Closed Test of Wills (Ayszel)

[Rhyus]

Time Stamp: 55th of Spring, 515AV Location: The Training Gallery Who: Rhyus and Ayszel Ssacarirhyuss enjoyed the martial art of wrestling. He loved the fact that it tested the endurance, strength, and flexibility of wrestler. He enjoyed the close up interactions with his opponents and his body as they did their best to pin, restrain, or throw each to the ground. It was a true test of strength and will, but in Zinrah, it was more than just a sport or martial art. In Zinrah a Dhani can either make or break their legacy in the wrestling ring. Social standing, prosperity, and mates can all be decided during a match, so at a early age, Rhyus had taken the opportunity to learn the martial art even though his constrictor brethren, mostly the constrictors, thought he didn't belong. Since he was a viper, he had a natural disadvantage in size and strength especially in Dhani form to his constrictor and even rattler brethren. However, he was larger than most vipers in both snake and Dhani form, so it helped him a little bit in those forms. Also, he was much faster than the other two sub races. Rhyus was the odd ball in his class, and his constrictor classmates went out of their way to single him out. He was never the first choice as a partner, and he was always teamed up with the last constrictor or rattler to show up to class. Finishing up with his stretches, Rhyus saw the crowd was started to form around the teacher, so the Dhani slithered into the crowd of behemoths snake people. Being one of smallest Dhani in the class, the viper had to make his way up to the front to be able to see anything. Quickly moving through the bodies of serpents, Rhyus was eventually stopped by large constrictor with his large arms outstretched barring his way to the front of the crowd. Rhyus knew the constrictor's name was Sseverarack. He was was a guard in the Bastille. The Dhani personality fit his career choice. He was big, loud, and bully. Arack was maybe a year or two older than Rhyus, and they never got along even when they were young-lings because Rhyus always stood his ground against him. Arack always used his superior size and strength to intimate the other rattler and viper children, and it seemed to not change when he became a adult. Arack looked at Rhyus, shook his head, and hissed loudly in snake tongue, “Sshouldn't you be in your “dance” classs, Rhyuss? Why don't you sscurry back of the crowd with the rest of the viperss...” Rhyus knew that he was the only viper in the class, and he knew if he didn't find a spot quickly at the beginning of class. He would never see the demonstration by the instructor. The viper looked up at the massive constrictor and his hissed back in annoyance, “I know you have the mind sset of young-ling, but we are not in a nurssery anymore, sso why don't you act like a petching adult and move...” Ssacarirhyuss was a hunter by trade, so he was expected to be tough in the face of myrians or other dangers the jungle throws at him, so if he cowered in front of his peers, he would be quickly labeled a coward. A title no Dhani would ever want, male or female. Arack's grin widened to the point where he could almost see the entire row of dagger like teeth in his mouth and said in snake with a laugh, “I don't take orderss from ssome sssoft belly viper! Why don't your sshow me your “dance” movess and make me move...!” Rhyus knew Arack was referring to his unarmed combat training. The viper wasn't going allow this idiot to goad into fight in the middle of wrestling class because he didn't want to be blacklisted by the teacher. Besides, he didn't need the drama after class. He had a reputation to watch and maintain in this small community, and he didn't want to be labeled as the viper trouble maker to the rest of the city. Rhyus looked up at him and returned his toothy grin with one of his own and hissed back in snake tongue, “Your not pretty enough for me to dance with, Arack, sso why don't you pay attention to the teacher?” The viper looked around the big constrictor to the front of the class and looked back at him and and lied, “Arack, I think sshe is watching you.” Ssacarirhyuss was totally lying about the instructor watching them because she hadn't come out to the floor yet. Everyone was scared to anger her even Arack, so when Rhyus told his little lie, he quickly spun around to show that he was paying attention. At that moment, Rhyus quickly saw an opening and quickly slithered passed the oaf and made his way through the opening to the front of the crowd. When he found a nice spot, he spun around his tail till it was a tight coil and waited for the teacher to arrive.

[Ayszel]

The training gallery was busy with the bustling bodies of Dhani, in all forms. While there were many places that the Dhani gathered for their exploration of sin, the training gallery was not one of these. It was a meeting place for the exploration of the Constrictors most valued skill; strength. It lay at the heart of the city, in all ways.

