She was a wanderer now, an adventurer. She had done a swell job of caring for herself and there was hardly any sign of struggle to survive despite her young age. Viper knew she was doing well out in the world on her own, and she didn't care much for the wolves who thought she was incapable of taking care of herself. Completely self taught, it was a great accomplishment to feel at such a young age. She came to this flourishing valley, secretly admiring the flowers and herbs as she strode by. She wasn't all about that girly and pretty stuff, but all the different colors were quite magnificent. She trotted along into a bushel of different herbs, falling down to roll amongst them much like a cat marking it's territory. But she was just having fun is all. The freedom felt so nice to her and she hoped it would never end. Walk "Talk" Think

The fragrant smell of the garden was almost too strong for him to bare, but curiosity led him deeper into it none the less. He'd been practicing taking different routes to the east and west, straying away from the usual path that led him through the mountains. He wanted to know the land of Boreas, as he'd spent most of his past two years down in Auster. Fern Gulley was beyond immaculate in its splendor, and he couldn't help but think that perhaps Zuriel would enjoy seeing all of the different herbs he was running across- if she wasn't aware of this place already.

In his head, he was already planning their journey to the East together.. but, he knew better. He knew of her ties to Lirim and he quietly pushed the thoughts to the back of his head, trying his best not to assume anything and strip her of her independence. He'd done that enough, already.

His obsessive thoughts of Zuriel were interrupted when the man came across the trail of a child through the thick grass, causing him to slow his already leisurely walk and lower his thick neck. His square muzzle hovered above the blades as he took in the scent of someone unfamiliar, yet faintly... alike him. He remembered Storm telling him of Tyranis and his lost children, could this have been one of them?

Like lightning, the storm within him cracked as his long limbs sprang forward into action and followed her trail. The tall, lean wolf moved swiftly in her echo in an effort to catch up with her before she was somewhere too small for him to fit, or before he had a chance to lose her. He didn't want to scare her, so as her scent grew stronger he slowed down to a trot. Much like a horse, his long legs carried him on incredibly wide strides until he managed to spot her just twenty feet ahead. "Well, aren't you pretty?"

She would show no fear towards the man who suddenly approached her, but would quickly react with a swing in her head to glare at him, though still laying down in the grasses and flowers. She would look him up and down and then stick out her tongue which was much like herself, and turn back away from the man to bat at some of the herb heads. "Hey buddy, I ain't no pretty little girl. Imma a big tough one, sorry it's so hard to notice." She would continue her batting without another eye glace towards him, either hoping he would go away or just get annoyed with her little interest towards him. A lot of strange men were popping up in her path, though just like the brute before her noticed, she could sense a familiarity on him that she wouldn't understand now. Nor would she care to know that this was her grandfather as she had dropped the fact of having a family anymore and knew that she didn't need anyone anyway. Why have someone around to baby you if you didn't need them? Walk "Talk" Think

Elias grinned at her retort and lack of interest, stopping a few feet from her as she turned away from him and began batting at the herbs, acting like she had better things to do. He couldn't help but be reminded of his sister, Alis, as she corrected him on being pretty. "Excuse me, I never said you were little. You can be pretty and tough, and you appear to be both. I bet you've already kicked an ass or two in your time." Alis certainly had at her age. His own, in fact.

The titan lowered his thick neck, fur along the back of it prickling slightly as he dared to move even closer to her, he wondered how many were in her litter.. and how many more were out wandering the world alone. Their blood was sacred, Elias knew his father must be disappointed in him for having so many missing members of their family wandering Boreas and Auster- but, even with that knowledge, Elias couldn't bring himself to force the child into any sort of familial bond with him. Some part of him respected her freedom even more than the will of the demons that cursed them.

"Why are you apologizing? You don't need to apologize to me, I don't care. I came to ask if you'd like to help me take down some lunch, and we can split it fifty-fifty. You can hunt, right? You're big and tough?"

