A sheepish howl fell from Acacia's lips. It had been long since she last found herself in a pack, and considering she never learned the proper tone of communication, she figured she'd have to teach herself. Her late mate had the tendency to call her tone-deaf, which she didn't think he should have the right to do considering that he'd grown up with a family. He'd already learned these things.
She paused for a moment and looked down at the puddle before her. It was shallow, but had just enough water for her to see her rejuvenated reflection. Her dull fur and eyes now had a twinge of light to them, and she liked it. It reminded her of the old days.
She tilted her head once more and slowly released a smooth note, only loud enough for her to hear. "For you, mom."
(im assuming this takes place after the avalanche!)
The sun burned up in the heavens, adopting its place at the zenith of the sky. The beast was in constant disagreement with himself over his favor of the winter for its cold, or the summer for its bountiful prey; when the snow began to recede and introduce the final warmth of spring, it also brought a warmth that was unrelenting. The dragon quickly grew overheated beneath his thick coat and found himself panting, salmon tongue slipping from between his teeth. Although the day was not as hot as those of summer, he was already beginning to find the heat tedious. So did the debris that had since tumbled down the mountainside on that fateful day. He had noticed streams of water sliding off of the slumped snow and dirt, the white beginning to bleed into muddy brown and grey. It was a sure sign that spring would bring flooding to the Vale, an event he was quickly growing leery of.
Xi'nuata had gone; he last caught her scent at the borders, and it continued into the wilderness of the mountains. It concerned the beast, but he knew she would return home before the end of the day. He allowed her her solitude. In turn, it awarded the dragon an opportunity to keep to himself. But, for all the days he had spent imprisoned by the monk, Raheerah realized how hungry he had been for companionship. His own solitude would not last long before he found himself seeking the presence of his packmates, curious for their affairs.
The first he stumbled upon was Acacia. It seemed only fitting, as he had concerned himself for her well being since finding her collapsed in the path of the avalanche. It was not on a personal level - rather, he was concerned that she would not be able to perform as desired as a member of his faction. So upon sighting her, Raheerah loped towards the female, uttering a deep rumble in greeting.
Acacia looked behind her and saw the beast heading in her direction. Though her instincts told her he was a danger with his large physique and...personality, she held her place knowing he would not truly hurt her. Or so she hoped. After all, she was a newcomer and had yet to meet most of her pack mates.
She stopped her practice howls and bowed respectfully to her superior. 'Twas the midst of the seasonal change, and she had found that with the stress that had been put on her body the day of the avalanche and the paranoia of living with strangers, she needn't stress herself further with the hatred of a Upper Ranking wolf (OOC: Not in the sense that she hates him, but rather that she would anger him).
"I am sorry for my sheepish reaction to the event. It hasn't happened since...since I was a pup. Again I am terribly sorry. I just..." she said before stopping herself in fear of disrespectful blabber.
The sight of her respectful bow pleased him, and the beast ushered forth a swift stream of air from his nostrils in approval. He proceeded near her, stopping a few paces from the female to look her over. She appeared to be doing well, though Raheerah could never truly read the emotions of his peers unless they were painfully obvious. He simply made an assumption based off of her appearance, and that alone contented him, seeing that she was (outwardly) in fair health. But soon enough she presented an apology, referring back to the day of the avalanche.
The beast often tried to dislodge memories of the disaster from his mind. He did not like remembering the panic and the frantic searching for his Lham; the feelings still inspired anger in him. His single eye glanced away and the beast shifted. "Iiit shaaalll not happeenn aagaaiin." He grumbled and focused back on her. He didn't know what had caused her to collapse that day in the wake of the avalanche, but the dragon was determined to ensure it would not repeat itself. "Thhee Vaaale shaall not toleraate weeeaakneesss anyy longeerr. Weeee shaall remedyy thiiss."
Raheerah again adjusted his position, standing tall before the woman. As a member of the warrior faction, he expected her to perform aptly, to exercise the strength and skill of her body. He would bring it out of her, no matter how long it took. Lashing his tail behind, Raheerah waited for her reaction, curious to know if she was indeed ready for what he had in store. He would train her regardless.
Acacia released a long and broken breath before standing tall and looking Raheerah in the eye. "I will not disappoint you any more than I have. I came injured and acted as though I were a warrior, but a warrior is not a coward. I know I can do this." Another breath came before she slowly tilted her head back and released a mournful howl for those who she had come to know and let down.
