The Sentinel was, vaguely, wondering what had happened to Mirac. The sword had plunged itself into the arena to help him, and had been dragged out; he hadn't seen it since. Dead? Punished? He did not know, and he hoped that it was unharmed. It was a useful blade. Ahh, but-

-the door was rising, the arena waiting, the smell of blood swept fresh under the dirt still strong. Whoever had repaired the arena floor between rounds was doing a good job, because it was mostly flat, again--mostly. And here came his introduction, repeated and adapted from before, and still not the title he had given:

"NEXT UP, WE HAVE THE SKULL-FACED HOUND, THE HARBINGER OF DEATH-! THE SENTINEL OF THE BLACK SPIIIIRE!" Well, that was one way to announce his entrance, which was by contrast wholly undramatic: he stepped out, halberd in hand, and stood there stoically. It was a good thing Nemean's strange magic had swept over him, because his wounds had been rather bad: and a new series of scars now knitted their way across the Sentinel's chest and abdomen, joining those that had come before.

He braced himself, tucking down and turning back to eye the entrance. What would be announced next? Of all the beasts and monsters in this Deathmatch--who would he be facing?

Round: 1/5
Attempt: Brace for impact
Defense: Bracing for impact-
Injuries: probably sore but healed

@Catawampus

Looks like we have yet another case of rugged gladiator against regal lion. Except, gladiator games were entirely for entertainment and not actually as gory and sort of depressing as this, and lions are often... bigger? Are more, you know, dignified. At least, they're presented that way. The catawampus has some height by this point in its life (Cycle 2), don't get me wrong but dignity? Do you remember who this thing's family members are- were?

If you don't, perhaps refer to past crimes in the Carnival, and the way the catawampus had to have healing materials reapplied with added bitter tastes because it kept trying to eat them, and how Nemean has just introduced it as: "UP AGAINST A NEWLY-ORPHANED KITTY CAT (I think), THE CATAWAMPUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSS!!!!" If only she had known to get out the clown music remix for Alrik's heirs.

Anyways. We're here now. This catawampus, most certainly being at least two kinds of feline, immediately takes a moderate disliking to the death-themed dog with a very big and oddly shaped tooth in its hand. Which part disturbs the catawampus most is a contest won by a fourth, unexpected member of the race: what does it mean to be "orphaned"?

Balder is absent from the seats up there, that's what it means.

The catawampus begins to stalk forth in a loopy sort of circle around its opponent, eerily devoid of noisemaking. The tilt of its head and the movement of its paws do not lack the pristine focus of a cat on the hunt, but the path of motion does lack some modicum of... sense. Where each paw will go next is something of a gamble. It could be being playful (unlikely), or perhaps feeling uneasy...? It could be the side effects of kittenhood. At a certain, inevitable point, it abruptly switches gears to pounce on the Sentinel. Wherever it reaches (most likely at the knee or even the upper thigh), the catawampus will attempt to gore any spot of open flesh with its now-prevalent stabbing arms. (Poor Sentinel, becoming a canvas of scars.)

Round: 1/5
Age & Mastery: 2 Cycles & Fledgeling
Attempt: Gore the Sentinel's leg with stabby arms :pensive:
Defenses: Thick fur, wings, head down
Injuries: Healing wounds from last battle (faster exhaustion rate)

@The Sentinel

The creature that came out was-... not what he'd expected. He hadn't seen Catawampus's prior battle with Edric; and though he'd grown up alongside monsters, he'd never seen anything quite like this one.

His first impression was, too many limbs? as he noted the somethings half-hidden at its side--but mostly he wondered why it did not fly, didn't use those wings to build momentum or to circle him. His second was too much fur, hair which concealed the creature's true form beneath and might make it hard to plunge a halberd into flesh. And his third impression was to note the ungainly stalk. He could not tell, himself, if that was adolescent clumsiness or something else; it set him on edge, uncertain what to expect, and kept all his eyes focused laser-sharp at its feet.

It was good that he had braced himself to block, because the limbs that came slicing for him behind a disarmingly cute bat's nose were potentially lethal, even if this thing was not full-grown. The sentinel grunted, halberd clanging up to keep himself from being shredded, though even so he felt the whatever-they-weres glance his thighs and leave shallow, bloody scratches.

Blocking as he was--with the halberd's haft--meant he couldn't loose its destructive potential on Catawampus: he couldn't rip the blade into it while he was using it to keep the claws from digging deeper; couldn't smash a bone in half while pushing it back.

With a lunge of weight and momentum he instead settled for trying to flip it up and away from him, perhaps onto its back--exposed, if he were lucky; airborne, or worse, if he were not.

Round: 2/5
Attempt: Flip Catawampus
Defense: blocking (well, last round not upcoming-)
Injuries: probably sore but healed

@Catawampus

The catawampus seems to greatly dislike this tooth and its usage. It gets too close, it succeeds to trip the kitty up, but cats don't go in for a kill and come back empty-pawed unless they are cringe fail cats. So basically everyone in the catawampus's bloodline up to this point, whoops—

The catawampus takes the force and attempts to latch onto the halberd's haft, beginning to tug. The main goal is to wrench the stupid tooth away, even if the catbeast goes down with it... but the catawampus might also end up balancing itself out with the halberd if it doesn't succeed or fail at disarming the tooth altogether.

