This battle takes place is a thinning forest, damp and wet from a fresh rainfall that ended not twenty minutes before. Animals still call this place home, though many have moved on to greener pastures. At least one adult male leopard, a couple female crocodile still make their home in the large river that cuts through the middle of the forest. A multitude of bugs still live here, and rumor has it two anaconda still reign supreme. The skies above betray more rain to come; starting four posts in with a light drizzle, and increasing in intensity every three posts afterward. In addition, after ten posts, a passing caravan of animals will break down on the path in the north of the forest, releasing an African elephant, a large make Lion, and a rare snow leopard all in route to a carnival held twenty miles to the west.

Xaih followed suit with the other competitors and stepped into the available teleporter. She closed her eyes as she was suddenly enveloped in a bright light, vanishing in an instant and reappearing the next, this time in the open.

The air smelled of rain and wood, but it was humid still. The ground she stood on was soft with mud. She heard a quiet buzz from insects, and hardly a chirp from a bird, the gentle drops of water still falling from the leaves and branches of the trees, and the rush of a river that had just been fed from the rain. Opening her eyes at last, Xaih saw what she had heard. Not ten feet before her was the river, rushing along the bank possibly higher than it had before. She could feel its push and pull from within her being. Turning around, she noticed a few trees, although she found it odd to see so few on either side of the river.

Facing the river once more, Xaih bent down to feel the wet ground. Water still clung to the blades of grass, and water seeped from the mud with each press of her hand. This was more than satisfactory, more than an advantage for her even, but she wondered of the advantages this would bring of Dorian, the man with the wolf. Was he similar to her, in that he could feel the pull of the current as it swayed? Could he deprive this forest of the water that still ensured its survival? If she had to be sure of one similarity, it would be with his wolf. It was the one thing she was grateful for having in her strange body, a keen sense of hearing. It saved her on more than one occasion.

Far in the distance, she could see the start of rain falling. Perhaps they would be so lucky that it would fall upon them in the near future. For the time being, however, she stood from her position without shaking the water off her hands or trying to remove the water from her pants. Instead, she waited for Dorian and his pet to show or reveal themselves. For the latter reason, she was a bit tense, but it was also the reason why she remained in the open.

There was a second flash of bright light, and with it came Dorian and Timber. He dusted himself off once he appeared, being not quite used to the experience of teleporting and being a little thrown off, while the wolf shook her body as if she were trying to shake off water. Though with how the skies looked and how damp the environment was, getting wet for real seemed to be a likely possibility here.

Dorian glanced around at his surroundings, noting that the forest seemed to be the perfect battlefield for him. He could even hear animals nearby, and what he didn't hear, he could sense. Well, this was working out beautifully for him, but he was sure there had to be a catch of some kind. The battlefield likely wouldn't only benefit him, no, Xaih surely would have to have an advantage here as well. Though as for how, he didn't know. Speaking of which, he spotted the woman a short distance away, having apparently arrived first.

"You know, that was mighty rude of you to just walk off like that," Dorian sneered at her, "Oh well, I guess pleasantries between us just weren't meant to be." With a quick flourish, one of his many throwing knives was removed from its secured sheath and held firmly in his left hand as he took on a combat stance. Timber followed suit and bent her knees slightly as she let out a growl, ready to act once given the order. Dorian had no idea what Xaih was capable of, so for now he would play it safe until he could learn her powers and limits. He knew that she also was unaware of what his abilities were, so he decided it would be best not to show his hand and use his Nature magic yet, choosing instead to wait for the perfect opportunity to catch her off guard. All that was left now was to start the fight, of which he was itching to get to.

"I'll have no problem tearing you apart, lass," Dorian warned her with a smirk, "You'd best be ready."

It took only moments for Dorian and the wolf to arrive; she heard the wolf shake its body, and a movement from Dorian. At that moment, she didn't move at all in her position, more so to allow him the time to look at her surroundings and to allow her to keep her eyes on the rainfall for a bit longer. It appeared to be inching its way closer.

