Oh... he supposed the alligator was right. Then again, Cetus was naturally misty. If they could perfect their technique, then perhaps their quarry wouldn't notice the excess fog at all... That was something to think on at a later point. His attention returned to Dragon, noting that mischievous glint in his eyes. Ghanyarah couldn't help but return the smirk, angling his body towards his brother. "You're on!" Ghanyarah couldn't recall the last time he'd fought - had he even? He'd practiced a lot, but had he ever gotten into a real scuffle with anybody, aside from hunting? Should he go first, or should he give that courtesy to Dragon?

...Nah. Ghanyarah focused all of his magic beneath the alligator, intending to uproot him before the battle had even begun. He chortled and scampered back a few steps, hoping he'd be fast enough to catch the alligator off guard.

Round 1/3
Attacks: Bunch of ice pushing up underneath Dragon
Defenses: n/a
Injuries: n/a

table and code © chelsea of ORIGIN

He'd been waiting for his brother to agree, but he could see his mind working, feel the tingle of magic before it hit. He'd expected the ice to come from Ghanyarah, though--when what actually happened was the world erupting around him in ice.

He felt himself tumbling and hurtling upwards, then falling, felt the lashing sting of lacerations as the ice shards cut him here and there, though for the most part it was a blunt blow. He struck the ground stunned, hissing through his teeth as adrenaline rocked him, fighting through his daze to summon his own magic.

Well, that's one lesson learned... the attack can come from anywhere.

The thought was both grim and wry, and an instant later, Dragon realized he couldn't really do anything without severely harming his brother. If he succeeded, Ghanyarah could be very badly burned.

Shit.

With a hissing intake of sharp cold breath--and holding it, as he'd now learned--Dragon decided to aim his magic not at Ghanyarah, but at a point above his head. His aim was to teach the komodo dragon the same lesson he himself had just learned--that the danger might not come from him, but from their environment. And anyway, it would be less risk of serious harm for the dragon.

He aimed the gob of superheated goop at the ice on the tunnel over Ghanyarah, but it did nothing; aside from a few drops of falling water, nothing dislodged at all.

How anti-climactic.

"Shit," Dragon muttered, flicking burning eyes to Ghanyarah, watching him with a wary grin.

{ art by dark } ~ { table by aura . edited by banshee and dark }

@Ghanyarah


Round 1/3
Attacks: Trying to melt ice above Ghanyarah
Defenses: none
Injuries: none

As he hoped, the ice had crackled beneath Dragon and suddenly shot up beneath him, displacing the alligator before he landed again on the ice shards. Ghanyarah couldn't help but cringe at the sight - it must have been painful, and he hadn't expected his ice to work so well with him. But maybe that was what happened when he wasn't trying to just cast it on a whim without much focus. He'd been practicing, getting better at summoning it and grasping it with his mind, so there was that. The reptile stood at arms, elevating himself above the ground as he warily watched the alligator before he spat some hot gunk at the ceiling. Ghanyarah jumped and scampered to the side, looking back - only a few drops of water were dislodged, and he cast a mischievous grin over at his brother. "You'll have to do better than that!" He teased and drew the water from his body to his mouth, hoping to playfully spit it at the alligator's face.

Round 2/3
Attacks: Spitting water at Dragon's face
Defense: n/a
Injuries: n/a

table and code © chelsea of ORIGIN

Dragon grimaced as he got a face full of blasting water, coughing and twisting his head aside. It didn't hurt, but it was cold--it was just... just...

"That is VERY annoying!" he growled. Eventually, irritated, he decided to annoy Ghanyarah right back. Sure, he couldn't burn his brother directly--and apparently the ice overhead was too thick to melt--but what if he melted the ice below Ghanyarah's feet? Maybe he could make him lose his footing, slide all over, sink into the ice? Hell, maybe it'd even freeze a little again around his brother's claws once he stopped--assuming he didn't move, first. Though that was a bit much to hope for, he supposed.

It was tough--and a new learning experience, really--to try to summon up his magic while Ghanyarah was ejaculating magic in his face, but between his own coughing and snickering, he managed.

He turned his face aside from the spraying onslaught, inhaling, focusing on the heat simmering within him--then opened his jaws and swung his head up, aiming at the ice beneath Ghanyarah's feet.

He likes his ice and water so much, let him be part of it, Dragon thought with grim satisfaction, as the flames flowed from his jaws.

{ art by dark } ~ { table by aura . edited by banshee and dark }

@Ghanyarah


Round 2/3
Attacks: Trying to melt ice /under/ Ghanyarah
Defenses: none
Injuries: only my pride for accidentally picking cauterize somehow?? meant to do incinerate pls pretend

Having spent a good portion of his water body spitting it at the alligator, once he'd ran out of breath and water to spit, Ghanyarah smacked his lips and pulled his head back again. He had to recover from such a gratuitous use of water which, for one, had caused the reptile to grow dizzy almost immediately. He blinked a few times, side-stepping as he heard his brother exclaim in frustration how annoying his magic was. Ghanyarah chortled again, whipping his tail behind him with amusement. "Nothing's stopping you from trying to scorch me, brother!" He cackled again, and just barely saw the alligator throw his head back before realizing that that was probably what he was going to do right now.

