Xion stepped out into the large empty fighting arena. It was a basic area, with a small seating area and not much else, made for the purpose of fighting and fighting alone. Just the way he liked it.

Xion had left a small notice posted outside the door, beckoning any type of fighter to come and spar melee with him, promising he would only fight tooth and claw, and intending to keep that promise. Almost as soon as he had got in he focused some of his demonic blood, forming his slightly elongated claws and pointed fangs, as well as a very small set of horns, which were not noticeable under his long hair, which covered most of his eyes. No matter what type of fighter cam in he would take them on to improve himself, no matter whether he had to fight to the death or be beaten into submission he would improve himself.

Rothardan had decided to enter Taras arena in order to train his melee and sword skills and remain as sharp as he ever was. Today as a nice sunny day with not a cloud in the sky, perfect for practising whatever you fancied. So Rothardan was walking towards the arena and when he arrived, he saw that someone was already there.

A sign was on the arena beckoning all to spar in a fist fight, no weapons. This was a good as time as any to practise so Rothardan entered the arena and took off his sword, placing it neatly onto the floor. He then walked up to his apparent opponent, a young man who looked as if he had been in many fights before.

"Are you the one who issued the challenge of a tooth and claw fight?" Rothardan asked his opponent.

Rothardan cracked his knuckles together, getting ready for his battle. He was trained in unarmed combat and knew how to take care of himself if needed be. So he wasn't too worried about this oncoming fist fight.

Xion grinned as the man asked about his fight and then cracked his knuckles. He saw that the man was trying to give an heir of dangerousness, to perhaps try and make his opponent wary first. "I'm going to give it to you straight, human, I am a tiefling, and when I said tootha nd claw I meant it. You can use your sword if you like, you may find it more difficult challenging me hand-to-hand." Xion challenged as he straigtened up slightly and slowly walked to the far corner, appearing lethargic in comparison to how he felt, which was great with even this small focus of demonic blood. He felt real.

"I advise you to be wary, I am quite quick." Xion took a stance, standing slighlty tilted back with his arms hanging limp, almost appearing drunken. "Just tell me when you're ready."

Rothardan knew that this man spoke the truth about his own fighting skill... mainly because that no-one ever bragged like that without having something to prove. But Rothardan wasn't scared... infact he was interested to see what this man could do and how he could do it. Rothardan knew some martial arts which had been taught to him by one of his best friends, Julian Matrez.

Not enough to call himself a martial artist but enough to take care of himself. Unfastening his cloak, Rothardan threw it to the ground with a dull clunk. The clunk sound came from the weights on the cloak which restricted his movement and built up his muscles. Taking of his gauntlets, he threw them to the ground with two more clunks since they were weighted as well.

And that was it, Rothardan was now ready for combat. Adopting a battle stance, Rothardan waited for his opponent to make a move.

Xion paused for a while, letting the scent of the arean fill his nostrils and listening to the sounds of the man who was in a stance. Listening carefully he waited. Beat, beat, beat. beateat! With the advancement in the man's heart rate he charged at the man, baring his fangs and letting his clawed hands flutter limply behind as he ran towards the man. Time seemed to stop as he leapt into the air and swung one claw at the man, sending the other hand in a gripping motion for his stomach.

Rothardan was a little nervous, but that was him for you. He always got nervous near a fight but in the end he calmed down and fought like a true warrior. He looked Xion deep in the eyes and suddenly, saw that his eyes became more intense.

'He here comes...' thought Rothardan...

And as if by cue, Xion leapt in the air and attacked, one hand aimed for the head and the other aimed for the stomach. It was a good move, but Rothardan saw an exit from this situation and took it gleefully.

It jumped backwards and landed on his feet with ease, the attack missing him barely by a few centermeters. This Xion was a good fighter and no doubt possessed much skill. So Rothardan decided to wait and observe this warrior to see what he was capable of, and to see what strategy he could come up with.

(OOC: Just a heads up that as an advanced member, you posts need to be 150 words or longer. If they aren't and a site staff member finds out then they'll take your ARP status away from you...)

((OOC: as an ARP your posts generally need to be up to 150 words, and mine are always around 300-400 words, therefore one post with a touch less should most likely not effect my ARP status.))

Xion grinned as the man jumped backwards, quickly recovering and rolling forward only to jump into the air and over Rotharden. Rotharden appeared to be judging his fighting style, and he always hated when people tried to label his style, so he decided to improve the rest. He landed softly on his hands and he swung out with his feet as soon as they touched the floor, aiming to trip up the man, but as his feet came around he smashed them on the floor, sending him upwards and straight for Rotharden, his hands clenched tightly into fists, the way humans fought.

Rothardan could see Xion flipping over him and decided that now would not be the best time to under estimate this fighter. Xion came up behind him and looked as if he was going to trip up Rothardan but before he could defend himself, Xion's foot came up in an attack which Rothardan had little time to dodge.

However, rather than dodge... Rothardan grabbed Xion's foot with his hands. He immediatly felt his hands wring with pain as they absorbed the full attack of the kick and Rothardan grimaced with pain and effort. However, he wasn't going to let Xion get away that easily. He kept hold of Xion's foot with his grip so that he was balancing on one foot.

"This ought to be fun..." thought Rothardan as he kept hold of Xion's misplaced foot. Hopefully Xion shouldn't be needing it anytime soon...

Xion sighed quite audibly as his foot was stopped and the fighting calmed down. He found himself being help up awkwardly by this fighter, who perhaps was more agile then Xion had let himself believe, that angered him to no end. The room was motionless as he thought to himself the best and easiest way to get out of this situation. "Im going to assume this is a no-weapons no-magic brawl? Xion questioned, waiting for the mans answer and preparing himself for any of the three next attacks he had planned.

Rothardan kept a good grip on Xion's boot, not letting it go anytime soon. He knew that this fighter was good but he was at a disadvantage whilst he was hobbling on one foot.

"Right, no weapons or magic or familiars of help from the gods or silly tricks," Rothardan said to the fighter after he asked his question. And before the fighter could think of a way out of his problem, Rothardan lifted the fighters boot up higher and higher, hoping it would upset the fighers balance and make him fall to the ground.

Higher and higher went the leg, and Rothardan knew that the time to defend was over... the time to attack was now!