The remnants of a small prairie dog carcass swung from his jaws as he walked, mostly eaten but with enough meat left on the bones for a snack, and he was intending on keeping it for later. There was enough prey around that he did not feel as possessive of his prize as he usually would, but it was easier to eat what he had than to go catch another. He blinked a couple times as a large drop of rain fell directly into his eye, huffing loudly as he glared up at the rainy evening sky. It was not pouring down, but the rain was enough to make the ground a bit muddy where larger hooved animals had broken up the grass, and occasionally he stepped into a squelchy patch of grass that oozed up into his paw pads. It was kinda gross if he had to be honest, but nowhere near as bad as it could be. Laith continued his brisk pace, not looking for a place to settle down just yet for the night, but he would keep an eye out for any type of cover, though this place seemed to be an endless expanse of grassland and he doubted there would be a nice hidden place to sleep. Oh well, if he got murdered in his sleep tonight then that was just bad fucking luck.

Come down, come down sweet reverence

With a satisfying crunch Jynn roughly chewed the small prairie dog before swallowing it down in large chunks. Her large ears flicked back along her skull as the rain started to come down. Bleh! She wasn't overly fond of the rain but she'd traveled in it enough not to let a gentle rain get in her way. Besides, rain was expected with spring. At least the weather was returning to normal after a particularly hellish winter.

She licked the blood off her lips and headed out across the prairie with no real plants in particular. Though if she found a badger den maybe she could widen it enough that she could squeeze into some shelter for the night. As she wandered she spied an ashen gray male. In his mouth he had a prairie dog. "Decent evening for hunting despite the rain," she chirped.

With the rain pattering down softly on the ground and getting in his eyes, and the sweet scent of the bloody carcass filling his nose, Laith was not aware that he wasn't alone until the stranger spoke. His head turned to face her, eyes squinting as he looked her over. She looked nothing like a wolf: all legs with weird fur on her back. He snorted, managing some sort of a sneer around the carcass clutched in his jaws. "Sure, if 'oo 'ike this sor' of wea'er," he said in a muffled voice. Rain could be nice at times, especially in hot weather, but it was still a bit cold from the winter, even with his thick coat. She seemed quite happy though, and clearly that meant she was some type of masochist or something. Yea, that'd be it. He set the carcass down on the ground, licking his lips to clean the blood off around his mouth, and cleared his throat. His eyes stared directly at her, looking over her weird body before settling on her bright purple eyes. "You out here for fun, or what?" Maybe she was hunting as he had been, although it was starting to get a bit late for one to be out adventuring.

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn missed the smirk, content to gaze out across the prairie and enjoy the sound of the rain. That was the only think she really liked about raining days. Listing to the rain fall while snuggled up in her den on a cozy hide was a wonderful way to settle in for the evening. Perhaps she could make that a reality after she got out of the weather.

"Can't say I care for being out in the rain. Algoma has great hunting but not a lot of shelter." She shivered lightly before shaking out her coat. "Just grabbing a bite to eat when the rain started. Thinking of heading back. Say, you a fighter by chance? Fancy a warm up spar?" A little movement would be just what she needed to shake of the chill of the rain and get herself ready for the long trek ahead.

He grunted in agreement, head swivelling around to briefly check out the prey not too far in the distance. It was odd, seeing so many larger beasts just calmly milling around, and even a whole bunch of smaller creatures darting to and fro, almost like they owned the place. It was a little insulting to be honest, did they not think he, a wolf, was scary enough to be afraid of? Preposterous. "I s'pose so," he said with a shrug. So far he had only caught a prairie dog, and he was not about to take the larger creatures on solo, but perhaps it was better to hunt here in a group than do it solo. The lack of shelter however, he could definitely agree on. There was nowhere for him to hide from the rain, and if there was he would absolutely be there instead of walking around in it like a fucking moron. His gaze landed sharply on the strange female when she spoke of sparring, a single brow raised. She wanted to go a few rounds with him. her? She was built like a handful of sticks hurriedly joined together with some rope, all spindly legs and sharp angles. Although, he had been thoroughly beaten by that one brute of a wolf not too long ago... maybe this would be a good opportunity to really test out his skills against someone who looked a lot easier to win against. And a spar, that meant no actual damage, right? That would be a new one, normally he just pissed off a wolf and got a set of teeth to the face. "I dabble now and then," he said a little cautiously, only now wondering why she had brought it up if she didn't look like the type of creature to be picking fights with strangers, even if she asked nicely beforehand. "Wouldn't be opposed to that idea." It would get the blood flowing, that's for sure, and maybe stave off the coldness for a bit. He moved his half-eaten carcass to the side then stood facing the woman with a squared stance, simply staring at her with a cocked head. Would she make the first move? Is that how this worked?

