Haunted Wood but I can’t pretend

Looking to spree a mercenary thread! Maybe @Valour @Santiago Arcos or @Clarence (or anyone else who wants a spree!)

Vanity sulked around the woods, looking for some poor, unfortunate soul to test their skills -and hers - out on.
They had to train, had to perfect what they needed to if they were going to win this imminent war.

Even though Valour told her that everyone was trained enough, being told wasn't enough.
She'd left her babes in the loving care of Hashut and was on a search and destroy mission.

sneaking away from their assigned caregiver wasn't too difficult. famine was older now, and could often get away with much more than before. most of his time was spent looking for small animals to (unsuccessfully) hunt or helping vanity take care of the twins, but today, he had something else in mind.

famine followed his adoptive mother's trail until it eventually came to a stop. hey! he called after her, wanna teach me some more? he hoped that her answer might be yes, or else he might have to go back to the den.

Hey.
Famine.
And he wanted to learn.

She spun, charging the few paces towards him with her posture screaming everything threatening and intent to hurt him.
She wouldn't, but she wanted to know how quickly he could defend himself using the move she'd taught him.
Or perhaps some other move he'd picked up.

Either way, the hipsanic woman bore down on him, praying he wouldn't just run.
But he didn't seem like the type to do that.

vanity's teaching style must've changed since last time because famine didn't get the warm welcome he'd bargained for. instead, she came charging at him with unprecedented fury, leaving him no option but to ru-

that's not what she wanted though, was it? and it isn't what he wanted either. so instead of turning to retreat, famine braced himself for impact, opening his jaws at the last moment to hopefully grab onto something worthwhile.

Lmk if this is ok!

He backpedaled, which was expected.
That was ok, he needed another moment to process, and stop himself from running.

She noted his bracing, ready to meet her teeth with his own.
But alas, her jaws would still engulf his face despite being a tiny adult, and she opted to snap above him.
His jaws came at her, which was expected by this point, and latched on to her jugular.

Lesson time.
She dropped her body, ready to crush the boy under her. Of course, she wouldn't be so mean to actually do it, but he'd probably think she would.
She shook herself off, hopefully with him safely dislodged, and laughed softly.
"Good, you did well."

of course :)

vanity's jaws snapped above his head, her teeth slamming shut with nauseating force. famine yelped and cowered, unashamed of his fear, which led to his release of her throat. she gave him a second to retreat before coming fully down onto the ground.

wh-, he started to ask: what the heck was that!? but instead, famine kept his mouth shut and spoke only through his eyes, now widened with exhilaration. i thought you were gonna get me, he laughed, jeez, van.

So she'd succeded in nearly giving the poor kid a heart attack.
Good start.
"Now we can work with your adrenaline, it makes you think faster and pushes you further than you normally would be able to."
In a fight to the death, adrenaline would be the only thing saving your ass from death.
So, she had to get him working now.

"Attack me, aim for the key points of my body which will disarm me."
He needed to know what parts to go for, and get to them quickly if he stood any chance against her.
Vanity had worked on her swiftness her entire life.

She rose up and took a step back, positioning herself in a defensive manner: ears back, chin lowered, tail tucked.

uhm, okay. famine didn't really know what she meant, but he figured that an educated guess was better than nothing. taking vanity's hint, he fell into a defensive stance, then striked for the space between throat and forelimb. if successful, famine would hold tight until clearly instructed to let go.

She wanted to see what he knew about the wolf's vulnerability.
If he knew jack, then she'd have to teach him that as well.
But as a general rule, anything soft is a good start.

He came for her, and she let him latch on to ensure what he was aiming for.
She guessed that today she'd be the punch bag.
He bit into her upper chest, which was a good start.
"Good start," she praised, being softer than their previous session - mainly because of the start of this one.
"Aim to hit higher, push up into the neck. Practice on me." Yeah, this one will probably hurt, but nothing was better than letting a kid test stuff out by being a punching bag for a few moves, just to show how powerful they were.

good start. famine dropped from her chest to his back where he could get a clearer view. he didn't know how vulnerable this position made him look, nor did he really have time to think about it, because a moment later, he was striking again for vanity's throat. 

he kept his grip light, not wanting to hurt her. like this? he asked through clenched teeth.

He was quick in the attack, so quick in fact she barely had time to inhale before his jaws slammed into her neck, crushing the air from her and making her cough and choke.

She reeled backwards, sitting back on her haunches and cracked out a "Yes," before coughing again.
She inhaled a bit deeper - assuming Famine had dropped off by now - before talking again.
"That move then let's you tackle your opponent, and you can pull out their throat. You did it very well, I'm proud of you."
She smiled at him. He was getting good already, for a kid.

