Swiftcurrent Creek swing dancing

anybody welcome!

Although Fox could still feel the bruises in her muscle, she did not let that stop her from moving about. She awoke to a cloudy sky, yawned, stretched, and shook her fur free of the sleep that clung to it. The small Epsilon had procured a small den near the creek so that she was always close to a water source. She made sure to stay out of any potential floodplain, of course.

Trotting a few paces away from her sanctuary, Fox squatted to relieve herself. (Morning pee was the best kind of pee.) Already feeling more awake, the yearling began her trip to the bank of the creek. Dried blood still stuck to her forehead, but she hadn't noticed it for a few days. Slowing down at the creek bank, the tawny wolf lowered her head and lapped up the clear and cold water.

From a distance, Jinx tailed her rust-coloured rival, with body slung low and steps slow and cautious. She was visible by the perked peaks of her ears, but otherwise streamlined to the ground. Fox had been her willing adversary not long before this—mere days, in fact—and garnered Jinx's disgruntled respect. Now, the wintry Kesuk stalked her from afar, determined to figure out what the Gods had given Fox to make her so successful a fighter.

She was certain there was something. Jinx, being a high priestess whose Gods meant everything to her, attributed most successes to the will of Sos or Atka, or both. In the case of Fox, she wanted to suggest it was Atka, but... Something stopped her from assuming the yearling was righteous and lawful. It was a premonitory feeling in her gut that her first impression hadn't been the whole story... Based on that first encounter, Fox no doubt was a wolf who followed just and reasonable morals, with something of a vulgar tongue.

Jinx wasn't so certain. Chock it up to her suspicious nature and inherent distrust of everyone, but she didn't think Atka was alone in guiding her rival. Though, she thought as she crept closer with the intent of revealing herself, it would be fitting if Atka was the sole guide.

She banished her thoughts and seized the present moment instead. Her legs straightened and she lifted herself to a more respectful position, her strides lengthy now rather than slow and methodical. Without any verbal greeting, she approached Fox's right side, but feigned disinterest. Though her ears were quick to sway back toward her nape and her tail hung low rather than high with dominance, she did not direct her gaze at the red-furred female.

Instead, she bowed her head to the water, mimicking the small Delta's earlier action, and drank deep from the creek, anticipating a reaction to her presence.

Meeting others at the bank of the creek was not uncommon, so at first, Fox thought nothing of a fellow pack-mate slipping up beside her and mimicking her actions for a cool drink. It wasn’t until a few moments passed, until she had noticed an uncanny familiarity to the scent that she realized who it was sharing her morning thirst. Fox paused, mid-lap, tongue sticking out and grey eyes looking sideways at her previous opponent. Then she narrowed those same grey eyes, took a step back from the bank, and contemplated what words she could have for the very wolf who had given her these bruises.

“Have you come to train with the one who bested you?” she teased. Fox could train nobody, that was for sure. Still, she could not help thinking that it would piss the other girl off a bit. Funny, they had never even exchanged names. She was curious to see if her taunting would provoke her apparent new pack-mate.

She watched, her eyes drifting to the corners to peer at Fox, as the Delta stiffened and finally met her sideways gaze. Jinx crooked the corner of her lip and lifted her head, amused by the way Fox stepped back. She imagined the coyote-esque female had not expected her, and was fearful of a rematch... But her words said otherwise. The Kesuk tilted her ears forward, contemplating what she perceived as a taunt... And though deep down inside it ignited an indignant flame that wanted to cry, "I already had injuries!" she did not abide it.

Instead, she hummed a quiet, "Mmmyes," in response, with glinting eyes. Two could play at that game, and Jinx could not deny some merit in a more diligent study of Fox's tactics. It likely thwarted Fox's plan to piss her off—though it did bother her to have lost—but she took it as an opportunity. "The Oracle taught me once that where strength lacks, speed can win." Who cared if Fox didn't know who the Oracle was? Jinx had never spared thought for wolves who didn't know those of Shearwater nor their place in the pack. Nor did she for Fox, because in Jinx's naivety and stupidity, she often forgot these strangers did not know of her famous pack.