Her howl was for those she had hurt, for those she had doubted, and for those who she had given reason to doubt her. Because she meant it; she was a warrior, and from this point forward she would act like one.
i'm intending for him to train her by sparring with her, i hope thats okay! :'D PM me if you have any issues!
As much as she believed she was a failure, she had yet to truly disappoint him. Raheerah was a patient beast, and though he had witnessed the woman collapse pathetically in the wake of the avalanche, she did manage to rise when prompted and she successfully made it back to the tree, to safety. That alone meant that she was willing to live, to improve, to fight - to better herself. And wasn't that the very core of his ruling, to become better? Her apology warranted naught but another airy snort from the dragon, and a slow nod as he held her gaze. He allowed her to pass her song into the skies, to keep whatever sentiment it was that made her sublunary.
But as soon as the sound ended, he moved in another step, bristling the hair along his spine. "Wee beegin nooowww." Raheerah rumbled, and gave her no time to prepare. She had to be quick on her feet, ready for the unexpected; so he lunged at her without warning, aiming to thrust his chest into hers and knock her off balance, snapping his teeth at her cheek and ears.
Acacia's eyes grew wide on impact, as she had rolled backward and into the shallow puddle behind her. She quickly found her feet and shook out her coat before quickly lunging back at Raheerah. She knew he was larger and more experienced, but nothing about him terrified her more than his temper. She hesitated. "What are you doing?" she thought to herself. She regained composure and lunged with a snarl at Raheerah's neck trying to grapple his ruff under her paws.
His launch had been successful, and he managed to shove the woman back; the thrust had caused his thrashing teeth to miss their mark, but that didn't matter. For a moment, he wondered if she would be willing to even reciprocate, but he received his answer when she lunged back at him, trying to go for his neck. Raheerah braced his legs, spacing them evenly beneath him so that he would be able to hold her weight. He admired her tenacity - it was considered ferocious to immediately seek somebody's throat, rather than wear them down. Her attack landed true, and she maintained a hold on his scruff; the dragon lowered his front half to ease the sudden arrival of her weight on his front half, but just as quickly used all of his muscle power to launch upward, trying to throw her off. If he wasn't successful, then he would simply shake his head, his neck and his shoulders, to see how well she would be able to keep her hold.
Acacia whimpered quietly as Raheerah's body began to quake, though she knew this was her chance to prove herself. She kicked her hind legs upward to encase themselves near his shoulders to help her keep a hold of the dragon. She held on as her teeth and claws slowly began to slip until she could no longer hold herself up and fell down before the beast.
"I will prove myself", Acacia whispered to herself as she felt a rage build up inside of her. No, the rage was not for the Beta of which she had sparred, nor was it for herself, but instead a rage came from something she couldn't recognize. This was something new, something she'd never experienced before. And it felt amazing.
(just to let you know, Raheerah is actually Alpha now, but its not OOC official yet :P also, this is fun! :D)
She managed to hold on to him for quite a while; when she kicked her hind legs, he had to pause for a moment to strengthen his own posture, bracing his legs again to keep her aloft. His neck was growing sore from the constant thrashing, but eventually she managed to slide off, falling onto the earth before him. The unprecedented lack of weight on his shoulders caused the beast to rear back, growling deeply. But he was quick to return to his previous position, his front legs spaced and lower half bowed as if in anticipation for another lunge from her. His lips curled back, revealing rows of yellowing fangs eager to sink into the flesh of his enemies - but not her. Raheerah would not shed her blood today.
He unleashed another attack, charging headlong at the woman. This time, he aimed to wrap his jaws around her shoulder and try to throw her into the ground. Hopefully, she would take a lesson from him and brace herself; if she was strong enough, perhaps she could withstand his throw and keep her footing.
Acacia saw the snarl on Raheerah's face and smirked before returning the notion. He lunged at her and she stepped back before feeling his teeth graze the flesh of her shoulder. She winced and grimaced before taking the open side of his own body into her jaws and trying to wriggle out of his grasp. Her paws slid on the ground as if she were on ice, but what was currently important was not her footing, but her grip and her determination.
Acting outside of his expectation, instead of bracing herself or simply letting herself be thrown to the ground, she stepped back, reducing the effectiveness of his hold. Raheerah grasped more the side of her neck than her shoulder and had to encroach on her further in order to keep his hold. Now, though, she was on his blind side; it resulted in a clean grasp on his own shoulder from the woman without an opportunity for the dragon to avoid it. A wild rumbling emanated from his chest and he revoked his advance, taking a step backward and releasing her. Instead, his neck arched tightly to the left and his head turned, trying to grab her muzzle between his teeth and forcefully dislodge her.
