It hadn't been a particularly long rest in between sparring matches, but the golden lion was already feeling the need to do it again. In fact, he'd just caught his breath, light patches of sweat still visible on his pale pelt. It had been a good match, but hadn't quite quenched his thirst for battle. A rumble bubbled up from deep in his throat at the large lion pushed himself to his paws once more, entering the make-shift sparring grounds of their current residence; which, at this point, happened to be occupied by Captain Hroarr's warband. Don hadn't gotten the details of it just yet, having not bothered to ask, but that could wait. He'd much rather test their abilities in combat before getting too chit-chatty.
Did her eyes deceive her or did one of Ru's band just rumble off a challenge? She hadn't seen the pale faced lion before, and so she assumed he must be with Captain Ruzanski's band. Dreyri had made it a personal quest of hers to overcome any challenge set before her during her training to become a reaver, and has as of yet to refuse a spar. Granted, it wasn't directed at her, but he didn't seem to be summoning anyone in particular either. With little to hold her back the young lioness sprang to her paws, answering the stranger's rumble with one of her own as she approached. He hadn't seemed that big before, but upon approaching him she realized he was deceptively large. It made her grin. "Your move", she chided, flowing into a stalking pace to the side of him. There was enough room for either of them to lunge at the other, she realized, and steeled herself for an attack.It wasn't a seasoned warrior that came to answer his call, but a little girl. He could call her that. His brows furrowed and his nose wrinkled, exposing the tips of his fangs. She reeked of inexperience. The way she moved, how she held herself, and the over eagerness to jump into combat. Perhaps she had seen battle, but Don doubted it had been much. He did not answer her goad with a remark of his own, instead he rumbled at her once more, a dark cunning veiling his gaze. She wanted to spar with him? Fine. He wouldn't hold back, and if she couldn't take it there would be no skin off his back. Without warning the reaver launched himself at her, the strength of a full force charge barging through her.
She... wasn't sure if she liked that look he gave her. Being one of the youngest and most inexperienced members of Hroarr's band, Dreyri had dealt with skepticism before, but never full-on disgust. Is that what that look was? Disgust? It raised the fur on her hackles to think so. She barely had enough time to snarl at him for the insult before he charged her, the brute crashing directly into her side knocking her off her paws with an ease that unsettled her. Startled, she attempted to roll back to her paws, knowing it best not to stay in a vulnerable position with an opponent so close. To her horror, he was right there, having recovered from their collision much quicker, and already swiping a paw out to catch her on the cheek- once more flattening her to the ground. s**t. That hurt!
Had this not been a spar, this farce would have already been over. He'd have fastened his teeth around her neck and heard her garbled attempts to escape death. This would not be the case, however, as he had no real desire to do her harm. Knock her around? Certainly. If she was smart she'd learn something from this, if not, well, then he was just beating up another idiot who didn't belong. Not exactly something he'd feel bad about. Moving in for another strike, he was surprised to find rolling out of his reach, and scrambling to her paws. That got the slightest of twists from his maw, a tiny spark of amusement flickering in his eyes. Ah. So there was some competence to her. But just how much?
She was panting already, and having a difficult time focusing on the spar. That last blow had knocked her in the head pretty well, but despite feeling so very outmatched she was driven to hit him. Just. Once. Just to rip that smug look off his stupid face. Dreyri-Bein managed to avoid another nasty blow, just in time too as she felt the wind from such a force as it pounded the ground where she had been not a moment before. She was on her paws now, facing her opponent with a snarl and a glare that locked onto his shockingly pale eyes. "That all you got?" she spat at him through painful jaws. He didn't seem to be messing around, so neither would she! The dark lioness lunged forward, keeping her body low for an upwards strike to his throat.
She would have caught him if he wasn't paying attention, but that wasn't the case. It only took the simplest of maneuvers, a step back to avoid her attack and then two forward to throw her off balance in an instant. He'd decided not to go easy on her in the get go, and Don wasn't keen on changing his mind once it was made up. So he followed through like he would in any spar, tackling her to the ground through brute force alone, dragging her down even though he could feel her struggling, and pinning the smaller lioness under his weight. She could snap and bite at him if she wished, but he had in a position where fighting back was essentially useless. She seemed to know it, the way her eyes bore daggers into his and her lips curled into an unfriendly, frustrated snarl. She definitely knew it. And he certainly knew it. His own lips curled into a snarling grin, a cruel amusement fueling the hollow reflex. He pushed his nose closer to hers, to feel her breath fill his lungs, and he whispered almost mockingly, "Do you yield?"
Try as she might, there was no way to push him off of her. He was simply too heavy, and her legs were in no position to give her leverage. So instead she glared at him, snarled at him, thoughts of biting him on the face tempting her. And then he came closer, and she suddenly felt very small. It was almost startling to hear his voice for the first time, and in a whisper no less. Something about it sent chills down her spine, a feeling she did not enjoy. It was... haunting, in a way. Despite this she did not want to give in so easily. To have been tossed around like a cub hurt her pride, and admitting to such a loss much more so. She struggled a bit longer, attempting to wrench her claws out from under him, but to no avail. Eventually she came to the conclusion that there was nothing she could do short of simply chomping onto his nose, to which she was certain would earn her a face full of claw in return. For the longest time she stared at him and he stared back, she frustrated and he surprisingly patient. It infuriated her to no end. Through clenched teeth she hissed at him, "Yes!"
Ah, there it was. With that Don heaved himself off her, and without a glance backward walked away. No names exchanged, no chit-chat, and no hollow pleasantries. If she expected something then she was sorely mistaken. Don was done, and had nothing more to say to her.
That, that was it? She stared after him in disbelief, which quickly turned to anger. How dare he ignore her like that! She moved to roll onto her paws, but found the movement much more painful than she'd expected. Dreyri winced slightly, before carefully rolling herself to her belly to catch her breath and settle her heart. Whoever that was, she'd bitten off a little more than she could chew. Next time though? Next time she was going to beat him!
((Word Count: 1,373))
