Beast hardly had time to react to anything going on around him. The magic continued to sling, and Vazi even kicked out at him, or at least Beast thought he did, in the chaos--shouting angrily. He winced away only to find the shaggy brown creature standing over him, and for an instant his instinct was to flee. He even started to bolt, to leave the cover of his bear-shield above, but at that instant a sharp barb of something translucent and glistening stabbed into the earth just before him and he cringed back. The hail of icicles continued, until just as suddenly as it had begun, it ceased. As if on cue the great bear charged forth, and Beast was left mewling and lost in the smoke--lost, listening to the sounds of ferocious combat, of the clash of magic. Lost, until a roaring tongue of flame was suddenly visible through the smoke. Beast froze, staring toward it, horrified. His instincts made him recoil, made him want to simply turn and flee, but where could he run to, in this thick black fog?! He didn't know where he was, his eyes burned and it hurt to breathe. "Hasira...?" he finally tried, his cry a sobbing gasp of fear. He took one stumbling step forward, and then another. And then he stopped. The flames had risen. The smoke had cleared. And what he could see left a cold, blank horror in him like nothing else he'd ever felt before. The bear was towering over Vazi, towering and burning. The flaming figure was impossibly large, silhouetted against the wisps of remaining black smoke, a demonic figure in the hell that had suddenly engulfed Beast. Leon was a burning inferno, the rancid stench of burnt fur and flesh even stronger than before, and Beast simply didn't know what to do. Utter terror gripped him, and he found himself blindly doing the only thing he could do. He ran. He fled to the tower, bolting inside, in to its safety and its dark confines, bolting directly into the opposite corner and dropping down. There he lay, cowering and trembling and unable even to cry out, bleeding quietly in the dark while the demons broke free in the distance. ______________

VAZI HASIRA

"shattered innocence"

---

The bear's voice rose from the smoke, calling out, infuriating him. Hasira sneered, ears following the sound of Leon's voice. He would try to go for the voice in the fog but he couldn't pinpoint it. He would hear it at one place then it would disappear and go somewhere else. No doubt the bear was running in the thick smoke, trying to keep him from charging and goring him. Coward! Hasira bellowed but swiftly the sound was cut as he began to cough. "Coward!" He howled when his voice finally cleared. "Cowards the lot of you!" He yelled again. He charged, stopped, looked around. He charged again but was forced to stop once more. He couldn't keep up. Couldn't find where the bear was.

Until it reared up in front of him. The creature was huge, a giant towering over him. He had just called carnivores cowards but now as he stood there looking up at Leon he felt the fear in his gut. He stepped backwards, eyes widening in pure terror as the behemoth stood in his face. Could he run? Could he get away? Save his skin? Perhaps... But on his hind legs the bear was vulnerable. It would take just one lunge and jab for the heart and he could end this game.

That was his last thought before the fire consumed him. A scream of pure agony rose up and over the field of Orion. He could feel his fur burning away, forget the burn at the back of his head... That was nothing compared to this. He fell backwards still calling out in pain as he writhed on first his back and then his side as he fell sideways. Instinctively his magic kicked in to suck in water around him but there was hardly any water to be had. He concentrated what little he could get into the burning in his face and body. It was enough to save some of his fur but not all. He could feel parts of his ears seared away, a majority of his body hair was gone he knew and his face... He could tell that it would forever be marred by ugly burns and fur that wouldn't grow back.

He was done... He would fight no more today. His body was in too much agony. Still he lay on the ground, defenseless as the flaming bear stood over him.

---

Round IV of V
Attack: None
Injuries: Burned back of head, puncture marks in his hindquarters. Burned throat. Burn at the back of his head stinging from steaming water. Burns all over his body and face: ears singed, half of his face burned off, body lost half of its hair.
Defense: Air drink to stop some of the burning.

words: ---
tagged: Leon, @Beast
ooc: Leon can have the battle ;.; I just wanna save Vazi's beautiful face.
muse: 6/10

"Talking looks like this."
Thinking looks like this...

[Origin Cave]

Character: Leon Age: +5 (5 Cycles) Magic Level: +3 (Pupil) ROUND 1 Attempt: +15 Penalties: -0 ROUND 2 Attempt: +20 Penalties: -0 ROUND 3 Attempt: +18 Penalties: -0 ROUND 4 Attempt: +18 Penalties: -0 ROUND 5 Attempt: +3 Penalties: -0 Total: 82

Character: Vazi Age: +4 (4 Cycles) Magic Level: +3 (Pupil) ROUND 1 Attempt: +17 Penalties: -0 ROUND 2 Attempt: +20 Penalties: -0 ROUND 3 Attempt: +16 Penalties: -0 ROUND 4 Attempt: +18 Penalties: -0 ROUND 5 Attempt: +5 Penalties: -0 Total: 83

WINNER: Vazi

Hot.

It was the only thing he felt, the only thing he knew as the flames leaked from his jaws and consumed his head, crawling down between his shoulders, down his back, engulfing his chest and arms. If anything could've gone wrong with his magic, it would be this - maybe he'd been too arrogant about his abilities. Too proud to think that he could possibly fuck this up - too eager to help when he should have been paying attention to what he was doing. Or maybe he just hadn't realized how powerful the spell he was summoning would be. It didn't matter now - it consumed him and as the stream of breath left his lungs, what erupted in a violent roar would soon evolve into a strangled, choking scream. As the stag fell, he fell, too.

Tongues of flame ripped at the air around him as he collapsed, dropping to the dusty earth and doing all he could to smother the flames. He rolled on the ground and shook out his fur, snarling and pawing at his head, stinging with pain. Once the source of heat in his chest had died down, it didn't take long for the red flames licking his skin to eventually wisp into the aether, the last of the vivid colour disappearing in a lash of red, leaving behind a haze of grey above. The extinguished fire left behind an image of destruction: the hair along his body, what little remained, was charred black. His skin was seared and red, bubbling with blisters along his forehead and muzzle. There was crippling, stinging pain.

Leon lay on the ground for a moment, heaving as he tried to work past the pain. Eventually he righted himself; still on his stomach, he raised his head and peered out. "Kid?" The bear coughed, his lungs aching from the burn. "Kid... where are you?" It was agony trying to speak. His voice cracked out against the stillness; the smoke finally dissipated, but Leon couldn't find the lion. Come home with me. We'll take care of you, I promise. "Please." He croaked, summoning the last of his strength to stand up again, eyes skimming the surrounding area for the lion.

@Beast

Despite being the only one of the three who remained nearly unharmed (aside from the previous slashes of Vazi's antlers, the freshest still leaking blood down his ribs), the cub was in shock. Maybe it was his starvation, or dehydration, or the toll of the constant stress the stag had inflicted on the little white lion's life thus far. Maybe it was simply the horror of what he was seeing, smelling, hearing--the cries of agony from outside. The billowing smoke, the figure writhing and falling, rolling on the ground. His mind seemed to simply... slip away, to go blank and empty. Beast was left an empty shell, for now: a tiny white cub, lying wholly tense and half-hidden in the darkness of the corner of the tower's ground floor. His claws were unsheathed and digging against the stone floor, eyes impossibly wide until their whites were clearly visible. His ears were pinned and he barely breathed--and barely trembled. He no longer heard anything; he didn't hear Leon call for him, didn't hear the shuffling as the bear spun, searching for him. He simply hid, cold and empty and afraid. Maybe he'd die here, forgotten and alone, left in peace at last by his tormentor and the harshness of the world around him. Maybe that would even be for the best. ______________

@Hasira ; @Malakai