Redsand Canyon stained glass and marble

Open to anyone wanting a spar!

Glaukos was spending a little more time around the training grounds ever since his spar with Aquene. He'd won, he thoroughly believed that he'd beaten the girl and was glad for that, but there was always room for improvement.

It helped also that there were more bodies around Mereo these days — newcomers intent on proving themselves as auxillia, which Glaukos was more than happy to see booted in to plebian ranks once they'd wised up to their own worth. He was more than happy to help those lesser-known wolves come to grips with themselves (admittedly, less inclined to admit his own faults to himself in the present).

He paced within the flat expanse of the sparring ring and watched for signs of a passing patrol, or someone returning from a hunt, or any other chance to threaten the newcomers. He did not know their names but at this point, Glaukos only cared to fight, and further cement himself as some kind of guardian to Mereo above the others.

set after this thread

He knew he shouldn't fight the other soldier. He knew there would likely be consequences, but he could not let it go. He kept imagining how upset Aquene had been. She didn't deserve to be made to feel that way in Mereo. 

His anger clouded everything. He hadn't stopped to think that maybe Glaukos had no idea what he had done. Or that were probably two sides to this story. He couldn't stop seeing her curled on the floor of his den, terrified; he could stop hearing the whine she had released when she couldn't even tell him what happened. 

So when he stumbled upon his fellow auxillary in the practice ring, it was as though all the rage that had been building finally exploded. 

Kallik surged forward, using his speed to build up force. Glaukos was bigger, and he might win this, but not without Kallik doing some damage first. 

The second he was close enough, he lunged at the brute with a snarl that said this was not a friendly spar. His teeth were aimed the side of his neck. It was long shot, but he also hoped he was able to knock the other man off balance. If his teeth made contact with skin, they would sink in far deeper than was allowed, and he would clamp down mercilessly.

He did not wait long before the silver bullet that was Kallik emerged from the red rock, zeroing in on the training arena. It was wide and flat, and the auxillia had arranged stones around it one afternoon weeks ago; now it served a purpose.

Glaukos turned in time to witness the scowl on Kallik's face, but only just. Those teeth aimed for the boy's neck and Glaukos couldn't read the other's movement in the short span: he couldn't tell if the bite was genuine or if he meant to stab with his snout. Either way, the spar had been initiated.

He stepped in to Kallik's line of attack immediately, which could've been the wrong move. With his bulk he could at least block an incoming attack, his scruff was still dense from winter's excess growth.

The hit would hurt either way but Glaukos slammed in to Kallik regardless, glad to have someone to fight.

It was probably stupid of him to just run at Glaukos head on; he would have time to prepare, and that was exactly what he did. 

By the time Kallik reached the other soldier and launched towards him, Glaukos had time to make himself a wall. The auxillary slammed into him, and it knocked the wind from lungs. His teeth had not connected with flesh, and this only fueled his anger. 

Kallik ignored the burning in his shoulder and neck from the impact and focused on clamping his jaws around the other auxillary's muscle-clad forearm. Still his plan was to knock Galukos down; it seemed to be the easiest way to take him out.

Something made Kallik burn with each strike, and while Glaukos became aware of how voracious the boy was in his assault, he did not care. It was different from the other tactics during their training; he assumed this change was merely an effort to best his rival. A switch in his behavior.

Glaukos thought he felt Kallik deflate somewhat, after the hit. He moved to snap at him, and was met with teeth nearly gripping at his forearm, and so he had to move swiftly out of that before harm could be done. It took all of Glaukos' effort to pull away and to turn - when he'd rather be bearing down upon his assailant - and that saved him some obvious injury.

He was grunting with the effort, and was dissuaded from a timely counter attack, which left the boys separated; they could both catch their breaths now, which was a detriment to Glaukos as he wished to overpower. That was his entire tactic: overwhelm, overpower, dominate.

Glaukos dodged his second attempt and backed up, giving the fight a short pause. Kallik was getting frustrated, but he knew better than to let it affect his thinking. He was focused solely on defending and attacking. 

The auxillary snarled and jumped forward, attempting to make his opponent think he was going head on again, but he switched just before he reached the other soldier. He hoped to move just past him and aim teeth to the side of his neck. He was unsure if he had executed it properly, though. No matter; Kallik had seemingly endless stamina and could go back and forth for hours if needed.

Whatever had Kallik riled up, it made him overly hasty and prone to mistakes. Glaukos drew himself together defensively as the other wolf shot towards him yet another time, trying to grab at his dark neck; it was this opening Glaukos had sought.

He had been patient, which was hard for him. In doing so Kallik extended himself but missed his target, leading Glaukos to strike hard against the man instead. He let Kallik draw close and then thrust his shoulder inward and up, much like Aquene the day before, and felt the satisfying clip of brawn against jaw.

Having once been on the receiving end, Glaukos knew how sharp such a strike could sting. Afterward he moved as swiftly as he could to square off towards Kallik, hoping to use the momentum of his success.

He was being sloppy despite his determination not to let his emotions affect him so much. That sloppiness cost him yet another successful attack and earned him large, solid shoulder to his lower jaw. The move slammed his teeth together painfully and his vision blurred for a moment. He backed up and shook his head a few times. 

