[DEATHMATCH] Creosote vs Effluvium

"And for our next match we have... 'Creo!' Whew! Just LOOK at that thing! What a piece of work!"

Creosote shuffled out into the arena like a good little monster once it's name was announced. It was intimidatingly, with it's some twelve feet of raw-meat hide, speckled with stray teeth and eyes and a multitude of limbs, clawed, hooved, and winged alike. Everything about it screamed 'monster.' Everything, except it's posture. Partially due to it's own malformed body-plan, it was hunched over. Wings curled around it's body like a blanket or a shield, it's green and pink eyes peering around nervously.

It was not looking forward to the fight. It did not want to get hurt, and it didn't exactly want to hurt others, either. But it should. Everyone else was. They were all cheering for it, for the blood and pain that was to come. It should be cheering, too.

But it didn't move. It just stared at the door, waiting for it's opponent.

I let my horns grow longer
I observed my skin get redder

Fuck yeah, these monsters were COOL. Okay, so she'd seen cooler--but they were pretty well up there! Who'd thought to do all this?!

Meat. Like, they were half meat! It was hilarious!! And all those EYES?!

OH SHIT. Anyway, now she had to introduce Effluvium, and that one hadn't give her literally any titles. The other one had just said 'Creo,' and that was that--boring, but. Eh. She could make do.

Nemean stood upright on Chadsworthington Stevenson the Third. Or, as upright as she could manage. The spotlights swept to and fro. The music swelled. The drums beat a heartbeat roll.

"AND IN THIS CORNER!!!" (The arena was, in fact, round.) "WE HAVE... THE HORRIFIC. THE MONSTROUS. THE IMPLACABLE-" (uh) "HUNGERER... THE THRILLER AND THE KILLER, THE SHAMBLING SHADOW-...!"

Overkill?

...Nah. Hehe, in fact--

"THE OVERKILL, EFFLUVIUM!"

There, that sounded good.

She leaned back down, tiny fists slamming emphasis on Chadsworthington Stevenson the Third's stone "head" in an explosion of confetti that shot out over the arena.

"NOW--FIGHT!"

Where Effluvium barely recognized Creosote other than prey, Creosote's mind went wild with emotions and recognition. The not-parent, the one that it had attacked it and it's siblings on the beach. The creature that had torn into it and it's siblings with way too many jaws and limbs. The one who had nearly killed it.

Perhaps this was the best (and worst) matchup Nemean could have chosen. Because this was the one creature in the caves Creosote would ever think of killing.

It returned Effluvium's gurgle with a screeching, furious roar. It would not move out of the way as Effluvium charged it. Instead, it ran forward, claws scrabbling at whatever bit of the not-parent it could reach. Massive claws scraped and gored at the front half of Effluvium. Quite possibly hitting one of it's numerous eyes, despite Creosote not aiming for anything except for the monster of raw flesh and discarded parts in front of it.

I let my horns grow longer
I observed my skin get redder

Fracture my spine

As the brawl started below, high above in the stands a monster hovered amongst the onlookers. Though the meat which composed it was fashioned to a more insectile shape, the relation to the current combatants could not be mistaken, and Karambit's own exuberance reinforced it. Oblivious to those that might be nearby, sickle claws slashed through the air, a tentacled and toothed tail swaying side to side with every movement. Buzzes emanated from its vibrating body, barely piercing through the overwhelming pound of metal music and the roar of the crowd, but nevertheless announcing its presence to those who might recognize the sound.

This was the monster's usual disposition, loud and full of good cheer. However, when it'd first seen its sibling emerge into the arena, Karambit had fallen into a rare silence. Numerous multicolored eyes had stared, dumbfounded, at the scenario they witnessed.

"Crrrreeeeeooo?" it'd whined, antennae shaking with the intense effort of thought.

Grown beside it and Terror, Karambit was accustomed to dear Creo's quirks: the hesitancy to harm and the reluctance to hunt. The behavior might have been rude—what sort of polite interaction, after all, lacked tender welts and oozing scrapes?—but it was family, so the meat creature's attitude was humored much as the insect's projects were likewise. For it to be involved in a deathmatch, an error must've been made.

Had it simply blundered into this while exploring the structure? Or had it been coerced?

Maybe there'd been an unexpected change of opinion, something that'd prompted experimenting with the carnage the rest of them enjoyed. If so, as sudden of a thing as it was, support would come readily; two family members to root on were better than one, regardless of the strangeness of the circumstances. It cherished them both too much to not.

And when a stench far greater than its own permeated the arena, that's exactly what it began to do. Because where others might behold a repulsive being, a malformed disaster of moistened flesh, it saw the parent it'd hugged and nibbled on long ago meeting one of its children. Excitement resumed. Shrieks, a mixture of articulate and inarticulate, tore from mandibles.

"Fluuvvvvvvvveeeeee!" cried Karambit. "Goooood, Crrrreeooo!"

Truly its sibling was the cleverest of them all. It'd found Effluvium and arranged a reunion. Of course! How thoughtful!

And swear that you're mine

It felt flesh pull apart in it's claws. The stickiness of blood and the hardness as it hit bone. It pull away it's claw, observing the foreign blood and flesh on it. It wouldn't been shocked at it's own action if it wasn't utterly enraged. Such emotions were unfamiliar to it, but it found that clawing and biting helped quite a bit. Felt pretty good, in fact.

Maybe it's siblings were right.

It'd reach forward and grasp a limb with both arms. Then it'd try to do what Effluvium had attempted to do to it so long ago.

It'd pull and pull and pull until it came loose.

Claws dug into flesh until blood flowed, and it felt flesh become loose under it's claws, but the limb wouldn't yield. The bone was too strong to be broken by hand.

I let my horns grow longer
I observed my skin get redder

It looked down in surprise at the arm now detached from the monster it was fighting. It had done that? It hadn't felt like it. The limb was quickly tossed to the side, and Creosote's screams rivaled Effluvium's own. Its siblings- itself- were almost killed by this thing, by this imposter of a parent. That would never, ever, ever happen again.

The blood would be worth it.

Blood that now oozed from bitten off stump of one of it's secondary limbs. It screeched, in pain this time. The whole world went awash with the red and pain of that missing limb. A similar scenario in a fight many cycles past flitted into it's mind.

That was why it was fighting.

Creosote lunged forward, all of it's maws snapping wildly. Taking flesh, limbs, anything that made it's way inbetween it's teeth to then snap down and pull and bite until it bled and bled and bled. But it bit down only on unsatisfying air. A snarl rumbled from it's throat.

I let my horns grow longer
I observed my skin get redder