[SRP - North] Relaxation [Thrain & Kito]

[Quaji]

Stat Counter

Lion vs. Lion

Thrain
HP: 30 +4 (for Soldier rank)
Hit: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 11
Miss: 1, 7 and 10
Critical Hit: 4, 9 and 12

Kito
HP: 30
Hit: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 11
Miss: 1, 7 and 10
Critical Hit: 4, 9 and 12

The sky was overcast. It smelled of rain. The sun was still in the sky, illuminating the clouds above with only a slight light, enough so the Duke could see where he was going without any trouble. Everyone seemed to be slightly down, depressed. Maybe it was the clouds, the chill that was still in the air or maybe it was something else. Whatever the reasoning, Kito was out and about and seemed to be almost unaffected by the gloomy weather.

Duke Shan had heard many things about this mysterious lion who had joined his family's house several moon cycles ago. He was curious. His hunters, servants and guards all whispered of how he killed a dragon, saved a princess and won himself a new rank. There were also much more sinister rumors of this lion's treachery and that he was nothing but bad luck for the pride, that he planned the whole in a bid for glory and fame in the North, nay, the entire pride.

Of course he had been taught manners as a cub, but he had also been trained by the finest tutors the North had to offer. The grey-blue lion strode through the brush of the North, asking those he saw where this mysterious lion could be found. Most insisted that he was still in the West, licking his wounds, but one simple old lioness had the information he was looking for.

"Oh, my duke! The lion you're looking for is resting still, but I have seen him already tend to his duties to the pride. You'll find him down those slopes." Her head tossed in the direction to her right. "He seems...pre-occupied, like he's waiting or looking for something." She had kept voice hushed while she spoke, for some reason that Kito just couldn't understand. Still, he thanked her, giving a short bow of his head before heading to the left.

She returned the bow and watched him leave. If he had looked back, he would have seen the corners of her mouth pull back to give her a smirk before she disappeared into the brush.

Travelling down the path, he finally spotted a tan form resting under a single tree that was surrounded by brush on three sides. A wide grin spread on his face. That had to be him. The scars matched what he had heard through rumors and the colors did too!

"Ah, there you are!"

Thrain's head jerked up as his head spun around to see who was talking with him. "Who are..." The lion standing behind him was fairly...regular. He was so used to seeing larger, fatter, taller, skinnier and smaller that seeing someone who could really only be described as regular seemed odd. Still, his colors were familiar. Golden eyes trailed over the steel-blue pelt and landed on the bracelet marking around his paw.

"My duke, forgive me. I did not recognize you." He quickly spoke, raising from his laying position under one of the scarce trees.

"Hahah, did not reconize me? Am I wearing a disguise? Did I turn into a beautiful lioness? Your apology is unneeded, Tie Shi. I have heard much of you and I would like to test you myself, that is if you are well enough for a duel."

A duke of the North wanted...to duel him?! It definitely wasn't what Thrain had been expecting, but how could he say no? "I am honored by your challenge, Duke Shan." They had met before, briefly, but he really should know that name better than he did. "But do you mean right now?"

"Of course I mean right now. Why wait? I see no reason to draw a crowd with a formal time and place. Beside, I'm old, fat and tired. You should have no trouble bested me." One of those three words he had used to describe himself was not true, hint: it was 'old', but it still amused him to see members of the North scramble to tell him that he looked so young.

Thrain did not seem to be one of those members and simply kept his tongue in check. He did nod though, agreeing to the proposed duel.

"Good!" He laughed from his belly as he watched the soldier in front of his practically melt with embarrassment and fright of just being around him. "There is an avian friend of mine above us," His black mane shook as Shan raised his head towards the sky. A white body flew above them, and from the size of it, it seemed to be an eagle of some sort. "He will be acting as our judge, to make sure that this is a fair fight. I'm sure you know, but no claws, no eyes and permanent injuries. Accidents happen, but keep yourself in check, soldier."

Another nod from Thrain. "Understood, my Duke."

"Come on now, there's no reason to be so formal. Just call me Shan. Now. HIT ME!"  

[Quaji]

Thrain roll - Crit! -10 HP

The new soldier frowned at the Duke's demand, but he swallowed his doubt and began the duel. He had seen other duels before. It was commonplace really, but ti fight against one of dukes of the North was...well, a privilege. They were taught well and everyone knew it so somewhere in the back of Thrain's mind he told himself that he wouldn't win this fight. There was just too much riding against him.

There was no holding back as he charged towards the Duke. His mouth was open, panting as he lunged at him.  

[Quaji]

Kito roll - Hit! -6 HP

He hadn't been expecting what he got. Red eyes widened but his smile remained. It had been so long since he had actually dueled someone besides his family or royal guards, the latter of which usually went easy on him because of his rank. His family on the otherpaw...well, they didn't care nearly as much and made sure to make him walk away with as many bruises as possible.

The large paw of the other duelist swung out, hitting him on the shoulder, causing the Duke to stumble. This soldier had a good arm on him. There was a sort of pride that swelled in Shan's chest as he remembered that this lion was a member of the North. Without thinking much more on it, he turned around and swung, the bottom of his paw hitting the side of Thrain's neck, pushing him away.  

[Quaji]

Thrain roll
Crit! -11 HP

All four paws strained to regain the grip on the hard earth beneath them as the duke's blow had shoved him away. Not too far, Thrain's own paws reached out, touching the Duke's side. The touch was harder than he had intended it to be. Simply hitting the man wasn't enough and instead the blow landed with a force that Thrain hadn't done before now, not since his fight with the black dragon. Perhaps the fight was melting into this one, but for now, he hit the duke, just as Shan had asked him to, though a little bit too hard.

"Are you alright?" He called out, concern easily readable in his voice.  

