Hunter was now a fully grown adult, and more than ever did he want to prove himself. The race was one thing, but the wrestling tournament was where he fully expected to shine. Sure, there were, uh... Some big guys in the competition, but he wasn't too scared. It was a friendly competition, after all! Like wrestling with Vivi or dad.

... It was a bit intense though, stepping down into the Forum. His family was gathered to watch, and he put on a big grin as he waved to Attikias. It was weird being naked, but the last thing he needed while wrestling was a scarf about his neck for someone to choke him out with. He at least had his hair pulled back into a loose bun so hopefully that couldn't be used against him; he was used to playing with siblings after all, and hair yanking is absolutely fair game in a wrestling match.

He hadn't been sure if weapons would be allowed (he wanted to bring a big stick, not a proper spear, of course) but it seemed best to make it perfectly fair by just bringing... himself! His tail curled about his feet as he stood tall and waited for the match to begin.

What he hadn't been counting on was his opponent, "Ruby-Beta". Hunter was all smiles and excited energy for now, but he had no idea what kind of beast he was being put up against.

@Ruby-Beta

Ugh, this particular seat was awful. There was already a rock pricking one cheek - but, of course, his foolish ass was already talking the moment the cat-beast showed up: "keep y'claws 'n teeth clean, 'kay? Listen out for a honk to stop, but otherwise - have at it!"

Only then did he look at the size differential. Sure, the bipedal creature was standing higher at the top of his head than the entire horse-sized alien (and holy shit, what's up with all of the triangle-heads here?) but unless he was quick on his feet...

Eythan was ready, at least, to jump in.

... to another seat.

Ruby-Beta sauntered obediently into the Forum, tail swinging behind it as it glanced around, trying not to move its head too much, until it caught the sight of Master Vargas. It quickly glanced back ahead and stepped out to where it was facing its opponent.

But, at first, it was confused. Wait...this little creature? It was expected to fight this...weak little thing? It rumbled unhappiliy, looking at its opponent, but it wasn't going to refuse. No, that would just make it look lazier then it already was. It didn't even want to be in this competition anyways, having only done it to get the Master's respect. It shouldn't be complaining about its opponent.

"No claws, no teeth," it confirmed to the judge with a quick glance over its shoulder before eyeing Hunter. Alright, it could go for a direct frontal assault, but the thing was most likely faster and more agile then it. That wasn't a good idea. And its usual sneaking tactics weren't exactly going to be helpful here.

Well, better just figure it out. "Let's fight then," it growled before lunging forward. It made to feint to Hunter's right, to lure it and strike from the other side, but it was clumsy and it stumbled ending up exactly where it had been luring its opponent.

@Hunter

Round: 1/5
Attempt: feint to the right
Defense: big
Injuries:

He sat silent, curious. He knew that Ruby-Beta had vanished, for awhile--possibly to sleep, though he himself had had too many other things on his mind to question it too closely. Regardless, he wondered how it had fared in training before and after--surely it would not lose a physical fight to... whatever that thing was (and Vargas, perhaps coldly, saw very little potential use for the soft-looking bipedal thing--it didn't even have spikes? Or glowing parts, or armor? Maybe it could be a craftsman...).

He could always hand it off to Orthoclase-Alpha if it failed too badly; maybe the prick of pride at being made its sibling's suboordinate more clearly would prompt a better response. He hoped, however, that Ruby-Beta would surprise and impress him--but perhaps the soft thing, too, would prove to have tricks up its sleeve.

As Hunter's opponent dropped down into the ring, the furry half-elf froze like a naked child in front of a tiger. That was basically what he was up against: a massive, purple tiger. With spikes. And a maw big enough to snap off his head in one bite.

M-maybe he should have asked about the weapons, after all? If he somehow won this match, he'd have to ask if using a stick would be against the rules... But he didn't have a lot of time to think about that, as one of the judges reminded them: no teeth or claws. Quietly, Hunter poked his claws back into their sheathes with the palm of his hands. Relax.

How hard could it be? He just had to catch an alien-tiger by the tail and pray that it didn't crush his ribcage. He didn't dare look to his father, blinking the fear out of his gaze as he shifted his stance into a wider position, ready to dodge left or right as Ruby-Beta came barreling toward him.

Right. Hunter dropped into a crouch, tail flicking behind him like a whip as all four feet brushed the ground. Ruby-Beta drew close, stumbling slightly over the loose stone in the arena.

