Winter. Not only did this mean snow and cold, but it also meant that it was Mercy's season. It was only her second season, but after the events of last year she was still a bit shaken up about all of it. She was still pretty sure of what she had gone to talk to Valentine about, but it wasn't written in stone. She could do the same thing she did last year this year to really find out, but for once she didn't just feel like mindless humping. She wanted some bloodshed too. So with what felt like a sun burning under her skin, she left Imperium lands and stalked up to the Battlefield. Taking in a deep breath of the metallic air, her heart began to pound already in excitement. After the siege she hadn't gotten into any more fights, giving her body the time that it needed to full heal. She was more than ready to take on some more fights, and this time it was going to be by herself. She snorted as she found a good place, turning around as her narrowed purple eyes swept the horizon. The smell of her heat wafted around her, but it was clear from her facial expression that she wanted a fight. The fun times could come after that. Grinning, Mercy tipped back her head and called out for an opponent, her song daring anyone to come and challenge her. -------------------------- Mercy vs Wolf for Spar Round 0 of ? "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn

Gethin felt like every piece of fur was standing up on his back as his tail lashed behind him. Isolde had gotten too far under his skin, he had let himself get so damn comfortable. He had given himself one rule and within their two times together he had broken his one rule. Well, two really if he wanted to include never growing too attached to one wolf. A growl bubbled up in his throat as he stalked out across the open plain. He had never been to this area, but from what he had heard this place was for fighting and if there was anything he needed right now it was a fight- among other things. His ears perked at the challenging howl and his gaze turned, spotting a pale figure in the distance. He immediately would turn to head toward it, but as he got closer he caught a whiff of a scent that would make his sure steps stutter a bit. Of course. A woman in heat. They were damn near everywhere this time of year weren't they? A quick glance around the battlefield would tell him that no one else was around and with a frustrated growl he could continue toward her, his blood-red gaze fixed on her. He could tell she was here for a fight and he was more than willing to give it to her. His ears fell back against his skull and his eyes narrowed as a snarl took over his features, baring his teeth. His head lowered to be even with his spine and his tail would level out with his back as well. His muscles would tense to prepare for his next movement just as the joints of his legs would bend slightly to make his next move a bit easier. His claws dug into the soil and his toes spread for traction and, with a rumbling growl, he would attempt to launch himself toward her. He certainly hoped she wasn't looking for any kind of gentle treatment, though with a challenging howl like hers he certainly doubted it. He would crouch a bit as he came toward her and would shove up with his front legs as he tried to shove his right shoulder into her chest, aiming to push his shoulder into her throat. Gethin also attempted to reach around her neck to sink his teeth into her scruff, widening the stance of his paws to brace himself in case she decided to push back against him. Gethin vs Mercy for Spar Round 1 of 3 "Talk" "You" Think

