The she-wolf's ears perked as the creature's opponent's name was called. Oust was of a noble bloodline, and a well known one at that.
Stahl admittedly felt a bit put off by the odd beast's recent coldness and silence towards him, and he considered remaining quiet, but as the creature behind the disguise stood to take his place on the stage, the she-wolf gave him both a bit of advice, and a warning. "Don't let him close enough to grab you. You will lose. The Candori family is not to be underestimated."
The beast halted a second, nodded in thanks towards the experienced she-wolf's warning, and walked onto the stage opposite of an imposing white tiger. All eyes in the stadium were on the pair.
Aster knew of the Candori line from his studies per Javis on the famous houses of Alora, and so he knew of their renowned severity in battle. Most of the family fought with their hands, and by the looks of the tiger's studded gauntlets he was wearing, it seemed that held true for Oust as well.
Oust was an intimidating opponent. The large cat towered over Aster, nearly as tall as Stahl, but far more stocky. The tiger's arms were like massive pillars, rippled and corded with powerful muscle.
The tiger's well defined body was covered in a white fur, with black stripes running horizontally along his arms, tail, and back. Along the nape of his neck, and up to the tips of his ears, the tiger's white fur took on an orange tint, Something that had plagued the warrior since his birth.
Aster took a different stance this time, spreading his feet apart and bending his knees a bit, bracing himself as he held his staff in front of him at an angle. This match-up HAD to be taken seriously, and the human planned on giving it everything he had.
"May the superior reign. Fight!" before the judge's outstretched arm had even finished dropping, the tiger had began advancing. He closed the gap between the fighters at lightning speed, swinging his left fist directly at the human's helm.
Aster barely avoided the blow, only to be caught in his midsection by the cat's right gauntlet, the bluntness spell spreading out the force of the blow as it landed, sending searing waves of pain over his ribcage.
Aster was rocked backwards by the attack, barley able to keep himself on his feet by taking a step back along with the force. As the judge called out the tiger's point, the human was still trying to get some of his breath back, a bruise was already forming where the impact landed. If the tiger got in another hit like that in a vital area, Aster knew he would lose.
The judge gave the command to continue, and the boy immediately found himself being rushed by the tiger again. Aster managed to dodge his first blow again, and brought his staff down with both hands just in time to knock away the second fist.
Aster made the most of this opportunity by stopping mid-swing, and essentially backhanding the large cat with the end of his staff, earning himself a point as well, and eliciting a snarl from the tiger.
The judge gave the fight command again, but the cat didn't charge forward this time, instead choosing to size his opponent up for a moment, taking the boy a bit more seriously now.
Aster found himself worried, the brute strength his opponent brandished was hard to deal with, the human had nearly lost purchase on his weapon from parrying the last attack. He would have to use his wits if he had any plans on securing the round.
He tightened the grip on his staff in anticipation. The cat suddenly charged again, crouching down and leaping into a pounce this time partway through, Aster scrambled to sidestep from his trajectory, and barely managed to do so before the metal claws on the tiger's gauntlets slashed the air beside of the boy's helm close enough for him to hear a whooshing sound as it passed by his ear.
Aster took the opportunity to take a step forward after, and swung his pole with his right arm, connecting with the tiger's ribs.
"Point! Mortum!" The crowd surged at the judge's declaration. Aster kept a cool head as the fighters reset their positions, Oust, though, was apparently starting to lose his composure.
As the battle progressed, the ferocity and force behind Oust's attacks rose, Aster soon found himself struggling to even defend himself against the Cat's relentless onslaught, never mind countering it.
The tiger won another two points on the boy, bringing him to three. Aster still only remained at two, body aching where the attacks had landed, with his hopes of receiving another point growing more grim as the battle moved forward.
He had managed to keep the tiger from getting a solid grip or vital hit on him so far, but that was only the bare minimum required to survive this bout. But sometimes surviving something can take everything you've got.
