Duskfire Glacier I love you so much more when you are not here

perhaps @Maera ? If not I can AW it!
I feel like I'm defaulting Pink on her thread titles XD she's harder to think of them for

Manauia had been something of a ghost in Duskfire since joining. She had departed early on, choosing to remain outside the borders while she settled into life in the territory. Now though she was choosing to make her home in the woods, the trees allowing her to feel a bit more comfortable than the open space. She was not used to being so exposed but she could adapt.

She had done her part as promised, aiding in hunting and keeping a watchful eye on the borders. She had not met any of her packmates yet, that not being part of the bargain. She had promised them no harm, but that did not mean she needed to make friends with savages. She'd be happy if she did not run into them anytime soon. Yes, she was lonely, but it was not their company she craved. It would be no comfort to her.

Head held high, she made her way across the ice towards the forest. The stuff was cold on her paws, but she ignored it. In her southern home such things rarely happened, the weather being skewed in the other direction. Her first winter away had been a harsh one, but she was trained for this. By now she had become used to the other. Today she intended to finish exploring its depths. Then, for a time, her gaze would turn outwards. All information had its use.

<3

Maera was not afraid of ghosts.
In fact she was pretty sure she had been a ghost at some point in her short life, because just like a ghost she had flown under everyone's radar. Not the Alpha, who she had not yet bothered on meeting personally, or any other of the members had noticed her when she was a dead ball of red that lurked pitifully around the Glacier, keeping to herself as she invested all her time on expanding her collection.

She was also pretty sure her siblings, and sometimes her mother, were ghosts too.
Not because she thought they were dead (a recurring fear she had had after their prolonged absence) but because she felt that like her, they were present without being so. They lived through the images she had of them, still vibrant in her mind ;and they lived through her prized objects, the ones she had stored and tucked inside a hollow log just to remember them on the dark days.

Today, luckily, was not one of those days.
Even with the mounds of grey hovering over the sky, Maera's eyes could only see the silverlining on their side -- the snow that had engulfed the Glacier and all the neighboring ground had resulted to be more fun than she had first expected.

Maera, as usual, kept close to her precious hide-out this time not hunting for more objects but for fun. As she tumbled onto her side on a lump of white she caught sight of a red flash slinking behind the trees. The girl shot up immediately thinking that perhaps it was her mother, who had finally found the strenght in her heart to speak to her remaining child. Sadly, her nose was quick to kill every hope of that.

With a huff, the girl then pulled herself to go to the stranger's encounter, her tail flagging behind her as she approached. "Who are you?" she barked as she reached a decent distance. Though the teen still didn't hold a rank in the pack, she carried herself proudly, not allowing herself or anyone to forget she was part of the pack's founding family -- or what remained of it.

Manauia had fortunately been met with little interaction as she went about her first span of time within this strange pack. Already she was aching for the day that her sisters would return and she could be rid of this place. She'd been so apt at avoiding that Maera's inquiry, when it came, was entirely unsuspected and took her by surprise.

Showing no sign of this, she simply turned, appraising the teen with a cold eye. She held herself proudly despite her young age, posture showing a glimmer of the aura her Amazonian sisters displayed. This interested her enough that she did not ignore the question as she might have.

"Manauia. I am rather recently joined. And who is asking?" While not hostile, her tone was not kind either.

sorry if it's super crappy :(

As the very last of the Sveijarn children, and sole representative (aside from her father) of the founding family of the Glacier, Maera stood proudly against the fierce female's emerald green eyes. While as a younger child she had willingly fallen into the sidelines, letting her bolder sister take reins of everything, she had now gotten rid of all traces of her laid back attitude. Now and always she would be the princess of the Glacier, and she would continue to act as such --even if the reign she prided herself with had already crumbled.

Maera Sveijarn She barked while eyeing the stranger suspiciously, her mind committing her face and name to memory as she did so. The small emphasis she placed in her last name was made as a futile attempt to try to see if the 'recently joined' female had any knowledge of her family -- the legitimate owners of the land in her fantasy filled mind.

