Lumbering. That was a good word for the first impression Baokrish would have made backstage- all heavy muscle and slow, a show of dim-wittedness and stupidity.
Baokrish was anything but.
With his face stuffed full of body-wrecking foods, the Valkhound waited at the doors, patiently still as a boulder. His spots flared with his breath, his eyes were wide, and if anybody knew him, they'd know he was internally quivering with excitement.
This was going to be fun.
The doors to the battlefield opened slowly, ominously, as Baokrish pulled himself from the dark, illuminated by his golden markings. "And coming in from the east, the Forge's newest member..."
"BAOKRISH, GOD OF THE SEA!"
Surging forward, Baokrish pried open his jaws and bellowed, his throat warbling as his fangs gleamed viciously in the dim Orion light. "I am BAOKRISH!" His declaration was loud before he whipped his massive head onto the strange being, all twenty-four eyes blinking. "And YOU look like a meal." They even smelled like fresh meat- or was that the skin littering the floor? Oh, how the Valkhound wished to eat that.
Hunching down, Baokrish licked his teeth as he grinned. Maybe he'd have more than just that, though. Patience running thin, the beast's tail dragged across the sand, thumping down like an anvil. "COME AT ME!"
@Matthieu
Won't you play a game with me?
Aha. There it was. Matt put on their best unimpressed face as the "god of the sea" beckoned forth. Twenty-four eyes? Big, beefy body? Boring. He could really use some glamour.
They squared up against their opponent, each of their six legs restless. So, this creature was bigger than them, okay. Maybe a bit stronger. But unlike him, the fairy seemed to have a bit more brains comparatively. The brute just seemed to care about dinner. "I care about dinner." "Irrelevant."
"Oh, a meal?" Matthieu cooed, innocently tapping a finger on his backward chin. "My my, dear, I don't think you'd enjoy it. You might burn your tongue!"
That was the cue. The fairy ran-- towards Baokrish. Right towards his big, grinning, slavering mouth. At almost the right moment (he tripped a little on the way there) Matthieu lunged forward, his arms stretching as far as they could to grab onto the beast's tongue. With a resounding cacke, they twisted his hands back.
It's a bit less dramatic than he wanted, but as long as they dealt some pain, it's all good!
ATTEMPT: rip at Baokrish's tongue
DEFENSE: yolo
INJURIES: none
@Baokrish
They were studying him, with their awkward hybrid-ness, buggy eyes and childish form. His grin only widened- oh, this would be easy! Growling out, Baokrish licked his teeth once more before pulling his front half higher, looming before Matthieu. "I'd like the CHALLE- GURK!"
See, grabbing a beast's tongue isn't the smartest move, but it would certainly surprise them. Tugged forward with a shot of pain, Baokrish let out a howl of surprise, rolling with the momentum to take as much of the child within his jaws as he could. Only- with the twist, his jaws went to the side and bit down sharply onto his own tongue, shearing the end Matthieu gripped like a pair of vicious scissors.
Surprised even further, Baokrish reeled back with another howl, Oil spraying from his lips and coating his teeth.
ATTEMPT: bite matthieu bit himself
DEFENSE: built like a tank but otherwise not much
INJURIES: just bit off part of his own tongue
Won't you play a game with me?
Haha! The dumb brute bit off his own tongue!
Matthieu ripped away the writing, oily mass with a massive grin as they gingerly hopped away from those slavering jaws. Corndogs began to rain from the audience, something they watched with amusion. "Fae got your tongue?" he taunted. They couldn't believe their luck.
"Oh, but the show's not over yet," said the bee, snapping her mandibles. He gestured theatrically to the audience. "Prepare yourselves, for our next trick is now!"
Matt skipped to the side, aiming themselves for one of the valkhound's stocky forelegs. Boy's body bent dramatically backwards (forwards?) as the Bee bounded forwards like a mad dog. Her jaws opened wide, intent on grabbing the leg and sweeping it away-- but with less power than they would've liked, as his upper half still preoccupied with holding onto the tongue tip.
ATTEMPT: sweep out a leg
DEFENSE: upper torso held away
INJURIES: none
@Baokrish
The crowd was jeering, and the opponent was dancing around him, driving Baokrish's blood to boil. "SHUT UP," he demanded, twisting on his foe as Baokrish's thick leg was swept to the side, taking his body the rest of the short way down to the ground.
Fine. He was built for laying down on land, after all.
Taking the momentum the bee created, Baokrish swung his massive jaws down towards the pair, intent on biting anything he could with full force. The boy, the bee's side, a head- anything.
ATTEMPT: snap (again, aimed at Bee but the guy's mouth is big anyways)
DEFENSE: laying on his belly
INJURIES: bit off tongue tip, leg Yoinked
@Matthieu
Won't you play a game with me?
Success-- and also, injury. A hellish howl echoed into the air as large jaws clamped down onto Bee's skeletal side. DANGER DANGER DANGER, their mind screamed. When the teeth part, they will reveal a gaping abscess of frayed exoskeleton, full of pulsating organs and warped muscle. Look closely enough, and you might catch a glimpse of the spot where the two bodies fuse, now bloody.
Matthieu was FURIOUS. They worked so hard on that body. But a little 'scratch' wasn't going to keep them down. Using the momentum of the strike, they twisted around so the injured side was facing away and their weaponry was facing out. Six legs kicked out towards their opponent-- and SLAM.
ATTEMPT: slam all their body weight on Baokrish's jaw
DEFENSE: holding injured side away
INJURIES: bee's side has gone pow
@Baokrish