He had learned his lesson. This time he faced Galukos and readied himself. He would wait for the other soldier to come at him. He wanted to use his speed to dodge his move and aim a bite for the other auxillary's shoulder.

skip me!

this spar was different.

germanicus observed in silence.

he had come to watch but not yet to intervene.

It felt good to throw his weight around. After one successful hit Glaukos thought he would manage more, feeding off of one success in to another, but that was not how things would play out.

He moved to intimidate Kallik by pressing close, forgetting the speedy capabilities of his rival combatant until he was reaching to grab for him, and not only missed but was struck hard on the shoulder.

What should've been a warning joust from Kallik was much harsher - teeth catching Glaukos' shoulder deep enough to cause real harm. Feeling the pinch of teeth caused Glaukos to react with a snarl of surprise.

Finally. His teeth met skin and sunk into muscle. He tasted blood, but it wasn't enough. He needed to do more so that Glaukos knew not to upset Aquene ever again.

His bite made the other soldier snarl, and Kallik's adrenaline surged in response. He wanted to do more. The auxiliary ripped himself from Glaukos' shoulder and backed away. Blood stained the corners of his mouth. He considered waiting again but thought the other auxillary would anticipate that. He rushed forward instead, aiming for the other man's forearm again, though it was likely to be unsuccessful, something that only occurred to him when it was too late to change his course. So he committed and would take whatever came after.

Glaukos snapped his teeth towards Kallik just as the other boy released his grip.

Pain was not new to the auxillia, but it was fresh and hot, and made him move differently. His shoulder bled openly and Glaukos' instincts were at war with one another over it: wanting to protect himself by moving back, but also seeing Kallik retreat and re-position, Glaukos wanted to chase him and seek revenge.

Kallik must have noticed the delay and swept close to grab for him again, this time his other forearm, and Glaukos twisted back and away. There wasn't enough time to strike - so when Glaukos' teeth snapped they met air.

He was bristling and much angrier now, but was forcing himself to adjust to the pain before it could overwhelm him. He looked for another opening to exploit - eager to exact some kind of retribution.

His attack missed and Galukos moved away from his teeth. Kallik moved with him, hearing the snapping of jaws above him but not caring. 

He refused to give the other soldier any kind of reprieve. If he had time to regain his focus, then Kallik would lose the element of surprise. He had already moved with the other auxillary as he pulled away from his missed attempt at his leg, and now Kallik thrust himself upwards. 

Teeth met flesh again, hopefully in the side of Glaukos' neck as intended, but he would settle for any place on the other man, so long as he made him bleed again.

He wasn't free of Kallik yet; the boy expressed an abundance of quick thinking and easily maneuvered up, towards Glaukos' neck, before the big lug could do anything to stop him.

There was a snap as teeth came close to Glaukos' throat and as the threat became real - that split second of knowing this wasn't a spar after all but a real brawl - Kallik's teeth sliced through one side of his face. A canine glanced off of the underside of Glaukos' eye and down, making ribbons of his cheek.

Glaukos lunged hard and fast in to Kallik as if he were a bull, stampeding. He roared, gathering the pain of this fresh wound and empowering himself as the adrenaline coursed his body. He would go on to pummel Kallik with his weighty limbs and force him down, in to the dirt.

His face was a mess but even so, Glaukos sought to grab for the boy's nape, throat, face - anything close, to cut him right back in retaliation. He had the bulk to throw around just like when he'd straddled Aquene, but this time Glaukos was furious, and deadly serious with his intent.

not a spar. a fight.

it was anyone's guess what had happened between glaukos and kallik, but the larger boy had come to harder blows.

the imperator strode forward.

"enough!" he said loudly and firmly to the pair of them. and if their spar did not end, he would end it himself with a blow to the back of glaukos' shoulders.

the scent of blood hung in the air.

For how large Glaukos was, he manged some speed that surprised Kallik. First, he shifted enough in defense that the auxillary's teeth met his face instead of his neck. Kallik's teeth raked from below his eye, down his cheek. Not what he had planned, but he wasn't the least bit upset about it. The bite would probably hurt more even. He hoped it scarred. 

And the second time the other soldier's speed took him off guard, he paid quite the price for it. Glaukos slammed into him with a force he had no chance of withstanding. Kallik was pinned to the ground on his back, the air whooshing from his lungs. He tried to suck in breath but he couldn't, and that left him even more vulnerable. He felt teeth in the side of his neck; they tore deep into his flesh, sending searing pain down his neck to his shoulder. 

Kallik kicked up with muscled hind legs, and snapped furious teeth at the side of Glaukos' face and neck. The move would worsen his own wound, but he didn't care. He would bite into the other soldier again and not let go—

Until he heard the imperator's command. Kallik didn't even know when he arrived, but it was almost impossible to ignore the order. He froze and released the other soldier's flesh from his jaws. He still kicked his feet, though, trying to get out from under the giant weight of his fellow auxillary.

Glaukos didn't feel powerful this time around. He had managed to overpower Kallik as he had wanted, not unscathed, and even with the brunt if his weight leveraged over the other wolf, Kallik was a frenzy of teeth. Together they were bloody messes.