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn grinned as the man mentioned that he dabbled in fighting. From her perspective he looked like a well built fighter and she wondered if he was under selling himself. Either way she was the sort to take on any opponent. Rarely did she find someone built like her and sparring was a form of entertainment.

"Glad to hear!" She chirped as he agreed to spar her and she bounded a short distance away, turning around to face him. She swiftly set her defenses, her hackles raising her mane and her ears pinning back to her head. She shook the rain from her coat then sprinted forward, kicking up mud as she charged. Her long legs ate up the distance between them as she attempted to shift along hid right side. She twisted her neck to the right flinging her jaws wide as she tried to clip the top of his right shoulder with her fangs. She wanted to nip the flesh in a run by attack.

Jynn vs Laith for Spar
Round 1/?
Age: Over 1 Year
Size: Large
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Bladed forearm bracers
Defensive Battle Accessory: Spiked helmet
Companion 1: Ethiopian wolf, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Jaguar, Female - Battle
Skills: Master Navigator & Master Fighter
Specialty: Weaponsmaster

This strange looking woman seemed awfully cheerful at his words of agreement, and for a few moments he hesitated where he stood, nose scrunched at the thought she might be plotting something more devious than a simple spar. No one was that chipper around him, not unless they were some type of masochist or something. By the time he had settled on still going ahead with the spar the woman had already taken her stance, her weird neck fur all fluffed up in a sort of amusing manner. He only had enough time to lower his chin to his neck and pin his ears back against his skull by the time her long legs brought her within touching distance. She was so fucking fast! In a movement too quick for him to dodge out of the way of, she rushed by him and he felt her teeth nip at the flesh of his right shoulder. He spun on his heels to face her, not wanting to leave his back exposed now that he knew just how speedy her actions could be. Laith then pushed off the wet soil with his back legs and charged at her, hoping she wasn't expecting him to make such a bold move against her. He lowered his head to one side, aiming to bash his left shoulder dead in the center of her chest to hopefully stun her a little and slow her down so he could actually land a proper hit the next time. Laith vs Jynn for Spar Round 1/3 Age: Over 1 year Size: Medium Build: Light Skills: Beginner Hunter & Novice Fighter

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn's fangs snagged the man's shoulder, clipping his flesh as raced past. What a rush! She loved to spar. It was invigorating and challenging. Just the spark she needed on a dreary, muddy, rainy day. Before she could make a move on his hind quarters Laith spun around, bringing his hips out of range. She swiftly twisted around to face him so as not to leave her own rear as a target. The man barreled toward her, powerful frame surging through the soggy weather.

She shifted swiftly to her right, trying to get out of the way of his attack. While she managed to avoid the brunt of it, his left shoulder smacked into her left shoulder causing her to stumble. As she fell she lashed out with her fangs hoping to sink them into his back just behind his shoulder blades in an effort to catch herself and maybe buy a bit of time for her to regain her footing.

Jynn vs Laith for Spar
Round 2/3
Age: Over 1 Year
Size: Large
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Bladed forearm bracers
Defensive Battle Accessory: Spiked helmet
Companion 1: Ethiopian wolf, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Jaguar, Female - Battle
Skills: Master Navigator & Master Fighter
Specialty: Weaponsmaster

The mud made the ground a bit slippery and his blunt claws were not very helpful in stabilising him, but he hadn't fallen over yet, and as long as the rain didn't get any worse he figured he should be fine unless he tried something dumb. He had hoped to get her dead center in her chest, but she was too fast for him and managed to shift her weight so that his shoulder rammed into hers. His own balance wobbled a bit with the force of his shove, but it seemed to do the trick as the woman stumbled and began to fall. He felt another sharp sting of teeth digging into his flesh, but this time behind his left shoulder blade on his back. With her larger height she was lighter than expected, and her added weight to his side didn't pull him down with her, but he did find himself slipping a bit in the mud, and had to forego getting in a sneaky swipe while she was mid-fall to get his legs under him again. With a big shake of his body to try and dislodge her grip from his back, Laith snapped his head around, teeth flashing to try and get a quick hard nip in on the flesh of her side, trying to reach her hip where it would sting the most. He wasn't the longest wolf, and it would take some reaching, but it would be a quick bite of his front teeth before pulling back and away to reassess where the two of them were positioned, and if there would be an easy target for him to grab, or if he needed to be more on the defensive side. Laith vs Jynn for Spar Round 2/3 Age: Over 1 year Size: Medium Build: Light Skills: Beginner Hunter & Novice Fighter

