Altar of Twilight party time, excellent

The apology was well-received by Charon, who wanted respect more than anything else. It looked like she really just didn't know how to handle herself as a wolf, which was something to take along when he eventually judged whether or not he'd want her in his pack. Charon grinned when Eigma asked if she could stand up properly, the snarl on his face breaking.

"Yes," he said and nodded. "You may rise now." Charon's tail fell back against his haunches again in a relaxed manner and the hairs in his neck fell too, as he looked at Dhole and Eigma. Satisfied that they were all fine and he'd gotten his deserved respect, Charon looked between them and, with a gesture of his paw, said: "So, about that spar..." figuring they'd pick up the que and start the spar at last now that the air was cleared.

Writing on my phone, sorry if its short!

When bade to rise, Eigma did so, and resisted the urge to shoot the young leader an unpleasant glare; he seemed to be enjoying Eigma's awkwardness and discomfort. Pointing this out - or challenging him out of a sense of pride - would only spoil things, so she remained planted in one spot in wait for the next step. That was when he mentioned the spar again. Eigma was ready. Fueled by the frustration that peppered this irksome meeting, she was on her feet and pacing back a few steps, watching Wildfire for the girl's first move.

When the Charon relaxed, Wildfire felt some tension leave her body too. The freckled Alpha gave her a positive cue and she threw Eigma a roguish grin. There was still a chance she would be accepted and now it was time to prove her worth. Although it made Wildfire slightly nervous to duke it out in front of her new leader, she knew it was a good opportunity not only to get a feel for the newcomer's skills but demonstrate her own.

She deliberated for a moment. Should she spring at Eigma, starting with an offensive tactic? She shook her head slightly, then padded forward and ducked her head. "Come at me," the teenager said. Just in case her adversary didn't know what that slang meant, she elaborated, "Show me what you've got." Her body language further clarified the message as Wildfire braced herself, keeping her head aligned with her spine to protect her throat and her tail stiff behind her to maintain balance. She dug her toes into the loam, then wrinkled her lips back in a playful snarl.

Hope its OK to skip Charon while we do the spar!

Wildfire spoke, and initially Eigma was watching her - sizing her up, witnessing the shift in body language as the girl became defensive. A grin sprang to life upon her face, and quickly it morphed in to a grimace of fangs; she enjoyed a good fight like most of the wolves she had encountered thus far in life, but it would be difficult to separate the intensity of fighting for your life from whatever this was supposed to be. Eigma assumed that they weren't going to try and harm one another (what would be the benefit of that). At the same time, she was still nervous, and not particularly keen on trusting them. Eigma passed a brief look towards Charon, wondering if he might step in should things go sideways, but then promptly ignored him.

It was up to Eigma to make the initial attack, apparently. She paced a few more steps away, drawing Wildfire further from the leader (just in case), and then dove face-first towards her. With her body low to the ground, ears flat, and tail writhing behind her - she was a grizzled gray lump, snapping her teeth at the girl with the pelt of fire in the hopes that she would be forced to move, and then Eigma could get a handle on her reaction time; the more she learned of her opponent in these moments, the better she could fight.

yep, feel free to skip me during the spar! :)

The new girl kept her mouth as she rose, which was probably just as well. It was one thing she didn't understand the world, but it was another to have a blabby mouth and not understand the world. Charon nodded at her and she turned her attention to Dhole then. Charon wasn't sure why Eigma looked at him just before Dhole told her to make the initial attack; did she not know how to fight, either, or was there something else she wanted?

Dhole was the one to break the awkward silence by asking Eigma to attack her now. Eigma turned attention back to Dhole and finally she made her first lunge. Charon watched with interest, curious for the outcome, though not intending to step in if things got out of hand (unless the getting out of hand meant Dhole getting hurt). He sat down to the side and watched Dhole and Eigma with interest, for if she was a potential new recruit he'd better watch how she fought.

She might lose. In fact, she probably would lose. She had trained as a Warrior and even used her skill set in a serious capacity a handful of times. However, Eigma had been probably been fighting tooth and nail her entire life. Although the odds were not in her favor, Wildfire still felt her heart drumming with excitement as she waited for her opponent's first move. No matter the outcome, it would be fun, not to mention good practice.

