Overture Downs Burning Off Some Steam

@Ezekiel - spar

---

Howl was now on a new mission. He had joined Morningside just a few days ago and now he needed to prove himself. When he came to the pack it wasn't on the best of terms and he needed to prove himself. By enhancing his skills he would be of more use to the pack. So he set out to do alittle workout. He was sprinting around short bursts back and forth between two sets of trees. Some jumps over a few fallen logs.

The small streems through the meadow quentched his thirst as he took breaks but then was right back to it again. His skills had been dorment for sometime since he came to the wilds. This place was much more peaceful then the place Howl was from. Alot less hostile with less need to fight one another. He still wanted to be prepared though, for the worst if it were to arise.

Ezekiel wasn't going too far, but after his morning patrol he had been feeling restless, and he decided to go on a short trip out of Stone Circle. At midday, he found himself in a land of rolling hills, that seemed to never end. He didn't run, for his trip was not of urgency, it was more of a thoughtful walk more than anything else. That aside, he still felt restless, and he realized that what he really wanted was to spar, or just fight. It was in his blood, the blood of a warrior. It was the one thing from Winter's Bluff that he could be proud of, and it was the skills that he had learned from them.

He caught on the the scent of a wolf nearby, and he followed it curiously. Normally Ezekiel would stay clear, but this scent was familiar to him, and he wasn't sure why. When finally he saw the wolf who had left the trail, he realized it was the male who had been so close to Easthollow and Valette when she was on her heat. He had proven himself to be courteous then, but that didn't make Ezekiel his biggest fan.

The dark grey male barked to get his attention, his chest puffed a little but not in a threatening way. Your name is Howl right? He said, trying to remember.

So Ezekiel wins this first spar?

yes

---

Howl was in the middle of his exercises when he heard a bark in the nearby area. He paused and looked around, trying to see where the sourse of the noise came from. A male came into view, one Howl had meet just a while earlier. The male remembered him and Howl did too, and Howl took a moment to regain his breath and remember the males name in turn. "Yes... and you are... Zeke right?" he continued to pant slightly.

Howl was skeptical about this male. He seemed somewhat impulsive when they last saw each other, then again their was a female in heat in the equation then. He hoped this male wouldn't be as aggresive this time, but then again Howl could use that to his advantage. He had wanted to further his past skills, what better way to do that then to have a bit of a spar. He didn't want this to get too agressive, he didn't want to start a real fight for no reason. Howl kept this though in the back of his mind but didn't being it up just yet, still unsure about how this male was really like.

The other male was panting, as if he'd just finished some running or something. He answered Ezekiel's question in segments, and in turn asked his own question. Ezekiel's tail twitched once, then returned to stillness. Ezekiel. Zeke is for my friends and those who have won my trust. He said in his baritone voice. Then, thinking that may have sounded aggressive he added, No offense. There was another pause of anticipation. Ezekiel wanted to spar, and he didn't really know this guy, but he seemed like the sparring type. He didn't want to be rude or start anything bad, but he didn't think it could hurt to just ask.

You wanna spar or something? He said, breaking the silence. His fluffy grey tail was moving again, it swayed with excitement.

Ezekiel corrected Howl, stating his full name rather than the nickname Howl had heard Vallete say when they had first crossed paths. Howl didn't take offense, some wolves were very particular about what was open and what was need to know. Howl apologized saying "Ezekiel then, sorry I was only restating what I heard prior." he didn't say this with submission or expecting a reply, he just wanted to explain incase the male wondered where he would have gotten the idea to call him such.

Then almost out of the blue he asked howl if he wanted to spar. It was somewhat shocking to think that the two had been thinking of similar events, but Howl didn't see why not. He had stopped panting and had recovered partly, though slighly still out of it. But Howl didn't see this as a grab for who was better and genuinly just wanted to regain his skills, which would come if he lost or won this fight. "Sure, a little friendly spar to break the ice?" he stated making sure Ezekiel got the message that no severe harm should befall the two.

Ezekiel offered a slight smile in reply to Howls suggestion. Of course a friendly spar, Ezekiel wouldn't hurt anyone unless they deserved it. Now if Howl had touched Valette in the previous meeting, Ezekiel would not be so courteous. He nodded in agreement, then took an offensive position. As he usually did, he started the spar by circling his opponent. His sky blue eyes scanned the dark male up and down, looking for where he should attack first. For some reason, but only for a second, Ezekiel felt like he was sparring with Steady again. And like he'd done with Steady, he started by going for the legs.

He darted forwards, aiming for Howl's ankles. His jaws parted to reveal a full set of sharp pearly white teeth. He lowered his head and turned it to the side, hoping to latch onto his partners ankles and bring him down.

Ezekiel nodded in agreement and began to walk in a circle. Howl did the same as the two walked on oppising sides of their imaginary circle. He didn't want to turn his back on his opponent or leave it exposed either. He changed his stance to one of defensive which came in handy when Ezekeil made the first move by lunging for Howl's ankle. Howl made a move to back up, but Ezekiel still got a chance to bite his ankle, but unable to grab hold. This put Howl off balance, but he didn't fall. With Ezekiel's head down Howl went to grab hold of the back of his neck.

Ezekiel's teeth came in contact with Howl's ankle, and he managed to throw Howl off balance. But the other male shook him quickly, and Ezekiel felt a set of teeth around his neck. Ezekiel would not let his opponent hold him down so easily, using pure brute strength he pushed up and grunt escaping his mouth as he did so. He hoped to push Howl off and up, and from there he was going to head butt the other male's chest as he was coming down.

