Totoka River Defeated no more

@Spyridon Let's do this! Sparring Pits; Link

Burke had traveled further and further from Black Feather than he actually intended to. His long legs seemed to have carried him for miles for exploring purposes. He was actually trying to find Swift Current's location but, the large male didn't seem to do well with mapping. He didn't mind that much since it brought him to an interesting location. Burke scouted his surroundings. Before him was a shallow river that ended in a far bigger lake. He had seen it before. A sea. Although the river seemed to go on for a few miles till it was reached.

The masked male moved forward and then took a few sips from the streaming water. His docked tail held high. He was confident. His blue eyes looked up when the male thought he saw some movement. He wasn't entirely sure.

Instigate away! ;)

Spring was on its way. Spyridon could feel it in his toes, in the air, and in the way the trees moved. It hadn't gotten any warmer, nor had the snow begun to melt, but he knew it would not be long. The winter had been a mild one, on all accounts, and he did not worry for Ankyra Sound's safety and longevity. It would prosper, even if it did not burst at the seams with wolves. Soon, when a siren was chosen, she would bring the moon and sea's gift of life beneath the watchful eye of Caiaphas, their queen.

He was away from his home, having been tracking down a herd of deer which seemed to have gone the way he did not want them to. The consort sighed, then began to move toward the river. It was there that he spotted a grey wolf with an oddly familiar sight: a stubbed tail. The feature might not have meant much to other wolves, but Spyro's own grandmother had sported the same look. From what he recalled, her sister had bitten it when she was very young, and it had fallen off not much later. His curiosity was piqued.

Once he was a comfortable distance, Spyro snorted to alert the other to his presence.

Burke raised his stump of a tail more as the stranger came closer. His coat color was one he was used to seeing in Black Feather. The large male returned the snort as a greeting. He kept his head high, showing off his confidence. He knew he was not close to a pack. This was all neutral territory for the both of them. The male seemed to be interested in him. Well how wonderful. Burke liked to have wolves admire him.

A slow grin came on his muzzle. He was a wolf that would show respect if respect was given to him. "Hello," he greeted. While his fur scented of that of the dark woods and swamps this individual had the same salty scent as the sea had. The stranger might have some connections to it. "Do you live close to the sea?," the masked make wondered.

The other spoke, presumably a greeting, though Spyridon understood none of it. Instead of attempting to explain, the consort merely shrugged his shoulders, then gave the stranger an apologetic look. Perhaps he should have one of the sisters teach him the words to explain that much. Letting others know that he could not understand them would be useful. Perhaps even Kevlyn could do him the service.

Spyro ducked his head, then wagged his tail, inviting the stranger to—of all things—play. There were no rules against testing the strength of other wolves, and Spyro was out of practice when it came to wolves outside of Ankyra Sound. The more experience he had, the easier it would be to defend his home against enemies. Spyro barked, encouraging the stranger to join him.

Burke frowned lightly when he didn't even got a reply. A snort came from his nostrils, almost offended that this one wouldn't even greet him back. Did the other think he was too good for him? Although then came that expression and it almost seemed like he didn't understand what he was saying. The large brute frowned some more. He did understand that the male wanted to... play? He hadn't played in a long time. The bark eventually encouraged him. The charcoal male stepped closer and sunk a bit through his front paws too.

His docked tail rose and wiggled a bit. Only a bit. Secretly Burke liked this surprise playfulness. Something that did not happen at Black feather woods. His blue eyes on the male, dipping his head briefly to show that he accepted his offer. Burke didn't wait for the male to get ready. Instantly he jumped forward and tried to bite into one of the stranger's front paw to unbalance him with his weight.

Burke won the spar, yipee!

Back and forth they went, taking playful nips and bites at one another. As the spar wore on, though Spyridon knew that he would not win this one. Not because he was worse, but it was merely the will of the gods that he not do so. Attack after attack of his missed, while the stubby-tailed stranger seemed to calculate his every move.

Winded, Spryidon finally stood down, his ears flattening atop his skull as he stood low and licked his lips in deference. It had only been a friendly fight, but his opponent had clearly won. Unlike how some others might have felt, Spyro took it in stride, flashing the stranger a look of congratulations.

Omg yay! Also thank you for helping me! <3

Burke had quite the experience with fighting, yet most of that was the sparring with his brother for dominance. This was just a friendly spar with a stranger. The most important thing was that this male across from him was unknown to Burke. It was quite refreshing to see some new moves and not knowing what his sparring partner would do in defense or attack. With his brother he could easily predict it. Burke did manage to get the upper hand with a bite in the mute's scruff.

Burke knew this was only a friendly match, so when the male signaled his defeat Burke let go and stepped a few steps back. He bowed his head respectfully, silently thanking the other for showing him how a friendly spar could go. "Thank you. I hope you understood that?" Burke didn't sound rude, just calm and polite.

