Another round? Now, this was new. Usually a single bout was enough to wipe out at least one—hopefully both of the combatants.

Draconua watched the sweeping tentacle with thinly-veiled interest, and... well, who would she be not to take inspiration from a Hand. Though, of course, she paid said being no mind because of priorities being arranged elsewhere. Claws raked through the earth, and she howled. "Avoid this!"

From the blackened wreckage of the arena sprung a flailing limb stretching far and thin. It was muscled like the body of an anaconda, meant to constrict and contain. If its frantic motion managed to strike anything, it would wind tight and continue to flail about—smashing body and form against the earth without remorse.

... if all went well, that is.

Which, it did not, so disregard the above paragraph: instead there was a whip-like appendage, lashing and sending bits of Oil sputtering everywhere. A similar limb erupted from Draconua's flesh; though, she merely shifted as if it were a minor inconvenience and not a tentacle squirming within one of her armpits.

@Catawampus

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

gore

violence

For whatever reason, their hazardmaker wasn't making another hazard to avoid, so the Catawampus will just focus on the task at hand: getting that pig down (and maybe taking a bite if it's feeling hungry).

Racing straight forward, the two are now attempting to charge each other. Wasn't that just a little bit cinematic? The odds were now seeming to be in the Catawampus's favor -- it's moving faster now, and will likely chrysalize or die before submitting. Likely not as much out of stubbornness and more out of a lack of understanding how submission would work. In the Catawampus and Balder world, things that submitted were just things that gave up on living. Like Alrik.

Anyways, the Catawampus will now make its move: attempting to leap mid-run at the boar and gore the opponent with its own stabbing claws!

(If you need a visual, imagine a lion pounces on a boar directly from the front and then plunges two knives in it. You know what I'd be thinking? Terrifying, yeah, but also... silly lion.)

ROUND 6/6

84%

ATTEMPT: flying leap stab the boar
DEFENSE: big fuzzy :3
INJURIES: kick'd in the front (bruise / scrape) ): + b'slam'd (bruise / scrape / brief air loss )

@Edric

Oh- oh wait a minute, the hazardmaker did make the hazards? Well that one isn't weather-changing or arena-shaping or anything, but it is still worth getting out of the way of. Scooching out of the way of. Like a passenger on a subway opening up another seat.

The Catawampus would try to use the boar as a shield for the tentacle and its oil-flinging, moving "behind" him in relation to the tentacle whip (having to withdraw its stabbers in the process) as if to make an offering of him. That's a weird subway to be on, and also the second time Draconua has been related to a subway or other train-like vehicle. Maybe Draconua's title should be changed.

@Edric

He missed. Again. Edric wanted to scream, and he was a chaos beast with no inhibitions so he did. "AAAAAAAAFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH," the boar shrieked, voice cracking and jumping back and forth between a deep bellow and a shrill cry of rage. The Catawampus was coming straight at his face, and you know what? FINE BY HIM.

Edric thundered forward in a reckless, limping charge, aiming to meet the Catawampus halfway. It slammed into him, sinking its long, knife-like arms into his chest and shoulders, but Edric barely felt it at first. It was, according to my impromptu internet research that's probably getting me put on a list, like being punched.

Then he saw the iridescent black blood spraying out from where it'd stabbed him, and the pain hit. Edric screamed again, in agony this time. Barreling across the last few feet to a corrupted slab of rock rising from the earth, Edric would attempt to crash into its vertical surface full-force--but with the Catawampus sandwiched in between.

Round 6/?
Attempt: i AM the hazard
Defense: rage
Injuries: stabbed, slashed, and bruised

It seemed, though, that Edric would not be able to escape his fate of tripping over oily tentacles in the end. Oh, sure, he'd avoided one already earlier--but like foolish Greek kings of legend, this avoidance only delayed his inevitable doom. As Edric lurched away from the rock wall, inhaling for another furious roar and backing up to build momentum for another charge, Draconua's pathetic tendril lashed beneath his hooves.

A misstep was all it took. No matter what kind of oil you had--vegetable, motor, Oil--one thing stayed constant. Oil was slippery. And Edric was finding that slipperiness out firsthand as his hooves went flying out from underneath his form like he was an unfortunate kid about to break his ankle on a slip-'n-slide (true story).

Once his butt hit the floor, landing smack-dab in the middle of a smattering of Oil, his entire torso went skidding across the arena... straight toward a yawning fissure. The boar sailed through the air like an Olympic trick skiier, and for a moment it looked like he was almost going to make it! -

-nope. With a thud and many crunches, the boar's body broke on the jagged ground below. Oily marble erupted from his leg, expanding to cover his entire body.

exit via chrysalis

DEATHMATCH

The clown-shoe carnival music reached a deafening crescendo, and the calls of "BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!" grew louder. If one looked really carefully, there weren't actually enough audience members to be producing that loud chant: Nemean's magic was hard at work keeping that hype train rolling.

Spotlights pinned the combatants. Drums rolled.

When Edric finally fell, squealing, gouts of red and black glittering confetti sprayed the air like blood, raining down over the arena. The music changed into a triumphant theme song sort of tune.

"YEAAAAAAAAAAH!" Nemean screamed, pounding her tiny fists into the air yet again. Honestly? She was glad to see smaller combatants out there. Not that these two were tiny, by any means-! But it wasn't all hulking elephants with knives for fists out there, today, like it had been in the old days. TINY representation! Or, at least... downsized!! "Talk about a strong ending!! LET'S GIVE OUR COMBATANTS A ROUND OF APPLAUSE!" her voice roared, impossibly loud, and the din of a roaring, cheering, clapping crowd (that didn't actually exist) ripped through the air. "THE LOSER," and the spotlights swept to linger on the forming chrysalis (poor Edric), "and the WINNER--OOOOF THIS DEATHMATCH--"

...Spotlights churned across the bloodied dust, settling on Catawampus. "THEEEE CATAWAMPUS!" Nemean cupped hands over mouth, making that sort of hissing "hhhhaaaaa" sound one makes when imitating a loud crowd cheering, except there actually was a loud crowd cheering (even if half faked, too).

"NICE JOB, DRAC! NOW, let's clear the ring for the next fight..."

_____________

DEATHMATCH WINNER: Catawampus

Character: Catawampus Age: +2 (2nd Cycle) Magic Level: +1 (Fledgling) ROUND 1 Attempt: +13 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +9 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: - Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: +9 Penalties: - ROUND 5 Attempt: +15 Penalties: - ROUND 6 Attempt: +8 Penalties: - Total: 57

Character: Edric Age: +5 (16th Cycle, limited) Magic Level: + 3 (Brawler) ROUND 1 Attempt: +9 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +7 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: - Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: +11 Penalties: - ROUND 5 Attempt: - Penalties: - ROUND 6 Attempt: +13 Penalties: - Total: 48

NUMERICAL WINNER: Catawampus

@Edric @Catawampus