Naiche thought of how he had never been one to be late as he made his way to the battle area.  Though really, that wasn't totally true.  As a foolish pup so long ago it hadn't seemed a big deal to him.  Ok, being a pup hadn't been all that long ago either, but it did feel as if it had.  A lot had happened in a short span of time.  The wolf Naiche once was would not have minded being a few minute late, but now Naiche would never let any find him to be a straggler.  He had been told to meet at noon, so it was that before the sun had reached the height for noon he would be near the battlegrounds, ready to get this fight going.  

Naiche hadn't met the one he was too fight yet, and what little he knew came from a few words Resin had told him yesterday.  Aslatiel was also new to fighting but showed promise and had a tendency to do the unexpected.  That just meant Naiche would have to do the unexpected as well.  The wolf imagined someone else large and bulky as that seemed a common form from those he had been meeting.  It wasn't for sure, but it seemed a fair guess until he met her.  Unfortunately, until he did it would be hard to formulate how to fight.

Naiche would look out at the beach again, enjoying the strange beauty the place held before making his way to the battling area. Despite his direct approach to Resin yesterday and other wolves he had met Naiche wasn't really one to speak frivolously.  If the two were already there, or when they approached it was a simple , "Hello," offered with respect.  His focus would hone in on Aslatiel curious to see what the younger wolf look like.  Depending on Aslatiel's demeanor would help decide if he should be more outspoken or if the kid would be the chatty type.

"Speech"

The big woman had been at the training grounds for quite a while. Others could run patrols today. There weren't as many members of the pack coming to train as she would wish, but it wasn't wholly her concern. The Reaper should have seen to three advancement of the pack, but Malalia had vanished, much to Resins disappointment. There girl had shown promise.

Asla soon arrived and Resin had her running drills as she waited for Naiche to show. He wasn't late. They had both simply been early. He arrived early as well and, drawing near, greeted them. The big woman gave the boy a nod before motioning with her paw to the girl at the far end of the platform attacking wood and straw training dummies. "Your opponent, Aslatiel," she rumbled.

Aslatiel had arrived early with the intent to practice before her sparring partner arrived. She liked to get warmed up and loosen her muscles before a fight. The small, cream and grey girl practiced standard attacks on the wolf sized dummies that her aunt had crafted for the warriors to use.

Voices from behind caught the girls attention and she halted her attack to turn and look. A blonde boy stood there talking to her grandmother. He didn't seem to be too much older than she was. That would be nice. She liked being around others her own age.

Shaking out her coat, she padded towards the pair as they turned their attention to her. Coming in close, she flashed a grin, galaxy gaze turning up at the corners. "Hello, I'm Aslatiel. You can call me Asla."

It was the smile that added the charm to her as much as the coloring.  She was friendly and young and likely would be turning more than one males eyes.  It wasn't an overly important detail, but he was soaking in as much information as he could.  Did any of this suggest how she might fight?  "Asla? Pleasure to meet you." Naiche was still working on how much formal speech he needed to show in a pack, and formality seemed safer than overly casual. "I'm Naiche."

Naiche moved to a spot in the battlers ring, "I feel the best way to discover who best makes good allies is fighting.  How does that sound to you Asla?"   It made sense to Naiche, if a wolf is capable then they are worthy of respect and worthy of being an ally.  The term 'friend' wasn't one he would cast around lightly.  Right now Naiche wasn't sure if he wanted to make friends.  Team mates, close pack, family and allies were all good but the term friend was up for debate.  