The stone pillars were filled with pores and handholds for climbing practice, bringing the Dhani towards the cavernous ceiling with arching stone branches and painfully steep cliffs. It echoed the danger of the jungle without the comforting textures and touches of the green leaves and twisting vines.

The complexity of the cave required that the Geomancers who worked on it be adept at their trade as novices were likely to cause more damage to the room or themselves when attempting the control required. However, the gallery was also the most frequently damaged cave, owing to the violence of the Dhani fighting style and their innate strength. However, it was a waste of talent to always send the most advanced Geomancers for such minor repairs. This, was why Ayszel was here. When not working at the Hundredth Hole she often volunteered her limited services as a Reimancer to the city, fixing potholes and minor damage, as was the case here.

A wrestling match set on top of one of the lower pedestals had gotten particularly violent and a large piece of the thick black stone had been chipped away and littered the area beneath. What made repairing even such simple matters so costly was that each part of the stone in this room was in use, carefully calibrated by the more talented architects. As such the novices were instructed to only ever repair what they could create directly from res and never to pull stone from elsewhere in the room. If they hadn’t enforced that rule so firmly the elaborate cave would have collapsed long ago, killing many, when some silly child pulled stone from a load bearing pillar of junction Ayszel was sure. She knew enough to know that she was inept enough to make the same mistake, but educated enough to know what not to attempt.

There were rarely organized classes, groups grow and shrink organically with various instructors taking over as others left for work or other activities and most of the individuals present were there alone or in small groups of friends. This time however, two classes perched within the cavern waiting for their instructors.

The small forms of a class of awestruck Dhani snakelings slithered across the slippery stone floor jumbling and jostling each other. As their attention drifted so completely out of themselves their jaws fell open with the loss of muscle activity. Must be their first time…. The other group was a swath of Dhani gallery cajoling and teasing each other. The sound of their voices carried throughout the gallery. Their teasing was aimed toward the smallest of the group, a brilliantly colored viper. Their loud caroling was a distraction that left her wandering within herself searching for the pool of golden Res.

Reaching up she covered her ears firmly against the sounds and closed her eyes, blocking out the stimulus of the world around her and focusing on the stimulus within. Her senses opened up into the blackness of her mind and easily found the glistening gold pond. Its surface radiated within her, lighting up her mind.

Kneeling down she slid her fingertips into the Res. Her fingertips began to glow as the power within her formed outside of her. Cupping the res gently, she rose and watched the Res slide out between her fingers dribbling out along the loamy black soil of her mind.

Opening her eyes she watched the yellow res that had gathered, liquid, in her hands. It overwhelmed the depth of her cupped hand and trickled onto the hard floor. Watching the edge snake up along the stone tower she drew its leading edge along with her focus, imagining it filling the space the pieces around her had once filled. As the res encased the corner of the pedestal she tightened her grip on the res thickening it into golden putty. It would need to be broad and round and thick at the base, tapering away at the edge. She imagined the shape she needed and pulled the putty, like shaping clay, with the fingers of her mind.

It started as a perfectly round orb glued to the rest of the pedestal like an extra limb, it would be weak she concluded, unless she merged it with the stone of the rest. She smudged the edges with her mind, bleeding it into the existing black surface. She chewed her lip as she analyzed the golden glows thick form before turning to the next phase, transmutation. It began at the base, transforming like a tight black clamp around the golden insides. It thickened from the outside in, forming the shape first before solidifying its structure.

“I don't take orderss from ssome sssoft belly viper! Why don't your sshow me your “dance” movess and make me move...!”

The threat was loud enough to shatter the delicate concentration Ayszel had constructed. Whipping her head around to face the threat Ayszel instinctively anticipated the impact of an enemy limb only to see a wide brawny Constrictor towering over a much smaller viper.

She didn’t notice what was happening behind her until she heard the crack. She had lost control of the transmutation and the stone exterior began to crack and crumble without the focus of structure beneath.

“Petch!”She cursed as she watched her hard work join the black bricks already littering the floor. The wrestler who had fetched her was choking back laughter.

“Thought they said a novice could handle it?”He chuckled mockingly. His words were said in mocking jest but were as firm a slap upon her ego as if he had punched her.

