Feed 'em some lava!

@Arverk Down for cashing in that raincheck on their spar?

He'd promised their new wolf a spar in the future. He was going to make true on that. He was fully healed now and fully limber. Tonravik and his sudden departure to handle outside matters had thrown a wrinkle into their timeline, but he was back now and had recharged enough during their time away. There was nothing quite like an adventure to rejuvenate the soul. All the same, it was good to be back. Good to stretch out a little. Good to be home. The Spine was thriving and that was what mattered most.

He arrived at the bone pile. It was a location most within the Spine held with certain fondness. And who wouldn't? It was quite literally a canine dream that grew with each kill they made. Bones for the picking. Bones for the taking. Some old and some new. The corpses of their enemies were strewn along the borders. The corpses of prey? What wasn't saved eventually ended up here. These bones... they were succulent.

They were also something of a hazard. He picked his way up the pile of ivory and made his way to top, once there, he tossed his head back and howled for Arverk to join him. Until the wolf arrived, there was a lovely little rib bone he had his eyes set on. Kerosene picked it up and settled atop the pile to entertain himself during this interlude.

The wound in his side made by the trespasser plains wolf, Zhavvi, had not healed entirely. But it was better, it did not hurt too much when he hunted or chased away any annoying wolves or predators and he knew that he was on his speedy way to complete recovery. Arverk had not forgotten Iqniq's promise to spar with him and had hoped the day would come soon, his departure with Tonravik had given the swarthy whale time to recover from the most serious of wounds and now, despite the fact it hadn't healed completely, Arverk was ready for the spar he was promised.

The whale had been diligently patrolling the borders of the Spine when a howl rang through the air, calling for him. Black ears pricked and he recognized the voice immediately, Arverk shifted his smoky black paws uneasily, unsure if he should go there immediately and abandon his patrol or finish his patrol before going to Iqniq. Quickly making up his mind, the Roman's nostrils flared and his ears swiveled around, once he made sure no one uninvited was around, he made his way to the Alpha Male.

Arverk arrived swiftly, fierce blue gaze easily analyzing his surroundings before alighting on the familiar golden form of his leader. Tail lowered, his body posture befitting one of his rank, the ebony male moved forward silently.

Are you cool if we play this out the same way we did here? Kero vs. Echelon  Evens: Hit. Odds: Miss. Best of 5 rounds using a d10? Post to describe movement based on the outcome of the dice roll for that round?

He chewed. Teeth wrapped around the rib, he worked up a good lather to soften the bone and began to work his teeth along the edges. He was making decent work of it, but his time enjoying it was cut short as soon as the wolf he'd summoned entered upon the scene. Arverk. There he was. Golden eyes flicked to spy the wound he'd tended earlier. From here, it appeared to be healing up nicely. If the wolf felt he needed more time to further recover, he'd respect that. If not, then he had an activity in mind.

Kerosene rose, lifting from the pile with the bone still in his mouth. He tossed it away, removing it from the larger pile so he might remember it later, but for now he would not be needing. "Feeling up for that spar?" he asked, breaking the silence that lingered between them. He'd promised this wolf one. He'd not forgotten.

He'd also promised he'd make it worth the wolf's time. "I'm thinking... friendly spar and training exercise. The ground atop these bones is uneven. Footing more challenging." It went without saying, but he spoke the words out loud all the same. "First wolf with a paw on solid ground loses. Interested?"

Sounds good to me! :) dice roll

With surefooted steps, Arverk made it easily to where the russet furred leader was and cocked his smoky black crown as he listened to Iqniq speak with pricked ebony ears. A small smile played at his lips at the Alpha Male's words, "Yes," he said, actually quite surprised that the golden male actually remembered his promise for a spar with all the drama going on with the Plains pack and with Tonravik getting visibly more pregnant with each passing day.

The smile did not vanish this time, but stayed on the whale's features as Iqniq explained the game they were going to play. So he had also remembered the promise he had made to make it worth the Roman's time did he? Good for him. Arverk flashed a crooked smile at his to-be opponent as a response and lifted a shoulder in a shrug as if saying 'why not?'

