Now there were tears getting everywhere as well and the entire situation was a mess. Dirt was so annoying! And just as he got the last bits of it out of his eyes which were still a bit watery, now came more dirt. Onyx-Three instinctively raised both of their arms to shield their face from the attack. Instead, they ended up punching themselves in the face (and oh there was dirt now too) and falling backwards onto the ground. He was now very much blind from the dirt and his jaw was also sore from the punch. Not a very good look.

Round: 3/?
Attempt: Block the dirt
Defense: None
Injuries: Blinded, sore jaw

@Alek

Oh, that could not have been pleasant, Alek thought as he observed with a combination of amusement and concern. V-Onyx-Three had fallen backwards on the ground from the combination of everything, even. Now could be a good time to pounce.

At least, Alek was pretty sure that it didn’t count as a win unless it was spoken or declared, and V-Onyx-Three had not declared it Alek’s win yet. But… Alek did not want to pounce yet.

This was fun, and he wanted to draw this game out further. Since his foe was now blinded for now and rather distracted, he did his best to try again what he had wanted to do earlier.

He moved his position, trying to keep himself quiet and subtle.

Round: 3/?
Attempt: Make self harder to detect
Defense: None
Injuries: Chest Scratches

@V-Onyx-Three

Onyx-Three rubbed the last of the dirt from their eyes, collecting themself and standing back up. They did not expect that their opponent would do such sneaky tricks like throwing dirt at their eyes. Though now that he thought about it, in an actual fight neither side would be holding back. It was important that he learn how to handle someone like this who played tricks rather than directly attacking. This is why he wanted to spar after all, to learn. He would not declare defeat.

As they looked around, they realized the dragon was missing. Where could Alek have gone? As he had no magic, which might've been helpful in cases like this to cover a wide area (maybe he should learn some spells) Onyx-Three decided that the best thing to do was just to stay on his guard. He turned in circles, eyes narrowed as he prepared himself for an attack. Or dirt. Likely dirt.

Round: 4/?
Attempt: Be aware of surroundings/prepared for next attack
Defense: None
Injuries: Sore jaw

@Alek

It was very tempting to throw more dirt. Alek considered the idea rather strongly, really. But as tempting as that was, it was more tempting to try to play this game as it was meant to be played. So far, Alek had just been messing around with throwing dirt.

Which, in his opinion, was a solid strategy when his opponent had lots of eyes, speaking from his own personal experience.

But, the point was, it could not be the only strategy that Alek employed if he was to win.

He needed variety. By the time V-Onyx-Three had stood up, Alek had decided to try something new. The lion sized dragon swept a wing out towards the joint of one of V-Onyx-Three's legs with enough force to try to disable the leg temporarily, but not enough to really hurt. Hopefully.

The rules said not to actually harm, after all. But knocking V-Onyx-Three down again would be good.

Round: 4/?
Attempt:
Defense: None
Injuries: Chest Scratches

@V-Onyx-Three

Onyx-Three saw the flicker of movement from the corner of his eyes, and he was ready. They managed to dodge the wing rather easily by side stepping it. Now it was his turn to strike. The dragon had been messing with him with the whole throwing dirt and everything. But here was an opening for him to gain the lead.

His eyes focused on the wing that he had dodged, lunging forward to try and strike at the 'elbow' joint. Spars were not meant to kill or injure. Temporarily disabling a limb was not out of the question. Onyx-Three also figured it was a wing after all, not a leg that was much more important.

Round: 5/?
Attempt: Cripple elbow wing joint
Defense: None
Injuries: Sore jaw

@Alek

While Alek's wings weren't flight capable, they were still his front limbs. He used those things for walking and swimming and all that. If he had been fully grown, the amount of deadweight one of his wings was might have lead to his defeat.

As it was, Alek was lion-sized, and the deadweight of a disabled wing was notable but not going to let him defeat him. Victory was still possible, he thought, and V-Onyx-Three had moved close enough to get to the wing joint.

So the dragon was going to try something entirely new with V-Onyx-Three in close enough range. It was headbutt time. Not with his antlers, those might be rather painful, but with his face. He closed his eyes in preparation, and then he shifted to throw his face with force at V-Onyx-Three, trying to topple him over.

And he missed, tragically. The weight of his disabled wing held him back from using the appropriate amount of force. He hadn't calculated well enough. He reopened his eyes, glancing at his wing then V-Onyx-Three.

Alek didn't want to lose, but if his wing was disabled for the rest of this fight, it would just hold him back. "...Okay. ...You win. But we'll play again sometime, alright? And then I'll win."

Round: 5/5?
Attempt: Knock Over with Headbutt
Defense: None
Injuries: Chest Scratches, Disabled Wing

@V-Onyx-Three

Onyx-Three did not have wings himself, nor has he ever fought a being with wings before. The anatomy and effectiveness of disabling one was not something that he was incredibly knowledgeable about. But he had done it! To the result of, uh, victory? He had no idea that it would render Alek unable to continue and concede the fight. They hoped the Sentinel had been watching! They won! They really won! But more importantly, had they learned? Onyx-Three went over it all in his mind. He learned something about dirt. One could even say he learned way more about dirt than he needed or wanted to know- he knew it was itchy, it tasted horrible, and it got everywhere you threw it at. He did not like dirt.

A slight bow in Alek's direction. "Good spar. You are a good opponent." A tricky one, yes, but he had learned a lot from it. It was a different fighting style than he had seen thus far. "I would be glad to spar again. In the future." Onyx-Three tilted his head to the side, ears flopping over as he did so. "But you do not know the future. If you will win." they stated in a genuinely confused tone. Or maybe Alek was able to see the future. Was it a spell he didn't know of?

@Alek

At least Alek had played the game right, even if he hadn't won. He puffed up in pride a bit. According to V-Onyx-Three, he was a good opponent! "Then we even more definitely should do this again sometime!" Alek declared.

But V-Onyx-Three was still rather... confusing. "No? But I'll train and try to get better, so that I can win!" Alek corrected. Was seeing the future a weird magic thing that could be done, he wondered briefly.

But only briefly. Magic was uninteresting, compared to tactics, in his opinion.

He wiggled his wing to try and un-disable it. After some struggling, he fixed it. It still felt a little odd, but it would recover fine. "That was really cool! It was nice to meet you, V-Onyx-Three!"

"I should probably find my dad, but we'll have to do this again!" Alek declared.

Alek was excited to tell his dad all about this new game and the other young gembound he had met- Even if that young gembound was prone to confusing statements.

[Exit Alek (if not stopped)]

@V-Onyx-Three

"Yes. I hope to win. In the future." Onyx-Three would continue onwards with his training like he always did, and will keep in mind the kinds of things that Alek would attempt to do. He wondered when they would meet again. How much time will have passed? Where will they meet? But it was not the victory that was important in the end. It was what he learned.

"It was nice. We shall meet again." As the dragon disappeared from sight, Onyx-Three turned to go home. A victory. His training had paid off this time.

Exit Onyx-Three

Character: V-Onyx-Three Age: +5 (5th Cycle) Magic Level: +3 (Brawler) ROUND 1 Attempt: +19 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +10 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: +1 Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: +9 Penalties: - ROUND 5 Attempt: +20 Penalties: - Total: 67

Character: Alek Age: +6 (6th Cycle) Magic Level: +3 (Strategist) ROUND 1 Attempt: +8 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +16 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: +13 Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: +3 Penalties: - ROUND 5 Attempt: +6 Penalties: - Total: 55

WINNER: V-Onyx-Three

@V-Onyx-Three // @Alek