Duel:Khitti v Hanan, Match 6 of the 2024 Titans of Winter Tournament
Duel: Traditional 3 rounds with final defense, 20 minute posting limit. Stakes: Standard, autohit delivered by winner with allowance for final reply. Judges: Jaxson, Lita, and Sidd.
Broken Tower Walls
The walls here, much like the others are broken and beaten. This particular wall seems to lead to a tower, which has fallen and settled to the south-east. At the base of the tower wall, you see a gaping hole, which leads out just several feet, and drops straight down a cliff. In the distance, far, far to the north, you only see mountains, and forests. You may head south from this area, or west, where the gloomy light over this place grows.
Environmental
Under your average dueling circumstances, duelists are allowed to bring their weapon (or weapons) of choice onto the field without question. In this duel, the moment that the duelists step out onto the battlefield, they are each greeted by a rather intimidating Frostmawian giant who demands they hand over their main weapon and assured they will remain well guarded until the end of the battle, where their weapon of choice will be returned. Smaller weapons like daggers are overlooked. The why will soon be obvious, for in the center of the battlefield there is an array of weapons that have all had a piece trapped within ice. “When the bell rings, you may claim a new weapon…or use what we have left you with.” What approach will the duelists take to claiming some sort of weapon that has more substance than a dagger? Sword? Axe? Spear? Mace? There are easily ten different styles of weapon up for grabs, if they can be freed from the ice.
Hanan :: Sleigh bells! And the loudest, most obnoxious barking you can imagine. A double line of huskies rounds the corner, pulling a pink and green dogsled up the road. The huskies, being huskies, do not shut up for a moment as they all skid to a stop just a few steps from the crowd. The driver is an incredibly tall and incredibly blond woman with pointed ears and cheeks as pink as her lipstick, which is as pink as her big fluffy coat. The passenger--clinging to the back of this contraption and looking some combination of thrilled and whiplashed, is Hanan. "Thanks for the ride!" Hanan yells, as she steps off. "WAT?" yells the driver. "BARK BARK BORK AWOOO," yell the huskies. "I SAID THANK YOU FOR THE RIDE," yells Hanan. "Ja! Next time eets my turn! You prrrromised!" says the blonde, giggling. The R is rolled. What the heck even is that accent? "WHAT?" yells Hanan. The driver just grins, blows a kiss at her and, with a quick shout and a light tug on the reigns, takes off as loudly as she arrived. Hanan is stuck standing there in a disheveled black peacoat, one tall black boot, one freshly shined peg-leg, snug khaki trousers and a loose white shirt. It's more or less her usual outfit, minus the fact that there's a small spot of conspicuously pink lipstick on her collar and a red sash tied around her swordbelt. The pirate straightens her ponytail, rolls her shoulders, and steps up. "Ruttin' hell. Dog people."
Khitti || Much like last time, with the duel against Alex, Khitti appeared to be a cat. Again. That’s so strange. Waiting the few moments before the match’s start, she sat herself down on the snow and started licking a paw. Her tail flicked about impatiently. Her ears did that radar thing large pointy animal ears do when they’re clearly listening to things. That’s about it. She also let out a small cat sigh.
Round One
Hanan ::"Seriously?" That was Hanan scowling up at the big guy with his hand out, demanding her rapier. Her rapier! It was like losing another limb! She has to give up her damn blade and Khitti wasn't even here yet. "Y'know what? Fine. Okay. If some mage or whatever feels more comfortable with me declawed, fine." She tugged it out of her belt and handed it over, but cast her eyes over her shoulder as he walked off with it. Watching. Eyes forward again. Hmm, some kind of... ice blocks with weapons? And the announcer was already going. Someone had let their cat out. "Khitti better not be so damn late it's another forfeit, ruttin'..." She glanced at Khitti right as the bell went off. Sniffed. Realized. "Oh. Oh HELL. Are you ruttin' SERIOUS you damned mangey---a cat! A little.." She took one step toward the cat, on her good leg. "What kind of magic-y bullshyte is this?" Peg-step. "Fine. Okay." She sprang at the cat, stooping much like one would to grab a cat who needed a bath. If Khitti were somehow slow enough, Hanan would scoop her up and then squish her hard to her shoulder. Cats like that, you see. Or at least they don't fight it so much. "Ship needs a ratter anyway."
