ORIGIN

His aim landed true, thankfully; the bear had not yet been clouded by his own fury, and maybe his intention - true and justified as it was - convinced some fate to allow him to nearly take the stag down on his first try. If he could just down the stag for a little while, through whatever means possible, then maybe he could make off with the lion... he was a little too big for Leon to carry in his mouth, but he doubted it would take much convincing to get him to run away with him. His gaze flickered briefly from Vazi to the lion, and his heart twisted with pain watching the blood seep from his wiry white fur, hearing him mewl like a pathetic kitten - he wanted so much to take the lion to safety, and yet when he begged not to hurt him - Vazi? - he snapped his attention back to the stag.

Just in time for Vazi to land a vicious kick to his hip, damn near shattering the bone. "Shit!" Leon scowled as pain blossomed in his lower torso, the bone most certainly fractured from the stag's powerful impact. He released the deer and fell backwards at the force of the blow, landing on his injured side with a loud, scathing groan - but Leon was quick to get back up again, rolling to his paws and rising forward. He kept his eyes on the stag's powerful antlers, unwilling to risk being gouged by them - rather he tried to remain behind the stag, where he attempted to mind his sharp hooves, too.

What better way to do this than to blind him? In a split second decision he summoned the burning heat to his skin, hoping to emit a cloud of smoke that would distract the stag so Leon could continue to angle himself behind Vazi, or at least to his side, far enough away that his antlers wouldn't be able to reach.

Round 2/5
Attacks: Char - creating smoke to blind and distract Vazi
Defenses: Watching his hooves and antlers, staying behind Vazi
Injuries: Hairline fracture in right hip

Clouds of smoke rolled off of the bear as his skin and fur ignited, smouldering under the sudden high temperature that his body took on. With it came the rancid smell of burning hair, and it scorched the bear's sensitive nose - but other than that, and the mild burning on his skin, he was fine. Thankfully, he was able to fill the immediate area with smoke, making it difficult to distinguish him from anything else nearby. He had to be careful that the deer didn't mistake him for the lion - or worse, make off with the lion while Leon was preparing his next attack. There was tingling on his skin, and the bear moved silently, side-stepping around the deer as he sought the best point to attack. Each step came with a wobbly limp as he was met with the unanticipated pain of his fractured hip, and he gritted his teeth trying to stifle any sounds of pain that itched to slip from his lips.

Vazi's taunt made it even harder to remain silent, but the bear persisted, pursing his lips and restraining himself from answer. He moved still, slowly advancing closer - until that tingling in his skin grew to something else. It grew inside of him. The tingling slowly turned into numbness and then pain as he felt the water in his body quickly being wicked away. Leon's eyes widened as he glanced back at his shoulders and could see droplets of water bubbling up from his skin, and he felt it climbing his throat - before he knew it, the water was leaving his body against his will. No!

Leon snarled silently and pumped up his body temperature. If the deer thought he could take Leon's body water, he'd be disappointed to find it would come at a cost. Steadily growing dizzy with dehydration, Leon grounded himself and tried to focus on the heat, remaining hidden in the smoke several paces behind Vazi.

Round 3/5
Attacks: Heating up surface temperature of his skin to boil the water leaving his body
Defenses: Legs braced and grounded, still hiding in the smoke behind Vazi
Injuries: Hairline fracture in right hip, dizzy with extreme dehydration

So much water had left him that for a moment, Leon wavered - he lost his balance and his vision blurred, turning black. The bear snarled and shook his head, trying to regain his composure but it was difficult after having lost so much moisture from his body. He stumbled over and before he could focus on the fight, the lion had come bursting into the cloud of smoke, crying out for them to stop. His ears twitched, and again that parental instinct kicked in - for a second he stopped, snapping his orange eyes in the direction of the feline, but he couldn't tell where he was - until he saw a sudden movement in the smoke, the stag, stamping at him. Again his fury drove him forward, towards the stag - no, the lion. Leon found himself emerging from the smoke in a limping lunge, close enough to the lion that he could see him now.

