The stranger started to shift at the last second, but the hip was just as good a place as the tail, he supposed. Fangs sought to clamp down, to pierce and hold skin and muscle as his left forepaw raised higher. Claws would try to latch into the slight hollow between rib and hip, just an inch or so shy of the spine - which would conveniently put his left forearm in the path of the stranger's searching claws, and spare his face. The flash of pain as flesh parted was little more than an echo of the other fresh wounds he wore, and was easily ignored.

If the man had been present for the challenge, maybe he'd figured out what had been so wrong with the red woman. It would be amusing to see him wonder about poison, but any effect on that front would be psychological today.

There was a strangled voice from behind, and Ryker finally had a name to put to the stranger's face. An an inkling of how important he just might be to the one who'd tried to rip the rainforest from his grasp. Friend? Family? Lover? Spouse?

Ryker vs. @Kovirah
Dominance/Belated punishment
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 14 + 13 + 7 + 6 + 10 + 18 + 4 + 2

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 4 + 11 + 19

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 4 + 10 + 8 + 20 + 19

@Kireena

I'm a friend of the devil I'm a dangerous rebel

Fighting my way through the sins of the street I'm feeling psycho, psycho Where did my mind go? Biting my tongue and I'm loading my gun Back to the wind, better run, better run I'm feeling crazy, crazy Go 'head and make me It's the life that I can't escape, can't walk away There's blood in the ocean And I'm losing focus I'm a friend of the devil I'm a dangerous rebel

code by corvus

Ryker didn’t let go, and his attack ultimately landed on his arm rather than his face. The frustration was building, Kovirah had no true meddle with the sovereign but the actions of his brash temper was enough to make the assassin angered. His claws were lodged into Ryker’s arm when he hears the soft sound of his name being called.

Kovirah, for a split second takes his eyes off of his target and sees @Kireena standing there—alive. It was a mistake, honestly, a rookie one at that to let his attention shift. His balance fails him and Kovirah is taken to the ground easily. He hits the jungle floor with a thud and Kovirah scrables to regain some kind of bearing on this fight. He tries to twist his back end to the right, doing his best to make Ryker as unsteady as he can manage. Perhaps then he could use his hind legs to kick, use his remaining front ones to grab at the undersides should his last minute, impromptu plan actually work.



Kovirah vs. @Ryker
Dominance / Punishment
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 2 + 8 + 3 + 18 + 9 + 12 + 1

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 9 + 18 + 1 + 16 + 10

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 4 + 8 + 6 + 12 + 5

code by daanyan, Art by Rabbit

Maybe he should have attacked first, asked later, but then he may not have learned this Kovirah was connected to the recent challenger. At the moment it didn't matter how, because the man was going down and Ryker released his grip so as not to be pulled along, escaping anything worse than a quick yank to his head/teeth and some slight strain on his neck.

He'd take a step back as the man scrambled to get his legs under him again, Ryker's own left forepaw planting firmly on the jungle floor once more. Tail lashed and he'd side-step to his right, to keep himself at Kovirah's rear end and out of easy reach of any flailing limbs (confirmed if/then attack-limbo status w/ naki) and his right paw would lift as he reached forward in an attempt to dig claws into the man's rump, roughly in the same area his teeth had managed to land earlier. He'd keep his head up, though, just in case.

Ryker vs. @Kovirah
Dominance/Belated punishment
Round 3 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 13 + 6 + 11 + 7 + 15 + 5 + 20 + 3

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 3 + 20 + 14

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 13 + 2 + 11 + 1 + 3

I'm a friend of the devil I'm a dangerous rebel

Fighting my way through the sins of the street I'm feeling psycho, psycho Where did my mind go? Biting my tongue and I'm loading my gun Back to the wind, better run, better run I'm feeling crazy, crazy Go 'head and make me It's the life that I can't escape, can't walk away There's blood in the ocean And I'm losing focus I'm a friend of the devil I'm a dangerous rebel

code by corvus

She stood, helplessly and watched as @Ryker and @Kovirah fought just beyond the borders. The red woman had thought to throw herself between them, to take the attacks for Kovirah - but the warning from the Rainforest king echoed in her skull. She doubted that having a broken limb instead of simply damaged muscle would help her cause. Not that she would go against the lions rules. He was neither Tyrant nor abusive. Had he been either, perhaps she would have simply sought to sneak out well before now.. But as it were, the current rainforest king was being downright accommodating. Still, Kireena's bi-colored gaze watched Kovirah and Ryker fighting, noting the wounds that flowed between them and hoped that perhaps the zebra male would permit her to help her friend before he left.

code by koi

Ryker wouldn't relent. That much was clear, once his footing regained the zebra make had his claws firmly back in the left side of his hip region. Kovirah used what strength he still possessed to yank hard again--this time to the right, then a curt change back to his left. A pivot in his motion as he curled and folded himself as much as he could. Kovirah tries to reach out and swipe at Ryker again, if only to get his fucking hands off him.

