A Fight is a Fight, No Matter the Rules

B: The battle had come to a halt and in an instant the fighting quelled and only one Haedian remained in the center of the arena; the gray and amber leader of the Brutes. She looked between Antlia, who was catching her breath beside Noka, and Noka herself who gazed back warily. Something about the way Zarod wandered closer had Noka on her toes- it was a trap, she was sure of it. The way all those Haedians on the sidelines eyed between them, the light snickers, the shifting and anticipation in their eyes. Noka widened her stance and snarled her nose, at which Zarod halted. A grin stretched across her lips and she licked her teeth. The face was enough to make Noka’s hackles rise on end as she eyed the leader cautiously.
“Hmph, careful one, aren’t you.” The Haedian leader took a longe for Antlia and Noka’s pile, her long sleek body like liquid as it hopped and weaved between the many rocks in the arena. Noka’s eyes widened a bit at the nearing confrontation, but the held her ground, glancing for Antlia to make her move from where she was. Zarod wasn’t guarding her pile.. There were two of them. But one would have to face the leader herself.

A: Antlia’s sides rose and fell as she took a few deep breaths. She wasn’t used to fighting so hard, but she wasn’t going to back down from the fight at hand. The runner could see the way the Haedian eyed them and then the pile at their feet. Noka was on alert beside her, and she knew that if it came down to it she’d have back up. 

“Better to be careful than to miscalculate your next steps.” Antlia noticed at the same time that Noka did, that the leader of the Brutes had left her pile unattended. She gave a quick nod to the puller and dove in front of the leader. “I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere.” Grabbing an ear and pulling down, she tried to maneuver the Haedian closer to the ground. A paw moved as well, using as much of her weight as possible to help with her feat.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing you little snake.” The leader tried to wriggle free, thoughts of grabbing the golden rocks now in the back of her mind.

“It’s only fair to play the game it’s supposed to be played, right?” She asked, mouth full of fur and ear.

B: As soon as Antlia went for Zarod to distract the brutish Haedian, Noka felt her body hesitate for just a split second before she lunged from her spot and past the two towards the pile Zarod had accumulated. The Haedian screeched in defiance as Noka charged by with her paws drumming the ground. All eyes around the arena were on them and chatter could be heard even over Antlia and Zarod’s struggling.
With a slide of her paws, Noka found the pile and took a big mouthful out of it before turning tail to run back. One tumbled onto the floor as she ran, breaths huffing through flared nostrils. On her way, Noka slammed her side against Zardo’s, shoving the Haedian off her feet before dropping the gold rocks haphazardly on their own pile.
“Antlia, go!” She shouted as she came back for the leader. The runner could get her rest by taking a turn snatching up rocks. Zarod met Noka’s approach with teeth and claws, trying to shove over the mountain of a puller, but Noka’s weight outmatched her and the two went tumbling down in a billow of dust. Noka hated every moment of this trial, and now with a direct face off with the leader she hated it even more. Zarod huffed and snarled and the two clash teeth and tumbled over each other on the ground. Zarod had a grip on her harness with her more dexterous hands, but once Noka got a a good bite on her scruff, the two were locked on each other.

A: The runner’s grip was slipping as the leader fought under her, but shortly after she felt the Haedian start to lose her balance. Noka dropped her pile off and told the runner to go, and she took off as soon as the puller and the Haedian were at each other. She could hear her heart beating in her ears, and the rush of wind that brushed her coat as she ran. The pile was in sight and she dove to grab as many as she could handle.

Antlia shoved some into her satchel, thinking to herself as she scooped some up in her mouth as well. The runner pushed herself as fast as she could back to the two, and dropped her rocks off as Zarod reached to grab her. She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, or if they were timing the game but soon enough she could hear cheering around her. For who though, she wasn’t sure.