+10 Complete a spar or fight
+10 Lose a spar or fight/+20 Win a fight (spars not included)
+10 Patrol your borders

he does not mean to patrol the borders -- and truly, he's doing a dogshit job of it. still, his aimless pacing finds him doing something bordering on productive day. the afternoon sun is high in the sky yet still sleep clings to him, a yawn splitting his muzzle even as he moves. since joining ecrosia, he has gotten lazy. he wanes under his companion's lackluster training regime and truthfully does little to contribute to his own. it is easier to laze around, after all, when there are no commanders howling in your ear. still, the idleness pulls at him -- eventually pulling him from his late slumber and sending him here. the muck pulls at his paws as he lumbers forward, ruby eyes unfocused. ears twitch though, listening to the birds quiet as he passes, a chorus of birdsong following in his wake.

@Alaric

CODE BY LARS

Alaric was a common sight on the borders, walking them almost relentlessly when he had spare moments. It was his scent that was the strongest, an indication of how dedicated he was, or perhaps how paranoid. Mostly, though, he wanted to be sure the message was clear -- this land was taken.

Maybe between that and the ring of thorns they would be able to deter trespassers. And if not, well, he was fairly certain that he had more than one capable pride member to chase them off. Assuming they weren't all pulled off site for a challenge again.

The bear-ish form of the male materialized from the mist, giving the King pause. @Kazimir had been at the meeting and had supported him at the uprising, but beyond that he knew little of the male. So he chuffed and drew near, thinking that today was just as good a day as any. And maybe, just maybe, they could stretch their legs together.

THE THUNDER OF THE DRUMS

table by sentinel / art

@Alaric, too, seems to spring out of nothing.

there is mist and muck and mire, and then there is a sovereign. a bright pelt stark against the otherwise drab land he rules. a small chuff is given in answer, letting his own rumble out from behind grizzled teeth. Привет, he rumbles once the sovereign is close enough, his mother tongue lilting easily. brown limbs pause in their motions as they grow closer, a folded ear tipping in alaric’s direction. is there something i can help with, sovereign? he asks, not unkindly — head tilting slightly, following the motion of his ear, and it’s almost cute. would be, if it had been anyone else but him doing it. ruby eyes are keen and focused, curious of this man to whom he has pledged his abilities once before. the future.... eh, that was a little more grey and blurry at the edges. for now, though, he is here and he is curious.

CODE BY LARS

there were not many lions larger than himself -- but kazimir definitely has him beat. alaric was on the larger side, but the bear-ish man and his companion put him to shame. it did not bother him, though; at least, not while they were on his side.

"nothing in particular," he responded, though his lips twisted in to a bit of a smirk, "unless you're interested in a bit of a tussle. stretch our legs, and all that." he was curious if that size would be much of an advantage, or if alaric would be able to keep him on his toes. there was a lot that could be learned in a fight, too, and that was all the more reason why he sought one now.

@Kazimir

THE THUNDER OF THE DRUMS

table by sentinel / art

even with their limited interactions, he’d certainly dealt with @Alaric more than he had the last sovereign. it was neither a good thing nor a bad — simply interesting. kazimir was curious about the politics of it all, having to rub elbows of the important lions to get what you wanted, but he had no illusions that he was ever meant for it. so it is a curious thing to get to interact with a man who’d been able to gather such a large group to defend what was rightfully his.

interesting, too, to see what the wheat-pelted man had been able to turn the mire into.

there was more activity here than he’d ever imagined — certainly more than jafar had ever promised them. alaric promised nothing yet still, here they were. for now they would stay, as long as the tides remained good. and when the sovereign proposed a tussle, the rurik man can only smile. wolfish and keen, fangs flash. da, we can do that. he says, as if his approval needs to be spoken verbally. never fought against a king before, he says — grin still wide and sharp. he’s fought with the man but not against him, not yet. might be a good way to test him, and a smarter man than kazimir might be thinking that.

but he is simply excited about the prospect at hand, squaring his shoulders — ready for alaric’s first move.

