Baldirak v Tahki (2nd Annual Grand Tournament, Jungles of Venus)

The very first Champion, Baldirak was excited to hear the Grand Tournament would be held again this year. And since he was the reigning champion, he decided to enter. Perhaps he would retain his title, or perhaps another would claim it. Baldirak would have fun either way, although maybe another victory would make him more interesting to his mate.

The sun was just beginning to clear the tops of the trees as the EarthWing made his way to the designated battle area. The air was still cool, the moon was still slightly visible, unwilling to give way to the sun. The wind was gentle but not shy; it blew in favor of flight. But there were storm clouds in the distance, glaring menacingly at the Jungles. Baldirak looked down to see an endless sea of trees. The Jungles of Venus. His pale eyes scanned the canopy to find a place to land... He found one. The EarthWing flew down to the lower levels of the Jungle, his paws landing in water rather than on ground. A small waterfall fed the pool he now stood in. The trees were only 40ft shorter than Baldirak, but were dense, not allowing for much maneuverability for such a large Dragon. Despite the shade and water, and the sun's lowly place in the sky, the air was humid here. Already Baldirak found himself uncomfortable.

After standing in the cool water for a moment, Baldirak took to the air again, resuming his search for a decent place to begin the battle. The upper levels of the Jungles yielded much more room to move, slightly cooler air. The trees were taller, as tall as Cosmos and even more so. He noticed that pretty much every tree had large plants on them; when he stopped to observe the plants for a minute or two, he found them to be carnivorous. One gobbled up an unsuspecting bird. Though the storm was busy with another part of the Jungle, a light rain began in the area Baldirak was in. After a few minutes of searching, Baldirak found a decent spot. It was dark in most places, dark enough to hide even an EarthWing. Of course he had no intention of hiding; he was not one to ambush a fellow Dragon. He found a pile of felled trees in a pool of water only about 2ft deep. They had obviously been deposited by a flood. Behind the pile was a cliff that usually housed a waterfall--it had dried up. At the top of the cliff was the reason for it: a huge tree knocked over by a storm. Water lapped at the tree, trying to find a way around it.

Baldirak sat on top of the waterlogged tree pile and waited for the arrival of his opponent. His chosen spot was just below the upper levels, but above the lowest. Light could be found here and flight through the trees for bulky Dragons was possible if they weren't in a hurry. He could be seen from the air from where he was... as long as whomever flew overhead noticed the sudden varying shades of green surrounded by only one shade. While he waited, Baldirak said a few prayers to Astral then tried to remember who he was to fight today.

OoC: Insert my wails of terror and excitement here. Good luck Grand Master Baldirak!! <3

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From afar, Tahki's form had been obscured by the twisting trees as she had been waiting in the upper canopy of the trees. Saving her energy, the bulky IceWing slowly stood up, having seen where the EarthWing King had decided to dive down in order to wait for his opponent to show up. Double checking to make sure that she hadn't disturbed any of the plant life near her- aside from stamping on the one that tried to bite her... She, quite quickly, climbed down to the middle story of the forest. The branches here were thick, protecting her from any assault from underneath her- even if the attack was from the great EarthWing King, his attacks would stand little chance of actually breaking through them. If he did break through, it'd most likely mean a broken limb for him or damaged flesh at least.

Tahki nervously swallowed as she made her way over to him, ensuring to stay up on the second level for her own protection. Below her, she could see through the rays of filtered sunlight that the waters beneath her were trying to flow, the only thing which blocked it being a few branches holding it back. There was around 8 feet of the liquid there, something that she took note of. The branches were easy enough to break for her. But others, she wasn't so sure. She knew the weak spot of them...

Breaking herself out of her own thoughts, the dragoness edged closer to the small clearing that she had scouted out before, knowing how much the waterfall wanted to flow once more. She didn't have the strength to move the tree to allow the waters down, but maybe Baldirak had the capability to send it away. Thankfully though, she was on the opposite side to that. Her eyes could make out the different lump, where the large EarthWing King perched, his claws digging into the logs underneath him. Quite clearly, they were fallen trees as she knew that the area had been cleaned up by a flood some time ago. How did she know? She was bored and decided to explore this forest. But she paused. Yup. King Baldirak. She had fought him once in the past- but, thankfully, he didn't know of her other special ability... Currently, she stood around 80 feet from his form, one last layer of trees and branches between herself and her opponent as she was held high in the trees themselves. She was around 200 feet from the ground, thankfully, the distance didn't bother her. A quick death glare from her sent a plant cowering, knowing not to bite.

Knowing Baldi hadn't seen the action as he was still waiting, she stood proudly on the branches- after ensuring that there was no way he could hit her without her knowing about it.

Goodness, the light down here wasn't the best- but her ice would ensure that she'd know where that King was when the fight finally began.

Her voice sounded, echoing throughout the trees in a fashion so that the King wouldn't pick up her location.

"It's been a little while, Baldirak. From memory, you're my opponent." She stated firmly, before finally finding a safe spot to stand in front of Baldirak in- her form still being held high in the trees, but behind her and to the sides were protected by those awfully thick branches. "Honestly, I was hoping not to have to fight you again, your quite mobile, all things considered..."

The rain clung to the King's scales. It slid across the surface of the rocks and trees, to end up in crevices, puddles, or beneath the ground. Baldirak listened to the pattering of rain drops falling onto leaves, the trickling of water moving between rocks. There was a soft rumble of thunder--distant, but something told the EarthWing it might be headed for the area. And the Baldirak heard a different sound, a voice; a familiar one. So, I'm fighting Tahki. It echoed... but if he had to stake his life on it, he was at least 50% percent certain it originated from behind. In the end, Tahki gave away her position by flying overhead to the trees in front of him.

His pale eyes trained on the bank of the riverbed where Tahki at settled herself. He took note of the thickness of the trees--their proximity to each other and the width of the branches. He also noted that she was only 60ft above him. As he shifted his weight slightly on his paws, he felt one of the trees beneath him dislodge and coiled the thin, whip-like end of his tail around it to keep it from hitting the ground. He didn't want to make a sudden loud noise that Tahki might mistake for the beginning of an attack.

"It has indeed, Tahki. And so, it seems, I am. Yes, I am rather agile for my size, but so are you, if I remember correctly." Baldirak shifted again--the trees were no longer a comfortable spot to sit--but he made no move to stand. "I look forward to this fight. Our last was but a spar, a test to measure your skills. I struck first then, but this time I give you the honor of the first attack." The EarthWing's expression was strangely neutral; it didn't match his serious tone nor friendly demeanor. However, it did suggest a level of focus that had to be bred rather than taught. In his mind Baldirak was already trying to determine Tahki's first move, based on their last fight, and recall any physical weaknesses he had observed then. Focused and relaxed, Baldirak waited for the IceWing's attack.