Like her, Maera also found that the stranger's eyes also held an intriguing spark, a feline-like light that veiled her pupils, giving the child a glimpse and a bitter reminder of why it was that her last name meant nothing in the lands anymore. Just like the members of her family had been plucked away one by one because of the cat, the memory of them had slithered away with them.

Despite her hardness and inevitable resemblance (to her) of the child's dreaded past, she considered her tone was the least of Maera's worries really; even if through out her rather tragic childhood she had been smothered by kind words and gentle care she had never found comfort in them. Not as she had while tending her collections.

When did you get here? She then inquired, burying the though of her lost relatives in the deepest end of her brain once again. Never to be touched of the circumstances allowed her to.

never <3

The emphasis that was put on her last name was largely ignored by the Amazonian. Such titles held no meaning nor interest for her, as the only familial bond she had ever counted merit towards was the one she felt for her sister warriors and her queen. The queen's bloodline held some import, but aside from right of inheritance, family names were empty titles. Here? They meant even less.

"I arrived a week or so ago. I had been in the area longer, but did not approach." She indicated the direction she had approached from, southeast. "Your cold lands hold little appeal, but winter makes all choices harder." She turned appraising eyes back to Maera. "This will be your first, yes?" She looked about that age, not yet grown enough to have weathered the cold before.

<3

The female's reaction -- or lack of thereof -- caused the female's ears to flatten against her skull with a bitter mixture of annoyance and dissapointment. Even if her family unit (if it could even be called that way) had creases and scars it was all she had -- and yet what she was missing.

She pricked her ears once more when the female answered her question, throwing what could only be taken as an insult for the overly-patriotic teen, who despite her lanky figure and awkward relation with the pack's leadership did not hesitate to shield her home from the female's words. Does that mean you'll be gone when it's warm once more? she asked with blatant delight at the thought. If she was not comfortable at the Galcier she might as well leave -- it was no rare ocurrence here, they all left.

She left the last question unanswered, and turned her eyes from the Amazon's face to her fiery coat instead. It resembled her mothers, which meant it also resembled hers, but instead of holding the warmth that her mother's did, it showed an dangerous fierceness that threatened to burn you if you got to close.
Lucky thing Maera liked to play with fire.

Dropping the sarcasm and aggresiveness from her voice she turned her face again to the female's face, Where did you come from anyway? she asked, wondering if like her she also had a place in her heart she would always call home.

She couldn't help it... she laughed aloud at the girl's obvious delight in the prospect of her leaving. "Perhaps," she finally replied, looking at the snow underfoot with some disdain. "but not until I've fulfilled what I am pledged to do here." She had promised no more than to help while she was here to Mordecai, so it was not loyalty to him that held her here. It was her other mission that was of importance.

She considered lying to the girl, but what was the point? These northern wolves would likely never visit her homeland, and the girl intrigued her. "I come from the far south. A vast forest called Coatl's Rise. It's beauty is without compare and it's warriors, my sisters, are also without equal." She looked askance at Maera. "You are curious. Tell me, what have you seen of the world?"

The whole mockery the Amazon played with her emerald colored orbs went unnoticed by the female, who simply limited herself to twist one of her oversized ears in the female's direction in order to grasp the words she said.
Apathy was something that the young redhead had learned to mirror over time, first using Danica as model and later taking refuge in it as the loneliness came and her loved ones went away.

As the equally fiery adult ended her description of the place Maera seeked to connect her eyes of honey with the Amazon's own orbs. The mention of sisters and warriors excited the teen, who had a peculiar love for both of them. Her quarrelsome sister had been an inspiration for her over the first few months of her life, and battling was something that simply broiled inside her veins.

You are also a Warrior? she asked, assuming that it was the trade what she had referred to previously. Then as a question was shot at her, the girl suddenly straightened herself.Not much of it yet -- I know I was not born here but in a place called the Creek, she barked. When they had left cweek was all she could pronounce out of the pack's name and along with the faces (except for Bazi's) the rest of it had been pretty much forgotten.