And so Mercy waited, and waited. She grew frustrated, were they all scared of her or something? Damn, she just wanted a good fight, maybe a bit of humping after. Was that really too hard to find in this damn land? Growling to herself she scanned the horizon again, about to give up. That was, until a darker furred beast got caught staring at her. Mercy flashed him a challenging grin, a single brow raising in question. Well, was he going to come and attack her, or not? Mercy was sick of the whole 'woman first' thing, she didn't need the advantage of the first move. She just wanted to sink her teeth into someone's pretty hide. And this one looked good enough to her. Her head tilted slightly as she appraised him, he seemed like a rather grumpy fellow! Oh well, that would all change once they started to fight. Her skin was on fire, the anticipation of blood being spilled making her almost giddy. Oh come on, bring it on! And then finally, finally the big oaf made his charge. Mercy quickly settled into her defenses, falling into a fighters stance with ease in the few short moments she had. Ears pinned to her skull as her purple eyes narrowed, legs set an equal distance apart from each other. Her toes spread as her claws bit into the frozen earth, each limb bending ever so slightly. Her tail rose to align with her spine, her head lowering to do the same thing, chin tipping towards her chest. Mercy's shoulders rolled forward as her hackles stood on end, lips snarling as her jaws parted with a growl. Bring it on bitch! She was so ready for this. The male was only an inch taller than herself, and for a moment it left Mercy stunned. She was so used to fighting much taller opponents, even at her height, that she was at a loss of what to do. Because of her momentary distraction she was left scrambling as she realized that Gethin was almost upon her. Quickly, Mercy took two side steps towards her own right, but it was all she could do before he slammed into her. Because of her slight movement and her own jutted out shoulders, Gethin's right shoulder slammed into the front of her left shoulder. She hissed as the moderate bruise spread across her shoulder, and could only hope that her own shoulder would do some damage to him as well. Mercy caught sight of his neck trying to wrap around her so that he could bite behind her, but not on her watch! Quickly moving her head towards her own right, Mercy's jaws shot out and attempted to catch Gethin's jaws before he could land his bite. (COUNTER) Mercy's top jaw was aimed for his own upper jaw, her teeth aiming to sink into the upper bridge of his nose, about two inches up from his nose. Mercy's bottom jaw was aimed for his own bottom jaw, her teeth trying to pierce the sensitive underside of the jaw. The dame hoped to bite down hard enough to snap his jaws together, and was aiming to keep them closed with a tight grip, giving her full control of his jaws. At the same time Mercy lifted her front right paw, attempting to bring it over Gethin's front left paw, hoping to slam it down on top of his toes. Mercy was aiming to do enough damage to crack some of the toes and make it painful to put his full weight on that limb, setting him off balance. Mercy's purple eyes tried to find his bloody gaze, and there was nothing but lust and delight burning in their depths. This is what she lived for. -------------------------- Mercy vs Gethin for Spar Round 1 of 3 "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn

He wasn't sure what it was that had caused the woman to be so taken off guard, but he wasn't going to complain since he felt his right shoulder solidly slam into her left. He knew it would leave a pretty decent bruise on him as well, but he really wouldn't much care. It was like a bee sting compared to other pain he had endured in his life. His anger and adrenaline was a good distraction from the pain as well. They now seemed to be nearly chest to chest due to a bit of movement of her part, but he still tried to complete his second attack of reaching around her neck to grab her scruff. Unfortunately his second attack wouldn't be as lucky since the bitch just so happened to turn her head at the last minute before he could reach her scruff. He probably would have kept going for the attack had he not seen her open jaws lunging for his face. He tried to jerk his head back to avoid her teeth, but he wouldn't be entirely successful. He avoided her lower jaw and getting his muzzle trapped in her jaws, but her top teeth managed to scrape across the top of his muzzle, leaving a set of three moderate lacerations from about the middle of his muzzle to just above his nose. A furious growl rumbled in his chest at the pain as blood began to drip down his muzzle from the scratches. In his momentary distraction from his newest wound, he wouldn't notice her paw heading for the toes of his left paw. Pain shot through his paw and a snarling growl escaped him in response. A series of curses flew through his head, but he didn't have the time to vocalize them right now. His paw was badly bruised at the very least and he wouldn't be entirely surprised if a couple of his toes were now cracked. He happened to catch her quick glance and saw clear pleasure and lust in her purple gaze. All at once this fight got much more interesting for him. With his ears still tucked securely against his head, his blood red eyes narrowed, and his lips pulled back in a snarl, his tail level with his spine, and his neck as close to the same level as it could be, he regrouped his posture so he could go into his next attack. Of course his shoulders remained rolled forward with his hackles raised and scruff bunched protectively around his neck. Since his left paw was basically useless as far as giving him a sure footing went, he spread out his paws a bit more and leaned heavily on his other three legs. The toes of those three legs remained spread and the claws dug into the ground to help keep him steady. He had to keep his muscles tensed to hold himself on three legs as well as keeping his knees bent to help his balance. With his left front leg freed up to move, he quickly attempted to hook his left leg around her front right leg, wanting to use his leg to pull her front right paw off the ground long enough to throw off her balance. At the same time he would turn his head to the right so he was looking at her, tipping his head down so could throw the top part of his thick skull into the side of her head. He wanted to headbutt her, hopefully in her cheek or jaw. With any luck, he would give her some moderate bruising at least and daze her. Perhaps he could get some slight fractures thrown in there as well, just depended on how well his skull landed against hers. Gethin vs Mercy for Spar Round 2 of 3 "Talk" "You" Think

