Silvertip Mountain Never forget what you're fighting for

@Ezekiel

Steady ambled around the mountain, a little restless today. The morning sun had risen, and the heat wasn't unbearable just yet. He had been thinking lately that he needed to sharpen his skills as a fighter. It had been months since he sparred, and he knew he was out of practice. With the death of his brother and two nieces, plus the famine, his training had been put on a back burner. He still wasn't sure if putting his energy towards sparing was a great idea since he didn't have the food to recoup it, but he knew it would be worse if he found himself in a physical altercation and couldn't perform. 

And, so, he sought out his pack mates. He lifted his muzzle to the sky and called to anyone who might be up for a spar. He wondered if any of the others had been practicing their trades among themselves, but he doubted it. Their main focus had been on feeding the pups. With Zaria now Beta, Steady hoped she could focus on them, and let him worry about everything else. If so, the pack could focus a little more on the individuals and honing their skills.

He waited, his gaze moving around the clearing as he paced back and forth through the dirt. He could already feel his body tensed in preparation for the fight, the adrenaline coursed through his veins. He was ready.

Ezekiel heard Steady's howl and came to his feet. A spar, just what he needed. The last time he'd sparred had been against his brother, and like always he'd won. Gabriel was the best hunter, but didn't have the strategical and physical strength that Zeke did. And then there was Jojo, who won at everything. As he followed the sound of the howl, he wondered how good Steady was. Perhaps the black wolf would be a bigger challenge than his brother. With every thought, the more excited he got, so he quickened his pace, ready to meet his mock opponent in battle.

When he arrived, he saw Steady ambling through a dusty clearing, tense and ready to fight. Ezekiel chuffed to alert Steady he was there before walking from the budding forest into the clearing. He stopped a few lengths away from the alpha and grinned, Up for a spar? His gruff voice was still a bit breathy from the run here but he would only need a moment to prepare. This would be pretty fun.

His gaze caught sight of movement and he turned to face Ezekiel, who was a little out of breath from running. It seemed he had come quickly in the name of a spar. Steady's tail wagged, a reminder that this was a friendly spar and neither of them should be out to hurt the other. I am, he said simply. He circled his opponent, mostly to give him a little time to catch his breath. Steady wanted him ready, not at an advantage.

When his pack mate was ready, Steady lunged at him, lowering his head in an attempt to grab one of his forelegs. Steady was a large wolf, but Ezekiel wasn't that much smaller, and the Alpha wasn't about to underestimate him. He might have usually gone for a higher attack, but he wasn't ready expose his neck or underbelly. While his head was going for the leg, his body was swinging toward Ezekiel's, trying to move him off balance.

So with a spar, do we roll the dice to decide the winner? Or just decide in character? Sorry still learning some things :)

Ezekiel returned Steady's gesture, wagging his tail lightly. A friendly spar. Steady agreed to it and the spar began, the black wolf began to circle him. Zeke finally caught his breath and stepped back. Being circled wasn't a good thing, and he would rather do the circling. Steady lunged forwards, jaws out to grab Zeke and push him off balance. Zeke allowed him to grab his leg, but instead of getting knocked off balance, the large grey male shoved his weight down in an attempt to shove Steady to the ground instead.

It was of course all friendly and not harmful, but it still gave that families rush of adrenaline that Zeke recognized. No matter how much he thought he didn't want to be a fighter anymore, the fight always found him. And maybe he liked it. He was an adventure seeker after all, or perhaps just the seek-ee.

Sent PM, though I dunno why I didn't just respond here... XD

His jaws connected with bony flesh as he clamped down on Ezekiel's front leg, though not too hard. Just enough to let the other male know he had him. Steady let out a playful growl as he felt Ezekiel try to push him to the ground. His muscles weren't strong enough right now to hold a hundred pounds at bay, and his body went to the ground, releasing the leg he had a hold of.

He was smart enough to remain on his stomach instead of rolling over. In this position, he turned his head, and attempted to go for the underside of Ezekiel's neck or chest. Even if he failed, it might be enough to make Ezekiel back up a few steps, which would allow Steady to rise again. While this was all in play, it gave both Steady and Ezekiel extremely important information. If they were ever in a real battle, they would know the moves that would help them win, and the moves that could end their lives.

Steady wins this time! Link here!