CODE BY LARS

i'm ready for the fight, and fate

"a good fight does not care for crowns," he tossed back, with an amused twist to his lips. king or not he would bleed just the same as kazmir did, and he had little doubt that the colossal man would be able to land a few good blows to make him do just that.

the first move is all but handed to him on a silver platter, and alaric approaches with a slow stride, and then slightly quicker. he seeks to approach nearly head on, looking very much like he might ram the man.

instead he slides to an abrupt stop a mere pace away, using his right paw to scoop the muck from the ground and fling it in kazimir's direction. it is only mud, it will not do any damage, but if he is lucky it will distract his opponent -- if he is luckier, still, his aim will be true and the mud will end up in his eyes.

rather than drop his paw to the ground he balances his weight over his grounded three legs, using the motion of his initial strike to carry through and aim for kazimir's left shoulder. he attempts to hook his unsheathed claws in to the muscle, there, pulling back just enough that he will not leave deep gouges if his aim is true. this was just for fun after all.


Alaric vs. @Kazimir
For dominance
Round 1/3
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 6 + 5 + 10 + 8 + 19 + 4 + 2 + 3

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 10 + 16 + 7 + 17

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 1 + 9 + 12 + 13 + 7

image by cloudy, code by corvus

kazimir knew little and less of crowns and sovereigns — everything he knew of politics was just from what he’d gleamed since coming here. back home, they had no use for such things and so he did not concern himself with it. even the little hierarchy that ruled their clan was of little use to him after a certain point. ilarion was the one who struggled with, not him. so he grins even as he shrugs, a heavy shoulder rising and falling in time with an inhale, exhale.

ready, set.

go.

it is thrilling, to just launch into battle like this. messy and sloppy, the ground beneath them would do them no favors, but still he yearns for it. the push and pull, the ache of muscles after a fight well won. it’s been far too long since he’d thrown himself headlong into a fight like this, on a whim; he is glad for alaric’s path crossing his today.

the slinging of mud, though, is both literal and unexpected. an annoyed noise rumbles in his throat as the offending substance hits him square in the face, covering nearly half of his face. from one side of his jaw stretching up his nose bridge and forehead — it means he cannot see out of one eye. a cheap trick, and a dirty one, but one he will certainly keep in mind for later. especially if those lions, the ones who had tried to reclaim the mire from alaric, decided to come back and give it another go.

losing sight in that eye ( if only for now, since he knows better than to try and wipe it away now ), means he does not see the the shove. claws sink easily into the muscle there, pulling even if his full weight isn’t behind it. pain hisses through his veins and a similar noise comes from beneath clenched teeth, before they open and snap forward. he aims for alaric’s right wrist, hoping to grab it where it holds his shoulder. the pressure is firm but not bone-breaking — he feels the sovereign holding back, and he too does not seek to cause major harm. not even when his own right paw lashes out — jerking forward as his paw attempts to grab just behind alaric’s left elbow. intent on grabbing it and holding it, hoping to keep him in place.

kazimir vs. @Alaric
for dominance
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 8 + 14 + 7 + 9 + 16 + 18

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 1 + 19 + 18

Luck:

Rolling 6d20: 17 + 10 + 4 + 20 + 12 + 7

ooc: dice fixed with ice's permission, given via #help

CODE BY LARS

i'm ready for the fight, and fate

alaric had let his skills rest since gaining his crown, and he felt the same thump, thump of his heart as the thrill sunnk in. fighting was what he was best at, not this tangled web of politics, and he wished it was possible to fight away all the problems he faced.

need an alliance? fight for it. counterproductive, perhaps, but you could learn a lot about another in the middle of a battle.

kazimir retaliates and they might well have been hugging, if not for the sear of pain as his opponants teeth sunk in to his wrist. alaric makes no attempt to avoid the attack but instead seeks to use it to his advantage, keeping his paw in the air but now bringing his teeth in to the mix.

he stretches his neck forward and attempts to sink his teeth in to the right cheek of the male (which was presented to him as kazimir bit down on his wrist), aiming just below his eye. again it is not a deep bite, but shallow, and meant more to deter him from his grip on the limb than anything else.

his ears flick back as kazimir's paw rises from the ground, intuitively aware that he was in a somewhat compromising position. as claws hook around his left leg he shoves forward, pushing off from his hind legs and trying to barrel in to the larger male, hoping to unbalance him enough to give him an edge.