Khitti was not your everyday cat. Being an ailuranthrope brought with it the same speed and stamina it would any other type of were-creature. There was a mischievous glint in Khitti’s olive-green cat eyes as Hanan realized her situation and Khitti was quick to dodge away for now, running towards the weapons. She had to be quick and find either the shortest or the lightest weapon she could find, something she could use in her small state. Eventually she found a gladius, one not entirely unlike her own, and perched herself atop the weapon, her paws daintily pressing into the ice. And she just stared at Hanan. Taunting her maybe? And yet, something else was happening: Khitti was using her shadowfire magic through her paws. She couldn’t throw a fireball, but she could certainly manage this, as she melted away the ice that pinned the sword. It only took seconds, as she channeled her magic, and the sword came free, she grabbed the hilt of the sword in her mouth and began to charge after Hanan. Trying to dodge anymore grab attacks, Khitti did her best to try to sever Hanan’s achilles tendons by swinging the sword back and forth with her adorable little face. While she was not caught by the vampire initially, this sword-wielding cat fury did now leave her open to further grabby-handed onslaughts.
Round Two
Hanan :: And how was Hanan to know any of that?! Khitti was the smallest were she'd ever seen, if she even was a were--for all Hanan knew, she had just decided to be a cat today, for kicks. Or had been turned into one. So she stood a little too long, and watched a little too amused, as the cat ran over to the ice and perched there. "Fine. Okay. More than one way to skin a jerk." She smirked, then slipped her left hand to the back of her belt, found a hilt, and tugged. Out came a tomahawk. Well, technically a boarding axe with the handle chopped to make it a small enough hand axe that it didn't worry the goon who took her rapier, but real tomahawks sometimes started out that way. It had a thin blade to chop rope and, on the other side of the metal head, a sharp hook for grabbing lines. They worked on flesh too, if not quite as effectively. "Though I'd rather not--hey!" She was in the middle of flipping the weapon to her right when she realized what, exactly, Khitti was doing, and suddenly she was charging on her damned little kitty legs. Hanan sidestepped, but not enough to dodge completely--she kicked out her left leg and intercepted the gladius with her peg, blade thunking into the wood. "You little shi--" She was using the axe alright, but the hook end, hopping about to avoid the sword while trying, quite hard, to grab the blade with her own weapon and wrench it aside. "No! Bad! You look ruttin' ridiculous!" The sailor tried to grab Khitti's tail, but made absolutely no attempt to physically harm her opponent. Khitti was still a cat, damn her.
Khitti || The ‘kthunk’ of sword to peg leg rattled Khitti enough to send a ripple of shock through her body and make her see stars as she tried to get away from the pirate again. And that moment was just long enough for Hanan to get her grubby pirate paws on Khitti’s poor tail. Khitti of course did all the damage herself, but Khitti-cat’s unfortunate life flashed before her eyes and she let out the loudest yowl-hiss anyone in Frostmaw had probably heard in their lifetime. This meant that Khitti dropped the sword out of her mouth and it clattered onto the crunchy snow beside her. The cat, with her tail and back still sore from the completely uncalled for tail-pull, flopped over onto the snow and turned over onto her back in one fluid motion, allowing her to raise all four legs up to try to latch onto Hanan’s hand to claw, bite, and rabbit kick her with all paws, as cats were wont to do.
