LaF R1 - Sar vs Rin

Sar woke to a sharp tugging at her ear. She let out an irritated grunt, lifting her head to shoot a sour glare at the raven that had so unceremoniously awakened her. He hopped backwards, observing her with his glassy white eyes. "Wakey wakey, fluffball. Round one's about to start, yes yes."
Umbra lifted her head and opened her jaws in a massive yawn. The corvid hopped back and twitched his ruffled wings nervously at the sight of her gaping maw, lined with ivory teeth.
"Your opponent is Tigris, that orange and stripey wolfey wolf. But no fighting until bossy boss is ready. Stay put. Stay put." Without waiting for a reply, the bird leapt up and flew away.
Umbra groaned as she crawled out of the safety of the bench and stretched. "I thought this was all a bad dream."
Sar scratched her tousled fur with a back leg. "Orange and stripey wolfey-wolf...this isn't good. I saw 'er charging at the Thief yesterday, doesn't exactly look like the type of sheila who'd gone down without one hell of a barney."
Umbra's tail swished nervously. "Great."
Bleary creatures started emerging from the hallways. Sar looked up at the clock, still swinging ever so slightly, but she couldn't spot anything perched atop its smooth surface.
"Um...hey." A familiar voice said from behind her. Sar turned her head to see Avonna sitting on a bench nearby, Familiar winding around her ankles like an affection-craving cat. "Sorry for leaving you guys yesterday. I was just nervous because -
"Wouldn't worry about it, mate," Sar said, clambering awkwardly onto the bench next to the genet. "We were all a lil' nervous yesterday, course." She shot an annoyed glance at Umbra, who was hanging back hesitantly and staring at Familiar. She padded closer but gave the dripping creature a wide berth, and crouched on the edge of the bench.
The vast room was beginning to quickly fill up with nervously murmuring competitors. "What's taking the Thief so long?" Wondered Avonna aloud, scanning the room.
"I dunno. But when he gets here I have some things to say to 'im. My stomach's rumblin' like an angry tiger. The bloke better give us some grub soon or we'll all be nothing but skeletons." Sar grumbled.
A large, plant-like creature slithered onto the bench next to Sar. It resembled a massive cross between a plant and a snake; it was covered in leaves and its back was dotted with vicious-looking thorns. It had no eyes, as far as Sar could see, and a huge, toothy grin was stretched across its crimson head. "If I happened to come across you back home, you probably  would have been the grub." He remarked casually. His long tongue poked out of his mouth, accompanied by a string of drool. Umbra tensed from where she sat, staring at the creature with her blue eyes huge.
"I wouldn't reckon." Sar snarled, trying not to look intimidated by the creature's massive teeth. "I'm tougher than I look. I could leave ya and yer fat green arse shredded to strips before ya could say -
"NO FIGHTING!" Squawked the grey-speckled crow as he swooped overhead.
The plant's smile didn't cease. "Well, I couldn't eat you here anyway, clearly. So don't worry about me."
Familiar let out a bout of abrupt laughter at this, leaving the Avonna's lap to weave around the plant-creature curiously.
Umbra wasn't convinced. "Sar, get away from that...." She squeaked, edging closer to the tasmanian devil. Her fear of Familiar seemed to have quickly dissipated upon arrival of the much larger creature.
"Damn right ya won't." Sar snorted. She shot Umbra an annoyed look but didn't protest as the tiger squeezed herself between her friend and the hungry plant, her hackles raised.
"Good morning, darlings!" A cheerful voice announced, breaking the tension. Sar looked up to see the thylacine perched on the clock, although she was certain he hadn't been there mere seconds before. "There seems to be a slight change in plan." He voice seemed the slightest bit less enthusiastic than it had the night before, almost drained; his cool and composed aura was stained with a sense of impatience. "Me and my accomplices have decided one floor of the hotel may not be spacious enough for you all to fight comfortably. We can't have you getting in each other's way while trying to mangle, decapitate, or otherwise injure your opponent, of course. So, out of the immeasurable kindness of my heart, I have decide to let half of you fight outside, while the other half fights within the walls of my beloved hotel. Just for this round."
The murmuring increased. "What...in the crevice?!" Sar shouted, using all the strength her voice could muster so she'd be heard among the restless crowd. "But it's so dark -
"All the better!" The Thief cut Sar's outburst short. "And I can feel an impending storm nearly upon us. What an interesting turn of events!"
