Hoshor Plains reflections

Trade thread

It has been a healing process the last few months, and while the change of leadership still hangs over Evergreen’s head on the occasion, he knows now that it was a good move. Kaistleoki is gradually starting to grow in numbers once more, much to the relief of all, and the coming spring.
That is why Eve feels ready to test his strength. In the light snow of the afternoon, he traverses through the Plains looking for @Ira in particular—wondering if she, too, is ready for a spar.

Ira was stretching her legs alongside the frozen river. It wasn't far from the rocky outcrop she had been using for shelter so she often found herself wandering by the water if she wasn't patrolling. Even with the surface lightly iced over, she couldn't help but think of their place in the woods. It was surprising how attached she had grown despite only staying by the river for a short time before they were forced to move. 

Her thoughts would not spiral for long before the large shape of Evergreen caught her eye. He had always been hard to miss, but the plains made it much more obvious when he was near. It was then that she realized he wasn't just passing by he seemed to be heading this way so she decided to close the gap. Evergreen. She gave a short nod. Looking for something?

First he checks the location Ira settled in, and by luck, he spots her roan fur sticking out against the white and gold of the Plains. He greets her with a grin, and wag of his tail.
Ira, hey, he says. Although their relationship has turned awkward, he still sees her as a friend and hopes that with time, they could be comfortable around each other again. I was, uh, lookin’ for you? I was wondering if you’d be interested in a, uh, spar. I think I’m good enough to start gettin’ back in shape and pullin’ my weight around here. And boy does he have a lot of weight, even with the famine.

The answer surprises the Count. Since the cave-in and her awkward attempt at a confession, she had mostly avoided any long conversation with Evergreen to avoid embarrassing herself further, but his request is welcoming. Fighting was something she could do, no talk was needed. You wish to spar?

In all honesty, she wasn't sure if that was a great idea for the bear, but she was no healer. His injuries were different, it was possible this was as good as things got and if that was the case delaying his training did no good. It would be nice to start testing my leg. I still have to be careful, but I'd hate to fall out of shape. I've been stretching it every day to try and keep things even.

The bearish Knight nods his head. He thinks it would be a good icebreaker. All in all, a wonderful idea to get him back with Kaistleoki and not moping around.
Fortunately Ira agrees with him, although the mention of her leg brings about worries—Eve knew ahead of time going into this she might not be confident about it, and he wouldn’t wish to worsen her condition.
Yeah, it can be light for the both of us. I’ll be careful around your leg, and you around my head? He suggests.

The bear suggested they both take it easy, something she would agree with. In this case, Evergreen might actually have an advantage over her. He was used to fighting keeping his head in mind, Ira would have to be a lot more defensive. 

The roan woman glanced to her leg, she would have to focus on keeping her left side shown. It was a way to shield herself, but it also painted a giant x on her flank. Very well. The spar will be over if one is pinned or shows signs that they need to stop. Adjusting her stance, Ira braced herself for the knight to make the first move.

Ready when you are.

An agreement is met, and Evergreen is pleased. Yet he finds himself worrying about the balance between too much and too little; Ira would take advantage surely if he isn’t careful, or his strikes light.
Ready, he whispers under breath, and lowers his own stance—centering his weight as he begins to circle towards Ira’s left—keeping her in his vision and guarding his own blindside.
With a twist, he moves towards her, aiming a glancing blow towards her left shoulder.

Evergreen gave his own ready as he moved into a more combatant stance. He was careful to shield his blind side, but that meant sticking to her left and today, he had given her the upper hand. With no need to worry about her injury on the right, Ira would keep her eyes on the bear as he moved, shifting in place to avoid prolonged openings along her flank.

It was then the man lunged, a blow too obviously aimed for her shoulder that allowed her to rear back before his fangs had the chance to graze her skin. In any normal circumstance she might have delivered a swift blow to the head to stun her attacker, but she knew that was out of line now. Instead, the Count would respond with a snap of her teeth near Evergreen's neck.

