Shai would sigh heavily as he lifted himself from the earth, Bass had assigned sparring partners, and a rigorous training regimen for the whole pack. While he appreciated what Bass was doing he thought it too much, his focus was his family, raising Shaye and Vail providing for them and lingering in their presence. While he could use a nice warm up now and then it seemed like monthly spars were a bit much. While he could understand his pairing pretty well, it would be good for Shrike to compete against someone more experienced and obviously larger. He would only complain a little internally, he wanted to be there for Bass but he needed to think of his family first.

Strolling to a nice clear area Shai would come to a soft halt and lean back onto his haunches. At least he could be thankful that it really was only once a month. Lifting his head to the sky the decorated giant would call out to his apprentice for the month.

Shrike had been surprised when his father gave out such strict training regimes for the whole pack, but he would do his best to uphold them. The young man was alone for the time being, still healing his hurt ankle from his fall, but luckily Starling had been there to treat it. Ears would twitch a bit as he heard Shai call for him. Hmm? Training, right. 'It's time to begin.' Shrike would think to himself. He would do everything he could to show his dad, and his pack, that he wasn't going to be a dead weight. Carefully, Shrike would hurry on towards Shai. He didn't know the man very well... but he knew that he was his sparring partner during this block of time. His bi-colored fell on Shai, his gaze alight with excitement.  "Hiya Shai. So how are we going to go about this?" "Speech"

Table by:: Eldarwen

Shrike was quick to anwser the call that had been sent out for him. Shaye's bright sunshine gaze would fall upon the boy's form as he drew closer. Shai stood to greet the young man, his massive size all the more apparent when standing up straight. His decorated tail swished behind him pleasantly as he lowered his head in a nod of greeting. "Hello, Shrike. I thought we'd just spar, set a starting point. Then next time you'll know what you need to work on." He'd start setting more than a few slight defenses into place as he faced Shrike head on from about four feet away. "You will attack first, and at the end i'll let you know what i think you need to practice."

So he was to attack first. Shrike felt nervous. He had never participated in an actual spar, though he had gotten some tips and pointers from his uncle on just what to do. He would breathe in, giving a nod to Shai. “Sounds good to me.” The boy would breathe in, rolling his shoulders forward. There was roughly five feet {hope that’s okay Kat} of distance between the two, and Shrike would narrow his eyes as he assessed it. Ears would fall flat against his skull, legs bending at the knees. His legs were widened, as were his toes, and claws bit into the soil. His tail would tuck beneath him, hackles raising as he scrunched up his neck. This was it. This was his moment to show all that he had learned thus far, and hopefully dazzle Shai with his knowledge for one so young. Shrike would breathe in, and then lunge. He sought to close the distance in a single leap, throwing his weight forward into his front legs as he aimed to come down hard with his right forepaw on Shai’s left forepaw. Jaws on the other hand would turn upward, aiming to grab onto the man’s lower jaw, around the middle of the target, with his {Shrike’s} upper jaw on Shai’s left side and his lower on the right side. As Shrike landed he would make the shift with his weight, balancing it on his front legs {once more} so that he would not lose his balance. Shrike vs Shai For Spar || Round:: I / II "Speech"

Table by:: Eldarwen

Shai's head would lower to align with his spine and tail as his ears fell back against his skull and his bright sunny gaze narrowed. He'd pull his lips back to show the sharp teeth of his parted jaws. as he rolled his shoulders forward and tucked his chin. Bending his knees and distributing his weight evenly over his four paws as he widened his stance and dug his claws into the earth. Hackles raised he'd watch as Shrike made his first move. The boy seemed to have a grasp of his defenses and seemed to know what was going on with his attacks.

All of a sudden the boy leaped at him, eyes fierce with determination and readiness. Shai was almost sorry for his own attempted leap. As Shrike jumped so did Shai, the tall male would hope to fully remove himself from the boy's path, shifting 3/4ths of his weight onto his back legs Shai would try to leap to his right. Lifting and extending his front legs as his powerful hind limbs propelled him. He'd aim to land his front paws parallel to Shrike's hips about 8 inches away. This movement would cause Shrike's paw stomp to miss along with his attempted jaw grab.

As Shai landed his weight would be redistributed once more along his four limbs. He'd wouldn't hesitate to take his turn to attack. Aiming to disrupt the boy's balance Shai sought to shove his broad left shoulder (the whole left side) into Shrike's left hip. He wanted to hit underneath the joint 1/4th of the way between pelvis and knee. At the same time he would swivel his head and neck to the left as his jaws took aim on the smaller wolf's spine. Were this a more serious match he would have sought to crush the bone there, but with the spar all he wished was to gain control of his opponents movement and maybe cause some mild lacerations. Widening his jaws the top aimed for the right side just above the hip while the lower jaw was on the left right above the hip.