Her amber eyes flashed curiously when Eigma took a few steps backward. Wildfire didn't budge from her position. In the next instant, she dove toward the youth like a furry gray rattlesnake. This time, the Warrior apprentice did move. She darted to the side to avoid Eigma's snapping teeth. Not a single fang so much as brushed her, which Wildfire found curious. It was almost like her opponent wasn't really trying. Perhaps she was worried about making hard contact, since it was only a spar? It didn't occur to her that Eigma was actually testing her.

The red girl was smaller, and faster. She was fleet-footed; moving before Eigma was really in range for an attack, which told the older wolf that it would be easy to overwork her. If she was that eager to keep away (and maybe her fast feet were influenced by the presence of the young alpha as well), then Eigma could use that. She let Wildfire move away. Her own body remained low, and she paced after her with a circular route, bringing herself closer, and then lashed out once more - snapping again, watching again, but this time when Wildfire moved (if she moved), Eigma was prepared to launch herself and tackle the girl.

She didn't know what to expect next. All Wildfire could do we keep herself prepared to field an attack. When Eigma remained low, the youth let her head sink beneath the plane of her shoulders to better protect her throat. She also hunched slightly, lowering her center of gravity so it wouldn't be as easy for Eigma to push her off her feet should she make an attempt.

For the moment, she gray she-wolf paced around her in a circle, forcing Wildfire to spin with her. The tension grew as the young Omicron awaited an attack. It came, eventually, and she reacted like a coiled spring, trying to hop clear. Despite her vigilance, she was not swift enough to avoid teeth skimming across her skin.

Eigma did not wait any longer. As soon as she felt her teeth slip through fur, she seized the opportunity to snap; again and again, trying to grab hold, to divert attention with the swing of her head or a quick side-step. Her intent was to overwhelm Wildfire with all the movement of her face and teeth so that she could throw her weight around a bit - she was aiming for the girl's shoulders since they seemed to be the most prominent. Both wolves were low to the ground but it was Wildfire's slight hunch, that little imbalance, which Eigma wished to exploit. She snaked her way closer and closer, nipping and snapping, until she felt it possible to thrust all of her weight through her body with a sudden jolt from her hindquarters, sending her grizzled body up against the red fur of Wildfire.

She had never experienced a fighting style quite like Eigma's. She was all movement and teeth. It was difficult for the apprentice to keep up with her; she simply couldn't. Pointed fangs clipped her shoulders time and time again, not breaking the skin but definitely leaving bruises. Wildfire realized that trying to keep up with her opponent was futile and grew still, prepared to tag her with a defensive bite. But the instant she cottoned onto Eigma, the she-wolf struck.

She moved upward with such velocity that it forced Wildfire to rear, her forefeet momentarily off the ground. Aware that this would make her much easier to throw off balance, she thrust her weight back downward. Eigma was too quick for her, though, practically wedging her whole body beneath the lightweight teenager. Wildfire was only seconds from being entirely overthrown.

You're welcome to toss 'er! :)

Seeing the opportunity, Eigma seized it. Her body thrust beneath Wildfire and she, catching with her teeth at the soft underparts of the girl, stampeded forward with the desire to overthrow. Instinct was overwhelming; as her mouth pinched upon fur and flesh, it took concentration to not let her teeth sink in to her sparring buddy. Concentration that she would have used for a proper attack against a fellow rogue. A moment of thought took some power away from Eigma, but in a flash the red furred girl was beneath her, and the older wolf was attempting to pin her down with her paws as well as the firm hold of her teeth.

Quick spar is quick? lmao. We can continue if you wanna have Wildfire gut-kick her, or escape, or whatever. Or maybe Charon can intervene soon?

Wildfire went down like a sack of potatoes. She grit her teeth as her body impacted with the dirt. I need more practice, jeez, she thought fleetingly before Eigma's continued assault consumed her attention. The youth grunted, turning her head to the side to avoid her opponent's teeth even as she kicked out with all four legs, trying to get Eigma to back off.

But her efforts didn't seem to deter the silver she-wolf, so Wildfire declared, "All right, you win! White flag!" before attempting to ninja-roll sideways and regain her feet. When she managed to get back onto all fours, she gave herself a shake. Eigma had overwhelmed her quite rapidly, barraging Wildfire with her speed and experience. Although it wasn't easy facing defeat, the youth decided they would have to spar again sometime, pending Eigma's acceptance. It would be brilliant practice.

In the meantime, Wildfire glanced at @Charon, wondering what he thought of the possible recruit. Even if she hadn't done much to prove herself as a Warrior, perhaps she would have more success as an Outrider today.