Alaric vs. @Kazimir
For dominance
Round 2/3
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 4 + 5 + 20 + 3 + 18 + 15 + 19 + 14

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 20 + 9 + 4 + 10

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 12 + 17 + 11 + 5 + 7

image by cloudy, code by corvus

his teeth find their mark, digging into alaric’s forearm. they sink in but kazimir does his best to take care — not wanting to press too hard, or dig too deeply. he’d fought with this man before, but never against, and it was always interesting to get to play against someone. you never knew a man until he was pushed to his limits — and while kazimir has no intentions of doing that to alaric today, it will still be more of the sovereign he’s gotten to know.

a growl rumbles in his throat, pitched low as a warning, as teeth flash forward. the sovereign’s jaws pierce the fur of his face, near his eye enough to be alarming ( hence the growl lmao ) but ultimately he is not in much danger. he does not trust the wheat king not to harm him still, but he’ll play nice for now. it leaves them at an impasse, though, and kazimir loathes to it but he lets go of his grip on alaric’s wrist, attempting to jerk his muzzle away from the sovereign’s teeth. there is already damage done and blood wells easily, but better to get distance than have his face in the meat grinder. as he does, he hopes to shove his muzzle into alaric’s lower jaw — a half-hearted headbutt, if he manages to connect.

it means, too, that kaz’s grabbing doesn’t go well, either. his paw finds purchase where he wants it but alaric does not take this laying down. he moves forward, into the claws there, pressing close and crowding forward. kazimir is larger than the sovereign, heavier too — it is hard to get him unbalanced. the terrain might’ve helped, had kaz not lived here for longer than alaric as well. still, he has to relent — sliding back a step or two in the muck. he twists his wrist, hoping to keep his hold on alaric there — not trying to shove his claws any deeper, but attempting to tighten his grip at least. one of them will slip, surely, or hit a patch of the mire that isn't quite as solid and tip them one way or another, but still he grins, delighted.

kazimir vs. @Alaric
for dominance
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 3 + 5 + 9 + 15 + 12 + 8

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 20 + 16 + 4

Luck:

Rolling 6d20: 17 + 20 + 12 + 9 + 8 + 14

CODE BY LARS

i'm ready for the fight, and fate

they are not too different, alaric thinks, as he grapples with the man. there is a grin on his opponents face that tells him this, and it brings an answering one to the wheat king. even as he clamps his teeth on kazimirs face he grins, tasting the blood from the shallows wounds he has given.

of course he is not granted a lasting grip, here, and indeed the bear-ish man jerks away and then slings his head back, leaving alaric in a rush to pull his jaw away from danger. he is not fast enough (the pull on his teeth had at first moved him closer) and his teeth click together hard enough to ache in the aftermath of the collision.

alaric's shove might well have been pointless -- he can feel the solid wall of his opponent and gains very little ground -- so he changes tactics. they are pressed against each other, nearly chest to chest, and he knows that neither of them will give without a little... incentive.

with kazimir's claws still hooked in his left elbow (he does not bother trying to free himself of that grip) Alaric takes the same right paw from before and re-lifts it, leaning his weight back enough that he can hopefully press it in to the man's chest. he unsheathes his claws and seeks to shove his entire weight in to that arm, hoping that the poke of claw will be enough to force the other to back off .

simultaneously his teeth flashed again -- still stained with blood -- and strike towards the man's ear (whichever was closest, now) with an almost gleeful snarl.

what fun.


Alaric vs. @Kazimir
For dominance
Round3/3
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 14 + 1 + 20 + 19 + 7 + 6 + 18 + 10

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 8 + 20 + 18 + 7

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 16 + 1 + 7 + 2 + 9

image by cloudy, code by corvus