The cheers of the crowd faded behind Faelan as he followed Dezba's scent toward the edge of Polaris. His golden eyes were narrowed, sweeping over every inch in front of him in search of the shadow-cloaked canine. Whenever the huge, gaping maw of the tunnel's mouth came into view, he slowed down to one wary step at a time. How strange that this encounter would happen here, he noted silently. The place where he had sought refuge from his first battle would likely be the ground on which his next took place. At least Mercurius wasn't here to see it, he thought with a fleeting sense of guilt. Faelan had the faintest notion that his new companion wouldn't approve of what he was about to do, but he had to do it nonetheless.

The bright blue glow that lit the tunnel's mouth made the lion's tawny pelt take on a green hue. He didn't even notice though, his gaze still intent on sweeping over every nook and crevice. It shouldn't be hard for the canine to hide here, and yet he still hadn't seen her yet. Her scent was still fresh though, he noted as he parted his jaws to drink in the air. While the now familiar scent rolled over the roof of his mouth, his fangs glinted in the brilliant blue light.

Finally, Faelan stopped just under the tunnel's rocky archway, his body angled so that he could see in the tunnel and out into Polaris. He turned his golden crown from one side to the other, and then raised his head and called out,"Dezba, I know you're here! Come face me!"
The challenge boomed through the tunnel, echoing back into Polaris. He sent one worried glance back toward the events, and when seeing no apparitions, focused back on his immediate surroundings. He had a feeling that the wolf would happily take the challenge. What the broad-shouldered lion wasn't so sure of was if he would be able to get his point across before her rage and hate took over. He didn't want to fight her, but he would if it meant she would leave Sebastian alone.

@Dezba

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

You're weak, Dezba. A hateful voice in her head hissed. It was her own. Dezba shook her head. Shut up! No I'm not!

You couldn't even win at wrestling, pathetic! You let him pin you down like a sniveling pup, everybody saw, everybody saw how WEAK you are.

That's not true! She snarled at herself. I am not weak!

Yes you are, and you can't deny it any longer.

The faint roar of the crowd echoed throughout the tunnel. It made Dezba's fur bristle as an unsettling thought slithered in her brain. They're laughing at me... She felt tears sting her eyes. Paranoia gripped her. The whole cave was making fun her, mocking her meltdown. Dezba wanted to crawl under a rock and hide, or better yet, die. Anything that would spare her from her kin's ridicule.

No! I will not flee like a cowardly cave deer! She knew what she had to do.

Dezba's wolven form slunk though the shadows, her green eyes narrowed with spite. Something awful glinted in them. I must challenge Sebastian again, and this time, I will show him no mercy. The wolf curled her lips. Nobody makes a fool out me.

Suddenly, she was snapped from her thoughts at the sound of someone bellowing her name. Suspiciously, Dezba turned around. It sounded like someone was challenging her. She sniffed the cold, tunnel air. Whoever it was, he was musky feline who smelled of earth. Dezba scoffed. What does this fool want?

It did not take long to backtrack down the tunnel. From the shadows, her piercing, emerald eyes burned. She spied a lion, and he did not look happy. Despite this, Dezba did not feel intimidated, just pissed. "What do you want?" She growled, unafraid to voice her annoyance. Dezba crept away from the shadows, and down the slick, icy ledge. Her large, black form took shape against the white, frozen rocks.

This better be good.

Dezba stopped in front of him, giving the lion an unamused look."You look pissed," She scoffed. "What did I do, step on your tail?"

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Faelan // OOC:

The canine emerged from the depths of the tunnel like a living shadow. The only spot of color on her was the gleaming green eyes that stared at him coldly. Faelan felt a shiver go down his spine, even though he towered over the younger, smaller Gembound. He had expected the same heat and anger that he had seen in the arena, not this cool annoyance at even being called. It gave him some hope though, that if the wolf had some self-control then perhaps this could be resolved without conflict.

Dezba's voice, as agitated as her narrowed gaze, demanded to know what he wanted. Faelan waited until she had stopped in front of him to answer though. He brushed the mockery aside with a flick of his tufted tail and focused on why he was here. Her words, right now at least, didn't matter, especially when she wasn't even being serious.

"I want you to leave Sebastian alone." Faelan said simply, his voice firm as he stared straight into the wolf's green gaze. "The wrestling match was fair. There is no reason to seek vengeance for it." His tone and level stare were unwavering, making it clear that he meant every single word he said. The lion wasn't here to negotiate, and he wasn't here to be lied to. He wasn't sure how he would combat the second of those things, but he made himself stare down the she-wolf to show her how serious he was about the first.

A short time ago, he wouldn't have used such a tactic. After the fight with Blackberry and Blueberry though, which left him with his first scars, he had discovered a very important thing about life. There were those who attacked, and there were those who got attacked. He'd been the latter once, but he didn't plan on ever being the victim again. He could protect himself, and Sebastian, and Mercurius. He wouldn't let them, or anyone else he cared about, be brutally attacked like he had been.