Was it rude to try and urge her to get right to the fighting portion? It couldn’t be too bad, after all if she was the chatty sort there was always after the fight.  Naiche settled into the logic of no planning ahead of time.  She would try and surprise him so the best plan of action was to do whatever his instinct told him too.  His first guess would be that she would be more offensive than defensive, simply because looking at the small wolf one might think the opposite.  Naiche refused to over think it, react.
"Speech"

[/b][/color]

Aslatiel Fatalis The young man gave his name and Asla accepted it with a nod, her smile never faltering. It was an act. She was ready to fight. She didn't know who this boy was or where he came from, but she would find out after if she cared. If he impressed her, anyway. Padding out onto the sparring field, she listened to his words, grey ears perking. Fighting made him realize his allies? Aslatiel continued to smile, her head tilting gently to the side. In her sweet tones she said, somewhat playfully, "You serve my father. Doesn't that already make you my ally?" She was garbed in her armor already. There was no point in training without it. Asla merely had to slip on the antlered helm and she was ready to go. "Don't take it easy on me because I'm small. I hate that." She offered a warning before she began. "And if I win, I get a kiss." Aslatiel rushed the larger wolf. He was right. Her way of battle was heavily offensive. It looked as though she might slam square into his body, but at the last moment she juked to the side. Jaws opened wide as she aimed to sink her teeth into one foreleg while allowing the force to swing her body around so that the quills of her porcupine armor might sink into his abdomen. "Speech"

Aslatiel Sirin Fatalis vs Naiche for Spar (A kiss)
Round 1/3
Age: Under 1 year.
Size: Small
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Kudu Skull with antlers
Defensive Battle Accessory: Porcupine Armor
Companion 1: Snow Leopard, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Bat, Female - Flying
Mutation 1: Cat claws - Offensive
Skills: Advanced Hunter & Advanced Fighter
Specialty: N/A

Na Naiche’s eyes followed Asla as she walked, looking for any signs of weakness.  He remained still other than his own ears pricking forward a bit at her question, a small smirk at her comment, “You missed a key word, ‘good.’  I will treat anyone in this pack as my ally to improve the strength of the pack. However, some are bound to be better than others in matching abilities or personalities.”

Sirius didn’t seem the type to let weaklings into his pack, so he was feeling less concerned with that.  Still, Naiche refused to fall into blind trust.  He also had certain standards of wolves he could enjoy working with more versus needing too.  Her playful tone had Naiche expecting she was one of the ones he would grow tired of being about for extended periods.  “Sirius is your father?” She must have plenty of training if she was his kid, right?

Naiche shifted his weight between front and rear legs for a moment, getting a feel for how the ground moved under his feet, and putting his mind more into focus.  There was no need to respond to her instruction on not taking it easy on the girl.  Naiche couldn’t imagine why he would go easy on anyone, especially the daughter of the warlord. The part that surprised him was the kiss. What was she thinking? Did he look like he had any desire to kiss her?

No.  It was a distraction from focusing on the fight, “Fine, so long as if I win you help me get some armor.” Naiche doubted he’d get that, but she didn’t get to claim a prize unless Naiche did as well.  The yellowish-brown wolf had no desire to request a kiss or anything of that sort in return.

The little creme wolf came charging in fast.  Naiche squatted low and did the same, charging in his lips pushed out and gums pulled up for a great look at his teeth.  His pulse quickened as the thrill of the fight.  Naiche’s body tried to follow hers, a paw moving back so he could pivot to try and not let her get past his guard.  His foot missed her snapping teeth more by luck of motion than planning.  The antler helmet was right near his face after her attempt at his foot.  His snapped at the bottom of the antlers on the helmet with the intent to give it a hard shake like snapping a rabbits neck, and at the same time leaning his weight in.  The point was to throw her off balance or even knock her down if her balance wasn’t good enough.  It had left him vulnerable to the quills in his side though, which would be even greater reason to grip the antlers hard if he got them… from the pain of the dang quills!

