It was cold today and every other day. The freezing temperature did nothing to stall his want and lust for battle. The upturn of trunk would make the excitement the calf held in his heart as he began to waddle towards the middle of the arena. His body would saunter forward as he came to a standstill in the middle of the arena. Heavy ears would fan forward as he glances around the arena. Maybe someone would just show up? Maybe they would not. It didn't matter in the end - instead, he raised his trunk up to the air and made a call for someone to come meet him on the field of glory.


ardghal vs. Who?
for dominance
0 of iii

[exp event]

_{ART — CODE}

So this is what you've been doing. It was hard to mask the scent of elephant no matter what the occasion was, harder still when said elephant paraded themself around in a literal lions' den. So here came the scientist, the herbalist, a scowl twisting her long features into something far more unpleasant than usual. It was concern that colored her blackened maw and lilac eyes and the hefty weight of suspicion that made her want to snap at any lion that wandered too close to the calf she had.... taken on?

However they decided to contextualize the relationship later on, she did not trust any of these misbegotten fiends near the young elephant. Far too many were liable to deem him an hors d'oeuvres rather than an opponent.

Do you at least have the ability to make a salve? She continues as she closes the distance between them. One paw flies out, aiming to cuff him as a mother would her cub, and it takes a moment for Andraesa to realize that her flutter of a cuff meant nothing to something as big as @Ardghal was. Still, the scowl stays on and again she flutters against him, her sheathed paw bapping off his leathery hide - an attack! But an utterly useless one.

Where - are - your - herbs! Each word is accentuated with a soft little bap. If she could not jeep him away from lions, she could at least make him try to care for the wounds that would most definitely occur!

@Ardghal vs. @Andraesa
Dominance
Round 0 / 3
no dice for baps yet

_{art by inky —code by daanyan}

'So this is what you've been doing.'

His throat visibly twitched - a hefty swallow marking his trepidation as he heard her voice and knew who it was. But there was something proud in the young calf as his eyes snap sharply towards Andraesa - the adrenaline already starting to course through his veins - he a junkie that sat within the pit too long and now his every sense was now focused on the hum of is instincts and the natural masculine aggression that fluttered through his veins. The stakes weren't high, and that was what made the youngster deflate - shoulders going slack under thick hide.

The scowl that she wore tight like a scarf was all he needed to know - the signal that he was in trouble. Adam's apple would bob under laddened flesh - he sheepishly watched her and her features. She now knew his secret that he tried to keep hidden, even though an elephant could not hide worth anything at all. I-... He trails off with a tiny stammer - feet shuffling against lightly snow-covered limestone floor.

But a question came - could he make a salve? No... He would quietly whimper towards her - trunk lightly curling upwards to try to reach out towards her.

Bap!

The cuff connected with his trunk as he stammered in confusion - each scar that littered his flesh decorated him like medals. His legs - cut up and slashed from the slashes of previous opponents - his trunk punctured in a multitude of places. But each fight and light scar was a newly written love letter to strength. Another swing, another slap on his trunk while a soft rumble would flee his throat. He was being scolded - and his ears could only pull all the way against his sides as he wordlessly accepted it.

I didn't think about it! The calf would shallowly squeal his confession with the lowering of his trunk - he shameful. I don't have time! The calf would try to explain, but he couldn't really put to words the fear he felt when he was pinned under Gauthier's gaze - nor could he put to words the instinct that told him to flee first instead of fight. He had to mute those instincts - he had to fight.

How do I protect you with herbs! He would suddenly and rather defiantly shout. If I can stronger I...I...I can p-p-protect you! It was his goal and as he was - the lions would eat him. He had to figure out how to protect himself and her at the same time, his youthful heart was set on fire and aflutter. His titanic strength could be used to protect the ones he cared about. But to do that - he could not break under the teeth of carnivores and the fear it created under his flesh.

For that, he would have to become something a lion would fear.


ardghal vs. @Andraesa
for dominance
o of iii
Hits: [roll=#d20]
Dodges: [roll=#d20]
Luck: [roll=#d20]

[exp event]

_{ART — CODE}

Andraesa rocked back on her haunches, her teeth clicking together in annoyance. I am a lion among a bunch of lions. I have allies in the furthest reaches of this world. If I were to gain a single scratch on my cheek, there would be a giantess at my back to tear out the claws that nicked me. My protection is not my concern!

She could feel his frustration and upset roiling beneath his defiance, so strong that she felt compelled to toss herself headfirst into the maelstrom with him. To yell. To scream. To do anything if it would get him to understand

I cannot protect you if your follies for strength place you between the claws of a lion who views defeat as a free ride to a snack. How am I supposed to keep you alive when -

Her tail lashed angrily back and forth, slapping against her knees as if she were trying to swat away a particularly stubborn horsefly. She stood, tossing her head this way and that for a moment - twitching and mumbling to herself before laser-focusing back to the calf.

