Land of the Big Cats [Amaranta, Sola]

Damn. He walked off for a little bit and then lost Rafaela. Ten rounds in and the damn little lioness ran off now of all times? In reality it was because he could not find her but he was too proud to admit that, a worthy opponent would never escape him so it must be that she ran.

He was so mad that he never got to finish with her and so he had ended up cooling off in the shade of a watering hole among the branches. A big leaf over his face for shade and a scowl as he thought about the one that got away. How was he supposed to improve without any worthy opponents? At least this place was littered with hollows. He'd been pretty fortunate thus far by getting weak ones. The little lady was really eager for the tough ones so he let her have them.

Better to make her even stronger for when he fought and triumphed over her. Alas, now it was all worthless so he let out a frustrated shout into the world around him so that the wind might carry his frustrations and fury to the edges of this godforsaken continent if it could.

What the hell? Where did that shout come from? The bronze lioness cocked her head to the side, entertained by the anger in their voice. Who pissed them off? What pissed them off? How could she piss them off even further? Perquisa allowed her to hone in on the familiar source as she navigated the wartorn plains of this miserable country. Oho. The familiar spiritual pulse elicited an expression of unrestrained excitement as a wild grin tore across her bestial features.

How could she ever forget this bastard? Sola. The punkish pretty boy pulled a fast one over on her, defeated her, and stole her clothing. She didn't even need to think of why he was here. That cry of frustration was probably because he failed to find something worthwhile in this place. In a flash, sonido carried her body from her current location - since she was close enough to sense him - to his own, appearing above him. Descending to the ground with a teasing grin, Amaranta curiously stroked her chin, eager to annoy him even further. If she angered him even more? Even better. They had unfinished business, after all.

"Aw, what's wrong, Sol~? Why are you so angy? Didn't find some worthwhile opponent to kick your ass in Africa?"

"Huh. Oh, it's you."

His words were a lot more straightforward. It had been a rough couple of weeks, you know? Fighting that the shortstacked hollow human over and over. She'd taken bites out of him and he'd returned the favour. Blow for blow, blood and other material saturated with the hollow energy had been soaking on him for weeks. It had made him more primal and bestial towards his former adversary that had since disappeared.

Depriving him of his competition in the process. He had never been allowed to reach the finish line. Even if he didn't finish first, second, or third. He did not finish at all.

"You'll do."

He said with a smirk at the woman that descended closer and closer. If she got too close to taunt him then she'd get a face full of the loose dirt to go on the offence as quickly as possible.

"Oh shit, no foreplay? We're just going straight into it, huh? Fine. Let's dance!"

Now, wasn't that interesting? In the past, he certainly would've humored the trash-talking, but that didn't seem to be the case. Not that it bothered her to any extent. Those terms suited the bronze lioness nicely. That was why she thought so fondly about this twink. He wasn't about words. He was a man purely driven by action. She wouldn't admit it, but it was almost like fighting with a mirror image of herself. One that didn't back down in the face of superior opponents.

Since she was familiar with how this savvy brawler got down, she merely sidestepped any dirt he intended on throwing her away, charging in like a ferocious bull to attempt a headbutt against his face. If that rudimentary blow earned any blood, a long limb would shift in to wrestle him to the ground. The last time they fought he pulled one over on her by challenging her to show her prowess with cero. He wouldn't be able to do that this time.

"By the way, I've been improving on my cero, pretty boy. You won't get one over on me this time! This time, I'll be the one leaving you naked and confused!"

He didn't particularly listen to her and once she sidestepped he opted for something similar without hesitation. Laying on the ground was not ideal and she was every bit stronger than him but he didn't mind that, when you were that strong why couldn't you be your own worst enemy?

Amaranta might be boasting about her growth but Sola had been working on his own things too. That little short stack was good for something in the end besides being a nice piece of eye candy for him to hone himself against. So he gave her a taste of the Banana Palm which gathered his reiatsu into his palm and threw it that spurred the winds into a frenzy that blew him a few metres away from his position.

Ideally she'd smash her head into the ground, maybe even knock herself out. That'd be embarrassing, wouldn't it? Though his opponents so far had taught him not to bank on good luck. Luck was for pussies anyway. He had every intention of summiting her... again, he did like her, the stronger hollow in him wanted more than to just humiliate her.

"Why don't you just get naked now?"

It was pretty weak compared to what he'd normally be capable of. He was far too focused and tense, he was obsessing over her to compensate for the what he'd been deprived of. That thrill of challenging oneself and the loss of that rival with no conclusion. It was like a piece of him had been amputated after all the work he'd put into it.

