A valley between two mountains with forest and a river. A unique area that fluctuates between various gravity levels, allowing creatures to traverse between the ground and sky. Stars, clouds, and space dust, as well as beautiful trees and flowering plants can be found here
His claws are stained red from Urna's blood as he rends her flesh, but the feeling of triumph is short-lived as his ears become privy to that gut wrenching, titular hyena cackle. What's more, Urna holds him closer, though not to bite at his back or claw at him. It's much worse. Heat rises all around them, and he knows from the wind that buffets their fur as they fly forward that it isn't coming from anywhere around them. She couldn't be... His eyes squint shut, willing his shield to try and protect him from the blaze just before she erupts. For fear of damaging them, he doesn't open them back up. She's gone mad! Is she trying to maim me? For a moment he thinks about backing out of the fight, or even impaling her with his own steel spikes if the flames get to him, but neither option seemed wise. He didn't want to seriously hurt Urna, and what would he be if he backed out now? How could he earn respect as a warrior if he let fire be his undoing? In a world full of magical creatures, fire was only one of many dangerous gifts.
The wind shifts. They're no longer flying forward, but instead swinging down in an arch. When the inferno subsides, he open his eyes in narrow slits and, after a deep breath, tries unsuccessfully to get himself away from her. From this position, there's not much he can do, and he had a feeling he'd need his new skill for something more devastating later. All he could do was keep his center of mass bunched up to reduce the impact, and prevent his head from hitting the ground first. He also intentionally kept his spine aligned with her body, in hopes that perhaps a spike or too might get her on the way down.
Because when they went down, they went down hard. An audible "oof" came from his mouth as the breath was knocked out of him, and the bits of twigs and leaves scratched against his already tender skin. Gabriel was in a lot of pain, and he was getting a little sick of it. He rises as quick as he can will it, and speaks defiantly between breaths, "I'm not... giving up," and with that, he attempts to charge and ram her against the nearest tree with his horns, head bent low and adrenaline helping him to fend off the worst of the pain.
(Forgot his health last round too)
Gabriel: 3/7 HP (crash landed, venom spit, fire, impact; more fire TBD)
Constitution Roll: Use Shield
Success: Shield prevents the fire from hurting him
Fail: Poor Gabriel lmao -1HP
Strength Roll: Slam Urna into a tree
Success: Urna is slammed into the nearest tree for -1HP
Fail: Urna dodges or whatever else is realistic
Character Diceroll 1: Success Diceroll must be above 500 to be successful.
0 was added for Constitution.
576 was added for Level 4.
0 was added for A. No Enchantment.
3 was added for B. Homeland Buff.
Character Diceroll 2: Fail Diceroll must be above 500 to be successful.
0 was added for Strength.
482 was added for Level 4.
0 was added for A. No Enchantment.
2 was added for B. Homeland Buff.
The impact of landing jarred Urna's whole body. One of Gabriel's spikes scraped a superficial line down her chest, but in the fog of fire and battle she paid no heed. She freed her limbs from the tangle and sprang back.
Gabriel righted himself with admirable speed. “I'm not... giving up," he panted. “Good!” Urna yelled hoarsely, stancing herself for another go despite the aches and weariness that tugged at her limbs and the agitation that gnawed in her gut. Fresh venom wept from her still-steaming fur.
In the very move she'd feared since the start, Gabriel charged. With a twang of nerves, Urna flinched just in time to skip back a step. She was still close enough to feel the rush of air as his horns missed her. She could only too vividly imagine the impact.
Urna shook her head to clear the phantom sensations (of her ribs bowing, of the air driven from her lungs, of her back and skull slamming into the tree trunk one-two). Gabriel's back was to her, though he was already starting to draw himself up short, wheeling out of his missed charge to face his foe again.
She couldn't give him that chance.
She dove for his hind legs, half-turning her body to shield her face from retaliation. Coming in shoulder-first, Urna sought to use her momentum and weight to pin Gabriel sideways against the tree trunk. Maybe she could limit his ability to turn his head or claws on her for a moment longer—a moment long enough. Straining, her own back legs shook just slightly with the effort. The open wounds on her hindquarters were sapping her strength. How much longer until it failed her?
Ducking her head, jaws wide, she snapped at the ankle joint on Gabriel's right hind leg. One way or another, this was coming to an end. If she could crush or dislocate something here...it might just end in her favor.
-----
Rolling twice! (Disregard the mention of venom; it's inert/for flavor. No other word sounded better there.)
Roll 1: STRENGTH to body-slam Gabriel sideways against the tree trunk. Effect: 1 hp damage.
Roll 2: STRENGTH again to try and crunch this man's ankle. Effect: 1 hp damage.
Character Diceroll 1: Success Diceroll must be above 500 to be successful.
0 was added for Strength.