Without hesitation, Arverk leaped at the Alpha without warning, aiming to push him off the pile. But Iqniq was quick and evaded his blow, the Roman turned around swiftly and readied himself for the next strike.

Kerosene grinned. True to this warrior's fighting spirit, he required no verbal answer and chose to answer with actions instead. It was a bold move. Sprinting across a pile of bones that shifted beneath ones feet took dedication, but it made the wolf's momentum a heck of a lot slower than it would have on solid ground. Iqniq had plenty of time to sidestep and spin, nipping at the wolf's tail as he passed by only to a catch nothing in his jaws. Nevertheless, he was still moving forward so he turned within close quarters and rammed the black wolf with his shoulder, hoping to upset his newfound footing.

Teeth clicked together as Iqniq attempted to snap at at his tail and missed, even if he was running on top of a pile of bones, Arverk was quick. But his opponent was relentless and rammed the smoky black whale on his shoulder, the Roman stumbled and struggled to regain his footing. Swiftly, the moment he recovered from the strike, the aspiring warrior rushed forward as if still unbalanced and attempted to headbutt the golden furred Alpha. But once again, his opponent sidestepped. Muttering curses in his head, Arverk spun around to face Iqniq once more. Next time, he thought to himself, don't run on a pile of bones.

His ramming shoulder unsettled the wolf just as he'd hoped. With a bit of bought time, Kerosene retreated on the pile, gaining himself a little bit of ground so he could easily avoid the next charge. Small movements on this pile were easy. Longer strides far harder to predict of only because the ground could give beneath their paws at any moment. Here where he stood? The bones locked tightly. He'd shifted his weight on this area as he waited those short moments for Arverk to recover and charge once more.

He shifted, dodging as he spun where he stood and kept hot on the wolf's tail. Close quarters would serve this fight far better and so he turned, ducking his head beneath Arverk's as the wolf turned and reached with his teeth for the front paw supporting his weight.

Iqniq was quick despite his large build and dodged Arverk as he charged towards him. As the smoky black whale spun around to face his opponent, the Alpha Male reached for the front paw which supported his weight and effectively threw him off balance once more. Arverk stumbled and nearly lost his footing entirely, but this time, he was quick to regain his balance and his muscles coiled, he sprang forward with catlike grace, aiming to topple the golden male by slamming his weight into the other wolf's flank. Despite the fact that he was not as large as his opponent, his blow would do quite some damage.

His teeth hit true. He caught that paw and yanked, effectively unsettling the wolf's balance in the process. Arverk stumbled and caught himself before swiftly taking advantage of their close quarters and shoving his shoulder in Iqniq's direction. Ah ha! This was what he'd been waiting for. It seemed this male still had a bit of spirit in him which, in turn, excited the fiery male as he stumbled across the pile.

With his belly low and his center of gravity fixed beneath him, he lashed out, snapping his teeth as he pressed off the pile. His lunge fell short as his teeth fell on nothing more than air. He landed, centering himself as he braced for whatever opening his opponent might find.

Arverk shoved firmly into Iqniq's flank and a grin found its way onto his face as he realized his blow connected with the Alpha Male. Oh this was much more fun that simply sparring on plain ground, the russet male had indeed made this friendly spar worth his time. Next time, if he ever was in the mood to spar again, he would do so with a challenge similar to the one now in his mind. Oh, that would be fun. Ouroboros Spine might hold the most physical beings in the world, living only to defend, fight and breed, but no eloquent speaker could match their brilliant ideas.

Iqniq lunged at him but his blow did not connect, immediately, Arverk launched himself forward but stumbled as he tripped over stray bone. Why wasn't he watching his step?!

Slight PP here. Merging the hit we rolled with the scruff shake/stand up. I can edit if it doesn't work.

It appeared as though this bone pile was presenting something of a problem for them both. His footing was off. Arverk was tumbling through the ivory. Together, they must have been creating something of a savage symphony through their fell step alone. Throw the necessary growls of playful aggression on top of that and their music must have sounded terrible to anyone within earshot. Alas, they were still sparring and while this fight was coming to a close, their endurance was not diminished quite yet.

