Steel and claw

Daytime activity was not his speciality, so he was just beginning to fall into his routines and rhythms with the arrival of dusk. He and his canine companion were preparing for a patrol when he heard the long, booming summons that announced the intrusion of a raiding party. A low growl rumbled in his chest, and through the young male was hardly an experienced fighter, he was eager to prove himself. After so many failures as a Klein, now was his chance for a crumb of redemption. He jerked his narrow skull to indicate that the dog should join him, long legs quickly eating up the terrain and outpacing the dog as his ghostly physique slipped through growing shadows. Pale as the driven snow and shot through with a swirling mixture of gunmetal and charcoal, his silhouette was easily broken up by each long shadow that passed over him on his race towards the borders.

The horizon stretched out on either side as he emerged from the encroaching woodlands that covered the island, and he could see a few wolves on the near side of the land bridge, the striking violet forms of two leaders already engaged in combat. Their opponents were armoured, and trailed by companions in many cases. He was outmatched, but that was.. fine. It would just make his victory sweeter. He closed in on the group that formed the raiding party, mismatched eyes tracking the motions and movements of their opponents. There was a younger fae, clad in hues of a moonlit sky with the kind of haphazard alabaster breaking up her form that hinted at a shared lineage. Their builds were similar, their ages close enough that he hoped her fighting experience wouldn't be so much broader than his own that he would be immediately crushed.

The pale dancer picked his way closer, head low between narrow shoulders and eyes roving to and fro in search of potential interruptions. And then he was within striking distance of the leggy blue female, close enough to see the violet hue of her eyes and the scattered pinpricks that mimicked stars across her pelage. A small dip of his head, mute display of respect, before he bared his fangs and lunged. He'd left a few feet of distance prior to kicking off, so he was left to close roughly four feet of open terrain before he could attack. Pale auds pinned flat against his skull, tail flagging out behind him for balance, the inexperienced young man was opting for a no-nonsense, full frontal attack. She was a bit taller than him, he realized as he closed in, which was a rare opportunity. Joints eased, bent somewhat, as he sought to splay open his thin jaws and sink his teeth into the space just above her right shoulder- burying sharp teeth into the meaty portion of the right side of her neck. Part of him hoped that his own momentum, coupled with the pain inflicted by his teeth, would force her a few steps back, or throw her off balance. That would give him the upper hand!