I'd of blown the scoundrel up
Watch his head and heart hiccup
Erupt in tinsel and blue cinders
turn August into winter

It had known about this well in advance, compared to some others. It had trained, sharpening its skills for the day. This day.

It was overwhelming, almost, the crowd, and noise, and food-smells. A sharp contrast from what Orion typically looked like. Labradorite had half expected a dark, bloodstained pit. While said pit was there, it was lit by glowing green-and-purple banners.

It could feel the gaze of the audience heavy on it's back. The heaviest of all was Vargas's, who was no doubt watching and evaluating from up in the stands.

"THE LIVING SHADOW, VEEEE-LABRADORITTEEE-ONEEEE!

It hadn't told Nemean about the 'living shadow' part, and it wasn't sure how to feel about that (weren't valkhounds the only ones with titles?) It strode into the arena, letting loose a roar like it had heard other fighters before it do. The glowing markings peppering its body glowed a deep crimson, matching perfectly with its eyes and gill-slits. Six softly glowing red eyes scanned the arena for its opponent, expecting someone at least close to its size.

Instead, it spotted a tiny black bird.

It felt a brief, dreadful sense of deja vu. But this was different! This gembound was willing, they wanted to fight! This wouldn't be like the 'spar' in the river.

Besides, it had to win, no matter the price. Vargas was watching, after all.

@Pratap

INCOMING: PRATAP, THE BALL OF FIRE!!!

That 'little raven' came streaking through the sky, right out the gate. He spun in the air, then abruptly unraveled his wings, letting their full span show. Hot like a meteor (not that anyone knew what that was), ready for battle! The sight of his opponent miraculously did not seem to tamp down the raven's confidence either; no, he simply smiled at the large oil tank as his wings beat rhythmically, keeping him in the sky.

"Now that's a challenge," would be his only remark, before Pratap would attempt to dive in for the Loch Nessie's eyes. Lots of eyes, lots of targets for scratching! They were not even matched, but Pratap would not fade away without leaving any marks.

ROUND 1/?

100%

ATTEMPT: attack Lab's eyes with the footses
DEFENSE: oh absolutely none this is a free roast chicken
INJURIES: none yet ;3

@V-Labradorite-One

I'd of blown the scoundrel up
Watch his head and heart hiccup
Erupt in tinsel and blue cinders
turn August into winter

PRATAP, THE BALL OF FIRE!

The bird certainly looked the part, black feathers accented with orange eyes and gem. Fire always made it nervous- Oil was extremely flammable, after all. Not that magic was allowed, so it wasn't worth worrying over, really.

The bird made a show of flying around the area, showing off his wingspan. His beak parted, but Labradorite couldn't make out the words over the din of the crowd. Did it matter? They were here to fight and entertain, that's all.

It should've expected Pratap to go for the eyes. What an obvious, almost tantalizing weak point, right?

It let out a growl of pain as talons scored across its face, blurring its vision with blood and tears. Though half-blinded, it'd snap at the ball of black feathers.

@Pratap
Round: 1/5
Attempt: Bite that bird!
Defense: beeg, back spikes, goop.
Injuries: Scratched eyes

Pratap had expected aiming for the head to result in a chomp. It looked as through Pratap had landed a good hit on those eyes! Let's not let looks distract us, however -- unlike the Living Shadow, Pratap had plenty more weak spots to defend. He would attempt to use his reflexes to pull away from the beast's head, launch off back into the sky where he was safe.

But, alas, his reflexes were untrained, and he was not quite quick enough. It got a good hold of his retreating wing, causing the bird to shriek! A damaged wing meant his greatest advantage, flight, was now at risk! But all was not fully lost.

Something about being inside of a monster's mouth, if even for a moment... did not bode well for Pratap.

ROUND 2/?

86%

ATTEMPT: dodge?
DEFENSE: oh absolutely none this is a free roast chicken
INJURIES: chonp'd wing = pain & worse flight control ):

@V-Labradorite-One

I'd of blown the scoundrel up
Watch his head and heart hiccup
Erupt in tinsel and blue cinders
turn August into winter

It got a mouthful of something feathery- judging by the now wobbly flight pattern of its opponent, a wing. Good. An injured wing would make it harder for its opponent to evade. Once it got Pratap out of the air, it was game over.

The shriek pierced through the din, giving it pause, at least for a moment. But its opponent should've expected pain from a deathmatch, right? They were both willing participants of this, fully aware of the risks and rewards.

It needed to win this. It couldn't lose against a tiny bird.

Labradorite wasn't particularly effective at gaining vertical height, but hopefully if it was quick enough, it could fit in another bite as the bird retreated. It would tear up, aiming at the blur of black feathers.

With its weakened vision, and its target rapidly moving away, the attack was weak at best. Easily dodged, and if not, a scrap compared to the other bite itd managed to land.

Its front legs landed back on the ground with a thud. It squinted upwards, trying it's best to track Pratap's racing flight through the sky.

@Pratap
Round: 2/5
Attempt: Rear up and chomp
Defense: beeg, back spikes, goop.
Injuries: Scratched eyes

This was turning into a game of cat and mouse, and Pratap did not like being on the defensive. Think of the audience! Think of Pratap himself!! Still, unless the setting or the opponents changed, this banal repetition was all Pratap could think to do. Again, the bird attempted to move out of the way of the bite! Hopefully his earlier attack would counteract the effect of the bitten wing... but, in terms of probability, wouldn't that make it just as hard to dodge as last time?

