Apex vs. Sirya - Can I Get a Volunteer?

[CyanDimitrik]

Off-Canon Match
Standard Match - Win by Pinfall, Submission, or KO
Non-Standard Setting!

VS

Deep in the jungle, there exists an outpost of sorts. This outpost shelters travelers, but its main export isn't goods; it's entertainment. Most who come here come to see wrestling. People pitted against each other for for their amusement and the fighters' glory. Of the fighters, there are a few regulars who've made this sport their life - among them, one anthro skunk that goes by Apex. He's been pegged to wrestle someone different today. He couldn't say who, however, as he's never seen them before. In fact, likely no one has. As it happens, the roster needs a little padding every now and again, and sometimes a little more life needs to be injected into the events. To that end, the people working the arena periodically need to go... scouting, shall we say, for new talent to throw into the ring.

Regardless, the skunk is already in position in the squared ring. Wearing drab brown trunks and zilch else, his sleekly-toned body is largely on display for the roaring crowd as he walks the rope perimeter from corner post to corner post. His arms raise, keeping them riled while they await the new arrival. Apex, himself, never really cared for these situations. He's fine with brutalizing and dominating a willing participant in the ring; they signed up for it, after all. And it's not like they weren't getting something out of it either way. But putting someone in who didn't want to be there? It always left him feeling a bit guilty.

Granted, the 'headhunters' were pretty good at finding strong opponents. And the point of it is to entertain the crowd and amass fame and fortune, so the guilty feeling was usually fleeting. He could always make nice after the fact. But until then, he has a job to do and a role to fill. And that role is one of savagery-meets-finesse, to give the audience as much an eyefull of domination that they could handle. It's not like he didn't enjoy that, himself.

Finally, the skunk moves back into a corner at the attendant's behest, pushing against his white-furred chest. With a smirk, he leans into the corner post and rests his arms over the top ropes at either side, waiting.

[CaptainL]

Soon enough, the brushes rustled, and two tall figures emerged, each bearing spears in one hand, while the other clutched one end of a bag - those hands in question hanging on rather tightly; as the bag was in the midst of shaking and rustling rather vigorously. Whatever was inside clearly wasn't agreeing to being brought along, and it had a fair amount of energy, too. All the same, despite the efforts it didn't seem to have much luck in freeing itself from its containment. A low and angry growl came from within as one of the captors smacked the bag with the blunt end of his spear, the gesture not doing much good in containing the agitation of the evidently unwilling catch.

The crowd parted with a sound of applause, allowing the hunters to approach the side of the ring, where they finally dumped out its contents, revealing a girl of slight build and short stature, rubbing her head as she tumbled onto her rear. Clad in assorted scraps of animal hides and thick furred boots, the young woman certainly seemed as much a product of the wilds as her opponent, even if she was human. This was in turn betrayed by her attitude, as she quickly voiced her complaints.

"Hey!" she shouted, starting to get to her feet. "What gives? Why're ya all gotta be so loud? Pipe down already!"

Then her attention turned to the...creature standing in front of her, and Sirya had to tilt her head to make sure she really was seeing what she thought she was seeing. It was either a very tall upright weasel, or a really bizarre-looking ape, but neither was anything she could recognize, let alone know what to do with. She blinked a few times, but quickly shook herself as her eyebrows pointed down in a glare before she jabbed a finger in the beast's direction. "I don't know what you are, but I better hope you taste good!" she announced. Truth be told, after expending as much energy as she had, Sirya had worked up an appetite, and she knew well enough that where there were animals, there was meat.

[CyanDimitrik]

Apex was used to all manner of entrances, some to cheer, some to boo (usually as his receptions went, anyway), and when it came to the more unwilling participants, fussing and protests. He had an image to project, so he wouldn't be showing her any kindness in the ring. And yet, at the same time:

He blinks.

The girl they brought was small. Small enough to qualify as "smol", in fact! But the attitude was much bigger than her personage would suggest. And moreover, did she just threaten to eat him!? What the actual Hell is up with this girl? He's a people! You don't eat people! They don't allow killing in these matches, anyway!

"I'm a skunk, you idiot," he snaps back at her. "And you just made sure I don't go easy on you."