Germanicus was calling an end to the hostilities. It took time for the boys to detangle; Kallik squirmed and kicked, Glaukos gnashed his teeth and snarled, and when they came apart he paced, spitting blood in to the dirt.

One of his eyes had begun to swell and shut. The side of his neck was mangled. His face was painted brilliant crimson and as he glared at Kallik's retreating shape, Glaukos heard the dripping of blood tick tick tick to where the earth could absorb it.

They had stopped the spar - the brawl, whatever the fuck it had been, but Glaukos was still glaring, still incensed by all the pain Kallik had put him through. He didn't understand why the other boy had been so aggressive and could only reach one conclusion: that Kallik wanted him dead.

That wasn't ever going to happen.

they separated and germanicus took stock of the bleeding wounds that both had managed to incur.

"this is a sparring arena, not a battleground," the imperator intoned, motioning for glaukos to cease his pacing and stand before him.

"is there a reason for today's violence?" he growled. germanicus was rarely harsh and almost always measured. today he meant to show his own annoyance. 

he glanced between the warring soldiers, commanding an answer.

When Glaukos finally got his giant ass off of him, Kallik jumped up and shook out his fur, wincing as it jostled the wound on his neck. The other soldier was pacing nearby, and Kallik refused to take his eyes off of him. 

That was until the imperator demanded their attention. 

He wanted to know the reason for the violence, and Kallik would happily tell him, though he had a feeling he would be in trouble regardless. He glared at Glaukos before answering. He sparred with Aquene yesterday and took it too far. He made her feel unsafe here. Anger flared on his usually tightly controlled face. It is unacceptable.  It would probably make more sense if he could tell them more about his healer's past, but it was not his story to tell, and he wouldn't betray her trust like that. The imperator would just have to accept what he said. It wasn't like he would just attack a fellow soldier for no reason.

He had no answer for the Imperator. Kallik spoke up instead and gave both the other men something to consider. To Glaukos it didn't exactly justify the vehemence of the other wolf's attacks and he bristled.

Aquene? He hadn't paid attention to the woman's name before and had to repeat it for himself. She asked for training. We sparred. Nothing else to report there; besides, talking hurt Glaukos more than anything right now.

He turned to spit more blood against the ground. By now he had one open eye and one black eye swollen shut, and glared at Kallik with it. His words were for Germanicus.

He drew first blood. The insinuation being, this was self defense and by the look in his eye, Glaukos wouldn't soon forget the betrayal of this attack.

germanicus looked at them both.

he tried not to be proud that they had beaten one another quite aptly the eagle was truly annoyed that such wounds were upon one another and not an enemy. 

aquene.

of course it would be over a woman. 

germanicus knew this thought was quite uncharitable, but both of these brash young men had allowed their nethers to lead them astray before. he did not think it was the healer's proficiency with herbs which had led to their notice.

he rumbled lowly to bring their attention to him. "glaukos. it sounds as though you are in need of instruction around how a spar looks when it should end." his voice was dry.

the yellowpaint eyes shifted to kallik. "before you wounded your fellow soldier you might have followed our hierarchy and informed me. your disrespect is unacceptable." his voice was hard.

"glaukos, you will stay here. kallik, you will go to the punishment ground. both of you will await my return. i am going to speak with aquene."

a lash of his tail dismissed the pale wolf. his eyes were firm upon glaukos.

germanicus turned and strode away, ready to return more harshly if his order was defied.

Glaukos acted as though he had no idea of his transgression, like it had only been a spar. That angered Kallik even more. 

He had drawn blood first, and he might have been pleased with himself over how messed up Glaukos looked right now if it wasn't for the imperator's anger and disappointment. As justified as he felt in what he did, he couldn't help the sinking feeling in his gut when he heard the anger in Germanicus' voice.

He said nothing as the impertaor spoke, not even when he scolded the other soldier for what he had done. 

Germanicus pointed out that Kallik should have come to him with this instead of fighting with Glaukos. The auxiliary looked down. He knew it had been the wrong thing to do, but his temper had gotten the best of him. He clearly wasn't rational where Aquene was concerned. He only hoped this wouldn't cost him the imperator's approval when he and the healer told them of their relationship. 

He was ordered to the punishment ground and his jaw tightened. At least this time he knew he deserved it. Kallik said nothing, he just turned and trotted off. He was to wait for the imperator to get Aquene's point of view, though he knew no matter what they discussed he would still be punished.

The boy still had no idea what Kallik was talking about. It didn't matter now - as the general made his orders known, Glaukos felt a certain superiority rise up within himself again. He would never submit to being a punching bag for anyone ever again; watching as Kallik was banished to the punishment grounds only further solidified this feeling of success.

Glaukos only knew the basics: that he had been challenged to a fight by a woman, she had lost, and now this event with Kallik had transpired. Both were injured. All of this over the cries of a weak woman? It was pathetic.

It felt like a trap. The two of them - Aquene and her fool - must have done all of this on purpose. To shake Germanicus' faith within Glaukos maybe.

He was too sore now to think about it, and settled to the dirt to wait.