Two Rivers Isle Pity Party

She had awoken that morning with a desire to fight. It had been long, too long, since she had had a true spar, not some frantic battle tinged with hate and desperation. She slipped from her den, confident strides taking her to the inner territory, where she quickly found a clearing within the trees. Her eyes surveyed the spot, discovering it to be flat and covered with hard-packed earth, and circled the area once to discover if it would suit her designated purpose. It was large, rimmed by thick undergrowth on one side, sparse trees on the other. 

Her mind turned to @Shink, having never before seen him fight nor spar with another, and was curious of his skill. Therefore, it has him she howled for, an invitation to a spar, hoping that he would accept. Once the last notes had left her muzzle, she sat at the edge of the clearing. Silver optics scanning the treeline should he appear.

Soft birdsong filtered through the usual rustle of the forest as the yearling padded around his nest, nose pressed to the ground as he breathed in the familiar musty scents. Burke's was still fresh since their last talk yet the brute had long since returned to his partner leaving Shink to investigate the hollow further. It was nestled amongst the muddied roots of a large oak, sheltered from the elements and, besides a few spiders which he had eaten quite quickly, seemingly uninhabited. His thoughts had just turned from inspecting his den to to the estranged alchemist when a howl sounded close by, musical and summoning as he pricked his ears towards the source of the motif.

He didn't recognise the tone of the call, yet curiosity got the better of him and he swung himself into a steady trot, arriving at the fringes of the clearing soon after the song was sung. With his head tilted in interest, he emerged from the brush to bring his movements to a stop before the silvery vixen, pool alight as his curious posture morphed into a friendly wave of his tail as he reclined onto his haunches before the vixen. "Aeronwyn', he spoke, a hint of excitement shone through as he continued, "What have you called me here for?".

He arrived quickly, amiable and clearly excited. His friendly nature caused the ghost of a smile to appear on her muzzle as she greeted him with a chuff and a nod. Odd. The wraith seemed to be smiling quite a bit lately, which was out of character for her. Though she realized, she had changed, perhaps for the better.

Turning her attention to the matter at hand, Aeronwyn began speaking, small smile still on her features.  "Shink. I've called you because I search for a partner with which to spar, and you are the only packmate I have not yet fought or seen fighting. Would you oblige me with a friendly spar, perhaps? We would both do well to learn from it."

At the mention of a spar, the boys ears perked up and he listened intently to the rest of her speech. He had trained with Malice recently and, though he had lost, he was more than willing to develop his skills if it was for th better of their forming pack. More importantly, gaining knowledge would allow him to be able to protect the youngsters and ensure no harm could come to them from outsiders. He nodded slowly, thinking through the vixen's offer. "Of course," he agreed, letting his tail buff the ground as he continued. I have trained with Malice before yet I agree, it would most certainly benefit us both." 

Returning his thoughts to Malice, he recalled the exact movements that had led to his downfall; being a little too optimistic, naive and offensive. Perhaps this time he could improve his strategising and try and find a way to infiltrate Aeronwyn and bring her down, or at least defend until the spar ended with equal scores. With a tilt of his head he waited to see what the pale wolf would do.

He agreed, and the smile never left her lips. Her eyes gleamed, it would be fun to see what the younger male was made of. "Good." she said, tail lashing once behind her as she settled into an alert stance, a single clue to her actions. After a brief moment of silence, in which Shink tilted his head curiously, Aeronwyn offered him a wink and a smile.

Then, she struck. A fluid leap of silver, hind legs propelling her onward, closed the distance between to two rapidly. She sought a grip on his shoulder, but at the last moment feinted and went for the underside of his throat, this having all been thought out moments before.

Her sudden attack had motive, she wanted to see how the agouti male would deal with surprise and a feint such as this one. True battles would not begin with one setting rules and talking, but suddenly and unpredictably. Often times, battles were heated and quick affairs, and unlike spars, were over fairly quickly. Should Shink's skill level in this area be lacking, she would be happy to teach him what she knew, should he accept such help.

The brief moment of silence ended as quickly as it had come the minute Aeronwyn departed her original spot. In a flash of silvery white, she was onto him, her jaws outstretched for his shoulder as Shink tensed his muscles ready to intercept her move. With a lunging action, he parted his maw and aimed to slam down upon her muzzle, clearly fooled by her fake action.

Since he had lunged to one side, his throat was a clear target for the other who quickly pulled her head away from his flank and towards his jugular. A cry of pain escaped his maw as her teeth connected with his neck, not hard but enough to catch the boy by surprise. Fortunately, the silver wraith had not yet had time to properly grip him so he propelled himself backwards, wrenching his throat free of her grasp and silencing his outburst. From there on, he lowered his frame to the ground, using his thinner and more agile built to his advantage as he darted forward to the left of his opponent, his jaws agape as he snapped at her limbs.

Her fangs closed on his fur, getting a better shot than expected due to his counter-lunge. She quickly regulated the amount of pressure in her bite, not wanting to hurt her comrade, but it was for naught, for with a cry he was clear of her grasp. His next move surprised her with it's strangeness, for he lowered himself and snapped at her limbs. He was quick, and she surprised, and he managed to score a grasp on her left forelimb. 

As soon as she felt his jaws, she decided to use his lower height to her advantage. Pushing off with her hind legs and twisting the left forelimb in his grasp, she made to grab his scruff with her maw agape, ignoring the twisting pain in her foreleg. It was awkward, but her leg could take it. She hoped.

From the moment he lowered his body, he knew he was at a disadvantage, mainly because somewhere in the back of his mind he knew Aeronwyn could crush him if she so got the chance. Nevertheless, he continued, his confidence rising as his fangs connected with her limb. He tightened his grip as she twisted her body above him, firm enough to keep it within his grasp yet not enough to puncture her hide.

