I wanna feel alive

The battle was started promptly, something Ashmedai was all too happy about. He was ready.

Ashmedai set his defenses: his ears flattening against his skull to protect them from getting gripped while his shoulders rolled the excess skin around his neck as he tucked his chin to minimize neck exposure. His hackles flared down his spine for extra protection and his nose wrinkled, eyes squinting to deflect attacks from his face. His toes spread and his claws dug into the ground for extra traction. He kept his knees bent and tail flagged for agility while making sure his weight was distributing evenly for balance. He lowered his head in line with his spine. Ready? Ready.

As the Firecracker shifted to Ashmedai's right and attempted to hit the lower part of Ashmedai's shoulder with the top part his own, Ashmedai aimed to jump to his own right and ram Pyre's chest full force with his own (COUNTER, DAMAGE PENDING). Pyre's teeth struck Ashmedai's left foreleg right at the inner elbow, causing some mild scratching. Ash quickly attempted to lift his left forepaw, redistributed his weight to his remaining three paws,  so that his balance wasn't thrown off, and aimed to slam down on and pin Pyre's right forepaw under his.

Opening his jaw and tilting his head to his right, Ashmedai attempted to grip Pyre's scruff right at the base of his skull while trying to throw his hefty weight to Pyre's right, hoping to tilt the man onto his right side with sheer force.

Pyre vs Ashmedai for Practice
Round: 1/3
Height: 42"
Build: Heavy