Unfortunately, Moonspear is currently full when it comes to adult members. However, we would love to have you whenever space opens up! I can understand if you'd rather have Eigma join another pack because you don't want to wait, but my idea is to give Eigma some task to complete so you have stuff to RP about and it makes sense that she is not an official part of MSP yet, and hopefully by the time that is all roleplayed out, we will have space in the pack to accept you officially. :-)

Charon watched as the spar went on. Eigma started out slow, but then she suddenly sped up and it seemed in the blink of an eye that she had Dhole pinned and screaming for mercy. Charon wondered if she had practise being a warrior, or if Dhole was just really rubbish and needed to brush up on her warrior skills.

"Looks good, well done," Charon said with a genuine smile on his face as he looked at Eigma, presuming she would get off Dhole now that the latter had surrendered. "So what makes you want to join a pack after all this time alone? Why now?" He could see why them — probably a mixture of luck and taking a liking to Dhole after meeting her. She was a social, chatty girl, so Charon could see how she'd easily make friends.

Truthfully, their pack was pretty full as it were, but maybe he could give Eigma a challenge to complete, to prove herself to be a worthy addition to the pack. Hopefully he could keep her interested for long enough to see if all of their new and old wolves were here for the long haul; maybe they'd lose someone before winter and then it would be good to have Eigma on board.

First he waited for her answer though, intending to test her a bit more before he'd give her more opportunities to prove herself worthy.

Sure! A task would be fun. :)

Eigma would have continued in any other situation. Having a rival survive to fight another day was equivalent to failing the fight itself - but this wasn't a normal fight, this wasn't something she had to do for survival. When Wildfire finally gave in, trying to free herself with squirming and kicking and then finally with her words, Eigma relented. She paced for a few seconds to relieve any excess adrenaline, watching Wildfire scurry back up to her feet and take a spot alongside the leader; then when Charon spoke, the grizzled woman turned her attention upon him.

His question wasn't that surprising to her. In fact, it seemed as if she expected it. "I've always wanted to be a part of a pack." Which meant that the Moonspear wolves weren't particularly special in her eyes - just one of the many options in her pursuit of structure and law. "I may have grown up a rogue, in a land full of individualists, but I've never followed their doctrine. I've always sought structure, and to be honest-" She glanced at Wildfire, and then back to Charon, as if imparting some great secret, "- if I can't find a home with you, I'll find one somewhere else."

She wasn't socialized to be a pack wolf, but the woman was desperate to be a part of something greater - even if she experienced some issues while adjusting, she knew that pack life was something she was destined for.

It seemed Charon wanted to question Eigma some more, which made sense. Wildfire settled into silence, listening to their exchange. Eigma would be a fierce addition but with a full (or nearly full) pack, only the best of the best would make the final cut. The youth weighed this thought in her mind, realizing she had gotten in fairly easily. Well, she would make sure to prove herself as worthy of the space she occupied.

Her mind began to wander and she found herself thinking back on the spar and how she could have done better, especially in front of the Alpha. Then something else abruptly occurred to her: as far as Wildfire knew, the Moonspear didn't require any particular trades. She didn't have to be a Warrior. It was a strange thought. She was a decent fighter at times, though she was not particularly suited for the trade. What if she dropped it, along with Naturalist? Then she could focus on her strengths and sharpen the skills that might benefit the pack the most.

But wouldn't Charon and Ame frown on a wolf dropping two of three trades? Before Wildfire could delve much deeper than that, her attention snapped back to the conversation. She caught Eigma's last few words and her ears tipped toward the Alpha, wondering whether or not he would receive that information with equanimity.

Eigma's first words sounded pretty good, how she said that she had always wanted to be part of something. When she secretively disclosed that she would find a home elsewhere if not here, Charon's fur bristled, though. Looking displeased, he said: "You had better get a great deal more grateful for the chance I'm giving you real fast. My pack is thriving and popular, so it's pretty special I'm giving you a chance at all." He squinted his eyes while he tried to think of a good task that Eigma could do, though he hoped that she would swallow back her ungrateful words.