Naiche Dauner vs Aslatiel for spar (no kiss)
Round 1/3
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Medium
Build: Light
Skills: Novice Fighter & Intermediate Navigator
Specialty: N/A
"Speech"

Aslatiel Fatalis At having her antlers grabbed, the girl grunted. The quills had landed and stuck home, because Naiche grunted too. Aslatiel gave a rough pull downward, trying to pull her opponent off his balance. As she did that, she raised one paw and snapped the catch on her helmet, leaving Naiche with a mouthful of horn and herself free as a bird. Curling her body to the side, she opened her jaws wide. Taking a play from her grandmother's book. She raised off of the ground with her front paws and darted forward with the intent to sink them into the side of Naiche's neck just behind his jaw. Adrenaline surged through the girl. She was alive when she fought. It felt so natural to her to sink fang and claw into a living, breathing being. It felt right to battle for dominance. Each clash of fang and snarl of impact was music to her ears. "Speech"

Aslatiel Sirin Fatalis vs Naiche for Spar (A kiss)
Round 2/3
Age: Under 1 year.
Size: Small
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Kudu Skull with antlers
Defensive Battle Accessory: Porcupine Armor
Companion 1: Snow Leopard, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Bat, Female - Flying
Mutation 1: Cat claws - Offensive
Skills: Advanced Hunter & Advanced Fighter
Specialty: N/A

Naiche had not expected it would be so easy for her to quickly get the helmet off.  His back legs braced hard but the momentum of his shaking the antlers with the lack of resistance had his chest out and neck stretched up.  Admittedly it made for a pretty good target.  With Naiche’s weight already heavier on his back legs, he sprang forward.  If she wanted to bite his throat it was a great opportunity, but would she be ready for him to move forward? Naiche wasn’t worried about his neck, if his plan worked, she wouldn’t likely have it long if at all.  He wanted to just straight out knock her down, his weight slamming into hers.  That should break any hold she got and hopefully have her on the ground.  

Naiche imagined if he could get her down, he would be able to keep her down.  This time he was fighting someone smaller than he was.  Naiche wouldn’t let that advantage go to waste! Not that he was really use to fighting someone smaller.  As a pup all his practice spars had included a lot of dancing around each other and looking for openings. Now he just wanted to take down the enemy as fast as he could.  One way or another Naiche refused to lose this fight.  

Naiche Dauner vs Aslatiel for spar (no kiss)
Round 2/3
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Medium
Build: Light
Skills: Novice Fighter & Intermediate Navigator
Specialty: N/A

"Speech"

Aslatiel Fatalis He moved at the last minute and her teeth caught shoulder instead. Oh well. She would take it. His weight hit her in an attempt to push her down, but she refused to go. Instead, sharp cat claws extended. She attempted to sink them into his flesh and hold tight to his body with her upper half. If possible, she would quickly adjust her bite so that it was at the base of his neck atop his spine rather than his shoulder. They were allowed three attacks each in a spar. She couldn't wait to see what her grandma had to say about not only her skill, but Naiche's as well. She hoped that she was steadily improving. Gods knew that she'd been training enough for it. "Speech"

Aslatiel Sirin Fatalis vs Naiche for Spar (A kiss)
Round 3/3
Age: Under 1 year.
Size: Small
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Kudu Skull with antlers
Defensive Battle Accessory: Porcupine Armor
Companion 1: Snow Leopard, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Bat, Female - Flying
Mutation 1: Cat claws - Offensive
Skills: Advanced Hunter & Advanced Fighter
Specialty: N/A

She didn’t go down!

That was frustrating but the irritation didn't last long as surprise hit when he felt her claws.  Extendable claws? What was she, part cat?  Naiche would save that for another day.  Her teeth had his shoulder, her claws had flesh and her helmet was gone.  Naiche had no intent to give her another shot at his neck.  Naiche dropped his front paws down as if he was going to bow, his neck ducking low and then lunging it back up to try and get his teeth into the underside of her neck instead.  He hoped it might get the claws and teeth out of him as well, but that was a minor detail in comparison to protecting his throat and going for hers.

This was his last ditch effort to win.  Were there better ways to win? Very likely, but this was the best he could come up with in this exact moment.  The wheat-colored wolf had never expected cat claws and until he got her had not imagined a wolf so much smaller than him.