Hunter lunged toward Ruby-Beta's hind legs, throwing his shoulder into the massive alien's thigh and pushing with his arms, trying to knock the whole beast to the ground. His heart could not beat any faster, adrenaline rushing through his veins like he was actually about to get eaten alive.

@Ruby-Beta

Round: 1/5
Attempt: Trip Ruby-Beta while its off balance
Defense: JUST BE QUICK, LITTLE RAT--
Injuries:

hey bro it's your sibling to watch you maybe get your butt kicked

The monster settled into place, choosing a vantage point entirely opposite of its Master, this time. Having multiple angles on the match would be helpful, and it found itself just wanting a different seat to watch from. Lying sideways made for quite a crick in the neck, and Alpha needed no more headaches than it already had.

It felt a faint prickle of... worry?! for the smaller of the hybrids, if only for the considerable size advantage Beta held over him. Certainly not the subconscious attachment through the exchange of fruit. He'd (apologized for) pointed the sharp end of a weapon at it before. Out of self-defense, of course, but still.

Toxic eyes shifted, focusing on the ruby instead.

Before it could react and rectify its mistake, Beta's opponent was lunging forward, aiming to trip it up from its hind legs. It felt its paw connect and its balance was swept off. It wasn't strong enough to knock it all the way over, but it sure fell back, flat onto its butt, scrambling with its front legs to keep from falling all the way over.

Embarrassing.

Growling, Beta whipped the front half of its body around, dragging its paw on the ground to scatter dust and rocks into Hunter's eyes, to give it a moment to recuperate and get itself ready to fight properly.

@Hunter

Round: 2/5
Attempt: pocket sand!
Defense: big
Injuries: on its butt

The big cat-alien kicked dirt up into Hunter's face, and unfortunately the humanoid mustelid had his jaws parted. Sputtering and spitting, he brought up a hand to try and wipe some of the gunk out of his tongue, blinking the debris from teary eyes. It could have absolutely been worse, but it definitely wasn't great.

He had to act fast. Still wiping spittle from his jaws, he scrambled forward, reaching with his free hand. Catch a tiger by the tail, right? Then-- when he hollers, let'em go? That's how it went, right? He would have liked to climb on top of the apex predator as that was normally the safest place to be when you were facing down a creature twice your size, but uh... this one had spikes.

So grab the tail, and try to stay out of reach? It was the best plan he had, okay?!

Fingers latched around something long and fluffy, so he stopped worrying about the gunk in his mouth and nose and instead grabbed on with both hands, fully expecting to be thrown around by the big, powerful tail. He just had to not let go, and... uh... Hopefully win by wearing the big kitty down?

@Ruby-Beta

Round: 2/5
Attempt: Grab Ruby-Beta's tail and stay out of reach of those big front paws!
Defense: DON'T GET NEAR THE FRONT END--
Injuries: blehblehbleh dirt in my MOUTH in my NOSE in my EYES BLEGH

Beta's assessement had been right - despite its size being smaller then its bulky form, the thing was faster then it, and more agile. It could hear Hunter's sputtering as dirt went into its eyes but it was out of its line of sight in a moment. It had a second to get back on its feet before something grabbed onto its tail.

On instinct, Ruby-Beta whirled around, trying to throw off whatever had grabbed on, swinging powerfully back and forth, trying to make it let go. It wanted to kick, but Beta realized that it would probably be a futile effort - its tail was a little longer then it had realized.

@Hunter

Round: 3/5
Attempt: throw
Defense: big
Injuries: grabbed tail

Hunter hadn't expected Ruby-Beta's tail to be quite so strong-- certainly not enough to throw him through the air. A squeak escaped his throat as he tightened his grip on the cat's fluffy tail, even as he was thrown into the dirt.

This was still preferable to getting sat on, or otherwise crushed beneath powerful limbs. It was clearly working, by some definition of the word...

Ruby-Beta threw its tail the other way, and Hunter let every part of his body go limp except for his exceptional grip on the fluffy tail end of the beast. Even as he was tossed this way and that (occasionally brushing the ground, scrambling to find his footing), he seemed to bounce back like some kind of rubbery toy.

He wouldn't let go! Ruby-Beta had to get tired eventually, right? Right?!
@Ruby-Beta

Round: 3/5
Attempt: AAAAAAAAAA DON'T LET GO!!!!!
Defense: having no bones to speak of (see image)
Injuries: grit in face, bruises and scrapes everywhere