He stepped onto the forum, without the spiked armor he would typically bring into combat, head high and muscles flexing as he amped himself for the coming battle. He rolled a shoulder back as he looked for his opponent. From what he understood, it was another of the Forge. He had not spoken with V-Onyx-Three but he was...aware of what had happened between them and his own spawn.

How embarrassing.

For Azrael, this fight was oddly personal. Someone that his spawn had personally fought, with a resulting draw, and then hunted alongside, the spawn in which he saw nothing but disappointment, frustration, and regret. He struggled to give the feelings words and labels, but he knew that he needed to win this fight. Not that he would express this. If they held anything back, it would not be right.

@V-Onyx-Three

The Forum. An arena set amongst a backdrop of stars. Stepping out into the open space now, the faint light from the crystals sparkling above reflected against their eyes, each pair taking on hues inherited from their parents. They were here now, Hunter and the Sentinel, watching. Some time ago it had been they who had stepped into battle against each other. It didn't mattered then who won, because in the end, they were both champions. And he was the child of champions.

At the very least, he needed to crush this whole darn thing. Needed to, in the way that it was a requirement that he did. He was literally made for this. He was raised in the Forge. To fight. To win. If not to prove to himself that all this training was not for nothing, then to make his parents proud.

His opponent, Azrael, had entered opposite to him. An intimidating sight. V-Onyx-Three instinctively reached for his bow, but his fingers closed on empty air. This was a wrestling match. Not a hunt. In comparison, his build was naturally on the agile rather than bulky end of things, though there was no doubt that beneath his black fur was a muscular body with more than enough capability to engage in close combat. Question was whether it would be enough.

Not to mention, it clicked in his mind now that Azrael was Helion's parent. Were they similar in personality? Did they fight the same? Maybe less magic-focused if they had decided to enter the wrestling tournament. Helion's magical feats were deeply ingrained in Onyx's mind. It was hard to forget what had happened all those cycles ago. He wondered if Helion was watching this. What it would think. What it would mean if he won.

V-Onyx-Three readied himself in a fighting stance. A nod. He would let Azrael make the first move.

@Azrael

As his opponent stepped up to face him, Azrael's eyes ran up and down its form. Not too different from his. Taller, but more lithe where he was brute force and power. It would be an even match, hopefully. A good match.

He grunted, taking a deep, aggrssive breath, sending the energy of the inhale directly into his chest, where the glow burned ever so brighter as he fired himself up. "The onyx," he grunted, as a greeting. "You are the child of champions. This will be a good fight." Another reason to win - a worthy adversary would make for a greater victory.

There was really nothing else he had to say. They were both forge, they were both strong, and they would both give it their all. He readied himself as well, clenching all four hands into fists, and then lunging forward.

Usually, the claws would be out, and slashing away, or blasts of fire would be leaving his jaws, but this was not the Deathmatch. So the attacks that game Onyx's way were targeted close-fisted strikes, aiming to immediately put him on the defensive.

@V-Onyx-Three

ROUND 1/5

ATTEMPT: throw punches
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: none

It crept in to the edge of the crowd, like a dark shadow in the corner of a room. Toxic eyes glared at the two combatants in the middle of the forum and it, for once, did not make much of a show in its appearance. It did not burst in violently or loudly, or cause trouble or chaos, however much that Thing in it craved to do so, but rather took a seat. And watched. Quietly.

It was not quiet inside its mind. I HOPE THEY KILL EACH OTHER!! I WANT TO SEE THEM TEAR EACH OTHER TO SHREDS, BLOOD AND BONE AND VISCERA!! WE SHOULD HELP, WE SHOULD GO DOWN AND OPEN THEIR GUTS OURSELVES!! This is not the place to be causing problems. This is not the Deathmatch. We should leave. There is nothing for us here. Nothing but heartache. It grit its teeth. COWARDS!! The beast roared and lunged against its cage, but Helion had not come here to insert itself into the olympics and fuck everything up. That did sound like its idea of a good time, but also it wanted to watch...this.

It had a vested interest in seeing Azrael lose. It didn't think he would, the beast seemed to never fail at anything he set his mind to, but it would be better then him winning. It did not particularly care for Onyx-Three, but there was something that had changed during their battle against the Sand Worm. A fighter, a soldier, and not somebody that dared to underestimate it. He did not look down on it, even after their...incident. He had been frustratingly graceful when confronted by Vargas but savage on the battlefield. Something like respect had taken place. Not much, and it would never admit it, but if there was anyone that V-Ruby-One could say they didn't hate, it was probably this one.

So...it would be really really funny for Helion if the onyx beat Azrael in the first round of the Olympics. That would please it greatly.

He registered the comment with the flick of an ear. So he knew the significance of this. How many others in the crowd were also aware? Were they expecting something of him? Something great? V-Onyx-Three had not noticed Helion's arrival, but he had half-assumed that it would be here considering how many Forge members were present.

Azrael lunged, coming at him with a flurry of fists.

His first instinct: dodge. But he recalled from his spars that once he fell back into defense, a skilled opponent would be able to cut off his chances at regaining momentum.