The air above crackled. Leon glanced up - the water pulled from his body was hovering in the air and freezing, turning into sharp, pointed icicles suspended in the air just above he and the lion. He moved on impulse, advancing on the lion and shoving him down with his massive, barrel chest, standing over the lion and ducking his head just in time for the icicles to manifest and drop on him. They collided with his skin, some of them sliding off his hide while others pierced into his flesh. Leon gritted his teeth as the pain curled over his back, hitting him like acid raindrops, one of them knocking him right in the back of his skull, even.

It only served to make him angrier. Leon drew his teeth and launched forward, wobbling slightly and blinking as he attempted to remain focused. It would be foolish to approach Vazi while still cloaked in smoke, so he allowed the distance to remain between them for a few seconds more. Instead he continued to shift, trying to determine Vazi's location and stay behind him while the heat again crawled up his chest. This time, if he was successful, he hoped to spray the scalding bile at his legs - maybe that would trip him up and put them on even ground.

Round 4/5
Attacks: Spitfire bile at Vazi's legs while trying to keep behind him in the smoke
Defenses: Maneuving behind Vazi
Injuries: Hairline fracture in right hip, dizzy with extreme dehydration, back, neck and skull bleeding from icicle impacts

The stag was unfortunately quick to douse his flaming bile, but that was okay. Leon wobbled still, just barely catching sight of the water glistening in the diffused light - and with that he could determine approximately where the stag was. Leon was still a few paces away from him which was alright, but his energy was beginning to wane drastically. The mass dehydration caused by his opponent was really taking its toll on him and Leon was beginning to fear that they'd have to end this battle soon. The stakes were growing dire, and he wouldn't allow himself to leave without saving that lion from the clutches of this bat shit crazy asshole.

He made his move, beginning to quietly and slowly edge himself about the stag. He prattled on about how he was hiding in the smoke, like all carnivores - cowards, the lot of them, for sure. Yeah, dummy. That's how we catch food. Leon sneered. That was why he was so adept at keeping himself hidden in the smoke. Carnivores 1, Herbivores 0.

"What, you think you're gonna wear down my self esteem stating the obvious?" He let it all spill out, curling his lips back in a furious snarl as he stalked through the smoke. "Think I'm gonna be stupid enough to risk getting caught in those pointy sticks on your head, let alone have you see where I'm going?" At this point, if the stag was any good with his ears, he'd be able to pinpoint Leon's location anyways. But that was fine - Leon had abandoned all desire to remain hidden any longer. He was loping a wide arc around the deer, keeping his eyes pinned on his opponent and watching for any sudden movements. "Think I'm evil for valuing my hide over yours? Fine, but I'm not the one shoving around children, asshole. But, I digress," Eventually, his paws had taken him to stand in front of the stag.

Falling into position, Leon sought the stag's gaze through the slowly dissipating smoke. He leaned back onto his haunches and gradually rose, standing up at his most impressive height of nine feet tall, a monolith over the stag before him. The heat roiled inside of him, bred by fury and anticipation and hatred for the monster that had evolved out of this deer. It burned his stomach and lungs, hotter than ever before. It climbed his throat and seared his skin, he could feel his innards sizzling, his eyes burned and smoke poured out of his nose and ears. His jaws cracked into a snarling grin. "Short answer?" He rumbled. "Yes."

Massive maw parted to reveal the gaping void now illuminated in burning yellow - the light erupted from his throat and spilled forward in a stream of wild, vicious flames that would catch the smoke and ignite the air, bringing insufferable heat to the immediate surroundings. Fed so by his fury that the fire caught his muzzle and seared his lips, riding up his snout and head until the bear's entire front torso was consumed in merciless flame.

Round 5/6
Attacks: FIRE BLAST MOFUGGA
Defenses: None
Injuries: Hairline fracture in right hip, dizzy with extreme dehydration, back, neck and skull bleeding from icicle impacts, CURRENTLY VERY ON FIRE