Moonspear a hero to the masses, to those born without chances

in the mood for a spar? arcturus sidled close to @Hydra, surveying the band of cubs which played roughly along the slopes. the cold air and the change in climes had awoken something rather nippy in the mountaineer, and he glanced sidelong to his sister with an inviting quirk of his brow.

there was no fighter, in arcturus’ eyes, that rivaled hydra. he had fought many a time against her, and each time she imparted a new lesson — often with teeth. yet if he was going to be what he knew he was born to be, it was time to put aside his regimes, his daily conditionings— and put his mettle to the test.

Hydra, too, surveyed her children romping and rolling. Where others might starve and be weaker for the events that nature sought to bring to the table, Moonspear had been prepared in several ways. Her parents had granted Hydra plenty of wisdom, and she employed it in all that she did for her family. Young as she was, she had become its matriarch and she would not lead them astray. Her cubs were healthy and fit; she would see to it that they remained so. They all would. 

The Queen heard him approach, and to his inquiry she was quiet as she considered—was she? 

Yes, always. Hydra was a physical wolf by nature; her affections were often rough, and her preferred method of bonding was through such exercises that her brother had inquired about. Her posture changed immediately to one more guarded, but she did not move away; her muzzle draped over her throat and her ears flattened atop her crown, squaring herself while still beside him.

But then, she lifted a leg, holding it close to her person. 

Lift a leg, she demanded, tail swaying behind her. It is good to know how to fight against a wolf who knows how to use it to their advantage; and should you ever become injured yourself where you cannot use the whole of your weight for a time, you should know how to fight on.

Her weight centered as best as it could be, Hydra looked to him with a wolfish grin, inviting him to begin with a playfully aloof disposition. 

She would never underestimate him; she simply wanted to test him, and to continue to help him grow. Each spar she learned more from him too; it was not as though she knew it all, though she seemed to. Part of what made Hydra so brilliant a fighter was her ability to adapt and overcome. It was true her mastery granted her the ability to predetermine and expect most everything—her brother had learned that through his own practice, now. 

Hydra would teach him to make every disadvantage an advantage.

lift a leg, his sister instructed. arcturus for a moment looked at her sidelong, as if she had sprouted a third eye. 

and then he understood — to always fight disadvantaged meant when one was truly put to the test as able as possible, they might remember some of their training. 


a dogged grin spread across the mountaineer’s face as he lurched forward, hopping on three legs — his muzzle low to the ground as he aimed a bite at her weighted foreleg. a reckless move, but one in which would sacrifice her balance if successful.

When he lurched forward, Hydra was ready; she observed his body for any telltale signs, any forewarning, of what he might do. Though there was none revealed swiftly, Hydra was able to mirror him if only a second later; her own head lowered a measure to counterbalance her rapid shift, advantaged because this was not the first time she had practiced upon three legs. His teeth might have met air were it not for the fact she had lowered her own head so that were she too slow he would meet muzzle instead of leg; that they did, and though no blood was drawn the place they moved against smarted even as she retaliated by parting her own jaws to protect vulnerable throat—

And once stabilized, Hydra used her weight to push against his, hoping that through her moving he too would have moved to follow-through. She had been anticipating this—her goal was to was to wind and unbalance alike, no teeth involved in this maneuver quite yet. 

does this make mcfrickin sense? LMK IF IT DOESN'T

his lunge was quickly parried, fangs brushing against the dark of hydra’s skull. he found himself ready to brace against her next move, only to find himself gravely unbalanced. how he had relied on that fourth appendage! and now that it was gone, found himself severely lacking.

he tried to zig, and instead fell flat on his ass from his carrying momentum and hydra’s subsequent shove. a laugh somewhere in his throat trickled out, dying quick as hydra closed in. with a lurch he was back on tripod legs again, this time turning so his raised leg was away from hydra — he had learned then, that it was better to keep the disadvantaged limb away from contact.

he swung his head gingerly, attempting not to topple himself again — his spine curved as he sought to check hydra in the shoulder with his hips.

Hydra's own amusement was withheld, her expression far more serious even as he fell—for there she saw opportunity! New to it as he was, he was on his feet again quickly without foul play (use of that banned limb) and her eyes flashed in approval. Hydra had taught him the importance of getting up again; if you remained down and were closed in upon, your life was forfeit. 

