Everything seemed right in the cove once again, Naid had retaken the lead and they had gotten a couple new members.  For a longtime it had seemed that all they were doing was losing their ranks which had been worrisome for the dark man. Now it seemed they were on the rise again which helped to renew his hopes for the cove wolves. Most importantly he and Moonshadow were in a much better place in their friendship, which he couldn’t be happier about.  Their talk and their spar had helped them to be more open with each other and he felt it helped get her training back on track as well.  It wa nice to have a good spar with someone again.

However, Many things had led his thoughts to return to a subject that he had thought was long past but all the unanswered questions plagued him as he lay in the communal den at night and left him traveling to the lake and even Poison Path more often. He knew that it wasn’t healthy for him to continue with them but he couldn’t push them out because he knew they had to be dealt with he just didn’t know how.

His trip back from the lake after having spent most of the morning there was made at a lazy pace. He knew he should be out hunting, helping his pack but finding a quiet place was all he wanted to do. He was half way between the lake and the den when he stopped to scratch an itch on his foreleg. It had started snowing that morning while he’d been at the lake and it had started to collect on his dark coat.

The snow fell silently around him slowly covering the tracks that the members of the pack had left as the traveled through the territory. He was so deep into his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the coating of snow that had started to collect across his back. The path from the lake was so familiar after making the trek every day since he'd come to the cove he didn't really need to pay attention to the path. An itch on his foreleg was enough to bring his thoughts back to the present as he bent his head to nibble at the spot with his incisors.

His ear flicked backwards when he thought he heard something behind him but the freshly fallen snow muffled the sound. He wasn't sure he heard it until he felt the body of another wolf collide with his a play growl eliciting from them. That growl didn't immediately register with Kajika's distracted mind until after he had turned his body around quickly to knock his attacker off and to face the wolf who had surprised him. He found himself facing his student, immediately he knew what she had in mind. The promise to pick their spar up later and it seemed she was more than better from the hit to her shoulder.

Standing a short distance from her he gave a nod, “I see you're ready for another go.” With that said Kajika didn't give any indication to what he was going to do. Instead he charged her throwing all of his body weight against her in order to knock her completely off her feet. She was smart but he hoped that without indication she wouldn't be expecting such a direct attack especially since he hadn't used this tactic with her before.

Her attack had been quite the surprise to the point that she did almost get him down due to his rear legs collapsing. He still had his forelegs which allowed him enough movement to turn on her forcing her to jump away from him. After his question the mischievous grin that crossed her maw told him all he needed to know. As he promised himself before he would not make it easy on her either. His next tactic that came to him as he faced her was also a success. Charging her he managed to force her off her feet by putting every pound of body weight into the force in which he hit her.

After going down she scrambled back to her feet, he watched her as she stood in front of him to make sure she hadn't reinjured her shoulder. It didn't seem she had as she lunged at him like he had, “Come on Moonshadow you can do better than this,” he told her once her attack had ended with her teeth snapping shut on air and the growl had left her lips. He didn't know what she was thinking when she lunged at him but her first attempt in their last spar had been more successful. She'd had her chance and fail and now it was his turn but he realized his mistake almost immediately. He had been so worried she would be injured that he allowed her to regain her bearings. Having to make up for it he decided to try a tactic he'd used before just not on her. He looked toward her left side so she would think he was going that way and once he thought it was obvious that was what he was doing he lunged at her right side hoping to either knock her down or grab her scruff. His attack too was a fail as she dodged it easily.

He didn't know what had gotten into his student this particular round of sparring considering their last had gone much better. He tried to get her head back in the game hoping that it would help her to do better. They weren't exactly words of encouragement but more showed that he wasn't exactly happy with her performance this go around. Of course after his next attempt to get her off her feet or just in a position to get her down went wrong he felt he needed to eat his words. “I won't disagree,” he said in response to her suggestion, perhaps his head wasn't on the game either, “We both must try harder because this would never do in a real fight,” he added in a more stern tone. This was for fun yes but the same time it was more than that for him, it was his way of making sure she could protect herself.

Her next attempt at getting him down turned into an endeavor that made Kajika want to cover his eyes with his paw. She had almost managed to do exactly what he thought she was going to do but slipped on some ice and landed in a snow bank with snow all over her. This time he didn't wait for her to recover and instead while she was still distracted with the snow covering her pelt. Not wasting any time he rushed her and hit her side with his knocking her clean off her feet and back into the snow drift. “Perhaps I haven't completely lost it for today?” He said as he stood a few inches away from her waiting for her to pull herself back out of the snow drift once more.

If she has asked he would have told her without hesitation, there was some disappointment in her performance so far that day though he wouldn't show it, it wouldn't help her. He was well aware of his poorly thought out attacks and he was disappointed in himself for those as he was the teacher. However a couple of mess ups I'm a spar is one thing, she needed to prepare herself if something went terribly wrong and she needed those skills. The dark man felt bad that she wasn't having the greatest luck that day but at the end of the day even this was a lesson in itself. It was just as important as making sure she had a few tricks up her sleeve if she needed them.

When it was his turn he knocked clean into the same snow drift she had fallen in before, though it could have seemed comical from a spectator it wasn't funny at all. She pulled herself out of the drift and tried to go at his face but he wouldn't have any of that. Quickly he pulled his head out of the way so that she could not get a hold of him. She did not seem to be willing to give up at this point so Kajika took his turn once more. This time he placed in front of her for a moment, “I know you're frustrated Moonshadow I would be too,” he said as he made a couple passed in front of her coming a little bit closer each time. “But you mustn't let your emotions control you in such situations. If you keep a cool head you will have a better outcome.” He had now come in close enough to her that in one fast movement he had her scruff tightly in his teeth and with everything he had he pulled her to the ground before standing over her.

“If you lose your head Moonshadow, you will lose the fight. This went badly for you, yes, but that doesn't mean you are incapable. It just means you need more practice.” He told her before letting her up and stepping a short distance away. “I care about you Moonshadow and I only want to make sure you can protect yourself whether the pack is behind you or not.”