One more lap around the calendar, and here the Gembound are at it again: Celebrating contests of strength and finesse, and dragging Vakornol back out of her happy retirement because it's just so damn entertaining to come out and see what the Cave's put out in the past twelve cycles. Granted, she's got a little bit of rust to scrape off the gears, but...

Hey, nobody's ever upset to see the Forsaken Revenant hit the arena again, right? She's definitely not ever upset to see the beauty of armored defense sitting in the sand across from her again. They've never fought personally, but she remembers the bloody show that this thing and Draconua had made. Hell, she'd even sent Vargas's least favorite Valkhound into a chrysalis.

Of course, there's the disadvantage of Galleon not being able to do as much goring and maiming, but that was probably the whole thing of being in a deathmatch. This is much, much more casual. Perfect for taking down all those cobwebs.

Vakornol huffs as she finishes her assessment of the huge creature, grinning crookedly with her already-grinning teeth. "Hey, you with the face," she chuffs across the way, tossing her head up in a nod. "Don't you hold back on me because I'm an old lady. You better hit me first and mean it!"

Bouncing on her heels, she waits for the first strike.

@Galleon

Tectus couldn't help it - she was itching to see Vakornol fight. She had seen more then a few Deathmatches in her day, having personally overseen a number of them. And the Forsaken Revenant had always been her favorite. Granted, it wasn't exactly a novel thing to be a fan of the old forum champion, but her fights were always bloody and entertaining.

So, of course she was overjoyed to see that the old champion was both awake and signing up for her olympics. She did hope that she didn't find the less gruesome and dangerous stakes of this event a damper on the fight. Tectus hoped she didn't find it boring.

She sat in her judging spot, where she had once Overseen Deathmatches and, for a moment, considered the weight of time. The rocks didn't feel the same under her feet. They were the same, but now they were cracked and weathered, hundreds of years had gone by since last she sat here. But...it was still Tectus and that was still Vakornol and this was still the Forum, cheers rising up to see their old champion returned to the battleground.

Like an adult past their prime trying to recapture the magic of their glory days, Tectus leaned forward and grinned, hoping for a spectacle.

Galleon entered as she always did: a low rumble, accompanied by a lazily moving bulge in the sand. She surfaced with a shake of her head. She blinked, a quick flash of shutters. Vakornol, she remembered this one being called. She remembered a little of this opponent--not actual combat, of course, but another deathmatch participant. She was relieved that her opponent was another creature her size--she'd felt quite bad about fighting One, even if the little mammal had proved more clever than she'd expected.

Vakornol spoke. Galleon grunted in surprise, 'hey you with the face' wasn't the first thing she'd expected to hear from Vakornol--most the giant beasts she'd encountered tended to be reserved or...simply odd. Vakornol was peppier than she'd expected. It suited her just fine, though. "Wouldn't dream of it!" Galleon said, baring her bone sheets in a grin. "Good luck t'ya."

Galleon inhaled and submerged her head up to her nostrils, snapping her dorsal fin open. She'd start with her favorite. A charge. With the noise of a heavy gale, Galleon took off, rapidly gaining speed. She'd aim for where she saw--and felt-- Vakornol last, and then attempt to breach and flip her with a toss of her head.

"When I speak"
When I think

ROUND 1/?

#100%

ATTEMPT: charge Flip
DEFENSE: N/A
INJURIES: N/A

@Vakornol

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Perfect. No holds will be barred (except for permanent maiming and death).

Which does pose a slightly disappointing premise where she probably can't get away with hopping aboard and bending that sail— (which is presumably for the big beaut to regulate all the heat that she's got to be generating down there)— until it breaks and force Galleon to stay topside. Nice thing about that sail is that it telegraphs the creature's movements clear as day, and tells Vakornol that she's imminent within the next few seconds if she doesn't pack up and move from her spot. That, and the plumes of sand that shoot from either side of the shark.