"Haha! Come on now, don't you want to earn it a second time, Sol? I know you're eager for a chocolate sample and all, but what type of woman am I if I don't make you work for it, hm!?"

Animalistic instinct alerted her to the shift in energy as the man blasted himself away from the position he occupied a moment ago. What was that burst of energy just now? Whatever it was had elicited a wide grin colored with joy. Had Sola improved on his repertoire since they last met? There wasn't much to his skillset outside of dirty tricks and bare-knuckle brawling, but in his hands, it proved quite effective. Effective enough to defeat her in their ongoing feud.

Even so, the notion that he improved to any degree only invited more excitement as she fell forward. Using her hands like a springboard to push herself off of the ground, shooting her body forward like a missile at high speed. Soaring through the air, she lifted her finger upward, positioning it like a pistol as she fired off a cero colored in a fire-like hue. That little blast was meant to catch him unawares while she finished her flight with a roundhouse kick through midair to catch his body and send him flying for a reason separate his new ability.

"Someone's learned something new since we last met! Good, that'll make this victory extra sweet when I'm burying your face in the dirt, and exposing your naked body to the rest of Africa! Come on, show me more of what you've learned, pretty boy!"

"I've already seen it. So I'll just take more this time."

He got out while trying to think of how to use her own strength against her. There was not a lot of time to figure something out so the primitive hollow haphazardly swung palm at the oncoming woman only for the cero to cut through the reiatsu wave that made way for her roundhouse kick to carry him away with a crunch in his chest at the impact.

He grit his teeth and all at once retaliated. She might carry him through the air but they were joined and he'd exploit her strength now. He hooked foot between her thighs and used one of his hands to let out a burst of reiatsu that could roll them. With her foot in his stomach she'd be the first one to have to deal with her head dragging over the hard African earth at the speed she decided to launch into him at.

"Good idea."

Bury her head in the dirt. This lion was full of great ideas.

"Shit...!"

Amaranta's success quickly turned into a setback as Sola locked onto her thigh. Using her momentum against her, he employed his spiritual energy to send both of them spinning. Surrendering herself to the kick proved detrimental, forcing her to eat her words momentarily as the forward momentum loosed her body from his own. Sliding against the ground, Amaranta turned her head in his direction, sweeping the debris away from her multi-colored locks of hair.

"Take more, eh? What going to pound me senseless if I end up unconscious this time? At least take me out to dinner first. Whatever. Have fun if you win. Anyway... Heh, look at you learning new tricks. I'm impressed."

He may have improved since they last met, but her physical prowess was one of her defining attributes as a warrior. Letting him get the best of her in physical combat simply wouldn't do. His momentary victory was just that - momentary. Rising from the ground at full throttle, Amaranta charged forward once again.

Of course, rather than go in for anything resembling a tackle, she decided to employ her degree of martial prowess, swinging her fist forward in unpredictable patterns. Each blow was meant to impede his vision as the rain of blows fell on him with reckless abandon. If he decided to defend against any one of them, she'd simply use the opportunity to sweep her foot under his own and force him to fall headfirst onto the ground, too. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. Blood for blood. That's the way she liked to dance.

It hadn't been his most graceful idea but at least he got away from her and did some nice damage. She was still up and about though which made him give a ragged heave before steeling himself for another clash.

No brilliant ideas though and his caveman brain didn't get any decent prompts from the woman either. If anything the woman had just distracted him with those words when he was looking for inspiration from her and he trusted his tenacity more than his reflexes so instincts brought his body into a defensive stance that was quickly crushed under vastly superior strength.

In no time he was caught up in the flurry of attacks.

"Come on! Is that all you've got!? Show me some more, Sola! Or am I distracting you with the prospect of something nice? Sorry about that one I have that effect on a lot of people."

Catching him in the whirlwind of blows was exhilarating, but it would hardly bear any satisfaction until she saw that effeminate face of his falling into the dirt, too. He wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed when forced under pressure, she noticed, and like a bully trying to assault an unassuming kid for their lunch money, Amaranta pressed her assault with unrestrained vigor.

Strike after strike, she launched her fists wherever he failed to defend until she finally grew tired of pummeling him, swinging her leg forward in a sweeping motion in an attempt to send Sola falling haplessly onto the ground. Whenever that result came to fruition, she would use the opportunity to force him into remaining on the ground by leaping atop him like the apex predator that she was, all to prove that she was the one who stood at the top of the mountain. And the one who sat atop his body.

"If you don't think of something soon, this bout will be over shortly. And then I'll be the one taking your clothing and showing you who belongs on top."