With his newly renewed ambitions fresh on his mind, he set out for the battlefield yet again. After finding Meme again he felt a fresh fire in his gut to sharpen his skills. He needed to be the best he could possibly be for them. He hoped that eventually Memento and Nausicaa would come into their own and learn the skills they would need to protect themselves, but until then he would have to do it for them if for no other reason than his own peace of mind. This drove him out onto the open plain of the Battlefield yet again. The last time he had come here he had crossed paths with a male that had challenged his skills and that had encouraged him to come back here again. The over sized brute found an open area that he was certain had been used for fights time and time again since it was a solid piece of flat land that was dotted with various blood splatters and places where the grass had been torn with claw marks. He decided this was as good a place as any and lifted his head to let out a howl, letting himself be the one to call for an opponent this time around instead of waiting around for someone else to call for him. "Talk"

Aurielle Adravendi

It had been a while since she’d been here. With the children old enough to be on their own at home (with supervision at a distance) she was able to travel, and today, she wore her armor, pleased that it fit well, even after her figure had changed during pregnancy. She’d get it back completely soon, especially when the pups were fully weaned. A call from a familiar voice diverted her path, Aelloshir and Ayodele following, the lemur on the mountain lion’s back. Aelloshir had returned, with large cats ready to serve her children soon, as he and his sister had served herself and Aramis, as guardians. The newling cats hadn’t yet made their choices, but Aurielle had her suspicions for her son’s charge. She smiled brightly at Ulric as she arrived, nodding gracefully as her tail flicked through the air. “Good day for a dance, eh?” She settled into a light stance, head cocking as she posed, “Would you like the first move?” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

To his surprise, shortly after he made his call the familiar and distinctive appearance of Valhalla's Spirit came into view. There was no mistaking her for anyone else with her glowing coat. He glanced toward the mountain lion that lingered near her and almost missed the lemur that rode on its back before looking back up to her with a grin. She had some extra help and a nice looking set of armor on her side so he felt a bit out matched, but what a better way to learn than to face off with someone more skilled than you? "Indeed it is!" he responded with a chuckle. He began to settle into his now familiar stance when it came to fighting as well, clearly a bit more heavy footed than hers. "It'd be an honor," he replied when she opened the floor for him to take the first move. He lunged toward her with long, confident strides to shorten the distance between them with just a few steps - one benefit of being ridiculously tall. He was fully prepared for her to go darting one way or another so he tried to keep himself nimble enough to adapt to wherever she happened to go. It wasn't the easiest task with his build, but he'd gotten better at it with practice. He reached forward with his right foreleg, lifting it in the same move as his last step in an attempt to hook it around the back of her neck as he went to try and slam his chest into her left shoulder. He hoped his heavier weight and momentum could potentially pin her or knock her to the ground, but he mostly just wanted to get her within striking distance and keep her there. Ulric Adravendi vs Aurielle Adravendi for Spar Round 1/2 Age: Over 1 year Size: Dire wolf Build: Heavy Skills: Intermediate Fighter & Advanced Intellectual Specialty: N/A "Talk"

