<strong>Tigrus</strong><br/><br/><br/><br/>Rus had to admit, he was surprised. He'd figured the caracal girl to be just another crazy fangirl, but when she pulled off her mid-air-twist and drop kicked Pumal in the face, the Orange Howler burst with surprised laughter.<br/><br/>"Aahaha! In the FACE! Ow, man! Sucks to be you! How's them whiskers, big guy? I planned that all along. Yeah, it's my new special move, Seven Divine Winds of....Carac-attack."<br/><br/>Pumal, who had staggered back somewhat after the Caraina-attack, cricked his neck and scowled deeply at his opponent. Yet another anomaly in the fight that was not only a surprise to Pumal, but worked in Rus's favour and managed to land a shiner on Pumal's otherwise awe-inspiring features at the same time. Seeing the guard approach into the ring was the last straw.<br/><br/><strong>"I didn't sign on for this, Howler. Bob can stuff himself up a mutant's ass, too. I'll collect my pay from him myself."</strong><br/><br/>Rus and the crowd hardly noticed, for now there were new combatants. An excited hush fell over the crowd as Caraina slyly egged on both the Orange Howler and six of the city guard into a now-unavoidable confrontation. The guard were bound by their duty and Rus was bound by his pride. Rus was still impressed with Caraina's dynamic aerobatics.<br/><br/>"Whassat? Oh these guys...yeah sure, I charge more to fight figures of authority but I'm sure Bob'll work it out. We usually get the twins to appease their folks. Now, listen, seriously, I've just lost my fight partner, and you seem like you're<em>made</em>for this kinda stuff...whaddya think? "The Orange Howler and the Beigey-Blue Flash"? Well, we could get a better name, I suppose..."Talky and Jumpy"? I dunno, Bob usually does the promotions..."<br/><br/>The diminutive fight promoter was nowhere to be seen in the crowd anymore, however. At the sight of the city guard approaching, he'd desperately given Rus the "stopforgodsakestop" sign, but the big orange cat had been too busy checking out Caraina to notice. Now, with a ticked off and pay-hungry Pumal stalking him, he'd made himself scarce, leaving his best cashcow to fight his own battles.<br/><br/>Or rather, to fight someone else's battles.<br/><br/>Still, as long as someone was watching, it was all the same to the Orange Howler. Blissfully unaware of the commotion that whisked Tigria away on desperate Royal duty (there's no way Rus would have noticed that given all the stuff happening around him), Rus turned to his new opponents.<br/><br/>"Cheap street fighter, huh? I guess you've never heard of the Howler, but I'll tell you something about us Street Fighters..."<br/><br/>Rus turned to the crowd, as if about to launch into a long diatribe. The six moved in closer behind him, fanning out, prepared to take him in one movement. Suddenly Rus span on his heel with explosive energy, pushing his arms out in what looked to be some kind of delivery move, with both palms facing the guards.<br/><br/>"...<strong>Kablouken!"</strong><br/><br/>The six had all flinched back. Perhaps they had been expecting a ball of blue flame to erupt from the Orange Howler's paws?<br/><br/>Rus looked mildly perplexed.<br/><br/>"Yeah. I'd been working on my chi, lately...maybe I didn't<em>say</em>it right..."<br/><br/>Running out of patience with Rus's show, the three closed ran in, angling the butts of their swords and spears for Rus's unarmoured head and torso. He ducked away from the first blow, grabbed the second with an outstretched paw, but wasn't quick enough for the third one, a spear butt connecting solidly with Rus's well-muscled midriff, forcing an "ooof!" from the Howler.<br/><br/>The crowd roared.<br/><br/>Remembering he had an audience was like popping a can o' spinach for the Orange Howler. As the butt was raised for a head-strike, Rus yanked the other guard round (who was desperately trying to pry his weapon from Rus's strangely powerful grip) and flung him into his comrade, the two colliding together, their weapons and armour serving to compound the fall, their kit clangling and scraping and forming a block between Rus and the other three who had held back initially. Leaving just the one closest to him.<br/><br/>"You know, just because a cat takes pride in his appearance, puts the extra lick in, here and there..."<br/><br/>The guard bravely stood his ground as his colleagues desperately tried to reach him.<br/><br/>"...it doesn't necessarily mean that..."<br/><br/>Rus was inches away from the guard now.<br/><br/>"...he likes the guys!"<br/><br/>The guard's sword came down. Barely dodging to the side in time, Rus got past the guard's guard (heh) and grabbed his wrists. Yanking him forward, Rus put a savage knee into his enemy's belly. Then he swiped his legs from underneath him, dropping him unceremoniously to the floor. Crouching down, he lifted the guard up and dropped him again, just to be sure.<br/><br/>With seconds to spare, he gave Caraina a look as if to say "watch this" then hefted the dazed guard up by his arms, facing the crowd. Manipulating the guard's paws like a puppeteer, Rus made the semi-conscious guard smack himself repeatedly in the face.<br/><br/>"Why are you hitting yourself, man? Stop hitting yourself in the face. Hey, I said stop! Why would you do that? Why would anyone hit themselves over and over again in the face?"<br/><br/>The crowd were in fits of laughter, more so because it was a city guard being humiliated. Now, though, the other three had raised their two fallen companions and were again converging on the Howler, one man down. Rus dropped the cat in question and turned to face the others.<br/><br/>"You see this, people? This is police brutality! You pay your taxes for this! And by the way," Rus turned from fire-and-brimstone politics to dry toilet humour in a flash, "Calling me gay is a little rich. All you boys do is hang out with each other in cute little uniforms, have showers together and hold each other's spears, getting all excited when another dude gives an order. Pots shouldn't throw stones in black kettle houses. Or something."<br/><br/>Incensed now, the remaining five charged, shouting curses and accusations of law-breaking. Rus backed off frantically, dodging a spear-swipe and landing a nifty right-jab on the closest, putting him momentarily on the floor, but soon he was on the backpedal with the other four all lunging and swiping at him.<br/><br/>"Hey Beige Beauty or whatever it is! Flash your way over here and earn your cut! I'll get you front-row tickets with free booze to my next show!"