[COMBAT] CONFLICT: Her Warmth against Her Shield (Smoldering Ember vs Wayward Son)

[doomsayer]

Wayward Son
HP 10
Attack Dice: 2d10-6

VERSUS


Smoldering Ember
HP 6
Attack Dice: 2d10-6

[doomsayer]

Both bucks glared at each other, their eyes blazing with fury. Throwing caution to the wind and putting the last of their strength into one final clash, they charged at each other with a fierce crash. Their horns locked, the sound of cracking and splintering filled the air as they wrestled, their legs thrashing wildly.

Wayward Son's horn gored Smoldering Ember's side, tearing flesh and causing a gush of blood. Ember let out a pained roar as he stumbled, but he quickly recovered and retaliated with a vicious headbutt. The force of the impact sent both bucks tumbling to the ground, where they continued to throw blow after desperate blow.

The battle was intense, with both bucks suffering severe injuries, their coats matted with blood and dirt. In the end, they lay exhausted and gravely wounded, their once-proud bodies now broken and battered.

It was Smoldering Ember whose consciousness would fade first, his legs still kicking as the world faded to black around him.

Wayward Son tried to get his legs back underneath him, but the effort and the loss of blood had also caught up to him, his eyes fluttering shut as his body stopped responding and his consciousness fully failed him.

The night fell silent as their conflict concluded.

––––––––

It would be almost dawn when steps would be heard approaching where both bucks laid from the direction of the tunnels and from the direction of the swamp.

[HuniPi]

Among the numerous kin who stepped up to help Smoldering Ember it was Flame Strike who managed to chance upon the two fallen bucks. Initially he was worried of fatalities but was relieved to learn that despite the numerous injuries, his half-brother was still alive.

He knew very little about the ways of healing, hunting and ambushes were more his specialization. But he was confident someone in their exceptionally large family would know how to mend a bone or three. But what of the other buck? What of the one who started all this? He narrowed his eyes at the dark buck, but to his disappointment he found the other kin also still lived.

"I always said you were too soft despite your bulk," Flame Strike snorted and narrowed his eyes. He knew his half-brother would never attempt to kill another kin if he could help it, even when they'd done something so horrible as to abduct someone he loved so dearly. But Flame Strike was not so prone to sentimentality, nor was he as forgiving. He began to move towards Wayward and raised a hoof above the fallen kin's neck.

But as he was about to deal a fatal blow to the other kimeti, a spade-tipped tail wrapped around his own neck from behind. The curve of ridged horns pressed against the back of his head with a firm pressure.

"Now, now, it's not your place to tip the scales so sharply to one end," Blood of the forgotten murmured into Flame Strike's ear, softly and with amusement. Despite the blind zikwa's slight build, he knew of weak points and pain points all along a kin's body. His horns had just the right thickness and heft to be able to deliver enough force to incapacitate the conscious kimeti buck should it come to that.

The tail around his throat and the horn against his head forced Flame Strike to be still. Despite his situation he managed to choke out "And you are?"

Blood chuckled darkly, "Someone invested in this little family drama. It would be in your best interest to take my generosity and simply leave with your sibling." Blood made a whistling sound and forcibly angled Flame Strike's head to see numerous eyes glowing from the darkness of the cave. "I know you have... family nearby. So do I and they are much closer to us."

It was obvious to Flame Strike that this stranger was correct. Even if he managed to break free from the other kin's grip, he was outnumbered and the others would close the distance far too quickly for him to escape on his own. Let alone while carrying his much larger half-sibling. He snarled in frustration, both at his own weakness and the circumstances he found himself in. "Fine," he spat bitterly and suddenly felt the tail constrict tighter around his throat. "What?" he choked in confusion.

"You forgot to thank me." Blood teased, waiting for the kimeti to show his gratitude, coerced as it may be, before finally allowing Flame Strike to leave with Smoldering Ember.

When Blood of the Forgotten could no longer smell the two bucks, he leaned down to the unconscious Wayward. "Oh you owe me so much more now. I'll collect my payment soon." He wound his tail gingerly around one of Wayward's legs before carefully dragging him into the tunnels.