Kin-Kin was padding back towards the arena for what she hoped was the final time. She was all for the thrill, of course, but her scrap with Imperia had passed, and that had been her main focus. And the brawl with that big black wolf- whilst it had been a promising start- had petered out like a pretty unsatisfying fart. So it was with a notably carefree attitude that Kin-Kin swaggered into the ring, her chin raised and posture confident.

Her ears pricked as she faced her new opponent though- which promised to be at least something new. Perhaps it would even bring the spark back- but she wasn't wholly convinced. "Well, isn't this a surprise," she greeted with a wry grin that showed a flash of fang. "Good to see ya, kid."

The she-wolf arched her spine and extended her forelegs ahead of her in a lengthy stretch, picking up each paw in turn. Her gaze picked over Xireidi, planning her first move. The younger wolf towered over her even though she was the elder being, but she was used to that. It ain't about size. Though her specialty was in magic- Kin-Kin hadn't necessarily slacked off on the physical front- the crystal entwined around her foreleg was proof of that, even though her sword wasn't held in it now.

She realized after these few failed fights that she'd need to get clever if she was to win without her tools.

Finally, after a few moments of preparation, Kin-Kin burst forward, pouncing in a dramatic feint for the neck. But at the last moment she dropped her muzzle and lunged for one of Xireidi's forelegs.

Round 1/5
Attack: go for the foreleg
Defense: none
Injuries: none

Kin-Kin felt her jaws snap shut on empty air and knew immediately that she'd made a mistake. She felt Xireidi grab her scruff and her smaller weight meant that she was off-balanced almost immediately, and was completely at the larger wolf's mercy as she was dragged clean off her feet with a barely-audible growl throbbing in her chest.

Unable to wrench herself free in her current position, the she-wolf wriggled for a moment before sinking her claws and weight into the ground in an effort to stop the motion. After taking a moment to ensure that she'd regained her balance, she thrust herself onto her hind paws and jerked her head back, aiming to use the back of her skull to strike a bruising blow to Xireidi's jaw and force the other wolf to release his grip.

Round 2/5
Attack: knock Xireidi off with the back of her head
Defense: none
Injuries: none

Kin-Kin let out another low growl as Xireidi failed to release his grip, and felt herself being eragged, her claws scraping helplessly at the stony ground. She needed a change of strategy, and fast. Xireidi would expect her to make the same move again, so she needed to try something different. Kin-Kin was somewhat inexperienced in the way of fighting without the use of magic or the crystalline tool that was her sword, and to her frustration there was very little she could do that would feel clever or particularly worthy of her title.

In the end, though, Kin-Kin opted to put on a violent show of frenzied thrashing- more of a display than anything else to make it harder for Xireidi to hold on- and then lunge for one of his upper forelegs with glistening fangs. Hopefully, she might be slippery enough for her to make it...

And her fangs closed on flesh, but it wasn't Xireidi's. The she-wolf couldn't help but let out a little whimper, and there was a small spray of blood. Her eyes moistened and vision blurred, a bloodied tongue lolling out of her mouth, and a row of tooth marks visible on its pink surface.

Round 3/5
Attack: bite one of his upper forelegs
Defense: none
Injuries: none

For a moment she was airborne, her light weight giving Xireidi an easy job. Finally, she felt her hide collide with hard stone, and skidded to a halt. With a scrabbling sound her claws managed to find purchase on the stone and she hauled herself to her feet in an instant. She felt the back of her neck where Xireidi had grabbed her throbbing, and knew that the tooth marks would bruise beneath the thick fur.

She paced, circling the other wolf, her hackles rising beneath her cape as she thought of her next move. She knew that it wouldn't be easy to clutch a victory from here- in reality, she'd probably already lost. The other wolf's size and superior weight might just be enough to snatch victory from her- an embarrassingly anticlimactic defeat, especially in front of a kid she'd seen hatch. She needed a change in strategy.

As she thought, Kin-Kin stretched herself, arching her back and extending each limb in a manner similar to a relaxed housecat. Her gaze lingered on Xireidi all the while- hopefully it would be enough to lull him into a false sense of security... and then... mid-stretch, she crouched and then lunged. She hoped that the initial leap would be enough to startle the other wolf, and give her the chance flip him onto his back from underneath if he rose up to defend.


Round 4/5
Attack: flip xireidi over
Defense: none
Injuries: grazes, bruised neck

Kin-Kin already knew that she'd lost- perhaps she was simply too out of it to focus- perhaps she was too short or hadn't trained enough. But there was no denying that her head was out of the game to a serous degree. There was no way she could clutch this back, and there was no denying that now. There was no way she could convince anyone- even herself- that she had this in the bag.

She'd missed again, seeing Xireidi leap over her once again as he had earlier. This time Kin-Kin followed his path with her gaze and didn't try to dodge. Instead she tensed and leaped straight upwards towards him, trying to catch the larger wolf by the throat in what could be a devastating finishing move if used in a real fight.

Whether it worked or not, Xireidi would still come down on top of her- and probably still have the upper hand.

Round 5/5
Attack: catch xireidi by the throat.
Defense: none
Injuries: none