She'd finally let that craving for a good fight build up to a fever pitch. It was overwhelming and could no longer be ignored, so, knowing both Feli and Ruthgar were either with the kids or very close to them she'd set off in look of a good fight. Licking her lips in anticipation of what she sought, Mara stalked her way to the Battlefield,  the amber jewels that were her eyes set aglow in the low lighting, bright against the darkness of her pelt.

When she arrived in the open space heavy with the scent of spars and fights both recent and old her senses were nearly overwhelmed. After pausing to take a deep breath, she lifted her head skyward to let out a long, loud howl to summon an opponent, then settled down to wait. She didn't need anything too intense, just a good spar to get her heart beating a bit.

[For plot reasons: Liquid timing the thread to slightly before the Lirim meeting]

The pale boy could feel himself getting antsy, his mother had clearly drifted from the pack and it left Torin unsure where he stood in regards to his carefully thought out plans. He needed an out, a release of some sort to help him work through his nervous energy so he could think clearly again. As much as he was sure he could get that release from challenging his father or any of his siblings a part of him longed to find new opponents, face different techniques and hopefully learn something new. So his paws drew him towards the battlefield, the ground here was was verdant and pleasing to the eye but the acrid tang of blood and sweat and adrenaline lay thick in the air and seemed to have seeped into the very earth itself. A call grabbed his attention and the boy trotted towards the challenge. A woman, smaller than himself but otherwise just as imposing appeared to be the source and he approached with marked caution. "If it was you who called for an opponent, then I am willing to oblige." Talk Think

This was fantastic, she was finally able to do what she enjoyed for a day, free of concerns about her pups or worries about the changes in her life. Now it was just anticipation that filled her mind, washing away everything else as she stood on pact dirt awaiting an opponent. She didn't have to wait terribly long, either - a pale man soon came to answer her call. Excellent. She immediately studied this opponent, ticking off mental boxes as she surveyed his appearance. He was taller, heavier, and slightly wider set than herself, though he wasn't exactly a tank. He was also clearly younger than her. "If it was you who called for an opponent, then I am willing to oblige" After taking a good look at her soon to be opponent, she would answer, tone betraying how glad she was to have someone to spar with at last, "Excellent," she began, drawing out the word as she considered the ones that would come next, "I'm not looking for anything overly intense, so no maims, but anything else is fair game." Maybe a different wolf wouldn't thrown in some tidbit about having pups to get back to, but Mara wasn't exactly one of those moms who never shut up about her kids. This was Mara time anyways. No kid talk right now. "If you accept my very loose terms then you're free to have the first move if you desire it," she tacked on, already beginning to slip into a tentative fighters stance she she'd be ready to jump right into this. MARA vs TORIN for SPAR Round 0/2 Height: 36 inches Build: Medium Notes: Lemme know if you want more than two rounds, I'm happy to do more since I need the practice. Walk. "Talk" "You" Think

Torin nodded curtly but not rudely at her words, he agreed with her terms but felt no need to vocalize as such. He once more ran his gaze over her and was struck that she seemed a woman who was in her element here in this moment and he felt woefully under prepared. He grimaced but pushed down that self doubt. He slipped smoothly into a more defensive stance, his knees bending and tail swinging out behind him in line with his spine. Torin's head dropped so that his chin was protecting his vulnerable throat. Ears pulled back instinctively to press flat against his skull and his lips curled to show his fangs. Torin charged then, trying to close the distance between himself and the woman. His hope was to pull up just short of plowing right though her and to slam his right shoulder blade into the left side of her chest. ideally he wanted to stomp down with his front right paw on her front left one just as he collided with her form. Torin v. Mara for Spar Round 1/2 Height: 40" Build: Medium Talk Think

As soon as he nodded she began to set her defenses for real, legs spreading out to evenly distribute her weight, toes spreading and flexing into the earth below as knees bent slightly to keep her joints loose and ready to move. Ears flicked back against her dark head as her chin tucked to protect her throat, tail sliding into position even with her spine. Lips pulled back to expose ivory fangs and eyes narrowed so they'd be better protected in the spar to come. Watching his approach as the man barreled towards her, she did her best to read his movements, taking a deep breath before coming to life and springing to action. Taking a step forward to meet the incoming opponent as well as begin building a little momentum of her own, Mara pivoted to the right as he came within a foot of her, lessening the impact as his shoulder only grazed the left side of her chest and shoulder region, off center but still enough to leave a bruise. His stomp at her paw roughly hit it's mark, his claws scratching across her dark slate paw as she attempted to drag it away and keep moving. Not letting the force of the impact to her shoulder go to waste, she used it to continue sliding to the right, haunches turning around her front half in an attempt to make herself stand parallel with him, both wolves facing the same direction with Mara on his right. Here she would keep her momentum going and try to slam her left hip into his side and ideally leave a bit of a bruise there. Next she would raise her head slightly to make up for the height difference as she made an attempt to bite at the soft tissue where his jawline met the right side of his throat, certain that if she attained the needed proximity she'd likely land some kind of hit. Despite the burning of her scratched paw she did her best to keep her weight even, Spark-like eyes coming alive with the thrill of the fight. If she could only do this for the rest of her life she'd die happy, with plenty of adrenaline in her veins to numb any pain from assorted injuries. MARA vs TORIN for SPAR Round 1/2 Height: 36 inches Build: Medium Notes: Walk. "Talk" "You" Think