Oust continued his slashing attacks, moving faster than the human could hope to match as he growled in concentration of his fearsome work. Aster frantically matched strikes, desperately struggling to keep the rugged beast's claws from finding purchase on his flesh.
Unfortunately for him, the cat brought down his left gauntlet and snatched hold of his staff mid barrage, ripping it from the Aster's hands. The metal rod rang out in protest as it was discarded behind the imposing tiger.
Oust donned a menacing snarl in delight of his accomplishment. The tiger lunged forward just a bit and abruptly stopped, faking out Aster, making the now disarmed boy flinch and take a step back, attempting to distance himself from the impending beast.
Suddenly, Aster found himself struggling to recover his footing, as he nearly slipped off the ring while trying to back step. The tiger had distracted him with his constant assault and slowly worked the boy into the position he was now in.
This was where experience had shined through in the tiger's favor. Aster had fallen for the trap, He had been cornered. His attention snapped forward in horrible realization as the large cat pounced, arms spread wide to prevent a dodge on either side.
There was no stopping the impending collision, and no way for Aster to counter without his staff. At this rate, he was going to lose. He knew in his mind, the tiger had bested him.
The boy was left with no other choice. He had to use that. Even if it meant undoubtedly exposing his true identity to his spectating father.
Stahl was watching the match closely. She had even been intrigued enough to lean forward, resting her chin on the back of her intertwined hands, studiously observing the progress of the battle before her.
Her weird little buddy was giving a damn good fight, but the sheer force of the large cat was chipping him away slash by slash.
Stahl closed her eyes for a second, sighing in realization before looking back to the arena. This match was over, Mortum hadn't noticed Oust was backing him into a corner to counter the small guy's quick and constant dodging. It was truly an expert execution on the tiger's part.
'A shame though, I was really rooting for this underdog.' She thought to herself just after the creature was disarmed, moments before the cat lunged to secure his ring out. It was at that time, many in the stadium, Stahl included, drew gasps in shock at what they were witnessing.
The weird beast had kneeled down, braced himself and threw up both of his arms, crossing them at the forearms in front of himself, seemingly in attempt to bear the strike; an impossible feat in that scenario normally. However, it appeared there was more still to the boy's hidden ace.
Faster than the blink of an eye, as if it was always there, appeared a golden shield mere inches before the boy. It was translucent in appearance, with curvy white vine like markings on the facing that stretched to encompass the center where a golden hued gem that glimmered as brilliantly as the sun itself was inlaid into the facing.
The moment the shield appeared, the entire arena felt a great warmth emanating forth from the gemstone, bathing all present in the most peaceful feeling of protection imaginable.
Oust soon collided with the golden shield, but the smaller beast was already bending backwards, the shield mimicking his movement, tilting itself, and the cat's projection as the small human braced and pushed with all his strength.
Oust desperately grasped for some purchase, fighting with all his will to find someway to halt his now impending ring-out as he was cast over the boy.
His claws barely managed to snag a hold of the creature's strange helm, but to the cat's horror, the sound of tearing fabric released the skull-like mask from its bearers head.
Shredded ribbons of the wrapping flooded the tiger's vision, as he and the helm he was still clutching onto was launched outside of the ring. The tiger felt his breath knocked away with a thud as his heavy body impacted against the soft dirt.
The crowd erupted into cheers as the shield disappeared as quickly as it came, although, their applause only lasted for a moment.
"RIIIINNNG-OOOUUUTTT! VICTORY, MORT-" The judge stopped suddenly in his declaration, his mind trying to process what was before him as a truly jolting wave of silence befell the Selection Grounds.
There was not a single soul present that day that ever could have imagined what was hiding behind that mask.
Stahl's eyes widened in shock and her mouth fell agape as she leaned forward to inspect the reveal.
She didn't know what exactly was on the stage at that time, and it kind of looked like a small, pale orc in a way, but more than anything, she found herself oddly encaptivated by the sight of the strange creature.
As the stadium around the exposed human quickly erupted into chaos, there was a single onlooker bearing a fanged smile that day.
***