Yogi was nervous. A total lack of observation prior to choice, causing him to underestimate his opponent, was the source of his current predicament. His towering foe was presumed earlier to be full of bark with minimal bite, but it seemed the big man's confidence was well-placed. After all that cannon definitely put a spin on the situation that he wasn't anticipating. Most of the bandits were either mages or melee combatants, so a magic gun of this variety was not one he saw coming by a long shot.
Nonetheless, it was his duty to perservere, and prove himself. A man who declares a challenge only to back down when the foe they challenged was twice their size and three times as muscular, was certainly no man at all. At least, that was the thing he was repeating in his head to push himself to act despite his presently crippled morale. The point of putting the palace behind himself was not just to 'bark back' as it were, but also to hold himself back from fleeing. The idea that he was outmatched was not acceptable. This was a winnable fight.
Yogi couldn't even pay attention to the spectacle of Mathis's display of magic powers. His face was falling into full concentration, looking for a weakness. The big man's legs looked a little undertrained compared to the rest of his physique, he didn't seem too smart, his aim failed him once, so it seemed like dodging the barrel would suffice. The whole time, his eyebrows furrowed and eyes sharpened, the expression of a stone cold predator. A totally incidental quirk of his, he had no real control over it, though it seemed like a totally purposeful intimidating glare.
"There!" Yogi finally announced, having observed more than enough. He lurched forward and began running directly at the man, still super concentrated. The big man was still a good distance away, so the cannon finished it's loading sequence. Fat man leveled the cannon once again, but Yogi juked deftly. After all, there wasn't a lot of time to dodge and all that it would take was a single shot to determine the outcome. "Not a very quick shot are you? If that's the case, I'll take you out before you can shoot," the young mage declared.
"Oh is ye? And 'ow's that? Ye gonna kick me shin's, small fry? Gahahah!" the big man laughed. Just then, Mathis's fight would come to an explosive finish, with some mint-colored maiden ripping several bandits apart, figuratively, while glowing brightly like a shooting star, literally. The fat man got distracted by the glowy light, and in that split second Yogi was right up in his face. As in, the young mage had jumped and was eye level with his opponent.
Yogi's hand jutted forward in a brief flash of motion just big man's head pivoted back towards him, and impacted against the man's jawline, causing his head turn back, his brain slightly rattled. The young mage gritted his teeth and landed low, before he swept at the man's calves with the front of his leg. The kick collided, though the man didn't stumble any, just let out an audible, "Yeowch!" before kicking Yogi like a soccer ball back in the direction of his Palace. The impact was audible, and even though it was a simple reflexive melee kick, the young man was sent hurtling through the air.
The apprentice mage would land directly on top of of palace, as though it were a stone-hard safety net. "Alright ye runt, I'll be blastin' you, and yer ugly clubhouse, right on outta this world, y'hear!" the bandit exclaimed ferociously, clearly pissed. He leveled the cannon in Yogi's direction, laughing madly. The young mage would look in his direction and snap his fingers, "King's Guard!"
Suddenly a cloud of smoke surrounded him and the entire palace, as well as the fat man, just as he fired his cannon. The sound of an explosion went off, but neither cloud cleared in that time frame. After the sound echoed away into the distance, the smoke cleared away. In their wake, Yogi was standing himself up, as though he just fell to the ground, and was proving that he was alright. The other cloud, on the other hand, revealed that he had teleported his Palace that way, encapsulating the big man, and if the trails of smoke coming from under the door frame, the explosion.
To clarify, Yogi used his Palace to contain the man's cannonball and explosion, causing him to blow himself up with his considerable weapon. There was silence for a moment, and Yogi would approach slowly, a little worse for wear. "Evict," he commanded. The front door of his palace opened up, and the fat man's unconscious body was flung unceremoniously outside, eyes rolled back into his head, and skin charred from the explosion at such a close range. Yogi walked past the body as it bounced once or twice and entered the Palace and began inspecting everything.
"Oh thank goodness..." the young mage would say after a few beats, "All I need to replace is the blanket, everything else made it out alright." As he exited the building he would look around at the pile of KO'd bodies which Mathis left in his wake. "Oh wow Mathis, you really are super tough. I could barely handle one of those guys..." he commented somewhat dejectedly, totally sweating.
Word Count: 906
Total Word Count: 5782