Ira moved slower than she would have liked, but if she never made contact her energy was not wasted. The snap had been intended to spook the bear or force him back as he evades, though should her blow land she would have no complaints.

Ira rears out of his attack. The sliver of the opening made Evergreen step forth out of instinct—prepared to tackle underneath and throw the roan wolf completely off balance. He catches himself in time, just as she had to keep from worsening their injuries.
The snap towards his neck is answered with a sheepish grin, the bearish boy has more in store, however, as he dips to aim at Ira’s ankle and bully her into moving a hair more.

It was rare that Ira was surprised, especially in a spar, but perhaps their injuries blocked the normal ways of thinking she was used to. Evergreen ducked away, except instead of backing away he moved closer, already prepared to snap back. The Count was forced to lose her ground as she quickly stepped away in an attempt to distance themselves once more.

Ira let out a frustrate growl as she tried to sidestep to his blind side before the bear could continue his advance. If she was fast enough she'd try ramming her shoulder into the man's side while her fangs looked for a hold along his own shoulder. She doubted she could push him over, but hopefully, she could at least surprise him or knock him off balance.

Actually getting a surprise attack and forcing Ira to back away makes Eve preen with pride—he knows how good a fighter she is, after all, she’s been the one who’s helped train him the most. Alas, the bear cannot let his guard down for long, because the stun and the push-back only lasts so long before she’s back and slippery as a snake.
She strikes at his blind side, something he has gotten better about guarding, but not enough to keep her from ramming her shoulder into him. He braces himself, sliding a bit at the impact and the collision sure to do a touch more damage than initial planned—but no complaints.
Instead of backing out, he takes advantage of the contact. He knows she’s there by the feel. So he swings his head and snaps at whatever he can reach.

The contact is made, even pushing the bear back, but her footing wouldn't last forever. She had hoped to hide in his blindspot while she formulated a new plan, but it seemed Evergreen has learned to adapt to his weakness. Before Ira could pull away his jaws were on her just at the base of her neck. In a real fight, this was the end.

Admitted defeat, the Count let go of the knight waiting for him to do the same. Lucky hit. You've gotten faster. It wasn't often she found herself in defeat, but to be fair she was not fighting at her peak. This loss would not serve as punishment but as a lesson. Even she could still improve.

What he manages to grab he isn’t aware of, at first, but the touch is gentle without any true pressure. And after a moment of stillness, realization comes to him. Victory has never tasted so sweet. Even though Ira isn’t in her best condition, it is still a feat worth a pat on the back for taking on the best fighter he’s ever known.
Eve withdraws, a chuckle soon to follow because she is right; the hit was blind and lucky. Ha, I guess all that, uh, training came in handy. He amuses with the wag of his tail. Uh, thanks for sparing with me. I think we’re both on the road to recovery.

For now. The Count rolled her eyes, next time she would get him good. Once they recover there's nothing holding her back. Call it an excuse, she knew she could do better, yet Ira was still pleased to see the improvement in the bear. Show me what you can do when there's no handicap. The roan woman flashed a half-smirk before turning away. Most might have missed it, but Evergreen was sure to have seen it with how long he's known her. For now she'd return to her walk.

Indeed, it won’t be long before Ira is back to kicking everyone’s ass—Eve’s included. He’s pretty sure even Greyback doesn’t stand a chance.
I’ll…. Try my best! He says with a cheeky grin, but they both know the likely outcome of that one. Tail wagging behind him, he feels so much better about things now that they’ve felt close again and that half-smirk definitely wasn’t missed! His cheeks round with happiness.
Off to a patrol? Mind if I tag along? He asks, and if she agrees, he’d follow along—chatting about any sort of nonsense that comes to mind.

Ira nodded as Evergreen trotted up beside her. As always she was heading for the borders, but she'd gladly take his company. It had been so long since things had been like this, between the cave-in and their injuries it felt as if nothing would be normal again. She would gladly take the chance to catch up.