She was quicker than most on three-legs, if only due to her own practice. Her eyes did not drift to the stabilized limb close to her, though her attention was upon it. As he swung his hips near to her, Hydra shifted only slightly—she herself leaned toward the attack, counting on this for stabilization, though nearly losing her breath in the process. She moved backward some, hoping again to surprise him with the lack of her weight there should he believe he himself had found stability in her weight, fangs revealed as she moved to grab at the limb he had revealed to her, though willing to grab purchase on most anything. Should his leg end up in her mouth she would pull to unbalance once again; should it be anything else, she would simply pinch the flesh there heartily (nowhere near rough enough to break skin or cause undue harm) so he would know what he had exposed before withdrawing to prepare for her next onslaught, eyes bright as she observed him.

she was faster, used to the disadvantage of a disabled limb. Arcturus was trying, but his best was still far short of Hydra’s own. where he expected contact he found none, and was sent reeling quite literally into hydra’s teeth.

his leg was pulled out from him, accosting his balance; the pinch of her teeth just hard enough to remind him of his error. arcturus scrambled his hind paws and in a last ditch effort, attempted to crash over onto her shoulders, using her as a crutch to remain from face-first impact with the dirt.

There was a brief moment of chaos as her blow landed true—his counter was clever, and Hydra released a snarl his weight found its way upon her. Indeed she was his safety net, and it cost the Queen her own balance as the duo went down. It was a race to get up first, and Hydra lashed out with a rear leg while down so that he could not find his way onto all-threes before she did—

Ah, well, they were both on the ground—her teeth made a bid for throat to end the spar there, mute again as she used her own hinds to push herself forward so that she could find her way to that part of him, and then to attempt to hold him there in a gentle vice.

a moment of victory for arcturus was quickly eclipsed as together they went down. a tangle of limbs ensued, arcturus having to struggle now to right himself, remembering and feeling keenly his missing leg. her kick landed in full on his hips, delaying the rise to his feet.

in a flash it was over; the cold sensation of teeth around throat. arcturus froze, eyes briefly finding hydra’s cunning gaze — his legs went limp, and he laid there in wait of hydra’s move.

Her teeth landed true, and she felt his body slacken; Hydra released him then, and rose to all three legs before placing her fourth down. You did well, she acknowledged, ears cupped toward him. She felt the eyes of her children upon them, and hoped they were able to see it all so as to learn some things themselves. It is good to know how to fight against those more used to this handicap, and to understand the handicap yourself. A wolf without a limb may still know well how to fight; it is best to expect that. Always believe that the wolf you are against is the strongest wolf you might ever face—that way you will never be taken by surprise, she advised coolly. Shaking out her ruff and settling onto her haunches, Hydra moved to groom the matted limb that had an assortment of pebble and stone entangled in it from dragging against the earth. Her teeth gingerly plucked at these objects, ears listening for any questions her brother might have.

once released from his sibling’s grip arcturus rose, happily united with the limb that for the last five minutes of their scuffle he had sorely missed. as hydra groomed herself arcturus listened with a tilt of both ears in interest.

truth be told he felt invigorated by the spar: he had learned many things of value today, including hydra’s sage advice. can we do this daily? his mind already was preparing new stratagems to try, new practicum to apply.. and maybe someday, he might be as skilled as moonspear’s queen.

Hydra paused in her grooming to look to her brother when he spoke; she need not think much on the answer, as she had wanted to suggest as much. To improve her own skill was something Hydra sought; she practiced with Lyra daily, too, never one to become soft or slow or forgetful. The Queen was a woman who was always moving; she had learned all that she could from two other masters, and did not think that because she had become one herself that she had finished in her education. 

If she had it her way, she would never stop learning. And she felt, even if he did not know it, Arcturus had plenty to teach himself. Alright, she accepted, ears flicking. I will find you tomorrow for another spar, she informed.

relieved to hear his sister amenable, arcturus felt a smile skip across his features quick and as fleeting as stone across water. he hid it swiftly, hoping hydra would not notice between the hefty lick of her grooming tongue. he had much the same opinion as her: to practice daily was to become better, and to become better was to stay the best.

he nodded, a silent acceptance to his movements. with his physical energy needs for the day met, the mountaineer chose to linger along the den's promontory, playing sentinel for the rest of the night.