Sex: FemaleNayeli tipped her nose down toward the cold grass and leaf litter, meandering back and forth in search of one particular scent among the many mingling there. A little while ago, the pack had gathered together for a meeting, and the she-wolf hoped a certain pack-mate was still somewhere nearby. Triell had asked them all to practice sparring, pairing her off with his own nephew. It had been some time since she'd had a practice spar, and the dark lady found herself eager to get rid of a bit of the rust. There was a spring in her step as she set off on what she hoped was the right trail.
The black she-wolf's ears flicked thoughtfully as she loped beneath the budding oaks, trying to recall what she knew of Corinna's sons - the quiet Tainn brothers. She knew that Triell cared about them quite a bit. He'd spoken of them the very first time they had met. Nearing true adulthood, the young Tainn would already have size on his side, but this was a practice match after all - Nayeli wanted to teach the prince a thing or two of value. On the Isle where she had been raised, she had not had a lack of sparring lessons, nor partners. The Stormwright lass had always been eager to prove herself against her brothers at anything and everything, and her grandfather and the others of the coterie had done their best to share their expertise with the next generation of the pack. Many of those lessons had fallen on deaf ears, or been forgotten with time, but others had become trusted tools in her daily life's arsenal, and one or two had saved her skin. Now perhaps she could pass a bit of that legacy on to the future of this pack, even if her birthplace had no future any more.
Pushing aside bittersweet thoughts, she came to a halt in a small hollow in the woods, a purposeful glint in her eye as she sized up the area. Her muzzle tipped up and a quick howl rang out, in the hope that @Serach was indeed nearby. This seemed like a good place to raise a little dust.
Triell had talked of sparring during the pack's meeting, but after the meeting had ended, the pack had all seemed to disperse. He had been no different, rising to his feet and headed out into the woods. His uncle had told him that it was time for him to begin thinking of his adult role - what good could he provide to the pack that had raised him? Huffing, the pale youth brooded over that thought. He was not coordinated enough to be a hunter, and his temperament did not lend itself to being a scout or a diplomat. Perhaps a guardian? He'd never been in a fight, not a real one anyway. Scrapping with @Sceral didn't count.
Nayeli's call roused him from his thoughts, and with an unusual amount of eagerness for the boy, he tilted his head back and called out to her. Perhaps today was the day he would find out if he was suitable for guardianship. Setting off a trot, he hurried in the direction she had called. He hadn't wandered very far from the meeting, and her chosen hollow was easy to find. It was only when the black furred lady came into view did Serach grow nervous. They had never really spoken, certainly they had never played or sparred with one another. What if he hurt her on accident? Or even more embarrassingly, what if she hurt him? Cautiously, the juvenile approached Nayeli, slinking towards her nervously. "Hello," he said, gulping down his nerves in a rare attempt to be friendly. He had no idea what he was doing, and now that he was here, the prospect of finding out was more than a little terrifying.
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The answering call came swiftly, bringing a smile to the dark lady's features. She was glad that Serach was nearby after all. Waiting patiently for him to arrive, she stood with her tail twitching behind her ankles, thinking of what to say to youth when he did show up. It had been ages since she'd sparred with her brothers, and the age gap between herself and Serach made it seem like a bad idea to try and replicate that banter, so instead she tried to recall the things her own mentors had said to her so long ago.
When a pale muzzle did appear through the trees, her dark ears tipped forward instantly, thoughts of the past forgotten. The starred woman smiled again with benign amusement, the expression faltering only slightly as she noted the shy way the youth slunk toward her.
Hi there,she offered back, the awkward moment slightly contagious. She'd grown up on a secluded isle, and sometimes she thought she'd never become used to meeting new faces. Nayeli gave her tail a casual wag, hoping to show that she considered this quite an informal situation, and move past the moment of trepidation.Your uncle thought I'd make a good sparring partner for you,she explained why shed called for him, though Serach might well have already guessed the reason.You up for some practice?she asked, letting a bit of her enthusiasm surface. She was looking forward to this little session, but she didn't want to intimidate the quiet wolf. She also hoped to get to know him a little better, which would never happen if he kept giving her that deer-in-the-headlights look.