The moment he began to speak is when Xaih turned her head to glance back at them over her right shoulder, something about her being rude in ignoring his gesture in the lobby. She didn't have time to explain all of her precautions before fighting, and it didn't bother her if he was offended. He was correct in one regard, however, but the pleasantries may come after the fight.

The shwing sound of a knife sounded abruptly to her, and she prepared. She bent her right arm and lifted her hand to the height of her stomach, cupping her fingers at the same time. Water from the mud immediately behind her began to rise from the ground. Swiftly, her left foot glided in front of her, and her entire body turned to face the two as she shifted her weight to push the water away. Her left hand moved in a half circle to complete the movement, and her right hand thrust forward, fingers straight and pointed skyward, to force the stream of water to whip between their distance, aimed at Dorian's face. The last words she heard from him, as the whip moved through the air, were "You'd best". She hoped she made it painfully obvious that she had no qualms to do the same as he so casually threatened.

The first thing Dorian noticed was Xaih's movements. To the uninformed, it could have looked like a simple dance, reinforced by her gypsy-like appearance. But he knew that she was about to use her ability, whatever it was, and that it was something she could feel and channel through her body. And when he saw the water rise out from the ground behind her; he knew right then that she was a water Elementalist. Well, that made things a little more difficult. The entire battleground was drenched with water, and the smell of rain in the distance meant she would soon have even more water at her disposal. He supposed that was Xaih's advantage then, he would just have to capitalize on his own ones if he was going to win.

From the motions she was making, he could tell that she was going for an attack, leaving little time for him to interrupt her. And since he had no idea what exactly was coming his way, he wasn't sure he could try to dodge either. So instead, he decided to go on the offensive as well. Just as she went to whip him with the water, he threw his knife at her at the same time, the blade flying beneath the flow of water and aiming to pierce into her lower abdomen. Though this left him unable to dodge in any way, and he ended up taking the whipping straight to the side of his face with enough impact to knock him back, though this hopefully would make it hard for her to dodge his own attack as well. The lashing stung like hell, and he was sure to bruise quickly enough, but he took the hit in stride and rolled back onto his feet before then running for cover behind a nearby tree.

"Timber! Flanking maneuvers!" Dorian called out to the wolf, who had become furious the moment he'd been struck, but nonetheless began to move immediately and sprinted off into nearby foliage.

"You know the drill, girl. Move fast and stay hidden for now."

It was a simple ploy. His vocal commands would make Xaih think he needed to talk aloud in order to give Timber commands, when in reality his mental connection with her would allow him to give the true commands. This would also make Xaih think that she really was about to get flanked, and would likely be paranoid of getting attacked from behind at any time. Instead, Timber was to stay out of sight and simply inform Dorian of Xaih's whereabouts at all times whenever he couldn't see her himself.

Just as the water whipped through the air, Dorian matched her on the offensive by throwing the knife just underneath Xaih's water whip. She was able to see his arm move and the sleek object turn as it flew on a course towards her midsection. The knife itself was hardly a threat to her, although that was simply upon first glance, and it could have been more than meets the eye.

Without thinking on the matter further, Xaih bent her knees and applied pressure on her feet. In order to maintain control over her whip and have the chance to dodge the knife, all she had to do was move to the side. Turning on her left heel, Xaih spun to the left. Her right hand stretched out toward the whip to maintain that control. The knife would fall some feet behind her and in front of the river, and she would be left unscathed. Dorian, however, didn't appear to be so lucky. The water whip did indeed smack him in the face. While she wasn't able to see it, she heard the smack of water against flesh, and she did manage to see him retreat back into the thinning forest.

