He and his new bestest friend ever Aoife had made themselves a pact, to meet when the moon was full upon the border of both their lands. Deus hoped that sneaking away was easier for the tiny wolf than it was for him, he'd needed to be very slow and careful as he manuevered out of his mother's arms and across the den floor. Danta had nearly awoken, though Deus was sure that if he explained the pact to his sister that she'd not have turned him in anyways. She was the best big sister in the world, and Deus was thankful to have her.

The walk was even longer then he'd remembered it being, and slower still as he stealthily ninja-dodged each patrolling member of Aerie along with their companions. In truth it was unlikely he'd slipped away unseen, and much more possible that he was being tailed the entire way to the border. Deus had prepared a very good and elaborate excuse anyways should an adult stop his fun, something involving how an Abraxas should never break his promises along with how important a good friend was to a young pup's development. Besides, this was training, and Deus was determined to become the strongest Abraxas that ever lived.

When he eventually reached the meeting point the boy was already tired. He tipped his head back and very nearly howled for his friend, catching himself quickly and snapping his jaws shut loudly. Sneaky ninja. No howls. Instead, his jaws parted in a yawn as he waited for his friend to arrive as scheduled.

Aoife would undoubtedly have failed to keep her word to Asmodeus if she had slept as she usually did, underneath one or more of her siblings, but tonight she had been careful to flop down on the outside closest to the exit from the alcove. She had laid there with the rest of her siblings and pretended to sleep until an opportunity presented itself when everyone else was deeply asleep, then slipped out. With her small size she barely even brushed the curtain closing it off when she poked her head out to look around warily for anyone hanging out there, then inched her body the rest of the way through a little at a time. She needed to watch out for her mother's companions, who were super sneaky. But even a cougar needed to sleep just as much as a wolf did, and it wasn't like she had a history of sneaking out that would make them think they had to watch her or anything. She'd even given Tay a stern talking to earlier that day to make sure the young swift wouldn't tattle, and the partially-feathered bird was clinging to the mohawk between Aoife's ears in silence, trying to keep watch though it wasn't exactly her best time of day. Once she was far enough from the ravine that any sounds she made would be contributed to some other critter rather than an escaped pup she took off in a bounding run, eager to not be too late to her ron-day-voo with her besty. It didn't take nearly as long to get there as she'd remembered - though she'd lagged behind her siblings in size she'd still grown considerably since the last time she'd made this trip. It still took for-EVER but less of forever than last time, and she finally made it through the wall to see Deus waiting. She threw himself at him with a quiet squeal, slamming a violent hug of affection onto the much larger boy that flung poor Tay the swift off her perch to crash into Asmodeus' face in a flutter of half-feathered wings and an alarmed squawk. "Deus, you made it!" Aoife half-cheered, keeping her voice low. "Did anyone follow you?"

WC: 370
Total: 634

Deus was very near to falling asleep where he stood, but his eyes refocused as movement in the distance caught his attention. For a little thing, Aoife was fast. He hadn't quite gotten the hang of his too-big paws yet and when in a full-out run often found himself tripping over them and landing upon his face in the dirt. Hopefully his little friend didn't have the same issue, but he found himself concerned - and sleepily amused - with the mental image. As she ran towards him he waited for her to either slam on the breaks or face plant, a bit of alarm rising in his chest as the other pup showed sign of neither. He was too late to prepare for her bulldozer of a hug, squeaking out a peep of surprise that spluttered out as the bird crashed into his face.

Absolutely, one-hundred percent awake now, Deus's wide eyes gave a few rapid blinks in recovery before he lifted his arms up to complete her enthusiastic embrace. "You made it too!" He echoed, perhaps a touch too loudly before catching himself and lowering his tone to match hers. "We must be the best ninjas in the whole Boreas, I bet we could get further away from home next time!" Having a competent partner for adventure was one of the most important things for a trouble-making pup, and already he was passionately invested in dragging Aoife along in future sneaky quests.

First thing was first however, they'd met up for a reason. The moon shone down brightly upon them from on high and they didn't have long before it would begin to set and both pups would need to be found snuggled up in their respective beds. He gave his friend a squeeze before releasing her, a wide grin pulling at his lips. "What do we do now? How do we start? We should have had a prize for the winner, oh well!" He rambled, his paws tapping against the ground in excitement.