562 was added for Level 5.
0 was added for A. No Enchantment.
7 was added for B. Homeland Buff.
Character Diceroll 2: Success Diceroll must be above 500 to be successful.
0 was added for Strength.
513 was added for Level 5.
0 was added for A. No Enchantment.
3 was added for B. Homeland Buff.
The fight dragged on. Gabriel could feel his strength ebbing away and he wondered just how much longer until one of them tapped out. He would remain stubborn until the end, even if this was just practice, because it felt real enough to him. And from the moves she had pulled just a moment ago, it seemed real enough to her. He bears his teeth in defiance, and it becomes apparent what kind of play Urna was going for at this point. If she could hit him with blow after blow, she could wear him out before he ever got a chance to retaliate. He liked to pride himself on his resiliency, but a mortal body could only take so much. Can you take just a little more?
Steeling himself, he allowed her to close the distance between them as he focused on using the magic that had returned to him. Legs splayed, head lowered and toes spread for balance, the shoulder-first hit gets him to stumble sideways closer to the tree, but not quite pin him. Out of the corners of his eyes, he sees her head duck low to grab for something, so he ducks his back legs and moves his body backwards. There's not enough time, in that moment, to make her completely go off-target - but the right-most tail that she ends up grabbing hold of will do. If this were a real fight, there were worse things than losing a tail, if he had two of them. Still, he'd definitely have to re-evaluate his tactics so he wouldn't end up having to sacrifice a body part in the first place.
Anyways.
With the magic stored, he'd release several of his bone spikes into the air, where they would rapidly arch back towards them, towards Urna, with the intent to pierce anywhere along her flanks/thighs. Then, using the distraction of their imminent descent, or the pain of them hopefully landing, he would use his still mobile tail and try to brush it along her eyes and nose to further distract her. With all that in mind, Gabriel would then try to grab her right back leg with his fangs and yank it up and out from under her. He was going to turn these odds around, one way or another.
Character Diceroll 1: Success Diceroll must be above 500 to be successful.
0 was added for Strength.
495 was added for Level 4.
0 was added for A. No Enchantment.
7 was added for B. Homeland Buff.
Character Diceroll 2: Success Diceroll must be above 500 to be successful.
0 was added for Strength.
503 was added for Level 4.
0 was added for A. No Enchantment.
10 was added for B. Homeland Buff.
Gabriel moved. Instead of meeting skin and tendon and bone, Urna's bite only found a mouthful of tail fur. Frustrated, she gave its living core with a sharp tug, but unlatched just in time to hear Gabriel's bone spurs whistle through the air.
Where—
Piercing new pain lanced through her haunches, and Urna's exhausted legs stiffened in pain. She wrestled her instinctive cry into another guttural growl, but it cracked at its end into a high, genuine whine. Gabriel's other tail flashed up into her vision, something seized her leg, and—
Urna hit the ground. Her breath escaped her lungs, leaving her with only its aching lack for several futile, agonizing moments. The spotted hyena finally managed a cough-wheeze that lifted her ribcage. It had been too long. In a real fight, her opponent would have already claimed victory. Still, she brought her paws beneath herself and tried to stand.
She managed about an inch before her shaking muscles failed her. Blackness threatened at the fringes of her vision.
Panting, she rolled one red eye to look up at her opponent. "I—" She swallowed. "I yield, Gabriel Richter. Well...fought."
-----
Aaaand that's 0 HP for Urna! I'm good to wrap up now or give another post for "uhhh can someone grab a healer for us"
The spurs hit their mark. Urna growls, and then she whines. His ears perk up, eyes trying to peek around her body to see if the bone spurs had missed her legs and instead hit something more vital. It isn't so, he thought with relief. His maw finds hold and he yanks with what little strength he had left, moving his body to keep it away from her jaws. He lets go, she tries to stand, and then finally, finally, she yields.
With a heavy breath, Gabriel sighs "oh, zank goodness," before pretty mu collapsing right beside her. He glances at the wounds on her body, studying them for anything that might scar over, what would need tending to first, all as he lies there with heavy breaths and a lolling tongue. The adrenaline was already fading, and where before he had aches and pains, it was really getting to him now. Staring up at the trees above, he recounts the ordeal of the fight from beginning to end, briefly tallying up the things he could've done better, and what he's learned of Urna's fighting style.
He wets his dry throat before speaking, once he was better in control of his breathing, "zhat vas intense," was all he said, regretting not bringing the medic here before they began. They'd have to walk there now, "can you valk? ve have to get to ze medic's den," could he walk? his chest ached from the burn marks, and more movement only irked it more. his legs were sore and he could feel a headache coming on. at least, however, his injuries weren't so much in his legs.
He'd rise to his paws then. No rest for the weary. If she needed the help, he'd offer she lean on him until they got to their destination.
