Dynamic Tension (Salar)

[Ssedrasshadara]

21st of Spring It was warm today. The heat of the above seeped even into these dark tunnels, adding to the warmth already present and permeating all those within with energy. A large number of people had gone hunting, eager to take advantage of the absence of their watchers, but Sshadara wasn’t in the hunting mood. With so many out and about, there wouldn’t be a scrap of prey by the time the sun went down. She was, however, in a fighting mood. In her natural snake-form, her sense of hearing wasn’t intensified so much as her sense of touch. Things passed through the ground farther than they did in air, and so she felt bodies hitting the ground more than she heard the challenging snarls and hisses when she passed through the threshold and emerged into the large cavern. As expected, it was busier than usual. Those who had opted out of the hunt en masse had inevitably found their way here, shedding excess energy by training with their peers in various mediums. Sshadara couldn’t help but notice that wrestling seemed to be the favored form of expression, but she hadn’t really expected any different. It was her personal favorite, as well. She slithered around the outskirts, looking for a partner that wasn’t already involved in a battle. Though there weren’t any real boundaries, every pair gave each other generous space and made it a little easier to weave between them, and Sshadara couldn’t help but give an appreciative eye to the combatants as she passed.

[Kara Sunderwater]

Noravennsalar took a deep breath and let it out slowly, relaxing his muscles after a good match. It had been his second of the day and in his Dhani form. His first, earlier that day, had been as a snake. Both fights had been with worthy opponents. Strong, agile, lithe opponents who were as cunning as they were unrelenting. One more match, he felt, would be enough for the day. But who would make a worthy opponent? Salar looked around, carefully scanning the room. Several caught his eye until he saw Sshadara wandering around in her snake form. Zinrah, being a small community, made life very close-knit. He knew of all the city's residents but was only closely acquainted with a few. Sshadara, like the majority, fell into the group of whom he knew only in passing. She had adopted a snake and bonded with a priest who had left the city. Sshadara was also a little older than he but considered an excellent and very available Dhani female. Her skin shimmered brightly and her poise was both graceful and deadly. It was such a pleasure to simply watch her move. As he admired her beauty, Sal remembered that his goal was to find a wrestling partner, not a mate. But why not her? She was clearly here to wrestle and it was as good an excuse to get acquainted with her. Was she good? Was she up to his level? Time to find out. Salar slithered towards her, still in his Dhani form with a humanoid head, torso and arms and a snake's lower body. He knew that the bright orange and black of his own skin made him stand out. That was good for these sort of matches where one's distinctiveness made it clear who was who. But the disadvantage was that it made hunting in daylight harder, forcing him to learn to camouflage himself better and to be more stealthy in his movement. "Ssedrasshadara, daughter of Zhethassedra, are you looking for a wrestling partner?" Sal asked her in snake-tongue without any formal greeting.

[Ssedrasshadara]

There was a small break in activity as the combatants allowed themselves a brief rest. Certainly not all, but enough to make it feel as if the room was taking a breath. Matches finished, opponents were either given words of respect or vulgarity depending on how sore the losers were, and more opponents were sought. Her eyes flicked around as partners were acquired, and they caught on someone approaching. He was quite hard to miss, actually. His scales glittered like blood, red even in the blue light of the underground. He was large, even for a male Dhani, generously muscled and movements like… well, like a generously muscled male Dhani. Norvennsalar, that was his name. His brilliant coloring had garnered her eye more than once, but she knew remarkably little about him save for his reputation in battle. She couldn’t help but feel her stomach drop a little as she neared. Oh yes, he was well known among wrestlers, while she was most definitely not. She had come to the training gallery to learn to hunt, but that was just about it, and while she could hold her own against prey she knew very little about grappling. Even so, his question left little room for internal debate. And besides, he looked even better up close. “I suppose that I am,” she replied, making no attempt to hide her roaming eyes. “Dare I believe that I have found one?”

[Kara Sunderwater]

"If you think you can take me, then it would be my pleasure," he hissed in snake-tongue, looking down at the older female. Rumors had it that her pet python was rather protective of the female. One of his friends had been hissed at for looking at her last week. The python clearly wasn't around right now so why not have some fun with it "It's my challenge to you so I will let you choose our form. Though, I am surprised your ... 'pet' is letting you roam around so many interested males without an escort. Are you sure you're safe amongst us?" he grinned mischievously. His tone was light, joking but at the same time, Salar was curious. The answer to his question interested him. He was hardly going to deny that he wasn't attracted on some level to the female in front of him. Sshadara was not simply beautiful - that was hardly any sort of description. She was distractingly breathtaking. That might be an issue if she wrestled with him. Could he keep his eyes and hormones from clouding his desire for victory? Then again, was it really so bad to lose to an older female who was so attractive? Salar shook himself mentally. Strength determines worth! he told himself firmly. If he was mentally unable to overcome his base desires, then he was weak and deserved to be humiliated. He was the strongest of his clutch, such shame would never be lived down. Defeat was out of the question. Victory was the only option against Sshadara! Serious flirting could happen after he had proven his physical prowess to her.

