Sergei let out a brisk moan of a roar, a sound of bafflement, as the fossa squirmed free. Nope, still agile. As it writhed from his grasp, too small and... and slinky to hold, he let it go. He hoped it'd fall, but knew it'd likely land on its feet--but more than that he had to free up his arms before it managed to wriggle away completely.

As it escaped him he pulled back and rocked his weight downward, bringing with it his right forepaw in an attempt to slam Mongo off his feet. He was, as always, cautious with his massive claws. But there was force behind the blow--not bone-cracking force, but (he hoped) enough to send the fossa sprawling should he strike.

The instinctive beast part of his brain knew that if he didn't knock Mongo flying quickly, the more agile thing would be racing all around him in no time.

Round: 4/5
Attempt: Knock Mongo With Paw
Defense:
Injuries:

@Mongo

Thankfully, Mongo was able to slip free, his lanky form and loose skin allowing him to slide out of the bear's arms. Like a cat, he twisted to land on his feet, stumbling slightly from the rather tall height; but he was a largely arboreal creature, and thus built for falls.

Before he could do much other than regain his footing, he found himself thrown off his feet again, breath leaving him in a woosh. He grunted, tumbling with the blow, but twisted even as he did so in an attempt to cling to Sergei's arm.


Round: 4/5
Attempt: Cling to Sergei's arm
Defense:
Injuries:

@Sergei

Sergei let out a frustrated roar, shaking his foreleg as the too-agile fossa clung to it.

In one last-ditch effort to regain--and keep--control over the fight, he dropped himself toward his belly, then rolled onto the arm--and hopefully the offending fossa. It was a fast move, the bear essentially just throwing himself downward, but he was slowed a little by his effort to not actually crush Mongo.

If he managed, he wanted to just pin the fossa beneath his considerable weight, and keep him there.

Frankly, he was tired of (and baffled by) Mongo's twisting all over the place.

Round: 5/5
Attempt: Lay on Mongo (carefully)
Defense:
Injuries:

@Mongo

The Fossa closed his eye as he found himself shaken around, ears throbbing from the bear's roar far too close to his ears. Caves, he wanted his skull back, it helped dull noise and helped him focus.

And then he was falling, and he couldn't help but to yelp at the feeling of his stomach dropping, clinging to the bear's arm as hard as he could. But still, he was brought to the ground, breath leaving him in a woosh. For a moment, he tried to thrash, shoulder hitting the ground oddly as the rest of him was trapped beneath the bear, slipping loose of its socket with a 'click' and a cry of pain from the Fossa.

Round: 5/5
Attempt: Flail!
Defense:
Injuries: (old: burn-scarred head, sensitive flesh), dislocated shoulder

@Sergei

At Mongo's cry of pain Sergei hesitated only for an instant before pulling up and back. He blinked, eyeing over the fossa and looking up to the judges in some concern.

"Did I injure you?" he asked, the words slowly laborious past his slight heavy breathing.

((tagging for fight judge!))

@Azizos

The Fossa laid limp for a moment, panting as he blinked the black spots from his eyes, before slowly rolling over. "Wasn't-wasn't your fault," he panted to Sergei, moving to stand before deciding against it when a new bolt of pain ran through his shoulder. And then, louder and shouted to the judges, "Wasn't his fault! I shouldn't have done that." he remained stretched out on his side, attempting to keep the weight off his shoulder.

@sergei

Character: Sergei Age: +7 (7 Cycles) Magic Level: +3 (Brawler) ROUND 1 Attempt: 3 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: 2 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: 18 Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: 18 Penalties: - ROUND 5 Attempt: 14 Penalties: - Total: 65

Character: Mongo Age: +14 (14 Cycles) Magic Level: +3 (Brawler) ROUND 1 Attempt: 12 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: 3 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: 17 Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: 17 Penalties: - ROUND 5 Attempt: 1 Penalties: - Total: 67

WINNER: Mongo

@Sergei @Mongo

With all of the smaller competitor's flailing, the lion-stag was getting more and more worried about Mongo's well-being. Silvery eyes narrowed, quietly astounded by how one creature could be so incredibly flexible and hadn't managed to break a spine or something.

Then, came the inevitable.

Azizos immediately roared as the fossa cried out in pain, bringing the wrestling match to a crashing halt (along with the bear's stopping, of course.) He shared a few hushed words and nods with his fellow judge, and rose to the forefront of the judge's podium. First and foremost, he barked out, "medic, please!" Silvery eyes scanned the crowd for one of the designated medics, before beginning to descend toward the arena's floor, itself.

He regarded the fossa with a cursory, concerned glance, before glancing at the bear. "Sergei shall move on in this wrestling competition and shall await his next match," Azizos called out to the crowd.

With a flick of his tail, he lowered his head to meet Mongo's gaze with a sympathetic one of his own, "in the spirit of preventing further injury, Mongo, Glory and I cannot allow you to continue competing in this contest. You fought well, given the possible unfairness your match-up may have provided. It is unfortunate things turned out the way they have."

(tagging medic(s)!) @Oliver @Ayr

Oliver scurried in at the call for a medic, eyes wide. He kept low to the ground, submissive as always--the violence of the fights frightened him, sometimes bringing back fleeting nightmarish memories of the recent battles in Eridanus. But-... it helped, too, in a way. Maybe not all the fighting was bad.

His magicka flickered up as he approached Mongo, his tufted ears pricking a little, attentively. He could sense that Mongo was fairly healthy--past that, there wasn't much information, his nervousness clouding his sight. But he could see that something was wrong with the fossa's forelimb. But the bone wasn't--broken, it just wasn't in right.

It was Oliver's first experience with a dislocation, but he guessed fairly quickly that it would just need to be. Well. ...Put back in.

"Um. Let me put it back in? It might hurt," he added softly, creeping up toward Mongo, "but I don't think it's broken. Just--not... in, right. If that makes sense."

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

Sergei hesitated, uncertainly. Part of him was proud to be declared the winner--but he also felt rather terrible for having truly harmed his opponent. It had not been his intention. And skill-wise, he believed the fossa had rather outdone him--true, Mongo might have had a hard time actually causing harm to the bear, and Sergei himself could have harmed Mongo badly if he'd chosen. But he was quickly learning that size did not count for everything, in a fight, and his opponent had fought with skill and agility well beyond Sergei's own.

He stood back, not feeling like this was really a victory at all, though stoic. He waited for the medic to help, his own massive head tilting as he watched. "You fought better," he rumbled at last, still hesitating. The bear waited, a moment longer--he felt awkward. "With honor. He cannot go on?"

If the fossa could go on, Sergei felt that Mongo should be the one to progress--though he wasn't quite eloquent enough to say as much.

@Mongo