Darastrix vs Cassia [J]

[crow.]

Darastrix
vs
Cassia

This fight took place in Cone Grove because Cassia attacked Darastrix for no apparent reason. It is finished and ready to be judged. We do have a preference as to who judges. We would like Lionne to judge. I would also like to say this is gonna be good.

[Lionne]

If my form of judging seems to be ineffective and/or if the chosen outcome does not appease the participants, you may dispute below with a thorough explanation as to why. All opinions will be considered before another outcome will be decided upon.

In the future, please keep in mind that each opponent is allotted one full dodge during the fight. Use it wisely.

CASSIA vs. DARASTRIX

The Stats.

Cassia –

Age: 2 Height: 33in Weight: 120lbs
Battles Fought IC: 01
Items Used During Battle: 00

Darastrix –

Age: 2 Height: 33in Weight: 92lbs
Battles Fought IC: 02
Items Used During Battle:00

Conditions:

Cassia has the advantage of weight over Darastrix, despite both wolves being of equal height. This means that Cassia can throw her weight around, but Darastrix will be slightly faster in battle. Darastrix has already won a battle over Jesk di Vykladei, but this does not give her an advantage over Cassia. They are of equal age, which would lead one to believe they are of equal experience as well. There were no items or armor used in this battle.

The Set-Up.

The black wolf Cassia stalks through Cone Grove in the Pine Forest, hunting for prey that is hopefully larger than a winter-thin rabbit. A fresh layer of snow obscures her view considerably, but soon she spots a creature that she believes to be a deer. Creeping ever closer to it, she readies herself and then leaps upon the creature with teeth and forelimbs outstretched. What she does not know is that this creature is not a deer, but instead it is the white wolf Darastrix. Darastrix hears the approach of Cassia, the black's paws crunching through the snow. Quickly turning to face a possible attack, Darastrix rolls onto her back with limbs stretched upwards, effectively flipping Cassia over her instead of allowing the white wolf to land on top of her. After Cassia regains her upright position, the two female wolves face off before the battle begins.

Round One.

Cassia –
Attack #1.
Cassia charges at Darastrix, aiming to slam her chest into Darastrix's, teeth seeking to bite Darastrix's muzzle and chin. Secondary attack is to slam her shoulder into Darastrix's and an attempt to bite between Darastrix's shoulder blades, wanting to also wrap a forelimb across Darastrix's body.

Clarity: While both attacks are clearly stated, leaving little room for confusion in the way of their intent, it does become a bit hazy as to how Cassia's secondary attack will actually happen. Seeing as to how Cassia is charging directly at Darastrix face-to-face (shown here), Cassia's attempt to slam her chest into Darastrix (shown here) will be successful unless Darastrix uses a dodge to avoid it. But then Cassia states that her secondary attack would be to slam her shoulder into Darastrix's shoulder (shown here), meaning that either wolf would have had to turn themselves or Cassia would have sought to position herself to align beside Darastrix instead of in front of her. Cassia's post does not state where Cassia attempts to go around to the side of Darastrix, meaning that their meeting at the shoulder would depend on Darastrix's untold movements, thus negating the possibility of the shoulder slam, to bite Darastrix's shoulder blades, and/or the forelimb reaching to go over Darastrix's body.
Creativity: There's little that one can do to begin a fight in an outstandingly creative way, and though Cassia's secondary attack would not have been possible, it did show that Cassia is capable of reaching to find any manner in which she can gain the upper hand over her opponent. This shows definite promise, and I became excited to see how she would show this in her later posts.
Realism: An oversight in the positioning of the wolves was a bit of a downer, but Cassia's movements reflect the likeliness of what a true wolf would enact. Not backing down from the challenge, even if it is the result of a mistake made by herself, shows that Cassia truly is the dominant wolf she was portrayed to be.

Defenses.

Eyes narrowed, teeth bared, lowered body, claws in the ground for traction, ears folded back, tail low to aid in balance, stanced with hind-limbs below her, jaw agape and head tilted downward to protect throat, fur bristled.

Injuries.

'One particularly savage claw scraping along the length of her stomach' – received when Cassia was tossed over Darastrix in The Set-Up.

Darastrix –
Attack #1.
Darastrix rushes forward to meet Cassia's charge, coming chest to chest with her opponent willingly. She grasps with both forelimbs at Cassia, attempting to gain a firm hold. She lashes out with her teeth to meet Cassia's biting attacks in the form of a counterattack. Darastrix then outright attacks by attempting to bite Cassia's ear, wanting to gain a hold of the ear, before moving to the side to drag Cassia to the ground. If her grab for the ear fails, there is still a chance her teeth would scrape Cassia's head.