Her chest squeezed painfully with her ineptitude and she found herself moving across the floor despite herself. She couldn’t let it stand this way, couldn’t simply try again as if she had failed the first time. She hadn’t failed, she reasoned, she had been undermined. Her thick coiled form glittered in the faint light of the moss as she rose up behind the constrictor as each moved their attention towards waiting for the instructor.

She was every bit as big as him, and as a woman in the matriarchal society, every bit as powerful as him despite her age, or so she reasoned. Rising from her place coiled around a nexus of powerful tail she stared down at the top of his head.

“I thiiiink…that you had better keep your bullying to a pro-per volume.”She warned, her voice low and husky with contempt as she snapped the word proper with as much zest as the snap of a piece of shale.

The viper had run from the constrictor. It didn’t surprise her. Despite their revelry this season and their claim to power, they were pathetic whimpering creatures, so far lesser than their cousin constrictors they no more than wild snake. Constrictors don’t run… she murmured, knowing what she was getting herself into as the man turned and rose on an equally muscular tail to her height.

[Rhyus]

As Ssacarirhyus waited for the instructor, the viper heard a little commotion behind him. The viper shifted his upper body around to see what was happening behind him. Once he saw the situation, he tried to stifle a chuckle, but he couldn't quite hold it in for long. Arack must have pissed another constrictor off because a female constrictor was in his face. For a moment, he wondered if the rainbow colored constrictor was one of his jilted lovers, but he look her over for a few more ticks and noticed that this Dhani was way to pretty for this drooling lout. Rhyus' curiosity got the better of him, so he started moving closer to the crowd forming around the pair. The viper wondered if their was going to be a fight, and a part of him hoped the stupid petch finally got what he deserved at the hand of a female. When the woman started to speak, the viper's just stood there and tried to stay as aloof as possible. Ssacarirhyuss could tell the constrictor woman was trying to be intimating when she rose up into the air. If she was talking to a rattler of viper, it would definitely be imposing to the much smaller subspecies; however, Rhyus couldn't put his finger on it. The colorful constrictor seemed off to him somehow. She was wasn't deformed or anything, but the color of her scales were to brilliant and the shape seemed under developed compared to a full grown adult female. Rhyus shook the thought from his head because trying to figure it out was distracting him from his entertainment. When the colorful Dhani spoke to Arack, Rhyus could tell that she was trying to emphasis her authority over the male constrictor, and since she was female, she had all the authority in Zinrah to tell him what to do. Unless another female stepped in on Arack's behalf. Arack just stared at the constrictor woman dumbfound for about a chime. Rhyus wondered if the idiot was trying to think of something to say, or since it was spring, he was checking out her physical attributes. Anyways, Arack wasn't the cleverest constrictor in Zinrah, so it took him sometime to come up with a answer. Rhyus gave the big dumb snake a crooked grin and thought to himself, Don't dissappoint me, Arack. Sssay ssomething sstupid... When Arack finally decided to utter a sentence, he did not disappoint Rhyus in the slightest, “Wait... what? I don't know if you have forgotten where you are, but we are in the Training Gallery, Princcesss. It always loud here. If you want quiet go to Ssiku's Ssshrine, I am ssure the priesstesssess will not disturb you. Bessidess don't you have anything better to do than worry about how I deal with little sshykess like him!” Rhyus smirk quickly faded away as the large brute pointed his large scaled finger in his direction. He knew that he should have minded his own business and stayed in the front of the crowd. The viper knew that he didn't do anything wrong since he was the one being bullied, so he crossed his arms, stared at Arack, and said nothing. However, he wasn't sure how the rainbow constrictor woman was going to react to him. He was sure it wouldn't be good if she felt that he played a part in her discomfort. Regardless, he just waited in silence as the scene unfolded around him.

[Ayszel]

Ayszel had lost her patience after the first tick of silence. Several of them left her on the edge of her patience. Dare you speak you insolent sack of Tskanna... she queried internally, the thought tugging the corner of her lips into a smile. or are you as yellow bellied as a viper? However, his imposing form did make her stomach quiver, despite herself.

“Wait... what? I don't know if you have forgotten where you are, but we are in the Training Gallery, Princcesss. It always loud here. If you want quiet go to Ssiku's Ssshrine, I am ssure the priesstesssess will not disturb you. Bessidess don't you have anything better to do than worry about how I deal with little sshykess like him!”

