It felt weird being this far from the Hallows' land. It wasn't that far, in reality, and Avantika knew that she'd be back before nightfall unless something went really, really wrong. But still, the ropes tied to her heart that attached her to the castle and the pack she loved tugged painfully with every step she took. What was going on there? Was anything coming? What if she came back and -- Stop, she told herself sternly. There were other Knights -- another Vanguard, even. They could protect the Hallows while she was away for the day. She'd lost count of the number of times Art had told her that very thing. She'd expected to worry, it was in her nature, but she had gone out for a reason. It was for Art, really. No matter him telling her that she was enough -- as if that meant anything, as if she could ever believe that. She didn't think he was lying, but come on! As if there was any world in which she could just not do her duties and still be entitled enough to think she deserved a place in the pack. But still, if it would help to work on her issues, she was willing enough -- if only for the sake of being able to tell Art she tried. He might be Aegis, but it wasn't his job to worry over everyone else's problems, especially not Avantika's. She'd taken advantage of his kindness too many times.

She made the mistake of glancing back, and all of her resolve startled away. She could no longer step forward, no matter how hard she tried -- as if her paws were glued to the ground, as if she'd just run out of battery and crashed with no way to charge herself up again. Breathing became difficult through the knot that had formed in her throat. She couldn't think. Images of raids flashed before her mind's eye. The snarling. The blood. She squeezed her eyes shut, involuntarily crouching with her tail between her legs and her ears pinned back. If she was small enough and quiet enough, maybe they'd leave her alone to this cave and this hunger and this fear and... and... And she was a coward, and she was wrong, and she needed to go back and patrol and spend the night out there and maybe never sleep again and make sure her family was okay. It was all her fault. She should have fought the dire wolves that killed Resin and fought that damn guy in the cloak that had hurt Audra and... And maybe she should have been strong enough to fight those monsters that had birthed her, too. Fighting was the only thing she was good for, right? She couldn't talk and she couldn't love -- she had tried, damn her, damn Audra -- but she could fight, right? Until she couldn't, until she was away and something came and she wasn't there and she wasn't good enough to defend the only wolves that had ever mattered in her life.

She whimpered and flinched at the sound.

"Speech"

It had been a good day to go on a walk. Stretch her legs some after some exciting events within Tojo. Not that much of it concerned her, but she was always ready to be available when they needed it. Today, though, would be her afternoon off to do what she wanted. Moving north of Tojo, through the Ancient Oaks, she suddenly found herself in a rather foggy and shadowy forest. Eerie sounds emitted from echoing distances and the flutter of wings didn't sound all too bird-like. Glancing around, she continued anyway, not particularly in any sort of fear at the moment. Until a quiet whimpering caught her attention. Concern raced into her mind as she hurried toward the sound. A girl, not much smaller than herself, was crouching nearby, looking as if she had seen a ghost. Tilting her head to the side, Tenshi wondered what was wrong with her. Had she actually seen a ghost? By the looks of her, she didn't appear to be a frail and lost wolf and she had the scent of a pack on her. Wrinkling her nose, she felt a sliver of sympathy for the girl and that she should probably help. "Cowering in the dark will not fix your fears," her thickly accented tone rang out as she continued to approach the girl.

Avantika was too lost in her own panic to even notice the wolf approaching until she spoke, or else she almost definitely would have run away. This dark, gloomy forest probably had plenty of places to hide so long as she could scare off anything else that lived within it that might be dangerous. But she had no time to even think about escaping now; she'd been caught as surely as in a hunting trap. Her eyes darted over the body of the stranger. She was huge and heavily built, a good half a foot taller than Avantika and much more massive, with small antlers adorning her head. She looked like a fighter. She looked like maybe Avantika wouldn't win that fight.

"Cowering in the dark will not fix your fears," she had said. It didn't sound like a threat, but Avantika's poor heart wasn't slowing down regardless. Without her notice, her tail uncurled and stuck out straight behind her, and her fur bushed out, her head lowering still to protect her neck. "And what will?" she growled, realizing only then that her teeth were already bared and then forcing herself to at least look a little more relaxed, though she still didn't smile. She wanted this woman to go away. Or...

"Fight me," she demanded. She would be less scared then; she always felt better when she was actively doing something. And if she could defeat this wolf, that would show something. That would make it okay that she had found her in such a shameful state. It would prove that though she was scared, she wasn't weak. "Just a spar, or something. Or are you scared?" she taunted, blood rushing in her ears.

"Speech"

The sudden change in the girl's demeanor did not offset Tenshi's approach. Watching as the girl's tail unfurled from her body and fur begin to poof out in a defensive move to appear larger, Tenshi's head lowered. Chin tucking, ears flattening, and horns slightly tilted in the girl's direction, she was not afraid to start a fight. If the girl would not learn how to properly tend to her fears, Tenshi would have to teach her a lesson. Sometimes, the young ones needed to learn the hard way. A growl emanated from her own throat as the girl shot threatening words her way. And what will? She would have answered, would have been glad to teach her something, but all the child wanted was a fight. There was no flight in this youngster and Tenshi wouldn't let her get away with it. Predator by nature, she let out a warning huff in the girl's direction as she asked if she was scared. Scared? Of this girl? It nearly made Tenshi laugh as she closed the gap between them. Are you scared? The taunt was the last thing Tenshi needed to hear from the brat. It wasn't often she thought so poorly of younglings, but this one was asking for it. Whoever had raised her had done a shoddy job. Lunging forward a snarl ripped from her throat, she kept her horns tilted at the girl. Paws scrambled in the muck beneath her as she rushed with surprising quickness. Aiming to lash her horns at the girl's left shoulder, Tenshi dipped to the side before swinging her head back toward her opponent. Hopefully, a good stab would teach the girl a lesson. Tenshi vs Avantika for Spar Round 1/2 Age: Over 1 Size: Dire wolf Build: Heavy Offensive Battle Accessory: Shuriken Defensive Battle Accessory: Studded sholder pads Companion 1: Snow leopard, Male - Battle Companion 2: White Egret, Male - Flying *Companion 3: Snow leopard, Female - Battle Mutation 1: Antlers - Offensive Mutation 2: Thick skin - Defensive Skills: Advanced Fighter & Expert Healer

