Polaris's buzz of magic was filling Enoki with energy, and that energy was lending itself more to their usual style of dancing around the opponent and waiting for an opening -- they'd never imagined that this would be the style they lend themselves to, being as heavy as they were, but many creatures in these caves were larger and powerful muscle mass meant excellent bodily control. Enoki did their best to pull back from the whirlwind of wings in a smooth motion, and managed to get away from the worst of it -- however, Zhusha's attack had been powerful and Enoki's dodge had been sloppy, so they were still a little battered in the meantime.

"Good job!" they chimed, because they believed in positive reinforcement.


Round: 3/?
Attempt: Dodge it!
Defense: Dodging
Injuries: A little battered

@zhusha

Enoki fell back, with no attack of their own forthcoming this time. Their praise gratified Zhusha, and he pressed forward with renewed energy. While wings were all well and good in a spar, Zhusha knew that his best weapon was his beak. Using it in a true fight without practicing could reveal previously unknown vulnerabilities, proving to be dangerous--and he had finally worked up the nerve to try it in this spar.

His neck extended in a lunge, his sharp beak aiming for a quick peck at the koalyena's shoulder. It was difficult to truly move quickly while being mindful of the need to be gentle if the strike actually landed, but the crane did his best.

Round 3/?
Attempt: peck Enoki's shoulder (gently)
Defense: none
Injuries: a little scratched up

@Enoki

Enoki was able to avoid the peck as they lunged forward, claws up to scratch at Zhusha's chest (or throat, depending on what was closer). They were close to Zhusha, close enough that they were under that beak instead of in the way of it -- however, they were also underestimating how flexible his neck was, and he could almost certainly nip them anyway if he wanted to.

Luckily, claws weren't too nasty when they were going after feathers -- in any case, they were also doing their best to not pull any out.



Round: 4/?
Attempt: Scratch him!
Defense: Sort of, like, under him?
Injuries: A little battered
@zhusha

Zhusha was inexperienced at fighting, and it showed: once again, Enoki was able to avoid his attack. Claws reached up for him once more, and he made the split-second decision to take a page out of the koalyena's book this time.

As Enoki swiped up, the crane jerked to the side, stumbling a little in the process. Clumsy though the attempt might have been, it had still achieved his intention of avoiding the attack. Pride welled up within him as Zhusha regained his balance, watching Enoki for his next attack.

Round: 4/?
Attempt: get out of the way
Defense: dodging
Injuries: a little scratched up

@Enoki

Enoki's eyes lit up as Zhusha danced away. "Woah! Good job!!" they cheered, giving Zhusha a moment to adjust before lunging at him again. "Avoidance is the most important part of fighting!" It kept you away from the worst of it, and kept you from getting smacked by a lucky blow. In any case, Enoki knew they were almost done, and wanted to go out with a bang. They were looking to end things with a flurry of taps (not proper scratches) on Zhusha's neck and chest.


Round: 5/5
Attempt: Flurry of love taps!
Defense: None
Injuries: A little battered
@zhusha

Enoki came at him with a flurry of little swipes again, and Zhusha reacted too slowly. The taps landed on his chest, one after another, even as he stumbled back. It was not a good feeling after just having been told that avoidance was the most important part of fighting.

But perhaps he still had a chance to get something right--? Enoki was close, at least for now. Zhusha took the chance, and lunged forward to try to tap Enoki on the shoulder with his beak.

Round 5/5
Was a fledgling at the beginning (for judging purposes)
Attempt: tap him with the beak
Defense: nothing
Injuries: a little scratched

@Enoki tagging gm for a fight judge but feel free to roll to dodge as an unofficial round (at least, I assume that's how it works) (or just dodge without rolling if it fails)

Character: Enoki Age: +5 (5th Cycle) Magic Level: +3 (Brawler) ROUND 1 Attempt: +8 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +15 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: +13 Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: +19 Penalties: - ROUND 5 Attempt: +18 Penalties: - Total: 81

Character: Zhusha Age: +3 (3rd Cycle) Magic Level: +3 (Strategist) ROUND 1 Attempt: +17 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +20 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: +2 Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: +12 Penalties: - ROUND 5 Attempt: +7 Penalties: - Total: 64

WINNER: Enoki

both chars progressed partway through the fight (not at the end), so both are being counted as +3 brawler/strategist!

@Enoki @Zhusha

Enoki ducked easily out of the way of Zhusha's slow beak trap, and finally settled down in their standard upright position with bright eyes. "That was awesome! You did really good, Zhusha! Maybe we should spar again sometime," Enoki said. They looked over Zhusha's feathers, and approached to sniff at the wounds. "Did I get you too bad? My mom can probably help you if I did, she knows, like, everything." Bar healing, but Enoki didn't exactly know that.

Their ears perked up. "Actually, do you want to come to Canis anyway? I don't know what you eat, but we can have a meal together. It's not far, just this way through Gemini and then you can get back on your way!" Enoki was already starting to walk towards the exit, still looking hopefully at Zhusha.

@zhusha
(go ahead and post an exit, if you'd like!)

Enoki ducked away again before he could touch them, and Zhusha fell back, ruffling his wings. "Thank you," he acknowledged with a nod. "I think I learned a lot." The importance of speed and avoidance, for one--and of watching out for return strikes once he was close. It seemed he had a lot of practice before him if he wanted to get better at this.

"How old are you?" he questioned. "How long did it take for you to learn all this?" Zhusha looked down at his scratches at Enoki's concern, gently preening at the feathers there. "Oh, no--all very shallow, don't worry. I'll be fine."

Canis... the room that was apparently filled with bones. If you asked him, that didn't seem like the greatest place to have lunch, but maybe it was... an exaggeration. (Enoki didn't seem the type to exaggerate that much, though.) But either way, he wasn't about to just turn down Enoki's invitation like that. "Sure," he agreed, following the koalyena to the exit. "I'm not picky--fish, plants, mice, pretty much anything is good. Does your family look like you...?" Zhusha asked, in an attempt to make some conversation as they walked.

@Enoki exit; do you want to make a new thread or have it be offscreen?

Enoki's eyes lit up. "Oh, I'm four cycles old! But, I wouldn't say I'm an expert by any means -- I just like to wrestle with my brother. I've been practicing pretty much my whole life, but I only really started getting serious about it pretty recently, trying to learn more things and hone my skills -- and my claws!"

They gave a last stretch. "We all look pretty different, but most of us are either part bird or have spots -- or both! A lot of us have both. Some of us have the last name Vita, if the first Bone King was one of our ancestors, but others of us don't -- not me, 'cause my mama is Giggle." They smiled at Zhusha. "Canis might look awfully empty, but there's a lot to eat there -- plenty of Lessers live there, and there's some scattered plants, but there's also a small garden with a tree in it, if you go looking -- Oliver doesn't mind if we eat from it, usually! I don't know if there's fish, but there are some small ponds, so there always could be. I just haven't really looked."


/exit enoki
@zhusha for visibility! let's probably just have it be off screen, but we can thread them again once i get more caught up!