“It is always loud in here, with the sound of muscles working. Not mouths.”She retorted sharply, “thoooough...it does look like that flapping mouth of yours could certainly use some training.”Her eye followed his gesture toward the viper at the edge of the circle. He had the familiar slim boned appearance of viper and though full grown, Ayszel assumed, he was already a little shorter than her. His body was made from the unremarkable slippery black and brown of the soil. Her gaze held his for only a lingering moment before she turned her attention back to the man before her.

“By the sssounds of it...you have wronged more than one sssnake with that loossse tongue. How about we whip it in to ssshape?” I have no inclination to be humiliated twice today she promised herself, the Dhani who had fetched her still watching from a distance, the infuriating amused smirk still plastered on his lips.

“Sshall we?”She gestured to one of the broader plateaus from which three long thin stone branches reached out from three of the four edges. The shifting red scales of the loud mouthed man shivered as his lips, as slowly and dumbly as his word, formed an awkward grin.

“We shall see who is in shape,”He replied, arrogantly tensing the muscles that ran beneath his sinewy tan skin. Ayszel would have rolled her eyes had she been less furious,What a stupid lump of snake skin, but a cold content instead ran its way along her tense jaw. I may be no wrestler, but I think you’ll find me trickier than you think little ssssalamander.

As she turned toward the plateau an amused chuckle rippling through the onlooking crowd she flickered her tail at the viper, not bothering to throw him a glance.“You too viper. You can’t run from insssultsss in Zinrah. Face him like a ssnake.”

“Wait wait wait Princccessss....Two againssst one is hardly fair.” He hissed glancing between her and the viper.

“You insssult two, you mussst face two,” she replied contemptuously and added with a smirk,“but you are of courssse welcome to invite another to help you defend yourssself.” She replied. It was a far more tactical sentence than pure goading. A constrictors arrogance will never allow him to ask another for help.... But she was wrong.

He gestured toward another in the group, a smaller and younger constrictor only slightly larger than Ayszel herself. He had the same thick square jaw as the other, though his mess of hair hid a much larger proportion of it. The gesture made Ayszels confident smile falter a moment, she knew she was no wrestler and had been relying on his arrogance to give her and the viper an advantage. Apparently, despite his apparent stupidity, he had caught the tactic in the goading.

“I hardly need another to defendssss mysself, but if you insssissst of picking a fight then you mussst face what you have wrought...” He finally replied after enough moments of silence Ayszel had almost leaped forward to pull his tongue from his mouth in frustration. She replied with a flick of her now fully serpentine body as she climbed the rough edge of the pillar. It was an easy climb in the massive form of her snake body and as she reached the top she slipped back into her half human skin, dragging herself over the last lip.

“You ready viper?”she asked, her glinting green eyes meeting the deep loamy black of his own.

[Rhyus]

Ssacarirhyuss was amused at the verbal tongue lashing the young constrictor woman was giving to the older Arack. However, she made a mistake when she was reprimanding him. She backed him into a corner without anyway of getting out of possible sticky situation. To make matters worse, she decided to bring him into her fight. Rhyus knew it was going to be a bad day for him. Especially when she gave Arack the opinion of choosing another opponent to make it fair. Rhyus knew Arack was a cowardly type of snake. Unless he knew ahead of time that he had no chance against a opponent. Now he or she will have to face a unknown opponent with little knowledge of his skill level in wrestling. Rhyus could only just stare at the female constrictor in disbelief as Arack and his partner laughed to each other as they made their way to the wrestling platform. Before he got his butt handed to him in the wrestling ring. He needed to set something straight with the constrictor before he fought her battle with her. Rhyus stared at the pretty constrictor woman for a tick and said simply, “...Coward? Do you even know me, Beautiful?” Rhyus ran a scaled hand over his scaled head and said with annoyance in his voice, “I don't run from battles. I choose if they are worth my energy to fight them, but since your eager to battle two large constrictors than who am I do question your decision...” Rhyus dark eyes never left her green eyes the whole conversation. He wasn't her servant, so he wasn't going to show weakness in front of her. Rhyus knew from previous spars with constrictors in their Dhani form that he lost most of the time because he could never match their physical strength. In human form, it was a different story because he was much quicker and agile in that form, but wrestling in Dhani form was mostly a test of strength. Rhyus decided to accept his fate and said with a smile, “If I can give you a suggestion, you should face Arack because I won't stand much of a chance against him in my Dhani form. He doesn't have much technique when it comes to wrestling, but he makes up for it in dirty fighting and brute strength. You should be able to counter the dirty fighting because you are a female. I find a way to distract the other constrictor. What do you think?”

