Battle of the Beasts (Valeria)

[Typhon]

Typhon listened to the harsh laughter with the same fierce, determined expression he had held when he challenged her. She repeated what he had said, essentially, which irked him; he had already challenged her, and she was trying to take the challenge and pretend it was up to her to issue it. But he let the irritation fade away; the time for speaking was over, and it was time for him to prove himself, here, in front of everyone, against the unworthy alpha of Valyn. She was smaller than him, and thus would likely be faster, but he had bulk and, in his mind ferocity on his side. There was little doubt within him, not because he was full of himself but because the Agoge had honed him into a fighter--that had been the point, after all. It was here on the island that he had first learned hardship, and he would channel that in order to defeat this female.

"Perhaps you should have better taken care of your precious lands and pack, if you did not wish harm to come to them," he seethed, baring his teeth with no hint of a grin on his face any longer. She had, in her negligence, allowed this danger to come to her lands, and he would show her what sort of damage he could do. With a practiced, steady paw Typhon turned his body broad-side to Valeria, his head focused entirely upon her as everything in the background faded from his conscious mind. The cavern was empty except for her, as far as he was concerned; the numerous wolves around them did not concern him. This was a fair fight, as fair as it could be between such a pathetic wolf and himself, and Ty was ready for it.

You will defeat her, my child, purred the voice in his head, confidence flowing through the words and down the wolf's spine. She is dirt beneath your paws. Dust in the wind, when you've finished with her. Strike quickly, directly, and give her no mercy. As he moved slowly closer to the female, possible scenarios ran through his mind. It was possible that she would strike first, if he did not move quickly, and she likely would go for one of his legs or his back end, hoping to avoid his teeth. She could feint one direction, cause him to turn, and then attack in another. There were endless options, but not endless seconds, and so he struck.

Powerful haunches propelled him forward, his immense body kept low to the ground as he flew toward the female like a bullet. His green eyes were fixed upon her, ready to redirect if she moved out of the way, but his gaping jaws were aimed at her left hind hock, a weak point that, if his hit landed, would do much to incapacitate her. With the adrenaline she was no doubt feeling, it would not render the female immobile, but it would be damaging all the same. Just before his jaws closed, Typhon closed his eyes for only a few seconds--protecting them if she lashed out at his unprotected face--and as soon as his teeth clamped shut he was darting away again, eyes open once more, hoping to put enough distance between them so that she would need to leap forward in order to damage him.

Words || 574
Tags || Valeria
Notes || Here we go. Request for combat mediation has been sent to Zen, Nia, and Nile.

[Valeria]

The great gold and black alphess grinned at the reaction elicited from the young brute, her nostrils flaring ever so slightly with his insulting words. If there was one thing the Seraph could claim, it was that her level head far outweighed the clouded mind of the giant before her. Every move she made appeared to anger him; she could nearly see the irritation around him, clouding up the very room with its presence. Make no mistake: Valeria was acutely aware of the seriousness of the situation. But there was something about this male that could not be reconciled with the façade he wore. His words spoke of dominance and conquest, yet his behavior was that of a hot-headed youth. With such an attitude, there were unnecessary risks and pointless enemies gained in the process. The beastly female might not have approved of his father’s methods, but he certainly knew better than to fight without cause.

“You speak of cause and care, yet you operate with such recklessness,” the femme bit in retort, her golden eyes darkening at the insinuation that she took no heed of her pack’s safety. Pacing cautiously, the female kept her eyes fixated intensely on the very skin of her opponent, searching for any indications of a strike in the tensing of his muscles. While the mottled male might have her on brute size, she compensated with simple experience and mobility. Each participant possessed their own advantage in this matter, yet Valeria knew there was only one acceptable outcome. You have fought since birth to rise to the top. They overlooked you – cast you aside. And yet you prevailed and forged a sanctuary for those who needed it. The fae’s black lids narrowed over her golden eyes, never for one second believing the male would fight fair. You are everything your father was not, and everything you want your children to be. It did not escape her notice that the male was pressing himself closer ever so slightly with each movement, drawing the strike zone closer to his reach. A second could make the difference between life and death here.