Feeling a lot less generous than before, Charon decided to go for a task that entailed a bit more than just finding a bite to eat or giving a status update on prey. "I'll give you a task to complete, and after you complete it you can return here and we'll see if we have space for you in our pack." Or maybe you can find some other pack, since you don't seem overly attached to this one, Charon thought sourly. "I want you to do two things. Firstly, there's a pack at the mountain ridge to the east somewhere, called something-Spire. They're really secretive and I want to know more about them. Their name, why they're so secretive, what they're hiding... stuff like that." He looked at Eigma to make sure she understood before continuing on about the second task: "Secondly, my uncle Mordecai lives to the east in a pack called Lost Creek Hollow. I want you to visit him and say hi from me, and let him know me and Ame have settled here at Moonspear." Charon continued to look at Eigma, waiting to see and hear some sort of confirmation that she understood his tasks and was intending to complete them, then return here. If she managed to complete both tasks, Charon would see about giving her that chance in the pack; the pack was busy and near full, but for a loyal wolf they could surely spare a space.

The boy king seemed to be offended by what Eigma had said, which both amused and frustrated her. It was only reasonable for her to weigh her options - this was the first pack she had stumbled upon in forever, and she wasn't about to throw her support behind it, and behind Charon, without a good reason. The pale leader looked like he was going to withdraw the offer entirely, but then he went on to suggest a task - something to prove herself, Eigma assumed - and she gave a nod as the individual assignments rolled off his tongue.

"Spire pack, gotcha," she nodded once, "And talk to your uncle. Sure, that'll occupy my time for a bit. Nice to have something to do that isn't hunt this or chase that --" Although she was a bit annoyed at the entire situation; Eigma was told she would be free and clear once the spar was over, and she had clearly bested Wildfire, but now there were extra hoops to jump through. Before she could ramble much more, the woman seemed to lose interest in the conversation. She looked to the east, as if to study the wind and the foreign soil, to get some sort of plan in her head. But then she was looking to Charon again - "I'll do it. If you don't hear back from me, I guess that'll be that."

Wildfire had suspected Eigma's offhanded comment might hurt Charon's pride a bit. She winced inwardly as he reacted unfavorably and she, too, expected the freckled Alpha to shoo her away at that point. He surprised them both by proposing a couple of tasks she could undertake to prove her worth. Wildfire felt a little envious; those were tasks she would have liked to help out with as an Outrider. She understood why Charon wanted Eigma to do them instead. For her part, the she-wolf seemed game, although there was a decidedly noncommittal air about her too.

Well, if Eigma didn't come back, Wildfire would be happy to help with the tasks instead and she would let Charon know that when the time was appropriate. For now, she held her silence, waiting for Eigma to depart. She truly hoped the woman returned and successfully joined the ranks, though only time (and Eigma herself) would tell if that happened.

It irritated Charon that Eigma didn't get on her knees and beg, that she even added 'if you don't see me back, that'll be that'. He was giving her important tasks to complete, not sending her out on a field trip for fun. It would be important for him to know whether or not the message had been delivered to his uncle Mordecai, for example, and he needed to know if he shouldn't send out some of his other Outriders instead because Eigma was off lollygagging or had found some other pack or whatever.

Maybe I'll still say no when she gets back, he thought haughtily to himself. Then again, the tasks were fierce, so if she did return with some good info and the delivered message, she was probably cut out of the right wood to be part of Moonspear.

"Off you go, then," Charon said. "We'll see you when you get back. You can come back here and howl for me or Dhole." The boy waited for Eigma to leave; the sooner she left on her tasks, the better. He wondered if he'd ever see her again, really, but well, time would tell.

She may have seemed flippant, but Eigma knew that the tasks were important. If she was going to eventually prove herself to this boy and work her way past his ego, she would have to get going. Without another word, she turned and departed - although she gave a small nod to both of them, her gaze lingering briefly on Wildfire - and with a slight adjustment to her weaving step, she began to head east. How far were these two packs from Moonspear? She wanted to get this done quickly, but she wasn't exactly in the greatest shape to travel the world; still, nothing could be done about that now. The tasks were laid out before her (quite literally) and she would complete them. In the process, maybe she'd figure out if Moonspear was worth all the trouble.

[Exit Eigma!]

Eigma made her exit, though not before exchanging a glance and nod with Wildfire, who returned each. Her amber eyes rested on the other female's retreating back until she moved out of sight, then she shifted to face Charon more fully. Of course, she kept her shoulders squared but lowered, her snout directed at him but her eyes averted. He might have been a young Alpha but he was still older than her and Wildfire had no qualms paying her respects to her superiors regardless.