[Ssedrasshadara]

“The pleasure is all mine,” she replied, unable to suppress a small flutter of nervousness. Even without the whispers, just looking at him made it obvious that he could defeat her. Easily. Her mind raced. While her pride made it impossible for her to simply turn down the challenge, her strengths lay in hunting and seduction, but neither was very useful. Unless… would she be able to use seduction in combat? She quickly went over the list in her mind. She supposed a look of some type or another had been given, the opening line had been made, but would a fight count as witty conversation or something else? She couldn’t help but chuckle at his question. “Stetsir is not above hypocrisy,” she said lightly, abandoning her attempts to organize what she would be trying. The pieces would fall into places where they would. “Besides,” she added, sounding a bit disgruntled, “It’s never supposed to be his business anyway.” And if he was leaving the decision of form up to her, then she would just choose the most provocative she could think of. Maybe coming today wasn’t such a wonderful idea, after all… “Wrestling,” she decided, wondering vaguely if she had just elicited her death. She forced herself to relax. Shoulders back, hands open, coils loose, breathing easy. She had to play to the primal part of him, and that was exactly what she intended to do.

[Kara Sunderwater]

Salar watched Sshadara shift forms. Even that was mesmerizing in its own way, despite its trivial nature. All Dhani could do it, why was it so enthralling to watch what he had seen all his life? "Isn't embarrassing to have a snake fight your battles? It certainly does not help your ... image if no male wishes to get close to you because of that pet. Or is it a test of strength, a barrier you place to weed out the weaker males?"

[Ssedrasshadara]

Sshadara slipped into Dhani form while keeping an ear on Salar’s words. “Come now, that was only once,” she grumbled. One snap from the snake and it seemed like she would never live it down. “Though I guess that it does serve to keep away the weak. If a male is intimidated by a snake half their size, then I do not see reason to pay them any attention. After all, what—” She dove forward, colliding with Salar’s chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. The tackle was strong and practiced, but while it would easily overpower an animal it wasn’t tried and true against a male Dahni at full strength. It was a hunting maneuver, not a fighting maneuver. At a loss for what to do next, she continued as she would if her were her prey, wrapping her coils around his middle section and clinging tight.

[Kara Sunderwater]

With a deep hiss, Salar struggled to remain upright. She had taken the initiative from him, though crudely. The initial impact had not really fazed him since he massed more than her but it did make him vulnerable to her coiling body. Salar grabbed hold of Sshadara's shoulders as the two of them rocked back and forth. He tried to keep balanced while she did her best to unbalance him. If it weren't for the fact that she was trying to best him in wrestling, Salar would have thought that the hold Sshadara had on him was enjoyable. She was strong, to be sure, but her technique was lacking. Salar's arms were free while hers were not. In the back of his mind, he was distracted. The enhanced sense of smell of all Dhani was telling him that she smelled attractive. Like the jungle floor after a strong rain, calm and full of vitality yet completely unpredictable. He almost wanted to let her win so that he could allow such a female to claim triumph, almost so that he could say that there was no shame in losing to one like her. But that was almost impossible. He was Noravennsalar, strongest of his clutch. Strength, physical and mental, was his being and purpose. Pride overcame his base desires to let a female win. She would have to best him in this contest of strength, not wiles! For that to happen, the battle had to go to the floor but on his terms, not hers. So they continued their precarious balancing dance for a few more moments, with her arms around his waist and his gripping her shoulders. But she was the more lithe of them and easily prevented him from gaining the advantage. He could not throw her without throwing himself, considering the tight grip she had on him. A smaller, weaker animal like Sshadara's pet would have felt pain and suffocation but a muscled Dhani male like Salar required more than mere grip. In the end, she managed to get him off-balance and took him down with both of them landing on the sides.

[Ssedrasshadara]

He rocked to one side, and Sshadara pulled him to the other. When he pitched that way, she careened opposite, sending them into a frenzied swaying motion until they both crashed to the ground. She swore in Myrian, trying to wrap Salar’s body in her own, again much as she would if hunting. Thrashing wildly, Sshadara did her best to throw him off balance as if forgetting that they were already on the ground, and she was glad that scales couldn’t blush. This was, frankly, quite embarrassing. I need practice.

[Kara Sunderwater]

Salar hissed angrily. He could get no firm hold on the female's smooth skin. Every time he did, she managed to wriggle out of his grasp. As they tossed and tumbled, Salar found himself losing control of his base desires. He found himself getting aroused, against his will, by this match. It was like mating without doing the actual deed. And Salar doubted anything would happen after the match ended, which frustrated him even more. He had come looking for an opponent, not someone to get intimate with! I cannot lose to her! Her form was clearly sloppy, her techniques were poor, and she did not seem to be aware that she was supposed to pin him to end the match. So far, he had managed to stay on top far more than she had. All he needed was the mental strength and discipline to ignore Sshadara's very smooth, very curved body. And her smell. It was also becoming harder and harder to ignore that. Was she deliberately trying to get him excited? And that was how he liked it. Being on top gave him to opportunity to apply his full weight and strength downwards. In her position, it was doubly harder to push upwards, especially when there was a clear difference in strength and skill. Even with his tail tied up with hers, Salar managed, at last, to get Sshadara onto her back so that the two faced each other. Their arms were locked, pushing against each other. The match seemed to be his, though Sshadara's shoulders were still off the ground so she still had a chance. Especially, when Salar got distracted by her bosom.