Shai v Shrike for spar round 1/2

Shrike was completely caught off guard as Shai leapt away from him. He would catch himself, jaws closing upon thin air and his paw hitting the dirt hard. The man {Shai} was now parallel with him {Shrike} and making an attack of his {Shai’s} own. Trying not to panic Shrike would spring forward again, throwing his weight into his back legs to help propel him forward. Shrike had felt the brush of the other man’s shoulder against the end of his hip as he moved, though had luckily avoided both of Shai’s attacks as well save for some minor bruising on his hip.  As Shrike was in mid air however he would kick his heels up, hoping to catch Shai’s jaws with some sort of force to give some bruising. Shrike would land another body length in front of himself, leaving Shai behind him. The boy would redistribute his weight upon all four legs, his stance widened with knees bending at the joints. He would then quickly spin around, parting his jaws and snapping them in front of his body should Shai have dared come. Whether it was air or flesh he caught the boy cared not, so long as he was making an honest effort in this spar. His eyes were narrowed in determination, his ears pinned flat against his skull. Tail would remain tucked beneath his body, claws biting into the earth to steady himself. Hackles were still raised, shoulders rolled forward and a snarl leaving his lips during his snap. How he prayed he was doing alright. Shrike vs Shai For Spar || Round:: II / II "Speech"

Table by:: Eldarwen

Shai's attack would be brushed off by the younger male as he leapt away once again, his jaws would catch air higher than he'd originally intended. Shrike's badly aimed kick would receive no reward of contact. The much large wolf would not let Shrike get away so easily. As he moved away Shai would attempt to follow. However this time the massive male would aim to land ahead of where Shrike was going. Again he'd shift his weight into his powerful haunches, aiming to land 10 inches away from Shrike (On their left) with his front paws about a foot ahead of Shrike's own. As he landed the weight of his form would be redistributed to his four mammoth paws. Claws would dig into the earth to find traction as his toes spread. He'd bend his knees and keep his stance wide as Shrike spun around.

As the boy had aimed directly behind him his jaws would snap at nothing but air as his attack aimed at Shai missed. The Adayemi man wouldn't lose any time in offering his attack. As Shrike's jaws shut together Shai would shift to his right and attempt to grasp hold of the younger wolf's back (half way between his shoulders and hips) with his right arm. Lifting his right front paw from the ground he'd redistribute his weight to 75% on his hind legs as he sought to rise over the other wolf and gain control of his movements. At the same time through narrowed eyes the man would open his jaws wide as again he'd seek to catch hold of Shrike spine with his teeth. Lower jaws seeking the right side of the spine and top the left he'd aim to slam his jaws into Shrike right above the boys hips. Though he'd aim to gain control rather than to permanently maim.

With his hackles raised, ears slicked to his skull, his shoulders rolled forward and his chin tucked Shai's defenses would not fall.

Shai v Shrike for spar round 2/2

SHRIKE vs SHAI for SPAR ROUND ONE SHRIKE CLARITY - All clear! Total: 10 POWERPLAY - 0 Total: 10 DEFENSES + 1 (shoulders) + 1 (eyes) + 1 (ears) + 1 (knees) + 1 (legs) + 1 (toes) + 1 (claws) + 1 (tail) + 1 (hackles) + 1 (neck) Total: 10 ATTACK + 1 paw slam + 3 bite to jaw attempt Total: 4 INJURIES - First Round! Total: 10 Total for Round One: 44 / 50 SHAI CLARITY - All clear! Total: 10 POWERPLAY - 0 Total: 10 DEFENSES + 1 (head) + 1 (tail) + 1 (ears) + 1 (eyes) + 1 (lips) + 1 (jaws) + 1 (shoulders) + 1 (chin) + 1 (knees) + 1 (claws) Total: 10 ATTACK + 2 shoulder slam + 3 bite to spine Total: 5 INJURIES - First round! Total: 10 Total for Round One: 45 / 50 ROUND TWO SHRIKE CLARITY - 2 “snapping them infront of his body” You need to be clear where you’re aiming even if it isn’t clear where your opponent is to you. Make it clear. Total: 8 POWERPLAY - 0 Total: 10 DEFENSES + 1 (stance) + 1 (knees) + 1 (claws) + 1 (eyes) + 1 (ears) + 1 (tail) + 1 (jaws) + 1 (hackles) Total: 8 ATTACK + 2 kick to jaws + 2 random bite Total: 4 INJURIES - 1 light bruise to hip Total: 9 Total for Round Two: 39 / 50 SHAI CLARITY - 2 “Shai would attempt to follow…aiming to land 10 inches away from Shrike” You were facing away from one another. Did you spin around? How was this accomplished? Total: 8 POWERPLAY - 0 Total: 10 DEFENSES + 1 (claws) + 1 (toes) + 1 (knees) + 1 (eyes) + 1 (jaws) + 1 (hackles) + 1 (ears) + 1 (shoulders) + 1 (paws) Total: 9 ATTACK + 2 hold attempt + 3 bite to spine Total: 5 INJURIES - 0 Total: 10 Total for Round Two: 42 / 50 Totals: SHRIKE 41 + 44 = 85 / 100 SHAI 42 + 45 = 87 / 100 And the winner is... SHAI SHRIKE must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Damage: SHRIKE Light bruise to hip – 4 OOC days SHAI None Notes: Tips for writing and some suggestions. (no points are deducted here): BOTH Be clear where your opponent is in relation to you, or where you are in relation to your opponent. Watch you defenses. XD Don’t be scared to take damage, gais! - By [Arin]