[Ayszel]

The shape of the two larger males murmuring to one another, their long muscular tails resting lazily in heaps about them, made Ayszel swallow.
Not even a twitch of anxiety....[i] She murmured worriedly before quickly correcting herself [i]I can’t risk doubting myself..., remembering the moment in the Hundredth Hole when she had self-sabotaged herself through doubt. ...I am strong enough for anything.... she consoled herself, though her left arm, blackened with shale stone, was an aching reminder of how untrue that statement truly was. Though it was hidden beneath the left armed sleeve strapped to her body, it would never be hidden from her memory.

“...Coward? Do you even know me, Beautiful?” His gaze was as unyielding as her own, making the edge of her lips twitch into the shadow of a smile. The irritation in his voice echoed gently over her, as quietly as the sound of his scaled hand moving over his head. “...I don't run from battles. I choose if they are worth my energy to fight them, but since your eager to battle two large constrictors than who am I do question your decision...”This time, her lips twitched downward in annoyance at his condescension.

He must disguise his anxiety just as I do...or is he truly that confident? She thought watching his mouth erupt into a small glowing curve when he looked at their enemy.

“If I can give you a suggestion, you should face Arack because I won't stand much of a chance against him in my Dhani form. He doesn't have much technique when it comes to wrestling, but he makes up for it in dirty fighting and brute strength. You should be able to counter the dirty fighting because you are a female. I find a way to distract the other constrictor. What do you think?”

Ayszel’s reply was given slowly, for she didn’t know where to begin addressing his monologue. Arack... she settled the name in her memory carefully, It was unwise to forget the name of a bully, or truly anyone you meet. It might come back to bite you...and Dhani teeth hurt . Ayszel slid forward slowly, her eyes held his as firmly as tangled bodies in a wrestling match. Without hesitation she slipped into his personal space, placing her mouth beside his ear, a gap so small even a Pycon couldn’t have fit between them.

Placing her hand flat against the breadth of his stomach she continued, her voice as low and quiet as whispering grass, "We value strength of constitution, strength of heart”sliding her hand from his navel along the sensitive gap between the ribs and the plexus to rest in the center of his chest,“You can mock me all you want Viper. We are not foolishly eager for battle, we do not waste our energies and bloodshed on insignificant slights, but neither do we quake as you would from a battle proposed. Our strength of culture and bodies gives us the strength to survive the jungle and the Myrians. Strength saves Zinrah each and every season. You are among the Constrictors now. Here...every fight matters.”

Her hand slid from the center of his chest to his throat. Clasping it slowly, adding each additional finger as she spoke until her thumb pressed the period into the center of his windpipe,“If you don’t learn that soon Viper, Zinrah will suffocate you.” Her hand dropped from his neck to her side, her eyes meeting his again as she backed away slowly. I am so delightfully benevolent, bequeathing so much of my time and wisdom. she thought, delighted with herself for such a selfless display of what was as close to altruism as she would ever come.

“He only disrupted me at my work, if was you he was bullying. Fighting the other is just the same as running away...Don’t you want to make him respect you?”She stated, her question uttered with exaggerated confusion. I knew Vipers were cowardly...but really...this seems excessive .

“I see no reason why I should be able to counter his dirty fighting because of my gender...but it shall be you who fights him.”She stated, deliberately leaving no room for argument,“...You won’t be alone...”she added, allowing a trickle of gentleness into her voice. He was obviously worried about being injured or beaten, but that isn’t what the battle is about. It is about asserting your power. Being beaten might do him some good .

“We’re fighting them together, remember?”She smiled faintly,“Just think like you’re fighting in the jungle. Have my back, and I’ll have yours.”

