four and twenty black birds

Theta laughed as the other pup fell, it was clear she had won this. A bird came in and went to protect the losing pup. This made Theta laugh even more so, even the pups' bird thought she was weak.
The thought occurred to her that this could be one of Noirs' siblings. She had done him a favor by winning this. Theta wondered what Noir would think about this, she would have to find out the next time she saw him.

Theta noticed that the other pup said they were just having fun, Theta certainly thought the fight itself was fun, but it wasn't all fun and games. Theta had beaten the other pup, there was no question there. There was no chance now that the other pup would register as having any major importance in Thetas' mind.

Theta decided that the best course of action was to confirm what the other pup was saying, even she didn't agree with it. "yeah, it was a spar. We were improving our fighting skills"