"I do usually make a bit more use of ice-breath," Sastrugi says, settling into a ready position, "but since it wasn't allowed in the competition and you're not immune to it, I won't be using it this time."

Once Tiamat is ready, she steps forward, sending one arm arcing forward in a quick cleave at his neck.

Tiamat grinned and swung an arm up, catching hers in his tight grip before throwing her over his shoulder behind him into the snow.

Sastrugi rolls with the movement, tumbling over Tiamats back, and in that moment of vulnerability, she flares a wing, the sharp movement generating enough momentum to drag them both into the snow.

She tries to quickly extract herself, but soon finds herself drawn into a grappling match by her captured arm.

He notices that and, being nice, lets her go before going on all fours and shaking himself to remove the snow. He then grinned and her and waited for her next move.

Sastrugi rolls to her feet and recovers, eyes thoughtful. "If that happens again, we'll count it as your win," she says, a slight smile.

With that, she lunges into motion. This time, not in a precise attack but a head-on collision, intended to send them both sprawling across the ground. A move made out of curious, wanting to see how Tiamat responds to an attack that's difficult to redirect as he has been for most of the matches so far.

Tiamat rose onto all fours, spread his wings out, and grabbed her horns, growling as he slowed down her charge to a standstill, but not before being pressed against the walls edge.

Sastrugi feels the ice, cold against her back, as she's forced backward. For a second, she braces her arms against Tiamat's, seemingly struggling against his pin, before arcing her claws forward, aiming to grasp his throat in a chokehold.

He raised an eyebrow as she grabbed his neck.

God, its impossible to squeeze! His muscles are like diamond!

Then he grabbed her arms, threw her away into her back, jumped, landed right above her, and ROARED, right into her face.

Yeah he won.

Sastrugi settles onto the floor with a huff of laughter. "Mm, that was a good move," she says, head tipping as she looks up at Tiamat.

The light of the palace breaks around his head in sharp silver, a victor's crown for the one who's strode into the kingdom and conquered the podium. Her eyes deepen at the thought, and for a heartbeat, she's frozen in that perfect moment.

Then it shatters, and she laughs again, a soft but full noise and so, terribly real. She taps the back of her claw against his cheek, smile teasing, and asks, "How long are you going to stay there? I might just fall in love with you, if you keep looking like that."

Hah, maybe she already has. Tiamat's shown her a new world, tonight, one full of the laughter she's been lacking for all her childhood. Her claws fall away, clattering on the ice-carved floors as she relaxes, thinking.

If this could be the start of something beautiful, would it be worth the crown? Truly, there's options if the queen marries outside of the IceWings, but would a princess even be able to become queen in the first place with another by her side?

Still, if it's Tiamat, there might be some chances. Winning is a sign of the Great Ice Dragon's favor, after all.

Tiamat laughed. *thanks.* he said, smiling at her and admiring her, taking in the moment.

After a bit, when she taps him and speaks, he, instead of blushing, just smirks. *and how would that be a bad thing?* he says smoothly, hopping off her and holding a paw out to help her up. He definitely sees her as beautiful and she has a great personality - he wouldnt be surprised if he already had feelings for her. Sure, she was a princess, and he was a visitor, but in the words of so many people on the Internet:

Who cares?