This place was almost unbearable dry, and was pretty much barren except for the odd bush and cactus dotted around. He had hoped to find a source of water nearby, and so had followed the gentle curves of the dried riverbed, but it seemed to be completely dried up. A quick sniff of the cracked ground gave no indication of even a hint of water, and a shallow scratch of the ground yielded just a clump of dried sand and clay between his toes. With a wiggle of his toes, the dry clump disintegrated and began to blow away on the wind. Astrophel spun around in a slow circle, making an attempt to get his bearings as he didn't want to head back in the direction he had just come from. He wasn't too thirsty for now, but was aware that he could only go so long without drinking water before he would become weak and in danger of becoming dehydrated. With a soft huff, he continued on along the dried riverbed, heading further inland in the hopes to find at least a good shady spot to rest a while.

ok, so this desert was definitely different. normalized to lush forests and rolling hills, kuroo's eyes widened when the dried-up river bed spread out in front of him. having split up from his brother in an attempt to cover more ground, the pale-shaded wolf picked his way carefully around prickly plants and sharp rocks. unfortunately, he only knew those certain plants were prickly from having tried to touch it. picking out the spines had been painful and his paws still hurt from the experience. grumbling under his breath as the hot sun above him warmed his coat more than he wished, his ears picked up the sound of another wolf nearby. pausing a moment, kuroo let his pale eyes watch the darkened figure for a moment. figuring it would be best to at least try to strike up a conversation, he took a deep breath and placed a comfortable smile on his face. "oi! you there! know where i can find any water?" kuroo asked in his heavily accented japanese tone as his tail wagged gently behind him.

The hot sun felt like it was baking his dark fur, and the thought of a cool shady spot seemed more and more tempting with each passing second. He felt almost in a bit of a daze, just walking onwards, the scenery looking the same no matter where he looked: dry, hot, and prickly. The first few moments after hearing a voice went unfazed, until the realisation that he was being spoken to finally turned some gears in his brain. Astrophel stopped, turning his head to look at the other wolf, who seemed to be of similar size but with a slightly lighter coat of fur. The accent threw him a little bit, but once his brain was back thinking he could decipher the meaning well enough. "Sorry friend, I'm looking for some myself." His words were accompanied by a small shrug, and he moved just a little bit closer so he wouldn't have to raise his voice to speak. His purple gazed looked at the strong form of the other wolf, an idea popped into his head, one that perhaps this stranger may agree to.  "It's a bit warm out, but would you perhaps be up to a bit of a spar? We can look for some water together afterwards, too." Astrophel gave two different options so as to not force him into anything, allowing the stranger to choose one, or both if he was up to that.

kuroo was a bit confused when it took a moment for the fellow male to realize he was speaking to him. tilting his head, he waited as the stranger approached a bit closer. frowning, his eyes squinted as he glanced around. "we really are in a desert?" it was more of a question since he'd never actually been in a desert before. feeling a bit stupid, he shrugged himself before his pale gaze looked over to the darker coated lad. curiosity piqued him as his ears flicked forward. "spar ya say? sure, i could use my muscles a bit," he smirked as he took a few steps back. "would ya like to go first?" the speckled boy asked as his eyes began to flicker with anticipation. rolling his shoulders to loosen up his muscles, he lowered his front in a sort of play bow motion as if they were still pups. back home, he was used to doing spars with weapons and armor, but some good paw to paw combat never hurt anyone.