[Rhyus]

Suddenly, the Dhani woman quickly closed the distance between them and placed a hand on his stomach. Rhyus could only sit there wide eyed as she got close enough to his face that he thought she was going to kiss him or bite him. If it was any other season other than spring, he would have pushed her away; however, it was mating season, so the physical closeness of her body triggered something primal in the back of him mind and body. All he could do was stand there in silence and listen to the young female speak as he stood there paralyzed trying to control his more primal urges. As Rhyus stood in place, She quickly started to recite motivational speech about constrictors' value of strength in there society, but eventually, she brought up his cowardice in her speech. The idea of being thought as a coward by her brought his mind back to reality. Rhyus' dark eyes just watched her green eyes as her scaled hand gently wrapped around his neck, he knew that she was trying to intimate him into action. He decided that he wasn't going to argue with her if she was going to start making passive aggressive threats against him. All he could do was let the female have her fun in silence as his opinion of her started to get worse and worse with each passing tick. When she brought up his idea about the battle plan, he mentally groaned when she totally dismissed it. Clearly, the thought of strategy was not on her mind. She had no intention on fighting Arack the Dhani that she challenged chimes earlier. She was going to let him do all the dirty work for her! If he wasn't in a bad situation already, he would have laughed out in disgust and walked away. However, he was treading on quicksand at the moment, so he decided to refrain from doing something stupid. When she reassured him that he would not fight them alone. It did not give him comfort because she clearly didn't think this plan through. A viper had no chance in Hai in defeating a constrictor in wrestling match in their Dhani form. He needed to get Arack in a more even playing field with himself. Rhyus didn't return her smile and all he could muster for her was a nod of his head. The viper said with little emotion, “Alright I will face Arack, but I will choosse how I fight him. I trusst you can handle the other constrictor on your own?” Ssacarirhyuss didn't let her answer because he already moving towards the earthen platform. When he reached the platform, the viper couldn't hide the look of anger on his face as he reached up and pulled himself onto the platform. Once he was on it, he slithered quickly to the center of the ring and stared up at Arack. Rhyus looked at the large constrictor and said with a nod “Ssso I guesss you are my opponent today, Arack.” Looking at the other constrictor by Arack's side, Rhyus said with nod, “Ssshe will be facing you. I hope you can handle her...” The look of confusion on the males constrictor's face was priceless because he immediately shot a look at the colorful constrictor woman and said simply, “What don't you have the sscales to face me on your own, Princesss? You need to ssend your Pet to face me!” Rhyus was angry, so he cared little for her reaction to Arack's words because he needed to focus on his own battle. However, he needed to show this female that he wasn't a coward either. His pride as a Dhani, hunter, and viper depended on it. When Arack spoke up again, Rhyus clenched his fists, “My friend and I noticed your intimate conversation with the viper, and I wondered if you were going choosse him as your ma....” Rhyus didn't allow him to finish the sentence because he quickly punched the large constrictor in the face. The constrictor wobbled slightly on his tight coil as he tried to stop the bleeding from his lip. Rubbing his scaled hand, Rhyus waited for the constrictor male to turn his attention back to Rhyus. When the constrictor regained his senses, he quickly got into the face of viper. Rhyus looked up at the bully and said with a smile, “Good, I have your attention, Arack...” Pointing his tail in the direction of the colorful constrictor woman, Rhyus crossed his arms and said simply, “Ssshe is not your opponent, Arack! You assked if you wanted to sssee my dance movess earlier. Fine! I will gladly sshow them to you, but could you kindly sswitch into your human form first? Unlesss you are to much of a sssalamander to do it...” Rhyus watched Arack's face contort with rage as he moved towards him. Rhyus wondered if Arack was going to retaliate right there an then, but he said with a bloody smile, “Fine. I will fight you in human form, Rhyuss. I just hope your ssnake enough to face me without ressorting to ssucker punchess.” Rhyus laughed out loud and said amusement, “What can I say, constrictor. I am just a product of my nature. Everyone knowsss viperss are cowardly folk...”

[Ayszel]

OOCThanks for being so patient! This is my first fighting post and I wanted to ponder over it a bit.

Ayszel was pleased with his grim lipped response. Either he’s furious and will take that out in battle, or he was following my commands and will take that out in battle. Either way, I’ll get what I want. Despite the aloof methodical thought process her skin tingled from being so close to the male and her stomach churned with anxiety over the battle.

“Alright I will face Arack, but I will choosse how I fight him. I trusst you can handle the other constrictor on your own?”

