One thing had led to another, and here Eythan had been convinced by his little brother to join in on the Olympics. "To represent the Bonebound!" Aure had said, totally implying that he just wanted to be involved in some playful competition. There were a whole lot of PR meetings in the Bonebound, apparently. Gotta give off a positive image, and that seemed to involve the gryphon's battling against everyone.
Another wrestling competition was about to start and Glory stepped up to the judge's spot and stood right on the edge, making himself look as big as he could, his feathers puffed impressively. He looked around at the crowd gathered before clearing his throat.
After winning the wrestling competition the year previous, Imperia almost didn't sign up for this years. They didn't want to become like Kin-kin - winner one year, failure the next. They had seen how the golden wolf had felt right after. Had felt it, even, given the link that had been between them at the time.
They didn't want to feel that again. The crushing disappointment, the humiliation. But they're Imperia. They couldn't back down after just one win. And besides, a fight was exactly what they needed. They were disappointed they wouldn't get the chance to fight the golden wolf, though. They had seen her judging the magicka competition, which they found a little funny.
They walked to the area where they'd be fighting, seeing a hybrid - Eythan, according to the bird - waiting. Their eyes raked over him, judging him before he had even spoken. He definitely wasn't young. Likely even around their own age. He was certainly taller than them, and they were less pleased with that. Still, they gave him a nod of acknowledgment.
They went up to their spot, still observing their opponent - but this time for a different reason. They were now judging how best to attack him. Their eyes were narrowed, and they decided the best way to go was to just...well, go for it. So they bunched their hind legs and leaped, hoping to, at the very least, knock him down.
Round: 1/5
Attempt: knock him down! (or...something)
Defense: -
Injuries: -
Glory came up overhead, then began to speak loudly and proudly. Imperia stalked forth, yellow eyes calculating already. Eythan stood, lowering his head so that it was level with his spine and squaring off. The other cat seemed to be quite a bit smaller than him, but was the previous year's champion; this would be a difficult fight, he supposed.
Off went the fireworks, and in came the caracal.
No feinting, no side-jumps. They were just coming right toward him. Eythan tensed, turning so that he would be facing them head-on.
Imperia scowled as Eythan did his move. She figured he wouldn't just let her knock him over - to be honest, she wasn't even sure she'd be able to, as he likely weighed a good deal more than her - so it wasn't too much of a surprise that he leaped after her, seemingly attempting to bump into her.
So she let him. She let his chest bump into hers. This close, for a brief moment before they landed, she was able to get a closer look at him. He had a beak, which she thought to be rather odd looking. He also had a couple of horns that looked like his gem.
And then they had landed, and she was quick to make her next move, hardly giving Eythan a chance to do anything. She prepared to kick him away, getting some distance between the two.
Round: 2/5
Attempt: kick him off!
Defense: -
Injuries: -
Once they were chest-to-chest, Eythan immediately set to throw his forelimbs up and around his foe; hopefully to get some sort of grip and keep the two of them in close quarters, on their hind legs.
Normally, the gryphon wouldn't do such a thing, and restrict himself to keeping all four on the ground at all times, but he had the size advantage and wings on his side. That was just another set of limbs, easily used for keeping balance.
Imperia swiped at his legs, causing him to stumble slightly. He was quick to flap his wings and right himself, stepping back accordingly. So far, so good, right?
Imperia grunted as her attempts to knock him back only resulted in him taking a step back. They were chest to chest, and she had to admit she preferred staying on all four paws. Eythan clearly had the advantage too, and he knew it. With his wings, he was able to balance much better than she, especially given her lack of a decent tail.
She noticed him trying to wrap his paws around her shoulder, but the hold wasn't very strong and she was able to easily shrug him off. She tried to think quickly about what she could do. It was rather limited - she could do basically the same thing she just did and hopefully knock him down for real this time. Or maybe do what she had done with Kin-kin in the last competition, and just try to use her strength and get him down. But she feared it wasn't enough. Eythan was considerably bigger than her.
So that left her with mostly just one choice: the same thing. It would be challenging, she was sure, but she was the wrestling champion. She'd do anything to keep that title.
Round: 3/5
Attempt: swipe at his legs
Defense: -
Injuries: -
His grip wasn't the greatest, given the increasing distance between them, regardless of how much Eythan tried to push up. Imperia continued to swipe at his legs, and that was really disturbing his balance. At one point, he was going to overcompensate and end up toppling over, and he really wasn't into that idea.
Carefully timing himself, and just as he skittered backward to avoid another swipe --- and while Imperia was possibly off-balance --- Eythan lurched forwards again. He went down on all fours briefly, hoping to get his neck parallel to the caracal's own before suddenly throwing his head around and twisting his front half: all to bully them down to the ground with his weight before they managed to knock his feet out from underneath him.
Imperia's swiping seemed to work for the most part - Eythan was having trouble with his balance, and she was sure he would fall. But he managed to stay upright, only to go back on all four paws and wrap his neck around hers. But before he could do whatever he planned to next, she managed to slip out of his grasp and backed away, safely out of range.
Her eyes narrowed. She only had a little time before he'd try his next attack, so she had to think quick. And there was really only one thing she could think of. So she raised her paw, made sure her claws were retracted, and prepared to slap him.
Round: 4/5
Attempt: slap him
Defense: -
Injuries: -
Eythan grimaced as the caracal slipped away,
All it'd take is one sturdy hit, he supposed, to end this wrestling match. Nothing to seriously injure, but enough to get the caracal on the ground. Eythan rocked back slightly, giving himself just a moment to gather strength before hurtling forth. A powerful spring and beat from his wings gave him plenty of speed to become a hybrid battering ram. Head lowered and skull bared, he hoped to fling himself straight into the hybrid's chest, though he could be aiming too high or too low.