Overconfidence is a killer. The Forsaken Revenant wouldn't say that she had had an excess of confidence, no, but her hopes for being able to tell precisely when Galleon was going to breach had been a little high. Her third eyelids close with anticipation, and they're promptly caked-over with a solid layer of sand; the least of her worries as a few thousand pounds of armored bulk slam up into her from underneath (That's going to be an ugly-ass bruise later.) and flip her head over ass and send her sailing through the air with a loud, gawking snarl of surprise.

Round: 1/5
Attempt: Completely avoiding Galleon's charge. Nevermind.
Defense: Staying light on her feet, trying to pay attention to Galleon's movement. Currently in the air and vulnerable.
Injuries: Sand in eyes. Bruised undersides.

@Galleon

Galleon didn't know what she expected Vakornol to do. Dodge, or maybe mitigate the impact somehow. Instead, as she tossed her head back, she found herself tossing Vakornol bodily into the air, with little resistance on the valkhound's part. Galleon snorted in surprise. She couldn't help the "are you okay?" that slipped out. Had she gone too far? Maybe that'd been too much for the self-professed old lady. Galleon She hesitated, as she watched Vakornol begin to fall. Galleon shook her head out. Galleon surged after Vakornol, keeping her eyes above the sand. She couldn't let the advantage go, but she wouldn't hurt her.

As she neared, Galleon would dive. Not enough to truly be lost beneath the sand, but enough to flip down, leaving her tail exposed. Galleon would try to catch Vakornol in her fin, stopping her momentum, and bat her down with a tail flick.

"When I speak"
When I think

ROUND 2/?

#100%

ATTEMPT: Bat down
DEFENSE: N/A
INJURIES: sudden self doubt

@Vakornol

"Soak in the view before the next set of matches, everyone. By now, we've all seen the beginnings of what most of our competitors have to offer. They've tangled with their assigned dance partners, shown off their moves, and now the floor's been cleared—excepting these final two. The veteran versus the lightly seasoned brawler with a few wins tucked under her fin. Will she persevere, or will that aging champ be enjoying a large fish dinner?"

No magical means amplified the voice that crept in over the typical commotion filling the arena. Purely a perch within the lower part of the stands and a knack for projection allowed East's commentary to reach the ears of those most engaged in the violence on display. A sleek and still shadow, the steady cadence of his remarks betrayed how, unlike previous battle events, the hawk had remained sober for the occasion. Whatever humor he infused into observations was as dry as his tongue. Meanwhile eyes were sharp but regretful for lending insight to such pointless flexing of strength.

Or was it truly as empty of meaning as in the past? Words on the wind suggested a different story, the main reason he'd agreed to participating in this abhorrent spectacle. Worthy might turn out to be more than a title to flaunt like a gaudy bauble dangling about one's neck. And then what would that mean for Orion and the entire cave system?

"Seems it's never too late to learn how to fly as our grizzled vet's decided to demonstrate. Problem is, can she stick the landing before her new gal pal decides to help her out?"

Despite the background noise inherent to careening through the air, Vakornol miraculously is able to hear her opponent's concern and the commentator; and she barks a laugh at the both of them. "I'm good!" she roars, twisting her spine around mid-air like a cat and blinking the sandy crust from her eyes.

Alas, the show of dexterity isn't quite enough to get more than glancing contact of claws on the tail heading toward her, and the Revenant descends at a greater speed than before.

Hitting the sands with a heavy thump!, Vakornol winces. Mercifully, she's mostly landed on her feet and crumpled downward to disperse the impact; but less mercifully, there are definitely the signs of a sprained or twisted ankle on her hands where she's braced her landing on that— her left one, to be clear to the audience.

Damn, I'm getting my ass beat.

Glowing eyes glare out from the plume of sand that's been kicked up from her landing, trying to get a bead on her opponent again before it's too late for the second time.