“I ca-“can take care of my own side of this mess she wanted to snap. He cut her off with a turn of his body. The attitude made her fangs tremble with annoyance but she resisted the urge. He was going to do what she willed anyway, whether he did it with attitude or not.

The Viper looked like a small lithe child under the overwhelming weight of Arack above him. Long black hair, longer than hers, lay in sheets along his back such that she couldn’t see his expression but could hear his commands.

“Ssso I guesss you are my opponent today, Arack.”Looking at the other constrictor by Arack's side, Rhyus said with nod,“Ssshe will be facing you. I hope you can handle her...” His words tugged a small smile onto her lips. The words made him sound much more like a strong constrictor, and would certainly have antagonized her if she had been on the receiving end, she thought. He was learning fast.

Aracks sharp attractively brutish face met hers, eyes laughing mockingly.“What don't you have the sscales to face me on your own, Princesss? You need to ssend your Pet to face me!”

Her lips had parted so quickly a rebuttal hadn’t properly formed in her head yet. However, it was unnecessary; fists clenched Rhyus swelled in size making Ayszel go quiet. This was part of the fight, and he needed to take care of it. If I step in, I’ll only be undermining what I just taught him. She watched the scene unfold with interest.

My friend and I noticed your intimate conversation with the viper, and I wondered if you were going choosse him as your ma....”A tan fist flashed out, faster than the whipping tail of an Iguana. Arack rocked back on his tail a cut in his lip revealing a trickle of blood down his chin. Ayszel and Arack’s friend didn’t meet eyes, both busy gazing at the posturing before them. Eventually Ayszel drew the constrictors gaze away with her own intense stare.

“Well we shouldn’t let them have ALL the fun.”Ayszel murmured. Slowly, her body stretched out and enlarged forming the long broad bodied form of a full snake. Resembling a Rainbow Boa from the Misty Peaks she would never be as large as some of her breathern, perhaps it was this quality that had left her sympathizing with Rhyus. However, while she was only a foot taller in Dhani form she would have been more than twice his size as a snake, a behemoth.

Aracks friend, yet unintroduced, was closer to 35 feet long and much thicker. A wrestling match between snakes was far more boring to watch than a fight between their Dhani forms to most. It was Ayszels favorite matches. The first snake to get a hold of the other was almost always the winner, thus the wrestling was relatively gentle and more tactical than brute strength, something she doubted this man had much of.

Long pink tongue flicked out, tasting the air before her and drawing in the heat signature of his form. Her eyes were considerably weaker in this form, unable to pick up images in colour or at a distance. However, movement was much more quickly assessed. Her long tail created a wall along the outside of the low pedestal, his was curled beneath him, making her nervous.

While her tail allowed her to interact in her partners fight, allowing them to fight together, his would allow him to place more force behind his movements. With that size, he hardly needed more force.

The battle was begun by Arack who, in his bare naked human form, leaped upon Rhyus. Ayszels tail lashed out, whipping him out of the air and slamming him against he ground in a puff of dirt. She snickered to herself as he rose slowly, dazed.

“Dooosssn’t forgettsss wiessee fightsssss togessser...”She hissed, her thick serpentine tongue making it more difficult to form distinct layers and her soft palette making the flicking motion against the roof of her mouth impossible.

She didn’t have the chance to catch anymore of Aracks anger, his friends coiled tail unravelled as he propelled himself toward her. They were both too large to move their entire bodies about the platform but their upper bodies wove against each other. Ducking under the lunge Ayszels body ran against the cold black surface of the platform. His heavy body landing on her length, drawing her up short.

Hissing in surprise Ayszel froze for a moment. I’m stuck...if he gets his body around me...I’m done...unless...I use that as a brace for my own squeeze...he’ll still have the advantage...but he might recoil before he thinks it through...

Fights didn’t leave much time for ponderous thought, only instinct. Lunging forward she wrapped her body along the red hard scales and squeezed slightly as she felt him exhale. He could slam my head against the ground...or coil around the length he has immobilized....or... She closed her eyes tightly as squeezed, hoping the intimidation of loss would pull him away from her.

When she felt him jerk away from her tensing muscles she released instantly, allowing him to recoil. Perhaps too easily, the shocked look on his face gave way to frustration as he realized what he had given up.