A predatory grin helped bunch the skin around his eyes as Valentine began to set his defenses too. His eyes narrowed to both protect his sight and further scrunch the fur around his eyes and along his forehead. Deep slate ears slicked back and lay flat against his crown. Anticipation encouraged him to hurry and so the rest of his defenses came together rapidly. His hackles and tail rose, the former rising to shield his spine and the latter rising in the hopes of bettering his balance. The King widened his stance, bent his knees slightly, splayed his toes and dug his claws into the ground, all in an effort to make him an immovable target. He dropped his head several inches and tucked his chin while rolling his shoulders forward to create a protective hollow around his throat.
Renhett charged forward and began to shift towards his right. Seeing this, Valentine also sidestepped to his right in the hopes of countering her efforts. He sought to line them up so that they were facing one another head on with the center of his chest lined up with the center of her's. Doing this caused his opponent's shoulder throw to miss his neck completely. Instead her shoulder struck directly below the point where the forward-facing part of his left shoulder joined with his chest. A moderate bruise was sure to form there later.
The King's shift to his right also displaced Renhett's bite by taking her target out of range. Because he'd moved her jaws were now lined up with the front of his right shoulder. Seeking to capitalize on this, Valentine jutted his right shoulder further forward while kicking forward in the hopes of intercepting his opponent's attack. He aimed to use the bony front of his right shoulder like a lance and drive it into the front of Renhett's nose in the hopes of causing blinding pain and at the very least, a nose bleed. Doing this would also hopefully deflect the attack and keep her jaws off of him. Of course it was entirely possible that the pain wouldn't drive her away and she'd still be able and willing to bite him, but he was unconcerned. [counter to bite; damage pending]
As he rolled his right shoulder forward, Valentine also raised his right forefoot (his weight redistributing to accommodate the move as he did so) and attempted to slam it down on the toes of Renhett's left forefoot in the hopes of crushing it beneath his weight. Along with causing moderate damage, the brute hoped to pin his opponent's paw to the ground and limit her movements.
Meanwhile, his jaws sought an attack from above. Rotating his head to his right, Valentine then attempted to grab his opponent by the back of the head. He sought to sink his upper teeth into the skin just behind Renhett's left ear while hooking his lower teeth into the skin just behind her right ear. Valentine hoped to slam his jaws shut and not only cause heavy damage to the skin, but earn a hold that gave him control over his opponent's head.
VALENTINE versus RENHETT for SPAR
Round ONE of TWO
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NOTE: Valentine has a female striped skunk companion named Lefty. Unless stated otherwise assume she's present.
