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 Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:17 pm
It was a regular afternoon in the desert and Chaka was looking for ways to keep himself busy. His favorite thing to do when nothing presented itself was, of course, to harass Shisa. Lucky for him, she rarely seemed to take it that badly. This is just how they would interact, it was part of why they worked together.
"Nothing interesting this morning, then?" he called to his sister as he walked a large circle, alternately stomping down and kicking up sand to make the footing less even and predictable. Chaka liked to think he was contributing to the efforts to keep things interesting and help them prepare for anything.
"Not much to do around here sometimes."
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:18 pm
"Not so much," Shisa called back to her brother, not looking up from her work in the sand as she worked opposite Chaka in shifting some of the sand around. She wasn't sure how much of a difference this would make but she was willing to give it a try, you never knew until you tried it, after all. And knowing how the sands affected your movement was a valuable thing to know.
She did, however, privately think her brother needed a life. He wasn't terribly social outside of necessary interactions with other soldiers. Shisa managed to do better than that, though she was observant enough to see he probably got it from their parents.
"OK, this should be fine," she said, stopping and digging her feet into the stand a bit, facing him.
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Ecavi generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
3!
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:19 pm
Move: Hit!
Defiantly, he stomped a couple more times before turning around to face Shisa. He allowed for a pause and polite nod but that was all he was waiting for, this wasn't a serious fight- it was barely even a serious duel. She would know what to expect.
He wasn't feeling particularly creative and he wanted to found out sooner rather than later what immediate effect all their sand-shifting had on their footing.. so he scrambled forward, sliding a couple awkward steps but keeping his balance long enough to lunge at Shisa. It was messy but it was a success so far.
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Ecavi generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:20 pm
Move: Bide!
Shisa did know exactly what to expect from her brother, his brief nod was enough to indicate that they had started. She braced herself for the second she would watch to see what move he was going to make, not terribly surprised by his choice of direct approach. It was very Chaka, she would give him that. And he wasn't so stupid he would use the same move if it actually never worked.
With a small smile, she went to move away but the sand slid beneath her paws and her escape was stalled. The delay was just enough and very suddenly she was bowled over by her much larger brother. Between the surprise loss of footing and hitting the ground, she had to stifle a yelp, letting out a sound like a strangled growl.
She knew once this happened she was at a strong disadvantage, he was much larger than she was. She had to use the momentum of the fall or outsmart him now- and catching her breath after the yelp and fall forced her to pick the latter. But until she did something she was pinned.
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Ecavi generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:21 pm
Move: Bide!
Sometimes it would surprise Chaka when he was successful with such a basic first move but he had become much better at covering it up and continuing in the duel. The only problem now was that this was Shisa and this was for fun- or practice- and now they were in a situation Shisa had been working on improving in.
"Now what are you going to do?" he asked, righting himself so he was holding her down more easily and not purposefully giving her any opportunity to escape- she had to act faster than this, "You have to get up again."
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Ecavi generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
3!
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:22 pm
Move: Hit!
If it were anybody else, this pause in the battle to give her time to think would have annoyed Shisa. It could be a taunt, but she knew Chaka was trying to help as much as he was trying to win. He'd become a much better sport and between his loss to Shisa and the more recent incident with Miali, he had been putting more thought into what he did. At least in private.
"I have to get up," she agreed, growling, "But you're not going to just let me up.."
It wasn't a request, it was an observation, a statement. She wriggled in the sand, trying to get a sense of where she was being held and then she recalled they were working on footing and a plan occurred to her. Acting quickly, she twisted as much as Chaka's weight holding her down would allow and kicked out a leg as hard as she could manage- not aiming to throw Chaka off her as she might have tried during the fall, aiming for one of his back legs. If she managed to upset his balance, she'd have her chance to push him away or pull free when he shifted his weight to the displaced leg.
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Ecavi generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
1!
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:24 pm
Move: Miss!
Chaka was genuinely caught off guard by this new tactic. As Shisa struggled, he stood his ground, prepared for sudden movements meant to throw him off. What he wasn't ready for was a shove to the leg- and it didn't help that they were on sand. As his back leg slid out from beneath him, his weight subconsciously shifted to his back leg so he wouldn't fall- and suddenly Shisa had her chance to push him off and escape. He made a clumsy, fumbling attempt to keep her pinned but he knew it was useless. Once Shisa made her move, she was ready to follow through- he knew that.
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Ecavi generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:25 pm
Move: Bide!
As soon as Shisa felt Chaka's weight shift off her chest she was on the move, she chose not to kick out at him, figuring he'd do a well enough job stumbling around on his own when he failed to get a grip on her again. She rolled herself out from beneath his fumbling grasp and pushed herself back onto her feet, taking a leap back as she went.
"Have to watch your step, Chaka," she said, smiling over at him, "Wasn't that the point of the sand?"
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Ecavi generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
3!
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:26 pm
Move: Hit!
Shisa was already a step ahead of him in her mind, Chaka could see it, he was used to it and he wasn't really bothered by in. They had messed up some of the sand in hopes of making things more challenging, she was using it to her advantage- he just had to think of a way to use it to his. And thinking wasn't what he was fastest at. To buy himself some time, he began to circle.
"Yes, that was," he said, "It was a good idea- you had-"
He wasn't very good at making conversation while trying to think, either, but it was enough. He found what he felt was solid enough for the sand and he leaned back, springing forward and hoping to tackle his sister back into the sand.
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Ecavi generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:27 pm
Move: Bide!
Just as Chaka found a solid place to kick off from, Shisa found herself most unfortunately placed in a soft, shifty part of the sand piles they had made- and she cursed herself for not moving faster, as soon as Chaka attempted such stilted, forced conversation she knew something was up- but what exactly it was didn't click until it was too late. As she fell, she put her legs to try to push back against the ground and send Chaka off but it was no use, her paws slid through the sand and she was pinned once again. This time, though, the wind was not knocked out of her. Still, she lay there glaring up at him.
"How's your footing this time?" she asked.
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Ecavi generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:28 pm
Move: Bide!
He wasn't even thinking about what happened the last time he had her pinned-- until she said it. He tensed his legs and pushed into the sand- simultaneously pushing down on Shisa, but getting into a more stable pose.
"Fine, now," he said, smirking back down at her, "Now what are you going to do?" Could she get out this time?
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Ecavi generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:29 pm
Move: Bide!
Shisa tensed in response to the added pressure but knew that Chaka had corrected himself. She might still be able to kick his feet out from under him as she had before but that seemed to be about the best move she could have made.. and she couldn't think of what else.
"It's push or trip," she said, "And now you're set, I won't win either attempt.'
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:30 pm
Final Score: 11-11, a tie!
"No, maybe not," he said, looking down at his sister thoughtfully for a moment before pushing off and stepping away from her. Their duel was done- it looked as though he had won but really, the conversation and analysis was what stopped them. It was a tie.
"A draw, this time," he said, "But we still have to work on getting you unpinned."
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:31 pm
"A draw, then," Shisa agreed as she got up to her feet and shook the sand out of her fur. It was not an ideal end if you were looking for a fight but they were learning, practicing. She had found another clever way to respond when the size of her opponent got the better of her.. and perhaps it would help Chaka when strength alone couldn't free him. It was a good learning experience.
"It might be easier when it's a real fight," she observed, grinning at him, "Next time we duel for real. For now, let's go find some water."
And she turned to lead the way off.
Fin.
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