V-Onyx-Three maintained his position, the blows landing on him one after another. They fell like rain, hitting him in the chest and arms. It hurt, even knocked the breath out of him. He staggered back.

It was lucky that this fight had rules in place that prevented a harsher attack. They needed to remind themselves of this rule too. His claws and spikes were made to rip and tear, to draw blood.

But he knew how to hold back too. Rather than go for an overly aggressive counterattack, V-Onyx-Three dropped into a crouch, shifting his weight onto his left leg. Then, using his tail and right leg, he swept outwards in an arc towards Azrael's knees, aiming to knock him to the ground or at least unsteady his balance enough to get him to back off.

@Azrael

ROUND 1/5

ATTEMPT: leg/tail sweep
DEFENSE: Spikes
INJURIES: Bruising across upper body

As the blows landed without an attempted defense, at first Azrael was confused - surely someone would try to defend themselves against a flurry like this, but then the onyx dropped and he understood. He wasn't willing to give up offense for defense. Azrael could respect that.

The blow against his legs surely knocked him off balance, but it didn't fully take him down - Azrael was sturdy and built and it would take more to fully get him off his feet, but it interrupted his blows enough to get him staggering. But it also put Onyx in prime kick range.

Azrael followed up the moment his balance recovered. It was a pinpoint, precise attack, directed at Onyx's stomach, right below the ribs. A powerful strike aimed to knock the wind out of him but do no more damage then that. Each toe of his foot was curled in to punch rather then stab with the unretractable claws.

@V-Onyx-Three

ROUND 2/5

ATTEMPT: kick in the stomach
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: none

This was really difficult. At least it had staggered Azrael, even if it hadn't knocked him completely over.

It dawned on them that they were playing this all wrong. Their opponent was sturdier, heavier, more brute force than they were. Any attempts at directly overpowering him would be inherently harder to do on their end.

Recalculate. What could they use to their advantage? Speed. Agility. Remember how you fought Vargas. He needed to use his quick movements to exploit openings, and for an opening to appear, he needed get Azrael in an uncomfortable position. Maybe even to over-extend. He had many limbs. But which were weakest?

As the kick came hurtling towards him, V-Onyx-Three shoved off the ground with his leg, trying to launch himself to the side and out of harm's way. He felt the attack just barely miss him, clipping against his fur. Close. So close. Now that he was back on surer footing, he would maintain the distance, trying to circle around Azrael instead of staying in one place.

@Azrael

ROUND 2/5

ATTEMPT: Dodge the kick
DEFENSE: Spikes
INJURIES: Bruising across upper body

He had, admittedly, been hoping for the satisfying feeling such a powerful blow would deliver him, but the onyx was fast. Faster then he expected. It was only a short clip of fur and flesh that he felt his foot impact before they were darting out of his range.

Azrael snarled and planted his foot back on the ground. He glared at the onyx for a moment, the heat of combat flashing in his eyes, before he was pushing off again to close the gap and unleash another flurry of blows from close fists.

He was, at least, predictable and straight-forward.

@V-Onyx-Three

ROUND 3/5

ATTEMPT: get in there again
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: none

And again, they were back where they had began. The fear of failure flashed through him. He had lost the last time he was in this position. A capable warrior was one who learned from their mistakes. Had they learned?

They were not strong enough to topple their opponent with a single leg sweep. It was all-in, or all-out. He had already dodged once-- just barely. He'd need to commit to a move without playing it safe, or he would get worn down little by little. The bruising across his body was still a painful reminder of a cost without reward.

Time to decide.

Once Azrael was close enough, V-Onyx-Three threw themselves towards his legs as he was mid-stride in an attempt to shoulder tackle him to the ground. The punches still hit either way, as painful but without injury like the first time, landing against his shoulder and neck as they lunged in his direction. It hurt, stung, but bearable. But it wouldn't be the pain that would end them, they knew. It was the strength of the attack, the way the blows wore down on his energy from the sheer force needed to withstand it.

@Azrael

ROUND 3/5

ATTEMPT: Tackle Azrael
DEFENSE: Spikes
INJURIES: More bruising across upper body and back

He admired his opponent's bravery as they met in the middle, Azrael with his many-armed blows, the onyx with a full tackle meant to sweep him off his feet. It surprised him a bit - he had not expected the gembound to completely throw itself at his legs, but he took it in stride, falling backwards, quickly tucking his wings in a way where they would not be broken by his bodyweight slamming into them. They both went down, and Azrael grunted loudly as the wind was knocked out of him by the ground rising to meet him.

But being on the ground did not make him defenseless. He still had a lot of arms and the onyx hadn't let go of him. He raised a lower arm and opened the fist a bit, bringing the side of it in a chopping motion down on where the top of the onyx's shoulder met the base of his neck, in an effort to get him to let go of him.

@V-Onyx-Three

ROUND 4/5

ATTEMPT: hit the shoulder really hard (no bone breaking)
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: fell :( currently has a very spiky dog on top of him