No regrets

and yet, every regret

(Set before the CC meeting)

Her mind had been racing. Far too much. And she'd found herself keeping her distance from everyone she cared for. Out of fear of hurting them in any way. More often than not, she'd found herself leaving the Cove, leaving it all behind and just wandering. At times that was wandering as close as possible to the borders of other prides, perhaps in hopes to incite some sort of fight, even if it were meeting an ally and agreeing for a sparring match.

But things never seemed to go as planned. And so the pale lioness found herself prowling around the Pit, stalking the ledges before descending into the hole that served as the arena. Her gaze wandered before she shifted her position. Sharp claws dug into the ground as she straightened her posture, squaring her shoulders. Her eyes closed briefly as she lifted her head to face the sun. Elongated fangs gleamed in the light as she let out a challenging roar, calling for anyone who would face her.

code by corvus

There is something terribly alluring about a life of wanderlust indeed. Viveka knows this quite well. She lives it still. It should feel like freedom, the way her snow-tipped paws roam the lands unfettered and unobserved, in these moments where the only voice whispering in her ear is that of her own thoughts, and there is nothing (no one) to keep her from running and hunting and ravaging to her heart's content.

And yet it does not.

Within the space of her own private bubble, she is Queen - a Queen of nothing and no one. What is the point of this so-called 'freedom,' when traversing continents has only left her in the same place? Meaningless.

She will not tolerate a pointless existence.

And the roar that echoes up from the dusty arena she's stumbled upon sounds a lot like a much-needed exclamation point. The first of many, she's sure. It's with confidence that the Rike woman sashays her way down into the Pit, a dark shadow to contrast against the sun @Lagertha represents.

It's wolfish, the way Viveka prowls around the wheat lioness, her head already dropped low in front of her throat while unsheathed claws trailed through the dirt. Ivory fangs glitter beneath dark lips curled in a smile too imperious to be sincere, mismatched eyes regarding the other all too appraisingly, before a harsh scoff spills into the air between them. "You may fight me, if you must." She 'permit's' with a huff, pivoting to face her new opponent head-on from a few yards away, her tone as flippant as the way her shoulders shrugged loosely beneath her dark hide.

As if the stranger was the one who had something to prove.

Viveka vs. @Lagertha
Dominance
Round 0 / 3


"SPEECH"

code by scorpixia♡︎

I put my armor on, show you how strong I am

Darkness and light. How poetic it would be were it not for the darkness that was slowly seeping into her own soul. Were it a thing others could see, it would be an image of black sludge seeping from her eyes and maw, ever moving as it took over her entire being. But it was not. And so the stranger would only see the pale, slender lioness with fury burning in her eyes.

So her call had drawn someone. And she found herself satisfied with what she saw, at least for the moment. She'd have preferred someone larger, always seeking to find enemies much larger than herself. Why? She didn't know. But this was good. Muscles played under pale silken fur, no longer shiny but dulled from lack of care, shoulders rolling slowly as she shifted her position.

"Less talk. More action." A rather aggressive command snarled at @Viveka. Lagertha didn't care if the woman was rogue or high ranking of any pride. Neither did she care to present herself as what she was in any way. For all she cared, the other could consider her another rogue. All that mattered to her in the arena was that they were there to fight. And fight she would.

With a growl she charged towards the darker woman head-on, before throwing herself to the side and seeking to slam her full weight into her left side instead while aiming to sink her fangs into her shoulder as claws sought to drag over the woman's body, digging deep and squeezing her.

Lagertha vs. @Viveka
Dominance
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 5d20: 11 + 17 + 7 + 19 + 4

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 17 + 14 + 1

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 19 + 7 + 5 + 8 + 10

code by flea, art by irish

If there is an ominous shadow lingering behind the sun, the Rike gives no sign of sensing the way it swallows the warmth of the Pit. Viveka sees only a pristine hide, pale fur soft and unblemished and so dreadfully plain.

Worthless, if not for how the gaping void within her so desperately craves to strip the purity from the sheep's bones.