[Quaji]

Kito roll
Miss!

"Oh I'm fine, quit your yappin'. Your voice is distracting me!" Oh how his beautiful wife would have likely scolded him for using such unrefined words and how he would have gladly listened to her berate him about acting his station, but alas, she wasn't here watching him get his tail handed to him.

The movement, the beating of his heart in his ears and the heat that radiated off of him. It was all so exhilarating! Grinning, the duke tried and failed to land another blow, attempting to go for the legs to take Thrain down. Instead he just ended up falling right onto his face instead. Had it really been so long since he had battled anyone? His brothers, especially his father, would likely fix that if they found out about his defeat. Rising back onto his paws and righting his posture, Shan nodded. He knew Thrain wouldn't have attacked him while he was down; there was no honor in beating a defenseless target.  

[Quaji]

Thrain roll
Miss!

The Duke's missed blow was matched by another from Thrain. A rock was what the soldier blamed for his misstep and his stumble. It was one that was hard to recover from though and one that would likely begin to hurt in the days to come. Hopefully he would remember to have someone look at it, given that he was still recovering from his previous ordeal against Shèngjié Lóng. Straining against the radiating pain that swelled from his forepaws, Thrain braced himself for the eventual blow from the Duke.  

[Quaji]

Kito roll
Hit! -8 HP

The Duke frowned. He didn't exactly like the fact that Thrain was simply waiting, but he was already in motion and there was no stopping him now. Muscles flexed under his fur as the lunged at the bracing soldier, pushing him to the ground with the force of both of his front paws. Mouth open, Shan was already breathing heavily. His brothers were sure to tease him after this about his boar belly.  

[Quaji]

Thrain roll
Miss!

And down he went! Onto his back, he and the steely blue rolled, tangled almost as fur and roars flew into the air. While he always tried to be dignified, especially around someone of such high rank but then he had to remind himself that this was a duel. It wasn't meant to be formal and refined. It was meant to test eachother and see how much their training had actually paid off, but it was hard to tell who was winning at this point as Thrain missed his attempt to push the Duke off of him.  

[Quaji]

Kito roll
Miss!

Another miss, but at least he had managed to get a hit in before. He was rusty! He couldn't really blame himself for his poor performance in this mock battle, but there was still a sense of shame as the two bodies finally pushed away from eachother and his paw met nothing but air as Thrain sidestepped the intended blow. Growling lowly, he tried again. Another miss...  

[Quaji]

Thrain roll
Miss!

On his back legs, Thrain stepped back, his mouth open as he let out a low roar, more threatening than anything. There was no need for it, but he was caught up in the moment. At least the soldier remembered his opponent's rank and that this wasn't to the death, but simply a test. A test. It was an interesting concept but a common one in the North as so many guards tested their mettle against one another. What better way to see the strength of a rock than against another rock? Charging the Duke, Thrain missed, sending him stumbled but made a quick recover to turn around, his lips raised, mouth hanging open as he panted. Was he really so out of practice? Curse that black dragon for putting him out for so long!

The cry of a bird caused the soldier to raise his head and his golden eyes to the gloomy sky. What was a bird doing here?  

[Quaji]

Kito roll
Hit! -9 HP

A bird's cry from above distracted Thrain from the duel for several moments and that was just the break that the Duke had needed. Taking the opportunity to strike, Shan wasted no time in taking the soldier's legs out from underneath him, causing the Pridelander to topple onto the short grass beneath him. Maybe he wouldn't be teased after all, but his energy was running low and his legs were beginning to ache to the point he feared he would just collapse onto the ground. Oh what shame there would be if he had to be carried back by Thrain or even worse, one of his brothers. Though his family would likely just leave him and make him walk when he was able. Hopefully Thrain was not so cruel.

"You should be looking at me, not the judge."  

[Quaji]

Thrain roll
Hit! -6 HP

The judge? Of course, someone had to bear witness to this. Shan had mentioned something about the bird before, but he had simply ignored it for some reason. Why he had chosen to disregard such a vital piece of information was beyond the soldier's train of thought at the moment. On the ground, on his side and vulnerable, he swung upward towards the chest of the Duke. The pads on his paw met fur, and the force seemed to be enough to cause him to back away giving Thrain a chance to actually get back up onto his paws.  

[Quaji]

Kito roll
Miss!

All four paws nearly danced back as Shan circled around the lion while Thrain got himself back onto his feet. There was no reason to attack him while he was down. No honor in it and really it was just plain rude in the Duke's opinion. Once Thrain was back up he lunged, swung and missed...again. With the last of his energy the Duke of the North was missed and in that moment he knew he would lose the duel. At least it was a good battle.  

[Quaji]

Thrain roll
Crit! -4 HP

Just as the Duke missed him, going right passed him, Thrain managed to get one more hit in, which ended with Shan falling to the ground once more but this time he did not rise right away. Worry fell over the soldier as he rushed to his side, his head lowered to inspect him as the white eagle above dipped down to survey the two combatants.

"Tie Shi is the victor!" The large bird stated, it's voice deep and loud to be heard over the sound of it's own beating wings. "Duke Shan, you should see to your injuries before they bruise." The bird of prey seemed to know that the Duke was simply laying there in his own defeat and cared not for him.

"You're so cruel to me~" The black-maned male groaned as he slowly got onto his paws. He appreciated the concern Thrain had shown him, but really he had just been thinking on what he would say to his brother...his father, when he returned home with a number of bruises and dirt all over him. "You are a great asset to the North." Shan commented with a dip of his head as he stood before Thrain. "It was a pleasure to duel against you. I hope I can have that privilege again some day."

Returning the bowed head, he replied, his words steady. "I would be honored."

Once the final words were spoken, the two lions went their separate ways, leaving Thrain as the victor.

[ word count: 2409 ]