Howl got hold of Ezekiel's scruff and he held on tight. Tugging back and forth knowing that this spot wouldn't cause too much harm. The scruff on the back of the neck was a rather safe place to be taken hold of. As Ezekiel pushed off the ground he took Howl with him, so Howl now stood on his hind legs for a short amount of time. On the way down Ezekiel head butted Howl in the check, causeing him to loose his breathe and his hold on Ezekiel's scruff. It didn't help that Howl had been winded only awhile earlier. As he hit the ground and landed on his bitten ankle he lad to lift it for a moment as it had come down hard. Howl retained his footing and went to lunge for Ezekiel's neck and shoulder area.

Ezekiel's maneuver was successful, and he got Howl off. The grey male's strategy was to wind the other, then get him down when he was trying to catch his breath. Howl was looking pretty tired, but he was a strong male. Ezekiel couldn't just plow him over and win. He had to think. This time he waited for Howl to make his next move, and he took up more of a defensive stance. Howl lunged forwards, and Ezekiel braced for the hit. He came in contact with the inside of Ezekiel's shoulder, and Ezekiel felt himself sliding backwards some.

That attack took a lot out of him, but he had reserved enough energy to do what he planned. With Howl's head below his own, Ezekiel reared up on his hind legs and came down with all his weight onto Howl's shoulders. He reached for Howl's scruff, hoping that his weight would buckle the male to the ground, and that his teeth would keep him there.

Howl got a hold of Ezekiel's shoulder and the attack seemed to hit hard as the two moved backwards. Howl was in a good place now by he could feel his energy leaving him. His prior exercise and his sour leg made his alot more difficult for him. But he had learned something, when Ezekiel went to jump up on his hind legs Howl released his grip. He knew that on the way down the pressure would cause more pain to his leg as it had done before. But Ezekiel wasn't up for long and on his way down he placed his paws on Howl's shoulders.

The weight caused Howl to give out on his sour leg and lower himself to the ground. Ezekiel then grabbed Howl's scruff keeping him on the ground. Howl didn't resist, he knew that Ezekiel had one this duel and that there was no deed to drag it on any further. "Nice job" he said as he rested on the ground to clarify Ezekiel's victory so he might let him go.

Ezekiel's attack worked, and he pushed Howl into the ground, then grabbed a hold of his scruff. He held it tight, breathing heavily through his nose because he couldn't inhale Howl's fur. He kept him down until Howl stopped resisting and said nice job. Ezekiel held there for a few seconds longer, enjoying the adrenaline rush of winning. Then he backed away, allowing Howl to stand. He looked the darker furred male over, just to make sure he hadn't harmed him at all. You are a good fighter. Have you been trained? He asked, wondering where Howl had learned his trade.

Howl remained on the ground until Ezekiel released his scruff. Rose from the ground and proceeded to do little stretched for his leg and put extra weight on it here and there. It seem that even though Howl had lose the fight, Ezekiel still enjoyed the challenged and complemented his skills. "Well, in my last pack we had many fights between other packs. It was more of a life style then training. What about you?" 

Howl rose and stretched, and then replied to Ezekiel's question. His answer interested Zeke, for he too had come from a pack with many wars. His entire life up until he ran away, consisted of fighting and killing and training. His life was undoubtedly better now, and there were few things he missed about the frigid hearted pack. I was born in a pack like that. All of us had to be warriors, those who couldn't make it were cast out or used as training fodder. My mother was the alpha, and she pushed me and my siblings to be the best. And we were.

But I came to hate the wars, and my pack. So I left. I'm glad I did, because I found a true family here in Teekon Wilds. He said, unsure of why he had shared so much with this stranger. He seemed to be letting go of his past, it was in the past after all. He remembered a time where he refused to even think about the Winter wolves, but now he was telling their story. He was a different wolf in many ways now, but also very much the same.

Howl was somewhat surprised to here that Ezekiel had a similar upbringing to Howl's. His family had been in many wars but they were always on the defence rather then the offensive. The fack that Ezekiel said they were trained to be warriors and that weak members were fodder made Howl think that his former pack was on the offensive. Though the fact that Ezekiel had chosen to leave that pack made Howl think that is ideals may be different then his former pack. 

"My parents were also the leader of my pack, but we were defensive on all occasions against an offensive. Sadly we were losing numbers and my parents strongly advised me to seek happiness else where. Almost against my will really." he said with a chuckle. He did miss his parents, but knew that they only wanted what was best for him.

It sounded like Ezekiel and Howl had come from very similar families up until Howl said that his pack was defensive. Ezekiel's family was aggressive and very offensive, and there was a difference between the two. Another difference between them, Howl seemed to like his origin pack, saying that he was reluctant to leave. Ezekiel had hated his family from the start, he just hadn't realized it until it was too late. He had had no desire to stay there once he'd accepted his hatred, and no doubt his mother, should she still be alive, would kill him if he ever came back.

But he was happy to hear that Howl had had a different and probably happier childhood than he. It's nice that you have a family who cared, my family did not. He said, then stepped back a few feet. It was probably time he head back to Easthollow, he had more patrols to do. I'm going to head back to my pack, but if you want to spar again in the future, I think you know where to find me. He said, then gave a friendly nod and turned to leave.

Just tag me when you want a new one :)