It is a surprise then, revealed in the widening of her mismatched eyes, when @Lagertha dares to command her in a voice of rigid steel, a hidden ferocity emerging from that slender frame. Maybe there is more than one wolf stalking this arena today. The wheaten woman may be a creature more worthy of her time than she'd first thought, but there is little appreciation for that to be found in the way Viveka's lips curl into a snarl, or the way she surges forwards, powered by an indignant fury.

If the pale woman demanded action, then she would get action.

Even more infuriatingly, the full force of the Rike's charge goes to waste, for she does not foresee the way her opponent sidesteps until it's too late. Viveka staggers a few precious steps to the right beneath the force of the slamming weight, growling when sharp fangs latched deeply into her left shoulder during the moment of disorientation.

The sting of claws dragging across her ribs spurs her to redirect her energy anew, and the wolf attempts to jostle back against the other woman, shoving the flat of her shoulder harshly against Lagertha's teeth, seeking to press closer so that her right forepaw could arc upwards in an attempt to rake her claws over the other's spine. Her neck arches and twists towards the left as she seeks to sink her own fangs into the pale nape of the Lagertha's neck.

Viveka vs. @Lagertha
Dominance
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 4d20: 14 + 11 + 6 + 10

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 20 + 19 + 10 + 4

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 19 + 9 + 20 + 13 + 5

"SPEECH"

code by scorpixia♡︎

I put my armor on, show you how strong I am

Though her appearance was indeed quite plain compared to others, the pale woman bore scars fortunately hidden by fur, lucky enough to have them hidden from being too obvious. It did serve her well, leaving others to wonder if she'd ever fought.

Purity and innocence in silence, yet so much more than she appeared to be.

In sharpened fangs bared, in bodies crashing against bodies, claws and fangs digging into flesh, in blood being drawn, their unspoken truths would be revealed. Vicious and deadly beasts, seeking something more than just existence. Something greater and more powerful.

As the other stumbled, the pale woman held on, even dug her fangs and claws deeper into her flesh. Muffled snarls and growls slipped from her jaws as she tightened her grip despite the assault. With the other's fangs latching into her neck, taking all attacks without regard for her own self as it seemed, Lagertha attempted to use their hold on each other to throw them to the ground while throwing her head back in an attempt to tear at Viveka's shoulder. Her claws didn't loosen their grip and she sought to drag them over her body, seemingly to rip open her body.

Lagertha vs. @Viveka
Dominance
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 5d20: 14 + 16 + 6 + 13 + 15

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 20 + 13 + 4

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 5 + 10 + 9 + 2 + 17

code by flea, art by irish

There are no masks to be kept here.

'Elegance' exists only in its fancy draperies and glittering embellishments. The shine possesses its own value, exacts its own price, but in the end, its trappings are all too easily burned away by the sparks kicked up by gleaming claws and sneering fangs.

Within the confines of this arena's walls, amidst the dust and old blood, all are revealed as the savages they are.

The Rike are not exactly renowned for their strategists. Viveka is driven by instinct, powered by everything that she feels, her very being quickly overtaken by the need to inflict the pain she's been made to bear until only she remains standing. Her dark hide tears beneath vicious talons, and beneath it burns the rising flames of her fury.

Viveka's fangs capture the back of her opponent's neck, the taste of iron just barely ghosting across her tongue when Lagertha threw her weight into the hold, leveraging the angle to take her off her feet. Much to her chagrin, her hold upon that pale neck would be forcibly jostled loose when Viveka's head collided with the ground, an aggravated snarl tearing from her throat when the flesh of her shoulder was torn away by merciless jaws. The pain of it is so sharp and blinding that the burn of claws raking over her skin nearly seems like a pittance.

On the way down, she would reflexively attempt to sweep the other woman's forelimbs out from under her with an arc of her own left forelimb, hoping to ensure that they fell together, at least. Her right forelimb would seek to push more forcefully against Lagertha's left side while her hind paws pushed up in search of a soft stomach, her claws outstretched to tear at pale hide, though Viveka's intent is more to topple them both further into a roll across the sand.

If she is not to be given the opportunity to come out on top, then she will create one for herself. Such is how it has always been.

