Redsand Canyon hurry up before your blood runs cold

@Germanicus - Aquene taking him up on his offer to spar, hoping to learn a little bit

The healer would be the first to admit that nerves ran down her spine as she finally made the decision. Why shouldn’t she be able to defend herself? Even if she never took a step into the military ranks as she had been offered, she should at least be able to fight back if she should get into a sticky situation, right? Why had her father segregated his ranks on something so arbitrary? She held her head high, having just finished moving her stores into the tablinum that he had recommended to her. She had stocked herself on everything she could find within a close proximity, but there were herbs that would require more travel.
 
That was, they would require travel that might result her getting herself into a sticky situation… and so now, it was time to learn. She had enough to cover a wide variety of illnesses, and the likelihood of needing anything urgent was slim but it was something she would bring to the Matrona later. In that moment, she tried to call upon the ferocity of her father… she just hoped that she had that same fierceness in her somewhere as well. She made her way to the familiar in passing ground, wide and flat covered in the cold red sand that indicated winter where she had witnessed spars taking place, if only a fleeting memory on the way to another task.
 
She called for him, requesting his presence when he had time though she was in no rush. He was a busy man, and he certainly had other duties to attend to. She could wait; she was a patient woman… a patient woman who wanted to take him up on his offer, or at least part of it. Multiple days of contemplation had led her to this point and she wasn't going to shyly bow out now.

germanicus wondered to himself when another type of leadership might decide to make the sunspire their home. he was opposed to enmity with neighbors and unopposed to settling it firmly with no room for discourse.

the man left off his rumination to answer aquene's call. she stood in the ring where the spars had taken place. the imperator nodded toward her. "hail, medicus."

her scent was tangled with the fragrance of herbs. he had seen the darkfurred plebian move her items into the office he had showed her.

now aquene stood before him with a look in her eye he could not parse. he waited for her to explain her summons.

She did not have to wait long.  He nodded towards her as he arrived in the circle and she dipped her head back respectfully. “Imperator.” She greeted as formally as ever, and he waited for her explanation. She considered her words for a moment, as she always did, before she spoke. “I want to learn how to fight, how to defend myself. Soon I will have to go on ventures for herbs that do not grown nearby and I want to be able to protect myself if someone will ill will crosses my path.” It was an important skill to have, and it was one that she recognized she was lacking as well. She knew she was lacking it.
 
She wanted to be well-rounded. She wasn’t certain yet that stepping into the military ranks would be the right action for her, and she quite liked her role as medicus, but perhaps for awhile she could live with a paw in both worlds, training so she was competent enough to protect herself while also accepting her role within the civilian ranks. She truly had no idea if a situation like that could work.

germanicus nodded. "this is a good choice, aquene. eventually mereo will need a medic to take into the field. it would please me if this individual was yourself." he motioned to the sparring ground with a tip of his muzzle.

the eagle put space between himself and the physician. he faced her, balanced lightly upon his paws. "take a defensive approach to begin. attempt to subdue me," he ordered. 

it was in this way that the first measure of a potential soldier was taken. in one handful of seconds the eagle would ascertain her speed, which branch of tactics she favoured, and whether or not she was committed to the bruising and cuts that good spars inflicted.

he would not be cruel. but the imperator would not be gentle. that she was a plebian and female did not matter. germanicus waited.

It would make sense to take a medic into the field, a thought that she shamefully had not considered as the motive for his asking if she wished to train with the auxilia to begin with. It made sense, and if she were not about to prepare for the first spar of her life, she might have instantly started to brainstorm ways to travel long distances with a wide variety of herbs.
 
Defensive approach. Subdue. Her legs parted, spreading out to lower her body slightly to the ground, quickly looking over the man. Their builds were… similar… as similar as a warrior and a medic could be. She recalled the spars she had overseen from a healing perspective when her father had trained.
 
Do not hold back, but treat me like I am your enemy. Her fathers words echoed through her ears in that moment. In that split second she moved, striking out slightly to the right of where he was standing, aiming to slam her body against him at an angle to throw him off balance, hoping the sheer force of her weight could manage to pull it off. Teeth flashing as a faux tactic, hoping to mislead him into thinking she intended to strike to further the success of her active movement though she had little doubt that it was likely to fail as a diversion with a trained fighter such as the Imperator.

aquene was swift. her tactic was a hard first strike but one measured in its calculation. germanicus brace himself, stepping away at the last moment. he did not mean to avoid her attack but draw it out. her teeth flashed for him but he did not think she would allow them to land.

he swung his hip into her own with the same weight of force. his muzzle rose, attempting to grip below her ear and thrust aquene away from him. 

it was a good first gambit. germanicus' sense of what ruenna had suggested was in the dark woman was rising. "defend." it was another order. he advanced swiftly, hindquarters bunching as he lunged for her elbow.

Never did she think she would long to be in this situation. The impact brought a sense of freedom and independence she had never had before out of her. With it, her determination doubled down. If there were a way for her to invest more, she would have. He braced against it, the jolt of pain associated with ramming herself full speed into the body of another no doubt would leave some form of bruise… she assumed it would at least, for she had never truly experienced it herself.
 
He did not fall for her gambit, instead his hip swinging into her, causing her to dig her claws into the ground for balance until she felt his grip right below her ear, pulling back and rearing though that determination lingered. It felt much like dancing, and Aquene was finding much to her surprised that she enjoyed the way the adrenaline pumped through her system in that moment. Defend. She knew she would have lest time to think now. She watched as he aimed, moving swiftly.
 