Acacia felt the powerful jaws of her superior lodge themselves around her muzzle and yank her off. Because her feet were already uneven in stance, she stumbled backwards into a nearby tree. Despite the fact that she now had a minor bruise on her hind leg and a cut on her jawline, she snarled again and began to walk slowly toward Raheerah, testing him to see if the sparring was to continue. She tried to keep from walking straight toward him and instead walked in a circle, tracing his line of vision.
Utilizing brute strength, he tore her away from his shoulder, leaving a large gash where her teeth had once sunk into his skin. Soreness emanated from every where else she had launched her attacks, but Raheerah dismissed the sensation and watched her closely as she stumbled into the tree. As if heedless for her new wounds - an act with consequently pleased the dragon, feeding him a great pride - she got back up and slowly approached him again, circling him. He had become the prey now, but he could sense her hesitation; was she waiting for him to attack, or simply permission for her to?
Following a lash of his raised tail, Raheerah watched her, forced to turn his body in order to keep her within his sight. "Doo nooot hooold baack." He instructed, curling his lips back in a sneer. She was free to attack him once more, if she chose to; but the beast had done considerable damage for a spar, and was not expecting her to retaliate so readily.
Unsure of whether Raheerah's words were a ploy for another attack or not, Acacia dropped her snarl but remained standing. She lowered her tail and sat back, but kept a small distance between her haunches and the ground. She tilted her head slowly, trying to read Raheerah's face to see if she could dig out his intent. But her intuition was not currently in her favor and she, therefore, found the sudden silence and locked stare quite frightful to her anxiety levels. So she broke the silence.
"It has been long since I last fought, especially in that manner. Of course, there were scuffles for food in my days alone, but that, that was almost a nostalgic feeling." Acacia sighed. Once again, she felt almost like her old self.
good spar!! i'm going to bed now <3
With all of his defenses erected - ears flat, single eye narrowed and tail poised to retreat between his hind legs should she lunge for it - Raheerah was ready to see her fly at him with teeth bared. But instead she erased the snarl from her visage and eased back onto her haunches, signalling the end of the spar. The monster followed, straightening up. He strode towards her, closing the distance between them and leaving a few good feet before he halted. "Yoou wiiill bee fiighting moore ooffteennn. Thhe Vaaale willl ruuunnn aas ruuthless waarriors. To bee feeared. Reeveered." He snorted, though it was more of a warning; he had great plans for the pack nestled in their paradise, and he intended to follow them through.
All he needed was bodies willing to participate, but once the change in the Vale's leadership reached the ears of the Wilds' other inhabitants, he was sure it would sufficiently pique their curiosity. "Yoou wiiill be fiightiinng for moorre thaan foood." Raheerah added, glancing aside. That may be what scavengers would cross their borders for, and they would extinguish them one by one; but his intentions lay beyond the protection of their tangible possessions. He craved to leave an impression. To make a dent in the corrupted existence that was this species - for them to remember his name, and his warriors. Forever.
Acacia clenched her jaw. Based on what Raheerah had just stated, she would need to improve pretty damn quickly. She looked around at her surroundings, turning her head in ways that would allow her to still see the beast. "As a pack, we'll be fighting more. You say not only for food, but you do not evaluate." She straightened her back and focused her eyes on his, ready for an explanation.
A low rumbling erupted up from his throat; it was not imposing or aggressive, but agitated, and it held a tense discomfort for what he was going to tell the woman before him. "Oouur defeennsesss haave been maaade foool of." He licked his teeth and clicked them as he spoke, bristling the strands of slick, grey fur that lined his body. "Thheey haave been mocked. Byy thoose ooff thee Creeeek." He frowned. "Iiii do noott staaand foor suuch insoleennnce." It was a miracle how the beast had not yet traipsed into the Creek's territory and done away with all of them yet. But he held restraint; he knew that Xi'nuata had extended diplomacy to their leader, and he would respect the agreement they settled on. "Woould yoouu?" He added, narrowing his singular gaze to a slit.
Acacia huffed and stood on all fours. Her tail sat neutrally behind her, still, only moving when the wind brushed against her fur. Her ears stood alert and her jaws held stiff. "I am willing to oblige any respected individual above me", she said, now leaning her front portion down, "and you have all of my respect. Therefore my answer is no; any disconduct within the Vale is now my problem as well, and I shall deal with it as one."