Round Stone Crest all i need, all all i need

is you smiling at me

For @Raela only.
Backdated to 6/24
Midday - Sunny 73 ° F

He had allowed part of the day to pass before coming to fetch Raela. There was an unusual caution to the way he approached her lately, given the toll both mental and physical his sister's attack had taken on the woman. It pained him to know that her suffering stemmed from some part of him, regardless of how far out of his control it all had been. When noon rolled over, however, he knew that there was no more putting it off. He couldn't undo what she'd been through, but he could sure as well make certain that it never happened again.

She had been thoroughly awake by then, and was found around the vicinity of the main densite. Whether she'd been about to undergo some other task, Gent wasn't sure. He'd simply asked if she was ready and when given affirmation, the two were off. He knew of a clearing within the woods, on slanted ground and lined thickly with trees as though by fencing. It would be the perfect terrain on which to begin her training. It had been stupid of him not to think that his members did not all need to be properly sparred with and tested before being allowed on patrol, especially when their numbers were so low that it couldn't be afforded to let a weak link go unchecked. Now Raela had paid the price for it and it only drove him more furiously into action.

All was silent until they arrived, and then the man turned to face his closest friend before halting.

"How are you wounds?" he asked, more so to be sensitive than out of any actual worry; he had checked on them just yesterday, and the injuries had been healing quite nicely. Still, if she was sore in any particular area, he needed to know so as to be able to avoid hurting her further. "Are you ready for this?"

Waiting for Gent to fetch her was like waiting for a storm to hit. She knew he wanted to train her, but the woman was hardly convinced it would do any good. No, she'd just look foolish in front of him. He would see how weak she really was. The worries plagued her endlessly ever since he posed the idea. She liked Gent; he didn't need to know how awful she was at anything. If anything the fact that he was her friend was cause to panic over impressing him. He was her Alpha too! The opinions of strangers might have hurt her but being looked down on by someone close, someone important? It twisted her guts. His appearance only made the feeling worse. It was time. The whole trek from the den she remained quiet; jaws tight with anxiety. Gent seemed a bit uncomfortable around her too – but it was only a guess as to why. Maybe he felt bad, or maybe he was worried that his best friend was actually useless. Either one.  When it became obvious which clearing they were headed towards, the woman let out her nervous breath with a sigh. Her head remained low as they passed between the trees and into the sunlight. She didn't want to be here. Rigidly the subordinate came to a halt; golden eyes regarding Gent's form with caution. He wasted no time in again assessing her condition. While the concern was nice, being reminded of them wasn't. Perhaps for the relief of having something else to look at besides her soon-to-be-disappointed teacher, the girl's eyes found the patches of missing fur on her hip. “They're alright – scabbed over.” Her notched ear was fine as anything by now. It healed surprisingly fast, and the skin on the cut was nearly closed. Raela looked back his way, letting the silence move between them before the dreaded words found her.  Nervously, she faked a smile; chuckling a bit to try and brush off her fear as foolishness. “No.” He would know it as a joking “yes.” Her reluctance was near palpable. Swallowing as much apprehension as she could, the agouti woman directed her eyes upward. “So, what are we doing?” What can I screw up first? Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

He could only nod to her report of the information he already knew, the topic now touched upon able to be glossed over completely. With a roll of his shoulders, the man regarded his companion's jest with a stoic gaze. To him, there was no humor to be found in the situation. Raela's unease radiated from her person in a very infectious way, and the king could only hope that once they got into the thick of her training and she was able to witness that she could, indeed, handle such a physical test this unnerving atmosphere would dissipate.

"I'm going to attempt to pin you," he informed her laconically and swiftly after she had issued the question, "and you're going to react."

Another shift rolled through his body, muscles coiling and bracing as he lowered himself into a crouch. The display was slightly exaggerated, meant to be a clear signal to Raela that this was happening and at this very moment. After a few seconds of waiting to ensure that she was indeed ready, Gent launched himself forward. This would have to be a very careful venture, for he needed to both make progress with her and also maintain her confidence, as well as be cautious of not worsening her injuries. If he sparred with her as he would with, say, Astraeus, chances were he would have her trapped against the ground in a swift enough time so as to cement the wounding of her pride.