This wasn't his best fight. This honestly was probably one of the worst encounters for his pride alone. He should have stayed in the shadows where he belonged, instead of running his mouth to a threat.



Kovirah vs. @Ryker
Dominance / Punishment
Round 3 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 6 + 15 + 18 + 19 + 14 + 7 + 10

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 1 + 2 + 9 + 4 + 18

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 16 + 7 + 5 + 13 + 17

@Kireena

code by daanyan, Art by Rabbit

@Ryker VS. @Kovirah FOR Dominance
— RESULTS —

Ryker Hits: 4 + 3 luck + 3 + 2 luck + 4 = 16
Ryker Dodges: 2 + 2 = 4

Kovirah Hits: 3 + 2 luck + 2 + 4 + 2 luck = 13
Kovirah Dodges: 3 + 2 + 1 = 6

Ryker Successful Hits: 10
Kovirah Successful Hits: 9

RYKER 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.

[[absence post 1/5 just to keep things out of too much limbo. tablet post so apologies if things are weird]]

Perhaps, next time (if there was one), he might know not to underestimate someone.

His opponent curled and wriggled and Ryker stepped back to avoid flailing claws. A swat would be aimed in the general direction of @Kovirah's face, coupled with a snarl, "Dumb fuck." Should have kept his mouth shut, should have run when he had the chance. "Take your sorry ass away from my borders. I don't wanna so much as catch a sniff of you near here again."

Wounds from the challenge had begun to ache again, scabs pulling uncomfortably and bruises throbbing with his heartbeat. He was in no mood to entertain much mercy. Especially to a man who had both ignored his borders and then spouted cryptic things about the red woman as if he knew her - which pegged him as a friend to the one who'd tried to overthrow him, or an ally or supporter at the least.

I'm a friend of the devil I'm a dangerous rebel

Fighting my way through the sins of the street I'm feeling psycho, psycho Where did my mind go? Biting my tongue and I'm loading my gun Back to the wind, better run, better run I'm feeling crazy, crazy Go 'head and make me It's the life that I can't escape, can't walk away There's blood in the ocean And I'm losing focus I'm a friend of the devil I'm a dangerous rebel

code by corvus

The smack was a harsh wake up call. The claws didn't dig too deep, but just enough. He is finally released and takes several large steps back from @Ryker. There is an impulse to charge at him again, to crush his skull with everything he has. The truth was, Kovirah was not a man of fighting fairly, and though his noble ambition was to be that way here--to shed how he had been--it was becoming clear he would never rid that part of himself.

Glare half blinded by trickling blood, his gaze turns to @Kireena and it softens. He knows she is alive, and for now, that will simply have to do. With a look that the hoped conveyed both apology and relief, he tears his gaze away and lopes back into the undergrowth, disappearing.

--exit

code by daanyan, Art by Rabbit

She watched the fight come to an end and let her bi-colored gaze land on @Kovirah as he also searched her face with an expression that she struggled to understand. Why? What had he tried to accomplish? Ears fell against her skull as she took a half step towards the brown lion that @Ryker banished from the territory. Remembering the warning of the Rainforest king, she put her paw down before it continued that step beyond the borders and she stood in worried silence as the dark maned lion slunk away. She wouldn't turn away from Ryker - not after Kovirah left, instead, choosing to remain where she was and expecting some sort of demand for answers. Though - unfortunately, the woman knew she wouldn't be able to provide the answers he would be seeking. Why? Because she couldn't tell him WHY Kovirah had done what he'd done.. Only that she worried for him.. Had Ryker's claws been poisoned as well? Would the other lion succumb to the same ailment as she?

code by koi

He would watch the man go, ensuring he was well out of sight and earshot before relaxing at all. If the man had been present at the challenge, then he'd surely picked up on Ryker's sneaky tactics - though he couldn't guess if the man was clever enough to figure out it had been poison. So let him stew on it, and wonder. Maybe he'd spend the next few hours terrified he was seconds away from collapse.

Finally, he'd turn, and level an even gaze on @Kireena. She'd seemed upset to see this @Kovirah, and had made no move to slip past the borders to his aid. After a couple silent seconds, he'd sigh, There's no poison. And his pride was probably more wounded than his body, actually. Who is he to you? Do I need to worry about him coming back to cause trouble? Did he need to be on guard for the man, or would this be a lesson learned and taken to heart?

No shackles on the demon in me

I'd rather be dead than average

code by corvus