Fine! Prove it, prove your training is worth this - She gestured to the fresh scabs that littered his skin. Hit me, beat me. If you do, I'll shut up and watch you from the stands. I'll even bring your favorite leaves for every downed opponent you score. If not -

Her lilac eyes narrowed, a mother's stare despite the neglible age difference. You will be training with safe mentors of my choice. Those who won't go easy on you, but will value your hide for your soul rather than your flesh. Okay?

@Ardghal vs. Andraesa
Dominance
0 of 0

_{art by inky —code by daanyan}

+10 - Discuss a battle strategy
+10 - Observe a fight
+10 - Maintain your weapons (sharpen claws or care for teeth)

a call rings out across the land for a challenger, but it sounds unlike anything karsa has ever heard before. naturally, that means he makes a move to head to the pit quickly to investigate the peculiar noise and whoever might have made it

what the man is greeted with is an unexpected sight indeed. an elephant calf, @Ardghal, apparently arguing with a lioness that karsa doesn't know. it seemed a fight of sorts was brewing so karsa slumps lazily against a large fallen tree trunk, claws digging hard into the bark as he stretches out his back. blue eyes blink at the challenge thrown out by the lioness, @Andraesa, and then slide to the child. "you're probably bigger than her weight wise..." karsa starts, letting his claws slide down the bark and then picking them up to repeat the movement. "if you don't let her knock you over, i think you could win." he shrugs. "regardless, i don't mind teaching you a thing or two later." it might be different to work with an elephant, but surely the concepts of battle couldn't be that different - and if the kid wanted to learn, who was karsa to deny him? as if to punctuate the offer, his claws dig into the bark once again and begin to scratch downwards.

coding by daanyen | art by nevvvia

The sound of her teeth clicking together was enough to send waves of adrenaline fluttering through his veins. But her words would strike something in his heart - a match against a tinderbox. I'm an elephant in a lion's world! The calf would shout back - for the only ally he had he thought was his strength and her. There was nothing else in this shattered for him besides to eat and continue to train his strength. He was vividly aware of his position in the world - well when he was fighting he was.

But how was he supposed to stay alive? The calf didn't think that far - that defeat might leave him too weakened to fight off any further onslaught that fell from the source of said defeat. His tail too would sharply thrash back and forth behind him as he focuses solely on Andraesa - he waiting to complain some more about how he had to get stronger so as to not be a burden but the words do not come out.

They die - caged somewhere between regret and determination.

But she offers him a brawl - one that would determine the way his strength would be sourced from now on. If he lost, he would no longer be able to fight random strangers in the pit to test his strength and to draw from theirs, he would have to learn from those - mother thought were safe.

Mother?

The word hits him in the head for a moment as his trunk curls upwards in confusion. When did he think of her like that? He tries to pick a moment but cannot, he too short-sighted in the heartbeats of time between now and then to truly understand that he looked to her for guidance - but too stubborn at the moment to unpack it. His confusion is pushed to the back of his mind as he focuses back on her until another voice rings from the sideline.

@Karsa would speak - his voice breaking the bickering pair as he looked over at the male that was stretching on the tree trunk. Bigger? Weight-wise? Was Karsa calling him fat? The calf would blink a few times as his ears fan forward to listen before pulling back against his head. Okay! He knew what he had to do to win this fight with her - and he knew what he wanted.

If I win, I want that guy on the tree trunk! The calf would state his stipulation on winning the battle. Ardghal of course did not understand that he couldn't just have her grab him new friends and playmates if he won against her in battle. But he had it in his mind that - that would be his newest friend if he won.


ardghal vs. @Andraesa
for dominance
o of iii
Hits: [roll=#d20]
Dodges: [roll=#d20]
Luck: [roll=#d20]

[exp event]

_{ART — CODE}

Andraesa spares a singular glance towards the onlooker, his presence about as important as a fly's against her focus.

Yes, yes, if you win. She concedes to the calf. The stranger could always be deterred - if not by her, than by any of the many terrifying beasts she called her family. He would not so easily taste elephant flesh if that was what he desired out of a round with the calf.

You will call the winner, onlooker. She calls to @Karsa. If he must be here, he might as well be useful.

Without another word, she is moving, her large form tilted into a stalking crouch, concern shifting into calculation as she surveyed her opponent. First the first time, she realizes that the calf is big. He has always been big, but outside the arena, he always seemed... clumsy. Oafish, almost, in his naivete.