Apex leans out of the corner and approaches the center of the ring. "Do you even know how to wrestle? Get in here."

The officiator is quick to pick up the hint and hurries over to Sirya's side. "The goal is to make him submit to you or pin him on his back for three seconds!" And then he goes into a longwinded spiel on technicalities that most take for granted, such as - you know - not killing each other.

[CaptainL]

"A skunk? Yeah, you look like one all right. And you stink like one too!" came Sirya's response to her opponent's proclaimation, punctuated by her balling a fist and raising it as though readying a punch. Still, being a good deal smaller than he was, the threat didn't seem all that believable, and a few snickers went through the crowd. Sirya's less than brilliant command of rhetoric didn't do her any favors, regardless. All the same, the girl didn't seem particularly bothered by the reception, or at least she didn't pay it much heed. There were other things to concern herself with, now.

But then...did he have the gall to insinuate Sirya didn't know how to fight!? That was what got to her. She stomped her foot on the mat, snorting with rage as she stared the skunk down with both fists balled at her sides. She didn't survive for nineteen years amidst the wilds, hunting wild beasts to survive, and not always with weapons, just to have him talk to her like that! "Rrr...FINE!" she snapped. "I'll show you!" She wasn't even all that perturbed with the fact that this creature had just spoken to her. That was less remarkable than him talking down to her. That, on the other hand, was a dire sin.

Someone ran over to the girl's side and began explaining the rules, but it would only go in one ear and out the other. Sirya couldn't care less about technicalities like this. As far as she was concerned, the spiel was just an annoyance. At least fighting things could offer some excitement. Cutting the man off in mid-stream, Sirya let out a loud shout of "SHADDUP!", and with the same motion, swung a punch as hard as she could into Apex's stomach. It was well time enough to get this going.

[CyanDimitrik]

Did she just make a stink joke? Did she just cross that line?

As it happens, Apex's shucking of that stereotype is a point of pride for him. It's also the thing that burns him more than anything; a hotbutton to berserker mode, really. And were it not likely to have some splash-back resulting in the officiator getting clobbered in the process, he would've lept at her in that moment. But he's had to wait.

Hands ball into fists. Muscles visibly tense and tighten. Dark purple eyes narrow. No more words, he has to hurt her now. And as soon as the officiator has been shoved clear, he lunges in to begin that exact onslaught. Unfortunately for him, she seemed to've been intending to do the exact same thing. Her fist drives into his stomach, her knuckles meeting solid six-packed abdominals. "Hnf..!" But he's not relenting, and having a hard body has its benefits. The first punch of the day isn't going to stop him more than a jolt.

His hands reach to seize her narrow shoulders, and if he grasps onto her, pumps his left knee upwards to drive into her own stomach in retribution!

Meanwhile, the poor little officiator is flailing to signal the start of the match. Hammer strikes metal. *DING*

[CaptainL]

Sirya could see her opponent starting to go tense, and it caused her to smirk a little. She had to admit, there was something uniquely fun about pissing people off. And if it got Apex to take her seriously, so much more the better. If nothing else, at least she could claim that the two had gotten even.

She wasn't about to wait to get the match underway; she needed it now. Her punch went flying, going to collide with Apex...and honestly it didn't do very much. His musculature absorbed most of the force, and all that the wild girl ended up accomplishing was making herself angrier. "Hey! Come on, that had to hurt a little!"

Well, it did accomplish something else: it set up Sirya in the right position, bent forward over Apex, to put her in the right place for his next attack, as he could easily grab a hold of her shoulders and send his knee straight into her gut. Sirya bucked back with a cough, her legs wobbling under her, though she quickly found her balance. She sputtered and shook herself, trying to come to her senses as she looked back up at her opponent with a glare.

"Fine! I'll show ya!" she snapped, accepting that the skunk wasn't playing around. As he stepped back, Sirya threw herself against him, with intent to try and tackle him.

[CyanDimitrik]

She isn't wrong. It did hurt a little. But Apex wasn't going to give her that satisfaction, and it wasn't enough outward force to halt his advance! When it comes to most opponents, he doesn't have enough of a size advantage to be considered a juggernaut. With this bizarre wild girl, however, it may start to look that way. He's fine with that. He just needs to keep that pressure on and make sure she knows she mis-stepped by ticking him off!