She would turn to glare at him some more, but then flopping down on her side and just staring through the grasses with an un-emotional expression as was normal for her. Sassy and un-emotional... Or uninterested. "I am little compared to the other pups." She thought of Jupiter, especially to the mention of kicking some ass. Weird to think she would even know what that meant but there's always a way. Tyranis was her father after all. Without turning towards the man, she would slowly start to rise with an extra kick in her step in the last few movements. Yawning, she would then go to look at him for only a brief second before stating, "Yeah, I guess." and begin moving forward but not in any way to lead. She would want him to go first. She knew she could handle a hare or a bird but perhaps something bigger, since they were working together, right? At least that's what she was thinking in her mind. It had been a long while since she tasted a deer or an elk, really anything that didn't hop or have feathers. So anything would have satisfied her. Aranea sure wouldn't be too happy with her right now... Letting some dude just come on up to her and ask if she wanted to go hunting... Stranger danger to the max for the young mother, but she wasn't here. And Viper didn't care. Walk "Talk" Think

Her indifference to him and disrespectful way of never really looking at him was doing its work on his pride. She was his blood, he could tell in more than one way- but she was not acting like his blood.

While he wanted to respect her freedom, the more she sassed him, the more he took it as a challenge. She was a child, and he had tried to respect her independence- but that was a fleeting thought. What independence did a child really deserve? She didn't know any better, and she was so small- anyone could seek to harm her or kill her.. was it not his responsibility as her grandfather to do what he could to bring her to safety?

No it was his responsibility. That is why he formed Ruina in the first place- to give direction to his lost blood and mold them to be strong. As she got up and came closer to him, complying to his offer of a hunt.. something within him started to become so furious. Why was she alone in the first place? ”You would just…. come with me? Do you know how quick this world would devour a naive girl like you?”

At all happened so fast when she was just three feet away from him. In a split second, the fiend’s maw split open to reveal the thick of his teeth. His lips pulled back as the muscles in his face wrinkled together, protecting his narrowed eyes and snout. His ears pinned backward as his tongue coiled to the back of his jaw. His well-trained limbs squared out across his stance, evening out his weight as paws placed themselves shoulder and hip width apart. His limbs bent at the knees as his core muscles tensed and aided in anchoring his starting position. His shoulders rolled forward and his chin tucked downward as he looked at her, red eyes glistening like the rubies they were as they attentively watched her.

He expected her to run, but he was a lean and speedy creature even for as tall as he was. In an instant, the sinew of his muscles beneath his short fur rippled as they all sprung to life. He lunged at her, kicking off the soil to leap the full three feet space between them and come down on her with his jaws hung open. He aimed each of his front forelimbs to come down on her body in precise areas. His left forepaw was aimed at her left side of her tiny skull and take up the entire area there, though he would be careful with his weight on it- he wanted to push her skull into the ground and pin it there, applying minimal bruising as possible while he forced her to expose her entire left side to him. His right forepaw aimed over her hips in an effort to come down across all of her back and force her to the earth there as well, much like how you would force a puppy to 'sit’ when they simply were not getting the point.

Finally, his agape set of jaws aimed themselves for the back of her nape. Top fangs worked to land themselves on the right side of the base of her neck above her shoulders while he bottom ones closed into her left side, parallel to the top. He would close them as quickly as possible and pinch her flesh, unfortunately applying mild lacerations in the process due to how strong he intended to come down on her.

Elias vs Viper for Slave Claim
Round 1/?
Heiight: 42"
Build: Medium

You can take my heart, you can take my breath When you pry it from my cold, dead chest ________________________________________ Her eyes would narrow to his words, her head twitching up in surprise and just as she would go to turn her face to look at the man, she could see the near evil in his eyes. Immediately in his pounce, she would start to kick up dirt in attempt to sprint and flee. Her tail instantly tucking as well as her ears flattening down to her skull and her hackles raised, just a common defense in the sense of danger. Only his attempt to put her down with both paws failed, his left paw would come down on her left side hindquarters, just where he wanted his right paw to land. As soon as she hit the ground with her left side facing up, she would curl the front half of her body up and try to wrap both her legs around his left one in order to hug it, and instantly throw her open maw in attempt to clamp down above his left knee, her tiny top teeth aiming to the back of his foreleg, and her bottom teeth around the front, just a little off center. Her eyes remained narrowed as well as all of her other defenses she displayed remained intact. Walk "Talk" Think Viper vs Elias for Freedom Round: 1 | 2 Height: 28" Build: Medium OOC: Confirming 3 feet distance. I figured since I was landing his left paw where his right should have been, that would make his bite attempt invalid (If that's considered power play feel free to land that attack)