Therefor, he came at her directly, and measured the exact amount of weight and momentum being thrown into the tackle precisely as to deter these undesired outcomes from occurring.

The way her friend completely ignored the woman's wry humor left her feeling all the more nervous. Not even his eyes softened as he stared back at her, and Raela found herself searching for something else to look at. She took a shaky breath as he moved away; tensing and relaxing his muscles in preparation. Her heartbeat hummed along, and the woman was left standing there with her soft tail beginning to hide away at her hocks. She really didn't want to do this. His words were still entirely serious, and she felt her tongue passing nervously over her creamy maw. Something akin to panic was chewing at her ribs as she stared; mind digging frantically for whatever he expected her to do.  What did he want? Was she to doge away? To lash at him in hopes of deflecting the blow? To intercept his charge full force? She had no idea, and that was all the more terrifying. Lost in the tempest of her own anxiety, honeyed eyes settled on him as the mammoth sunk down. A moment of hesitation on her part followed before the subordinate tried some form of preparation herself. All roads seemed to lead to failure and humiliation, and she was still horridly tense. Gent leapt at her after far too little time (in her book anyway), and Raela's actions were left entirely to instinct.  Her ears flattened, jaws parting with a fearful snarl. He came down toward her, and the smaller female rushed right back. She lunged upward with all the nervous energy from the sickening tension in her chest. Her fangs reached for the side of his neck, as if she could force him back with her lessened strength and slender body. Such an outcome was unlikely, but she was at an utter loss for what to do otherwise. Perhaps that was the point of this; for him to assess her current knowledge as well as her shortcomings; but that still required her to fail on some level; a notion that her frightened brain couldn't accept. She already had. There was no reason to do it again in front of him.  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

His pale eyes didn't miss a thing, her emotions so raw within her that they reflected clearly upon her countenance. It was clear that he was achieving the reaction wanted, though hoped dearly this build up of conflict wouldn't freeze her completely. If she failed miserably at this, he worried dearly for her self worth, as this practice was very much meant to build it up again just as much as it was to actually train her. Yet that would only mean they had to keep trying until she overcame whatever it was that held her back in such a vice grip.

To his pleasure, the moment he launched forward she reacted. Something tugged within his chest as he saw her face twist and her body flinchingly shift, the despair so clear upon her face almost too real for him. In the seconds that passed between their collision, he could no longer distinguish whether the terror was caused by her own perceived ineptitude, or if it was him and what he really was that induced such monstrous fear within her. Yet there was no time for any of this to truly sink in, for as soon as the thoughts entered his head they were forced out by the crashing contact the two made.

Instinctively he wrapped his forelimbs around her hackles, hooking them over one another and pushing down. Yet before this could be achieved, she thoroughly surprised him by sinking her fangs into the loose skin around the lateral side of his neck in a firm grip. A smile flashed briefly across his face before disappearing altogether. Putting all of his weight into it, he forced Raela to the ground, allowing his own body to follow hers so as not to risk her canines breaking his skin. She had surprised him, but for now he still had the upper paw, and the man put all that he had into trying to pin her completely.

The action was so raw and swift that she had next to no time to anticipate the crashing wave of his frame against her's, though her skin crawled with the expectation of force and pain. It was a force all right; a force not unlike the kick of that mule deer's hind leg when they last hunted together. But this time she could still breathe; even if it was between teeth clenched tightly into her attacker's scruff. In an instant he was upon her; lifting his legs to press down on her smaller, more meager frame. It was exactly as she had pictured his retaliation to go, and the outcome was nearly inevitable. She was just too weak to stand any chance against the black King's might.  Any hint of his approval went unnoticed as the weight buckled her locked-up legs. Her teeth would have been torn away had she not opted to release him as soon as Raela felt herself falling. In a most unorganized and frantic fashion she crumpled to the dirt; pushed down sideways and doomed by the angle she'd chosen to attack from. All of her weight shifted to the side and sent her toppling over with a high pitched growl only a second after he'd first moved. Despite the adrenaline and despite the electricity in her muscles there was nothing to be done now. The snarl that had been present on her creamy maw faded quickly as her golden eyes met again with his judging ice. The ferocity gave way to more nervousness as she felt the weight of failure creeping up again. The wrinkles smoothed and her teeth were hidden with a nervous lick to the woman's wet, ebony nose.  Fine, he'd proven it. She couldn't do it and now he knew. So what did he want now?  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

Far too easily his mass won against hers, though the beast had known better than to be surprised with this outcome. Still, she hadn't froze, she hadn't scattered, she had fought back against him. Given her shattered sense of self ever since Vitani's brutal trespass, Gent would pleased enough with just this progress for the day if it was all that they made. Yet still he would dig for more.