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn's fangs succeeded in snagging the flesh behind his left shoulder blade, keeping her upright long enough for her to finagle her legs back underneath her body. A throbbing pain was beginning to beat in her left shoulder where he'd struck. Oh yea, she was gonna feel that in the morning. Suddenly he gave a violent shake and Jynn was forced to relinquish her grasp or risk losing her footing once more. She shuffled away from him, his fangs clipping her left shoulder and she scooted away to reassess her next move. She sprang forward then, seeking to land with her chest on the middle of his back. She hoped to get the whole of her weight on him and maybe with enough force push him down in the mud and pin him.

Jynn vs Laith for Spar
Round 3/3
Age: Over 1 Year
Size: Large
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Bladed forearm bracers
Defensive Battle Accessory: Spiked helmet
Companion 1: Ethiopian wolf, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Jaguar, Female - Battle
Skills: Master Navigator & Master Fighter
Specialty: Weaponsmaster

The two of them broke apart in what seemed like a moment, and he only had enough time to take a gasp of air into his lungs before she sprang at him again. Fucking hell, she was giving him no time to even think! There was no time to scoot out of the way, so he instead braced himself with all four legs splayed out, wanting to take the brunt of the impact while he was paying attention. The strange woman was heavier than he had anticipated, and the breath he had inhaled earlier was pushed out of his lungs as she landed right on top him him. His legs wobbled and he felt his front legs begin to buckle under her added weight, slipping slightly in the wet mud. An idea struck him then, and Laith allowed his front end to slip down into the mud while at the same bucking up with his hind legs to hopefully unbalance her from his back and send her flying forward into the mud and off him. He'd likely get a face full of the mud either way, but hopefully he wouldn't be pinned beneath her and stuck in the mud. Laith vs Jynn for Spar Round 3/3 Age: Over 1 year Size: Medium Build: Light Skills: Beginner Hunter & Novice Fighter

And the winner is...

Jynn

Laith must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Jynn: Attack Roll: 31 Defense Roll: 51 Agility Roll: 38 Perception Roll: 57 Total: 177 Attack[31] + 50% Bonus[15.50]: 46.50 Defense[51] + 15% Bonus[7.65]: 58.65 Agility[38] + 30% Bonus[11.40]: 49.40 Perception[57] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 57.00 Total[211.55] + 25% Bonus[52.89]: 264.44 Laith Attack Roll: 10 Defense Roll: 17 Agility Roll: 62 Perception Roll: 66 Total: 155 Attack[10] + 5% Bonus[0.50]: 10.50 Defense[17] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 17.00 Agility[62] + 5% Bonus[3.10]: 65.10 Perception[66] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 66.00 Total[158.60] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 158.60

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn succeeded in squishing Laith and he soon submitted, giving her the victory. With a whoop she hopped off him, bouncing through the mud. "That was fun! Thanks for the match." If she were a healer she'd have offered to help him with any injuries but alas she was not. While Jynn knew vaguely of plants that had been used on her she couldn't be 100% certain what she was using and she would guess the man didn't want to be a guinea pig for an overly helpful maned wolf. The rain was starting to pick up but she was feeling good and figured it might be time for her to get going. "Well, I'll probably be on my way but if we cross paths again I'm always up for a rematch."

-end?-

Laith had been so certain of his chances to slip out from under the strange woman and send her toppling into the mud, that he could do nothing but lay there in stunned silence as her weight came crashing down upon him. He could feel the wet mud squelching into his fur, and even a little in his mouth where his face had been pushed into the ground. Thankfully he didn't have to suffer too long, as the woman quickly bounced up and around in some sort of victory lap, and he took the opportunity to lift his face out of the mud and get back onto all fours without too much trouble. He shook out his fur, sending mud everywhere, but with the rain picking up he was sure it'd wash off any of the remaining ichor that still clung to him. Laith held back rolling his eyes at her now bubbly energy, and gave her a half-hearted wave of his paw as some form of agreement. "Yeah yeah, maybe, you're a lot more skilled than you look." His initial thought would've been an easy victory for him, but the strange woman was surprisingly skilled, and he figured he'd need to spend more time working on himself before any rematch happened. With a grunt and a quick "don't look for me too hard," Laith picked up his prairie dog morsel and set off in the rain, eyes squinted against the rain as it began to fall harder. He didn't care that no names had been shared, in fact that was probably for the best, but he didn't want to see her anytime soon, and more than anything just wanted to find someplace dry to curl up for the night. -end-