Just like that, a covenant had been initiated, and, much to Sköll's surprise, she touched him. His jaw quivered and he had to clench it to keep it still, near-grinding his molars together. For a count of three whole seconds, he let her linger there at his chest before shakily backing away. Chills ran across the backs of his elbows and along the middle of his back; he had never liked it when Piety touched him (though, he did like to lavish affection on her). When Hecate had drawn closer, the instinct to move away might have flared, but he had to remind himself that he was going to do and be much better than he was with his previous relationship.
Those tall pointy ears, which had drawn back against his skull at her touch, stood up again. He had to take a deep breath through his nose; it released from him through his parted lips. "No teeth," he mandated, his voice a little softer than it had been before. "'Bites' will be assumed by a touch of a nose. In any instance one of us is on the ground, the one who asserts dominance over them first will gain a point..." Where the prince was going with this, he wasn't sure and the prospects that would be borne from this opportunity made excitement slowly start to hum in his torso. Maybe the concept of a "score" would help build the trust between them further. In all truth, he hadn't anticipated a "partnership" with her, per se, but he wondered what else might spring from it. Maybe she would be the reason the hole in his heart, where Piety had once been, would close up for good.
"In any case the scuffle gets too intense - too much to handle - we will have a safeword. That'll be: Truce. Yell that out and the other will have to cease all attack or action immediately." His tail finally took up an anxious wag. "The intent of all this is to practice for real situations, the purpose is to neutralize the threat, not annihilate it."
Done with setting all his lines, his hard limits, he lowered his head with the slight tucking in of his chin. His ears came back again and his tail rose as he backed up by one step to brace himself. "Show me what you got," Sköll encouraged her then with a small nod of his head. "The first move is yours. Let's see just how good how your footing is..."