Hm. Pratap was not liking this -- but then, an uneducated bird that spent most of his time in the chrysalis couldn't do math that complicated! So maybe it was fine! They'd just have to see.

Probability... success!!! That's how it worked, right? You could veritably succeed at probability? Whatever, point was, Pratap was back in the air! The perfect set-up for another attack! And, perhaps... a provoking line: "Hah! Poor matchup, isn't it... Vee?" The meaning of that could go one way or another, depending on "Vee's" perception of the power imbalance. If it were a truly confident beastie (which, why wouldn't it be?) then it would probably read it the way Pratap predicted rather than the way Pratap had intended. Then it could sit in the back of the mind and fester until the full vile impact was realized! Backhanded insults were like that.

So were tragedies.

ROUND 3/?

86%

ATTEMPT: dodge again!
DEFENSE: oh absolutely none this is a free roast chicken
INJURIES: chonp'd wing = pain & worse flight control ):

@V-Labradorite-One

"GET IT ALREADY!" Nemean wailed from the grandstands, currently situated atop Vakornol's head with a churro just about as long as she was tall. "JUST EAT IT!!!" She took a dramatic bite from the sugary confection like it was a demonstration of what Labradorite should do.

Her mouth was still full as she chanted: "BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!"

I'd of blown the scoundrel up
Watch his head and heart hiccup
Erupt in tinsel and blue cinders
turn August into winter

It paced along the dusty arena, glaring up at the bird winging his way well out of Labradorite's reach. It was ANNOYING, more than anything else. If the bird was smart, he would stay up in the air as much as possible, diving down within reach only to peck at its eyes and other weak points. That meant that Labradorite would only get a couple openings, and it'd have to take full advantage of each.

Maybe that was what made the match fair? Speed and agility versus pure brute strength? It doubt Nemean cared about fairness, though- she only seemed to care about blood and theatrics- but a fair fight would be far more interesting, yes?

It doubted this was very interesting. Only a matter of time before the audience got bored, and then what?

"Hah! Poor matchup, isn't it... Vee?"

It huffed in response. It wasn't used to being called 'Vee,' typically it was just shortened to 'Labradorite.' "Sure is." It'd bark back.

Poor because it could crush nearly every bone in this feathered nuisance's body in one bite.

Poor because it's opponent was flying circles around it, and there was nothing it could do about it.

Poor because it was boring, and they would get bored, and they would get angry.

The cries of the crowd reached it's ears. Shouts of 'JUST EAT IT' and demands for BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD! It would oblige, of course- it HAD to oblige. But.. it couldn't do anything until the raven dove in for another attack. It grimaced, it's tail lashing as it paced. An empty soda cup crunched underfoot. It looked from the trash littering the arena to its opponent, untouchable in the air.

An idea clicked into pace.

Picking up an empty popcorn bucket and blinking to clear it's eyes, it stared at it's Opponent in the sky. Waiting for him to fly just a little lower, and then..

It threw the bucket as hard and as far as it could, hoping for it to land straight on the bird's head.

The bucket missed it's target by a mile, landing somewhere in the lower stands. It could hear the disgruntled shout as it hit someone who'd been sitting there.

It had been a dumb idea, anyways.

@Pratap
Round: 3/5
Attempt: Knock him out of the sky!
Defense: beeg, back spikes, goop.
Injuries: Scratched eyes

Vedette booed and threw a handful of popcorn into the arena, "STOP BEING A LITTLE BITCH AND GET DOWN THERE! FIGHT YOU LAZY CHICKEN!!"

She leaned on the railing with her quills rattling, excited to see Labradorite snap the stupid bird up and eat it for lunch. Briefly she looked back at her own wings and hummed, wondering if it was a good idea to enter in one of these things herself.

Probably not, she didn't exactly want to die. She had a lot more to do, after all.

Shouts and jeers went flying about the arena. Eventually, a popcorn bag tried to join them. 'Twas a good idea! But a poor, poor execution. This was almost fun, made Pratap feel quite high and mighty. Perhaps with a little more teasing and jeering, "Vee" would snap and tap out. Or, inversely, try to kill Pratap.

"Oooohohoho, you're a poor shot, Vee!" The raven chuckled. "Probably the whole... eye thing, you know?" Oh, the power of it all... as long he was in the sky, this dumb little chicken could say aaaanything he wanted! And as long as his points were self-proving, he could be certain those taunts would dig under that oily flesh and stay buried.

Ah, but the jeers and the malaise of it all were getting to Pratap too. "Seems we're not a fan favorite, are we, Vee? Tell you what, I'll help you out. I'll take a little trip down there... and, if you can catch me, you'll have been made the victor!"

Now this was a gamble. A bad, bad gamble. But, I mean, they needed a hook, and beyond that: "Vee" looked to be a fish! Pratap had already asked the fish to fly (which it couldn't), now he was asking it to run! The whole audience would be judging this little (big) fish for being incapable of doing the impossible, and that was a cruel enough victory for Pratap.

So Pratap would attempt to land... across the arena from "Vee". He would not make it as far as he wanted, and his landing would be pitiful, but... voila!

I'm so sorry Lab.

ROUND 4/?

86%

ATTEMPT: land without crashing and dazing himself
DEFENSE: oh absolutely none this is a free roast chicken
INJURIES: chonp'd wing = pain & worse flight control ):

@V-Labradorite-One