As you can see, the fight with Edric taught the catawampus exactly two things: don't get gored by big spiky teeth if you can help it, and be relentless... until that big freakish demon hops into the field and starts wrecking shop. When that happens, run very very fast.

Round: 2/5
Age & Mastery: 2 Cycles & Fledgeling
Attempt: Wrench the halberd away as you go down
Defenses: Thick fur, wings, head down
Injuries: Healing wounds from last battle (faster exhaustion rate)

@The Sentinel

He felt the sudden tug, as the thing struggled to grab his weapon away. (And there was no other word for it than 'thing,' not that "illegible monster" was a variety of beast unknown to the Forge thing himself).

The Sentinel thought quickly, though in reality it was reflex more than intellect that drove his reaction: if the Catawampus were falling, and pulling his weapon with it, he would use its momentum.

He could not turn the halberd upside-down in time; there was no chance of that. The wicked blade and hook would remain unused. But the bottom end, too, was sharp--if not as deadly a spike as the top, and not bladed; he could still use it. As the Catawampus pulled and fell, the Sentinel shoved strongly forward, momentum shoving into the bottom of the halberd, trying to tilt the weapon so that instead of it being granted into enemy hands, it would impale through enemy guts instead. He aimed for the... the center mass. Whatever that was? Torso? Stomach? He couldn't tell, past the mass of fur. And it was a chaotic churn of swift motion, regardless.

Either way, he felt he could keep his grip: the question was whether the Catawampus would avoid the riposte he were throwing its way.

Round: 3/5
Attempt: shove the bottom of the halberd out and down as its being pulled, to impale
Defense:
Injuries: scratches

@Catawampus

Too much momentum and no catharsis. This will have to change. The catawampus cannot contest it, but it can redirect it. Or just move out of the way.

It will have to be very swift now, seeing as it is both drawing this tooth towards itself and having the tooth be pushed into itself. Whether that is possible for such a catawampus or not, at this stage? There is no definitive answer.

But we will certainly try. "May the heart of the dice guide us," or whatever that phrase from Yu-Gi-Oh is.

The catawampus now attempts to move out of the path of the extra secret hidden tooth, perhaps plunging it into the ground beside its... central mass. Perhaps getting cut, or directly stabbed, in the process. And maybe, just maybe, with their forces combined, the tooth can get stuck there in that muck. That would open up a lot of juicy possibilities.

Round: 3/5
Age & Mastery: 2 Cycles & Fledgeling
Attempt: Dodge / Redirect the stab?
Defenses: Thick fur, wings, head down
Injuries: Healing wounds from last battle (faster exhaustion rate), plonk'd onto the ground (bruised), cut on its side by the bottom of the halberd (bleeding)

@The Sentinel

The halberd's haft smashed into the arena's sand, sending up the tinest plume; the Sentinel saw the Catawampus move, the adrenaline rush of battle seeming to pitch the fight into both slow motion and super-speed all at once.

On instinct--and trained reflex--he kicked out, aiming his sharp foot-claws for the Catawampus's tucked head and face. It was tucked down; it was facing down. His kick was hard, hard enough that if it connected it would likely injure his own foot. But his aim was not his foot, it was the bones of the Catawampus's face.

Again--briefly, and in the middle of the fight--he knew that if this creature wasn't fully grown, then he (the Sentinel) was lucky. It would likely reach or even dwarf his size, if it survived the Deathmatches and beyond: but for now, he had a chance.

Round: 4/5
Attempt: Kick the Catawampus's tucked head in an attempt to shatter some skullbone
Defense:
Injuries: scratches

@Catawampus

forfeit via time limits, posting via player request

DEATHMATCH

The hit struck home, and there was nothing more from Catawampus. A crunch of bone (which bone? Eh, it didn't matter) and a crumpled form. Unconscious, or chrysalizing-? That didn't matter, either; Nemean leaned forward and squinted, and when there was no movement she whipped a small, gold-filigreed spyglass with a cracked lense to one eye.

"AAAAND WE HAVE A WINNER! THE HARBINGER OF DEATH, THE GUARDIAN OF DRACO, THE SENTINEEEEL!" Nemean made little "haaaaahhhh" crowd sounds with her mouth: these echoed around the arena, a cue for the audience to join in. The spyglass was tucked back away, though who knew where--if it'd ever really existed at all.

Fireworks sprayed down over a limp body and a standing warrior, and Nemean clapped enthusiastically. "NICE JOB! NOW GET OUT, MAKE ROOM, C'MON! WE HAVE MORE DEATHMATCH! -TO DO!" The spotlights danced, and music rose in a clanging roar as Nemean gestured for Vakornol to get in there and clean up that mess.

_____________

DEATHMATCH WINNER: THE SENTINEL

Character: The Sentinel Age: +5 (13 Cycles, Capped) Magic Level: +7 (Transcendent Champion) ROUND 1 Attempt: +18 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +18 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: +9 Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: +17 Penalties: - Total: 74

Character: Catawampus Age: +5 (5 Cycles) Magic Level: +1 (Fledgling) ROUND 1 Attempt: +18 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +15 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: +8 Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: - Penalties: - Total: 47

NUMERICAL WINNER: The Sentinel

@Catawampus @The Sentinel