Unfortunately, Spyridon's language barrier was not about to be thwarted by a few mere words, no matter how often he considered that it might be useful to communicate with outsiders. It simply wasn't meant to be, and the Epivitoras was well outside the age where he could readily pick up another language. Nevertheless, it didn't seem as though his stubby-tailed friend was angry with him. If anything, his stance and body language suggested that he was quite pleased and still friendly, even after their little practice spar.

To indicate that he hadn't understood, Spyro rolled his shoulders into a shrug and flicked his ear idly. An idea occurred to him, and Spyridon yapped, then bounded a few steps away before looking back at his former opponent expectantly. He barked once more, took a few more steps, wagged his tail, and panted. Yes, this really would have been more simple if he could've communicated with words, but perhaps he could spell it out just as well with movement and more basic sounds.

Burke watched the male who didn't seem to understand any of his words. Interesting. This was really a good way of going back to basics in communication. The large male studied his movements to try and gather what the other wanted to tell him. His pale eyes stayed on the male who went a few steps backward and barked. To then repeat it again. Follow? Did he want Burke to follow him? Burke stepped forwards the steps the other had stepped backwards. Burke followed his movements. Did he want to play some more?

The large male normally wasn't a follower but now it just seemed to go natural since it was almost a kind of play, a way of communicating. Burke found it interesting how quickly he seemed to leave other emotions so he could understand what the other wanted to tell him.

I actually forgot what I was planning here, so... improvising! P.S. You get post #100!

Convinced (rightly or wrongly) that his new acquaintance had understood, Spyridon began to bounce happily toward Ankyra Sound. Hopefully, in doing so, his playmate would get the gist that he lived there. And while they couldn't rightly communicate, Spryo couldn't see any harm in bringing his stubby-tailed friend to the place where he lived. Maybe they could repeat this encounter again some day. And if he didn't understand... well, perhaps it would just be a one-off thing.

Whether or not the unnamed male was following him, Spyro finally arrived near Ankyra Sound, then looked back to see if his playmate had followed, eyes bright with anticipation. Spyridon barked again, wagged his tail, and panted, looking over his home and wondering if his common-tongue companion would understand. Spyro's scent was among those that lingered on the outskirts of Ankyra Sound, though it was far less pungent than those of the sirens.

Improvising is the best way. Yay for 100 posts! :D 

Burke followed the male which lead to a pack border. Burke wasn't sure if the male was trying to tell him that he lived here. Or if he wanted to recruit Burke for his own pack. He wasn't so fond of the sea. It was unknown to him. The tank of a male studied the male's behavior. It seemed like he wanted to tell him that he lived here. Burke nodded, saying that he understood. He lived here by the sea, but he could have scented that in his fur. That is when he sniffled the borders more closely. "Caiaphas?," he then questioned. Oh so that is where the siren queen lived, good to know.

Burke slowly smiled and bobbed his head in a thank you. The male would probably know her name since she would be his alpha. It would be nice to see him repeat it so he might get a hint of an accent, or maybe the wolf was just a mute in general. 

Now there was a word he recognized, and Spyridon's tail beat rapidly back and forth as he nodded. "Καϊάφα!"[1] he exclaimed in his thick Greek accent, mirth surrounding the word. The queen was the most important wolf of any siren pack, and so he was delighted to know that his stubby-tailed friend seemed to know, or at least know of, her. It was delightfully wonderful how such a simple word could bring him so much joy.

"Εσύ την ξέρεις!" he added, though he realized his playmate would likely not understand a word of that exclamation. Spyro wondered if it would be worth it to have a translator between the two of them... but when he thought on it a moment longer, the Epivitoras realized that making friends outside of the sound likely wasn't the best idea. Unless he could somehow convince stub-tail to come live with The Nereides, it was unlikely that they would ever be more than chance friends if they ran into each other again. The thought was slightly saddening, but Spyro had been through this before. The sirens were far more important than whatever needs he had.

Sighing, Spyro looked back to his home, then to stub-tail. This is where they would part, and the Epivitoras would go back to serving the sisters. Perhaps his friend served different wolves, different gods, but the short moment of animalistic understanding had been a breath of fresh air for Spyridon. "Αντίο," he said, a note of finality before he moved away from stub-tail and back home. But who knew? Maybe stub-tail would come around again some day and elicit more friendly games.

[1]: Caiaphas!

Thank you for the thread <3 I will archive it!

Burke was a bit shocked by the accent that came to his ears. He had never heard of it to be honest and he had no clue what he was saying but the male seemed to be happy so Burke was too. He had learned from this wolf not only that friendly spars could work but also that even while not speaking the same language it was possible to communicate in a way. He seemed pleased about the fact that he knew his leader. Burke only nodded and barked back playfully to tell him that he was glad for him. 

Burke let the male return to his home. He didn't know much about it, only that it was close to the sea. The large male then turned around to get to his own home. He had been exploring more than enough. He let out a howl to the other wolf, it was a pleasant howl, to then further his path. It was also a goodbye. Maybe they would meet again.