Serach waited, his anxiety growing. His heart rate had accelerated as soon as he stepped into the clearing, and he caught himself breathing heavier than normal. Ears flicking nervously, he peered up at her as she responded to his greeting in kind. For a moment, they were both quiet, two silent strangers in an awkward atmosphere. Thankfully, though, Nayeli stepped in and rescued them both. Cutting the silence with an explanation for her call, Serach nodded. He had presumed as much when she had called for him so soon after the meeting. Throwing her a smile, he mustered up some courage. "Yeah, sure. Let's do it."
Stepping back from Nayeli, he put some distance between them. He wasn't entirely sure how to start. If she had been Sceral, he would have simply pounced on her and gone from there. But somehow, he didn't think that Nayeli would appreciate that and he wasn't keen on the idea of being chastised by his uncle either. So instead, he put enough distance between Nayeli and himself that it would take more than one leap for either to touch the other. Rolling his shoulders, he threw her another grin to try and reassure her that it would be okay, even though he had no idea what he was doing. Widening his stance, he splayed out his front legs. Lowering his front half, his rump rose into the air and he looked at her. "Like this?" He wasn't really sure how one "started" to spar properly, but this was how he usually began when he was playing.
Nayeli grinned when Serach gave his answer, "Let's do it". Nodding in approval, she slipped into a more practical posture, transitioning her balance evenly on her toes as she paced in a circle. Her dark tail flicked. As much as this might seem like a game, it was much more than that, too - it was one of the oldest ways of practicing one of a wolf's most important skills - and in order to learn, one had to be willing. That was one of the first lessons she had ever been taught.
Serach had put a little more space between them, so Nayeli began to trot in a circle, maintaining a distance of a few yards. She watched as the younger male dropped into a playful pose, her sharp ears tipping forward at his question. Nayeli couldn't tell if he was unsure of himself, or was trying to go easy on her, or something else, but he seemed to be hanging back for whatever reason.
So, rather than giving an answer, she simply winked and then darted in from one side, trying to tag Serach. Charging directly at a larger, stronger opponent might have seemed like a counter-intuitive strategy, but the Stormwright lady was trying to get a read on her young opponent - she wanted to see how much he knew, and how his instincts would guide him to react. Her teeth flashed bright for a moment as she leaped toward the young wolf, aiming to grab a tuft of the thick winter fur he was shedding for spring.
Serach's grin had grown as he watched Nayeli take up her stance. She was moving around him in a circle, and he twisted his head from side to side to try and keep her in his sights. The fur along his back rose ever so slightly - her movements reminded him of stalking and instinctively set him on edge. His question, which had been genuine, went unanswered as well. Instead, she winked at him before leaping towards him. Apparently he was going to find out the practical way.
Nayeli's teeth flashed bright in the sun, and while in the back of his mind, Serach knew that she wouldn't seriously hurt him, he couldn't help but feel a tingle of fear. This was the first time he had truly tousled with anybody who was not family, and his excitement at the prospect of learning how to properly fight had quickly disappeared. The moment she had made her move, Serach had realized that he was not in an ideal position to counter her attack or even move out of the way. With his rump in the air, he couldn't jump or walk. The best he could do was straighten up and turn his shoulder against her, bracing against her grab. Tucking his head to the side and downwards, he protected the most vulnerable part of his body, letting her grab on to the loose scruff of the fur on his shoulder.
The fur on Serach's spine had risen up, making the young wolf look even larger than he already was. As Nayeli jumped toward her pack-mate, he was ducking away from her, seemingly in an attempt to protect his belly, throat, and other vital regions. Her teeth clacked shut harmlessly on pale fur, pulling free a small tuft as she danced away from him again. "Not - pffffth- not bad," she said encouragingly, trying to spit the tuft back out. If this had been a real fight, she'd have missed those vital areas, and her weight wasn't really sufficient to topple him with a move like that, or do much more than land a glancing blow.