@Dezba

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

Dezba noticed the steadfast posture and tone of the lion. He was like a miffed elder trying to tell a gemling what to do, but Dezba was no gemling, and she certainly did not being told what to do. The she-wolf stared back at him, her fur bristled. The lion had pushed her into a mental battle for dominance, and she did won't to come out on bottom, not again. She had to take control of the situation.

Dezba scoffed. "Vengeance? I don't want vengeance!" She almost laughed at the notion. Did she want revenge? Not really, her goal was power, domination, but she made an idiot out Sebastian while doing it, well, then victory would be even sweeter. Dezba pushed forward, towards Faelan, her eyes still locked on his. She was not afraid. "I want a rematch!" She growled, slapping her front paw on the ground. "A real fight!"

"Did Sebastian put you up to this?" Dezba sneered. She snorted and laughed, taking another step forward. Malice glinted in her green eyes. "Tell him that he is a coward! Hiding behind a bigger kitty, HA! Pathetic!"

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Faelan // OOC:

The lion's myopic claim that the wolf sought vengeance was shot down by a scoff. Faelan cocked his head in confusion as Dezba outright proclaimed that that wasn't what she intended. How could it not be, he wondered, thinking back to the moments after the match. She hadn't said vengeance exactly, but her posture, her actions, it had all pointed at it.

Faelan's ears flicked back whenever Dezba finally admitted what she really wanted. A real fight, which he knew to mean blood and pain. He had been a part of a real fight, and that was exactly what he wanted to protect Sebastian from. His friend didn't deserve to worry that with every pawstep, he could be walking into an ambush of some power crazy Gembound.

The shadow cloaked she-wolf's next words brought a rumbling growl up from Faelan's wide chest. His eyes narrowed whenever he caught sight of the mean glint in her eye. Just as he thought, she was no better than Blackberry and Blueberry. Some Gembounds were just plain crazy, bound on submitting others to their will.
The next moment that passed seemed to take forever. Faelan weighed his options quickly, but heavily. He did not want to fight, but it seemed the only way. Gembounds like the wolf didn't understand anything but power. He hadn't been particularly good at showing that to the goose and the moose, but he was more practiced with his magic now, and he knew what to expect.

The lion let out a long breath, and then said in a deep, rumbling roar,"You will leave him alone." He brought his right forepaw up, his oval-shaped gem glistening in the light as he moved, and then slammed it into the ground. The ground shuddered at his touch, spreading toward the wolf. It did not stop after a few seconds like it always had before though. This time, it quivered and shook beneath the canine's paws, intent on completing its master's whim.
Faelan stared in shock at the intensity of his power, too surprised to say what he had meant to next. Which was...or else. Without meaning to, he had summoned that threat, and brought on the battle he didn't want.

@Dezba

Round: 1
Attempt: Pebblequacke - knock the wolf down
Defense: none
Injuries: fresh scars on right ribcage and left forepaw

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

Dezba noticed a change in the lions demeanor, and the growling cemented it. She hit a nerve! The black she-wolf grin with delight. "What's wrong kitty? She taunted. "You're bubbling like magma---!" Suddenly the ground shook violently from under her as the lion bellowed his warning like thunder. Dezba gasped as she lost her balance and crashed to the ground. Pain jolted through her shoulder.

Unbridled fury surged through every vein in the she-wolf body. Magicka burst from her emerald as it glowed with raw power. The ground cracked and budged underneath them as Dezba cried out in rage. "YOU WILL REGRET THAT, LION!!!" She pulled herself back up, bristling, her eyes wild with anger, she snarled as a mighty tree broke through the ground like a titan, choking the tunnel with its sprawling branches.

Suddenly, cracking noises erupted from the tree as it pushed against the ceiling. With a loud SNAP, its trunk broke in two, sending splintered flying in every direction. Dezba's eyes grew wide in horror as her creation began to topple over. Frantically, she scrambled to get out of the way. Suddenly, a terrible yelp came from the wolf as she disappeared underneath its mound of branches.

Her own tree had fallen on top of her.

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Faelan // OOC: yoooooooo

Round: 1
Attempt: TREEEEEE
Defense: none
Injuries: sore shoulder, literally under a tree (probably has splinters too)

As if Faelan needed any more affirmation that he had fucked up, the wolf's words echoed down the tunnel at him. They wrenched the lion from his stunned stupor with their brutal honesty. He had no doubt that he would regret what he had just done, but it was done now. There was nothing else to do but endure whatever came next.

At first, Faelan thought the ground splitting by Dezb's paws was some remnant of his magic. That notion fled him though whenever a tree suddenly burst from the ground. It speared up toward the ceiling as if it couldn't wait to touch it. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the magic stopped and a full-grown tree stood at the mouth of the tunnel as if it had done so for all time.