She had to admit, this man was giving her a run for her money. Not that she didn't enjoy the challenge, oh no. In fact, it was nice to have an opponent who surprised her every now and then, she was getting awfully bored with all of these easy fights. A flash of disappointment crossed her face when her upper jaw raked across his own, teeth grazing across the top of his muzzle. Without managing to get her lower jaw into the right position, she was unable to get a hold and snapped her jaws together with a growl. However the sound of his replying growl got her excited all over again, the first blood had been spilled. The metallic scent filled the air and Mercy took in a deep breath, sides shaking from her excitement. She was very much getting turned on by this battle and her nameless opponent, and couldn't wait to see who would rise the victor. So far she felt like she had the upper paw, as her right paw was able to slam against the top of his front left paw. She heard a satisfying crunch on impact, and she knew that she had done some pretty decent damage. With her paw now firmly back on the ground, Mercy quickly reset her stance and kept her defenses in check. Her weight spread evenly across all four legs for the meantime, toes spreading as her claws bit into the hard ground. Her eyes remained narrowed and her pale ears pressed flat against her head, both her tail and her head moving to once again align with her spine. Shoulders rolled forward, a bit of protest from her bruised one, as her chin tucked towards her chest. Each limb was bent slightly and set an equal distance apart. Her stance would not remain solid for long, as Gethin was able to hook his front left leg around her front right leg, wrapping around her ankle and jerking her limb from under her. Growling she quickly shifted her weight to her own left, tail wagging behind her as she fought to stay balanced. Wanting to return her leg to the ground as quickly as possible she attempted to slam her right front paw down over his already injured left front paw. Mercy hoped to cause even further damage to his paw and make it completely useless, hopefully shattering some of the bones in his toes. So focused on regaining her footing, Mercy missed his head swinging towards her and tried to duck her head down at the last moment. However she was not fast enough, and his forehead slammed into the upper portion of her right forehead, directly below her right ear. The clash of bone on bone left her with her teeth gritting, a rather major bruise spreading across the base of her ear. Her head began to pound as a slight ringing was heard in her ear, but she shook her head to try and get rid of it all. Quickly Mercy turned her head back towards Gethin, towards her right, and attempted to latch down at the top of his neck. Her upper jaw aimed for just behind his left ear, her bottom jaw aimed for the underside of his neck, just above his windpipe. Mercy hoped to bite down with a crushing force, hopefully gaining a hold and putting enough pressure on his windpipe to knock him out. With her head buzzing she knew that she would have to work harder on focusing, before her adrenaline wore off and the real pain really sank in. -------------------------- Mercy vs Gethin for Spar Round 2 of 3 "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn

He felt her leg give under his tugging paw, but he wouldn't take the time to celebrate the minor victory. He'd quickly pull his injured paw back toward him, hearing her paw smack back down onto the hard ground where his paw had been. He made sure to keep his weight balanced on his other three legs with his tail out even with his spine to help with his balance. This was all moments before his forehead hit solidly against the side of her head, right under her ear. His head ached from the impact as well and he was sure there would be a bruise across his forehead from the maneuver, but it seemed to stun her a bit so he considered the extra bit of pain on his part worth it. He hadn't realized how long it had been since he had be in a real fight. Not just a fight to get what he wanted but a real, going for blood fight. He was loving every second of it. With his other stresses firmly put out of his mind and his full attention focused on this fight, he collected himself to reset his defenses while she recoiled from his skull smashing into hers. His paws of course remained an equal distance apart and his toes were spread and nails biting into the dirt. He still kept the majority of his weight on his three uninjured paws, but he did put his front left paw back on the ground, gritting and bearing the pain it brought just so he could have a more stable base. His neck evened back out with his neck once again with his aching shoulders rolled forward to bunch his scruff around his neck with his raised hackles. His chin tucked down over his throat and his lips pulled up in a vicious snarl around his gritted teeth. His ears stayed pinned down against his skull with his eyes narrowed and knees bent slightly. She wouldn't give him more than a moment of reprieve however and soon enough he saw her rushing in to bite at his neck. He quickly bent his right front leg, making the right side of his body drop down just enough to angle the top of his neck toward her open jaws, but keep the lower portion of his neck out of her path. This caused him to have to put more weight on his left front paw, pulling a low growl out of him, but that was forgotten when her teeth latched onto the top part of his scruff. He was glad that he had made sure to bunch up his scruff just moments before, giving her a mouth full of his thick fur and skin rather than bone. He could feel her teeth slicing into his skin and knew his scruff would be a bloody mess when this was all over. He took advantage of the lowered position his evasive move had given him and pulled himself back to his full height all at once while shoving his weight toward her, causing his body to move in a slight right diagonal toward her. He wanted to use his own neck to push against her jaws and stretch her lower jaw to a painful point to make her let go. He also wanted to shove his right shoulder into her right shoulder in the same move, wanting to aggravate the bruise he had left there at the beginning of their fight. He honestly didn't care about the pain or what injuries he was causing himself at this point. His adrenaline was running so high and his heart was pounding so loud in his ears that he barely felt any of it anyway. Gethin vs Mercy for Spar Round: 3 of 3 "Talk" "You" Think