Sar wasted no time before hurling her next complaint, "And what about breakfast? Everyone's bloody hungry." The crowd murmured in agreement.
"But of course, I have something delectable already arranged." He said, his voice smooth. "Come with me." With a flash of light his form shrank and wings sprouted from his back. He dived down off the clock, sailing towards a dark wood set of doors. Aside from the elevator doors, they were the only ones remaining unopened during the night, and swung open seemingly without assistance as the Thief flew towards them. Umbra shuddered. "How is that possible?" She muttered, although she was well aware no one would be able to provide an answer.
The doors revealed a spiral staircase, ascending into darkness. The Thief dashed up the staircase and disappeared without looking back.
Sar made sure she was among the first to follow suit, trotting briskly towards the staircase. Umbra stayed close behind her, regularly taking apprehensive glances behind her into the cluster of animals.
The staircase got so dark Sar could hardly see the next step in front of her, but as they approached the top light quickly began to penetrate the chamber once more.
The room they walked into was quite like the first. It smelled of dust and felt old, like a relic; yet everything was pristine and orderly. It was immense and round with a dome ceiling, and clock identical to the one below hung suspended from a thick chain. The decor, however, had changed drastically - instead of benches, tables covered the room's floor. There was a carpet underneath Sar's paws this time, richly coloured and without a single stain. They were clearly no longer underground, as meager sunlight filtered in from towering stained glass windows lining the wall. Like the first floor, there were also numerous shut wooden doors, leading off to what Sar guessed to be more hallways and rooms. Sar realized upon closer inspection that the tables were covered in white tablecloths, elegant silverware, and plates adorned with gold. On top of those plates were steaming piles of food.
Sar drooled.
"I hope this display will make you reconsider your rather fallacious attitude towards me. Who else would provide such lovely food and hospitality?" The Thief sang, perching as usual on top of the clock. Most ignored him and and charged towards the tables. Some of the more human-like creatures ate with the cutlery provided, but most of the contestants simply began shoving food into their eager jaws. Sar scrambled up onto a nearby chair, digging her teeth into the nearest piece of meat without stopping to inspect it. She stared back at Umbra with her mouth full. "Dontcha wanna eat shomethin'?"
Umbra narrowed her eyes at the food. "I don't trust it. How can it be so...so perfect? The Thief and his cronies couldn't have possibly provided all of this." She bent forward to sniff a leg of turkey cautiously.
There was a blur of brown, and Umbra looked up to see a pair of serrated mandibles the size of her head open with a click. She leapt back, letting out a startled roar, as the creature swooped it's plated head down and devoured the leg in a matter of seconds. Then it scuttled away without a word, winding through the tables with its multiple legs working furiously. Umbra whimpered and shrank back towards Sar.
"There's no need for violence, dears. There's more than enough for everyone!" The Theif chuckled, looking more amused than anything as he observed several competitors bickering over food. There was nothing too serious, though - they were all afraid of getting disqualified, and like the Thief said, there was an abundance.
"Well...that wasn't very nice." Sar half-heartedly remarked, stopping her feast for a moment to glance behind her shoulder for any more hungry competitors. She pulled the meat closer to her as she ate.
Umbra had slunk under the table, her ears flat against her head. The other competitors were starting to finish eating, laying contentedly on the carpet with their bellies full after gorging themselves senselessly.
Sar awkwardly scrambled off the chair and lifted up the tablecloth to frown at the cowering tiger underneath. "Stop that, ya boofhead. Nobody's gonna hurt ya."
"That...thing...could have eaten me! D-did you see it!" Umbra protested, her eyes darting back and forth. Sar shook her head and padded to a nearby table, where a plate covered in roasted slabs of meat lay untouched. She grabbed as much as her mouth could take, and dragged it over to the table under which Umbra lay. She placed the meat  just outside the safety of the tablecloth.
"Come on out." Sar huffed.
Umbra hesitated, then cautiously slunk out from under the table and sunk her teeth into the meat. As soon as its taste met her tongue her fears were quickly forgotten, and the famished tiger swallowed the chunks after hardly chewing.
Sar clambered back onto the table, shoving her muzzle into a large glass bowl that was filled to the brim with cold water. In its rippled reflection she saw a flicker of something orange and black slinking by. She whipped up her head, droplets of water flying from her disheveled whiskers, but the figure had disappeared into the crowd.