"You seem to have this same strategy," she suggested. She considered invading the Delta's personal space once more, as she had at the lake, but refrained. "Show me more," she requested, but this time without the hint of maliciousness she had shown at the lake.

i'll get the spar thread up in a second. :) spar thread

Some may have thought Jinx’s manners awful. She had started a fight with Fox just days before, and now she was here acting like they were the best of buds. Fox did not think it strange at all, and found the still-nameless female’s personality to her liking. It would be only days in the future when Fox would pick a fight with the Alpha of Blacktail Deer Plateau only to back off once he proved that he was going to fight rather than sit around and talk. Fox liked to test others, and the best way she knew how to do that was with the hard truth of the tooth.

Fox had no idea who the Oracle was, nor did she care. She was just glad that somebody out there understood that her small size did not mean that she could be beaten quickly. Her new pack-mate seemed to want to know more, and Fox was happy to oblige. This time, however, she wanted to set some ground rules. She had the upper-hand simply because the white female was a) looking for advice from her and b) had been beaten last time.

“Fine,” she replied after a brief interlude, “but no flesh wounds this time.” Now that they were on the same “team”, it only made sense for them to be at least somewhat nice to one another. Without further ado, Fox flicked her tail and rushed Jinx.

"Agreed," she said, though there wasn't much time to lay down any other rules. Fox was moving before Jinx could even blink, displaying more of the speed she had demonstrated in their first fight. Jinx's eyes were more critical on her adversary now, her mind sharpened... She would not underestimate Fox's abilities again. She was quicker to react to the speedy woman's charge, but still not quick enough to avoid contact altogether. The Kesuk managed to turn partway, redirecting Fox from her shoulder to somewhere closer to her collar bone. The impact jarred her even though she'd tried to take the brunt of it with bone rather than tender muscle.

With her own brand of quickness (not as swift as Fox, though), she sought the flat of her opponent's snout, but restrained her bite. She would not inflict a mark upon her superior. At the last minute, before she felt the successful blow shake her jaws, Fox's own parted to place a row of sharp teeth in Jinx's path. Grunting alarm, she swung her muzzle away just in time to avoid a faceful of teeth, and her own raked over the other woman's lips. The pressure she exerted was firm, but harmless, and she parted from the hold immediately.

Seizing the possible surprise advantage that came with avoiding Fox's toothsome trap, Jinx pushed her weight against the smaller female's own body. Here, she would attempt to force Fox off her feet to begin the ritualistic process of pinning the losing wolf... Though their fight was far from over.

Fox had fought only for flesh and blood since she had left home. Having a more relaxed (but no less exciting) spar felt comfortable. Like an old pair of socks she had forgotten were so well broken in. Jinx was a worthy opponent, and Fox enjoyed their little scuffles. With their bodies twisting and writhing this way and that, the yearling could not help but think their relationship would continue this way for the foreseeable future. She was not complaining, of course! Having somebody who was always up for a brawl could definitely be beneficial... especially for somebody like Fox, who constantly needed a way to blow off some steam.

The larger female was quick to deflect her attacks so far, but Fox was not about to give up. Scuffles like this one could often turn around in the blink of an eye. For all she knew, she would pin Jinx in the next couple of moves. In a somewhat hilarious move, the Delta tried to quickly squeeze her small body beneath Jinx, hoping that by popping up there, she would throw the other female off balance.

They were locked in the throes of passionate combat, each wolf measuring the other's abilities with quick shots and quicker paws. Fox found her way to Jinx's underside, eliciting a strange and protective sensation in the older female. A hunch of rust shoulders pushed up on her underbelly, signalling the yearling's attempt to topple her. Jinx was unwilling to allow herself to go down again. Without warning, she bore herself downward, hoping to use her weight to her advantage.

But Fox proved as slippery to Jinx as she herself had once done to Peregrine. The smaller female slid out from under her and, wasting no time, was on the move again. If she didn't turn so quickly to follow her opponent's movements, the Kesuk would have found herself the victim of a sharp tail tugging. Fortunately, her tight spin overcame Fox's speed and when the smaller wolf struck, Jinx was right there to catch it with gaping jaws.