She circles him quietly, waiting for a limp or a twitch, a window. Fighting a lion was one thing: they snarled and lunged and snapped and twisted. An elephant, however, was not going to be as volatile. They were lumbering creatures, only as quick as their gigantic sizes would allow. So how would she best him...

She darts forward suddenly, surprising herself in her quickness. Stupidly, unthinkingly, she aim to dive under the calf with a quick nip to the skin that connected his leg to his belly - nothing severe or particularly painful, but certainly something to grab attention if successful.

Andraesa vs @Ardghal
Dominance
1 of 3
Hits:

Rolling 3d20: 16 + 3 + 12

Dodges:

Rolling 1d20: 10

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 20 + 4 + 10 + 8 + 12

_{art by inky —code by daanyan}

his brows rise at the child's declaration. "sure, kid, we can hang out." i guess. karsa leaves off that bit, trying not to hurt the elephant's feelings at the uncertainty in his voice. blue eyes are observant as @Andraesa begins to circle him like a predator might circle their prey. "don't let her get behind you," he calls out to @Ardghal, sliding his claws down the bark of his tree again. "circle with her if you must." karsa suggests, unsure of how nimble such a large animal was. the few times that he had managed to hunt one, they were powerful but not particularly agile, but perhaps that came with age and size.

"if you let an opponent get in your blind spots, you will be unprepared for when they attack." it was a dangerous - even potentially deadly - position to be in. as he watches, karsa settles after deciding his claws are sharp enough. instead, he starts cleaning between his toes and under the claws themselves now, eager to keep them from being too dirty. keeping weapons at top shape was half of what won any battle.

coding by daanyen | art by nevvvia

She agrees.

The excitement that stirs within the quivering veins of the calf is pumped through him - filtered by blood only to stir the nerve endings that ran through him. Each sensation was heightened, each word she spoke devoured and then pushed into the recesses of his mind. But there is also pain - old scars moving as his flesh twitched at the thought and notion that soon he would battle again. She - would be his opponent.

If he won, he would get the male on the trunk to bring home, a new friend, a new companion, a new individual to share stories - hopes, and dreams with. It was one of his few goals, to protect his mother, the pride that he lived in, and to gather as many new friends as possible. Little did he know he could not earn friends this way, but that idea was lost on the calf for now.

Ardghal would not be thwarted by Mother, nor would he give in. He could not afford to. So he watched her, his eyes tracking the circle that she made about him with his head only trying to make the smallest motions to track her but stopping when she passed behind him. @Karsa would even advise him to circle with her, but he is too lazy to expend so much energy on walking in circles with her. Only a low rumbling vibration created from the depths of his stomach and throat would mark the shift in tone - the release of his playfulness as he focused on doing what he had to do.

Win.

Finally, there is action, motion, and a blur of it. The various spheres of his brain suddenly lit up, each sending a signal to try to direct his body to one action or another. But with age, he would gradually lose his fear of lions - titanic size giving him a type of safety that only drove the desperate to tangle with the African leviathans but it was not age that muted his prey instincts - it was his constant training that muffled that voice that said to run.

No, he would not run. Not from her, not from anyone. Not anymore.

She was there - her teeth nipping roughly at the undercarriage of his body where his leg connected to the stomach, teeth scrapping skin - rending nerve endings and flaying the flesh to summon forth blood. Eruption of motion happened rather quickly from him - it was enough to spur him into action as his body sought to take a step backward and at the same time his front left leg tried to pull forcefully back towards his stomach - he trying to kick the side of her head.

ardghal vs. @Andraesa
for dominance
o of iii
Hits:

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

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 3 + 13 + 14 + 1 + 10

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 2 + 18 + 13 + 5 + 17

[exp event]

_{ART — CODE}

Andraesa skitters away awkwardly as his leg comes up, threatening to kick and stomp and crush any part of her smaller body. Instead of her head, he connects with her belly and she snarls - that fucking hurt.

But again she is whirling, almost flipping herself to try to land a hard smack to his own belly in retaliation, her claws not quite sheathed due to the sharp pain and indignation that propelled her. It was a dangerous dance she was attempting, hoping not to hurt or maim, aiming not to scare while also respecting the terms of a duel. It was so much easier with lions, wasn't it?

The watcher in the tree (@Karsa) calls out advice, helping in his own way. Perhaps he was not so awful if he was trying to be useful.

Maybe.

Andraesa vs @Ardghal
Dominance
2 of 3
Hits:

Rolling 3d20: 13 + 18 + 10

Dodges:

Rolling 1d20: 20

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 3 + 1 + 12 + 6 + 2

_{art by inky —code by daanyan}