"If she doesn't come back, I'd be happy to help you with those tasks," she mentioned. Wildfire really wanted to prove herself, especially after her not so spectacular demonstration of her Warrior skills. "I hope she does, though," she added truthfully, then changed the subject by saying, "I was actually going to grab a bite to eat before all this went down. Wanna come with me...?" She wouldn't mind a hunting partner, nor spending time with him, though she just hoped she didn't underwhelm him again by failing to catch some prey.

Eigma departed then, and Charon wondered if he'd ever see her again. At least she was going in the right direction. That was something. Charon looked at her as she left, and his posture relaxed a little automatically; even though he was still in Dhole's presence, he felt less need to assert his dominance with known and respectful pack wolves than outsiders present.

Dhole said that she could help with the tasks if Eigma didn't return, almost as if she read his mind. Charon hadn't considered the tasks still needed doing if she wouldn't return; he didn't really care that much about that Spire pack, other than to sate his curiosity (he didn't think they would be a threat or anything), and even the greetings to his uncle were just something he thought of in the spur of the moment. "Sure. If she's not back soon you could help with those," Charon said with a nod. "Good job looking for good wolves for our pack. We'll see if this one makes the cut. Would be nice if she could get her head out of her ass though, I mean, you give 'em a chance and they're still considering other packs." Charon still had half a heart to laugh in Eigma's face and tell her to get lost when she did return, still feeling a little malicious over her nonchalant words, as if his pack wasn't the cream of the crop. Well, whatever. It'd probably depend on his mood the day she returned what he would do.

"Not such a good job at the fighting though. You're fucking rubbish." Charon grinned lopsidedly at Dhole, clearly not meaning the words to be as strong or vicious as they might have sounded. "If you want to keep your warrior trade, you should practise more. Maybe we could spar sometime." Charon wasn't going to tell Dhole she couldn't be a warrior if she wanted to be, but he hoped that his words would be enough to spur her into action and start working on getting better at her trade. "You should use your small size to your advantage instead of trying to buldoze others and getting mowed down in the process." Well, in this case it was mostly Eigma who'd done the mowing, but maybe if Dhole had tried to use her size and speed instead of facing that challenge head-on she would've come off better.

Now that advice-giving time was over, Charon answered in regards to the hunt: "Sure, we can go for a hunt." He waited for Dhole to lead the way, since it was her idea after all, and he was curious to see how she would handle a hunt, since she was still young and all.

He praised her for attempting to recruit and she smiled softly, though her expression faded somewhat when he took a dig at Eigma. Wildfire didn't take these sorts of things overly personally, though she didn't fault Charon for feeling differently. Moonspear was his pride and joy, after all. He needn't worry about it, though; if Eigma didn't come back, then another worthy wolf would step up in her place. She decided against saying that, just letting him vent a little bit like a good friend would do.

Before she could say anything, Charon switched gears and quite frankly called her out on her poor fighting skills. Wildfire's back stiffened and she blinked in surprise and hurt. He grinned at her, which took the edge off the message, though she would be lying if she said his blatant words didn't hurt her feelings. No one had ever spoken to her that way, not even her parents who tended to be rather crass at times. Wildfire tried to swallow her emotions and pay attention to his constructive criticism, nodding. She hadn't given her best performance today and there was always room for improvement, though Wildfire wanted Charon to know she wasn't rubbish.

"I'm usually pretty okay," she said meekly, then took a deep breath. Her emotions were already in a fragile place and if she let the freckled Alpha's words get to her, she'd be a mess. Wildfire forced a smile onto her face and added, "But there's always room for improvement and I wanna do whatever it takes to be a good pack member, so..." She exchanged a quick glance with him, then seized the opportunity to take point and began leading the way into the woods in search of quarry.

Fade here? :)

sounds good! :)

Oh, dear, she was going to get hurt over this. Charon could see it by her face, as she seemed undecided on how to respond to his criticism. Well, he was just calling it as it was, really. She had just lost to some cocky loner, after all, and sure, there was always the possibility that Eigma was just really good at fighting, but since she couldn't even do wolf behaviour that well, Charon highly doubted it. And now she was giving him the sad eyes. When she talked her voice emphasised that he was right, and Charon suppressed a dramatic sigh and a roll of his eyes to show that he thought she was being overly sensitive about this.

The fact she was 'usually pretty okay' emphasised how badly she needed to improve, anyway. As a warrior of the glorious Moonspear pack, she should at least be good. Charon decided to just nod in response to Dhole's meek accepting of his criticism, and then he followed her into the woods, letting Dhole take lead on the hunt. Maybe it'd build her confidence up a bit if they'd catch anything.