Round Three
Hanan let out a wild whoop when Khitti dropped the sword, as if she had actually accomplished some feat of martial prowess instead of fighting with a cat in the snow for an audience. But the cat had cat-powers still. As Hanan reached down to grab Khitti again she instead found her arm and coat sleeve grabbed and rabbit kicked and bitten and-- "Hell--you--what?!" If Khitti was a were, was she able to hurt Hanan a bit more than usual, just with claws? She was a vampire. Hanan hadn't fought a cat in her life, save the one time her old ship's cat Admiral needed medicine and that was more of a siege action than anything else. How do you fight a cat? She sure as hell couldn't slash the thing, even if it was Khitti. That's just not right. Fling her away? The thought of doing something so mean to a cat--even a Khitti-cat--was just anathema to the sailor. This was a serious weak spot. "Ow!" This split-second of thinking cost Hanan a great deal of scratches on her hand and wrist. Fine. Fine! What had worked with her own sick cat? She quickly dropped to her good knee mid-claw-thrashing, tossed aside the tomahawk, scooped her right hand behind Khitti's back and attempted to squish her against her chest. Squish. The. Cat. Just like the vet said. "It's okay you're going to be FINE nobody's spayin' you just STOP."
Khitti did her best cat fighting, but alas poor Khitti, Hanan succeeded in scooping her up this time. And she was squished too! What the heck. And that vet was right. Squishing the cat -does- work, just as it was for Hanan now. To the point that she even started purring? Perhaps this was the end of duel. It’s all over folks! You can go home now. Ah, but what is this? While Khitti purred away and lured Hanan into a false sense of security, she was busy attempting to chew away at Hanan’s hair, as if she were a rabbit or guinea pig, intending on leaving the pirate partially lock-less. She’s a vampire, so her hair will regrow… right? Right?? And when Hanan inevitably realized and perhaps tried to pull Khitti away from her, Khitti would latch onto her clothes with all those claws and not let go.
Final Defense
Hanan :: Khitti purring somehow made this more awkward. And that was saying something. This entire situation was awkward. "I've no godsdamn idea why you had to be a cat for this. I finally get a real duel and you have to up and be a friggin' kitty ca--HEY." Spend all your time waiting, for that second chance. For the break that would make it okay. "That's my HAIR." There's always some reason to feel not good enough. And it's hard at the end of the day. "That's low! Even for you!" A whirlwind of profanity, Hanan burst up to her feet--foot--and tried to yank Khitti off. "GET. OFF." In the arms of the angel. Fly away, from here. "You stupid little--" Hanan tried to grab the back of Khitti's furry neck. No dice. A peacoat is the perfect surface for cat claws to really dig in. Not to mention her exposed skin. "STUPID ANIMAL!"
Winner: Hanan
Auto-Hit
Hanan's favorite peacoat, the one she looked so smart in (or so she thought, anyway), was now covered in fur. Khitti's fur. Khitti, the cat. Who she had just fought as part of an officially sanctioned duel. And who was still clawing at her. With a growl, Hanan turned herself a little back and forth, wrestled her arms around and, eventually, managed to remove both the cat and the coat from her person. She deposited both in a little pile on the snow. She then looked at her left arm. Cat scratches all the way from wrist to elbow. A few on her neck and clavicle too, she could feel them. Great "Some one get me my f--" Someone blew a horn. That happens in Frostmaw, sometimes. "--'n rapier back. Now." She looked down at her peg. It was still usable, but here was now a good gladius-sized notch in the front. "You owe me a leg, PussPuss."
Khitti released her claws from the coat after Hanan laid it on the ground, and stepped off of it, all four paws back on the snow finally. After a moment’s considering, Khitti brushed up against Hanan’s leg, then headbonked it, and trotted off towards the big ol’ spooky mansion nearby. She might be nice enough to get Hanan the new peg leg that the pirate claimed the cat owed her. Yes, she’d give Hanan a nice gift. Maybe a dead mouse in her boot. Or perhaps she’ll talk to Quintessa about something better.
Hanan huffed at the headbonk. She should have been angrier. Maybe later she'd be angrier. Now the cat was no longer clawing her and was, indeed, a cat. Gods damn it. "I need a drink."
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