MISTER STEAL YO DOG ☆ challenge

[wormwood.]

NOTHING BESIDE REMAINS — Anger. Fear. Anxiety. It all bubbled beneath Aurum's pelt, itching and tearing at his flesh like an uncomfortable and ugly Christmas sweater that would never come off. At least, never come off until Tanglewood was able to do something about their current intruders. They were still in the planning phase of things right now, and that was enough to drive the former proxy wild. He just wanted to dig his claws into someone's flesh, and make them feel the pain that Tanglewood had felt. Not only now, but over, over and over again. It seemed as though they were never free of some kind of bullshit, and that was enough to drive any man crazy – even one as usually calm and diplomatic as Aurum. The angel knew that he couldn't remain silent for much longer, but he needed to. They needed to figure out what they were going to do, which meant giving time for things to be planned out, and for the perfect moment to eventually present itself. Until that moment came, however, the lion could do nothing but pace, desperately trying to figure out some kind of outlet for the nervous energy that buzzed within him.

Ultimately, that outlet ended up coming in the form of the very captors that were holding Tanglewood practically hostage. Aurum happened to lift his head from his fury-motivated pacing, only to see a crowd of different Coalition members, most around to make sure that nobody was going to escape, just staring. Staring, and doing very little else, except for the occasional jeer or switching of shifts. Seeing them like that was enough to finally make him snap, his ears flattening down against his skull before he turned. He could feel frantic muttering from behind him as he took several long strides towards the crowd of Coalition members, lips pulled back in a snarl. Regardless of what those behind him were thinking, the lion raised his voice so that he would be heard, demanding of the crowd before him, "So, are all of you pathetic mongrels just here to stare at us? Keep us in this bunker and pretend that you're the big bad wolves of this world? Cause if that's the case, I'm even more embarrassed that such a group of idiots managed to take us over." His voice was harsher than usual, but he made no attempt to soften it, or calm himself down. There was no reason to, not when the bastards who had taken his home hostage were standing right before him, keeping all of them locked in a bunker.

He continued in something akin to a roar, his sharp and thick claws extending to curl against the cold floor beneath him, "If you're such hot shit, why doesn't one of you take me on, huh? One on one, just to see what you can do. I'll show you that it would just be best for you to back off, now." He wasn't about to make a serious bet on this fight right now, not if he could help it. Mainly because, if he did end up losing, he didn't want to put the fate of his fellow Tanglers up as collateral.

( please wait for [member=2040]ninazu[/member] to respond first ! ) — OF THE MAN WHO WAS BORN AND DIED A KING.

[ninazu]

BURN
BRIGHT

Crouched over an alligator’s corpse, Ninazu tore into the meat without bother for table manners. Blood dripped down her face and neck, soaked her paws, and was all she could smell. She hadn’t eaten this type of reptile before, and she enjoyed the delicacy for a unique experience. However, she thought the meat tasted rather bland, for all the effort of taking over Tanglewoods’ territory.

Her ears twitched when the former second-in-command started screaming his head off. After wiping her muzzle with the back of a bloody paw, she lifted her head and leveled a glare at the Tanglers. The flames licking down her neck burned hotter, tinted darker, and became opaque. Her gold eyes gleamed red from their light.

“You again? Haven’t I beaten your ass enough?” She stood up, one paw on the carcass. “Very well. It’s gotten boring beating the shit out of Caesar. Promise me you won’t pled for more? Don’t tell me you’re not a masochist, Mister Brave Face, I see right through you.”

A sneer flashed across her muzzle, and she stalked towards the lion. “We’ll see how brave you are in a minute.”

Ninazu ripped three knives out of a Condemned member’s pocket, spinning the blades in the air with her magic. She brought them closer to her, spinning and swirling the blades, learning their balance point, their weight, their curve. None of the three were made for throwing, exactly, but she practiced earth manipulation enough to deal with that.

After the knives orbited her once, she sent them spiraling towards Aurum’s rope bonds. Of course, she wasn’t exactly gentle about it. He’d hopefully have cuts. Even temporary freedom comes with a price.

© MADI

[wormwood.]

NOTHING BESIDE REMAINS — He really should've known that the one to accept his challenge would be Ninazu. After all, the lioness was stubborn as all hell, and it wasn't as if they hadn't already clashed in the past. Despite this, Aurum still found his eye narrowing, anger burning in his chest as he faced Ninazu, his tail continuing to lash behind him. He snarled lowly, not seeming particularly intimidated by her - despite his previous defeat, "Sure doesn't seem like you're too upset at the prospect of another fight. I mean, after all, it must get boring, doing nothing but watching us all. Our delicacies aren't even particularly to your tastes, given that face." He found himself smirking slightly, feeling a soar of confidence. Even if he did end up losing, he could at least put up a fight, and show these bastards Tanglewood didn't back down so easily. He could hear faintly worried murmurs behind him, as well as feel some uneasy glances leveled at him, but those fell into the background as the blades were slung at him. He barely managed to step back in time for them to not pierce into his flesh, a soft hiss leaving him as they brushed along the insides of his legs, leaving a couple of cuts before slicing his bonds in half. He grit his teeth, rumbling sarcastically, "Could've at least been a bit more precise, don't you think?" He knew full well that the lioness had intended to cut him, but he just wanted to piss her off.

Once he was freed from the annoying bonds, Aurum shook out his rather long pelt, letting his feathers settle before he growled, "Alright, let's do this..." Without hesitation, the lion then charged forward, attempting to slam one of his large paws into Ninazu's face, trying to knock her violently into the ground. In order to try and prevent her from stepping back, he also tried to use his earth elementals to curl the metal of the bunker behind her up, so that she'd end up either tripping or being stopped. He knew he had to be more conservative about how he used his powers this time, or he'd end up collapsing too fast. That certainly wouldn't get across the point he was - hopefully - trying to make. — OF THE MAN WHO WAS BORN AND DIED A KING.

[ninazu]

BURN
BRIGHT

Her lips curled back, Ninazu returned Aurum’s smirk with twice the teeth. His little words bothered her none, but her confidence ran too high. Her blood ran hotter than her flames, and she expected some trepidation on his part. Yet he charged, bolder than she’d expected by far, and she barely yanked her head back in time to avoid the direct headshot.

Yet his claws scored deep lines down her muzzle, busting her lip open and splattering blood in one eye. She squinted the eye closed and gritted her teeth through the pain—wasn’t it always the fucking face and paw wounds that hurt the most, no matter how tiny? and these gashes weren’t fucking tiny—and was that metal against her rear legs? Oh yes, yes it was. Perfect.

She jumped back, braced her paws against the metal, and ricocheted forward like a spring. This wasn’t fancy, this was reckless insanity, as sparks flew from her claws and electricity purred in her bones. She attempted to thwack the top of his head with an shock-enhanced paw and continue forward, literally stepping on his head with a forepaw and then her two hind paws. She eyed the wing on the same side as his blind spot and headed for that, intending on sinking her teeth into it.

[member=6881]aurum.[/member]

© MADI