The Sentinels Mean enough to stare your demons down

anyone perhaps going for warrior? :D

It had been a long time since his last bout of practice and he knew that if he continued, his skill would again grow rusty in disuse.  He would be little help to his leaders or his pack in such a situation, so he wandered the forest of Donnelaith, searching out someone who might wish to have a bit of a spar.  He hadn't participated in one since his chance meeting with Amekaze many months ago.

For the moment, he focused his search on the stream, figuring it the best bet to eventually run into someone. If it were one of the younger, he would still try, for even in giving lessons he could get a valuable brush up.

I can't decide if I want warrior or adviser for Aria (along with medic)... but I suppose she needs to be acquainted with the packs beta either way :p

The territory was not as large as her old one, she noted. But her old pack was extremely large and well guarded, so it made sense to have more territory. This one was quiet and scenic, and Aria decided she quite liked it. Currently, she was padding along one of the streams in the territory. It was frozen over, but occasionally she would see small fish flit around the bottom of the shallow body of water. This sort of thing often gave her hope for the winter season. If some damn fish could survive by sitting at the bottom of a stream, she could survive with a whole pack and a hell of a lot more intellect than a fish.

She was a smart wolf, she liked to think, and very keen of her surroundings. She sensed another wolf up ahead as she moved along the stream, and decided to seek them out. They weren't far, a bit upstream from where she was, and they too were following along the frozen water. She let out a low woof, alerting the wolf of her position and waited for them to turn and greet. It looked like a large male, he appeared to hold himself high. Perhaps this was the Beta that Lasher had told her about. Dante, she recalled vaguely. She waited for him to turn. Prepared to dip her head in respect and greeting if he did, and ready to answer any questions he would ask her. 

Sure enough, he eventually stumbled across someone, and that someone was new from the look of it. At first defensive, he stiffened when he caught a glimpse, but relaxed when he realized who she must be. Not an intruder, but Lasher's newer recruit. He hadn't introduced himself yet.

More friendly, with ears thrust forward, he turned to approach her. "Hey! You are new, yes?" An internal 'of course' echoed, but it was an icebreaker and he didn't mind the obvious nature since it offered an introduction. Inwardly, he hadn't forgotten his goal here. Perhaps she'd be interested?

"To the world and the pack," she replied, jokingly as well as truthfully. She was young, but also a new pack member. She hoped he'd find it amusing, although she wasn't sure of his personality quite yet. She dipped her head respectfully, then stated her name. 

"My name is Aria," she woofed, her head raising a tad bit to allow the older male a better look at her face. "I travelled from up North, in a pack that resided in a territory named the Shimmering Creek. I don't suppose you've heard of them," she then commented, and truthfully hoped he hadn't. She didn't agree with anything they went by and it seemed that this pack didn't either. She wished to be honest, although she thought if they actually were aware of the pack they'd frown upon her. She pushed the thought away. "I've been moving southward for about a month now, they're a bit out of the way."

She smiled, but hoped she hadn't spoken to much. She was feeling a bit energetic today, perhaps because she'd finally gotten a solid night of sleep... For the first time probably since she left her pack. "You are Dante,"  she stated, hoping to impress him by knowing who he was, rather than angering him by making him believe she was a know-it-all. She only wished to show that she was aware of the pack and of her surroundings, she hoped he could see that. "Lasher spoke highly of you. He claimed you were a spectacular beta," she dipped her head again, her white eyes glinting as she spoke. The pretty girl wagged her tail, waiting to see what the wolf thought of her.

He did smile at her joke, having noted her youthful appearance and appreciating the quip. Their pack was vibrant with youth, many of their newer members much younger than their veteran leaders. It made Dante feel his age more, though he had a ways yet to go before he could truly be considered old.

"Can't say I have," he replied, not concerned by this. History was history and unless it came to affect the present, it could stay in the past. He was more concerned with the here and now.

"I see my reputation precedes me." He chuckled, lifting his head and tail a tidge with amusement. "Did he also mention my sparkling personality and amazing humility?" Lasher was, as always, generous with praise, but Dante was always pleased to be highly regarded among friends. "It's nice to meet you Aria. What were you up to currently, if you don't mind me asking?"

