Valentine moved to give the warriors space as Birna dipped her head in greeting to Mercy.  The woman was only a few inches shorter than her and seemed to be about the same age.  She felt a jab of excitement run through her belly at the evenness of the match.  This would be a good fight.  "I will take the first move."  Birna was eager to get right down to business and figured as she was in some sense the challenger it would make sense for her to start things off. Rolling her shoulders forward she stretched lightly before moving several feet away then turned to face her opponent.  Defenses flew into place.  Fur raised, hackles lacing down her back.  Shoulders rolled forward and she scrunched her neck back, chin dipping down over her chest.  Birna's stance widened as her legs bent and muscles coiled, distributing her weight evenly amongst the four limbs as well as lowering her center of gravity.  Charcoal toes splayed as claws gripped the earth for the traction she needed to launch her attack.  Snowy ears pinned to her head, jaws slightly parted as her head and tail aligned with her spine.  Brows furrowed the behemoth growled.  The only warning she'd give before launching her assault. Muscular thighs rippled as she pushed off, launching herself directly at Mercy in a bid to close the distance between them.  She attempted to approach Mercy nearly head-on, her body shifting about a foot to her own right.  Birna's neck and upper body twisted to her left in an attempt to bite the left-side of Mercy's neck, her upper fangs seeking to land just behind Mercy's left ear, her lower fangs seeking to hook under the left corner of Mercy's jaw in the hopes of getting a solid hold from which she could control the other woman's head.  Weight would shift evenly to her hind legs, tail streaming out stiffly behind her for added balance as she lifted her front limbs.  Her right front limb sought to fall across the base of Mercy's neck, right in front of the femme's shoulder blades.  Her left wrist sought to wrap around Mercy's left front leg, midway between the ankle and elbow in an attempt to jerk the limb back towards herself so that she could use her massive weight to push the other woman to the ground. Birna vs Mercy for Testing Spar Rd. 1 of ?

She nodded to Birna as greeted her as well, watching as the other woman moved away. Mercy did not move with her, but just aimed to keep them face to face as the taller woman moved back slightly. As she waited, Mercy easily set her own defenses. Her pale ears hugged her skull as her neck moved to align with her spine, chin tipping downward towards her chest. Elongated tail moved upwards to align with her spine as well, legs equal distance apart as he bent lightly, toes spreading as her nails bit into the soft earth. Purple eyes narrowed as her lips pulled up into a snarl, her shoulders rolling forward as her neck scruched along her scruff. Birna said she was going to take the first one, and she would allow it. Excitement bubbled up in her belly, but it took away the bit of nerves that threatened to take away her concentration. Birna growled, and the fight was on.

Mercy stood stalk still as Birna charged at her, Mercy's shoulders rolling forward more in anticipation of the taller woman slamming into her. But it would seem that Birna was more crafty than that. No longer were they completely head on, Birna had shifted her body slightly to the taller woman's own right. As Birna's teeth flashed in the corner of her eye Mercy attempted to swing her head to her own right, avoiding the teeth around her ear and jaw. But she did not fully evade the bite, Birna's teeth cut into the left side of her neck in the midway point between her jaw and shoulder, on the outside portion of her neck. She did not manage to get a grip on Mercy, teeth sliding passed the rest of her neck. They were only minor lacerations, but they still stung like a bitch. Hissing between clenched jaws she spent little time focusing on it. Letting the adrenaline take over, Mercy's gaze focused on the taller woman once more. As soon as the other woman leaned back and raised herself up slightly, Mercy took action. The pale woman attempted to duck down, hopefully putting herself just below Birna's raising arm. Raising her head upwards, Mercy's jaws parted as she tried to rise up and grasp Birna's throat. Her upper jaws aimed for the left side of Birna's neck, on the outer portion just three inches down from her bottom jaw, as her lower jaws aimed for the underside of her neck, midpoint between the sides and just over her esophagus. Mercy aimed to bite down just hard enough to crush down on Birna's neck and hopefully blocking off her breathing long enough for the larger woman to black out. At the same time, Mercy aimed to roll her shoulders forward and slam her chest into the lower portion of Birna's chest, hopefully setting Birna more off balance and knocking the larger woman on her side. In a last ditch effort to bowl her over, Mercy adjusted her weight to her own left half as he picked up her right front paw, aiming to snake it around Birna's hind left leg and pull her own leg back towards her chest. Mercy hoped to take out Birna's back left leg and throw her off balance.

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MERCY vs BIRNA for SPAR
ROUND 1 of 2

Mercy would turn her head to her own right and Birna's fangs would fall short, grazing the flesh of  the left side of Mercy's neck midway between the shoulder and head.  As soon as her bite failed Birna retracted her head, chin tucking as she prepared to bite again for the shorter woman.  Her right forelimb missed it's target as Mercy ducked and Birna swiftly brought the limb back to the ground, balance shifting evenly across the three grounded limbs. Her head and tail aligned with her spine, shoulders rolled forward and neck scrunched back.  Her hackles remained raised, her eyes narrowed, brow wrinkled and her ears pinned to her head.  Her toes splayed, claws biting into the earth.  Abdomen tense and ready for her opponents retaliation.