He chuckled softly at the other wolf's query, nodding in response. "It seems so, never seen a place so dry before." It was as if the ground had never seen rain before, but the clear distinction of the dried riverbed told him otherwise. The other male seemed receptive to his idea, even going as far as offering a play bow, to which Astrophel mirrored, waving his tail behind him excitedly. This would be his first spar in a little while, so he figured he'd be a little rusty, but that was part of the reason why he had asked. It would be good for a little brush up of his abilities and see where he was in comparison to when he left home. "Gladly." He had offered up the spar, so it made sense for him to make the first move. The two wolves were similar height and stature, so Astrophel concluded that using brute force was probably not the best idea. With a grunt he took a running start at the other male, wanting to feint him out by making it seem like he was going to take a nip at the other male's left shoulder, but instead dart to the side and ram his own shoulder into the other's chest. He wouldn't hit him too hard, just enough to knock him aside a bit if he made good contact. Astrophel vs Kuroo for Spar Round 1/? Age: Over 1 year Size: Large Build: Medium Skills: Beginner Fighter & Beginner Intellectual

watching as the other imitated his play bow, kuroo smiled wide with his own tail wagging in a friendly gesture. kneading his paws into the warm sand beneath him, he watches in a calculated way. both of them sizing each other for a moment before they rushed into action. ah, so this one did have some experience. kuroo was secretly glad that this one wasn't purely being reckless for the fun of it. jolting forward with a slight slip of his paws on the sand, a grunt escaped him as he tried to mirror the midnight wolf. unfortunately, kuroo fell for the fake-out and came shoulder to shoulder with the other he leaned into the shove. a quiet oof noise left his lips as he felt the impact. it wouldn't take long for him to react. winding his face around the other since their bodies were so close, kuroo aimed up in an attempt to latch onto the other's ear. it may have been a good idea to not try to bowl him over, but coming into close contact may not have been the best of ideas either. kuroo vs astrophel for spar Round 1/2 Age: over 1 Size: Large Build: Medium Skills: Beginner Intellectual & Beginner Fighter

His feint worked almost perfectly, with the other wolf being caught off guard and dodging almost into his path. But his paws slipped a little on the sand and he had to spend a precious moment to not stumble, and instead of catching the other male's chest they merely bumped shoulder to shoulder. It seemed they both leaned into the other, and had he not been prepared for the hit he may have gotten the wind knocked out of him with the brick wall like force of his opponent. It was a bit of a challenge sparring with a wolf with the same weight as him, as the tricks he knew best only worked well on those smaller or larger than him. His opponent was quick to snap at his ear, and he felt sharp teeth latch onto the soft flesh near the tip. A soft hiss of pain left his mouth at the sting. That was a delicate area to grab, but he could respect the decision. As his opponent hadn't made an attempt to make some distance between them, Astrophel took the opportunity to rear back on his hind legs, even if it meant the teeth in his ear did a bit of damage. He wanted to lift his front legs and curl them around his opponent's neck, then bear down with all his weight and try to push the other male down onto the ground beneath him. Astrophel vs Kuroo for Spar Round 2/2 Age: Over 1 year Size: Large Build: Medium Skills: Beginner Fighter & Beginner Intellectual

he felt his teeth grasp onto the other's ear. the tenderness of the flesh between his teeth was soft and he nearly felt bad for the fellow. it had been somewhat of a dirty move, but they were strangers. hopefully, the guy wouldn't take it personally. his own eyes widened a bit in surprise as the darker-coated male began to shift his weight backward and lift up his paws to wrap around him. a quiet growl built up in him as he felt the weight begin to pressure him onto the ground. the good thing was that they were similar in size. the strength needed to push him would have to be greater than his own. smirking in a teasing fashion, kuroo acted as if he were falling as his front legs bent and his front end lowered closer to the ground. keeping his rear end lifted up to the sky, he twisted his body to scoot out of the way and rollover. quickly hopping back up onto his paws, he didn't skip a beat and leaned back in to nip toward the male's cheek. kuroo vs astrophel for spar Round 2/2 Age: over 1 Size: Large Build: Medium Skills: Beginner Intellectual & Beginner Fighter

And the winner is...