As he moved to take cover in the foliage, the wolf seemed to follow suit, although it obeyed the flanking command. Xaih narrowed her eyes in thought before lifting her arms higher to match the level of her shoulders, and she moved her feet to stand beside the other. The water from the mud and the grass began to lift into the air. She lowered her arms and spun around a second time, with a slight bend, and lifted her arms again. The water was removed from the ground and the grass and lifted to form a circle around her, for both defense and offense, as she faced the foliage again. The spot of grass where she stood, he may notice, was presently dead then, compared to the moist grass around them.

She still didn't quite hear the rain falling on the river, but it couldn't be much longer before it was heard. Still, she chose to wait for him to strike. She showed him a taste of her power, and now it was his turn, if he so chose.

Dorian gingerly rubbed at his sore cheek as he knelt down behind the tree once he felt that he was safely hidden. Damn, that really had hurt...no matter, it was his turn to act now. He focused his senses and his mind as he reached out to Timber, who was currently crouching out of sight behind some bushes some distance away to Xaih's left.

"Alright Timber, give me the low down. What's the situation?"

All five of the wolf's senses were put to work, as she began to relay all of the information at her disposal to Dorian.

So, the knife had missed. He supposed it would have been too easy of he'd gotten Xaih that early. It was currently laying in the grass behind her, just in front of the river. The water elementalist in the meantime had raised a ring of water around herself and seemed poised to react to whatever came her way. Hmm...that made a direct assault foolhardy. If her reflexes were anything to go by from her dodging of the knife, then she would easily be able to counter anything he threw at her. He could try manipulating some of the plant life nearby, but he wasn't quite ready to play that hand just yet. And according to Timber, Xaih had taken the water for her reaction ring straight from the grass itself that she was standing in, which was now currently dead. If she could drain water from plants, then that too would make Nature magic inadvisable unless he could find a way around it. He was in a tough spot right now; he wouldn't be able to directly assault her from any direction, and his Nature magic wouldn't currently have the advantage against her right now if he used it.

...Wait, if he couldn't attack her from the front, back, or sides, then maybe...yes, there were only two potential weak spots left then. He clasped his hands together as he focused on the grass where the fallen knife laid still, and commanded the grass to knot together and sink the blade into the dirt, hiding it away for now. He would save that ace in the hole for later. Now, what other animals were in this forest anyway? He called out through his mental connection, and was able to sense several animals out there: a bird or two flitted around in the trees, which was unsurprising considering he'd heard a sparse few chirps since he'd appeared; two crocodiles were in the river, which would be a hidden pleasant surprise to use against Xaih if she decided that the river would be a safe reserve for her; two large anacondas, separated by quite a bit of distance from each other, were also in the vicinity; and finally, a leopard was nearby as was well. Dorian grinned as he decided it was time to send a message to all of them.

"Alright lads and lasses, I'm going to require your help here. Got a fight I need to win and you're all the right ones for the job."

He commanded the anacondas to stay off to the side, ready to attack only if Xaih tried to escape by either going left or right. The crocodiles would be on standby as well, staying hidden until the right moment to strike presented itself. The birds would stay out of the fight for now, as he didn't have a use for them quite yet. That only left the leopard, which Dorian decided he would use to test whether or not Xaih could react to attacks coming from two directions at once.

He gave the command for the large cat to slink its way to a tree near Xaih on her right, and once it was close enough to attack, it jumped out from behind the tree and quickly closed the distance between them as it rushed to attack, claws and teeth bared as it attempted to tackle into and rip into her. Dorian, who's directional location was to the front of her, meanwhile acted at the same time, and ran from the tree he'd been hiding behind as he made his way to take cover behind another. During this, two more knives could be seen in his hands, a blade held in each. He threw them both at Xaih with precision, one after the other with little time between each throw.

At this time, the rain had finally caught up to their battlegrounds, as a light drizzle began to rain down in the surrounding area.