Her teeth found purchase somewhere in the vicinity of Fox's nose. She was quick to let go, both in the spirit of friendly competition and in response to Fox jerking her head down. The smaller wolf snapped for her paw. Though the red wolf was still fighting well and fighting strong, the pale woman could sense she was tiring. Jinx moved her foot away as best she could, but adrenaline drowned out any pain of impact that would suggest where the teeth had landed.

She could taste victory on the tip of her tongue. Thrusting her snout for the woman's own, Jinx sought to clamp down with firm yet gentle teeth to signal the end of combat and confirm the victor.

Fox held on by a thread for far longer than she should have. She darted to and fro, attempting to hold out for as long as she could. But finally, at one point, she could go on no longer. Jinx's muzzle was soon upon her own, and Fox was forced to the ground. There, she fell still, making no sound and looking at nothing in particular. Jinx was the clear winner this time, though Fox was not bothered. She had beat Jinx once before, so it was not impossible for her to think that she could beat her in the future. Perhaps a time would come when they would be at each other's throats once again, but she was glad that this spar had been at least a somewhat-friendly one.

When Jinx finally released her, Fox shook her coat as a calming signal to her fellow creek member and licked her lips. “You fight well,” she said, her tone drenched in respect for the older white female. Not that she had not respected the girl before, but she felt some kind of strange, distant kinship with the woman. It was probably nothing, but Fox couldn't help but feel like Jinx would play a more important role in her life.

“I need a drink,” she stated. After all that commotion, she assumed that Jinx would welcome some water as well. Thankfully, they were standing right by their pack's namesake water source.

Had Jinx been facing down any other wolf in the dirt, she might have lorded her victory over them. It was in her nature to believe herself superior, and not only believe it, but flaunt it. However, this particular wolf had beaten her once before, and had earned her respect in doing so. For one of few times in her life, Jinx took her victory with quiet dignity. It better suited their dynamic, anyway, though the Kesuk wasn't consciously aware of it.

"Me too," she agreed in a voice that caught raggedly in her throat. It was so easy for Jinx to forget that every fight led to exhaustion, and the longer a fight was, the harder the recovery was. She was thankful that this time, there would be no wounds to heal. It had been a long time since the pale mambo felt whole, what with Peregrine defeating her so easily and then Fox besting her by the lakeside. She still bore the scars and scabs of both encounters, on her neck and her face, and at times her rib still ached, particularly when it was cold. She had healed well, considering, but she was grateful there would be no more wounds to tend this time.

She lowered her head to the creek to drink deeply, welcoming the chill of the mountain water as it burned through to her stomach. When she lifted her head, she regarded Fox with a smile, knowing they were in some ways kindred. "It's good to be among true wolves who enjoy the sport of fighting," she said, surprising even herself by saying it. Shearwater Bay, after all, had been that sort of pack, but she hadn't been home in so long, it was easy to forget that.

Fox huffed in agreement, deciding not to voice her opinions with words. The yearling had only ever known this way of life, and she would have been surprised to find that many packs did not (or even discouraged) fighting. They were wild animals, through and through, and Fox saw no reason not to give in to their instincts. The yearling tended to follow her body much more than her mind, so fighting happened to be one of her favorite pastimes. It would be nice to come out of this one without a bloodied body, though.

Flopping onto the ground aside the creek, the young wolf took to staring at the water for a few moments before laying her head on her paws and slowly drifting off to sleep. She would not mind if Jinx joined her at her side, though something told her the older female would be off doing something else instead of lazing around by the creekside.

As predicted, Jinx wasn't one to idle for long anywhere. From her early days as an eager pupil of Sos and Atka, she had been on the move, never finding time to laze around or nap in her busy schedule. When Fox settled down, clearly readying herself for some self-reflection or a well-earned rest, the Kesuk lingered for a moment and then took her leave. As tempting as a day of rest was, there simply wasn't time for it, at least not to her.