Arverk charged and took another tumble. He skid across the rolling bones and landed at Iqniq's feet. The red wolf reached down, taking the wolf's scruff within his mouth as he gave the dark male a good shake and pulled him back to his feet. Not a full out attack, per say, but they were both having a rough time of it. One more move from the both of them and perhaps it would be time to call this spar quits so they could recover from their bone splinters.

His teeth released the wolf's nape as he prepared for the next round.

Sparring on a bone pile was the best idea that anyone had ever presented to him in a long time, but it was creating some serious problems for both of them. Iqniq's footing was off and he kept stumbling and tripping. He was agile and graceful enough on plain ground, but on this mountain of bones, it seems like all the skills he had gained over his years had decided to abandon him. He was about as clumsy as a bear right now, and though he liked the spar, he decided he hated being this way.

Arverk stumbled and landed at Iqniq's paws. The russet male's jaws close around his thick smoky black scruff and gave him a good shake before pulling him back onto his paws. A manic grin spread across his face as he shook himself, hoping to get a few stray tufts of fur back in place before his next move though truth to be told, it was quite unnecessary as undoubtedly his fur would get all ruffled up when he leapt and most likely fell again.

Yep. The whale leapt, fell short of his aim and struggled to regain his footing.

I want the dice to love you. -wills them to roll better next time-

Perhaps... they needed a little more training before they tried this bone pile again. It seemed, without the proper footing, both of them were little better than rolling and sliding around like boyish fools. It was as frustrating for Iqniq as it was, no doubt, for Arverk. At least he'd managed to land a few blows here and there, enough not to completely destroy his demeanor towards sparring in general, but enough to remind him he needed to practice and regularly, lest his body grow too stiff and comfortable.

Arverk lept and landed. Iqniq dodged and slipped. He stumbled down the height of the pile and stepped one foot on solid ground to steady himself. Whoops. Seemed as though he'd broken the cardinal rule and lost this one.

He removed himself completely from the pile and chuffed ceasefire. They'd both suffered enough disgrace today, in their own ways. There was no point in continuing it. Sparring on that bone pile was a challenging endeavor, but at least now they had something to practice at. "Good spar," he said anyway. "We both suck at that."

:D last post from me. thanks for the thread!

Arverk leapt forward, fell short of his aim and struggled to regain his footing. While he was trying to find his balance, he accidentally tripped over a bone and sprawled on top of the bone pile like an idiot. Both of them needed practice on sparring on this mountain of bones, because it had turned out to be less of a spar and more of a 'trying to find my balance and not trip over and fall like a fool' contest. Which was a tie by the way.

The swarthy whale stood up, shaking his ruffled smoky fur as he made his way down the pile towards where the russet Alpha Male was. A small smile made it's way up his lips at Iqniq's comment on how they both sucked at sparring on the pile of bones. "Good spar," he repeated with a genuine grin. "We could use more practice with that."

The exhausting exercise had made him hungry, so it came to no surprise when his stomach rumbled and called for food. Arverk shot Iqniq an apologetic glance, "I'll see you soon," he said, blue eyes twinkling before he turned and made his way to the nearest cache.

Of course! Thanks to you too!

The swarthy whale righted himself and pulled himself off the pile of bones. He stepped down to ground level and made himself at home on solid earth. A remark fled the wolf's lips and Iqniq snorted. Practice. They could both use a hell of a lot more practice on that bone terrain. "Just say when," he mused out loud. If this wolf wished to go another round on that pile, he'd be more than happy to oblige.

Until then? Back to work, or relaxation, or whatever it was they were up to. Iqniq? He wanted his revenge on that bone pile.

He chuffed a goodbye to Arverk as he wandered off to do his own thing. Iqniq approached the pile and pulled a bone from one of the lower tangles. He was going to worry his teeth across one of those things until it snapped. Might be a while.

-fade thread-