Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

Ardyn grinned at the prospect of a melee, and as the skin fell away with each stroke, he mulled over what types of challenge it would bring. He’d been in the melee that tested Taliesyn, Kati, and Rhaegara and that had been fun, though each had focused on one opponent in the three versus three rather than mixing it up and ganging up or fending off multiple opponents. He pulled the hide out behind the bison carcass as he caped the beast’s great hump and neck, working along its back as he let it roll onto its side, glancing to Drachen to be sure he was ready at his end before letting the beast’s weight rock down. Cairo posed the question that he’d been wondering at the back of his mind. He’d fought Eligos and won, although the outcome had surprised him. There’d been a lot more blood than one would expect and Eligos had seemed almost drunken as he retreated. Was the man alright? No, he was alright, of course; Ardyn had investigated the border to be sure and the wolf’s scent was present and healthy, thankfully. Ardyn didn’t want to decapitate a pack in a friendly practice raid by accidentally killing the alpha somehow. “Hopefully soon. We had a surprising amount of losses, even though we won. I like the two you and Mom fought. They’re good for the neighbors, and the guy Aoife fought did well, too. Good practice going up against them, I think.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

So that was that and the males present all agreed to a melee and went back to focusing on their work, Drachen's mind drifting to the up coming melee. The last time he had any sort of fight was when his half brother and his followers decided to kill him and he had been able to fight them off enough before he leapt off the side of the cliff and into the stormy sea below. The black and tan male shuddered as he remembered how the frigid water closed over his head and nearly stole his breath away before the current took him out to sea. He huffed a soft breath through his nose before he brought his attention back to the present. Luckily, the incident did not create an aversion to fighting as his heart thrummed in excitement. He made a few more fine slices before Ardyn's gaze caught his attention and he nodded his dark head at the younger male before stepping back to allow the bison to fall. The conversation then turned to their neighbors and when they would raid, Drachen's dark ear flicked in a silent response. He had participated in the last raid, though only in the way of guarding the healers and nothing too much happened there. They had won in the end and the concept of friendly raids with the closest pack was a bit of a strange concept to the Vaekhal male but he could appreciate the thought process behind it. "Best to keep our eyes and ears open even if things are quiet." Drachen rumbled softly, his deep blue eyes flicking to meet both males before returning to the next area of skinning. After this area he would be done and it looked like the bison hide would be completely removed from the meat. "With how the seasons have been so cold it would not be a farfetched idea that they would raid for supplies sooner rather than later. Especially with winter around the corner." the male finished, his tan brows furrowing slightly as he reached a fairly difficult spot and his makeshift knife was not as dexterous as fingerlike claws of his companion. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think