I have not strayed very far.. I miss it when I do she then admitted, suddenly wondering what had been keeping her fiery spirit limited to the pack's boundaries.
Then it suddenly came clear.
It was not the place itself what she missed but what it had once represented.
A home.
A family.
A legacy.

She was not tied to the Glacier but to the memories it held.

The question showed a spark of interest stirring and Manauia's expression incorporated something akin to approval. "I am, one of many. A Warrior, Guard, and Huntress. The hunt being a particular specialty of mine." Should Maera assume she was talking of prey, Manauia would not be surprised. That was in reality the smaller portion of her role.

The Creek. How..... original. It must not be too far from here if she had traveled and still not seen much. "A chosen home has a draw, even one such as this I suppose." She allowed, though really she was dubious. The child obviously didn't know any better. "Do you intend to follow the warrior's path?" She asked, a mild curiosity growing. So far, of the wolves she had met or seen, this child was the least irritating. She had an edge and what appeared to be the beginnings of a spine, a thing lacking in many of the others in her opinion.

Whatever it was that glimmered upon the eerily feline-like orbs went unnoticed by the young girl, who, still momentarily frozen with the weight of her realization, failed to bring her gaze to the Amazon's.
Finally, with a quick yet brusque jerk of her head she pulled herself back from the clouds and onto solid ground; pricking her oversized ears again just in time to catch the female's question.
One that she was much more pleased to answer.

I'd like to she agreed with a firm nod of her head. While she had been catalogued as defenseless and fragile for the majority of her life she was ready to shed that name now. If rearing yourself up with no parents or siblings didn't make her brave and strong she didn't know what would.

Not a Ga--Huntress though.. she noted, remembering how she had already disposed of the idea of becoming a Gamekeeper. As much as she enjoyed hunting she thought that dedicating one's life to it was a tedious task.

Prey was sometimes scarce, whereas fights abundant year round..

This just took on a 'The most dangerous game' quality...... >> oh Manauia

Manauia's ear flicked as Maera professed that Warrior was to her liking, but Huntress was not. As she expected, she did not miss the inaccurate start to the word, surmising what she had been about to say. A slow smile began. "A pity. You would be surprised at the fun that a good hunt can provide." Game was all well and good, but when your quarry was one of your own kind, a special sort of skill was needed. As a result the thrill of the chase, and the accomplishment of success, were so much stronger. This hunt, the tracking of her prince, had been her first in a long while since her guard duties took precedence. It was also the first she had not enjoyed, for her failure and exile overshadowed all else.

"Perhaps, if you have the strength, there are a few things I may show you of being a warrior." Manauia did not waste her time on useless tasks and if Maera didn't have what it took, to teach her would be pointless. The Amazon had an inkling that she did, though, and thus wasn't opposed to the idea. She missed spars with her sisters and it would be good to feel combat again, even in a training capacity.

[size=large]"lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones"[/size]

[size=small]
In spite of her companion's conviction when speaking of hunting, the lanky teen was not really impressed. She was a good hunter, not exceptionally talented but a bit above average. And though the affirmation of it being fun did rouse some good anecdotes from the back of her mind, Maera simply shrugged her shoulders. What Manauia saw as a life passion, the fiery Sveijarn simply considered to be a necessity or rather a chore she had with the pack.

Fighting on the other hand (as much as it was still useful for the pack's benefit) was a promising activity for the young female. If she managed to coordinate her gangly legs and keep her balance, she could even make a decent opponent.
"Give me a try" she barked, oddly amused at the unnatural confidence that laced her words as she awkwardly poised herself for attack.

With her long lost siblings as her only opponents, she had transitoned into practing with unanimate objects such as branches, or small logs. Nothing to be compared to a real spar...
[/SIZE]

The child was eager, and so the Amazon would comply, if not for long. She would give the girl a chance to earn her tutelage and, even if she failed, she would impart a few tidbits that would likely still aid her on her path. Not all were bred for such.

