King Elk Forest Born In Flames

Her whelps were nearly three weeks old. All of them had their eyes open, and two of them had already gotten into a fight; her firstborn bore a scar. The white whelp was an albino. Vex was still uncertain about what to do.

She left her whelping den with her children asleep, then prowled the dark woods for a time. She let out a loud, booming call for @Kevalin, settling atop a flat rock to wait.

After gulping down his second fish from the Weir. Kevalin indulged in a long drink. When he heard his Queen's call. His body instinctively started running towards her. Time to serve the Queen! He laughed bitterly. She was quite the sight, on a veritable throne she wait for him. He stayed beneath her. "My Queen?"

Her captive arrived swiftly. Vex looked down at him imperiously, and she commanded, "Tell me... Why have you stayed within the Dominion?" Why had he not fled? He had had plenty of chances — hell, she'd even left him alone for hours on end with her children, whom he could have easily snuffed out. She eyed him carefully, awaiting his answer.

"Primarily for amusement, and to leave would imply that I have a reason to." He answered simply and honestly. He'd roamed long enough. Got his rocks off plenty of times, met plenty of people, got in his share of fights. He spoke the next thought out loud. "For some reason, the adrenaline spike from fighting you was unlike any I'd experienced. Someone once called me a sick fuck. It fit quite well then as it does now."

Vex loosed a low snicker at his words. She eyed him carefully, debating her next words. After a few moments, she said, "If you wish to stay... then perhaps I could use your... talents." They had fought twice now, and he'd basically bested her last time; she had still taken him captive, and he had gone quietly.

Vex shuffled on her stone throne, and she peered at him with a flicker of interest. "I could use you in my army..."

Kevalin's eyes widened slightly. "I'd certainly enjoy having more to do... he trailed off here. I know I may be overstepping here but it wouldn't hurt to have someone sit with the whelps full-time. They seem to be a rather feisty bunch, especially the largest male and one of the females. At least so they don't kill each other before they get a chance to truly fight."

Vex chuckled once, and she nodded keenly. "Indeed. It is good for them to learn early." They would be among her first soldiers, of course. She was not at all disappointed in their scuffle. She told Kevalin, "Let them fight. But if you wish to sit for them while I am gone, I would not deny you that." She paused, eyeing him. She got up from her stone, then circled him. "I want you as a soldier first. I'll train you myself." She stopped in front of him, fiery gaze meeting his. "What say you?"

He appreciated that she at least listened to his concerns regarding her whelps, but hadn't been surprised when she brushed it off as of little concern. He would continue to keep an eye on them just in case.

At the mention of him being trained by Vex Kevalin licked his lips with the anticipation of tasting her blood again. He wondered if she'd allow the training to go so far. He imagined so given her own fighting style. Quick and brutal as all hell.

"I would be honored to begin my training at any time. He answered quickly, meeting her gaze with an eager yet cool one of his own.

He agreed. The Queen grinned broadly, lips curling back to expose yellowed teeth. "Good... very good," she murmured approvingly, still eyeing him up and down. She came to pause before him. "Would you care to start now?" Another grin, and she dipped into a play bow, tail waving slowly behind her. She could use this.

Kevalin stretched languidly. "I suppose, should probably grab a hare or two to keep near the dens for the pups later though so try not to maim me too severely, if you wouldn't mind." He winked at her and turned his back, keeping one ear turned towards her, just in case she tried to ambush him. After walking a fair few paces back away from their awkward terrain and onto a more even surface Kevalin rolled his shoulders and bowed his head at her.

"Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?" He smiled ruefully, he admired her in the strangest ways, but this, was one opportunity he just could not pass up. To learn from a fighter skilled in such a way as she would be a great advantage to him and for his future, wherever that may be. He know if he leave and she see his face again, one of them would die. Let's hope she's a good teacher. He thought to himself. "Ladies first He smiled wryly at her as his tail lifted confidently.

Vex rolled 11 for dmg. She has 30 HP.

The Queen chuckled lowly. "No maiming this time, and I will try to keep the bloodspill to a... mmm, minimum." She followed him to the more even terrain, and she nodded approvingly. "Terrain can help you or hurt you in a fight." The forest was littered with burrows and other dens that could easily trip them up, potentially breaking their ankles. Where they were now, though, was a nice, flat, even area with a few trees.