Naiche Dauner vs Aslatiel for spar (no kiss)
Round 3/3
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Medium
Build: Light
Skills: Novice Fighter & Intermediate Navigator
Specialty: N/A

"Speech"

And the winner is...

ASLATIEL

NAICHE must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Adjusted rolls: 136.3 73.7 3 97.9 ASLA'S total is.. 340.9 Adjusted rolls: 48.3 51 73.6 40 NAICHE'S total is.. 212.9

Naiche bent low with the intent to bite her neck and Asla giggled aloud. She met his teeth with her own, slicing her lip on his exposed fangs, but it didn't matter. It was for the shock factor. She simultaneously threw the rest of her body forward, wrapping it about his chest and neck to haul him to the ground. Yeah, she had essentially kissed him during their fight, but now she'd get the real thing.

With Naiche on the ground beneath her, she was the clear victor. With a grin, Aslatiel stared down at her opponent. There was the lust of battle still burning in those purple eyes as she leaned down to claim her prize. Soft, blackened lips touched upon those of the wheaten man. Her lids dropped to half mast, but she never lost eye contact. Leaving her own blood smeared across Naiches mouth from her split lip, Asla winked and stepped back, allowing him to rise.

Turning, she went to talk to her grandmother about the fight. Naiche was completely forgotten for now.

Her giggle fueled the desire for her throat, how dare she giggle in a fight? Even as fast as thoughts were he was still in the middle of his indignant thought when he heard and felt the reverberation of teeth on teeth clacking and then felt her weight knocking him to the ground. Even as he landed he seemed to recall the concept was meant to be that Naiche knock her over! This had gone the wrong way.

It took effort to stop the snarling that ran through his throat as she leaned down. It had been a bet, not something he had planned on but Naiche had thrown terms back, had he not? The snarl was bit back to accept if not give much in return for the kiss. The look in his eyes as the entire time was a burning desire to bite while she was right there. This damn female. He had only known Asla for a few minutes and already knew this was one packmate he didn’t like. There had to be better opponents to fight.

Then she was gone, and walking back to Resin. The hell? Naiche got back up, shaking his coat and loads of tension out. Working to lower that inner anger of losing to her. It had nothing to do wither her being a girl, nothing to do with her size, it had to do with her attitude! She certainly did live up to her little ‘princess’ title in all the worst ways possible. She had just made it quite clear she felt herself superior.

Naiche watched her for a moment, then turned his own shoulder. He was done. He took a few steps away then inwardly moaned. Didn’t he want Resin’s advice? Was it really worth the cost of being around Asla? The wheat-toned wolf took a slow exhale, calming himself the rest of the way for rational thought. Turning about he headed towards Resin, looking to her for critiquing without a glance to the stuckup princess. May she kiss a toad.

He didn’t question Resin right away, Asla had got to her first. May she kiss a toad and a snake, a venomous one.
"Speech"

The fight was over and the victor was clear. Aslatiel had ended up on top and had gotten her kiss, much to Resin's amusement. The girls tactics were sudden and surprising, but that was what worked for her. As her granddaughter approached she instantly began asking about a progress report. Naiche was slower to approach, but the big woman assumed it was because of his pride.

As the pair sat before her, Resin spoke. "Well done, both of you. I could see the effort you put forth." Directed her golden eye to Aslatiel, she focused in on her first. "Your attacks were well placed and you thought on your feet. Your ego might get the better of you one of these days, so be careful who you goad while you're fighting." Asla had gone a little too far, but it had worked for her, so Resin couldn't say too much against it. Just a simply, grandmotherly warning.

"Naiche," she began. "Your attacks were smooth and strong. Asla has more skill simply because of how much she trains." That lone eye fixed on the boys face. "Don't let her wiles fool you into getting angry. Anger makes you vulnerable to mistakes." She gave him a nod then pulled herself to her paws. "Today is done. Continue to train. In one months time, we'll do this again. I'm eager to see what you've both learned by then."