Viveka vs. @Lagertha
Dominance
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 4d20: 18 + 8 + 10 + 14

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 17 + 20 + 9 + 1

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 6 + 9 + 15 + 4 + 2

"SPEECH"

code by scorpixia♡︎

I put my armor on, show you how strong I am

And such was how it would always be. Nothing in this world came for free and true victory was not simply handed over, but achieved through blood.

Pale fur was torn by sharp claws, a deep growl sounding from the slender beast. Though her response was simply more violence, more hostility. The force used to throw her off balance did its work and she fell with the other, a tumble of darkness and light while claws tore at each other. She didn't shrink away from the claws hitting her side and digging into her stomach, but took the hits with deep hisses and snarls. It stung, it always did. But it was something that faded from her mind as she slowly sunk deeper into the fade of fire and blood.

A paw lashed out, seeking to smack the darker woman right in the face, aiming to drag sharp extended claws over the sensitive nose and towards the eye. Fangs had released the other's shoulder in their tumble, but now aimed right for her throat.

Lagertha vs. @Viveka
Dominance
Round 3 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 5d20: 11 + 6 + 17 + 16 + 13

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 14 + 8 + 9

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 16 + 7 + 19 + 12 + 3

code by flea, art by irish

She lives in a world where tooth and claw reign over all else, the walls of the arena falling away in a blurred haze of red and dust and pain. Every time she pushes, the other woman seems to shove back harder, snapping back with a ferocity to match the Rike's, and it fills Viveka with a rage she doesn't care to define.

They crash against the hard ground, but she's determined not to allow her pale opponent to pin her, to lord over her. She won't let herself be shown up, not even here. And she sure as hell won't just let the bitch scar up her damn face. Not without exacting a heavy price. Her eyes threaten to tear up from the sting when Lagertha's claws score across her nose, but Viveka doesn't need to see all that clearly to try to snap at the offending paw with a vicious snarl.

Looking at her, one would think that she intended to bite the damn thing clean off. Maybe she did.

Just as maybe the other woman intended to tear out her throat, and Viveka lashes out reflexively when those fangs dig into vulnerable skin, her heart sinking even as it races with panic. Her claws seek to sink into the other's chest, digging and tearing and shoving.

Not today.

Viveka vs. @Lagertha
Dominance
Round 3 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 4d20: 18 + 13 + 8 + 15

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 1 + 12 + 6 + 15

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 4 + 14 + 8 + 19 + 10

"SPEECH"

code by scorpixia♡︎

@Lagertha VS. @Viveka FOR Dominance
— RESULTS —

Lagertha Hits: 3 + 1 luck + 4 + 1 luck + 4 + 2 luck = 15
Lagertha Dodges: 2 + 2 + 1 = 5

Viveka Hits: 2 + 2 luck + 2 + 1 luck + 3 + 1 luck = 11
Viveka Dodges: 2 + 2 + 2 = 6

Lagertha Successful Hits: 9
Viveka Successful Hits: 6

LAGERTHA 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.

I put my armor on, show you how strong I am

Some sought friendly competition, some sought to test their skill. And some, some just lived for the song of battle. Some fought to the melody of bodies crashing into other bodies, crashing into hardened ground, fangs tearing, claws ripping. The song of blood and destruction that so few truly understood.

She'd fought with ferocity and perhaps there'd been the intention to kill. There was a glimmer in her eyes that had persisted throughout the fight. Kill. Kill. A thought of something darker and twisted than should have been from one who could just as easily be the light, egging her on, pushing her beyond care. But it was that pushing beyond care that had her not paying attention to the fangs sinking into her paw, to the claws digging into her chest.

Releasing her grip on the other female, she threw up her head to smack it under the other's chin, something to slip away.

Her slender frame practically vibrated with the excitement woken by battle, chest heaving in soft pants, no attention being given to the bloody marks that now marred her body, to the blood that was tainting her fur. Emerald eyes remained locked onto @Viveka, a smirk tugging at her lips. Though she didn't say anything, after this, the darker female had her respect.

code by flea, art by irish