The lion's belief in agathism made him believe that the wolf must have summoned the tree as a subconscious, defensive move. The fact that she wasn't as practiced in her magic wasn't lost to him, but he had little time to think on it. As if to prove just how little control the wolf had, a sudden, startling crack wrought the air, and caught Faelan's attention. The tree's trunk suddenly opened up right in the middle, and half of the tree fell on to Dezba.

Faelan, stunned by the complete turn of events, noticed the swell of magicka too late. It crested within him, an unseen, pressing weight that felt as if it were going to suffocate him. One moment, he was staring at the downed tree, wondering if the wolf was even alive, and the next, he was gasping for breath, wondering if he would even live. Then, his magicka broke free, and went straight into the ground beneath him.

The rock beneath his paws heaved, and then began to buck like a horse with something clinging to his back. Strangely enough, it didn't seem to be doing it anywhere but beneath Faelan, but he was too preoccupied with being tossed up and down to notice. His massive frame was thrown up into the air, and then slammed down, like a tattered ragdoll.
The first time Faelan fell, the breath was knocked out of him. The next time, his head bounced off the rock, dazing him. That was probably for the best, since the next few moments were literally just him being slammed into the floor over and over again by the power of his own magic.

@Dezba

Round: 2
Attempt: Earthshatter - survive the boxing match with the ground
Defense: none
Injuries: fresh scars on his right ribcage and left forepaw, breathless, bruised all over, concussion

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

Dezba couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Golems had her pinned down. They were peeling her gem from her flesh, digging and scrapping. She felt her heart beat rapidly. It was unfathomable terror.

I CAN'T MOVE! I CAN'T MOVE! I CAN'T MOVE! I'M GOING DIE!!

Dezba wriggled frantically under a the weight of the branches. They twisted around her like sylvan shackles, pinning her to the ground. She felt as helpless as she looked. I can't breathe!

Dezba, its a tree.

As that moment of clarity graced her, she took a deep breath and replayed what happed. She summoned a tree in the tunnel, it snapped in two and fell on her. This was tree, she had never summoned a tree before, but hardly felt impressed. Dezba panted as pulled at her wooden shackles. There was still life its limbs. I need to bend them before they die.

Dezba closed her eyes and focused. Her emerald gem began to glow and the branches around her trembled. She gritted her teeth into a snarl, focusing harder as if she had to bend metal. Her prison protested at first but bit by bit, the tree's limbs began to lift. Dezba screamed, like she was lifting a boulder with her back. Her gem glowed brighter. The thick branches peeled back in reluctance, butl, they obeyed, freeing the she-wolf from the depths.

Scraped and bruised, Dezba dragged herself from the fallen tree, coughing and sputtering. The light from her gem faded and she collapsed on the ground in mental anguish. Her green eyes opened to the lion having his own mishap. The lion! This is his fault! Her eyes blazed coldly as she pulled herself up and shook the debris from her coat.

Unforgivable!!

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Faelan // OOC:

Round: 2
Attempt: free herself
Defense: none
Injuries: sore shoulder, bruised, scraped

Faelan came too slowly, only aware of an insistent and annoying ringing at first. The more conscious he became though, the more the ringing faded and was replaced with pain.
His head seemed to hurt the worst, since it literally throbbed with every beat of his heart. However, every other part of his body felt sore and battered too. He couldn't remember, at least not right away, what had happened to him. Then, his bleary vision finally cleared a few rapid blinks, and he saw a black shape standing a few tail-lengths away.

Even though she stood as still as stone, the memory of who, and what, she was rushed back to the lion. Dezba, he thought with a spike of fear.
Sometime either during or after his disastrous spell, she had escaped her own misfired magicka. She seemed ready to pounce now too, with a new fire blazing within her bright green eyes.
Even if Faelan wanted to, he didn't see himself being able to get out of a fight now. He had started something, he thought with regret now, much like he had with the brutal pair Blackberry and Blueberry. He didn't plan on it ending the same as that had though. He was more aware of what was going to happen now, and he was more aware of what he was capable of.

Faelan pushed himself up to his massive paws as quickly as he could. He had no doubt that Dezba would use any weakness or disadvantage that she saw, so he had to try to give her as few of those as possible.

The lion tried to focus his magicka and summon some sort of protection with it, but he felt nothing when he reached for it. For now, he would have to rely on his own strength to endure whatever the wolf threw at him. He sorely hoped that it would not be another tree because he wasn't sure he could take another heavy beating. However, he was prepared to for Sebastian.

@Dezba

Round: 3
Attempt: Magnet - Form a bracer
Defense: None
Injuries: fresh scars on his right ribcage and left forepaw, breathless, bruised all over, concussion