"Alright." With an approving growl she crouched, sliding slowly around, eyes never leaving Maera. "You shall likely fight differently than I, for you will one day soon have size and strength that I do not. Use it to your advantage."

With a lunge she sprang at her, jaws aiming for her shoulder. She, on the other hand, had learned to use speed and agility to her own ends. She didn't have the strength to stand against assaults or go toe-to-toe against larger opponents. Should she meet her she would not break skin, but would attempt to slam her into the ground roughly. Maera was old enough that she felt she did not need to pull back too much, though she would try not to leave any marks. This girl was not one of her sisters and she had given Malachi a promise. Much as she lacked respect for him, her word was her law and she would not break it lightly.

[size=large]"lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones"[/size]

[size=small]With her legs a bit bent and her paws trying to get a good grip on the snowy surface of the floor Maera bbraced herself for the upcoming collision. Despite having followed the Amazon's sly movements with her own hazel eyes, the female's lunge had given little time for the gangly teen to react. While she was still transitioning from her fragile child body into one of a strong adult, it was no secret that one day Maera, gifted by the genes of her dear father would become more of an opponent. For now however there was little she could do against Manauia's attack.

In a helpless attempt to hold her ground Maera's legs caved to the impact, folding beneath her as her flank crashed against the cold, yet soft, bank of snow that surrounded them. With an,"OOF!", the teen sunk onto the white pillow, trashing her legs momentarily like an upside down turtle before pushing herself to stand again.
While her precious coat of red was now covered in white blotches, the female's determination was never tainted. Without even waiting for her mentor opponent's feedback or instruction the girl launched herself forward, an unwavering light of fierce determination hanging on her hazel eyes.

Her target: Manauia's feet.[/SIZE]

gonna assume here with skill level/age. If you don't agree let me know love! <3. I am always open to editing fight posts to suit player preference :)

The Amazon was surprised at Maera's swift recovery and almost immediate return. Manauia's hit had been a solid one. It was with new respect that she watched the girl go after her feet, her intention clear but swiftly executed.

Whirling and backpedaling, she was just able to keep her paws out of reach. Knowing that from this vantage the girl could possibly charge and overbalance her, she jumped to the side, attempting to flank her before she had time to recover. As she did so, she gave a moment's feedback. "Try not to let your gaze betray you. Focus as a whole, not on your target beforehand."

totally with it agree, she was going to miss anyways heh<3

[size=large]"lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones"[/size]

[size=small]As she threw herself at the Amazon's feet, in a more literal way she cared to admit, she parted her jowls and pulled her lips back to reveal her pristine set of fangs and pinkish gums. They however never got to make their debut since as quickly as the cat-eyed female had struck, she had receded from Maera's grasp.
With her jaws closing over empty air with a loud click! she tried to lessen her momentum by stretching her forepaws agaisnt the snow in a vain attempt to maneuver away from the Amazon striking range.

Like a charging bull aiming directly to her mantle of, ironically, red fur Manauia lanched herself to her encounter, and Maera, being unable to jerk her spindly legs out of the way, simply braced herself for collision. Again the Sveijarn princess was shoved to the ground, another breatless "AUUGH!"escaping from her deflating lungs as her body barreled over the snow.

This time there was no miraculous spurt of adrenaline to make her spring back. With heaving sides and her face sprinkled with a white mask of snow she turned her gaze to the female, capturing her words and commiting them to memory as she panted for air. As much as she would have wanted to call it quits and let herself sink in the snow until she recovered her breath she ignored the little voice that told her to do so and instead began to push herself off the ground.
Not as energetically as before, but still with the willingness to continue.

