(Collab post by Voidus and Winter, Commentary by Winter)
Savannah blinked through his confusion, an array of bright colors assaulted his eyes, pink and purple hues of an eye-wateringly bright shade appeared everywhere. The assault on his eyes was so much that it took him a moment to notice the cold feeling in one hand. Ice cream? They expect me to fight with ice cream? Dropping the cone in disgust, obviously another taunt from Soulcaster as punishment for the scene in the bar, Savannah shifted his body. Dropping to all fours as his limbs changed, fur sprouting from skin, claws from his nails. he let out a screech towards his opponent, and only then did he notice his final humiliation. It seemed that even as a cheetah he would be forced to fight in a bright purple tutu.
“And Savannah over there. Looks like he’s afraid of a little icecream cone, so he sheds his skin to fight in a tutu covered leopard. It’s staying on too, no escape from the tutu attack for this leopard.” Olivia prattled on, ignoring the fact it was a cheetah. “Warmup over there, looking a tad bit annoyed, though he’s still holding the ice cream. Looks delicious too. Mmm. This is a definite innovation on the arena battles, is this going to revolutionize the fighting? I hope so!”
Humilliation only compounded further as a female voice surrounded the stadium, commenting on the humiliation of both contestants. Savannah let loose a low growl, tempted to try to find the commentator and see how they liked being forced into a tutu. No, no harming the Commentators, if this is what he does for waking him up I don’t want to know what happens if I do anything to interrupt his precious arena battles. Levelling his gaze back at his opponent, Savannah sized him up. He knew they both had some form of enhanced speed though he didn’t know what his opponents other abilities were, hopefully the same was true of his opponent. In a moments lull in the commentary Savannah bounded out of his starting position, clawed feet finding surprisingly good purchase on the ground considering its composition. He circled around the edge, trying to flank his opponent as he watched the ice cream melt around Warmups feet. Preparing to leap straight for his opponents throat and end his humiliation Savannahs jaws closed only around empty air as Warmup leaped a good dozen feet into the air, landing on Savannahs back before jumping again, the force of Warmups jump nearly breaking Savannahs spine before sending him sprawling into the cotton candy floor. Thankfully it provided some measurement of cushioning, preventing the worst of the injury. Seems like this arena has some tactical benefits as well as just being completely ridiculous.
“Ooh, and that leopard’s getting a little temperamental.” Olivia smiled, though she was nervous. Hope he knows that he’s not allowed to hurt me. “Warmup’s melting his ice cream and it’s dribbling all over his shoes. Slippers, I might say. Adorable. Now Sav's going on offense. Taking full advantage of the softness of this arena, now it's time to cuddle. Didn't think about those long, um, calves of Warmup, did ya?"
Doing his best to block out the laughter of the crowd, Savannah picked himself up, moving at a slow trot around the arena. It seemed that his opponent had fully enhanced leg strength not just speed. Not much of a distinction but enough to make a difference in this fight. Given that there was almost no water in the area other than the people anyway it didn’t seem like Savannah would get much use out of his secondary unless this fight dragged on. Still it never hurt to try, maybe a little drymouth would prevent Warmup from being able to dodge quite so quickly. Feeling the moisture in the air begin to flow towards him, Savannah realized something else. Cotton candy it seemed did not seem to respond well to being drenched with water. The pink fluff beneath his feet had begun to turn into a sticky mess as the he let the water drip around it. Savannah smiled. Or at least, the cheetah equivalent. Pulling as much water from the air as he could, Savannah drenched the arena floor, causing the cotton candy to melt slightly, sticking to his opponent’s feet.
Taking advantage of the distraction he took another leap at warmup, this time landing just in front of him instead of going straight for the neck he managed to catch the Epic in mid jump, teeth tearing through the thin layer of skin protecting his ankle. Savannah tasted blood.
"Sav's getting wet. And that cotton candy's soaked. Shame. I wanted to eat that. Wow, Warmup's stuck. Jump, Wormup, jump!" Olivia paused for effect. "Now, jumping in the air too slow. The leopard's grabbed your ankles." Micro had decided to let her commentate this one by herself, because he wasn't jumping in. Soulcaster might give him a hard time about that. "Ouch, that would hurt. Good thing he's sparking, eh?"
A moments victory was all that Savannah was allowed, a second after his teeth bit through the skin a warmth suffused his mouth. Too warm for mere blood to explain. A second later he released Warmups ankle with a howl, burns scarring his mouth. As he dropped to the ground, shape shifting back to his human form in reaction to the pain he felt hands gripping his throat. Hands that began to burn.
“Well, that looks like it hurt. Now the table’s turned on the leopard, Warmup the Human Sparkler seems to have taken the victory as his, marching over towards the leopard, who is now in human form yet again. Make up your mind, leopard. Does that hurt? Are you on fire? Do you want some water, kitty cat? Or perhaps some milk?”
Savannah tried to ignore both irritants, the scolding hot hands slowly choking the life from him and the commentary, destroying his reputation as a predator. Wait. Milk?
Looking down, Savannah spotted the puddle of melted icecream that Warmup had created in the first moments of the fight. Somehow the Epic had nearly defeated Savannah while barely moving from his starting position. Grabbing a handful of the warm sludgey mixture of cotton candy and melted icecream, Savannah threw it behind him, getting a gloop of the mess onto Warmups face, causing the Epic to release him in surprise. “Well, now it looks like the kitty cat’s getting ready for a food fight. What’s next for Warmup? A warmed up cone?”
Grabbing the confused Epics mouth, Savannah pulled all the water he could into his hand, effectively drowning Warmup. What now? Warm it up and it’ll just become steam. Burning hands struggled to remove Savannahs, but he gritted his teeth, pulling some of the water into his arms to cool them down. The strange mix of cool water and burning heat from Warmups touch was distracting, but all he needed to do was hold on. Just hold on. The grasping became weaker, arms flailing about as Warmup steadily lost consciousness. The arms finally fell limp completely, the gurgling from Warmups mouth slowed, then finally stopped. Savannah held on for another count of five before finally removing his hands accompanied by a short burst of steam. The crowd seemed to still be expecting something. Savannah took his cheetah form once more, limbs tired, skin burned, mouth horribly scarred, Savannah let out a wild roar for the crowd, biting deeply into warmups neck to finish the job. Blood flowed from the wound, its warmth providing a pleasant comparison to the former burning that had filled his mouth the last time he’d bitten into the heat Epic. Tearing out a large chunk of flesh, Savannah threw it into the crowd to applause, a few spectators trying to catch the bloody piece of sinew. Savannah grinned, the feral expression still strange to see on his feline form. But he’d enjoyed his first experience in the arena, even with all the absurdities and humiliations. Then he looked down and noticed that though blood spattered, he was still wearing that sparking tutu. Well maybe next time his victory would be somewhat more dignified, but for now, a win was a win.
“Now, the sparkler’s a little frustrated. He’s falling unconscious. Now, completely to the ground. What happened? Apparently the cat’s happy about this. Still, a somewhat disappointing ending. Good enough. Good enough. The crowd’s still silent and now… now… the cat’s a leopard again. Finishing the job with a tough bite, now that’s impressive. Throwing it and it has been caught!” Olivia nodded in acknowledgement to the spectator, though he probably didn’t realize it would vanish.
“Congratulations to Savannah on a victory. Everyone, applaud the kitty cat!” The crowd roared in applause. Olivia nodded and stood up. “Next time, see Supermaximus versus Substance! I’ve been Olivia Cipher and this is Micro. Come back next time to see what happens in Salem!” The cheers grew louder and people rose to their feets.