As Torin felt his shoulder graze her form a quick tang of disappointment coursed through him, which was mildly offset by his paw hitting home on top of hers, still she managed to slip out from under his weight as she spun so that she was standing abreast of him. Torin felt bone collide with his left side, her hip thrust pushing into the fleshy area of his abdomen right before his hips. He automatically hissed in pain, lowering his head some and stumbling with the sudden impact, so it was that he felt her jaws grip the lower left side of his mandible. Torin wrenched his jaw open and made to rear onto his hind legs, pivoting as he did so so that if he had been on all fours his nose would have been right against the front edge of her left shoulder blade. Torin's plan was to try and get his front paws over her form and bring the full brunt of his weight down on her shoulders, his neck craning at the same time to try and grip the base of her skull, where it met her neck, in his gaping jaws. Torin v. Mara for Spar Round 2/2 Height: 40" Build: Medium Notes: As I mentioned a few times I'm gonna be out of town this weekend so not sure what my chances to get online will be like, so if you wanna go a head and request judgement for this thread please do, I have no preferences in judges. Also good fight! Talk Think

There was nothing she liked more than this, feeling hits land on an opponent as well as the pain of a well-aimed blow hitting its mark on her own flesh. The satisfaction of dodging the pale wolf's first attack was replaced by a desire to keep going for it when the blood welled up on her paw. When she felt her hip connect as she'd intended she knew this was what she'd been waiting all those long months to return to. Oh yeah, the one thing that really made her feel alive was back in her life and it felt so damn good. After her bite landed Mara didn't have time to do much more than set her defenses a little better as he came at her, rearing up suddenly in a new angle of attack. In response she ensured her weight was properly distributed over evenly spread legs, head lowered even with her spine, hackles raising and scruff bunching up over her neck. He managed to land on her, causing Mara to grunt as she shouldered the weight of the heavier wolf, stepping forward slightly in the hopes that his weight might slide back away from her neck more. As his weight shifted and he leaned forward she swung her head around towards him, narrowly escaping the bite near her skull but still feeling fangs sink in halfway down her neck. Growling, she tried her best to turn her head further left and aimed a bite at his side behind his front leg, attempting to sink her fangs in enough to draw blood and hopefully his attention and balance with it. Next she would swing her hips away from him trying to get her body aligned so she could try to face him more head on. Shifting her weight to three legs, tail flagging out even with her spine ready to adjust her balance at needed, Mara would suddenly strike out with her left foreleg to attempt scratching at the center of his stomach just where his ribs ended. MARA vs TORIN for SPAR Round 2/2 Height: 36 inches Build: Medium Notes: Thanks so much for the spar Lolaf! Hit me up if you wanna do more sometime cause I'm so down! Walk. "Talk" "You" Think