Again, her she shot a fleeting gaze to the Amazon's extremities and feigned to lunge for them, but this time she was not expecting her teeth to meet her feet, with a brusque, sloppy movement she turned her head upwards, for she was now scheming to go after the female's own shoulder. [/SIZE]

When the girl once again rose after being punched into the snow a second time, Manauia decided upon her next move. Instead of moving to avoid, she would allow the girl to hit, curious to see what she would do with such an opportunity. So when Maera lunged after her feet, then quickly shifted for the shoulder (quick one!), she stood still. A slight girl herself, she was knocked off her own paws this time, and she kept her eyes on Maera as she hurriedly looked to be attempting to find her feet.

It was her move, what would she do?

"lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones"

[size=small]The impact, even if it had been intended, had not really been expected by the Maera -- who as soon as she felt her teeth meet the female's body, had an innate reaction to bite down. It was not hard enough to draw blood, but perhaps enough to surprise the Amazon as much as Maera. Then as Manauia's feet gave in under her weight, the Sveijarn jerked herself ungracefully from what would have resulted in a messy tangle of feet and legs.

But even if she had avoided that, it was not guaranteed she would be able to avoud what was up next. With her tail straightening out behind her and her ears swivelling mysteriously she prepared for whatever the Amazon would do to retaliate.
This was a lesson not a war -- she couldn't hurt her for real, right?
[/SIZE]

Maera did not take advantage of her fall, not as the Amazon expected, and her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. This could display one of two things; forethought, the idea that the more experienced trainer was laying a trap for the pupil, or a weak inability to attack an enemy who was down. She was unsure as to which. Rolling, she regained her footing.

This time she went straight for the neck, a move that would be most likely ineffectual against an actual opponent, but one that she wondered if Maera would be prepared for from a packmate. She had no intentions to wound the girl, instead aiming to grasp her by the nape, but from Maera's vantage point the move might look like an attempt at a killing lunge.

The girl needed to learn to fight, however, with ferocity. She could not see Manauia as a sparring partner, but needed to see an enemy, for if she held back now, then she could not be expected to perform fully in battle. Against their sisters, Amazons rarely checked their blows.

last post from moi, thanks bby

"lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones"

[size=small]In a matter of mere seconds, the Amazon was up again, her sharp features and her disturbing emerald cat-eyes never losing the fecocity they had adopted since the first blow had been delivered. Maera instead, felt her lip twitch anxiously as a cold tingle ran through her vertebrae, making the teen's tail tip quiver as if to give entrance to Manauia's next action --which again came quick, and to Maera's dismay with awful precision.

A slurred yap cut through the air as the jaws of her opponent, her own packmate, met the vulnerable area of her neck, which despite not clutching with the fierceness of a wolf that seeks blood was still enough to make the teen cringe in pain as she silently praised the remaining bits of baby fat accumulated under her skin for acting as barrier between her and Manauia's sharp razor teeth.

"ow", she growled through jagged breaths as she wriggled away forcefully from the female's grasp, her pinkish tongue already hanging tiredly from the corner of her mouth but her hazel eyes never putting out the ferocious fire within them.
Quickly, with no warning aside from her own cut breaths, the Princess of the Glacier launched herself back to the fighting court, her intentions to wrestle until her legs crumbled beneath her pushing her to dive again for the Amazon's quick feet. [/SIZE]

Alrighty! Also, feel free to PP if you wish that they had more sessions behind the scenes (we can always have more too for trade). She'd have kept it up if Maera wanted :)

Maera was unable to avoid her, but also didn't try to submit. Good. Many who she surprised with that move immediately tried to out of instinct, but an Amazon does not submit lest absolutely necessary. Seemed she had the courage to stand in the face of such a fierce lunge. The younger likely knew Manauia did not wish to harm her, but it still took strength to be so conscious of that in the midst of a fight. It meant she was thinking rather than letting instinct or emotion rule.

Releasing her as she wriggled free, she readied herself for the next attack, and sure enough, her opponent was ready for more. Impressed that she was not yet spent, she would continue to spar with her until she was ready or Manauia deemed it enough. At the present it was not clear which would come first.