Dragoncrest Cliffs the party isn't over tonight

Thuringwethil spent the morning training with @Blixen. The day was an easy one—border checks, cache reports, and relaying messages to those they find—but it is far from enough to wear out her mind that constantly runs a mile a minute. When she does get physical with her daughter, it is not as rewarding in her training stages to fight the frustration. A growl rumbles low in her chest, knowing the itch can only be scratched by a real altercation.

The woman searches for @Dio's freshest scent, finding it trail inward from the border until she comes close to the lake. With her head high, she scans for his pale form until she finds it and chuffs, stomping one foot in frustration.

Before resuming patrol after a nondescript morning, he had gone to the lakeside for a good long drink and quick refreshing while he was nearby. When he turned from the shoreline and finished giving his coat a mighty shake, he noticed he was no longer alone in an instant. The commander. His focus sharpened, now trained upon her and he followed up with a questioning cant to his head and ears. Why had she come? He had not seen nearly as much of her lately, not since before her health had went south, but he had turned towards a tentative hopefulness for an upswing in more recent days.. regarding that, at the very least.

She stomps and he straightened his stance, although fanned his ears and held his head with a measure of reverence for her status. Too, he realized the still evident-toll of her sickness. He swung his tail low, but in looking at her more by the moment, he was sensing the frustration in full—why? Not to say that he disagreed, so perhaps, the specifics didn't matter very much. Responsively felt himself shift, preparing, subtly, as he nodded with a grunt for a greeting.

 after their training blix is tired in body but energized in spirit, and after a small nap she's ready to go again but she knows she has to be patient, too. that's the hard part: she was not born a patient child, but it is a skill she can - and will have to - learn.

but for today she is impatient and she can't resist trailing her nomi's scent - if not for a rematch than at least to pepper her with questions - but as she sneaks onto the scene she sees wocha too, and pauses, intrigued immediately. there's a funny tension in the air and blix thinks, oh, theyre going to spar, and for a moment she is disappointed. but actually - this is very cool, and a learning opportunity besides, and the ginger grins to herself as she settles at a distance, not exactly hidden but not attempting to interrupt the meeting either. (and secretly cheering for nomi in her head).

*sneaks in*

Dio receives her well enough though his features question her. His posture, however, shifts, but he the gap in their misunderstanding keeps her from rushing forward and taking him off guard. Her health is not up to par but she can’t stop the itch with anything else than her current desires. The restlessness building up in her legs and her need to bring back her strength has long since taken over. Her nose flares and she dips her nose once, inviting him in with caution. “Throu ai daun,” she encourages, leathery nose twisting as she notes the younger scent in the air. Thuringwethil does not break her contact with her wocha, however, as she begins to circle, keeping her front half lowered to the ground in anticipation.

The ways she moved tried to dispel his subtle undertone of concern, and every other beat, he threatened to let it and succumb because he felt it too. Had she been continuing on at full health for the last few weeks, he knew there would be no place for such a hesitation sitting heavy in the marrow of his bones, as unbecoming as it was. There would be no doubt left if that were true and should the commander before him thrum with all of her potential might and strength. But while firmly planted on the upswing, he wanted that to continue, not watch her undo it with a lot of his help.

He trusted her word, though. She invited again, this time leaving him with no chance to argue--and so, the wocha did not. He defensively positioned his neck then dug deep off his hindpaws to lunge himself forward fast, adding a subtle arc to the path that would aim to bring him around her--or at the very least, towards her side, where he would aim for with his first offensive move. 

 if they've noticed her, the adults do not stop to comment or acknowledge, and for that blix is grateful. she wants the opportunity to study, and though this is still a spar between two allies it offers more comparison to a real fight. not that she thinks nomi has held back with her in their spar - but dio is wocha and she wants to learn from him as well. the ginger is completely silent, eyes bright as they trace the movements of the wocha (pleased to note his first move is similar to what she'd tried earlier!) and her nomi in combat.

The moment he moves to accept her invitation, she shifts her own posture. She tenses, watching as he moves and prepares to launch and she does her best to keep up with him. She can feel the slowness in her joints to respond and when he throws himself against her side, he connects with her when she can’t move fast enough to evade. The sounds that leave her throat are vicious, threatening that of a larger predator and she does what she can to react to the hit. If anything tears from teeth or claw along the way, she isn’t certain, focused on putting more damage in return. Her head turns to latch on to the loose skin of his back and pull away, using her legs to brace for further impact.

His ears pinned back and lips curled up as he advanced. Even weakened to the extent she was, and even still mending (surely) he wouldn't insult her by tiptoeing around the matter any more than he had already. It was in motion now, moving forward and they engaged--contacted, even, and she snarled ugly noises to his oncoming. He didn't aim to rend (bruise maybe, though..) and answered with a lower growl, though on his own, he was already shifting towards the defensive as he guessed she would have some response for him. But neither had he expected to get in quite so close so soon.

When he realized her intentions, he sought to swing much of himself out of reach.. or at least prevent her from the most solid of grabs on him. He still felt her teeth, but didn't let them sink in. In motion, even just a bit, he could benefit from momentum even if he was lucky enough. But she was a sizable wolf too, normally with a grip he'd not mess with. Now, though? He'd see. If he could shake her a little more, he tried to swing his own bite back towards her chest, matching it with a good bit of a force to hopefully pressure her back and falter any holds.

She doesn’t get much of a hold on him after he’s let go of her and bounced back, keeping out of reach. It makes it difficult to keep what she’s got but he swings away from her, snapping away from her without doing any damage. She feels teeth against her chest that don’t come together and she slips away when he does. It frustrates her how easily he manages to get away but she can already feel winded, and so soon.

Thuringwethil tightens her stance when they are separated. Her joints lock to keep her steady, and in one place, despite how strained the air. Her chest heaves and it should all be a sign to slow down but she doesn’t and instead, invites Dio in a second time as she finally loosens and begins to circle him.

138

they're beautiful in motion, exciting to watch. blixen tucks her tail around herself, curls her legs against her chest, and settles in more comfortably as she observes. though logically she knows nomi's still on the mend, it doesn't occur to her that it's affecting her fighting until she sees dio slip out of reach and the way nomi's chest heave. it makes her feel uncomfortable - witnessing weakness in someone she so idolizes - but it doesn't diminish her enjoyment so much as temper it - so much as, deep in her mind, remind her that nomi's someone that might need protecting, too.

She wasn't driving him back, not nearly so fiercely as she should and this keeps him on the slightest of edge. It wasn't typical at all, unnervingly so. It doesn't feel right, he knows exactly why, but he lets the exchange go. Further, still, she invited more so he can't. Maybe this will only help her heal, so he hopes.

He pushes it. She lets him, though. Teeth, brute force, he doesn't waver when he charges and swings.. not until he can emerge victorious.

When it's done, he clicks his teeth and backs up, ears splaying out softly and low rumble on his tongue to match. She knew, she did too. He would make sure all was well, but it was significant, all the same. He offered a rematch when she was entirely better and mended, next time.