The ring of water circled around Xaih, ready at her command to spring into action. From a few feet behind her, roughly around where the knife landed, she heard the knotting of the grass as though they were leaves rustling in the wind. For a moment, her gaze shifted to the right while her head remained still. Nothing more could be heard that was unnatural of that land, but she wasn't foolish to stay where she was. Time to move, she thought as her sight returned to the area behind the trees Dorian sought refuge in.

It appeared her opponent had a similar thought. Dorian emerged from the tree he hid behind only to begin sprinting towards another, hurling another set of knives directly her way. At the same time, a leopard sprung from behind the area to her left, appearing to be a rogue contender in this fight. There was little time to ponder the meaning, as every second was precious, and every step had to be deliberate. Thinking quickly on her feet to address the immediate threat of the knives, Xaih lowered her left arm and raised her right, both bent at the elbow. Water from the ring formed a thick wall just a few inches wider and taller than her body. Upon her hands closing, the water solidified to ice, so the knives would pierce the shield rather than her flesh. The rest of the ring broke from the ice wall, but still remained floating to deal with the leopard. Turning to her left, she lowered her right arm and lifted her left to assume a similar stance from moments ago. The leopard was still rushing towards her, but it would lunge for the attack in only a few seconds. She was no match for its speed, so running was futile, and, unfortunately, a moment of opportunity would need to be taken right as it would lunge.

Xaih opened her hands and spread her arms out in a half-circle movement, causing the water to bubble around her, the tips of her fingers barely touching the water after her arms fully stretched out. Her eyes narrowed as the distance grew frighteningly closer; her own growing tension caused the water to harden on the outside of the bubble, so it remained liquid on the inside.

The leopard took its final steps before lunging towards her, teeth bared and claws stretching open. As the distance between them decreased, she began turning on her heel, her left hand starting to close. The covering of the bubble behind her started to shift upwards just as the leopard struck the bubble, and the knives pierced the ice wall, the tips just breaking through to the other side. The hardness against its speed would certainly slow the animal down to almost a halt, and the water tension from the inside would prevent it from breaking through entirely. The rest of the bubble of water followed suit, shifting to above her before moving to enclose the leopard's whole being. By the time her hands met, the creature was covered in the water, but she wasn't finished.

Xaih continued to turn towards the river to turn in an almost full circle. Once facing away from the river, she started to run out from behind the wall, her hands controlling the bubble and forcing it to move with her. Dorian made the mistake of revealing his location earlier, and she would reveal to him the error of his ways if he remained in his spot. For, after she turned to face the new tree he was hiding behind, she thrust the bubble his way in almost slingshot fashion, the leopard spinning inside briefly as it was thrown toward him, but being released from the bubble shortly after. She didn't stay in the same spot, either, choosing to run behind the leopard as cover while drawing water from the grass beside her, if he were to remain still after she threw the animal at him.

Her curiosity would remain after the fact regarding that leopard, however. Although, she hadn't seen his pet wolf since the fight began. It was entirely possible it was more of a pet shapeshifter...

The leopard let out a high-pitched screech when it was thrown through the air, but ultimately it didn't come to harm as it simply bounced off the large tree like as if it were made from foam. Indeed, once Timber had relayed to him what Xaih was doing, Dorian had begun to work his magic on the tree itself to soften its bark at the point where the leopard would be slammed against, to the point that it could even be squeezed with one's hands like a pillow. However, this caused its very structure to become unstable as the tree struggled to hold up its own weight, and within moments it began to crack and splinter before breaking and falling in Xaih's direction.