With a flash of movement, the mass of fur and teeth launched toward her, every ounce of the power she knew he would possess propelling him forward. However, his strike was nowhere near her face or throat as the alphess might have thought, but rather toward her rear, his teeth glinting as the male drove toward her hindquarters, aimed for her less protected hind legs. Such a strike would be detrimental this early in the altercation; and yet the male made a grievous error, leaving himself exposed as he passed. The female struck like a rattlesnake, her blackened lips curled back as she snapped her jaw shut, striking out at the left side of the youngling’s face as he passed. His full strike was unavoidable, but she could mitigate her damages. The alphess heaved her hindquarters toward the male’s snout, hoping to not only knock him somewhat off balance with her bodyweight, but also effectively deflecting the severity of his bite into the fleshier bits of her rump. The pain was instantaneous as his fangs punctured her coat, leaving a gloriously long, albeit not overly deep, slash through her coat. The warmth of fresh blood oozing into her pelt simply spurred the she-wolf forward, utilizing the momentum of her counter strike to whirl around once more to face her opponent.

The alphess hesitated only a moment to regain her balance before pitching forward in response. Rather than mimicking the male’s attempt to incapacitate her movement, she instead launched into a full frontal assault, jowls spread wide as she aimed to close the distance between them, her canines marked for the right side of the male’s large throat as her paws stretched outward. The cavern could be used to her advantage; if she could drive his movements further to the left, the female’s familiarity with the dens would allow her to manipulate his movements, driving him into a corner with no place to go.


Typhon

[Typhon]

There was not one single thought running through Typhon's head as he struck, but thousands; without effort he imagined a hundred scenarios and dozens of ways to counter each one, and those thoughts clouded his mind. But his green eyes saw clearly, and he did not allow his multitude of mental images to distract him from the fight he knew he needed to win. There was no other option for him as a young Kairos Gladiator, and if he returned home defeated, he would be a disappointment to all who knew him. It would crush poor Datura, and the thought of that alone, of showing his mother he was worth nothing, drove him to succeed. He would do what it took to bring victory home.

The sharp sting of teeth grazing his face was nothing more than the bite of a fly as he dove past Valeria's front, his eyes closed as her sharp canines dug into the delicate flesh above his left. Before he could register the extent of the damage, his own teeth had made contact with a part of the female he had not been aiming for. Into her flank they dug, his strike ending almost as soon as it began, leaving four beautiful puncture wounds that he was not able to admire as he was half-pushed and half-jumped backwards from her, momentarily put off-balance by the way she had thrown her hips in his direction.

Recovering quickly, Typhon blinked blood out of his left eye, the slow, steady flow impeding his vision and depth perception enough that he began to doubt himself. It was not a brutal injury in itself--it would make a scar, but it clearly hd not damaged the eye below it. The issue lay in the way the blood dripped directly into his green orb, the two colors a stark contrast. Though she was not much older than he, it was clear that the alphess had fought her way to the position she held--but she had not done what was required to keep it, and he would take what she had earned. He would destroy this female and any other who chose to challenge him when she could not. Valyn would fall, and he would be the reason for it.

In the blink of an eye she was lunging forward, paws and teeth headed directly toward the sensitive parts of his neck, and Typhon reacted just as quickly, swinging his immense body around and, with a grunt, meeting her teeth with the meaty top of his shoulder. Though the pain was much more urgent with this strike, the male did not dwell on the ivory that dug into his flesh; instead he kept his forward momentum, using his extra mass to counter her lunge and attempting to knock her back to the ground and onto her side. As he pushed against the wolf, his neck swung around and his open mouth made a clear trajectory toward her own exposed neck.

Words || 504
Tags || Valeria
Notes || N/A

[Valeria]

Clearly the young male had trained prior to their confrontation. His attacks may have lacked some of the preciseness of a honed fighter, but he was certainly leagues above most wolves his age. While the male might have resembled her sons in size and stature, he kindled a fire inside that burned brighter than the dawn-kissed wolf had imagined. Perhaps there was more riding on this expedition than the femme might have first anticipated; his childish antics were likely not without provocation. But the Valyn Seraphim placed little importance on the qualms of her foe. Instead, her goal, first and foremost, was to incapacitate him.