She dropped her body low, splaying her limbs so her shoulder was just above where her elbow had been when he initiated the attack, at the last moment bringing it up with force hoping to hit him with it in turn and avoid too much damage in the process, at the same time her neck craning as teeth aimed to grip the meaty part of his front leg.

what saved germanicus' tooth was closing his mouth at the last moment. he took her blow to glance along his jawline. the grunt that came from him was minute but audible. the eagle spit blood into the churning sand and as aquene sent herself low, he kept his targeted limb where it was.

his own teeth aimed for the now exposed back of her head, just behind her skull. it would be a killing bite in a battle, and her opponent would only suffer a mangled arm. it was wound that could be dire but not fatal.

the medicus had shown him good strategy.

germanicus meant to pin aquene for a moment. he allowed her to rise, flagging his plume as he backed away.

"again."

Determination and perhaps even a hint of pride in herself rose when he took the blow and grunted at the force she had applied. She didn’t let it fester, however, her mind staying sharp and focused on what he could do next. She felt her teeth sink lightly into his leg, and similarly felt his teeth along her neck, feeling as he pushed his weight against her and pinned her down. Her body relaxed, teeth released as he backed away. She rose, panting lightly as he repeated.
 
Again. This time she chose her attack different. Rather than going for an unbalancing blow, she launched forward, pushing off her hind legs as she charged for him, teeth bared as she aimed for the meaty part of his neck where it connected to his shoulder, knowing similar to his movement against her own neck, how damaging and fatal it could be in battle.
 
So much knowledge stored in her head, and she had never realized it’s alternative uses… more than just how to treat, but how to take down as well. It was starting to click.

germanicus felt as if he understood now that aquene was absorbing movements of his own. her teeth cut for the vulnerable part of his neck. like a stallion he too reared, bringing his crooked forelegs up and aiming them for her throat as the other's teeth sliced through his own thick fur to nick flesh.

again he used this harsh movement to throw her aside, if she would be buffeted this time. germanicus followed with a controlled lunge of his own, slamming his other side against aquene now with a broadshield motion.

"again," he ordered, feeling inside his mouth with tonguetip where his lip had split from their previous impact. it was a good sign that she had already drawn blood.

She had very few experiences in her life to learn these kinds of skills, though she liked to think she picked up quick. He reared back, and she felt her balance struggle, relying on her grip on him to maintain her balance as front limbs flailed lightly. She had a long way to go. He jerked, tossing her to the side and Aquene hit the ground, skidding lightly on the dirt as she slid over it. She quickly scrambled to her paws, digging them into the ground just in time to brace against his lunge, grunting as she took the impact. She was going to be sore.
 
Again. She was panting a little harder this time, and took a second to collect herself as she tried to figure out what else she could possibly do. She lunged again, teeth barred as she aimed for the familiar upper part of the leg she had previously gone after, turning her body to the side as she did so in an attempt to also slam herself into him. Her hope was to avoid his teeth from reaching her neck as they had the first time she had gone for the leg.

aquene mirrored, slammed, and kept her teeth sheathed this time. germanicus did not avoid the crush of the blow smashing into his side. the medicus kept herself guarded this time.

her mistake was returning for the same leg. germanicus used the same gambit that aquene had tried, intent upon bringing his shoulder high and hard against her jawline.

they would both separate bruised. he waved his plume for the end of their spar. "you have a better grasp of tactics than many others who have not yet fought," he commented when he had caught his own breath. "i would value it if you learned to spar with the others as well."

his yellowpaint eyes watched her. what had aquene learned?

Feeling his shoulder ram against her jawline caused a startled yip to escape as she skidded back, finding herself balanced and on her feet still but panting as he waved his tail to signify the end. She was thankful, because she was not certain that she would have been able to think of another strategy to use against him. She offered a hint of a proud smile when he complimented her grasp of tactics. “It’s just what I could remember from the snippets of spars I’ve overseen in my life.” She explained. Of course she had also learned during the spar.
 
She should learn to spar with others as well. She did not know any of the auxilia well, though if she did know one it would likely be Kallik as she had treated him and their latest conversation had been far better than the nonexistent ones that had come with his dour mood before it. “I will seek out others to spar with.” She agreed verbally to his request.
 
His eyes watched her. “How would you best recommend protecting one’s neck while also going for such a fatal blow like when you went for my neck?” She asked curiously, having noticed the tactic before. She had set herself up for it when he had done it, but she wondered if there was a risk-free or risk-minimum way to go about handling the situation when one was going for such a blow.

she learned from her father and she had overseen spars. plural. germanicus knew that the rangy body which housed aquene was more than only a medic. again he would not press her to join. but she had done quite well this day.

germanicus nodded at the medicus' agreement to spar with the other soldiers.

"keep your chin tucked," the imperator demonstrated in answer to her question. "lower your head if you cannot avoid the bite. your opponent will grip you by or beneath the ear instead. better to lose one than your life."

the eagle stood back now. "you will be sore tomorrow. take the day off your duties and rest unless you are called upon for an emergency."

He began to explain. Chin tucked. She watched as he demonstrated and she heeded his words. It was better to lose an ear than your life. She had to agree with that one. She’d never had to consider such losses with herself, only with others when treating them… it was an interesting headspace to allow herself access to.
 
At the command she nodded, offering words of parting because she understood it as a dismissal. “Yes, Sir. Thank you for the spar.” She dipped her head respectfully before turning to return to her den where similar to Kallik after his punishment, she would be chewing on scrub pine needles to alleviate some of the pain that came with soreness.

fade here or one more from you?

germanicus watched her go and then turned back for his own den.

ruenna had not been wrong to speak of the dark woman's abilities. there was only the matter of waiting, to see if her body would hone beneath the constant bruising or remain soft.

he hoped it was the former.