Firefly Glen in nineteen hundred and nineteen ninety-nine

backdated to 3/16

@Ying's scent wound like a ribbon through the glen, her presence as established as perhaps his own. arcturus followed casually, wondering if she had not dedicated the bulk of her morning to patrols.

a part of him (that was not small by any measure) felt her services might better be served under the spear, versus as an ally. if things were different, he imagined ying would have been perfectly suited to moonspear's climes, and he was filled with a tinge of sad regret as he came across the wolf he had come to know as a friend these last few weeks.

Hi, Arcturus. She lifted her head from the small pile of quail eggs and turned a smile in his direction. Hang on. Ying walked several paces away, gathering small twigs as she went, and returned to place them discreetly over her treasure trove.

The guardian had become confident of the Glen's security. While she'd been there, few had passed through, save for stray Moonspearians and her wandering sister. Ying decided that another patrol wasn't immediately necessary, and so settled into a seat to await any other suggestions.

ying made to conceal something; of its nature, arcturus could not discern.

he watched her quizzically, but did not probe. once she had sat down nearby, he did the same. his tail thumped into the soil as he began to speak, a teasing note of cocky confidence to his words. "are you ready to show me if you're a better fighter than hunter? i thought given all that was going on, we could spar." he raised a brow, that smarmy confidence still insufferably present. "if you're not intimidated, i mean."

Another insult! Ying had come to realize that this was to be expected, and assumed that Arcturus would similarly anticipate her reaction. Her brow furrowed and mouth opened wide, the guardian argued, Arcturus, I am always going to win! 

She stood upright once more and squared her limbs. Ying tilted her head to the side and lurched forward, as though beckoning her opponent to Bring it!

he grinned doggedly - he loved that unremitting confidence. it endeared him to ying, who, by all accounts, should have been moonspearian according to arcturus' take on the world.

he hunkered down, tail waving upright behind him. "in your dreams," he quipped, getting ready to pounce before he realized -- "a couple ground rules - no cheapshots, no eyes, no blood." not that he thought ying would kick him in the gonads, but you never know.

with that being established, arcturus began to slink towards ying, meeting her gaze. within several feet, he transitioned to an easy lope, holding her in his vision until the last second. he feinted to ying's right, aiming a series of playful nips at her side as he cantered by.

Each tiny bite elicited an appropriate giggle. It reminded her somewhat of the first meeting she'd had with Astaroth, though the implications were notably different. Ying watched him circle around and did the same, trailing behind him in a careful semi-circle.

His tail was her first target. Ying moved forward, aiming for a small hit at the base between spine and tail. If successful, she begin to tug, hoping to loosen his footing.

arcturus zoned into the moment, only barely registering the giggles. his attack hadn't been much of one, and ying easily moved out of his reach in time for him to only clasp his teeth around air.

bad news -- his tail was suddenly seized, halting his momentum almost immediately. curling his spine around himself, arcturus attempted to jawspar with her face, but was limited given the fact the latter half of his spine was held firm between ying's teeth.

Suddenly, their battle had begun. Arcturus turned and she released her grip, deciding that she was uninterested in that angle. His teeth grazed against her face, prompting Ying to attempt the same.

She turned and moved forward with offending jaws, rearing up onto her hind legs after allowing Arcturus a moment to do the same.

arcturus would have certainly been interested in ying from that angle, but he found himself suddenly released, which caused his hips to swing away from the sudden freedom from tension.

he squared up, watching ying as she approached. she rocked her weight back, her teeth raking along his cheek. he did the same, attempting to hold her off by jawspar while simultaneously attempting to shove her off balance with his chest.

Standing upright, she lifted her paws to press against Arcturus's shoulders. He was taller, lengthier; while she felt confident in her ability to maintain her balance, Ying worried that he might be able to push her backward.

Ying took one hindleg at a time and attempted to widen her stance. The momentary distraction would have made her vulnerable, allowing Arcturus the chance to attack.

now she was atop him -- arcturus, intrigued but not entirely complaining, aimed a feinted nip at her face that was never meant to connect. with ying's weight largely dispersed across him, he was not as nimble as usual (not calling her fat, promise!).

he recalled what had happened to osiris when he had placed too much pressure and weight into one place -- with as much as power as arcturus could manage, he attempted to wrench his shoulder and body near to the ground with the goal to unseat his pale rider.

The advantage was quickly gained, much to Ying's surprise. She settled her weight lightly atop Arcturus's belly, and for a moment, dropped her guard. 

Oh! She fell and began to scramble, working with determination to regain her footing. And once she did, the guardian immediately went in for another attack, this time aiming to knock Arcturus onto his back again (if necessary) and straddle him, in her mind, ending the battle.

close encounters like this, it was often best to keep ones' wits. arcturus felt his wits (not that he had much) slipping, as what was first a serious spar devolved into something slightly more playful.

ying sprung for him again, and this time he was buffeted aside with a playful growl and a snap at her cheeks. his flank and hips rested against the ground as she pushed him over, standing atop him as victor. arcturus feigned giving up, and then snaked a harmless nip at one of her forepaws, grinning as he awaited the backlash.

Hey! She stepped backward and laughed, shaking the paw for which Arcturus had aimed. Rather than approaching for another attack, Ying remained out of reach, her tail still wagging as a silent invitation for her partner to move forward, if he so wished.

Ying turned with head high and took a step away, looking back at Arcturus through sly side-glance. I am always the winner, she teased, before snickering as further tease.

ying deftly evaded arcturus' nip, grinning as she admonished him for being so cheeky. the mountaineer's face split in a wide grin, his tail thumping as he remained in the dirt.

"hey what?" he queried innocently, still prone among the cold touch of earth. "maybe you win, because i let you win." arcturus suggested flirtatiously, tensing his muscles as if he were going to attack again.

Arcturus's reciprocity of her underlying tone was not missed, nor was it appreciated. This was different from how it had been with the others; she was not looking for a fling, but knew that with one misstep, their friendship could find a fatal shift. 

Her smile slowly fell as she turned away, shame evident in her stature. Ying began to walk away, but stopped to clarify her reasoning. I am feeling sick — lie — Maybe, we will find each other later, for a patrol.

arcturus' grin managed to stay on as long as ying was facing him, but the second she turned away it slipped cold and dark like the sun slipping into a wintry horizon. fuck - what had he said?

she gave him a reason, which arcturus accepted well enough -- but he did not quite believe it. "oh," he mumbled, suddenly aware of the frigidity that laced between them. "i hope you feel better." no quip or joke this time, since the last time he had done that she acted as if he had pissed in her goose lunch.

confused and a little hurt, arcturus kept a brave face long enough for ying to depart.