The sensation of her teeth clipping the male’s face was only momentarily dissatisfying. As the two wolves once again squared away, a smug sense of accomplishment washed over the alphess. The male would struggle with visibility from the left, leaving him open to a myriad of attacks with little ability to comprehend and counter. It was a small victory, but the end was far from sight. Steadfast in her onslaught, the black and golden alphess rejoiced inwardly as glistening fangs connected with the taut, muscular flesh of the male’s shoulder. She snapped down brusquely, a snarl rippling from her muzzle as he sprung toward her, forcing her backwards with his abrupt movement. The alphess flew several feet away, landing momentarily on her side with her legs flailing to keep the momentum going. She flung her body weight over within a fraction of a second, rolling back to her feet as the crimson blood from her hindquarters left a ghastly smear across the den floors. There was little room for the alphess to maneuver as she was virtually pressed against the rocky wall behind her.

There was no pause for reprieve as Typhon once again lunged toward her, mirroring her previous strike and diving toward her neck. The nearly foot height difference between the pair instantaneously transformed into an advantage as she ducked her muzzle close to her throat, protecting the sensitive region from the male’s razor sharp teeth. The moment was opportune, but the timing would be close. You can't give up. You are Valyn's last hope. The Mackenzie valley female kept her chin tucked close, crushing her mass backwards with her hind paws on the cavern’s walls. It was then she lunged.

Rather than resort to fangs alone, the alphess launched her body weight forward, propelling her skull toward the underside of the male’s chin forcefully, much like two rams in a heated display of dominance. If she could land a significant enough counter strike here, she could daze the male long enough to gain the upper hand. As her golden paws stretched outward, she felt the familiar sanctity of her dens beneath her paws, she darted to his left, nimbly whirling on her paws to watch what she hoped would be a glorious spectacle, yet remaining on guard in case her strike did not land on its intended mark.


Notes: Any injuries associated with Typhon's last attack will be addressed in the next post depending on how or if he dodged/addressed her counter attack.

Typhon

[Typhon]

There was little that could be done about most of Valeria's attacks; she was, as Typhon had anticipated, much more swift than most wolves his size. It was lucky enough that he had connected his own teeth with her flesh more than once, let alone knocked her down and into the wall as he just had. While he had tried to attack her as she was going down, it seemed she had taken advantage of his weight imbalance and thrown herself away from him, forcing his jaws to snap shut for the first time on empty air with a loud CLACK. The force of it hurt his jaws, and the giant male shook his head to clear the pain, causing the blood from his left eyebrow to fling about the cave. While the wound had stopped bleeding quickly, his eye was still not clear enough for him to see properly from it, and the male knew that his adversary would take advantage of that.

With only seconds to act, Typhon bunched his muscles and lunged with as much strength as he could muster, aiming his massive jaws at the sensitive skin of her throat. It was a brash move that she would see coming, and if she did not defend herself, he would be very surprised. The alphess was a fool, but she was wiser than that, surely. And so she was, for the female, instead of allowing him to grab her by the neck, ducked herself down and back, then sprung forward, colliding the top of her skull with the bottom of his jaw. The male was powerless to change tactics before the contact, and only his increased mass kept him from being flung backwards.

The force of her strike did push him, but not nearly as much as one would expect. His front half lifted off the ground momentarily and the rest of him followed suit with a bit of effort, only a small space between the two battling wolves until Valeria danced backwards and again out of reach. Typhon, too, went backwards several steps, his head ringing from the assault of Valeria's head underneath his, stars dancing across his eyes. It was a momentary distraction, but one he knew needed to end as soon as possible; if she could tell that he was temporarily thinking of something other than her, she would pounce without mercy. He needed to distract her before she knew what was happening.

No preamble came before he rushed forward again, directly toward her new position, keeping his body low and close to the ground. It was a feint, designed only to force her to defend herself--Typhon's jaws were closed, though his lips were pulled back from his pearly teeth. Catch her off guard and give yourself a few seconds. Attack without mercy but only when your head is clear. Once he was close enough to feel her horrible breath upon his fur, Ty darted back again, turning his huge form to his left as tightly as he could and jumping backwards against his own momentum, which kept him from moving too far away. By the time he was again clear of her, his head too was free of its stars, and with a grin he faced her without fear, ready for her next attack.

