Squick could have exploded with excitement. although usally entering the cold, wide world was a terrifying prospect for the little one, Wilder had told it about a competition! Yes, a competition! Where all the big, fierce hosts of the caves came together to compete in glorious combat and find out who was the best!

Squick wanted in on it too! It seemed like the perfect way to find a new host, and Squick knew it would find it very hard to watch from a long way away. So naturally, it went closer, and... somewhere along the line, it had ended up here. In the arena. Ready to fight. Squick looked around to see if it could pick the small, dark shape of Miss Wilder from the crowds. She must be so excited to see Squick up here alongside all the big and fierce hosts!

Soon, one of them might even be Squick's!

The little worm squelched with pure excitement. From all the shifting, blurred shapes and heat signatures, it couldn't see if there was anyone coming towards it. Are you ready, Mr. Host? I can't wait to start!

---

When I think.

@Jaysong

Jay stepped into her assigned wrestling arena and was greeted with the sight of her opponent. Someone who, Jay had thought, would be large and vicious, like a cave rat, or something along those lines. Instead, when the cat stepped into the area, she found--

A worm.

... perhaps it was a joke, or perhaps the judges thought she was that incapable. It didn't matter, though-- Jay was more than happy to show them that she was a lot better than they thought they were.

"So, uh," The kitten began. "Are we fighting?"

It seemed a little bit ridiculous, but that much alone wouldn't cast the cat away from the competition. Instead, Jay shook her fur out and prepared herself for fighting.

@Squick

Squick looked up as someone came into focus, tilting its head as it struggled to see its opponent. To Squick's disappointment, its opponent- and potential host- was even smaller than Miss Wilder! It heard them speak, and let out a small, piping sound of affirmation, rounded head nodding vigourously. But, the worm supposed, it would be good practice!

Squick watched as the cat shook itself, and then attempted to do the same, its soft body jiggling, throwing itself off balance of its ten small legs. Then it began trundling forward with a small, piping squeak as it tried to latch onto one of the cat's small paws and begin to scale her leg.

Round 1/5
Attack: climb leg
Defense: -
Injuries: -

---

When I think.

@Jaysong

The worm-thing didn't speak, though that didn't entirely matter to Jay. Jay didn't like to speak while she was fighting, either-- it took the element of surprise away, when she was sneaking and hunting, and pulled her concentration away from attacks.

Claws in, Jay had to remind herself as the parasite began bounding forward. It was fast, but Jay wanted to bet that she was faster, shifting her weight into her hind paws and then leaping forward.

The cat-- for all it's bumbling, burly faults --sailed through the air in a neat arc and landed with a soft thump on the other side of the arena, tail-tip lashing through the air as she quickly turned around to regard her opponent.

@Squick
Round: 1/5
Attack: Dodge
Defense: None
Injuries: None

Glory hopped up to the judge's panel again, ready to announce the next wrestling competition. But, to his surprise and disappointement, the two were already fighting! Well, fighting? Jumping? He didn't think that such a small speck was capable of fighting but that wasn't his business. He was here to judge. He cleared his throat as he stepped up, trying to ignore the fighting already happening.

"Welcome one and all to the Wrestling Competition! Today's matchup puts the cat Jay," and here he gestured towards the cat, "and the, uh, worm Squick." He wasn't sure if his gesture this time would help anyone at all, considering how small Squick was, but it didn't matter. The match was already going. "If you had waited just a moment," he continued, trying not to sound too frusterated, "then I could have told you when to begin, but, I guess it's fine! Don't hurt each other!"

He settled himself down comfortably to watch the two of them. Not that he could really see Squick at all.

@Squick

Squick sank back onto all fours and watched in wonder as the host leaped, and went sailing high, high over its head. How wonderful, how beautiful all these hosts were! Little Squick was enthralled. It wanted to do that too! It trundled forwards after her, then as she hazed into view, taking a moment to gather its limbs and tail under itself, before rapidly uncurling.

A moment later, the worm was sailing through the air, aiming directly for the kitten’s face.

Round 2/5
Attack: flick itself onto Jay’s face!
Defense: -
Injuries: -

---

When I think.

@jaysong

The kitten let out a hard, abrupt hiss as an eagle came fluttering overhead, telling her that they should have waited. "They started without asking," Jay protested, visibly frustrated. Frustrated enough that she didn't catch a worm flying onto her face.

So here came an issue. How the hell was she meant to wrestle with a worm, without accidentally killing it? Jay feared that swatting it too hard would murder it, and she'd get disqualified.

... but if it were an accident...

... yeah, fuck it, the cat decided. It wouldn't be her fault if she accidentally hurt it. The judges shouldn't have paired her with something one sixty-fourth of her size.

The kitten lifted a white paw, trying to swat the scrambling parasite off her face, clamping her jaws shut before it tried to clamber into her mouth.

@Squick
Round: 2/5
Attack: swat Squick off her face
Defense: None
Injuries: None

The tanuki half waddled, half dashed towards the judges’ panel, muttering angry to himself while a dark grey rat followed behind him. Vladis was desperate to hold himself with the honor he believed he deserved by being an official announcer, but also knew that was quite at risk by being late. Indeed, by the time he arrived he saw that the current match had already continued.

“Ah knew we den’t have time for a snack! Ah told ya dat, Ratty!”

The rat squeaked a protest in response at his accusation and annoyance at her. Even without knowing exactly what he was saying, she knew him well enough to know he was grumbling at her for something that was his idea. He was always accusing her of things like that. So, the echoing grey just rolled her eyes and tried to keep up with him.

Vladis found a spot nearby and tried to quickly assess the scene. “Ah see we have a lil’ kitten. Who’s the opponent? Did they leave already?”

“It’s the worm. Didn’t you hear the eagle announce it?” the rat thought towards the tanuki with a mental huff.

“Wha?! That lil’ bug is the opponent? Hardly a match, ain’t it? Ah well, maybe it’s poisonous or somethin’? Dat would make it interestin', huh bird-do!” he asked of the bird with a wink of his good eye.


Speech. Thought. Ratty's Out Loud Ratty's Telepathy

Tag: @Squick @Glory @Jaysong
Notes:

Success!

The worm had landed on the cat's face and clung with tiny claws to her fur. It wasn't to last, though; Squick soon felt the kitten's soft paws batting at it, struggling to get it off of her face. But the little worm let out a squelch of protest, and decided that it was going to hang on, clinging with tiny little claws to her nose and writhing rapidly upwards as it tried to scramble out of the way of those looming paws.

But a moment later, it let out a tiny squeak as she just managed to catch it, roughly sweeping the small worm off and onto the ground, where it sat for a moment, shaking its head dazedly.

Round 3/5
Attack: -
Defense: stay on face
Injuries: -

---

When I think.

@Jaysong

Oh shit, the kitten thought spitefully as the worm fell down-- but it was still moving, shaking it's head, dazed. Was she winning? It was hard to tell? The judges weren't saying anything more and Jay decided she'd rather have this over with sooner than later.

And so, she didn't want the parasite to recover before she made her next move. The black and white kitten reached out with the same, white mitten and (gently, if you were to ask Jay's opinion) began trying to swat Squick out of the wrestling ring entirely.

Round: 3/5
Attack: off you go, child, to greater places
Defense: None
Injuries: None