The pale eyes of the equally light female sparkled, diamond like, with amusement. She giggled a bit at the wolves playfulness, her tail wagging with her own sort of childlike attitude. She shook her head. "I suppose he thought you could speak it for yourself," she teased, her eyebrows waggling at him. Aria dipped her head to him, lifting it afterwards and tilting her head slightly to one side. "It's a pleasure," she responded, her mouth forming a kind smile.

"Exploring," she responded vaguely. Not to be rude, but that's literally all she was doing. Her head returned to it's natural position, but she continued to smile.  "It's a lovely territory, I'm just trying to learn it. I'd prefer to be useful, and it's hard to be useful when you get lost," she chuckled a little, sitting. She wondered if the male had something in mind, and if she'd be needing to stand back up, but she was still a bit sore from her journey and decided even a couple moments of sitting wouldn't hurt. 

"I don't suppose you were doing the same?" she asked, her head once again tipping to the side.

"I know the feeling," he said, understanding completely the desire to map a territory. There was little one could do until they knew how to take advantage of the ground they lived on. Hunting, defending, even sleeping in a place required a working knowledge of what it contained and the ins/outs. He'd done some extensive exploring himself recently.

"I was actually on a search for a sparring partner," he said, leaving the question unspoken. If she was dead set on exploring, she could pass off the statement and continue on her way. But if she was game, he assumed she'd offer. "It's been a while since I've had some practice, and can't be letting myself get too rusty."

The ears of the white wolf perked as he spoke. She knew that he was not directly asking her, but also knew that he was inferring so. She tilted her head, chuckling a little. "I won't lie," Aria chuckled, her tail wagging a little. "I'm more of a healer, not a fighter," she commented, shrugging. While the girl had been trained in warrior practices and she was capable of many attacks and battle strategies, she had inexperience on her side. It was clear too, the pretty young wolf lacked scars and wounds, her coat full and without a scratch. There weren't even any nicks in her ears, which were almost a guarantee upon any fight. 

But even so, she did wish to help out her pack any way she could, and if the beta wanted a spar she would give him a spar. She was by no means bad, but against a toughened wolf such as Dante, Aria had little up her sleeve. The two wouldn't be unevenly matched, but she assumed Dante had seen it all, and any basic moves she had learned perhaps wouldn't cut it. She'd just have to fight with all her might, rather than her mind, she supposed. 

Aria dipped her head, smiling. "But, if I'll do," she began, falling into a play-bow, "I wouldn't mind an afternoon spar."

highest number wins? 1d10? Unless you want to simply determine amongst ourselves ooc, I'm good either way!
Just in case - 5

He thought she was expressing disinterest and was resigned to finding practice elsewhere, some other time and with some other wolf.  Disappointment turned to delight when, instead of refusing, she agreed and dropped into a play bow.  He lowered himself to mirror her, grinning.  "Great!"

He wouldn't go easy on her, per say, but this was a spar after all.  It was about control and not harming a packmate, and he would be careful to mind his attacks when he made them.  For now he began sidling sideways, searching for an opening but ready to defend if she decided to spring first.

sounds good. we can decide how they win in ooc (:

EDIT: oops... that didn't work, hang on...

EDIT 2: i guess i forgot how to do this... one more try... 

10

The white wolf had originally intended for Dante to strike first, given his rank. She wasn't fully braced, but was technically prepared for any kind of attack he would throw. But once he had moved, even if only a little, Aria refused to allow him any kind of upper hand. She didn't know this male well, and didn't know his fighting style. He wasn't sure if this was some sort of move he had perfected; either way she didn't wish to be at a disadvantage of any kind.

Aria's eyes narrowed and her ears pinned back to her head, but her gaze remained only on the male. With (hopefully) no sign that she would; she struck. The plan was, obviously, to take him by surprise, although there was no guaranteed. He had seem plenty of battles, she was sure, and the element of surprise eventually became an expected move, she figure. But hey, why the hell not. Aria aimed for his chest, knowing that the male was larger and stronger than she. Any attack she would try based on brute strength she would most likely lose, but in any spars a bit of a breath knockout was fully legal in her eyes.