To be completely honest, Avantika sort of wanted more than just a spar, despite that being what she had asked for. She wanted blood and cared little from which of them it was shed. Something had twisted in her brain and she was too damn scared to not be angry. She wanted to rip and tear and take out everything on this random stranger. Who was growling and huffing like she was trying to reprimand Avantika for something, like she had the right to. There were a couple of wolves who were allowed to tell Avantika what to do. They had earned it. This stranger was nothing but a punching bag for her to wreak her anger on.

And Avantika bared her teeth in a hating grin -- hate, hate, hate, she hated her, she hated herself, she hated the world, hate -- and crouched into a fighting stance as familiar as her own skin -- even if everything else was so, so wrong. Her birds flew in slow, almost lazy circles above the two of them, just as bloodthirsty as she, just waiting. Watching.

The woman charged in first, but Avantika was ready. Of course. She would attempt to grab near the middle of the closer of her antlers as she swung her head back towards Avantika's shoulder and attempt to quickly pull it to her right, using it like a handle to hopefully make her lose her footing and fall, but if that didn't work, just to drag her directly in front of her where she could let go of the antler and attempt to shove her back with both front paws on her shoulders. In either case, she would let go as soon she succeeded or failed the initial drag by the antler.

Avantika vs Tenshi for Spar
Round 1/2
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Large
Build: Medium
Defensive Battle Accessory: Mask and neck guard
Companion 1: Sharp-shinned hawk, Female - Flying
Companion 2: Black-thighed falconet, Male - Flying
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Intellectual
Specialty: Tactician

"Speech"

Even with her chin tucked and antlers aimed more toward the girl, Tenshi saw it coming. Teeth flashed in the light that barely trickled through the treetops. She saw where the girl was aiming and knew it wouldn't turn out well if she kept going. Putting on the brakes as quickly as she could, Tenshi pulled her head back and away from Avantika before any hold could be assumed. Skidding a foot back, she let out a breath as her eyes narrowed. For someone who wanted to fight, Tenshi was surprised the girl was more on the defensive side. Calculating for another moment, she looked over the smaller girl before lifting her head slightly. Going back in, just as quick as before, Tenshi aimed for Avantika's right shoulder. Pushing her own right shoulder forward, Tenshi aimed to wrap her foreleg around Tika's as she ducked to be more on her opponent's level. If she were successful, she would swipe her leg toward the left and push into the girl. The hope would be to knock her to the ground. Tenshi vs Avantika for Spar Round 2/2 Age: Over 1 Size: Dire wolf Build: Heavy Offensive Battle Accessory: Shuriken Defensive Battle Accessory: Studded sholder pads Companion 1: Snow leopard, Male - Battle Companion 2: White Egret, Male - Flying *Companion 3: Snow leopard, Female - Battle Mutation 1: Antlers - Offensive Mutation 2: Thick skin - Defensive Skills: Advanced Fighter & Expert Healer

The woman at least had the brains to see that Avantika was prepared to fight back and backed up. Avantika growled quietly, making sure all of her defenses were still primed and ready, and waited. She could rush in, sure, but she honestly just didn't feel like it. The barest hint of a block -- she hadn't even had to really try -- and Tenshi had completely aborted her attempt at an attack. What was she trying? Did she really think she'd win this? Avantika was confident in herself in this moment; perhaps too confident, but she had no time to think, to be scared.

Tenshi rushed in again -- aggressive, wasn't she? -- and this time succeeded, pulling her foreleg to the left and shoving her body into her. Avantika would attempt to grab at one of the woman's antlers before letting herself fall to the ground, intent being to pull Tenshi down with her and, if that was possible, to try to maneuver herself on top of her in order to pin her down. If she couldn't achieve a grab on the antler, she'd probably just try to kick Tenshi off, but she doubted that that would actually work.

Avantika vs Tenshi for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Large
Build: Medium
Defensive Battle Accessory: Mask and neck guard
Companion 1: Sharp-shinned hawk, Female - Flying
Companion 2: Black-thighed falconet, Male - Flying
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Intellectual
Specialty: Tactician

"Speech"

And the winner is...

TENSHI

AVANTIKA must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Avantika: Attack Roll: 90 Defense Roll: 76 Agility Roll: 19 Perception Roll: 1 Critical fail! Total: 186 Attack[90] + 5% Bonus[4.50]: 94.50 Defense[76] + 15% Bonus[11.40]: 87.40 Agility[19] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 19.00 Perception[1] + 75% Bonus[0.75]: 1.75 Total[202.65] + 25% Bonus[50.66]: 253.31 Tenshi: Attack Roll: 100 Critical attack! Defense Roll: 35 Agility Roll: 43 Perception Roll: 84 Total: 262 Attack[100] + 50% Bonus[50.00]: 150.00 Defense[35] + 45% Bonus[15.75]: 50.75 Agility[43] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 43.00 Perception[84] + 10% Bonus[8.40]: 92.40 Total[336.15] + 15% Bonus[50.42]: 386.57