His back talons tore into the earth to brake him as he realized she'd started to run. His first attempt at pouncing her had only been slightly unsuccessful as he felt her weight beneath his heavy left forepaw. He did his best not to crush her as she started to move around, getting herself into a position where she could begin to gnaw on his leg. He didn't apply enough pressure to stop her from rolling, so he felt her body move around underneath his toes and then pressed his foot right into the downward curve of her ribcage, in the middle of her chest. Tiny teeth began to make scratches along his ankle right where she'd hoped to land them and he growled out, "Think, girl. Is fighting really your best decision right now?" His teeth clicked together at the end of each syllable as he stressed his words out through his growl. He ignored the pain of her insistant gnawing and continued on.

His hackles were standing at full attention now, spread out all down his spine in his frustration as his ears remained pinned backward. His eyes were still narrowed but the muscles of his face pulled together even tighter as he prepared to bring it even closer to those tiny daggers that were her teeth. His weight redistributed, leaning more-so on to his right to make up for the lack of pressure he wanted to put down on her fragile body. All of his toes splayed out, talons digging into the earth on all but his left forepaw- and those dug daringly into the fur and flesh between her tiny ribs. He aimed to keep her pinned there, unable to move or do anything other than gnawing on his leg but he had a lesson to teach her.

His tail flagged out as he lowered his head, chin still tucked in close to his body and teeth still volatile and apart from each other. His jowls split wider, mouth opening big enough that it could fit around her whole head if he wanted to. His tongue coiled to the back of his jaws to protect itself as he brought his mouth down closer to her. With his weight pressed down into her chest, he carefully positioned his top fangs and aimed them to come down on the top of her skull, while his bottom ones aimed to hook under the base of her jaw, a counter to her scratching at his ankle.

Hoping his hold on her skull was successfully lodged, he dug his teeth in just well enough to grip on and tensed the muscles of his jaws, neck, and back while he simultaneously moved his left forepaw off of her chest. He would aim to lift her head up from his own leg, forcing her to stop her attack- and then continue to force her to move with him as he began to take several steps backward. One rough shake and her fragile life could be taken from her. The devil within knew of this, and those red eyes narrowed even more as he pressed into his bite just a little harder. He wouldn't give in, but it was so tempting when she challenged him.

Elias vs Viper for Slave Claim
Round 2/2
Heiight: 42"
Build: Medium

You can take my heart, you can take my breath When you pry it from my cold, dead chest ________________________________________ The mans paw would come down between her ribs and it hurt like hell. Not even just because of the sensitivity of that area, but the brute was so much bigger than her. He seemed to know his own strength but was also losing control at the same time. Out of the corner of her eye as she gnawed on his left foreleg, she would see the movement of his upcoming bite and quickly move her head back from his leg and go nose first into the beast's mouth, but her jaw open to want to clamp down on the outside of his left cheek. Her nose may have gone in enough to hit his gag reflex, but it wouldn't stop his bite down on her head (Ear to Ear just behind her skull). She yelped in pain and fear but wouldn't want to let go of her grip if she had one. The brute didn't want to hurt her but it was was hard when she fought back. Her defenses still intact: ears pinned, tail tucked, her eyes now nearly shut tight. Walk "Talk" Think Viper vs Elias for Freedom Round: 1 | 2 Height: 28" Build: Medium OOC: I am having a hard time with defenses especially for the way I was having her attack in this thread, I know I don't have enough in either post. If any judges could give me some insight on more defenses I would appreciate it. Eve sent a list a few years ago (when we needed 10) but in my last fighting thread I thought I was getting the appropriate amount of defenses and they weren't seen (or seen as defenses) Thanks!

