Well. This was it. The match that determined it all.

From the ledge on high, that lion-stag called his name and that of the large, white wolf, Kera.

Eythan strode into the arena without too much cockiness or swagger in his posture. Each paw simply moved in front of the last, carrying him to the now-familiar place he always stood when a match began. He adjusted his wings slightly, smoothed down his feathers, prepared. So far, the gryphon had done well.

He lowered his head. Better not fuck it up now.

And so, he waited.

@Kera

It took Kera a while to stop seething after her last match.

It didn't matter that she won, it mattered that people let a murderer-- an actual, literal, murdering murderer --fight in a wrestling match, and then got annoyed when he actually hit another gembound.

Kera spent her time drinking and washing off the bad feelings. So, by the time she was called in for the final battle, she felt a little better. A little calmer. Calm enough, at least, to actually have a fun fight and win a title.

The wolf stretched herself out before she padded into the ring, loosening her limbs up. "Hello," she offered across at Eythan, shaking herself out.

@Eythan @Azizos @Glory

Glory was perched exactly where he had been before, his feathers fluffed up with indigence. At this point, he was ready for the matches to be over. Thank god they were in the final round. Whoever won this fight would be the champion.

As the two stepped onto the stage, Glory stood up taller and called out into the crowd. "Welcome, everyone! Welcome to the final matchup of the Olympics wrestling competition! We have here our two finalists - the hybrid Eythan and the wolf Kera! Whoever walks away from this match victorious will be crowned the winner!"

He paused and leaned over to glare at the two of them. "I don't want any hurting. No claws, no teeth, no broken bones, and please don't insult each other." He opened his wings and opened his beak to release his normal torrent of flame. "Let the match begin!"

@Eythan

Eythan's ears flickered back at the sound of Glory's voice, though more out of preparation than anything else. It was just a slight bit of defense and a little bit of streamlining. Likewise, his wings tucked closer to his sides and tail feathers fanned shut; reducing the number of grabable extremities.

"Hello," he returned, clicking his beak rather cheerfully a few times before settling back down into his defensive posture.

With the match declared on, the gryphon began to pace in a wide circle about Kera, bright eyes searching and searching. Facing sideways, shoulders sunken in as he prepared to initiate some sort of assault: agility hadn't failed him yet. Speaking of: Eythan suddenly bolted forth, launching with one powerful spring of his hind legs.

Taking bounding strides and increasing his speed, the gryphon fully intended to get the first hit in: a running jump at Kera to possibly knock her down to the ground.

ROUND 1/5
Attempt: Taking a charging run and leap at Kera, head-on.
Defenses: Ears back, wings tucked.
Injuries:

@Kera

we burn the brightest

in the dark

Aries chest puffed out his chest as he watched Eythan's smooth entrance into the ring. His eyes sparkled with pride, a feeling he had not felt in a long, long time. So far, his friend had done well, and he was confident that he would wipe the floor with Kera.

"Yeah, Eythan, you got this!" He called out to the gryphon, bravado in his booming voice as he pawed at the ground. That should definitely, back up his swagger.

Aries craved to join the match himself but the soreness in his leg reminded him why he sat this one out. However, he enjoyed watching Eythan dominate the ring.

It filled him a great warmth, like firelight dancing in his chest.

He held is breath as Eythan took a running jump towards his opponent.

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: // OOC:

Looks like the judge was still being an asshole.

Great.

Someone was very loudly cheering for Eythan as well, but Kera was just about ready to ignore that one. Kera circled the ring around the hybrid as well, ears pinning back against her skull.

Then, he started making way for her.

Kera moved to lunge out of Eythan's way and towards his right instead, hopefully before she could get hit. She was not, however, fast enough-- if it be due to Eythan being quicker or just being blatantly abrupt, was unclear. Either way, Kera was knocked down to the ground with a yelp of surprise.

ROUND 1/5
Attempt: Dodge
Defenses: None
Injuries: Bruised (previous fight)

Eythan distantly heard a friend's voice calling from the crowd, hooves stomping across the earth. Aries had finally made it, eh? Nice.

The wolf had been bowled over quite successfully by his attempt, releasing a yelp that made Eythan hesitate for a moment. There was no whimpering or whining: he must not have hurt her. The gryphon had mere seconds to make his next move, though.

He leapt to the side slightly, then forward in a manner similar to pouncing. His objective, here, was to simply get on top of Kera and pin her down (by the shoulders, preferably) with his balled up talons. No stabby-stabby time.

ROUND 2/5
Attempt: Pinning Kera.
Defenses: Ears back, wings tucked.
Injuries:

@Kera

Kera was mildly alarmed as Eythan's talons found her shoulders. She knew fine well that if she didn't get out of this one then she would have pretty much lost the entire thing-- but if she managed to escape Sergei then she'd surely be able to escape this one.

It just didn't help that Eythan seemed to be a hell of a lot more experience than she was.

Kera began flailing underneath the hybrid, twisting and turning under his talons violently to try and get herself away.

ROUND 2/5
Attempt: Flail
Defenses: None
Injuries: Bruised

Eythan found himself on top of his foe with surprisingly little effort, applying just enough weight to the now-flailing wolf to keep her down without hurting her. Usually, combat would now segue into a frenzy of swatting and hitting, but the gryphon didn't want to really cause any unintentional damage.

So, his strategy here would be to spread out his wings and tail-feathers for balance, and work on keeping Kera pinned. Let her wear herself out.

ROUND 3/5
Attempt: Keeping Kera pinned down.
Defenses: Ears back, wings spread.
Injuries:

@Kera

Kera wasn't having any of this shit.

Although she kept flailing and struggling, she wasn't seeming to get anywhere. This lead Kera to a new conclusion: this just wasn't working. The wolf paused, breathing heavily, and looked around.

She refused to lose this one. Or at least refused to lose so badly.

The wolf kicked one hind leg up and jabbed her paw roughly into Eythan's gut-- not exactly enough to actually harm him, but certainly enough that it might pry the hybrid off her.

ROUND 3/5
Attempt: Kick Eythan's gut, trying to get him off her
Defenses: None
Injuries: Bruised