Astrophel

Kuroo must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Astrophel: Attack Roll: 57 Defense Roll: 76 Agility Roll: 80 Perception Roll: 76 Total: 289 Attack[57] + 5% Bonus[2.85]: 59.85 Defense[76] + 5% Bonus[3.80]: 79.80 Agility[80] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 80.00 Perception[76] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 76.00 Total[295.65] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 295.65 Kuroo Attack Roll: 56 Defense Roll: 7 Agility Roll: 90 Perception Roll: 58 Total: 211 Attack[56] + 5% Bonus[2.80]: 58.80 Defense[7] + 5% Bonus[0.35]: 7.35 Agility[90] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 90.00 Perception[58] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 58.00 Total[214.15] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 214.15

In the next moment, for some odd reason, a score of fear raced through Kuroo. Maybe it was due to dehydration. He wasn't sure, but suddenly he felt his paws slip and he was rolling over again into the sand. A loud whoosh of air caught in his chest as he stood back up and shook himself off. Taking a few steps back, he eyed the other one with a faint smile. "Alright, you got me good," he said with a nod of his head. "Pretty good fighter if I don't say so myself," Kuroo adds as he lifts his head and his smile grows. "I'm Kuroo Shima, by the way," he adds with a few more steps back. "Maybe we can go get that drink of water now?" His eyes flicked lazily around them, but all he sees is sand.

He felt his opponent lower beneath him, and for a few moments Astrophel thought he had him pinned, but just as quickly the other male rolled out from under him. However, he seemed to slip in the sand, and was only able to get back up onto his paws after a quick foray right into the sand. Not wanting to attack a wolf while he was down, Astrophel had taken a step back, allowing his opponent to get back up onto his paws, but with that it seemed the spar was over just as quickly as it began. He let out a chuckle, grinning widely at the other male. "You're not so bad yourself. Nearly had me there for a moment when you grabbed my ear." Astrophel wouldn't hold a grudge though, even if it did smart a little bit. That was all part of the fun of sparring, after all. "I'm Astrophel Kaian." He would do his best to remember Kuroo's name on the off chance they met again in the future. Nodding in agreement, he spared no time in looking around for any water, already knowing that it would just be more sand. They'd have to head further inland, and maybe follow this dried river to find some water that was drinkable. "If we head further this way we might find some?" He motioned with a paw in the direction he had initially been heading, but waited to see if Kuroo agreed with him before moving onwards.

kuroo smirked in the friendly way that he did. "eh, i'm more of a hunter anyway," he said as he shrugged his shoulders. shuffling his paws so that he could get a better footing in the sand, he could say that he enjoyed their little scuffle. nothing like a warmup to get their adrenaline going. tilting his nose up slightly to sniff the air, he couldn't even begin to tell where the closest source would be. the wind had died down and not a big of humidity lingered. distracted by the thirst he felt drying his throat, he nodded in astro's direction. "a pleasure astro, the name's kuroo," his accented voice said in a lazy way as his tongue lolled from the side of his mouth. noticing the paw that lifted toward inland, kuroo silently agreed. "ya, i bet we could if we head that way," he agreed as he turned his body to face the direction astro pointed in. "don't mind me joining you, do ya?" his pale gaze shifts to the darker coated male with another smile.

A soft chuckle left his maw at the comment, lips twisting up in a playful grin. "Hunting is a very good skill to have, and one that I should definitely work on myself." Astrophel could certainly catch prey, but his success rate probably wasn't as good as it should be, especially when it came to hunting smaller prey like rabbits. They were often too quick for him if he didn't ave a proper plan set in place, as he wasn't the fastest wolf around by a good margin. Kuroo turned his body in the direction Astrophel had motioned, and he wasted no time in moving to join the other wolf. "Two pairs of eyes and two noses are better than one of each," he said with another smile, setting forth at an easy walk. His body was already warmed up from their quick spar, and the heat was hot enough that he didn't want to overheat by expending too much energy from a brisk pace. A leisurely walk would be good, and that way they could talk as they searched. "Are you heading anywhere in particular?" This didn't seem like the easiest place to live in, what with the apparent lack of water, so he was curious why Kuroo was out this far.