Sawtooth Spire ultraviolence

@Nanuk

He climbed his way up to a rock shelf, then peered out over the view. It was breathtaking, really. He had previously lived in a forest and meadow near the sea, so this terrain was entirely new to him. He hadn't fallen down the mountain nor skewered himself on any rocks yet, so that was good. Of course, he hadn't ventured very far up until now and he was still less than halfway up the to the spire's peak, which he glanced at now. He couldn't begin to imagine the views from up there.

The heights didn't seem to bother him (his grandmother had been notoriously scared of them), at least. Actually, he couldn't tear his dark eyes away once he faced the panorama again. He sat, then eventually slumped forward, even inching to the edge to let his forelegs dangle. His tongue lolled out in a pant, seeing as the sun was striking him rather directly from here. At least he had pale fur. Still, it wouldn't be long before he would have to retreat and find something to drink.

The pale Beta was relearning how to live on a mountain and thought she wasn't horrifically bad at it, the process was still a bit frustrating. While the Spine had been similar, it was nothing like the steeper slopes of the Spire. Her muscles wore faster and her footing slipped at times but she was steadily improving, which meant her general mood was doing the same. Not that it had been noticeable to anyone but herself but she could tell the difference, at least. Besides, she much preferred the mountain, especially in the instance that any others came against the Spire.

Along that trail of thought, Nanuk figured that it would be best to practice fighting upon the slopes and who better to help her than the newbie himself. She needed to get an idea of his skills anyway. "Kanik," she called, spotting him peering out over the edge of a nearby drop. Ears tipped forward, her eyes fixed on him. "The hell're you doing?"

He turned when he heard the scrape of leathery paw pads on shale. His dark eyes rested on Nanuk's face a moment before dropping to her feet. He pushed himself upright but kept his posture appropriate for his place in the ranks as he moved toward her. Wicked hesitated briefly before giving her a companionable bump to her jaw.

"I've never been up this high, ever," he explained, "so I was checking out the views." His ear twisted and he glanced off at the scenery for a few beats before facing the Beta again. "My mother used to tell me I take after my grandmother. She was my dad's mom but they were close. I never got to meet her. Anyway," he continued, realizing he was rambling, "she was terrified of heights but I'm glad to tell you I didn't inherit that trait.

The hell are you doing?" he asked in the next breath, his tone tentatively teasing.

So heights were a new thing for him. Not unheard of, seeing as some wolves hadn't ever scaled a mountain, or even seen one but he would overcome it. He would have to because he was a wolf of the Spire now. Her eyes roved the landscape, observing as he rambled, one ear twisted his way to indicate that she was not ignoring him. 

"Heights are a bitch," She agreed. There was no fear in her voice; only consideration. If you fell, that was pretty much it. Did that stop her? Absolutely not. She would teach herself to have the upper hand here and that was it. That was her end all option, and there was no wiggle room in it 

She refocused. "I'm here to kick your ass." Potentially. But with that, her posture adjusted, lips lifting to form an aggressive expression. Without any more warning than what she'd already given him, Nanuk rushed the male, snapping teeth at his face and body.

Do we track HP? I'm fine with him losing, for the record!

I rolled but attacking didn't make sense yet, so we can just... ignore it, lol.

He froze at her words. He still didn't know Nanuk well enough to properly gauge whether she was kidding around or if she seriously felt like kicking his ass for the hell of it. As she rushed him, he dropped instinctively, arcing his snout downward to protect his throat. He was used to senseless onslaughts. At his former home, attempting to defend himself only resulted in more damage, so while Wicked attempted to block her, he did not fight back right away, even when her teeth scraped against his eye socket and cheek.

He did leap sideways, flanks twitching, threads of blood rising to stain his pale fur. "Uh," he panted, "this is just more playful hazing, right?" He was pretty sure she was just messing with him yet again, though his heart beat rapidly against his rib cage, genuine anxiety pumping through his bloodstream. What would he do if she turned out like his uncles after all?

Actually, the way I've done it is just doing 5 rounds of hit/miss stuff from each of us and whoever ends up with the most hits wins! If that works for you, of course.

She had assumed that he'd react differently, which made her at fault entirely. It also made her an asshole but she came off that way a lot so that wasn't given as much thought as slamming on the breaks. Her teeth brushed fur but the Beta yanked her head back fast, hopefully fast enough to keep from drawing blood. He was pack; she did not seek to harm, she sought to learn and to train. Had he actually thought...?

She took a step back, eyeing him for a moment. "Welp. I fucked up." It was as close as he'd get to an apology and if he knew how/could learn to speak Nanuk, he'd be able to pick it out for what it was. She knew nothing about him or his past and perhaps his old pack had randomly attacked each other. "Not exactly, but I'm not looking to bleed you either." Her tail waved, a sign of friendliness, hopefully. She wasn't good at that shit.

"Spar," She said, trying to explain and come away from her blunder. "To see how you fight and how you can improve." Yeah. That.

Sounds good!

She quickly clarified her purpose and Wicked felt some of the tension leave his body as he straightened out somewhat. "Aha," he replied, feigning nonchalance. "I knew that." He cleared his throat, then felt the need to explain, "Remember those uncles I mentioned? They liked to sic the others on me, if not go after me themselves." But I got the last laugh in the end and they're going to burn in hell, he thought, his dark eyes gleaming like live coals.

He didn't give her time to really process that. If it was a spar she wanted, it was a spar she would get! Wicked dropped again, then quickly lunged at her. Her comment about bloodshed led him to believe it not only wasn't the goal, it was to be avoided. Keeping this in mind, he swiped at her with a paw, snapping his fangs harmlessly several inches from her face just for show.

