with every broken bone

sparring thread for @Nash only <3

Chan had not been awake for very long. The moon and it's stars shone brightly in the night sky, and illuminated their own reflections in the lake below. It was beautiful, with a crisp and cool breeze, and he found himself taking his time waking up and enjoying the simple stillness of night. Eventually, the wolf meandered down to the lake's edge, and lowered his muzzle for a drink. His eyes closed with contentment.

What was there to be done tonight? Chan tried to make himself a list inside of his skull, but it was becoming harder and harder to perform this temporary job with any kind of predictable structure. So little went wrong, and the things that did were nothing that could really be planned for. Maybe he should just walk and see what he happened upon?

Nash was nearing the end of his night. He wasn't tired yet, but he knew he should return to the den and sleep for a while before the sun rose so he could be more useful. He'd spent the evening checking caches, clearing out old food and taking stock. It was reaching the time of year where it would last longer in the frozen ground, and they should fill them as much as they could. They had so many young mouths to feed this year, and lean times were nearly upon them.

He heard the water of the lake rippling and he paused, peering into the darkness until he made out the form of his brother stooping to take a drink. The soft night breeze came from his direction, carrying the older Eastfall's scent with it. A grin split Nash's dark maw as he turned and slunk back into better cover. He crept through the brush until he felt he was close enough to Chan that he would still have the advantage even covering the open distance from here to the lake's edge.

Teeth bared in a smile, Nash charged forward to tackle his brother.

Chan's thoughts continued on similarly mundane paths, the calm, whispering symphony of the valley's forest playing peacefully in the background. He didn't catch the raucous notes that were Nash until it was too late, and his brother was already upon him. Attempting nonetheless to get out of the way, Chan tucked his rear as he twisted round, then trying to meet the younger Eastfall heir with raised paws.

If he was even remotely successful, he would bat playfully at Nash's ears and cheeks before attempting to push him back up out of his space.

"Hello to you too," he bantered with a crooked grin.

(This post was last modified: Dec 13, 2021, 05:24 AM by Chan.)

Nash wasn't always sure how his brother would respond to his playful overatures; sometimes Chan was too tired to entertain him, and that was okay. It appeared today was not one of those days, as the younger Eastfall was met with raised paws and playful boxing about his head. He growled lightly and shook his head, backing out of Chan's reach with a smile. Even in the dark he could see his brother's returning grin.

"Good evening," Nash laughed. "What's your plan for the night?" It wasn't unusual for Chan to be awake all night, part of the reason Nash felt okay to go to bed at the time he was. He was comfortable with Chan out there keeping watch. He wasn't sure what he'd do when Chan left.

But that was a thought for another time. He was slowly getting used to the idea.

And will I go with him?

"Uhh, not really a plan moreso than picking a direction to walk in," Chan answered, smile briefly turning sheepish as the words came out. His style was typically to resolve things as he happened upon them, while making sure to hit certain spots and check on certain individuals along the way. The pack didn't ask a lot of him, and each member willfully pulled their own share. Not much else was left to do for him but the same, hunting and scouting and gathering.

"Why, anything up?"

Maybe Nash had a better course of action?

There had been many a night where Nash had simply spun in a circle and walked the direction he'd ended up facing. Walking was better than sitting when he had nothing to do. Chan didn't seem to be upset today, though, so perhaps it was just boredom. Boredom that Nash thought he could relieve. He grinned at the older Eastfall and shifted his stance, tail rising a little. "Care for a wrestling match?" he asked, tongue lolling out the side of his jaw in his smile. "I haven't had any practice in fighting in a while, and we both know you're too nice to fight most of the time," he teased.

Chan grinned lopsidedly back at his brother.

"Oho, you think I don't know a thing or two?" he asked in a teasing voice, certain that wasn't at all how Nash meant it. His own tail was starting to rise as he playfully bounced back and forth from paw to paw in the wolf-approximation of a mock boxer's stance.

"Bring it on."

Tussling for fun never bothered him, but the older he got the more he used it as an opportunity to teach his own way of dealing with aggression, as he would now with Nash.

(This post was last modified: Dec 16, 2021, 05:26 PM by Chan.)

Nash's grin widened as his brother returned his teasing by shifting into a fighting stance. Nash dropped into a play bow before dancing to the side, keeping as light on his feet as he could. He knew his brother had more experience than he did, pacifist or no, but that's why this was a play fight, not a real challenge. Nash would never challenge his brother anyway; he respected him and his leadership far too much for that.

He skittered forward in a feign, then lunged to the left to try to knock Chan off balance and get around his defense.

Nash's inexperience shone immediately, and Chan was hit with a striking illusion of his younger brother a monthling once again, bouncing with his rump in the air and doling out the fiercest of puppy squeaks. The memory vanished when the other Eastfall dodged forward, and he had to react. He did so by turning fully around, aiming to knock his brother with his thickly-furred flank. Experience told him to also keep track of his opponent throughout the whole maneuver, and when Nash was suddenly out of vision, Chan kicked out with both hind legs. It wasn't an aimed strike, more so meant to deter than hit.

If Nash thought he was fast, he was quickly disillusioned. Chan was moving even as his brother attacked. Nash didn't expect him to turn, but he thought he might use that to his advantage - until the older man kicked out. Nash tried to dodge but his feet lost traction and he slid further than intended. Chan's foot connected with his shoulder; not hard enough to hurt, but enough to knock him off balance.

He scrambled to keep his paws underneath him, backpedaling to give himself more space to regain his footing before Chan could counterattack. His butt hit the ground, but the guardian was able to bounce back up and into a ready stance, hopefully in time to defend himself against whatever Chan had coming for him.