Usagi didn’t really care much for this place. It was too hot, too arid, too damn dry. He felt his toes crunch the gravelly sand beneath with a distasteful curl of his lip, shaking off the feeling as he padded onward into the center of the expanse. He hadn’t left the bamboo maze of his home since he’d arrived there, but now he sought some more sparring practice as the rest of his pack members were busy with hunting and patrolling. The business made it difficult for him to even hone his skills, and as such he worried that he was going to lose his sharpness. His accuracy. It wouldn’t do, especially if he was to be a sufficient Hohei, a warrior, for his pack. To protect his brother from all harm was of utmost importance, along with locating their long-lost father.

With his double-bladed sword slung over one shoulder, he glanced behind him to see if his companions were trotting behind. Sure enough, the antlered cat and Akita Inu who’d never leave him alone were there, eyes watching and tail wagging. He rolled his eyes at their eagerness to wander after him like lost puppies, finding a suitable spot and raising his head to call for an opponent.

Speech

wishing there was something left to lose

this could be the day i die for you—

Cyanide is unbothered as she drifts from Ashen's lands to the battlefield. If she was going to hold rank as a fighter, she needed to do more actual fighting. Shit, that seemed to make sense. Oki was busy these days, off doing his own thing. Sure, Celeste was good enough company but like... she wasn't Cy's first choice for a spar. Hell, would she even say yes? Nah, the girl with the ram horns was a hunter by trade, not a fighter on her own. Making actual connections with anyone else inside Ashen sounded like a daunting task too, and Cyanide wasn't having it. Not today.

Sure, she was supposed to find the other Genin to spar and train beside, but like... she could also do something that wasn't that. The wraith crossed to the battlefield. She'd find someone else, someone outside, someone she wouldn't have to answer to instead. She'd spar them instead. Whoever them happened to be.

A call shattered the stillness, the sleepy silence of the summer afternoon. Excellent. The leggy creature drew to her full height, taking a position opposite to the boy that had made the call. Her pastel gaze burned as she took him in. "Aight." Her speech was clipped, but Cy carefully set her defenses in the cracked earth. She dipped her head to the dark boy that stood before her. Go.

"speech"

CODE BY SHELBY

Cyanide vs Usagi for spar
Round 0/?
Age: over 1 year
Size: Large
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Bracers with Knife
Skills: Intermediate Navigator & Intermediate Fighter

He was pleased his calls were not left to fall quiet on the hot, arid wind as an opponent made herself known. The spry, willowy femme emerged from the desert land, seemingly out of nowhere with the sheer amount of sand and dust scattered across it. The koi male offered little more than a neutral, unsatisfied expression - with a little scowl etched on his lips too, but nothing personal. He didn’t really have a sunny outlook on life, and he certainly wasn’t going to start flashing smiles and chirping hello’s to strangers. He didn’t care, quite frankly. He was here to spar, and so was she. Straight and to the point, just as he preferred it.

As the dark-pelted she-wolf braced herself in the cracked sand, her expression cocked up at his as if offering him the first move, Usagi responded in kind with mere silence. The bliss of an unmoving world lasted not even a half second as the koi male sprinted forward, muscular hind limbs charging him forward and closing the distance with calculated leaps. Instead of charging straight at the woman, or even feigning to one side, he aimed to brace his hind limbs and leap over her at the last moment, shooting out one hind limb to land a blow on the meat of her left hind thigh. If successful, it wouldn’t cause any real harm, but could definitely be a bit of a whallop and a surprise. He wasn’t the brute type, but he was just cordial enough to not hurt somebody badly in a spar.

Speech

Usagi vs Cyanide for Spar
Round 1/2
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Medium
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Double-bladed Sword
Companion 1: Maine Coon, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Akita Inu, Male - Battle
Skills: Advanced Fighter & Advanced Hunter

wishing there was something left to lose

this could be the day i die for you—

If he was going to scowl, Cyanide was going to scowl right back. Her eyes flashed with something that hinged on unbecoming of a young woman... but that was fine. Cy was pretty sure they called it resting bitch face, what he had. In her case? It was maybe something a bit more hostile. Along with that, the flicker of her teeth shining out from beneath her dark lips. Hostile. Maybe... probably. That was fine. It was his call she'd answered, after all. Sorry I'm not the Queen of England, or whatever. Wait, maybe it would be illegal to spar with the queen. Whatever.

