Redsand Canyon supernus

for visual reference he is here:

the day was not yet old. it was still morning.

he flexed his feet against the packed red sand of the arena and called for @Katniss.

she was a plebian but today he would see if she had the stuff of an auxillary.

Katniss heard Germanicus calling for her. She wasn't quite sure what
it was about but she hurried over to the sparring arena where he was
calling her from. Due to his location she assumed this would be some sort
of training session.

"katniss."

he dipped his head in a small bow.

"today i am going to teach you the regulars of a military trot and stance. at attention."

he demonstrated: forelegs balanced and hips aligned.

Katniss tried to copy his stance, a bit unstable at first but with a bit of tweaking
she caught her balance. She wasn't sure how she looked though, and frankly she felt stupid,
so she wasn't sure she was doing it right. "is this right?" She asked, looking at his stance
then back at her own, several times.

she tried. she adjusted. she made more attempts.

"good. this is a starting position. whether you mean to attack or defend, you must learn how to be ready first."

he jerked his muzzle toward katniss. "make your strike."

Katniss was confused. "Wait, you mean like, try to attack from this position?" She asked, hoping she understood and didn't make a stupid decision. Assuming he meant to just try a strike in the air, Katniss lunged down and swiped at an invisible enemies paws. 

She knew it was a basic move but wasn't sure what else to do.

"yes. attack when your footing is good."

the imperator widened his own stance. he waited. the man was patient. it was not each day that you were sparred by a battleworn soldier.

Noticing that Germanicus had changed his stance, Katniss realized he wanted her to attack him. So Katniss decide to throw her best move at him. She lunged in at his chest/throat area for a mock bite, then dived under him, trying to swipe out his legs and push upward with her shoulders to throw him onto his side.

she was acrobatic.

her teeth grazed his chest. when she swept beneath his chest, germanicus reared back upon his haunches.

katniss was exposed.

he butted her haunch hard, flashing teeth at the last. they would not touch her.

When her strike did not work, Katniss tried to roll away, but she was caught with a hard strike to her side, though it wasn't aimed there. Germanicus's teeth flashed past her face but she was out of reach. She leapt to her feet and stood, panting. Then without a moments hesitation, she struck out at his side, trying to swipe out his paw as she did so. She was best when she had her opponent on the ground.

she lunged for him. germanicus reared. his forelegs stiffened. he meant to strike her with them.

in the next, he swung his hip sideways toward her own with harsh force.

Katniss, who didn't have time to turn around and who was facing the opposite way of Germanicus, was hit with a hard blow from his hip to the side of her face. It made her head turn and she paced back for a moment, working her jaw. She seemed relatively fine though, so she got her head in the game again. 

Her paw swipes obviously weren't working, so she went for a trickier move. She lunged in at his face to try and nip his nose, lunged back, the tried to leap over him and strike his tail. Both would cause pain rather than deadly injury when in combat, but pain was good.

she was tireless and feline.

katniss attempted to leap over him. germanicus whirled tightly and snapped for her scruff. his tail swung to sting her eyes.

he meant to then shove her to the ground and hold her for a moment, thus ending their spar.

Katniss was not prepared for his grab and was thumped to the ground roughly. The wind was knocked out of her but she tucked her chin and protected her head.

the impact was taken.

germanicus held her for a moment and then released. he stepped back. "well done, katniss."

he surveyed the young wolf. "what have you learned today?"

She thought for a moment. "a lot of my strikes are basic and seem to be well-known by seasoned fighters like yourself. But my speed and nimbleness has helped me escape from situations and counter quickly." She told him.

"you are a fast learner."

he gave her a look of approval.

"we will spar again when you have rested a day. take pains to rest. you will be sore."

Katniss smiled. "Thank you." She said.

Assuming that was all, she headed off, dipping her head in departure.