Round: 2/5
Attempt: Twist to catch herself on Galleon's tail and give it a good chomp. :(.
Defense: Keeping eyes on Galleon.
Injuries: Sand in eyes. Bruised undersides. Sprained ankle.

@Galleon

Galleon felt claws on her tail, and the animal panic of an unseen body part being touched meant she flicked Vakornol down harder than she meant to. The muffled "im good!" somewhat reassured her. That is, until she felt the vibrations of Vakornol slamming into the sand. Her hit had landed. She felt only a little satisfaction from that. Guilt and dread were the bloated emotions taking up most of the space in her heart. She surfaced again, her blowholes shooting sand from her head. East's commentary found its answer.

Vakornol had not stuck the landing. Stuck it right, at least. Vakornol..did not look good. Galleon's opponent had a visible injury on her ankle, swollen and held oddly. She'd been dealing a good deal of damage to Vakornol. Too much, she was certain now. She didn't feel quite like a good galpal at this moment. Were her face not perpetually frozen, her discomfort would've been obvious. She briefly considered asking if Vakornol was up to this--but she knew that wound would be worse than slamming into her again.

She mulled over what she could do to make this more fair. Preparing to take an attack would be too obvious. So would making distance between them. Perhaps she was moving too fast. Did she need to telegraph her attacks more? Galleon exhaled heavily. That may work. Her exhale continued, intensifying, and she began to move towards Vakornol. The short distance between them meant she wouldn't build up enough speed for a good hit, but that served her just fine. Galleon raised a front fin above the sand, aiming it to slam flat side into an uninjured part of Vakornol.

"When I speak"
When I think

ROUND 3/5

#100%

ATTEMPT: soft slap
DEFENSE: list defenses
INJURIES: Feeling like a jerk

@Vakornol

There's still time for a comeback, though. A sprained ankle isn't a lethal wound to step out of the ring over, and she's got the gumption to keep at it until she's really actually done for. Few years ago saw her being run through with a spear at the first strike, so this is hardly anything. Thankfully, she is oblivious to Galleon's inner turmoil about beating up on an old lady a little too hard— or else she would be singing to a different tune.

Here the sand-shark comes again, and here Vakornol tries to lock, focusing on a cadence more like a literal version of "push come to shove".

Galleon's fin rises above the sand with a clear goal in mind (Pretty slow! Would think she's takin' it easy on me now—) and Vakornol braces to clear most of its breadth in a half-measured leap; with the claws of her right hand striking out for that armored flank, looking for even a single good scrape along the oversized fish's flank (with bonus points for any extras).

Round: 3/5
Attempt: To jump over Galleon's fin and give her flanks a few good scrapes of the claws.
Defense: Keeping eyes on Galleon.
Injuries: Sand in eyes. Bruised undersides. Sprained ankle.

@Galleon

Vakornol clear's Galleon's fin. Vakornol shows more dexterity than she'd come to expect. But Galleon is relieved-- that's what she wanted. She's showing some fight! All that is well and dandy, but then from the corner of her eye, she sees Vakornol's claws lash out at her side. Instinctively, seeing that sudden burst of speed, she can tell that its going to be a heavy hit. She abandons the nonstop offense she'd been running this whole time, and leans her bulk towards the lashing claws, attempting to throw her tougher scutes into the blow, and minimize the damage.

Vakornol's claws hit her side heavily, and the scrape of claws against scales grinds against Galleon's side. Chips fly off, and there is a sudden crack. She can feel the air against her in an oddly raw way, and her side is beginning to ache beneath the site of initial blow, but she's certain she avoided what could've been a bleeding wound. She exhales heavily, shocked. But...more than that, the thrill of it! Galleon laughs.

"Thats more like it!" She says, swinging around to face Vakornol, eager to see what else she has up her sleeves.

"When I speak"
When I think

@Vakornol

ROUND 4/5

90%

ATTEMPT: block the worst of the attack
DEFENSE: Scutes
INJURIES: scratched/cracked scutes on right side, bruising likely forming underneath