Capable stretched stiff limbs – she’d known she shouldn’t have hunted before going to train with the white wolf.  Still, she had a belly to fill, and raiding a cache seemed a waste when she was perfectly capable (heh) of setting out to catch her own meal.  Not strenuous, no, but to rest on warm muscles made for difficultly to get moving shortly thereafter.

Finding no use in berating herself, the redhead shook out her luscious coat.  She’d not seek the man right away, but perhaps patrol the border first.  Do her civic duty, and warm her legs back up into fighting shape.  A small smile curled one corner of her lips, and the woman allowed herself to get lost in her post-nap run until she’d come across a familiar scent.  At least it was no longer meant with disdain.

“Craw,” she murmured, rolling to a halt.  Ears pricked forward as she scented the air, head on a swivel as she glanced around.  “I know you’re there.” At least she wasn’t being followed this time, had only come across the white wolf by chance.  “Was going to find you later.  To spar.  Lest you’ve got the time now?”  The woman turned her head, glancing towards the shadows.  Eyes narrowed.  There.

“Of course I’m keen.”

Sometimes it was hard not to look at these boys like they were all stupid.  Isuni snorted softly, raising one brow as the man approached.  It was a worrying thing that he saw her as anything but – to not gain strength was to be static.  To be static was to forget to live.  Never did she want to be pinned to a task against her will, kept where she did not want to be, and this freedom she sought would not come freely to her simply by asking for it.  So she would be prepared to fight, if she ever had to, with all the experience she could notch up in the meantime.

Claws prickled into the damp earth as she rolled her shoulders upwards, taking a moment to do the same as the older wolf.  It wasn’t a bad idea, truly.  Stiff muscles were entirely more likely to become injured ones.  Before long, Craw sunk into the same position Morganna had when they’d tussled playfully.  Unable to keep the grin off her face, the woman readied herself.

“Good.”

The woman bolted forward – Craw was big, but so was she.  A slam from her shoulder would hurt no matter where it landed, and she had every intention of running at the older wolf until he moved – or didn’t.

It worked!

Perhaps not as well as the woman would have liked, but Capable would mark down the little success to revisit at a later date.  No technique was ever perfected on the first, not in hunting, and not in fighting, either.  It wasn’t perfect, for though the white wolf had half-crumpled beneath his weight, she was left in an awkward sprawl as well.  At least he’d dropped her leg, allowing her more freedom to move.  As she fought to get her legs underneath, the male squirmed beneath, changing position as he began to kick like a rabbit against her underbelly.

Ears flipped backwards, a low growl escaping her as she twisted, not yet ready to get off.  Everything was unstable, and he’d be free soon whether she allowed it or not, so the redhead took the glaring opportunity before it could get away.  On his back as he was, Craw’s throat became visible – so she went for it, as she’d gone for the kill when the boar had lost its life.  She would not use her teeth, of course, not like she had then – she was rough, but this was not meant to cause lasting damage, but to pin, to hold, to convince Craw that he was best to yield.

Her success was met with some degree of surprise.  Though she had plenty of faith in her own abilities, Craw had proven to be a worthy opponent.  If nothing else, his size made him formidable; that he knew how to use it made him all the more threatening.  All the same, her teeth met soft fur and softer skin and the wolf squeezed just enough to make her point.  It wasn’t a true fight, there was no reason to actually make an attempt at harm – and when the white wolf yielded, the female released without question.

How strange, she thought after a moment, tongue lolling out of her mouth as she took a few steps back, allowing Craw his space as the both of them recovered from the physical exertion.  Arrow would have never—

But she shed the thought for the foolishness it was.  There was a reason she was here, and her brother was not.  There was a reason she opted to train with Craw, and not the wolf born moments before her.  So ears flipped forward and she bobbed her head, tail swinging lazily behind her.

“You’re smarter than you look,” she teased, mischief in her eye.  “Some never know when to quit – even if it’s just practice.”  Winning the battle wasn’t everything, after all, not when there was a war ahead.

“We should keep at it.  No one else is a challenge…”