"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!" Bedlam was cheering itself hoarse, practically falling out of the stands as it leaned forward to wave an empty fish-churro bucket as a makeshift flag. The green tendrils on its back were set to maximum glow, undulating back and forth as it screamed down at the ring. This was the best Deathmatch yet! None of those stupid uneven matchups, or matches full of dodging that always ended the same way: with Draconua. THIS was the violence it had been waiting for!

"YOU GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, FOREST FIEND!!! RIP OUT HIS TONGUE! TEAR OUT HIS GUTS AND STRANGLE HIM WITH IT! FEED HIM HIS OWN FLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESH!!! BLOOOOOOOOOOOD! BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!! BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!"

And if Baokrish had drawn anything back, he'd've crunched it down like a swallowing alligator. It was during this that the fused Gembound slammed into his jaw, hitting into the thick bone and muscle that made up that dangerous mouth. The bodies went right into his eyes- while, sure, he was thick-boned there, he still had sensitive enough eyes to squeeze them shut in a reeling wince.

Right, enough games, then. The crowd was roaring, and Baokrish slammed his mouth down towards Matthieu once more, just to bite the other side of them. Blood? Well, he'd give them blood!

ROUND 3/5

69%

ATTEMPT: just bite anywhere again
DEFENSE: hunkered down
INJURIES: bit off tongue, bruised jaw eyes

@Matthieu

Won't you play a game with me?

They needed to get away from those lolling jaws. The thought crossed their minds as her other side was bitten into, releasing a howl and wildly-swinging hands.

A bizarre thought struck their mind. Crazy, yes, but it might work. Matthieu skittered away from the valkhound with a hiss, pretending to be retreating-- but in reality, their leg was reaching for the discarded cloak on the floor. Secured. Grabbing it with their hands, the fairie suddenly ran forward and leaped for the brute's back, casting their arm forward until the fabric grazed his neck. Something hard met their feet and they scrabbled to clamber onto it. The plan was halfway done. They just needed a little more time and they could safely strangle the beast from atop it's back. If only they could do something about the "rapidly bleeding out" situation...

ROUND 4/5

67%

ATTEMPT: jump onto Baokrish's back with the cloak in preparation for next round
DEFENSE: Holding body high up, generally on high alert
INJURIES: Sides bitten into, bleeding quite hard

@Baokrish

Baokrish hit home, and he’d released soon enough with the guttural snarl of something far too large for its own good. After all, who could bite while still holding onto their prey? Matthieu had retreated, and the valkhound twisted to keep eyes on them, squatted low to the ground as all eyes- the ones still functional at least- glared down at the opponent. ”Want to try again?”

The beast’s growl rose in volume as Matthieu leapt onto his back, his spine curling at the lightweight contact. Now how was he going to bite? He couldn't reach there with his claws, only thrash about like a bucking log. There was one idea; steeling himself, Baokrish, in an act of blind frustration, threw his body to turn himself belly-up, shoving off with his forelegs and meaning to crash (painfully) down on his own back.

And, if Matthieu got trapped there, then that was game over, right? Otherwise, his claws would be free from this angle, even if it meant his stomach was ripe for the bloodletting.

But with the way the fight was going, he was pretty sure he had a lot more blood than the poor creature he was up against.

ROUND 4/5

69%

ATTEMPT: roll like a barrel/alligator death roll
DEFENSE: anti defense: belly exposed
INJURIES: bitten off tongue, bruised eyes

@Matthieu

death

gore

Won't you play a game with me?

It happened in a matter of seconds.

One second. Matthieu was climbing atop Baokrish, cloak in hand, ready to unleash their greatest performance yet. Whatever it was, it was now lost to the sands of time forever. For all his tricks and cunning, the Bee-Boy could not anticipate that his action would be the end of him.

Two. They secured their feet on the hide below them and raised their arms dramatically into the air, beaming despite the blood loss. Baokrish couldn't hit them up here; they were free to attack as they wished. Or so they thought.