Though her defenses had been set in the dry earth, Cy knows that a moving target is harder to hit. As soon as he begins to move, she does as well. Her head up, eyes bright, glimmering in the low light of it all. What was his plan? Would he slam into her? No, the creature took a leap instead, and the girl saw this as an opening. As his paws left the ground, she charged in return. While she caught the kick to her side with a bit of surprise, and even a bit more confusion, she was already in motion. Would they connect? Cy could hope so. Maybe she'd even send the creature sprawling. That, or she'd miss entirely. One thing was for certain, though-- she wasn't going to stop moving. Dancing in and out, the creature would need to make herself harder to hit.

"speech"

CODE BY SHELBY

Cyanide vs Usagi for spar
Round 1/2
Age: (Only include: over 1 year, under 1 year, or under 6 months as applicable)
Size: Large
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Bracers with Knife
Skills: Intermediate Navigator & Intermediate Fighter

Usagi gave no care to the woman’s arguably more hostile version of his expression - whatever she had an issue with, it wasn’t his problem to deal with. Let her be angry and bitter, if she so chose. Perhaps her aggression would channel into her combat moves - all the better for adapting his own set of skills. As he leapt into the air, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that she began to stir into motion as well. Spry and light on her feet, and all the more difficult to hit. Though he felt his foot collide with her side, he felt the kick hadn’t given the effect he had intended, and as she charged into him, he at first felt her slam into his underbelly, bracing with a sharp inhale as he used her momentum to suddenly twist backwards and flip back onto his feet, like a cat twisting itself mid-air to land on its feet after falling. Skidding back as clods of dust rose in the air, he charged forward to gain momentum as she surely did after her own charge, this time spurring himself around towards her right side and aiming to swiftly dip his head beneath her chest and force it upward. A check in the chest, basically - if it succeeded she’d likely be taken aback, at worst maybe have the wind knocked out of her for a few seconds. Knowing he’d willingly placed his head lower to the ground, he aimed to pull back and swivel himself out of her direct proximity.

Speech

Usagi vs Cyanide for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Medium
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Double-bladed Sword
Companion 1: Maine Coon, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Akita Inu, Male - Battle
Skills: Advanced Fighter & Advanced Hunter

wishing there was something left to lose

this could be the day i die for you—

He's light on his feet, and Cy can't help but be impressed. There was something strange about him, the way he moved, and it's enough to really catch her attention. He doesn't fight like any of the berserkers, the brawlers that she's become accustomed to out here. As much as she's a wraith, so is he-- their builds match, and he seems to understand how best to make use of it. Flexible, light... she'd need to take a page from his book after all the dust had settled. With renewed intensity, she studies her opponent as they engage each other.

The man moves to use the momentum to his advantage, and Cy would do her best to start gaining her own. Don't slow, don't stop-- that's the way she gets herself out of this. That's the way she gets herself arguably deeper into this fight. With a rakish grin, she takes the hit, doing her best to remain relaxed instead of bracing for the strike. As the man connected, Cy made to grab at his lowered head. The scruff of his neck, the back of his skull, anything she could find purchase upon. Snapping teeth, glimmering in the sunlight, and then Cyanide trying to remain in motion. A delicate balance, one that she needed to fight to maintain. Already she could feel the soreness blooming in her ribs, knowing that it would be bruised.

At least she'd earned it.
"speech"

CODE BY SHELBY

Cyanide vs Usagi for spar
Round 2/2
Age: over 1 year
Size: Large
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Bracers with Knife
Skills: Intermediate Navigator & Intermediate Fighter

And the winner is...

Cyanide

Usagi must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Cyanide: Attack Roll: 98 Defense Roll: 78 Agility Roll: 31 Perception Roll: 59 Total: 266 Attack[98] + 10% Bonus[9.80]: 107.80 Defense[78] + 5% Bonus[3.90]: 81.90 Agility[31] + 15% Bonus[4.65]: 35.65 Perception[59] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 59.00 Total[284.35] + 10% Bonus[28.43]: 312.79 Usagi Attack Roll: 79 Defense Roll: 5 Agility Roll: 99 Perception Roll: 14 Total: 197 Attack[79] + 50% Bonus[39.50]: 118.50 Defense[5] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 5.00 Agility[99] + 5% Bonus[4.95]: 103.95 Perception[14] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 14.00 Total[241.45] + 15% Bonus[36.22]: 277.67