Link to Roll Thread for easy access!

Do we want to count this as round 2 or reset it since they got all awko-taco?

Sure he knew that. But she didn't comment on the statement, as it was her fault for not announcing her intentions, especially if he had that kind of past. Totally her bad, but not something to be further discussed apparently, as he lunged. Automatically, her head lowered to protect her throat, her teeth snapping much like his as the distance between them closed rapidly. Her lips peeled back to show her teeth, ears laying back moments before she moved.

Her mass, though not quick, gained speed as she sought to rush his thinner former and shoulder check him in the chest or side to get him on the ground quick. Throwing her weight around was a frequent first move for the Beta as the quicker she knocked her opponent down, the shorter the fight. Less chance of tiring out and all that.

Haha, I don't know. This is why I don't often use the dice. I find it confusing to match up with the writing. *dumb* How about she just kicks his ass?! XD

She reacted swiftly, baring her teeth even as she scrambled out of his way. His paw swiped nothing but air even as Nanuk's teeth clicked close to his face. Her threat was as toothless as his, though she followed it up with a genuine rush. Her shoulder dug into the sweet spot just behind the crook of Wicked's leg. It tickled horribly for a moment. A strange laugh burst from him even as he pushed back, grinding his feet into the stony ground in order not to lose his footing. As soon as the Beta's attack lost momentum, he leaped clear.

Knowing she wouldn't give him much if any time to recover, Wicked whirled as quickly as he could and snapped his jaws again as a mild deterrent. Sensing that she wanted nothing more than to get him off his feet, he dropped close to the ground, lowering his center of gravity and making her job a lot tougher. He then drove at her like some sort of over-sized weasel, aiming a bite at her ankles. He would keep the pack's rule in mind and make sure that if he did manage to get his teeth on her, he would avoid breaking the skin.

I'm down. Let's scrap the dice and let him get a few hits in too! :D

He laughed. She growled, unperturbed and undistracted. His presence shifted, moved, and she attempted to follow though her girth did not allow such quick and precise action. Yanking her snout back from his teeth, Nanuk retreated as he pressed himself low to the ground, hackles rising as her fur puffed out a bit in an involuntary movement to make herself bigger, more intimidating. His similarly pale form scuttled towards her and in an odd motion, the Beta attempted to avoid those teeth, no matter how gentle the bite. She felt his jaws close on her ankle though and instead of pulling her extremity from his grasp, she used it to her advantage. 
 
Her own teeth were not as gentle as she aimed for his scruff, looking to rip him off the ground and overturn him. The scuttling was a new tactic for her, one she had not seen or dealt with prior so whether or not her own motion would work for her or against her remained to be seen.

He found it hard to resist the temptation to apply pressure when his jaws closed around Nanuk's leg. She saved him the crisis of conscious when she grabbed at his scruff, yanking upward. His loose flesh tightened in her grip and he had no choice but to rise. In the process, her ankle was torn from between his teeth. Wicked felt like a pup being hoisted by its mother and jerked, instinctively resentful. He struggled to break her grasp on his nape, tearing his own flesh in the process. That was his own fault and he didn't care, just as long as he could get away.

Finally, he tore free and fell back, snarling in displeasure. Of course, he calmed down within seconds, reminding himself it was all in good fun. He was tempted to scuttle at her again but the yearling backed up instead, inviting her to attack first this round. If he was intended as both a Warrior and a Warden, he would need to beef up both his offensive and defensive skills.

Not sure if she drew blood?? That's how I read it. >>

Blood. There was the taste of blood but right now, she paid little attention to it, knowing she had not gripped as hard as she could have. Had his own movements caused it? Perhaps, or she could just not know her own strength, but either way, what was done was done. She would make sure of his well-being after they finished. He backed away and without thinking, the beast charged with gnashed teeth and intent to bowl him over again. If she could pin him, she could end this sooner rather than later. With the titans that the pack consisted of, he would do well to learn that battles would end as quickly as possible, especially in events like rank challenges or pack-run events.

Technically, he did! He's not very good at the SS style of fighting, lol. Actually, I think he's not good at fighting, period, despite what he thinks...

And that's why HE DED now. Would you like to conclude this? :)

Although he readied himself for her attack, he underestimated the force with which she would charge him. Wicked reared onto his hind legs to fence her, yet this just raised his center of gravity and made his position more unsteady. Nanuk smashed into him so forcefully that it knocked the wind clean out of him, so that he went down gasping and choking beneath her. His back slammed onto the ground and all the yearling could think was, Damn! He was an experienced guardian but Nanuk had really gotten the best of him.

He tried to roll onto his side underneath her, his chest still tight. "Looks like I have plenty of room for improvement," Wicked quipped dryly, wincing a bit. "I'm gonna be in a world of hurt tomorrow. Mind if we call it? You win." Slowly, he picked himself off the ground, head and tail low. "I definitely vote for you to train me," he added, licking his lips. He hoped Nanuk could make time for that. It was clear he could learn a lot from the Beta female.

-continues sadfacing at you!!!!- But it was wonderful writing with you/Wicked! :D

Her move was successful; down he went, and down he would stay, even if he rolled on to his side. With him talked, she remained silent as she looked over the wound he'd gained, cleaning it with her tongue a bit before determining that it was superficial and would likely heal with no complications. (Not that he'd have a chance to develop any.)

"Done," She replied simply, content with the thought of training their newest family member. That he was open to such improvement was a good sign and in the days to come, she intended to find him and keep him on his tar-dipped toes. For now though, she withdrew and allowed him to rise only to give him an amicable nudge to the shoulder. With instructions to wash off the wound, Nanuk left him then, going once more to patrol their borders as she so often did. 

Thread fade!