ELIAS vs VIPER for SLAVE CLAIM ROUND ONE ELIAS: WRITING 4/10 for Power Play: Attempts -1 you need to attempt to close the distance -2 you need to attempt to come down on her -2 you need to attempt to bite her, the way it's written makes it sound like his attack was successful. Only your opponent can decide if your attack hits. -1 the opponent decides how much damage is done, you can state your intent but not the outcome. Godmoding If/Than Statements Excessive Movement Realism 8/10 for Clarity: Attacks Positioning -2 how is Elias positioning himself relative to her? Is he attacking straight on? At an angle? At her side? Directions Movements Damage 6/10 for Attacks: +1 paw to face +1 paw to hips +3 bite +1 grip 5/5 for Defenses: +1 each seen 10/10 for Injuries: first round Status 7/12 for Experience: +3 Intermediate Fighter +4 Advanced Hunter 5/5 for Health: pack wolf unhealed event status - fine unhealed fight status - fine ELIAS’s round one total: 45/62 VIPER: WRITING 8/10 for Power Play: Attempts Godmoding -2 make sure to mention what became of your opponents attacks. Elias attacked with his jaws, if this missed you need to state so and why. If/Than Statements Excessive Movement Realism 10/10 for Clarity: Attacks Positioning Directions Movements Damage 5/10 for Attacks: +2 paw wrap +3 bite 4/5 for Defenses: +1 each seen 10/10 for Injuries: first round, none to list Status 2/12 for Experience: +1 Beginner Fighter +1 Beginner Hunter 4/5 for Health: -1 loner unhealed event status - fine unhealed fight status - fine VIPER’s round one total: 43/62 ROUND TWO ELIAS: WRITING 4/10 for Power Play: Attempts -2 you need to attempt the paw to the chest -2 you need to attempt the bite, your last paragraph seems to assume he got a hold in the first place and that may not be the case. Godmoding If/Than Statements -2 lifting her head and stepping back to drag depends on his attack actually succeeding which you don't yet know if he was successful. Excessive Movement Realism 10/10 for Clarity: Attacks Positioning Directions Movements Damage 5/10 for Attacks: +1 paw stomp +3 bite +1 grip 5/5 for Defenses: +1 each seen 9/10 for Injuries: -1 light lacerations to ankle Status 7/12 for Experience: +3 Intermediate Fighter +4 Advanced Hunter 5/5 for Health: pack wolf unhealed event status - fine unhealed fight status - fine ELIAS’ round two total: 45/62 VIPER: WRITING 10/10 for Power Play: Attempts Godmoding If/Than Statements Excessive Movement Realism 6/10 for Clarity: Attacks Positioning -2 how are her jaws positioned, I couldn't quite follow Directions Movements Damage -2 how much damage did his attacks do to her? 4/10 for Attacks: +3 bite +1 severity since that is a very delicate area 3/5 for Defenses: +1 each seen 9/10 for Injuries: -1 light lacerations to head Status 2/12 for Experience: +1 Beginner Fighter +1 Beginner Hunter 4/5 for Health: -1 loner unhealed event status - fine unhealed fight status - fine VIPER’s round two total: 38/62 Totals: ELIAS: 90/124 VIPER: 81/124 And the winner is... ELIAS! VIPER must give up by either submitting, fleeing, or passing out. Viper has been claimed by Elias Damage: ELIAS: Lacerations to ankle - 1 ooc week VIPER: Lacerations to head - 1 ooc week Notes: Good fight guys. My notes are above. Chrono, you're improving! I'm not sure I can directly comment on OOC notes but for defenses I'd say just take a look at what some other fighters are doing and you should pick it up quickly. Sin, good attacks just clean up any language that could be taken as being a powerplay and that should significantly improve your score! - By Lunarcat7