It had been several days since the Gaia lion last fought in a battle. Though lately his have been simple practice spars to dust off that rust. He left the Cove early in the morning before the sun even could sprinkle the edges of its rays upon the horizon. Pacing himself to not exhaust before the battle, he finally got to the Pit when he finally arrived to the place where blood soaked earth made its home. Purple gaze glanced around for a good spot to settle himself at as he narrowed his eyelids and flattened his ears against his skull. He flexed his claws to fully extend out of their sheaths as they scrape against the dried earth. Positioning his body where his spine and neck aligned, his jaw slacked and chin dropped as his bobbed tail lay flat against his rump. Once he was good and ready, he let out a call to those in Caladan Cove. He was going to fight for the Lead Fighter position. At least for now.

Keligan vs. @Who
Rank Challenge (CC Lead Fighter)
Round # / 3
Hits: [roll=#d20]
Dodges: [roll=#d20]
Luck: [roll=#d20]

@Gauthier

The fire stirred in Caladan as he had hoped, did it not?

It was a small thing that tousled by the embers yet tight to the coals, but it grew in its spurts and sprouts, flametongue licking prosperity in its own tentative growth. New blood most of all. Gauthier is not so untrusting as he is skeptical and thorough - having seen kingdoms rise and fall with the come and gone tide. But promise came roiling with want.

A newest kindled this ask. Or demand, so it seemed crowed, and oddly out of the way of the Cove. He was disappointed upon arrival to see that none had met his match with eagerness, or even curiosity. But not without his own. Not even a stranger to parry that leap of greatness?

So be it.

You are uncontested, he droned, his eyes rolling from one end of the bowl to the other. Few shadows lingered at the far edges that new light barely touched, inconsequential. His tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth in slow, drawling tsks. Some would be pleased to dole ranks with the law of ease, were it intimidation, laziness, or a simple unawareness that left the brute unmatched.

It is not enough for Gauthier.

The position you request is nothing short of council, and I would see it owed to someone with prowess and tact. His lips turned at their impish ends, the stead of his stare returned to Keligan. He did not doubt, did not underestimate. Only wanted to see. Gauthier braced himself, lowering his skull even with his spine, flattening his ears and narrowing his eyes upon what may become his lead fighter - in all rights, his general. Show me then, Keligan, that you are deserving.

Gauthier vs @Keligan
Dominance
Round 0 / 3
Hits: [roll=#d20]
Dodges: [roll=#d20]
Luck: [roll=#d20]_{BG — ART — CODE}

No one showed. It was disappointing. As the shadows got longer as the sun would continue to rise, the blackened beast would stand alone in the middle of the Pit. Purple gaze glanced around as he shifted his body to become more relaxed as time passed by. Keligan didn't know exactly how much time had gone by before a not so surprising figure came forward. Readjusting himself, he squinted his eyelids and flicked back his ears against his skull. His bobbed tail pressed flat against his rear, claws stayed extended out of their sheaths as he aligned his spinal column. It is only a step forward. His goal was to work up the ladder in the Cove, not quite to High Sovereign, but still up there. He growled lowly as he leapt forward towards @Gauthier. Running straight for the other lion, Keligan then went towards the LEFT and aimed his LEFT paw in an attempt to smack the Cove Ruler on the shoulder. Jaws parted slightly in an attempt to protect his throat, baring his longer than normal upper canines.


Keligan vs. @Gauthier
Rank Challenge (CC Lead Fighter)
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 3 + 14 + 15 + 20 + 12 + 9 + 19 + 4

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 10 + 8 + 1 + 13

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 1 + 8 + 19 + 7 + 13

It was a leap in his opinion, more than it was a step. After all, a Noble could be expected to uphold some form of reverent diplomacy in the face of recruitment, or define the trivial laws of a pecking order. But leadership in those so-necessary trades meant success of the whole. It required diligence, endurance, strength, and as in all things he held with the finest importance: cunning.

Gauthier was merely the assessor. A gladiator humbled by his own losses, he did not think of himself as some great war-fed divinity, but he had lived it well enough to know. Every step, every twitch, every parry and falter he would consider with calculative bearing.

The dance commences without further hesitation, shewing the forward assertion of one's mind: headlong and bulling the matter.

It is difficult to restrain oneself when in the business of mindless slaughter; the desire to raze, cut, dig and torment did not do so well when plaguing your own pride member. It would only weaken yourself as a leader to maim your infantry. As such, he did well to keep temperance in the back of his mind at every swipe and bite, as endlessly difficult a task as it may be. His job is not to gut Keligan but to portray an enemy who would be keen on gutting. Soft, soft. A word almost too faint for his vocabulary.

--

Braced, he swung his weight to his left feet as Keligan bore upon his right, the lion's left paw colliding broadly with his shoulder. Gauthier, having coiled his muscles in anticipation, at once attempted to seize forward at Keligan's right, moving low as to guard vulnerabilities, to maintain balance in the open-jawed surge. Not to glide across their mud-floor like a phantom but surge like a battering ram, aiming his teeth for the mane-tufted right side of Keligan's neck while his left paw - claws only mildly unsheathed (soft, soft) - sought to wrestle a hold between the peaks of his shoulderblades.

