What was Rue's motivation for challenging a creature over twice their size to a spar?

Boredom, mostly. And a habit of poor decision making and picking fights they can't win.

Besides, if V-Labradorite-One hurt them too bad- or dare say even chrystalized them- then the Labradorite would be the one punished. Y'know, no friendly fire and all that. And Rue knew that V-Labradorite-One wouldn't EVER break the rules. It was one of the big, silent, obedient ones. A real goody two-shoes.

So, Y'know, a little boring, but maybe this would make it a little less boring.

They watched the oil dripping off the gembound- funny, it wasn't even corrupted. But if that oil was anything like normal oil, then the Labradorite was probably AWFULLY flammable. One good spark and...

'This is just a spar, no serious injuries.' Oh right. The whole 'no killing your fellow forge members' thing applied to Rue just as much as it did to The Labradorite. That's no fun. At least they got to go first! Time to get this show on the road!

The underbelly seemed like a good place as any to start- The top was covered in spikes, and mostly out of reach anyways. Going directly under approximately one ton of swamp monster didn't sound super wise, but hey, Labradorite couldn't kill them.

Rue would dart forward, trying to sink claw or fang into Labradorite's flesh. They managed to do something but the oil was thick and slippery enough to hinder their attack. And the fact that Labradorite was, y'know, very big. It was a good start though, right?

Rue was feeling pretty confident about it's strategy. Then it was regretting ever starting this stupid sparring session. It had overestimated it's ability to dodge, and underestimated the amount of damage even a nonlethal attack from a kaiju could do.

They heaved to their feet, still catching the breath that had been knocked from their lungs. Chaos whispered sweetly in their ears, and they allowed that song to reach a crescendo as they drew upon that power in an attempt to even the playing field, a little bit.

Tentacles burst from the ground, tangling around The Labradorite's legs, slipping against the oil but eventually finding purchase. Rue grinned, even as they felt a tentacle begin to bud and burst from it's left thigh, slapping irritatingly against their bruised flank. Ugh. They'd have to deal with THAT after this battle.

The Labradorite had made quick work of the trap that tried to ensnare it's ankles, but it was still a great distraction, providing an opening that Rue planned to take full advantage of. As The Labradorite tugged it's first foot free, they would dart in, hoping to get in some good old fashioned ankle biting.

Unfortunately, the tentacles got in the way more than anything else. Rue ducked and wove through the tangled thicket of corrupted limbs, but they were unable to actually get close enough to Labradorite to bite it.

Maybe they should just stick to magic. Its not like they could physically compete with The Labradorite, so why even try?

She was running, she was (trying to) bite, and then she was stuck to Labradorite's tail like it was some unholy combination of a fly swatter and fly tape. And Rue didn't like feeling like a bug.

The summoned chaotic limbs would slink back into the soil like awful, gigantic worms. Rue would try to summon a single large tendril, one good for slapping. Preferably right in Labradorite's ugly face. The tentacle breached the surface like a worm from dune, slamming against The Labradorite's chest.