Dante watched her carefully, knowing he would need to act quickly when/if she chose to attack.  She was smaller, lighter, and doubtlessly more graceful on her feet.  He was solid, grounded, and would need to pin her down quickly or force the fight to a battle of strength to win.  If it wasn't a close-quarters fight, the disadvantage was his.

he caught almost no perceptible warning of her strike, but he was expecting it.  Unhelpfully, however, because of her subtlty, he didn't know where the blow would land until it came.  He reared up when he realized she was going for his chest, unable to avoid the full hit but lessening it some.  Sharply in taking his breath, he stepped back quickly, bringing his forelegs down at her shoulders in an attempt to wrestle her down before she could dart away.

Darting away was often the easiest part of a battle for the young wolfess. She was toned, sure, but dainty in frame and extremely agile. Unfortunately, the seasoned warrior in Dante was far more skilled, and hit her before she had the chance to dart. The move broke a bit of her confidence, knowing now that she would have to perhaps try something new. 

The male had knocked her to wrestle, and wrestle she did. Her white eyes were narrowed as she kept her focus on the male and his movements; so close up it was hard to tell what he was planning. In her struggle to leap back, she aimed bites (light and harmless ones) to his shoulders the best she could. Her hopes were to falter his grip on her, although he could easily be able to hold her off. 

meep. i'm so bad at fighting.

it's fine!! I have a hard time too, so this is good practice :D

He managed to bring her down, but she was lithe and hard to keep hold of. Were he looking to injure it would be different, for he could hold her roughly, but this was not an option. Therefore he was forced to try and leverage his weight, hoping she couldn't shift him.

But she managed to. His paw slipped on an uneven patch and he slid sideways, returning a couple of her nips and growling playfully. When he fell, he rolled, sure she would try to use the advantage and not ready to give in yet.

Aria growled to the male in response, playful yips escaping her jaws. Even in her battle stance the girl was having quite a bit of fun, and found her tail wagging when she wasn't using it for balance. The two were equals right now. It did not matter their rank or status, it only mattered how they sparred. Right now, the pretty wolfess was not ready to lose that opportunity to prove herself 'equal', in a sense. 

She fought on, struggling to keep from being fully pinned and somehow not failing. Perhaps Dante, not willing to kill his sparring partner (go big or go home jeez, that's not how you win stuff) was at a disadvantage. He obviously couldn't harm her or they'd be down a young and able body, so instead he needed to be careful the damage he inflicted. Of course Aria was in the same boat, but unless she stood directly on his throat with all four paws, she probably wouldn't do much damage weight wise. 

And so, when the Beta slipped, perhaps it didn't come as a shock, and Aria was just as eager to roll away as he was. She scrambled to her feet as gracefully as she could manage and stared at the male. She took the time to regain her breath, eyes locked on him to await his next move. She was not ready to lose, but appreciate a 5 second breather, and was sure the older male would take advantage of such aftee their scuffle. 

He was already tiring, so when she broke away, he was a bit slower on rising.  His tail whipped playfully behind him still as he did take a moment to try and regain some breath, before going in for another round.

This time he went in first, a head-on approach where he went for her scruff, once more trying to bring her off her feet.  The attack was for two purposes - if it worked, he would perhaps win the spar.  If it didn't, he could see how she defended against a larger opponent.  He enjoyed seeing how defensively others dealt with situations such as this.  Especially since he had offered to train Eilidh in such strategies.

i like reading my previous post and finding all the spelling mistakes i made... whhoooops...

It was a well planned attack, and the larger male definitely appeared to have the upperhand. But the wolfess was more than a pretty face, and was aware of how to handle such. She was not skilled at it, but the male who she practiced often with growing up was a huge beast of a male. She never won a single fight against him, but she learned how to defend herself against them. 

This time, however, it was different. Aria was stunned to find his attack to be so head-on, rather than planned out. But maybe it was... Either way, she had no time to do think about it. She braced as soon as he moved. Her gaze hadn't left him and she had been aware of every move he made. She ducked last second with the hopes to perhaps knock out his feet, although there was never a guarantee. She turned her head as she did so, her scruff becoming a challenge to grab, and aimed to nip at his chest. She hadn't known he was coming for her scruff, it was more or less luck she moved it. He still had access as well, it just depended on how he reacted to her move.

Dante was able to catch a part of her scruff, but not to get a good enough hold, and it slipped swiftly from his jaws when he tried to leverage it.  Now they were in closer quarters, and her nip landed, a clear indication that he had opened himself up.  When the stakes weren't high, it was easy to take chances, but if this were a fight, that move would have likely been unwise.