Aurielle Adravendi

The Spirit flashed a long-canined grin as he took the invited first move with a lunge. Light on her paws, she danced half a step to her right with a flick of her tail for balance, intent on letting his momentum to some of her work for her. As she went, she ducked low, aiming to snag his left foreleg between her jaws, behind her canines, and her hind end pivoted in the same motion, aiming to bring herself side by side with him – her right side to his left side – and brace, hoping to catch him by surprise, and send him summersaulting head over tail with the movement, and evading both his chest slam and questing right foreleg in the process. Regardless of success, she wouldn’t hold her bite long, aiming to release quickly and avoid possibly being yanked along with him if she’d been successful. Aelloshir, meanwhile, launched himself in a great pounce from Ulric’s right side, aiming to slap a sheathed-clawed right paw down on the man’s big head in a blunt clubbing motion. Those gradated blue eyes twinkled with challenge and a little amusement, and enjoyment of the exercise she was getting after such a long time of pregnancy and early motherhood. Aurielle Rhiannon Marie Adravendi vs Ulric for Spar Round 1/2 Age: Over 1 Size: Medium Build: Medium Offensive Battle Accessory: Clawed leather bracers Defensive Battle Accessory: Leather torso armor Companion 1: Mountain lion, Male - Battle Companion 2: Ringtailed lemur, Female - Battle Mutation 1: Long upper canines - Offensive Skills: Master Intellectual & Master Fighter Specialty: Bard Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Ulric certainly expected Aurielle to come with skill and tricks and she did not disappoint. He moved like a train so once he got going it was difficult for him to stop. By the time he saw her duck and go for his front left leg, it was already too late for him to stop without tripping himself anyway. He did do his best, skidding a bit to try and slow his speed. The way she pulled his leg and moved across him ended up sending him sliding out onto his side, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. It wasn't quite a flip since he didn't land on his back - instead his shoulder caught the worst of the fall and he was laying out flat on his side once he finally did come to a stop. She was stronger than he had anticipated, but it was also just a clever move to use against someone his size. Just as he began to roll back to his paws, the mountain lion that he had seen come in with Aurielle made its charge and Ulric was quick in hopping back up and out of the way so the feline's large paw just barely scraped the front part of his right shoulder. Luckily its claws had been tucked away so no harm had really been done, but it had been another unexpected attack. He was learning a lot from this fight which was definitely something he was excited about. After making sure that her feline companion wasn't going to reattempt that swing, he refocused his attention on Aurielle and wasted no time moving toward her again. This time he kept his pace much more moderate, moving more at a trot rather than a sprint. He'd learned his lesson after the last time - no charging at Aurielle. That wasn't going to go well for him. He tried a slightly different approach this time and instead of coming at her head on he attempted to change the angle of his approach at the last minute to head toward her right side with his head lowered toward the ground. Ulric tried to move quickly and get slip under her side and stomach enough that he could potentially toss her to the ground when he tossed his head upward again - a bit like a spatula flipping up something in a pan. It felt like a bit of revenge for knocking him over the way she had, but he also just felt like having a bit of fun with his attack. Learning that fighting could be fun was something that he was slowly beginning to do. Ulric Adravendi vs Aurielle Adravendi for Spar Round 2/2 Age: Over 1 year Size: Dire wolf Build: Heavy Skills: Intermediate Fighter & Advanced Intellectual Specialty: N/A "Talk"

Aurielle Adravendi

Ulric went down, not quite as she’d hoped, but still, it was the end result that counted, and she didn’t sit idly back to allow him back to his paws before she was moving. With his brief distraction by Aelloshir, Aurielle aimed to dart in and slap her right paw down on his right hip, flexing her toes so the blades of her bracers might just graze through his fur should her swat connect. However, as he came to his paws, she didn’t stick around, giving him room but not going too far, letting him come to her, tail flicking in a faint, playful wag that left a light trail in the air, though it was only truly visible in the dark. As he made his move, she side-danced to her left, though his nose just brushed the armor at her ribs, twisting in an attempt to bring herself head to head with him, but from his left side, head snaking forward as she sought to clamp her front teeth around his left ear and jerk, not aiming to grip, but to harry and duck away with a tug if she nabbed him, a brief chuckle escaping at her own nearly puppyish behavior. Aurielle Rhiannon Marie Adravendi vs Ulric for Spar Round 2/2 Age: Over 1 Size: Medium Build: Medium Offensive Battle Accessory: Clawed leather bracers Defensive Battle Accessory: Leather torso armor Companion 1: Mountain lion, Male - Battle Companion 2: Ringtailed lemur, Female - Battle Mutation 1: Long upper canines - Offensive Skills: Master Intellectual & Master Fighter Specialty: Bard Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

And the winner is...

ULRIC

AURIELLE must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Adjusted rolls: 27.5 27.3 97 111.55 ULRIC'S total is.. 289.69 Adjusted rolls: 36 34.1 61 86.25 AURIELLE'S total is.. 271.69