Words || 558
Tags || Valeria
Notes || My last post before mediation. If Val gets him when he goes in to feint I will allude to that and damage after mediation.

[Valeria]

For a young male, the alphess might have expected a few more mistakes than what she witnessed thus far. Although he was certainly her superior in overall power behind his attacks, more than once she had turned his own attacks against him with the slight edge of mobility she possessed. There was little more she could do beyond evade and reflect, as too many direct onslaughts would give her opponent the upper hand. In direct combat, he was a formidable foe, so the Mackenzie Valley female had to use her wits and agility to best him. There was no room for error here, and the great femme was intent on ending this swiftly. However, the young beast seemed quite intent to challenge her at every turn, forcing her to prove that she had, in fact, earned her place at the head of Valyn.

The sound of bone on flesh echoed through the cavern as the Seraphim’s crown smashed against the male’s throat with a satisfying crack, effectively ending the male’s assault on her throat. She took a mere fraction of a second to admire her handiwork before the male rushed her once more, though whatever tactic he employed, she was not certain. There were no extended claws or teeth toward the black and golden wolf. While slightly off-centered from her own impact with the male, she darted right along the cavern’s wall, keeping her side guarded by the terrain and chin tucked without impairing her own mobility. The male drew close to her hindquarters once more, his breath hot on the sanguine clots that now matted the fur. Bracing herself for the attack, she was shocked when the sting of teeth never arrived. Valeria snarled bitterly, realizing instantly that he was deluding her. With the quickest strike the female could muster, she lunged toward the male’s right haunch, jaws spread wide as she snapped toward the male’s heels. If she could replicate the male’s first strike and tear the tendons in the leg, he would be largely hindered in his movement.

The golden-eyed alphess dipped as close as possible to the rocky den floor as she struck, keeping the soft flesh of her belly protected as she passed the male once more, dancing to her right in order to maintain her position on the male’s weaker side. The pair squared away once more, her rump raised above her blackened head, poised to spring in retaliation to the youngling’s next move. His movement exhausted the window for her to further utilize his dazed state, leaving them, once more, at an impasse.

However, even the Valyn Seraph could not have predicted what followed their deadlock. The sound of cracks and crumble of debris rumbled in the femme’s ears as the earth trembled beneath them, forcing her to stabilize herself in a desperate reaction to the ground’s intervention. Yet another lurch catapulted the alphess backwards, throwing her weight against the wall she struggled so hard to use offensively.

"Earthquake!"

The vibrations launched the femme further away from her opponent, but as she rose to face him once more, the standstill between her pack members and the invaders seemed to be lost. More and more Kairos wolves were arriving by the second, infiltrating the heart of their pack lands. Even if she were able to defeat the male, who was next? The giant female, or perhaps the scarred, older male? They would not allow her to win this, no matter the true outcome of their confrontation. It was only the thought of protecting what remained of her family that drove Valeria to her decision.

With a sharp yip, the alphess summoned her pack to follow her, dodging the crumbling pieces of the cavern as they pushed past the Kairos blockade, starting out in hopes of forging a new life. But the alphess could not stop from pausing and snarling back to the wolves. "I will be back, and when I come back, you will wish that you had never met me."

Typhon

[Zohartze]

MEDIATION SUMMARY:
Six overall scores out of 100 were averaged for the two players final scores. Three anonymous members were chosen by the three staff members on the panel for their lack of benefit from either side winning, in the interest of complete, unbiased judgement. Nia, Zenith, and I are also anonymously represented in these numbers. I, Nile, am the only one to know which scores came from which mediator. No other mediator was privy to the scores of others. No height or weight bonuses have been added.

The scores will be listed individually and at random in parenthesis following the final score, which is in bold red.

Typhon: 78.5 (77 69 86 72 84 83)
Valeria: 77 (72 86 72 78 74 80)

Valeria has a 1.5% chance of infection from her injuries, and does not sustain any major injuries.


MEDIATORS' NOTES:
Scores were extremely close for every single mediator, some even awarding ties. I speak for the whole of the panel when I say both of you did an excellent job. Continue with the roleplay knowing this was an extremely close match. Very well done, ladies, and beautiful writing from both.