TORIN vs MARA for SPAR ROUND ONE TORIN: WRITING 10/10 for Power Play: None seen! 6/10 for Clarity: Attacks -1 “...to slam his right shoulder blade into the left side of her chest.” His shoulder blade is on his back so how is he slamming it into his opponent's chest? -1 What part of the left side of her chest? Because it's such a large area it's important to narrow the target down further. Upper chest, lower chest, center left – all would have been good answers. -1 “Ideally he wanted to stomp down with his front right paw on her front left one just as he collided with her form.” The word 'ideally' here is a little confusing. It makes it difficult to tell if he really is trying to stomp on her foot or if he's only going to stomp if he's successful in slamming into her. Positioning -1 What positioning is he aiming for when he charges Mara? Is he charging head on? Coming in at an angle? 4/10 for Attacks: +2 for slam +2 for stomp 5/5 for Defenses: +1 for bent knees +1 for tail level with spine +1 for lowered head +1 for flattened ears 10/10 for Injuries: None Status 2/12 for Experience: +1 for beginner fighter +1 for beginner intellect 5/5 for Health: Pack member Healthy Torin’s round one total: 42/62 MARA: WRITING 10/10 for Power Play: None seen! 4/10 for Clarity: Attacks -1 “...and try to slam her left hip into his side...” Where on his side? Positioning -1 “...both wolves facing the same direction with Mara on his right.” If Mara is pivoting to her right how does she wind up on his right side? Directions -1 “...Mara pivoted to the right...” Whose right? Movements -1 “...Mara pivoted to the right...” What is she pivoting around? Damage -1 How severe is the bruise to her chest/shoulder? -1 How severe are the scratches to her paw? 4/10 for Attacks: +1 for hip bump +3 for bite 5/5 for Defenses: +1 for weight distributed +1 for bent knees +1 for flattened ears +1 for tail leveled with spine +1 for narrowed eyes 10/10 for Injuries: Mild bruising to left side of chest (damage assigned by judge) Mild welts/scratches to left front paw (damage assigned by judge) No deductions for first round Status 3/12 for Experience: +1 for beginner fighter +2 for beginner intellect 4/5 for Health: -1 Loner Healthy Mara’s round one total: 40/62 ROUND TWO TORIN: WRITING 10/10 for Power Play: None seen! 2/10 for Clarity: Attacks -2 “Torin's plan was to try and get his front paws over her form and bring the full brunt of his weight down on her shoulders...” I would have liked to see quite a bit more detail here. Where will his paws land on her? How much of his body is he using here? Will just his paws make contact with Mara? Positioning -1 “...pivoting as he did so...” Which direction is he pivoting in? -1 “...his nose would have been right against the front edge of her left shoulder blade.” If she is standing on his left side, wouldn't her right side be closest to him, not her left? -2 The way you explain his pivot is a bit confusing. I would have liked to have seen quite a bit more detail here. Instead of using what his positioning might have been had he been on four paws, it would have been better to explain his real positioning. Damage -1 How severe is the bruising to his side? -1 How severe is the bite wound to his head/neck? 5/10 for Attacks: +2 for slam +3 for bite 0/5 for Defenses: None seen 7/10 for Injuries: -1 for mild bruising to left side of abdomen (damage assigned by judge) -2 for moderate puncture wounds to right side of neck/head (damage assigned by judge) Status 2/12 for Experience: +1 for beginner fighter +1 for beginner intellect 5/5 for Health: Pack member Healthy Torin’s round two total: 31/62 MARA: WRITING 9/10 for Power Play: Godmoding -1 “As his weight shifted and he leaned forward...” Nowhere in Torin's post did it say he shifted his weight. This is a very minor powerplay as it doesn't effect the outcome of anything, but it's still a powerplay. Be very careful when talking about your opponent's movements! 6/10 for Clarity: Attacks -1 “...aimed a bite at his side behind his front leg...” Where behind his front leg? -1 Which side is she biting at? It should be stated even if you feel it's obvious just so all your bases are covered Damage -1 Did she take any damage from his slam? If not, you need to state why -1 How severe is the bite to her neck? 4/10 for Attacks: +3 for bite +1 for scratch 5/5 for Defenses: +1 for distributed weight +1 for lowered head +1 for raised hackles +1 for scruff scrunched +1 for tail level with spine 6/10 for Injuries: -1for mild bruising to shoulder blades (damage assigned by judge) -3 for moderate puncture wounds to neck (damage assigned by judge) Status 3/12 for Experience: +1 for beginner fighter +2 for beginner intellect 4/5 for Health: -1 Loner Healthy Mara’s round two total: 37/62 Totals: TORIN: 73/124 MARA: 77/124 And the winner is... MARA! Torin must give up by either submitting, fleeing, or passing out. Damage: Both: All damage has healed at this point! Notes: Tips for writing and some suggestions. (no points are deducted here): For both:  Good fight, guys! I'm going to address you both here because you both seemed to struggle with the same things. Clarity was by far your biggest problem area. Try not to leave anything to the imagination when writing up fight posts. State your intentions simply and concisely and you should see your clarity score rise! It's also always a good idea to double check your positioning as it's very easy to confuse your left and right, and little mistakes like these can really confuse the fight. I look forward to judging more of your fights! - By Lazuli

For a moment it was all a flurry of biting and scratching but he was faltering, the older more experienced woman was pushing the offensive and even a wolf as proud as Torin could tell the tide had shifted and he was fighting a losing battle. He felt claws rake his stomach and he took a wavering step back, tucking his tail slightly as he spoke. "I yield." He spoke calmly, a hint of pride still in his tone. "I can tell when I'm beat, and I'd rather not have to limp all the way home." He watched her wary, aware that if she wanted to keep pressing the attack she could and he'd likely still be out matched. Though then our agreement about maims would be null and void, I'd go for her eyes if I had to. In the end though he'd still rather not. Talk Think

She wouldn't have minded continuing with this spar for a while longer, but once the tide turned in her favor the woman had a sneaking suspicion time was limited. Sure enough, the younger wolf gave in. Stepping back herself, Mara reigned in her thirst for battle and nodded curtly to the boy. A hint of a smile flickered on her lips as she said, "It was a good spar, keep practicing and you'll improve quickly, I'm sure." Well heck, that was basically her niceness quota met for the month. Flicking her tail in a half-assed farewell, Mara decided she would go hang out roughly in the area of the orchard so if her children needed her while she recuperated for future spars she could answer quickly.