Ezekiel chuffed with pride when he succeeded in pushing Steady down. He tried to keep the large black wolf down, but Steady was stronger than expected and reached his head up to grab his chest fur. Appalled, Zeke bounded back to avoid Steady's reach, stumbling a bit. Out of sorts now he shook his head, watching Steady rise to his feet. Now they were both standing again, equals in combat. Like Steady, the large grey wolf was learning more and more about combat. Wolves apparently fought a bit differently here in Teekon, and the more you know the better.

He circled his friendly opponent, a gleam of excitement in his pale eyes. After resizing the alpha, he dashed forwards hoping to ram the black wolf down. If successful, he wouldn't hurt Steady, just phase him.

He heard the chuff of satisfaction that came from Ezekiel after he got Steady on the ground. He had this one, yes, but Steady wasn't out. The move only spurred him on more and he quickly opened his jaws as they headed for the other male's chest and neck. Ezekiel quickly jumped back and Steady moved to stand, facing his opponent once more.

Steady watched Ezekiel as he circled him, gaze not afraid of meeting his. Right now, there were no ranks for Steady, only a friendly spar, and a twinkle in his eye that showed he was enjoying this. The other male lunged at him, and Steady stepped to the side to try and avoid him, but he was just a bit too slow. Ezekiel caught his backside and it came out from under Steady. His claws tried to draw traction, sending dirt and dust into the air. Seeing the advantage, the dark wolf was quickly up and going for Ezekiel, his intent to bring him down, much as Ezekiel had wanted to do to him.

Ezekiel had done it, Steady slid across the ground from his ram. But it the process of his attack, Steady managed to kick up a whole lot of dust in Zeke's face. His eyes dried up for a moment and he blinked repeatedly to fix it. Damn it! He swore, a reaction to the tingling pain. He shook his head to clear it, and opened his eyes again. They widened when they saw the alpha rushing towards him to knock him down. Zeke tried to get out of the way but his opponent was too close. He hit the ground with a thud and struggled against Steady's weight but but the black wolf was bigger than him. He'd lost this time.

You cheated! He yelped playfully, with mock conviction in his voice. He tried to shake his friend off of him to rise to his feet, seeing as the spar was over.

He was hoping the upturned dust would work to his advantage, and it did. Ezekiel swore, and Steady seen his eyes widen just before impact. Steady reined in his energy a bit, not wanting to hurt his pack mate. The Alpha laughed at the accusation that he cheated, and leaned over Ezekiel. I did not, he argued. I adapted and overcame! Steady was no cheater, but he did take opportunities when they arose.

 He backed off, giving the other male room to get back up. Sitting back on his haunches, he let his body relax a little, the adrenaline from the spar settling down now that it was over. It had been too long since he honed his skills, and he was already wanting another. But, he could wait. He figured Ezekiel would want to rematch, anyways.

Steady laughed at Ezekiel's teasing accusation, and defended himself playfully. Zeke could feel Steady's breath on his face when the alpha leaned over to mock him. Ha. Adapted and overcame. He laughed, waiting for Steady to get off before jumping to his feet. He too sat back, the rush given by a fight beginning to wear off inside him, his hot blood cooling to its normal temperature. His muscles seemed sore, for like Steady, it had been far too long since his last spar. And yes the alpha was right, Zeke longed for a rematch. He knew he was better than how he'd just done, another spar and he'd really show off his skill.

Taking his heavy breaths, he spoke again.Ok. Rematch, some other time? The sentence came rather choppy, but got the message through, right now he was far to tired to do much more fighting.

Finish with your post?

Steady smiled and nodded. Rematch another time, he confirmed. While he did know they needed to sharpen their skills, he also knew they needed to conserve their energy. Two spars back to back would have used up too much of that. The endorphins, however, that coursed through Steady's body would last him a little while longer and put him in a pretty good mood.

I'll catch you later, he said as he rose, the promise heavy in his words. He grinned, already thinking of ways he could catch Ezekiel off guard for their next spar. It certainly wouldn't be as straight-forward as this one was. With their friendly duel over, Steady would head for the borders, intending to get some patrols in before he rested.

Good, Steady agreed to the rematch. Ezekiel have a satisfied smile. He almost felt the urge to start now, but his weary bones said otherwise. They needed their strength for other things. I'll catch you later. Steady put an emphasis on catch. Zeke smirked at his friends joke and replied, Good luck with that. With that the large black wolf got up at left, heading in the direction of the packs borders. While Zeke was tired, a good patrol would make his day all the better, so he headed the other direction to cover some ground.

Thanks for the thread!