He felt her greater weight above him as her jaws locked into his scruff, wincing as her teeth gripped the fold of skin. Almost instinctively, he released her foreleg from her grip and bucked upwards. He knew he wouldn't be strong enough to throw her completely off yet, if his actions succeeded, perhaps it would serve as more of a distraction until he could retreat out of range of her snapping jaws.

She grabbed his scruff, her forelimb being released as she did so. As soon as she did, she knew to establish her grip firmly, and did so, tightening her grip but not enough to break the skin. He bucked wildly, and she felt her grip falter, but in the motion, instinct had set in, and trying to keep him bellow her had resulted in her right foreleg thrown over his shoulder, if only briefly. His buck slid it off, and her grip was significantly less than it had been, but she kept clinging, hoping to tire him so that she may roll him onto the ground and bring him down.

The wraith, thinking quickly of her earlier accident, attempted to pass her right foreleg over his back, to better bear down her full weight. Shink showed promise, lots of it, but he could perhaps stand to learn some techniques.

The buck had cost his energy levels dearly, causing his body to quiver in exhaustion as his forepaws returned to solid ground. Unlike his battle with Malice, he forced the growl rising in his throat to stay put and instead, he lashed his tail in annoyance. With a mental shake of his head, he banished the thought of bearing his teeth, his focus returning to his opponent once again. 

As Aeronwyn's grip lessened, he sized the opportunity and burned the last of his reserves as he attempted to spur forward out of her grip. But alas, his lithe body was his downfall and as the silver wraith forced her full weight upon him, he sank to the ground, body shuddering as his muscles refused to fight any longer.

He trembled beneath her, sinking to the floor. Where she still the person she had been when her home had been the dark forest, she may have forced him to submit, want to hear the words from his maw. But she had changed, matured, and did not, merely released her grip and stepped away, silver eyes gleaming with adrenaline slowly fading, chest rising and falling with the coming and going of breath.

She allowed him a moment more to recover as she was, then spoke. "You have much promise, Shink. Use what you have to your advantage- be lithe, quick, surprising. Exploit your advantages, however small, fully, and you will find yourself winning more battles then you loose." The wraith settled on her haunches, and thoughtfully begun to speak again. "If you would allow me Shink, I could teach you some of the things that I know." 

As Aeronwyn retreated, he drew in a shaky breath and rose to his paws, offering her a nod of gratitude as he settled himself in a more comfortable position, curling his tail over his hind paw as he did so. He was relieved the bloodlust hadn't saught it's way into his actions during the spar, perhaps he was beginning to control the urge to kill yet he was still young and had a lot to learn. His respiration was growing more even now, stabilising itself with regular intervals and he was no longer panting. Though he had more or less recovered in the short space of time the white wraith had given him, he could feel his muscles ache beneath his agouti pelt.

With his eyes still bright and full of admiration, he allowed himself to listen to her words, keeping him thoughts clear so as to not distract himself. "Thank you, Aeronwyn," he responded to her tips. Perhaps he could seek out the dark boy, Issun his name was, and offer him a spar; see if he could improve after his failed attempts. Though before he did that, he would want to hone in his skills and practice with Aeronwyn seeing as though he could learn a trick or two from her impressive performance. "I think I'd like that," he voiced, pushing his body up into a sitting position. "I certainly admire your skills and would love for you to teach me what you know."

At his words, a smile twisted her expression into one of kindness. His enthusiasm was palatable, for that she was glad, he had true ambition to learn, it seemed. He took her up on her offer gladly, and she stood, eyes gleaming still. "I'de be glad to, Shink. Now, I must hunt, but tomorrow I will summon you here, should you have time, and gladly teach you what I can." She paused a moment, considering, then added on "Perhaps you'de like to hunt with me? Two have better chance at taking down a worthy meal then one alone."

She hoped that he would take her up on both offers, she wanted to spend more time with him. The male was growing on her, his enthusiasm and ambition refreshing and invigorating. She had yet to meet the newest member, but decided she wanted to know all her packmates well, as well as she knew Burke and Malice.

His pools were still brimming with excitement as Aeronwyn backed up her word, anticipation for the day to come making his paws restless. From what he could already tell, she was an excellent warrior; excelling in tactics and executing her offensive actions with absolute precision. In many ways, the silver vixen was a figure he could look up to and strive to match, though that would certainly take a long while of hard work. He'd have to be willing to sacrifice some of the time he'd like to spend creating a bond with Malice's brood.

At the mention of a hunt, his auds perked up, his tongue protruding slightly as he began to salivate. He hadn't eaten since the battle with the bear and even then the meat had been tough and minimal with nutrients. "Well agreed," he nodded his consent to her second offer. That was what pack were for; to protect and help each other for the greater benefit. Not to mention he'd be more than glad to aid the pale wraith if it meant a possible meal. "I'll tag along." He offered her a slight smile, his tassel waving as he rose to his paws.

Fade here? Thank you for the thread!

He agreed, which caused a true smile to spread across her face, however, quickly downsized to her small grin. It would be fun to spend time with Shink, and she already began to formulate a plan as to what she would teach him. Looking forward to the day already, she beckoned Shink onward with a flick of her tail and slipped through the trees like a phantom, heading at a brisk lope through the trees in search of her next meal.

Of course, no problem!

His smile grew into a grin as the pale vixen strode off into the dark depths of the forest and he followed suit, his honeyed pools alight with energy as he allowed himself to trail her moon blessed figure. She was easy enough to spot within the shadows of the trees so he turned his attention to the winds, his muzzle lowered as he breathed in the forested scents. With his head held ducked low, he morphed his lope into a steady trot as he began to scour the land for any possible prey.