Vex took to circling him as Kevalin offered her the first move. His tail lifted, and Vex snickered softly She rushed him, maw agape. She would use the same move @Fury had used on her once — she aimed to bite down on his shoulder, then thrust the full weight of her body into his side, hoping to topple him.

Instant regret. He grunted as he hit the ground, the wind knocked out of him. She had surprised him with this move. Her teeth and torn deep into his shoulder before her body knocked him down. He was completely taken aback. A move he would definitely have to file away for the future. So much for training. He sighed inwardly, he'd take what he could get at this point. He knew her well enough to know this wouldn't be pretty.

His breath came back slow as he scrambled to regain his footing. "Okay, that's definitely one I'll have to remember." He shook himself to regain focus. His shoulder ached something fierce, he had no way to tell what damage had been done there. Her first move had definitely knocked him off balance to say the very least.

His counter attack would be to charge her like a bull, head down, ready bite at her legs or belly as he ran past, he planned to circle her, staying in the fight. His head and shoulder pounded in pain as he ran towards her, but he would ignore it until their session was over.

Rolled a 2 for damage. Vex has 29 HP.

Her first attack had been a success, and Vex's tail curled stiffly over her back. "Never underestimate your opponent," she snickered as he got to his feet, but her tail was waving in apparent play. She enjoyed this.

As Kevalin went running past her, she was buffeted and felt teeth snap at skin, but little came of it. It was such an awkward attack and they were so close that she could do little more than snap and snag at his pelt. Vex pulled away, shaking out her pelt, and she beckoned him forward with fire in her eyes. "Come on, big man," she crooned.

"Sure, Queenie."" He winked at her. One of the first things he said to her, They'd fought that day, she'd chased her off. Foolishly he'd come back. Of course if he had somewhere else more interesting to be he'd totally just go, but this batshit crazy hellhole was an absolute clusterfuck of amusement and adrenaline that he absolutely lived for and thrived in.

He would circle her, doing his best not to giveway his move. He quickly dart forward, he'd seen her training her whelps. He aim to take a bite of her flank, and dart away from her as quickly as he could.

Rolled a 2 for damage, Vex has 23 HP. I think Kevalin has 15 HP.

She laughed at his taunting, trying to dart around his attack. As his teeth met her flank, she recoiled towards him, only to find him gone. She snarled, whipping about, and dashed in recklessly, teeth snapping at what she could reach. She was not as focused now, and floundered, coming to find herself far too close to him.

Adds up right to me. My adorable roll of *1* brings Vex down to to 22 lol.

She was uncharacteristically all over the place. He had never once seen her out of control. He attempted to take control by using the brunt of his weight to knock her away from him. If he was successful at gaining some distance, he'd follow it with another quick attack.

Rolled a 9 for damage, Vex has 22 HP, Kevalin has 6 HP!

Their closeness rendered Kevalin's attack relatively useless, and he caught her at an odd angle, doing little more than buffeting her. She grinned toothily at him, reaching out to snap at his ear. She would be careful to not tear into it, though she wanted to — she had never properly tagged him as a prisoner.

She had caught his ear and held it for a moment, he was grateful that she didn't tear into it, she could have torn the whole thing clean off had she wished to. He snapped his teeth and tried to grasp onto any part of her face he could reach while they were close before jumping away from her.

"Am I allowed to end training for the day? He panted heavily. He shoulder ached. Their odd dance had filled him with an odd tension that he hadn't felt in awhile. Time for a cold swim. He thought to himself. He wasn't going any closer to Vex and that was final. He enjoyed the amusement, but he was sure as hell not going to start anything else.

Teeth snapped at her muzzle, but the bite was halfhearted and didn't even break the skin. She pulled away as he asked for their session to be over, and the Queen dipped her head after a moment of thought, telling him, "Yes, yes, very well. I must say, it was a good attempt." She snickered softly, then shook out her pelt. "Come to me again when you want more training." She turned to leave, heading straight back to her children, for once.