She's tougher than he expected at first blush. He's fine with that, too. It'll make for a more interesting match if she doesn't fold up and start crying after the first blow. So the fact that she's not wallowing after taking a knee to the gut is a good sign. The fact that she's still on her feet and sassing him, that's even better.

Apex continues to close on her, but she takes the initiative again! This time, she's throwing herself at him bodily. Rather than retreat or dodge, he's briefly stunned by the cocky attack. He's bigger than her. He's probably more visibly toned than her, too. Could she really be so confident? That's how it's reading to the audience, and that's something he can work with. As soon as her body thumps into his, his arms latch around her waist! The impact is enough to stagger him back a couple steps, but he catches himself on heel.

The audience's cries become louder. They know something about Apex that Sirya doesn't. One of his favorite things to do with an opponent is bearhug the life out of them - metaphorically! And she just fed herself right into his wrenching vice!

The streamlined muscle of his arms begin pumping, squeezing Sirya's trim body into his. Her belly is mashed hard into those six-packed abs she'd punched a moment ago, her breasts ground against his firm pecs. The pressure only mounts up by each passing second, with every exhale he feels escape her body.

"Making that crack about skunks.. is gonna cost you," he growls to her, the emphasized word punctuated with another tightening around her waist.

[CaptainL]

Even with Apex knocking a solid blow into her gut, Sirya wasn't about to go down that easily, and she was going to put up a fight no matter what. The skunk had already made the mistake of taunting her, and she wasn't about to let that one slide easily. Certainly, Sirya was confident, or at least too foolhardy to know better than to rush headlong into dangerous situations. But after you've had to strangle a panther with your thighs and lived to tell the tale, there isn't that much that impresses you.

Apex started to stumble back as the girl threw her weight against him, but he remained firm. In fact, he could go beyond that - he was quick to steer this to her advantage, and he snapped his arms tightly into place around her waist, holding her in tight. Sirya's back started to bend against the strength in his arms, her face contorting in pain before she cried out in a scream. That was certainly a powerful enough manuever to harry her defenses, and the ache Sirya felt all along her back and sides stood as testament to that.

"Oww..." the girl cursed under her breath. "You're gonna be sorry for that!" Though her words came between labored pants, she was still defiant, refusing to give in to her opponent. After all, this strange ritual, whatever it was, had just begun. Sirya was pretty sure, at the least, that she couldn't give up just yet.

To back up her words, the girl readied her counterattack. Though Apex had her torso tightly wrapped and squeezed, he couldn't crush her fully when her arms were still free. And with one of her arms, Sirya made a fist and threw it hard against the side of her opponent's head, aiming to smack him upside the ear. That usually did the trick.

[CyanDimitrik]

The girl screams, and the audience goes wild. Oh yes, this bunch likes to see brutality. As it happens, time doesn't change things that much. But if she has enough wherewithal to keep sassing him, it clearly means Apex isn't squeezing tight enough! His arms redouble the effort to crush the girl in his arms, grinding her smaller frame into himself!

The fist blasts against his ear! His head sways to the side, off-kilter. Punches to the ear always hurt a lot! "Ghh..!" The grip around her waist has loosened, thanks to the hit, but his fangs grit and he's determined to not let her slip away yet! She just needs more convincing to behave. He attempts to lock his arms securely around her waist again and pull up, followed by a pivoting twist, and ultimately slam her down onto her back with his toned body landing directly over hers for a belly-to-belly suplex!

[CaptainL]

As she watched her blow hit its mark and Apex stumble to the side, Sirya smiled wider. As someone well acquainted with the weak points of any threat, she knew that ear boxing had scarcely ever failed her before, and it didn't fail her now either.

In turn, he began to let up on the hold he had locked in around Sirya's waist, and the girl started to try and pull herself away. But she didn't quite get that far, as Apex continued to ride on his momentum and hurl Sirya down against the mat, where she landed with a thud that shook the canvas beneath her. Although the landing would stun her for a moment, Sirya had no intention of being downed for too long, and she was quick to kick her way out and go rolling off to the side as soon as she could, unwilling to be at her opponent's mercy.