Winter's End

He watched with satisfaction as the crowd swelled. Their invitations had gone far and wide and it seemed they had certainly attracted attention. He gave a gleeful little grin beneath his hood as he counted heads. The crowd was constantly shifting but he definitely counted upwards of fifty, sixty wolves there. How many had come to participate and how many to spectate? He exchanged glances with the others in his troop, and they quickly dispersed among the crowd with their wares to hawk and bats to take.

When he judged the crowd was ready, not too restless but not still coming in either, he stepped forward with a dramatic flourish that shed the hooded cloak from his form. At the signal his "cousins" in the crowd had done the same, revealing a dozen brindle-coated coydogs. Beside the wolves they seemed like scrawny, half-finished things but for their kind they were all well-fed and robust specimens, and he the biggest and strongest of the lot and, if he did say so himself, the handsomest with his black brindling on cream and sky blue eyes. Yes, the handsomest of handsome coydogs.

He stepped forward with an even more dramatic gesture for silence, and boomed out "I bid you welcome, wolves! Welcome to the Winter's End Tournament, where we will determine the greatest fighters of your lands to usher in the new year in a mere handful of days. I am called Nitro, Lord of the Tiger Gypsies, and when we leave here you may rest assured we will spread word of your glorious victory to countless lands! If you have trade goods please feel free to avail yourself of the snacks and trinkets my cousins will be bringing around. For those of a mind to gamble, I have also authorized my cousins to take bets! Now please, all wolves who seek the fame and fortune of winning the tournament, step forth now!"

He waited while the crowd shuffled and realigned itself, and slowly separated into spectators and participants. "Good! My cousins -" here yet more of his coydog "cousins" stepped forward "-will pair you up and begin the tournament. The divisions will be double-elimination style, so if you lose you will get a chance to redeem yourself." He gave them all a wide, unctuous grin and sat up to spread his forepaws wide. "Let the tournament commence!"

OOC: you can post here if you want but it isnt necessary. I will put up threads for each pair and flip a coin for who needs to post first. You will have three days to start the fight and then a strict default will apply!