WORD COUNT: 334
TOTAL WORD COUNT: 967

"Speech"

She grinned cheekily back at him. "Maybe all the way to the battlefield," she whispered back, though she had never been to the battlefield and would never make it that far on her own. Details.

"Hmmm," she mused. A prize? "Whoever loses has to make a present for the winner next time we meet up," she decided. Like, uhm.... I will give you all my shed quills for making stuff with. I think I got five right now and however many until then. They're really fun for poking people with." She grinned. "Oh but we should hurry so we can get a good fight! If my mom finds out I'm gone she'll be freaked. Everyone's so protective cuz I'm little." She rolled her eyes at him, then eyed him with a frown. He better not suddenly start treating her like a little baby cuz she was little, too.

Deciding not to give him the chance, she plopped Tay in her sling down where he could watch without getting hurt, and quickly trotted over to a flatter piece of ground between the wall and the start of Aerie's territory. She stomped her paws down into something that resembled a fighting stance, tail wagging madly behind her. "Ok so let's fight!"

Word Count: 209
total word count: 1176

Her idea for a prize was perfect, and Deus was already thinking of what he could make for her should he lose. It sounded hard, and he might need to ask a family member for help so that the gift was suitable. His lips pursed into a thoughtful frown, but he hadn't lost yet so he didn't need to worry too much about it. "Deal!" The dire pup agreed, his grin returning as she fell into her fighting stance. They did need to hurry if they didn't want to risk their parents catching them. Deus hated disappointing his mother, and he couldn't say for certain that his father would approve of his late night meeting either even if it was for training.

Aoife was allowing him the first move, and Deus took a moment to breathe out his tension while he mimicked her readied pose. She was littler than him but so was his sister, and Danta was as fierce as they came. Win or lose he knew he'd learn a thing or two, and his bond with his best friend ever could only grow too. "Okay I'm going to come at you now." He warned her, his voice wavering with uncertainty. She was ready, right? Deus didn't want to hurt her.

He started forward slowly, but by the time he'd made it half way across their distance he'd gathered the will to run. It was just a spar, and just because it was his first spar didn't mean he had to be silly about it, right? His first instinct was to start with the same attack he saw other large wolves do - to lift a leg and attempt to wrap it around her shoulders to gain control and grapple her to the ground. It wasn't until his paw was already in motion did he remember her music-making quills that lie in wait.

Asmodeus Abraxas-Nightingale vs Aoife for Spar
Round 1/?
Age: under 1 year
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Skills: Intermediate Fighter & Intermediate Hunter
Specialty: N/A

WORD COUNT: 313
TOTAL WORD COUNT: 1489

"Speech"

"Ready!" she confirmed with an emphatic nod of her head. He still seemed hesitant for some reason, so she gave a little wiggle of encouragement. He reached out a paw that would have surely landed right on the mohawk of long hair with its hidden quills... and then he'd have had a paw full of quills and that wouldn't be nice to do to a friend at all so Aoife avoided it instead, leaping forward under the taller boy and nipping sharply at his belly as she scrambled forward. She wasn't trying to bite hard enough to draw blood, just pinch. Wouldn't it be so funny to see him jump from one of those nips connecting! As she did she lashed out with her little kitten-ish claws, also aiming for his belly. She wouldn't do more than prick him with them.... not like if he'd hit her quills which would have stuck in him whether she wanted them to or not - and she was carefully to try to keep them slicked down against her spine as much as she could to prevent an accident, but she didn't really have that much control over them.

Aoife vs Amadeus for seasonal spar
Round 1/1
Age: under 6 months
Size: Extra small
Build: Medium
Companion 1: Common swift, Female - Flying
Mutation 1: Porcupine mowhawk - Defensive
Mutation 2: Cat claws - Offensive
Mutation 3: Saberteeth - Offensive
Skills: Intermediate Intellectual & Intermediate Fighter
Specialty: N/A

And the winner is...

ASMODEUS

AOIFE must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Adjusted rolls: 110 29 43 23 ASMODEUS' total is.. 194.75 Adjusted rolls: 14.4 11 74.8 37.2 AOIFE'S total is.. 109.92