Dante in turn went to lightly tug an ear, leveraging his shoulder into hers to try and overbalance her.  It was a last-ditch effort and one that could potentially compromise his own balance depending on how she acted in response.

i'm gonna try to finish the spar here, if you feel like there should be more just inbox me and i can edit (: 

A heap of weight landed itself right on the white girls shoulders, and she felt herself forcing them right back at the male. She knew by now that the point of this was simply to knock him down and hold him there, which is obviously easier said than done. The young wolfess struggled, and in her struggles let out a growl that could be compared to a tennis players grunt. More out of force and a waning source of energy that led her to do it. Perhaps in her mind it helped her to push for those last few seconds of battle, either way it appeared to help. 

Aria used her left side to force forward (more than her right) as hard as she could, hoping to send the male to the ground by losing his balance. If it worked, she would rush to leap over him and pin him down, nipping his ears with playful triumph. If it failed, she would've exerted all she had and would be forced to allow herself a moment of rest, meaning Dante would be able to overpower her and force her down.

No worries!  that was kinda my intention too, wrapping it up :)

In trying to push Aria down, he had focused his weight askance, and so in his leaning, had little solidity of foundation.  It was a move that was a toss-up... a less aware opponent might not have noticed the advantage, but Aria seemed to have some experience.  She took note of it, he assumed, for she was deft in using the situation against him.  Her shove carried his weight through and he stumbled.  Unable to catch his footing and regain his stance, he fell sideways onto the ground, this time for the last time.  Her pounce pinned him, and he gave a deep laugh as he was subjected to her victory celebration.

"Alright, well fought!" He praised her, rolling after she'd finally let him up onto his stomach but remaining laying down.  His breath was coming a bit heavily, for the fall and fight had both winded him.  But his approving grin didn't waver as he appraised her, noting to remind Eilidh of that particular tactic if/when he held her lessons.  "You've had some practice, yes?"

last post for me! feel free to add another or go ahead and archive it <3

After climbing off the male, it was pride that got the better of the young girl, and she couldn't help but beam a little. She managed to catch herself, rather than gloat, and lowered herself a bit in a more humbling stance. She was excited for such a win, and the extra praise had helped her modesty quite little, it was almost guaranteed. Luckily, Aria was usually rather smart, and knew better than to act that way, especially in front of such a high rank. So she simply smiled and dipped her head in a kind thank you, her tail wagging with excitement. 

She heard him ask if she'd been practicing, and she nodded, thinking rather fondly back to her teacher. "I was training to be a fighter," she explained, somewhat bitter towards her last pack and the lack of chance she had to truly prove herself. She would've been a fighter, or a medic on battle grounds, but she would've remained that rank her whole life, and never had the chance to move up on the packs ranking system. Joey was the second in command, fighter wise. He was different than the rest, humble and kind. When she wasn't learning he skills of a healer, she was learning from him how to fight. "My mentor was about your size, a bit younger," she added, if that painted any picture in his mind how she learned. "But you knew more than he did," she winked, letting him know that that definitely was not an easy fight for her. Through her excited, pup-like smiles the girl was still panting; she actually looked rather silly. 

Aria paused, looking out to the sky. It was still high and she decided she'd worked up an appetite. She looked to her Beta. "I'm quite hungry after that, I don't suppose you are too?" she asked, head cocking to the side. "Would you care to join me for a hunt?" she asked, tail thumping against the ground as she sat.

He did not berudge her in her celebrating, winning a spar was an understandable thing to take pride in.  She did not do so unduly, which he was thankful for... so he accepted his defeat by returning the gesture of thanks, his tail gently thumping the ground behind him.

It made sense, if she had trained with one his size, that she knew how to use her own assets to her advantage.  He was glad to hear that, even if she hadn't pursued more formal practice here, she could handle herself in a fight.  And this knowledge filed itself away within him, to be used down the line if necessary.  "You learned well, apparently.  I am glad!"  He was totally non-bothered by the defeat, thrilled instead to have a sparring partner who had new things to show him.

His breath was still rather short, but he figured by the time they found prey, he'd be game to go after it.  A walk would help as well.  "Sounds like a plan."  He was not quite hungry yet, the exertion taking the edge off, but soon enough that would change as the adrenaline wore down and his body realized it hadn't eaten.  He stepped off beside her, a part of him also glad that he'd get a measure of her skill in not one, but two capacities today.