Playing the game: open

[lamiae ♥]

Boom. Boom. Boom.

It echoed in Lamia's ears, as if it were taking place in her brain. Like a thunderous clap, the roaring of the crowds grew. Humans, large and skinny, pretty and grotesque, sat in the crowds. Some on their feet, others sitting. In their foolishness they waved around their arms, as if picked up by a puppeteer, and spilled their food and drink.

Day had turned to night as the baseball game raged on. Professional? Not at all. It was a meer gathering of goons playing a rather violent version of this so-called "fun" game. Foolish, they were. Having something hurled at you was fun? Throwing it away to divert potential attackers was fun? Rushing yourself to a white spot in the dirt when an obvious opponent stands waiting there for you is fun?

Lamia might have thought so, should she have noticed the game.

Instead, her attentions were grasped by a gathering of cats. Here, under the sickly stands of the crowd, a gathering of possibly ten or twenty cats there was. but one could never know for sure. Most of the cats go their seperate ways from the stands. Smart as those cats were, Lamia was interested in the happenings of tonight's gathering.

A smokey gray, large male stepped forward to the center of the group, a scar across his eye drawing immediate attention. His name? Who the hell cared. All they knew was he was the one who brought together this band of cats, and by the looks of it, he could definitely break it apart even if all were against him. He lifted his chin slightly, a sign that screamed silence in the most unusual way. Immediately, the meows of felines ceased.

"Listen up, you four-legged shit-covered rats asses. Our purpose here tonight is simple. A brawl between cats from all allegiances. Should your blood drop to the ground, you are immediately banned from these gatherings. Should you succeed in bleeding your opponent, you earn the highest level of authority at these gatherings. This means outside your allegiances, the ultimate winner here is like your dominant. Fight wisely." And like the smoke he was, he turned and disappeared into the group of cats like he was a god.

Immediately the matches for the first round were paired. As one of the few females that had come tonight, the boys started whispering "easy take-off" as she approached the ring. Lamia just smiled, encouraging their doubts.

It was time for Lamia's first match, against a puny she-cat. A brown tabby who wasn't totally on board about coming tonight. Lamia had seen her. An Aztec. Her much braver friend, a regular to these gatherings, had dragged her along to the gatherings over the past couple weeks. The tabby, however, was a reccessive soul who couldn't disagree with her friend, so when her friend forced her in, she didn't put up an argument.

Lamia felt mildly pissed that she was paired against something so pathetic, but at least she could take the "undedicated" out.

As a scruffy black cat declared the start of the fight, Lamia padded forward, completely mockingly, and sat down in front of the she-cat. A smirk crossed lamia's face, her blue eyes burrying into the she-cat's. Fight me. Take a swipe. She dared her mentally.

Taken back, and obviously a bit insulted, the tabby raised a paw and swiped. Lamia, soberly, leaned to the side, avoiding the blow completely. Distressed, the tabby swiped with the other paw. Lamia crouched low. Smiling up at the tabby. she mocked her from her crouching position. Enraged and shaking, the tabby parted her jaws and went for Lamia's neck. She had forgotten, however, to cover her belly. Lamia saw the opening and leaped, bowling over the tabby like a flower. Frightened, the tabby shrunk so small Lamia was sure she'd burry herself into the ground.

Lamia leaned down to her ear and whispered "Don't worry. This will only hurt a little bit." mockingly. With that, Lamia revealed her fangs and gently pushed them into a small vein on her paw. As blood welled up hot and salty on Lamia's teeth, it slowly ran down to the down turned side of the tabby's paw and, finally, dropped to the dirt.

"Winner: Lamia!" the scruffy cat shouted. A roar of cats mixed with the roar of people. And as it thundered into lamia's ears, she gave a purr and walked out of the ring.
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[t/h/u/n\d\e\r]

<sub>Across the ring of felines, a long haired golden tabby sat, staring at the fights that went on before her. As a Healer, she despised seeing cats intentionally fight and harm one another. As a carnivore, she relished the chances to improve her skills. She crouched low as Lamia went up against the smaller tabby. She knew when the battle started who would win; the smaller tabby was no match against the lean, battle-toned Lamia.

Thunder flicked her ears as the smokey tabby padded over to her, and sat in front of her, blocking her view of the fighting. ”Well,” he began, staring down at her, ” are you going to be joining in the fighting? Or are you just going to be sitting there like a lump on a log?” Thunder’s unusual green-blue eyes flashed as she sat up.

”I’m not a huge fighter, you know that.” she spat, her ears folded back, yet she couldn’t help but look over at the matches going on now that Lamia had won. The small tabby had limped away, favoring her injured paw, and Lamia was busy basking in the praise of winning as another set was fighting it out.

More human cheers went up as someone thundered past, dangerously close to them. Thunder looked out onto the baseball field and noticed with distaste that the humans were still at it. Something that smelt like year-old rat landed next to her, with something that looked like blood, and something yellow sitting on top of it. Thunder curled her lip and turned back to the tom cat that waited expectantly.

“You should fight.” he encouraged. “Even if you’re a Healer, you still know how to fight.” his eyes sparkled, ”and I know you can. So don’t give me this bullshit about not fighting.”

Thunder growled at him, and got to her paws. ”Fine,” she mewed, ” who would I be fighting if I fought?” Her tone was bland; uninterested. But in truth, she was dying to know who she’d fight. It wasn’t often that she got the urge to fight, but when she did she relished it.

The smokey tabby’s lips peeled back showing his yellowed teeth and he mewed darkly, ”Well I figured you could fight Lamia.” He mewed, twisting around to look at the she-cat that had just won a match. Thunder followed his gaze and locked onto the other cat’s features. Thunder had heard the rumors about the Siamese, though she refused to believe rumors without evidence.

The golden tabby looked again at the smokey cat. ”Fine.” she mewed, ”Put me up against her next. I’m ready for it.” with that she walked away from the tom, going over to the circle of cats and melting into their ranks.</sub>

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