Round 1 Rainshadow (Lonna Bowstripe) vs. Daniel of Redwall (Ballista the Fierce)

[BrookSkimmer]

Rules:
You have one week from today to put up at least three posts for judging.
If you make more than three posts you must signify which posts you want judged.
All posts must be at least three sentences long.

Do not:
auto-hit (posting hits on anyone's character. Post your attacks and the other person will respond with whether the attack connected or not. Receiving a hit does not mean you will loose the match.)
God-mode (make your character so strong that nothing can hurt them)
Mary-sue (make your character perfect in every way)

First come, first served for posting. Your first post may or may not include an opening attack.

Have fun!!!
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The quarry at twilight, an eerie place. The wind gusted through the soft stone and caused flurries of dust to rise. The area had been lit by torches in sconces, the light flickering and dancing as the wind played with it. A wide part of the quarry was roped off as boundaries for dueling contestants. The roped area included a pile of large boulders, an open sandy area, and sheer rock walls. High on the edge of the quarry rested a small booth in which the tournament judges watched.

A voice echoed down to the contestants. "Round one! Lonna Bowstripe vs. Ballista the Fierce! Begin!"

[Rainshadow]

  Lonna Bowstripe was standing in the centre of the arena, not caring if he could be seen or not.  "Come out and face me if you dare!"  His eyes searched the quarry, looking for his prey.  In one paw was his bow, with an arrow already on the string.  He smiled at the thought of having an arrow go through his enemy's throat.
 It was only then that Lonna realized how cruel and brutal that thought seemed.  He hesitated and let down his guard.

OOC: Judge this one (these requests were PMed to me by Rainshadow)

[DanielofRedwall]

"Come out and face me if you dare!" barked the badger.
"Challenge accepted," whispered a cool, snarling voice from behind.

Out stepped Ballista the Fierce in all his magnificence from the shadows of the duelling area. He looked a striking figure in his black coat and with his deep blue eyes which displayed his intelligence. The tall ferret was lean and agile, and very handsome. He stared at his opponent and drew his marvellous basket-hilted rapier.
Holding the rapier in his left claw, he made slow, pacing advances towards his rival. He stopped within a stone's-throw distance from the badger and growled menacingly, "Fire at me, stripedog!"

OOC: Please use this post for judging.

[Rainshadow]

  Lonna looked at his opponent, sizing him up.  Ballista was a majestic ferret, probably the best a ferret could look.  He was most likely very intelligent; that's what made Lonna nervous.  He had been hoping for an easy kill, like the Searats those long seasons ago.  This was apparently going to be a long battle.

 "Fire at me, stripedog!"
 "As you wish," Lonna replied.  He pulled back the string, sighted down the arrow and fired.  "EULALIAAAAAAAA!!!"

[DanielofRedwall]

While Ballista was expecting the shot, he was caught a bit off-guard by the ferocity of the badger's warcry. As a result, he was slightly too slow to duck, and the arrow wizzed over his head and made a bloody hole in his left ear. If he had walked any closer before making his challenge, that arrow would have gone right through his eye. He grimaced a bit, but tried to not show it too much- any sign of weakness could be used to the advantage of his opponent. Inside, the ferret punished himself- he'd have to be more careful.

His mind then turned to his next task- getting closer to the badger without making it easier for him to fire a shot at him. Ballista was intelligent, and his quick thinking didn't let him down. He pulled his black cloak all around his body to blend in to the shadows of the quarry. He then snuck around as close to the edges of the duelling area as he could, hoping to get behind the badger and thus be able to thrust his rapier in to Lonna's back. But, again he wasn't careful enough. He stepped on a twig, which snapped loudly. He threw himself on the floor, hoping his adversary hadn't heard it.

OOC: Please use this post for judging.

[Rainshadow]

  Lonna looked around for the ferret.  His smart opponent had hidden himself, of that Lonna was sure.  Lonna had his bow drawn with an arrow at the ready, and he was looking around for Ballista.
 "Where are you, ferret?  Are you too coward to come out and fight?"
 Lonna heard the snap of a twig and immediately turned around, pointing his bow at what he soon realized was just a rock.
 "Trying to mess with my mind, are you?  That will not work on me!"
 All of a sudden, Lonna felt a sneeze coming on.  He tried to hold it, but to no avail.
 "Ah, ah, ah, choo!"
 He accidentally let go of the bowstring and the arrow shot off.

  OOC:  Please use this post for judging.

[DanielofRedwall]

Ballista lay on the ground, not daring to move. He heard the badger call out and heard him turn in his direction. Holding his breath, Ballista cursed himself inside. Suddenly, the twang of a bowstring being released echoed across the quarry. Ballista peaked out and saw the arrow flying towards him. He cried out as the arrow buried itself in to his footpaw. He pulled the sharp arrow out and, disregarding any sensible thought in his brain, he charged at the badger, rapier held out in front, snarling ferocious words.

[Rainshadow]

  Lonna heard a cry of pain and thought to himself, I found my target.  He was pulling another arrow out to shoot again when he saw the ferret charging at him, shouting out threats and other such things.
 "You should watch your mouth," said Lonna, before shooting another arrow at the rapidly approaching foe.  He then did a side-jump and rolled out of the way, grunting as a rock scraped his eye.  Putting a paw to his eye, he turned to see if he had hit his enemy.

OOC: For judging

[DanielofRedwall]

The arrow found its target. It buried itself just below Ballista's right shoulder, wounding him severely. But he pulled the arrow out and, clutching the open wound with his right paw, continued to advance. He was in pain, and a lot of it, but he couldn't let that stop him. He was within arms length of his foe when he made his next move, thrusting is rapier out at the opponent, aiming for the heart. The move wasn't as strong as he had hoped it would be due to the continual bleeding, and after making it he collapsed on his knees, dropped his rapier and breathed hard as he felt his consciousness lose him.
OOC: Please use this post for judging.