Birna's left wrist managed to successfully wrap around Mercy's left leg midway between the other woman's left elbow and wrist and with a jerk she managed to pull Mercy's left forepaw off the ground but without the added weight from Birna's right foreleg the attack would not unbalance Mercy nor stop the younger womans attack.  However, Birna had no desire to loose her grip on the other woman's left foreleg, her toes spread, claws seeking to dig tighter into the other womans flesh as she attempted to keep her grasp on Mercy's left elbow and keep that left forepaw off the ground.

As Mercy aimed to bite Birna's throat the bear woman would attempt to counter.  With her chin already tucked Birna sought to tip her jaws farther down and launch her head downward, rotating it to her own right.  Seeking to meet Mercy's gaping jaws with her own Birna aimed to grasp Mercy's lower jaw in between her fangs in a solid grip. Her lower fangs sought to drive into the flesh on the underside of Mercy's lower jaw right in the middle, her upper fangs sought to fall across the upperside of Mercy's lower jaw right across the tongue again in the middle.  Of course this would mean Birna's own upper jaw would fall between Mercy's fangs but it was a gambit she was willing to take for the more delicate lower jaw.

In such close quarters there was no avoiding Mercy's chest slam as the woman slammed the full of her chest forward into the center of Birna's chest, rather than her lower chest as Birna was back on ground-level and Mercy was raising.  However, due to their close proximity and Birna's three solidly-grounded limbs Birna would remain upright though moderate bruising was sure to blossom across her chest from the impact.  Also being back on three-grounded limbs managed to keep her hind legs out of Mercy's reach though she could feel the other woman's claws grating across the front of her back left leg just below the ankle.  

The moment she felt those claws Birna's back legs spread a little wider, tail stiffening as her weight shifted to her back hind legs as she attempted lift her right forelimb off the ground, once again seeking to drape it across Mercy's neck, just in front of her shoulder blades hoping to propel her weight forward onto the smaller woman and in conjunction with her downward bite and motion of her left forelimb to drag the other woman to the ground before she could re-stabalize herself.

-- You Can Bury My Body But I'll Never Die --
Birna vs Mercy Rd. 2/2

Birna maintained a grip on Mercy's front left leg, and the girl was quick to shift her weight so that she was balanced across her other three paws. Her weight shifted to her right side, toes spreading and claws biting into the earth. Her tail remained raised to align with her spine, ears still pressed flat against her skull as her purple eyes remained narrowed. Legs were slightly bent at the knee, chin tucked as her head aligned with her spine. Lips were pulled back in a snarl, hackles raised down her spine as her shoulders rolled forward. This shit was far from over, and she was very much enjoying herself against her giant spar partner. It would seem that Birna was not done with her either, and it shocked her when the older woman aimed to bite her lower jaw. Without much space to move, Birna's teeth sank into her bottom jaw, and Mercy tried not to yank back from the pain. Moderate puncture wounds seeped blood, but it didn't stop Mercy from trying to bite down as hard as she could, aiming to bite Birna's soft pallet with her own bottom jaw, top jaw aimed to crunch down on the bridge of her nose and cut off her breath. Because of Mercy's teeth locking with Birna's, the taller woman missed her tongue, but if she managed to bite any harder she would damage the tender muscle. Eyes flashing with a grin, despite the pain, Mercy attempted to flick her tongue across the top of Birna's mouth, pretty much trying to lick the roof of her mouth. Why? Because she could, and she hoped that it tickled enough or grossed the woman out enough that she would let go. Mercy's chest managed to slam into Birna's lower chest, and a minor bruise spread across her own front of her chest. Her paw missed Birna's hind leg, claws uselessly scrapping across the limb. Mercy grounded it as soon as she could, shifting her weight accordingly. Since the woman had her jaw in her own grip, Mercy was rather stuck, and couldn't avoid the leg that hung around her shoulder. Since she was quick to maintain her stance, she didn't fall right away. It was a struggle though, her legs spreading a bit further apart as her weight distributed evenly. She was not going down, not yet. Not waiting to risk raising her paw again to attack, Mercy knew that she couldn't do much else but try to puncture the woman's soft pallet as well as the bridge of her nose. -------------------------- Mercy vs Birna for Spar Round 2 of 2 "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn

Eve and I (Lunarcat7) have been talking and on account of this fight being older than dirt and the fact that we both feel we've already improved from what's seen here as well as both of us agreeing on what the outcome would have been....

BIRNA IS DECLARED THE WINNER! *throws confetti*