As he'd felt her legs give, the king had immediately put his own muscles into gear to keep the brunt of his weight off of the leaner girl, and by the end of it all he was hovering above her in a crouched position. When her body slackened in defeat and she turned her nerve-wracked eyes upon him, he found he dearly missed that snarling face even despite the fear curled within it. With a strong need to rekindle that fire within his friend, he gave her little pause to rest. They would try again and again, until she either learned or they became too tired to continue for the day.

"That was good," he spoke as his back was turned to her, making his way back to his starting point. "Y'fought back, that's what I need from you."

Curling around and shifting back into a braced stance, his pale eyes monitored her, waiting for her to lift herself back onto the legs he knew to be strong and ready herself once more.

"But you can't quit just because your first hit didn't work. You keep fighting me. You fight until your last breath, you hear me?" Because their enemies would never stop. "And remember, your goal isn't to beat me, it's to keep from being beaten. You got a whole pack behind you, you don't have to be invincible, just indomitable."He gave her a few more seconds to prepare herself, before with a snap of his jaws he once more hurled himself at her. It was the same move as before, but hopefully this time she would have more success at avoiding the take down.

She was still internally sulking right up until the point that his black jaws parted in speech. All at once he had praised her, and walked away. She was left curled against the ground, watching Gent leave her side with befuddlement. Despite the fact that she had fallen and despite the fact that she had allowed herself to be caught; a death sentence with her lighter, weaker body, that was... good? Apparently he was only looking for her to respond violently; and she had, though it had been on impulse and without proper strategy. She searched his face once more, still looking completely dumbfounded. As soon as his legs splayed she found herself shuffling awkwardly to her own spindly stilts to the sound of his rumbling voice.  Her bright eyes turned on him; wide with apprehension as he asked for her confirmation. Feeling a bit sick again at the blunt way he spoke, she nodded anxiously. But I can't... her mind repeated; curling the tip of her tail toward her hocks once more. Orange ears drank in the rest of the info, and she found herself actually pondering it in the moments before their scuffle would resume. So just... stay out of the way? She already knew that allowing herself to be pinned or grasped for very long was a horrible idea, so if he wanted to see her dodge, she would dodge.  The click of the mammoth's pearly teeth was the signal to begin again, and Rae watched his movements more carefully this time. It was the same exact charge, and now she would be ready for it. In the last moments before his weight would have a chance of pushing her to the dirt again, Rae's hind legs crouched and pushed off of the ground like a coiled spring. Her lighter frame danced to the side and she whirled, offering him another wrinkled snarl of her own as she realized that he had missed. But there would be only seconds before he would move again, and she tried to find her balance...  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

The only holding back that the leviathan was consciously practicing involved the amount of force placed into his attacks once he connected with his opponent. His speed, his tact, his aim were all on point, true to his own talents. Therefor, when @Raela managed to glide past him without so much as their fur mixing, a smile of pride washed over his maw. It was in her, he knew it was, and he would bring it out so that she could see it as well. Perhaps if he had been a more empathetic creature, he would have ended the sparring session there. After all, ending on a high note of success would most likely be best for her self image, allowing her to dwell on the good ending rather than risking tagging on more negatives. However, as he was, Gent would not stop here, not until she was truly finished. He needed her to realize her potential, to be able to access it, for as long she couldn't, he risked losing her.

The moment all four paws were connected with the ground again he was turning, springing back after her. His lips remained tightly sealed over top of his fangs as he would only use his mass against her, not even lifting his limbs with this attack. Swiftly coming up on her flank, he moved to swipe into her hip, potentially knocking away her balance and at best, bringing her to the ground again.

(This post was last modified: Oct 29, 2015, 04:25 AM by Gent.)