The leopard, suffering only from some whiplash, began to scramble to get out of the way, not even bothering to try to go after Xaih again, which was fine since it would only get in the way at the moment. Dorian meanwhile began to run once more from his hiding spot while trying to keep the same general distance between them, but this time he didn't run to take cover or throw more knives. No, he was running to stay mobile at this point, though he wasn't just going to let Xaih try to get out of the way of the tree currently tipping over, at least not without making her struggle. He could be seen holding one hand close to his chest and tightened into a fist, with the other hand outstretched in Xaih's direction and his fingers looking as if he were trying to pull something in with invisible puppet strings. If Xaih were to try to move, she would feel something holding her feet in place: the grass beneath her feet had knotted up as she'd initially ran toward him, and thanks to Timber's surveillance Dorian was able to know ahead of time which patch of grass to begin to manipulate. The moment she'd stepped foot in it, the grass would had immediately outstretched to latch onto her feet and begin to entangle her. It was already becoming thicker and more resilient as it began to crawl up her legs and hold her in place more firmly.

So far, things were working out smoothly. He'd managed to lure her further away from the river, and even got her to fall for one of his traps. If this kept up, he might just be able to pull out a win.

The leopard acted as a decent makeshift catapult, even if it did only hit the tree, and certainly not as hard as Xaih was anticipating. Oddly enough, the tree's bark acted as rubber to avoid further damage to the animal. In hindsight, she was thankful. Dorian was her opponent, not a woodland creature. Either way, the leopard had her most desired effect, which was to bring him out from behind the tree.

The movements were rather simultaneous. Xaih heard the crack of the tree's bark and acted with immediate caution. Rather than continuing to run in a straight line, as she was prior to the tree's collapsing, she shifted her path to the left just as the leopard darted in the opposite direction to avoid further conflict. Water still trailed beside her from the blades of grass she passed, and the moment he appeared from the presently falling tree, she intended to direct that water, that fury, right at him. With a final step with her right foot, she slammed it against the ground to push the water from the roots directly up to give her an added lift as she jumped into the air, a couple feet higher than an average person. The water, that was once trailing beside her, followed her every move. With this momentum, she thrust her left leg forward, causing her body to spin slightly as she moved through the air, although she remained facing him. Her right hand curled into a fist while she lifted her left hand so the palm faced Dorian's direction. This caused the water to break apart into four separate points and solidify into four ice spikes, which were pushed towards him with great strength. Since he was moving away from the tree, that had fallen at that point, two of the ice spikes were aimed at where Dorian was moving towards, rather than at his immediate location.

While she was in the air, Xaih did notice the movement of her opponent's hands, as she was certain he noticed hers. While preparing herself for a landing, her sight gazing upon the spot she would land, she spotted an unnatural movement in the grass. Falling closer allowed her to hear the familiar sound of roots moving, and she had to react quickly. Landing in the grass, she felt the blades begin to wrap around her feet. However, as she landed, she forced water up from the grass and quickly removed the water from that specific area. With the grass dead, the knotting sound would be quickly silenced, and she freed herself easily from their grasp. Another ring of water surrounded her for a quick defense, but something more had to be done.

It was rather odd Dorian knew exactly where she would land, and where she was headed despite being behind the tree. This action, combined with the leopard's earlier attack and his pet wolf missing in action, left no more room for coincidences.

She had to disappear. Quickly.

The ice spikes would have done their damage, or lack thereof, as Xaih moved to stand upright, leaving space a bit larger than the width of her shoulders between her feet. She moved the ring of water down to the ground quickly to combine with the water from the surrounding blades of grass within a few feet radius of her location. Lifting her arms up, more water raised from the ground in wall-like structures, and she stood in the center of that. With forceful, but direct, movements of her arms down and inward, the water turned into a dense mist that covered her and the distance between her and Dorian. Rain started to fall not moments before Dorian revealed himself, which would either add difficulty to her plan or aid her.

For the time being, she sought the dead grass as refuge. While she resided within the mist, she would move in small steps in apparent randomness; forwards, backwards, to the side. She continued to remove water from the ground, and forced the mist to behave as though it were rapidly expanding. This was done, along with other reasons, to give her a similar advantage she picked up on Dorian. While he was connected to the nature around them, through plants and, evidently, animals, she was connected to the water. The density of the mist was certainly not a problem for her.