She stood, taking a step back.
"You will have to learn how to fight on your back too," she jumped at him, aiming to knock him over in a swift movement and hold him there.

vanity's coughs were famine's cue to let go. she praised him some more, further exciting his ego, only to steal his pride away with one subsequent motion.

he was quickly pinned onto his back, her one paw held tight to his chest. famine was a large child and still, vanity managed to keep him locked in this position with apparent ease.

hey! he argued, squirming to get away, let me out!

Sorry for the wait

She chuckled at his protests.
"Listen," she implored him. Learning to fight was a mixture of listening and practicing.
She brought herself closer to him so he could attack her.

"Remember what I said last time? About fighting on your back"
If he didn't then he'd be stuck there until she got bored. Or until he found another way out.
But if he did then he'd surely get out a whole lot quicker than if he didn't.
So she waited.

fighting on your back.. hm.

famine didn't think that it was possible, or if it was, then it must have been very difficult. how could he fight without being able to reach anything? he snapped wildly in either direction, hoping to catch hold of her chest. meanwhile, his hindlegs continued to kick at the fragile shoulder he'd once held.

She grinned at his attempts, his nail tips just reaching her belly, but not harshly.
After he'd done what Vanity thought was all he could, she started to help him out.

"Go for the eyes, meet teeth with teeth, and reach up as high as you can to kick me."
The more power he had in his hind legs the better, that would get him out of a lot of shit if he had the legs on him.
She waited for him to attempt again, harder to make her back off him.
​

vanity's instructions were clear, but famine knew that if he followed them, she could end up hurt. injuries came with the territory, of course, but still..

he decided to use his legs first. famine kicked higher and harder than before, hoping that the added effort might be enough. if it wasn't, then with visible hesitation would he lunge forward with teeth bared for vanity's own.

She could see the hesitation in him, the moments thought of his actions.
His morality, shining through.
In ways, it was good. He wouldn't end up the stone hearted killer many here were.
In other ways, it made him vulnerable. However, he was still young and these things had to develop.
Famine was still a good kid.
Uncorrupt.

Then, the kicks came, hard into her abdomen, nails scratching her tender belly - she'd underestimated that. Her eyes widened, maw parting to let out sounds of pain when his teeth came for her.
It's Famine.
Her pain channeled into a snarl as she bared her teeth at him, snapping her own jaws back.
Training.
She recoiled, letting the youth go. She moved to the side, watching him recover.
She could feel the blood trickle from her soft belly.
"Don't worry, I'm ok. You didn't hurt me too bad."
She didn't want him to panic and start regretting what she made him do. He needed to learn that this is what he can do, and what she was teaching him was important.
Especially if he was to be in this shitty war.

growing up under these circumstances made famine more mature than most his age, but it didn't make him any less inexperienced. he was still shocked to see vanity bleeding, and even more shocked upon realizing that it was him who'd done it. 

oh, man, he whined, ears falling flush with his skull, i'm so sorry, vanity. she didn't seem upset, but that alone was unsettling; he'd hurt her.. didn't that deserve some punishment? her assurance that he hadn't hurt her "too bad" didn't mean much. 

famine walked closer to the wound, as close as vanity would allow, and tried to get a clearer look. are you okay? he asked. oh, man.

She nodded, sitting down to look at the raking marks properly.
She quickly licked the welling blood, making the flow staunch for now.

The red was barely visible on her coat, the blood only being noticeable for it matted and clumped her fur together.
She looked at Famine, who seemed pretty distressed. How did he handle having his face mauled then?

"If a cat ever get's you like you were, you're fucked," she stated. Cats fought by grappling each other and digging out each other's guts with their back legs. "Never face a cat alone. Or a bear unless you can offer it food," she grinned. Bears liked food and were often more complacent when given it.

She'd even heard of bears and wolves feeding alongside each other.
"I'm fine," she assured him, standing up after a few more licks which resulted in a lot less of the coppery tang of blood.
"But I think that's enough for today," she grinned, tail waving softly.
She indeed treated Famine as her own, and she knew he didn't care much for den life, but that's ok to her. As long as he could guard her children - of which she was yet to start training - whilst she went to war, she would forever call him her son.

archive here?

fighting other species wasn't something famine planned to do. he'd had enough of that already, and he hadn't even gone through puberty yet!

vanity assured him once more that she was okay, but that didn't do much good. i can walk with you, he offered, that guilt still present. if allowed, famine would place himself beside vanity, escorting her to her next destination.