Gauthier vs @Keligan
Dominance / Rank
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 9d20: 10 + 14 + 4 + 17 + 1 + 5 + 16 + 19 + 13

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 18 + 16 + 15 + 12

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 8 + 2 + 7 + 14 + 9

_{BG — ART — CODE}

The two collided like trains on the same track. Keligan grunted as his paw landed against Gauthier's shoulder as the High Sovereign went for the Gaia lion's neck. Keeping his eyelids narrowed and ears pinned down against his skull, he bared his fangs. The other lion's claws hit Keligan's shoulder but he was more focused to avoid Gauthier's teeth. Growling, the blackened beast attempted to smack the High Sovereign in the face with his RIGHT paw, claws barely out of their sheaths. He didn't want to maim the ruler. He felt the sting of Gauthier's claws as they dug in his own shoulder but he would deal with that later.



Keligan vs. @Gauthier ♔
Rank Challenge (CC Lead Fighter)
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 11 + 2 + 9 + 18 + 1 + 13 + 14 + 7

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 3 + 18 + 16 + 15

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 13 + 5 + 10 + 8 + 18

Keligan opted to avoid the clasp of teeth against his throat; no longer had his tongue rasped over the (distasteful) tangle of mane and his paw stead its course over the bulk of his shoulders than the blissless wack of a diverting collision shoved his cheek. He snarled as the force blew his skull aside and he attempted to maintain his (left) paw's hold on the male's shoulderblades, though his teeth had found a lack of purchase enough for a small flare of disappointment. This is not for blood, he must remind himself, his eye rolling back to watch the sail of Keligan's claws, retraining his blind aggression into tactic. Gauthier tried to steel himself with the whip of his balancing tail, and attempted to shove Keligan with the paw he strove to maintain a hold on his shoulderblades. An attempt to roll him, or in the least, unsteady him.


Gauthier vs @Keligan
Dominance / Rank
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 9d20: 15 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 19 + 16 + 13 + 18 + 1

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 20 + 18 + 10 + 6

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 20 + 18 + 2 + 15 + 11

_{BG — ART — CODE}

The two kept their collided bodies together as Keligan's paw hit his mark on Gauthier's face while the High Sovereign's paw stayed upon the Gaia lion's shoulder. As the King pushed into the blackened beast, Keligan attempted to lean back into him. Dropping both paws down to the ground so all four were planted, he took a split second and decided to try something. Using his RIGHT paw, Keligan attempted to knock Gauthier off balance by sweeping up under his armpit and swinging out. Then shifting to duck his head slightly while keeping his eyelids narrowed and ears pinned against his skull, he attempted to head butt his leader.

Keligan vs. @Gauthier ♔ ♔
Rank Challenge (CC Lead Fighter)
Round 3 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 5 + 3 + 18 + 9 + 11 + 1 + 16 + 15

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 3 + 14 + 7 + 5

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 2 + 10 + 8 + 18 + 17

It appeared his attempt to buckle the warrior proved ineffective, instead finding his weight teetered and parried - this returning push calling the need to dig his hind claws into the grit. All for naught: Keligan swings through, skull-forward with a ramming determination. Shirked from his hold (trying his best to refrain raking his claws through the man's flesh in the descent) Gauthier followed the motion left, catching the bludgeon of a head into his chin. Quick, he attempted to spread his jaws wide as the impact rattled it sore, intending to wrap his teeth around Keligan's brow in the downward force.

Gauthier vs @Keligan
Dominance / Rank
Round 3 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 9d20: 20 + 8 + 1 + 7 + 19 + 6 + 16 + 5 + 12

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 5 + 7 + 9 + 18

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 7 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 11

_{BG — ART — CODE}

@Keligan VS. @Gauthier FOR DOMINANCE
— RESULTS —

Keligan Hits: 5+4+4 (+4 luck) = 17
Keligan Dodges: 1+3+1 = 5

Gauthier Hits: 5+5+4 (+3 luck) = 17
Gauthier Dodges: 4+2+1 = 7

Keligan Successful Hits: 10
Gauthier Successful Hits: 12

GAUTHIER HAS WON THE CHALLENGE FOR DOMINANCE!

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.

Keligan's head clashed with his King's as they head butted and @Gauthier's fangs raked against the Gaia lion's brow. They had both held back with each other and even so, the High Sovereign made headway where he was successful in the spar. The blackened brute backed off as he shook his head. The teeth wounds from the ruler's fangs scraping at his brow started to bleed as the gray on his face started to change to crimson. Flicking his ears, he shifted his body to shake off. A worthy opponent. Dipping his head slightly in a bow, the lion acknowledged the defeat. Whatever came next would be up to the High Sovereign.


Master: Barbarian
+5 Complete a spar or fight
+5 Lose a spar or fight (defaulted or judged)