Stavanger Bay i came back from my spotlight

@Dalia! For our lil spar thread <3

It was high noon, Wednesday’s were party time and party time meant fight training for Dalia! Saucy met at their normal meeting spot, in the sequoia forest under the tallest tree. Clearly it was the most badass, being the tallest and all, so obviously it was the most fit to host their spars.

Saucy was prompt for a change, the sun was directly above her and Dalia was yet to appear. It wasn’t that her friend was actually late, but it was usually Saucy who was that. So Saucy figured that she herself was in fact late, as usual, and Dalia was just super late; that jerk face.

didn't you mean, then y'allest tree? 

no doubt saucy had heard about how miserably her training session with ford had gone. dalia knew that it wasn't gonna go great, and she knew that she had a lot to learn but... god damn it, why'd it have to go so poorly? she was mortified now of ever sparring anyone else -- i mean, she still was gonna... obviously, but they were just gonna see how bad she was at it. dalia wished she'd get better faster.

but so she kind of avoided her session with saucy today... not for too long though, the stress of standing her friend up weighed greater on her than anything else. so she showed up, beneath the tall tree that they said they'd meet, looking rather sheepish. "sorry i'm late," dalia said with a weak smile, her tail waving slowly and her ears fallen a bit lower.

Saucy waited under the y’allest tree, yes I was mistaken thank you.

finally Dalia appeared, her silver figure coming into view. Saucy’s tail began to thump as her best gal pal neared, and when sitting and thumping her tail wasn’t enough, she stood and bounded towards Dalia with her tongue lolling out. She head butted Dalia’s chest, a little easier than usual cause she could tell her friend wasn’t on x games mode yet, Dude I thought you stood me up for a hot minute, what’s wrong, she asked, hopping from foot to foot with energy, looking like street fighter.

x games mode omfg i cackle

saucy could tell right from the get-go that dalia was feeling a little bleh. even her fiesty lil headbutt was softer than usual. oof. "i'd never!" dalia insisted, though she had considered it, "i was just thinking an awful lot about mine and ford's lesson... i dunno, i'm just nervous. i know i'll learn but it's frustrating to be so... bad right now." her frown deepened, ears falling down further to press to her skull. "i mean i'm a wolf! you'd think i be some good at fighting but it's like natural selection is out for me or... something." 

or something. in an effort to perk up a bit, dalia copied her friends bouncing, but her expression was still filled with doubt.

The two girls bounced away as Dalia explained her woes. She felt like a loser or something hnngggg, Saucy had seen this all before. But she had more confidence in Dalia than she did her bro Sweet, who barely even tried! Time to put in the game cartridge for Peptalking Mama™ ok here we go, Yeah you’re not the best right now, but for sure I’m gonna turn you into Like Daliazilla. Dude, your gonna be so ripped all you gotta do is look at Ford and he’ll fall over, she said, her breaths becoming quicker as she warmed up.

The white furred girl ran a quick circle around Dalia, then jumped to a halt in front of her with a grin. Ok, ok, ok, are you ready?! she said enthusiastically, her eyes wide with that excited anticipation.

the reassurance was needed but... well, dalia wasn't sold just yet. but, whatever, she didn't need to be sold! because shit was gonna go down either way and she had asked for it to. she'd have to suck up all those insecurities and just say fuck it. 

"ready," dalia said to her friend, squaring her shoulders and shifting into place. she stood her ground stiffly, waiting for saucy to come the heck at her!!

Saucy watched as Dalia stiffened into some sort of defense posture. She was a little too stiff, she really oughta loosen up a bit, Saucy thought. For someone smaller like Dalia, it was better to stay light on your toes, and try to dodge. Saucy could easily bulldoze Dalia if she chosen to stay still, but the warrior in training had no plans of informing Dalia of this. She prepared a charge, then ran at the speckled girl, hoping to simply knock her over. She wouldn’t go too hard, cause she definitely didn’t want to hurt Dalia. Her best friend was the only one to be granted this kind of pass, use it wisely girlfriend.

unfortunately! dalia and saucy were not evenly matched in a single aspect. body type, muscle mass, skill -- sheer thought process. because dalia didn't think like a mercenary, and all her trained instinctual habits were to run or duck. so when she knew she had to fight, in a spar let's just say, she always chose duck. which was always the wrong answer, it seemed. 

so she ducked. and saucy bowled right over her. dalia tumbled backwards, and even though saucy wasn't going x-games mode, it certainly did sting a little. she might had a bruise in the morning. in the snow, dalia huffed, ears pressed against her head, legs sprawled.

Saucy slowed a little when she got closer to Dalia, like I said she wasn't tryna beat her friend into the next dimension or anything. But even at a slower pace Dalia failed to get out of the way. Nay, she didn't fail, because she didn't try. She ducked, which did pretty much nothing to stop Saucy from hitting her and knocking her down. It did however make Saucy fall too, over Dalia's back and onto the powder covered ground behind her.

When she scrambled to her feet, shaking the snow out of her white fur, she glanced around to find Dalia collapsed in a manner that screamed, i give up. Saucy pursed her lips, trying to think of what to say as she trotted over to her friend. She nudged Dalia's paw with her nose, and said, so hey, are you ok? she said, stifling a snicker. hahaha.

at least saucy went down too but... i mean, that didn't mean much. saucy was at her side again in a moment, to which dalia huffed gently. "yeah..." she groaned, lifting herself up off the ground. she shook out her fur with a heavy sigh and then looked back to her friend. "let's try again?" she said with a puff of her chest, trying to seem a bit more upbeat now. 

ACK sorry short

ACK I love you

the snickering lioness stood above her friend, backing up to let Dalia stand. The smaller female groaned, but as she stood she seemed a little more ready this time, maybe more focused. And hey, she wanted to go again. Sick, Saucy was worried for a sec that she’d ended it right then and there on accident.

She nodded to Dalia’s question, backing up and getting into a solid but tense and ready to move defensive position. You come at me this time, she said, her eyes glittering with a fiery excitement.