He stood in the center of the plains, his tail swinging behind him idly as he tipped his head back and let out a call for Motif. It was time for their first spar, after he had been able to get a bit of rest. It would be just like old times, when they used to play and fight all day long. Wiggling he waited for her, his head swaying to and fro. "Motifff! Come and get me! You can attack first, I promiseee." He sang. Spreading his legs equal distance apart, he started to easily set his defenses. His ears lay flat against his skull, toes spreading while his claws bit into the earth. Legs bent slightly as he narrowed his yellow eyes, chin tucking towards his chest as his head moved to align with his spine. Oh yeah, he was getting excited now! His brows knitted together as he danced from paw to paw, hi adrenaline already pumping. Why oh why was his dearest Motif taking so long?

She appeared from the bushes, showing she hadn't been far away to begin with. Her voice, when she spoke, was dry “I don't believe you...” she told him, but there was amusement in her eyes. There was the feeling of anticipation, the rush of adrenaline before a fight, which she hadn't felt for so long now. “I should warn you, my figure has gone to hell since I've had pups, I'm all flabby and out of shape. Not to mention I've mellowed so much” she chuckled softly. “Things just don't fire me up like they use to, after having Vail. Your gona have to work extra hard if you want to get me angry in this fight” she teased him further, through there was a lot of truth to her words. She worried he would judge her harshly when he saw just how terribly out of shape she had gotten, not to mention how it would wound her pride when he likely felled her with a single blow. Sighing softly, letting there be a good few lengths between them she would start on her defenses. This at least had a strong taste of familiarity to it, and surely her rusty fighting skills couldn't foil up at least this part. She spread her legs evenly, then her toes, before digging toes into the dirt, leveled her tail out behind her, matching it to her spin. Her hunches rose defensively, her chin tucked, her shoulders rolled. She narrowed her eyes, curled her lips, folded her ears to her skull. After doing all this, she eyes her brother, wondering if she should take him up on that offer to go first, but.. nah, she was far to rusty at all this, she needed time to slip into it, let him come at her. "SPEAK!"

Art by Raqinq

Bass jumped as her reply came from very close by, and he turned to her with slightly narrowed eyes. Oh dear, he wasn't a very good tracker if he hadn't noticed her scent there. Blaming it on his excitement and energy, he just chuckled at her words. She was calling herself fat and out of shape, causing his golden eyes to roll. "Women, I swear. You call yourself fat after eating one rabbit. You have given birth twice and look as good as always." He said, scoffing at her softly. A brow rose at her though when she turned down the first move, a mistake really. Soon enough he was grinning, his eyes staying narrowed as he sharply nodded his head. Sure, biting her first would make her angry, yes? Chuckling to himself he set the rest of his defenses with ease, ears pulling back towards his skull as his head lowered to align with his spine, chin tipping towards his chest. Pale tail rose to align with his spine as well, leaving him as straight as an arrow as his shoulders rolled forward. Legs were set an equal distance apart, weight balanced across all four limbs as he bent slightly at the knee. Toes spread, digging into the earth for added grip. Motif had left about three feet between the two of them, although it certainly would not be there for long.

Quickly Bass broke into a sprint, side stepping to his own right to hopefully align his left shoulder with the center of Motif's chest. As he got closer, Bass aimed to slam the front of his left shoulder into the direct center of his sisters chest, hoping to bruise her if not knock the wind completely out of her lungs. At the same time his head moved towards his own right as well, jaws parting as he aimed to sink his teeth into the left side of Motif's neck, his top jaws aimed for just an inch below her ear while his lower jaws sought the middle of her outer neck. Bass was hoping to bite down hard enough to achieve a grip, but not so firm as to do serious damage. This was just a spar after all, and he didn't want to hurt Motif too badly. In a final move Bass shifted his weight to his right side, picking up his left front leg and aiming to scoop it behind Motif's front right leg, hoping to hook it right around her right ankle. In one fluid motion he tried to pull his own leg back towards his chest, hoping to take Motif's leg out from under her. A predictable set of moves, yes, but it was a good warm up for the both of them. Anything more complex and they just might lose themselves.

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BASS vs MOTIF for SPAR
ROUND 1 of 2?

The huntress grinned at her brother, teeth parting to form the smile before returning to their defensive mode of hanging ajar. She felt the burning in her blood, the thrill of the hunt rising in her heart, and golden eyes brimmed over with energy as they locked onto Bass, her lips twitching into a sly grin. “Kind of you to say so” she knew she was rusty, but she felt the familiarity of the movements. She had thought her knowledge of fights lost, yet even as she looked at her brother, and felt the familiar spike of her adrenaline she knew there was more muscle memory there then she had given credit. Her legs where still spread even, her toes dug into earth, her tail level behind her, aligned to her spine. Her hunches remained raised, thick and padded along her spine. Her chin was tucked, her shoulders rolled, displaying her powerful muscles. Her eyes had returned to their narrowed position after joking with her brother, her half grinned lips curled. Her ears where tight to her skull and a growl tore from her throat in a seductive vibration, god, she was ready for this. She was ready when Bass moved, her body shifting to push her weight forward, preparing for the impact of the freight train coming her way. A moment before his impact she twisted her body subtly, and his left shoulder blade impacted into her own right, rolled shoulder instead of her chest and her body rocked to absorb the impact, even so she gasped at the pain of it. Her movement gave him a clear vantage to the left side of her neck, when he moved his head to the right. She gave him the movement as he moved in with his teeth, knowing that the way he had to move his head gave her more room to aim her own jaw at her prize. She hissed as his teeth found purchase just below her left ear even as her own muzzle moved in an attempt to find purchase on the edge of the bridge of his nose just below his left eye. It would be a sensitive spot if she was able to grab it, both because of the nose and the proximity to his eye. Her attempt was also only with the aim of finding purchase and perhaps drawing a hint of blood without doing any real damage. Her weight was still in her back legs as she had rocked it backwards to absorb his initial impact, and as he swiped at her paw she was able to lift it without too much unsteadiness to herself, making it more difficult for him to grab it if he didn't miss altogether. She shoved the top of her right shoulder into his left in an attempt to unstable him before he could put the paw he had swiped down again. ---------------- Motif VS Bass for SPAR ROUND 1 of 2 Walk, "Talk" Think