Clarity: Crow's writing style is very factual and concise, stating only what needs to be known about the movements of the character without fluff. This is nice. Darastrix's movements are thoroughly written out during the attack, but Crow does neglect to mention any defenses that Darastrix is using while fighting. It seems that she is leaving this up for assumption, but an opponent could easily take advantage of this.
Creativity: A grab for the ear was unexpected, and proves to be effective in distracting the opponent as well as to potentially blind the opponent with its' own blood. Using her weight as well to her advantage is a good tactic, one which seems to be Darastrix's favorite tactic.
Realism: Accepting that Cassia's initial attack will be effective unless Darastrix can somehow dodge, Darastrix instead takes the damage of the chest slam as well as the biting to her muzzle. Using her forelimbs to maintain her grip on Cassia is true to form for canine fighting, and it goes a step further when Crow mentions Darastrix unwrapping one limb to throw her weight to the side.

Defenses.

Widened stance, lowered head, lips pulled away from teeth. There is no mention of narrowed eyes to avoid injury and/or irritation, and in a previous post the ears were pressed forward to dictate a challenge, which does leave them open for attack.

Injuries.

Bite wounds on her chin and muzzle, leaving the absence of fur and skin. Possible bruising of her chest; not confirmed.

Round Two.

Cassia –
Attack #2.
Cassia mimics Darastrix's movements by grasping with her forelimbs for a firm hold. This is not classified as an attack, but is worth mentioning. After the wolves regain their paws, Cassia shifts her hind end to slam her hip into that of Darastrix: a valiant effort considering her ear was snagged in Darastrix's teeth. As a second attack (the hip slam being the first), Cassia's attack is to Darastrix's hind leg, a bite which seeks to hold but not break the limb.

Clarity: Cassia states how Darastrix's attack effects her, which is nice. There is a moment in which Cassia shows a contradiction, where-in her ears are pinned hard to her head yet Darastrix finds a way to bite it. Besides this, Cassia's post is thoroughly explained and descriptive, giving me a clear view of the positions of the wolves.
Creativity: Cassia's attempted use of her greater weight is good; it shows that Cassia is aware of her character's advantage and will not hesitate to use it if necessary. The black wolf's willingness to rip her ear out of the opponent's jaws shows her determination not to be bested, which seems to be true to character. The fact that she moves to recover possession of her ear even if her hip slam did not work is commendable. Cassia's intent to seize a hind limb shows resourcefulness, the will to use any means necessary to defeat her opponent.
Realism: The fact that Cassia does not grasp Darastrix's limb with the intent to break it is true to a wolf's mind -- they do not fight to kill one another unless completely necessary, and in the case of Cassia vs Darastrix this is definitely not the case. As such, Cassia's grab for Darastrix's hind leg is consistent with a wolf trying to down its' opponent, which would bring about a definitive victor in most cases. Her movements show a clear view of the positions of both wolves.

Defenses.

Ears pinned, claws clenching the ground.
Injuries.

Claw scraping on her belly. Bites to her lips. Puncture and tear in an ear; which ear is unspecified.

Darastrix –
Attack #2.
Darastrix uses her shoulder in an attempt to push her opponent off her paws.

Clarity: Darastrix first attack is unclear as far as positioning. Crow states that Cassia moves around Darastrix (though Cassia actually swings herself around to align beside Darastrix before pulling her ear out of Darastrix's mouth and then backing away) but then moves on to state that Darastrix uses her shoulder as a battering ram without clarifying where this attack is intended to land. To my understanding, this figure shows the positioning after Cassia swings herself around, and then this figure shows the positioning when Darastrix goes for the shoulder slam. This post proves to be even more confusing to me as Crow goes on to state that "her opponent swinging 'round to face her once more, assumedly the result of the white wolf's leap". This positioning would be due to Darastrix swinging around, not Cassia. Then Crow states that Darastrix had "turned in on herself", which was a clear contradiction to her previous paragraph.
Creativity: Darastrix proves to be a quick thinker with her shoulder slam, not waiting for Cassia's attack to follow through before retaliating. She also shows a resilience in forgoing her own injury to her hind leg, intent on returning the favor by reaching for Cassia's front leg. This goes beyond what I have learned about Darastrix as a character, showing that she can forget morals when her opponent has done so before.
Realism: Darastrix shows a clear weakness in the rear limb which had been previously injured, no matter if the wound did not break skin.

Defenses.

--

Injuries.

Superficial scrapes to her hind limb; which limb it is goes unstated.

Outcome.
There is no victor. This fight has ended in a draw.
Despite Cassia's more severe injuries, both wolves show creativity while their role-players have both foregone the study of position before serious attacks. This was a close fight, and in the end it was difficult to ascertain a victor. This is not my reasoning for calling this a tie though -- that instead has been decided from the fact that both are evenly matched, and in the end neither wolf was downed. Neither wolf cowered and submitted, but instead they simply decided to end the fight in a mutual manner.