Her paw slammed back down on the earth as Gethin moved his front leg away from her, too quick for her to slam down on his injured front left paw. She grumbled, tail lashing behind her like an angered cat. It was the loud cracking of skulls that really shook her up, but she knew that he had to suffer some sort of pain from that move. She found satisfaction in that, trying not to settle on her throbbing head for long. Besides, it would seem that this brute had more in store for her. Excitement pounded through her veins, it was the first time in a long time that she felt like she was evenly matched. It had been so long since she had had a fight this good! Her blood sang, toes curling as the scent of blood filled the air. This was how you practiced fighting, with real damage involved. No prissy stuff for this girl. The silver male seemed to kneel down as she aimed to bite his neck, her teeth instead sinking into the upper portion of the right side of his neck. She let out a growl, but her teeth found a solid hold. Her jaws sunk into his fatty scruff, and while it wasn't the hold she had wanted to find, it was at least a hold. Mercy wanted to keep his scruff in her grasp, but she felt him shift his weight shift towards the right. The dame knew that if she tried to keep a hold she would strain her muscles, so quickly she let her jaws fall slack, letting go of his scruff. Quickly Mercy attempted to rear up on her hind legs, weight shifting backwards to her hind paws as she tried to hover above him for a moment, taking off the pressure of his weight that he tried to shove into her. His shoulder grazed passed her own as she rose upwards, nothing hard enough to leave a worse bruise. Mercy was only attempting to rear off the ground about four inches, her front legs pulling towards her chest to keep them out of the way of Gethin's jaws. Mercy then twisted her head towards her own left, trying to bring her parted jaws over the top of his muzzle once again. She aimed to bring her top jaw over the right side of his top jaw, right at the edge of his nose before it rose up towards his forehead, her lower jaw aimed for the left side of his top jaw. Mercy once again hoped to bite down hard enough to puncture his lips and even possibly his gums. At the same time Mercy tried to push her weight downwards, hoping that she would be able to not only grab a hold of his muzzle but also push his head towards the ground, stopping any further attacks against her. Mercy's front right leg tried to wrap around the left side of his neck, aiding in her downward motion. All the while Mercy's defenses remained solid, her eyes narrowed, ears pressed back flat against her skull. Her hind legs were bent slightly, back toes spread with back claws digging into the earth. Her tail was curled under her to protect her exposed belly, neck aligned with her spine as best as it could, her pale shoulders rolled forward. Lips were curled upwards and away from her teeth in a snarling position, bunching loose skin around her eyes. Hind legs were set an equal distance apart, trying to keep as balanced as possible in her upward position. All her muscles were ridged and in action, lust and joy bouncing through her form. Mercy tried to keep her chin tucked into her chest as well as she could in her current position. -------------------------- Mercy vs Gethin for Spar Round 3 of 3 "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn

On account of the judges majorly dropping the ball on this fight [so freaking sorry guys!!!!] it ends in a tie and both players can be awarded 15 skill points!