Her tail swayed up behind her as she watched her comrade-turned-opponent closely. He seemed to prefer taking the cautious approach, at least to an outright attack. Nayeli was pleased to see him reacting as if there was something serious at stake - after all, practice was serious, and treating a practice spar as if it were the real thing was a good was to get used to the stress and adrenaline, to master them. It was something she still struggled with. And yet, it was also a time for practicing those riskier techniques - she didn't want to see Serach behave too cautiously to get anything out of this session. Awarding him a bold grin, she let herself drift back into a more defensive stance, taking up her circling once more. "Tag, you're it," she prompted, silver gaze taking in the posture and movements of his form.
Braced for impact, Serach squeezed his eyes shut. With his head turned away to protect himself, he couldn't see Nayeli close the difference between them, but he certainly felt it when her teeth tugged at the scruff of his shoulder. His black furred pack mate tugged at him briefly, just hard enough to pull out a loose patch of his fur. His anticipation for a much larger attack, though, caused him to whirl his head around as she made contact, prepared to retaliate with a bite of her own. But Nayeli pulled back and Serach's teeth clicked together harmlessly on empty air. He heard her words of encouragement through the pounding in his ears, surely his heart rate hadn't been pounding that hard a moment ago, was it?.
Ears flattening against his skull, the youth watched Nayeli retreat. He watched her closely, just like she watched him. For a moment, he thought that it might be over, but then she smiled and boldly called him out. Serach knew what she wanted from him. Now it was his turn to go on the offensive. Taking a deep breath, he tried to internally steady himself. The pounding in his chest and ears continued, though, and giving up, he decided to throw himself into the attack. Holding his head low, he ran straight at Nayeli, hoping to push her backwards and grab whatever he could in his head on attack.
Serach's jaws snapped on empty air. Nayeli kept her gaze on him as he pinned his ears back and took a breath, appearing to focus himself. Their game had taken on a more serious note, now. Both players were getting warmed up, their instincts beginning to respond fully to the situation at hand. As she continued her circling, Nayeli took an even breath, allowing her instincts to take over just a bit more. The effect was calming, and her steps slowed as she waited for Serach's next move. Then the youth was charging forward, bearing down straight toward her. His attack was just as direct as hers had been, but now they had switched places. Nayeli waited a breath, but she'd already made up her mind what to do.
Despite her efforts to remain calm, despite knowing this was just a practice spar, despite her mental preparation... there was something in Search's charge that left her feeling slightly taken aback. The almost shy demeanor was gone now , and as large as he was he seemed to have the power of a more grown wolf as he charged forward. As Serach drew close, she jumped toward her left at the last moment, trying to evade a direct hit. She kept her head turned toward him even as she jumped, her jaws slightly parted and eyes narrowed as she watched to see how he might adapt or retaliated.
The blood was pounding in his ears, so loud it was deafening. His eyes had half closed, losing sight of everything except for Nayeli. For those few moments, Serach's whole mission in life was to succeed in his attack. He was spurred on by his desperate need to prove to her that he was worth something, that he was not as meek as his temperament might lead his family to think.
Speed had never been Serach's forte, but over such a short distance, even he could put on an impressive display. His legs pumping madly, he charged at Nayeli. His plan was to hit her shoulder-to-shoulder, using his larger weight and momentum to push her backwards. That was the plan. But naivety and youth are the enemies of well-laid plans, and Serach was both. Of course Nayeli was not going to just let him hit her; she did what any sensible wolf would do and moved. He almost had her, but then in a moment, she leaped to the side and his pale shoulder made contact with nothing but air. Carried on by his momentum, he was too confused to adjust his charge and simply kept running.
In the time that it took for his brain to register what had happened, Nayeli was now several feet behind him. Forcing himself to stop, he skidded on the grass before turning and looking back at her. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and he simply stared at her, panting furiously at the exertion even that quick sprint had cost him. "How," breath, "did", pant, "youknow?" He pushed out the question between gulps of air. She had known precisely what to do, and even though he was angry at himself for failing his task, he was impressed by her apparent magical ability to read his mind. "Can I learn to do that?"