Mount Apikuni It always seems impossible until it’s done.

Grezig was panting as she stood there, watching Elixir slowly rise back to her paws. 

’Well, you win.’ The disappointment was clear in the wolfdog’s voice.

Grezig sat back on her haunches with an audible huff. “You did well,” she told Elixir, tail thumping on the ground behind her. “You did not win, but it was your first spar. You tried, and you got in some attacks of your own, and you tired me out. That is all that matters for now.” She chuckled for a moment, an utterly foreign sound for someone like her. “You even shoved me to the ground once. Perhaps I need to work on my own balance.”

’I hope we can do it again though. I think with practice I can be better.’

“Of course,” Grezig said, taking a deep breath to steady her heart rate. “But give it a few days. We will both be sore tomorrow, and I am not sure when we will be traveling again.” 

This had been a good first spar for Elixir. With time, Grezig was sure even the wolfdog could learn to fight like a full-blooded wolf.