Three. The "ground" began to roll. Matthieu's expression of triumph turned into one of confusion. This... wasn't the way it was supposed to go. He was supposed to lash and thrash, yes, but not roll. They were ruining their performance! They tried to jump off, but the momentum was too strong now, legs flipping into the air and bellies baring.

Four. Bee's body hit the ground first. A scream of pain shot through their mental link as her legs contorted on contact. But Baokrish was still turning, his weight crushing on top of them and Matt realized what this was. A death roll. They couldn't escape-- their legs were broken and guts were spilling out. They were stuck moments from death.

Bizarrely, they decided to throw their coat to the side in their final seconds. It was so nice, they wouldn't dare let it get crushed.

Five. The weight on top of them was unbearable. Matthieu could hear their own bones snapping inside his body. There was no air to scream. No sight to see. They tried to sting one last time, but Baokrish's scaly hide was so strong the stone snapped off instead, tinking to the ground, and sealing their fate.

Six. Arwen? We're Coming.

Seven. The crowd goes wild.

DEATHMATCH

Chadsworthington Stevenson the Third would remember these Deathmatches forever; Nemean, currently in the process of scribbling on one of his stones with a hot pink glitter pen, made sure of this.

She was practically doubled over laughing even as she hovered in front of a pectoral boulder, stealing toothy grins over her shoulder and lofty gold curls. "Hehe..." (scrtch-scrtch...) "hoo-hoo-hah..." (scribble-scribble...) "... mwah! Perfecto!"

The Master patted at the boulder with an overexcited squeal and buzz of her wings. "A new tattoo, just for YOU! And we'll keep adding to it..." Chadsworthington continued to just idly grind his rocks against one another, entirely uninterested in the proceedings. Because he was just a pile of stones that happened to move sometimes. "... BECAUSE," Nemean smacked the golem upside the head, to no effect, "WE'VE GOT ANOTHER DEATH ON OUR HANDS!"

And wasn't it a MESS! BOUND to be! A big barrel steamrolling over a toddler-looking nightmare? "CRUSH IT!!! MAKE IT MARRY THE FLOOR!!! YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!"

When all was said and done, and Matthieu was a stain on the valkhound's windshield, blaring trumpets thrashed every available eardrum. "BAOKRISH, GOD OF THE SEA, EVERYBODY!" (Though, what kind of name was that? He sure wasn't in any sea!) "WHAT AN UGLY MENACE. A PERFECT FORMULA FOR VICTORYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"

Nemean's pen screeched loudly as she added another line to Chadsworthington's very worthy chest. Then, she waved a paw in Baokrish's direction, because apparently a minute or two of glory was quite enough. "G'WON, YOU BEAUTIFULLY DISGUSTING BRUTE! TAKE A WELL-DESERVED BREAK AFTER SMASHING THAT BUGYAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!!!" Of course, she broke up into tittering laughter.

_____________

DEATHMATCH WINNER: BAOKRISH

Character: Matthieu Age: +5 (11 Cycles - Capped) Magic Level: +3 (Pupil) ROUND 1 Attempt: +14 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +10 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: +13 Penalties: -5 [Powerplaying, see note] ROUND 4 Attempt: +19 Penalties: - Total: 59

Character: Baokrish Age: +2 (2 Cycles - Capped) Magic Level: +1 (Fledgling) ROUND 1 Attempt: - Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +19 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: +14 Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: +18 Penalties: - Total: 54

NUMERICAL WINNER: Matthieu
NOTE: To me, "When the teeth part, they will reveal a..." read as Baokrish releasing Matthieu from his jaws when it wasn't written in any post before. I was unsure if this was meant to be a "in the future" thing or as what I already stated. Pseudo-poetic writing can be a little confusing for fight descriptions :pensive:

In any case: I left in this penalty because Matthieu would have been the numeric winner regardless of whether or not it was there (and also have died, apparently... F.) So, just keep this in mind for the future. Aside from that... great fight and DEATHMATCH! :]

@Matthieu (for visibility) @Baokrish