Ghanyarah whirled around, attempting to make an escape, but the alligator had already roasted his hind end and flash melted the snow beneath his feet, turning it into a sloshing puddle. Ghanyarah slipped and flailed in the tiny arctic pond, scrambling to escape from the heat. As he splashed away, he threw a glance over his shoulder, deciding to get his revenge in the form of trying to freeze Dragon's great maw shut. Of course in his haste, his spell couldn't help but backfire - instead, a blast of cold emanated from Ghanyarah's body, flash freezing the puddle in which he stood and firmly cementing him there, making him an open target for his brother.

Round 3/3
Attacks: Using Glaciate to form ice around Dragon's mouth
Defenses: None
Injuries: Roast Lizard Ass

Ghanyarah started to scurry away, and the reptile certainly was much quicker than Dragon--but then something, well, happened. He wasn't entirely sure what happened, but he sensed the brief surge of magic, and when his flames cleared, he could see Ghanyarah standing--looking rather caught-out--in a flash-frozen puddle of ice.

Had he done it on purpose...? No, probably not.

Dragon broke into a slow grin, chuckling ominously. He thought quickly about what to do, and as he decided, he turned the chuckling even darker.

"With a backfire like that, I think I deserve a little victory blast, don't you? You don't value your left front leg all that much--do you? Maybe the back half of your tail?" he teased.

As he did, he inhaled, more glittering orange visible in his gullet, swelling and flaring, though he was careful to tilt his head down so Ghanyarah couldn't blast more damn water in his face.

"No, I've got it--let's make your back black. Then we'll match!"

Dragon let out a roaring cackle, and then hawked up a big gob of fiery spittle, intending to just melt the ice under his brother's feet before it frostbit him, or something. A little dark joke never hurt anyone, right...? Up it came--a bit weakened, by the water, and it took him some extra time to coalesce it in his jaws--and then he spat it down, under Ghanyarah's belly.

"Stand up straight," he warned.

{ art by dark } ~ { table by aura . edited by banshee and dark }

Round 3/3
Attacks: SET THIS DRAGON FREEEE
Defense: none
Injuries: he's really wet?

@Ghanyarah

Character: Ghanyarah Age: +5 (5 Cycles) Magic Level: +3 (Pupil) ROUND 1 Attempt: +20 Penalties: -0 ROUND 2 Attempt: +19 Penalties: -0 ROUND 3 Attempt: +1 Penalties: -0 Total: 48

Character: Dragon Age: +4 (4 Cycles) Magic Level: +5 (Master) ROUND 1 Attempt: +4 Penalties: -0 ROUND 2 Attempt: +16 Penalties: -0 ROUND 3 Attempt: +7 Penalties: -0 Total: 36

WINNER: Ghanyarah

Ghanyarah's gaze locked on the alligator and he felt panic slowly but surely mounting. His eyes slowly widened, especially as the alligator broke out in a dark chuckle, threatening to remove one of the komodo dragon's limbs. It served him right for being so cocky, but Ghanyarah truly expected the alligator to try and burn a part of him off. "Wha-wait a second, just hold on, let's not be hasty-" The lizard flicked his tongue and tried to tug his limbs out of the ice, but his magic had firmly cemented him in there. Panic continued to rise as the alligator's cackle found its crux and he decided to burn Ghanyarah's back. If his eyes were any wider, they'd probably roll right out of his head. He watched the reptile prepare another mouthful of heat, and if lizards could sweat, he'd probably be pouring buckets. "Wait Dragondragondragondragon stopstopstopstopstostop-"

The magma landed just below him, and Ghanyarah extended his legs, producing the reptilian equivalent of whimpering as he felt the heat sear the underside of his stomach. Thankfully, it didn't land on his back - he shot another fearful glance over at Dragon before realizing that the alligator really was just teasing him. As soon as the ice thawed enough, Ghanyarah yanked his limbs free and leaped out of the slowly melting puddle, back onto the ice. "HAH! You missed!" Sure, Ghanyarah.

"Try again, sucker!" Fueled by the adrenaline of panic and the arrogance of what he perceived to be Dragon missing, Ghanyarah turned and bolted down the tunnel again. "Betcha can't catch me!" He yelled over his shoulder, this time making an escape for good.

(Exit Ghanyarah)

Dragon bellowed uproarious laughter as his brother skittered off, shouting after him, even taking a few steps in pursuit to ensure that his voice was heard.

"I was JOKING, brother! I think you won, anyway... WATER IN AN ICE CAVE, IT'S JUST CHEATING!"

Still laughing, he started to haul himself slowly back to Cetus, tail swishing behind him, going over in his head the lessons his brother had now taught him.

Don't let others spew magic in your face. Fire is shit for practice fights. Inhale slowly and let the temperature equalize.

A moment later all that was left was a puddle of refreezing water, a hole where the magma had seared through, and a particularly badly half-melted snow version of Diamondfang in the tunnel.

{ art by dark } ~ { table by aura . edited by banshee and dark }

((exit the Dragon))