Round Stone Crest I'm finished running

She moved much faster than he, something that was to be expected given the nature of their bodies and the differences between them in mass and muscle build. It pleased him to see her be smart about the situation, choosing to dodge away from him rather than attempt to take his bulk on full force. It was up in the air whether or not she would immediately lash back (or even at all), but he knew to be prepared, and therefore as soon as his paws grasped the earth again they released, the king pulling up his haunches and carrying forward once more to take himself out of reach for whatever she may try. Simultaneously his torso twisted, turning his body so that he would face his opponent when once more all four limbs connected with the ground.

From what he saw, she certainly had attempted to get a hit in, but he'd been able to clear her efforts without so much as a brush of fur between them. Upon this observation, without missing so much as a single utilizable moment, Gent launched himself back into the fray. Given the angle their previous movements had created, he came at the woman from the side, and attempted to get a grip over her shoulder with his forelimbs and force her to the ground. Once more, he was mindful of the energy he put into all of this, so that if successful none of his attacks would actually cause harm to the woman.

ooc: I think Cal's last post in the fight roll thread will coincide with Gent's next post...?

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She probably should have expected that she would miss a second time; speed accounted for nothing if there was no skill or experience to back it up, and so as she went sailing harmlessly past the great beast without touching so much as a hair on his hide, she immediately scrambled to turn herself away from her opponent and get out of his way before he could come barrelling after her again. It was a tired trick already, this dodging away and leaping back in to attack, but at this point it was the most promising minimax she had available to her. Unfortunately, even leaping away didn't work for her this time, and she hit the ground again before she had enough time to put her back to Gent as the man grabbed her around the shoulder and flung her down in a heap, his great paws landing more softly than they might have - but still hard enough that she was sure he would leave a bruise or two. Again, it took her a moment to get her bearings and drag some air back into her lungs - then she tried to squirm out from under him once more, wriggling backwards and attempting to snap her jaws around one of his legs as she went. Maybe if she tried something he didn't see coming, she would manage to actually land a blow before Gent flattened her completely. It was a narrow hope, but she wasn't quite to the point of rolling over and submitting - she was relatively certain she still had the energy and the resilience to go one more round.

Alright, given that Calanthe has been KO'd we can finally wrap this up, yeah? <3 Sorry about taking so long.

She struggled and dug into the ground, shoulder blades jutting up against Gent's chest as she attempted to resist the building pressure he placed upon her. A snap of her jaws aimed for one of his forelimbs, but he was able to foresee the venture and deftly avoid it. In a short amount of time, despite her best efforts, they had both sunken to the forest floor, the shade king firmly pinning her against the soil. He could feel the weariness within her muscles as it traveled to him through his motions, and at last he accepted that their training session had come to an end.

Hoisting himself back up onto his legs, he released her without further ceremony. She had a decent well of potential, but he foresaw that it may take several of these tussles to truly pull it out of her. The beast did not mind this at all. In fact, he quite enjoyed all of this sparring with his pack mates. Shaking out his thick blue-black coat, relaxation slowly washed over him, muscles uncoiling and tunnel vision fading away.

"Alright, that's enough for today," he declared aloud as his glacial eyes settled upon her again. "You did good. I'd like to do this again soon, next you're ready. But give yourself a couple days at least first, alright?"

She tried to struggle up, to slither forward or drag herself backwards and leave Gent in a heap on the forest floor, but try as she might Calanthe could no more free herself from her King's hold than she could land any blows on his legs. Despite her best efforts, the tawny woman gradually found herself inching closer and closer to the ground, until her chest was pressed firmly against the earth and she had no leverage left to attempt to rectify the situation. The weakness in her muscles was as good as a manifestation of her own personal barghest, telling her more clearly than anything short of her blood being drawn that the session was over.

She breathed a sigh of relief as Gent stepped off of her again, able to recognize by the way he spoke and moved that no further attacks were headed her way. All the same, she was quick to scramble back onto her paws again and give her pelt a good shake, not at all keen on showing weakness even now that she had lost the scuffle. At the man's words, she dipped her head for a moment in gratitude, her sides heaving slightly from the effort as she said, "Thank you, Gent. Maybe next time I'll be more of a challenge!" She grinned at her own joke, then bid the King farewell and departed back to the den. She needed to go lay down for a bit before her legs went out from under her.

This hadn't been a successful scuffle on her part, but it had been educational and productive. She felt wiser for it - better-prepared for a true battle, in any event. It had been a step towards casting away her outstayed childhood and becoming a force to be reckoned with in her own right - not that she wanted to be a source of fear or worry for anyone. But she was better able now to defend herself and her pack mates, and if a disaster struck this homeland, too, she would be better able to help them through that. There was nowehere but up to go from here.