Land of the Big Cats [Amaranta, Sola]

It wasn't what he was made of. He could be made of paper and she could tear him apart or scrunch him into a ball but he'd endure it. At the same time though, he was only focused on making her swallow water. As much as he could to subside her and regardless of how transparent the gambit she made was. He wasn't thinking very much right now. He couldn't even tell you if it was day or night despite staring at sun reflecting in the water.

So without any effort he was blown off her and sky high before careening down towards the dirt with a loud crash and crater around him that left him trying to get his bearings in this mess.

"Ugh. Did she drown yet?"

He mumbled to himself while looking for her against the better judgment of his body. Each injury protesting to his attempt to get up or look around but it wasn't over until it was over for him. He had to confirm what had happened.

Up they went as their bodies went careening in different directions. There was no proper way to tell where he sent sailing and whether or not he was still standing. At the moment, she could only rely on her sensory perception which told her that she was finally free of the monkey on her back. Flying uncontrollably through the air, she collided against the ground, her back crashing against the muddied dirt. Like a bloodthirsty predator, she rose from the ground, wiping the blood from her head as she stumbled forward until she reached his location, flashing him the middle finger as she approached him, prepared to engage him again, challenging him to rise so they could finish this through an exchange of fists.

"Come on, Sola. Get up. We aren't finished yet. I'm not... done showing you who belongs on top."

He stared at her when she came into sight. How the hell was she standing up, shouldn't her lungs be filled with water. Oh well, no rest for the weary and he wasn't going to give up on the last spurt of the race. What kind of wuss did that make him to just collapse before the finish line?

So he forced himself onto a standing position and looked around like he was trying to get his bearings. No water to drown her with, no ears in his hands, and no advantage that he could see.

"Top... Top...Uh."

He grabbed at his soaked and ragged hoodie to try and pull it off him to expose his bare chest. It was just holding him back at this stage but he kept hold of the top like he didn't know where to put it now. She belongs... on top?

Oh. It came to him, assuming she spared him the time and didn't just beat him into a pulp while in this daze, so he threw the his top at her with a loud shout so that it unfurled and blocked him from view. The shout might've conveyed him giving it his all in the throw but it was also meant to hide the sound of his sonido that launched him next to her.

If she went for the top then he'd punch her straight in the diaphragm to make her spew up all the water he had made her swallow. Maybe that would drop her and give him a moment to think.

Now, there were several actions the bronze lioness expected Sola to take. Hell, she prepared herself for those expectations, too. Body set in an offensive stance, feeling herself, full of confidence, she knew exactly what he was going to do---until she didn't.

"!?"

As though in slow motion, the event played out considerably different from what she envisioned. For one, he shouted and threw his dirty top in her face. He used two sounds to fool her into choosing a single action. In addition to that, he showcased something she didn't even know he could utilize - Sonido. Turning around abruptly to defend herself, she felt a firm haymaker strike her dead in the stomach.

Lurching backward, a deluge of water would spill roughly out of her mouth, falling to her knee. Increasing her spiritual pressure, growing enraged, she would use that as her means of resistance now, to earn a momentary reprieve. Oh, how she hated this method, but he hadn't been playing fair, either. Until she could regain her footing, which would be soon, she'd use her spiritual pressure in an attempt to force him to the ground.

"Grghsh! Agh... Fall already! Goddamit!"

It had worked in a sense until he felt her trying to smother him. It worked but he instinctually made sure that he tackled her so that he could keep using her against herself. It wasn't a great idea because it left him at her mercy but in theory her spiritual pressure forced him down, and if she was under him then he was forcing her down too.

It wasn't something he could explain to someone due to his simple mindset. Though tackling her was also the only course of action he thought of to follow up the surprise attack.

"Okay..."

He mumbled into her face while being unable to do anything other than lay on top of her. Maybe he could use a cero? Nah. He couldn't really punch her either. Maybe he got lucky and tackled her back into the water that she was holding herself under with him. It was hard to tell what was going on when her spiritual pressure screwed with his thoughts and body.

"Resilient bastard..."

Resilient didn't even begin to describe it. In a word, he was more akin to a cockroach whose imminent defeat remained elusive. Punishing him within the gravity of her spiritual pressure was enough to shift the momentum back in her favor. It was time to take advantage.

Securing it was another matter, however. His body fell toward her own, limb against limb, with both of them falling deeper into the muddied soul. Compared to her, he wasn't nearly as burdensome weighing down on her vigorous frame. Canceling the rush of spiritual energy, Amaranta rose from the mud, stabilizing her footing on firm ground enough to swing him toward the same area he attempted to drown her in.

Were that to earn purchase to any degree, Amaranta would use Sonido to whiz through the air like a murderous gale, mounting his frame and pressing his head deep into the waters of Africa. Of course, somewhere deep down inside, she still felt that inkling of agitation gnawing away at her. Again, her method of choice, compared to his rudimentary performance, and the effective simplicity it took to put her on edge, annoyed her to no end. Clearly the superior warrior of the two, it should have been a simple task, and he nearly won - twice. Whether her techniques earned purchase, she roughly coughed out the rest of the water in her throat.

"Whatever. Like hell I'll count this as my victory..."

Damn. She knew how to turn the pressure off, unfortunately she was not so stupid as to just pin herself. So with the injuries and spiritual pressure screwing with his head Sola took too long to find his bearings before she grabbed hold of him and subjected him to his own dirty tactic that left him flailing under the water.

He couldn't get her off him like this. He couldn't find her eyes or any part of her to grab and claw at and his strength disappeared with his fading consciousness until he succumbed to the feeling that left him going limp under the water.

His consciousness seemed to fade as his body temporarily went limp. What did he end up imagining down there? A thought rose unbidden in her mind as remained seated atop him much like he was above her moments ago. Pulling him from the water, a rough exhale brushed forth from her lips as she observed his unconscious face.

Again, there was little amusement to be found in her expression. This was no victory for the apex predator. It was a desperate struggle that ended in a desperate fashion. Sure, a fight was a fight, and there was no honor in a battle to the death, but it sure did agitate her that she needed to resort to a gravity pressure technique versus trampling him underfoot. To her, it was a meaningless victory. What could she do to erase it? Well, here he was, drowned in unconsciousness. His hoodie was already gone, so there wasn't much to gain in removing every piece of his clothing, but she was a curious feline. Thus, without restraint, she removed every article of his clothing until she revealed what he looked like underneath. One question rang through her mind.

Did the monkey have a big package or what?