stomach to the floor

(ooc: ack! sorry posted an empty table by pressing reply instead of preview -
this has been seen by Nyx - just finishing up the post atm then I'll post it
here -- also, slight language warning)

~*~ Gargoyle's chest swelled and shrunk as a great lungful of breath was released. The she-wolf's words... was he relieved by them? No that wasn't right. He should've been disappointed, reluctant, pitying, anything but relieved. He'd swallowed down that demon of his for so long, run so far away form it, that now any quirk of his that reminded him of it sent a chill through the marrow of his bones. And yet now, it was all that training, all that experience, all that warfare that he was counting on. He wasn't about to half-ass this thing just because his opponent looked like she'd just lost her milk teeth. No, with Gargoyle, there was never any middle road. Once his adrenaline kicked in, once he had that first, delectable taste of wolf's blood, there was no going back and until he had his fill. It was a cool day in hell when the drake could separate the warrior, from the killer. The girl threw his words back at him, shredding what last bit of lifeline she clung to. She wants this, a voice hissed at the back of his mind. She stands before you willingly. She accepts the terms. She's ready to die. And yet Gargoyle remained impassive and seating. Behind the laconic stained glass of his yellow eyes, he was peering down into the hole he'd burried his former self in. Go on. The truth was, he didn't have much of a choice here - unless he felt like offering this pup the throne of Glaciem. He had to fight. And that wasn't the problem. The problem was how much he wanted to. He barely heard his mate's words. Ocena was saying something. Wishing him luck or telling him he could do it. Even she urges me on. That did it. That snapped the last link of chain that had been keeping the male in check. His heart pounded. Adrenaline surged in tidal waves through his veins. Here it was, his chance to kill again without the guilt that had come to stain his soul. He could be himself once again. And despite all this inward shift, there was no movement on the outside, no hint given by the sitting wolf... ...except that a smile began to curl slowly over his usually stone-frozen muzzle. His eyes followed the she-wolf as she shifted her position. She was moving with a suppleness that showed she had at least been in fights before. Her eyes covered his frame, glancing at all the right places, keeping herself ready for the moment of truth. Good for her. She angled herself to his side, and almost behind him. Gargoyle couldn't moved too. He easily could've mirrored her and started walking the classical circle with her. But, no, he staid where he was, sitting as cool as he pleased. He'd let her make the first move, her first mistake. Only his ears and his eyes shifted to track her. Finally, she made her move - after a bit of a trot to close the distance, she made her plunge for his left leg - the tender batch of tendons just below his elbow joint. From the way she'd been lowering her head and bunching her muscles, he'd expected such a low target. And was she- did she just- was she closing her eyes? She was going to make this easy for him, wasn't she? It pleased Gargoyle to wait as long as mortally possible - he wanted to make sure all her momentum, all her weight was behind this throw - and then he moved. The beast had been waiting, winding himself up like a metal spring and now all of that energy was released quicker than most eyes could follow. All his weight was on his hind legs as he sat and now he raised himself up on them - twisting round, at first away from the incoming attack, but then coming right back at her. It was a simple spin of the torso, but now his frame was risen. His hackles were up, his teeth were bared and his oversized claws were ready to tear. With the force of that spin behind him, his forelegs (one of which was dripping blood where she'd nicked him) were sent to slam into the she-wolf's frame. If all was timed, she'd only just have had her forepaws touch the ground. Well now he intended to send her whole body crashing down to the ground. And once he got her underneath him, heaven help her. His forelegs weren't his only attack though. No, he wanted blood. Hind legs still bent and planted and steady - he threw his whole torso into the attack. He'd smash his broad chest into her rib cage, his jaws would search out the flesh beneath her fur. If given the time, he'd tear himself a hole into her side and see the color of her lungs. x.x gargoyle vs. eos - round 1 of 4 x.x attacks: 1. uses his sitting posture as a technique, he whips round and sends his forelegs forward to slam into Eos's side. 2. intends to follow up with smashing his chest into her side, hoping to send her off and balance and into the dust. 3. if his chest collides, it's a simple matter to bring his teeth down and start ripping into her side. x.x defenses: 1. spun round to avoid the angle of incoming attack. 2. hind legs planted and steady. 3. if the move succedes his throat and chest will be pushed against Eos's side where her teeth can't reach. x.x injuries: a nick on his left foreleg just below elbow x.x notes: Yumpy and I agreed on four rounds. ~May the odds be ever in your favor~ ~*~