Keep Your Heartbeat Suspended

As Batari thrashed and bit at whatever her teeth could find purchase on her prey?s right side, her tongue was once again delighted in the taste of blood. However her battle crazed mind was furious to see it was a superficial wound to the snout. Batari had been hurt, and wanted to bring the pain back to her enemy.

Batari?s plans of revenge were once again hindered by the cleverness of her foe. She had hoped to punish the wolf with her size; but instead the momentum was used against her. Batari?s paws found the other wolf?s shoulders; but it was unstable ground. When the prey shifted its weight backwards, Batari felt her balance thwarted. On instinct she knew that danger was coming next and her tensed body began to move into action as the other wolf?s gaping jaws disappeared towards Batari?s vulnerable underbelly. Crushing her foe would be sweet; but trapping a mouth against her weakest front was death. Batari had already lost her balance and so now only momentum could save her.

Batari shifted her weight forward and to the left, and raised her right hind leg at the same time as she tucked her tail between her legs and against her stomach, no longer needing either leg or tail for balance. Batari snarled in anger as she felt her right hind paw collide with the other wolf?s mouth, as she kicked up with it to protect her belly. When Batari?s forelegs had been destabilized, her left foreleg had been guided to the ground behind her opponents right foreleg, by Batari shifting her weight. Batari had used this left foreleg to push further forward before bending it to allow for her leftwards tumble. This motion had brought Batari?s whole body, including her rear legs farther forward, further ensuring that her right hind paw, which could have reached up to defend her belly despite this, would meet with the enemy?s jaws. As Batari felt the pain and blood flow from her wounded paw, she knew that she would not be walking proudly from this fight; but rather limping away. Still it had been a valuable sacrifice; for a wounded paw was a better wound than an open belly.

Still Batari had felt the hot breath of the other wolf on her stomach, felt the teeth as they brushed against her chest to get at her vulnerable belly, and it had driven her into further rage. As Batari?s body had lurched forward and tumbled to her left, this single motion had served both to aid her defense, and engage her next attack. Batari?s jaws went for the prey?s rear right knee, which was bent forward and thus exposed to her in that it was a ridge as opposed to a smooth surface, for her jaws to clamp on to. Batari?s open and snarling maw attempted to close on this important Joint as she continued her leftward roll, so that as Batari attempted her bite, the bottom of her jaw was parallel to the right side of the other wolf.

While most wolves had learned to bite and shake their prey from side to side to tear and rip and cause harm, Batari had learned from the alligators and crocodiles. Every day of her youth she had lived in fear of that terrible bite, followed by the sickening roll which would rend and tear and separate flesh. As she had grown into an adult, she had turned her fear into her greatest damaging attack. It was Batari?s intent to bite on that knee and bring as large a piece as possible of her foe with her as Batari rolled to her left.

The roll might leave Batari on her back with both hind paws, one wounded and one whole, curled up to defend her belly along with her now tucked tail, chin tucked as low as possible to shield her neck, and both ears flat to her skull as her forepaws also folded to protect her vulnerable underside; but that bite coupled with that roll could be just what she needed to wound her foe and prevent the clever wolf from turning herself to make another pass for Batari?s soft side. Batari had no intentions about stopping that roll either. Not until her belly was facing the earth once more. She knew only then would she be truly in the clear.

This fight was approaching the point where, because she was holding back with no intent to kill on this day, it would end. Only the actions of the clever, smaller wolf remained to see who stood triumphant over whom. It had been a good fight that had gotten the blood pounding in Batari?s veins and flowing from both bodies. Batari?s base instinct screamed at her to continue to fight until death; but her sense of self preservation and her wits were able to, just barely, restrain those urges for now. Any further wounds to her or the other wolf would be wasteful and stupid risks unless one of them intended to kill and eat the other.

- - -

Batari VS D?gmar
Dominance Bout
3/3

Injuries:
Round Two Batari received moderate wounds to the base of her neck by her shoulders on her right side but nothing vital was hurt.
Minor bruising from the chest-ram.

Round Three Batari?s Right rear paw has been bitten and severely although not permanently wounded, as she sacrificed it by putting it in the way of the bite at her underbelly. She will have to get it treated and definitely be limping and trying to avoid using it.


Defense: Batari used her forward toppling momentum and then left front leg to help ensure that her body moved forward as she began her tumble to her left. This also ensured that her right hind leg, which she drew up to protect her belly after shifting her weight as soon as D?gmar lurched forwards, was bitten instead of her belly. Trading a temporarily crippling wound in place of a fatal one.

Batari?s body is going through a roll to the left to break away from her foe. As she rolls she is making sure that when she is most vulnerable her body is tensed, curled to make her belly smaller and more defended, all her paws are in the way, her jaw is tucked in to protect her neck, her tail is tucked, and her ears are flat against her skull.

Batari is not going to stop this roll until her belly is facing the ground again, unless physical impossibility prevents her, an eventuality for which she has done the best she can to be prepare for.

She is also hoping that her offensive attempt during the beginning of this roll has provided an excellent defense.


Attack: When Batari lurched forward and to the left it was not only to protect her belly with her rear right leg, it was also to give her better access to bite at D?gmar?s right rear knee. She is hoping to bite hard, and not let go as she goes into her roll for the most possible damage. A move she learned from watching crocodiles, and not a tactic typical of normal wolves.

In the very least she hopes to prevent D?gmar from being able to turn quick enough to effectively attack her during the most vulnerable part of her roll.


Notes: This has been a fun and enlightening fight, and I really hope that I will receive some helpful and constructive feedback so that I can do a better job in the future. Thank you for bearing with me as I tried my hand at this for the first time. D?gmar is definitely a tricksey hobbit.