After their introductions, Mercury found he was keyed up from the promised fight, and had no real chance to act on it. He stretched his limbs and considered his body for a moment. Well, there was only one way to find out really. The best way to know if he was battle ready, was to put himself in a battle. Trial by fire. He looked over at the red Armada wolf who had introduced herself as Keahi.

“Well, that was disappointing. I guess they aren’t so keen on fair fights.” He said, offering her an amused expression. The hyenas only wanted to fight if the odds were stately drastically in their favour, it seemed.

There was a strong wind picking up on the beach, but the adrenaline in his veins kept him warm. This territory might be unfamiliar to him, but he had spent so much of his life on beaches, a ship merchant at heart. If there was any place he’d be comfortable to see what he could do after his long months of hardship, it was on a beach.

“Keahi. How would you feel about a spar, since we can’t toss around hyenas instead?” he teased. His voice warm and friendly - he already knew as much as he needed to know about this woman. She jumped in to help someone she didn’t even know.

"Speech"

She watches Mercury as he stretches, the adrenaline from the fight moments before, still coursing hotly through her veins. Keahi has learned how to mask the jitteriness of her limps as she comes down from the high and the tropical wolf looks almost serene while her body shout at her to fight. A laugh greets the tall wolf’s words and she nods, maybe a little too eagerly, in agreement, saying, “Too bad. I am sure we could have kicked their butts all the way back to… wherever they came from.” Her smile is tight, eyes a little too bright but those are the only signs that she is itching to spar. A strong gust kicks up, causing the tropical woman to shiver. The polar bear coat actually keeps out most of the chill out but she uses the wind as an excuse to bleed off some excess energy.

The scent of saltwater is thick, clogging her nose and coating her pelt. It reminds her of home and spars along the beachside at night, where bonfires would blaze in competition against the star-studded skies for attention. Wide blue eyes blink owlishly as Mercury speaks of sparring and a huge, enthusiastic smirk appears on Keahi’s lips. Dropping easily into her defensive stance, the red wolf says, “Thought you’d never ask!” As she allows Mercury a moment to get set, a cold snowflake lands on her black nose and promptly melts away. The wind is now frigid and her breath turns into a cloud of steam the moment it leaves her mouth. She charges Mercury as more snowflakes fall, swirling in the wind and being tossed with stinging force into their eyes and mouths.

Keahi ducks to the taller male’s right, growling loudly as she leaps up and aims a sharp bite at his shoulder. Blood pounds through her veins, sharpening her senses and brightening the colors around her. Mercury’s black coat blends in with the sand of the beach, while his blue looks like a swirling swath of clouds against a dark sky. White begins to fall more steadily as she tries to slam her weight into his right front leg in a bid to send him off balance.


WC: 367
Total WC: 597/1500

"Keahi Mogotsi"

He could only chuckle at the enthusiasm in her voice. Pleased he wasn’t the only one itching to work off some extra steam in a friendly combat. He was ready to prove to himself he was fighting fit, though his injuries still itched, and he ached if he turned a certain way. He was a lot skinnier than he had been only a few months past. His months at sea on slim rations had melted the fat right off his bones. But Mercury would no longer be a victim to fate.

Keahi set her stance, and Merc did the same. As he fell into the familiar battle pose, he felt the cool wind slice through his coat, and then the first few snowflakes fell upon their coats. Instinctively, he sticks out his tongue and lets a cool droplet land. Melted by the warmth of his breath.

And then Keahi was lunging forward, and he had no time to marvel at the falling snow. Snow that picked up even as they fought, no longer just the occasional flake, but a flurry of them. Tossed about in the wind, so his vision was obscured something awful. That just added flavour to their fight. He listened to the sounds of her breath and the fall of her paws to help guide him.

Keahi’s lunge brought her to his right. While he was still adjusting to the snow, he felt her bite graze his shoulder. He shoved his weight into the limb, throwing his shoulder forward in an attempt to smack her nose and loosen her grip.

He felt her weight slam into his, and there was huffed laughter in his breath as he enjoyed the thrill of the fight. He attempted to hook his paw behind hers, with the aim of dragging it out from under her. As he did so, his own teeth sought out the soft fur below her ear. His taller grip giving him an advantage of height. While all around them the snow fell, landing on warm bodies and icy water. The brighter reds of his opponent shone like a beacon in the confusion of wind

WC: 358
Total: 925


"Speech"

The distance between them is short and, by the time Keahi is leaping up to snap at Mercury’s shoulder, the snowflakes have begun to falling at an alarming rate. Perhaps she should be worried about the speed at which the storm is rolling in or the snowfall is already obscuring her vision… but the red woman can’t be bother with that right now. All that matters is the fight. Mercury throws his shoulder toward her, snapping her head back slightly and forcing her to release her grip. A puff of steam is released from between parted red lips as she huffs and throws her height against the limb. The taller male huffs laughter and Keahi rides the wave of joy and adrenaline. Her tongue lolls out of mouth in happiness as his muscles suddenly shift under her and he tugs at leg.

The world shifts as Mercury throws her offer balance, his attack pulling her down. Keahi notices the way the icy flakes of white are beginning to stick in large clumps to the black sand. Her train of thought is derailed as she is forced to toss her head sideways to avoid his incoming bite. As her head rolls, she allows her body to follow it and she rolls away and under his attack. Red legs tuck in close to her body for a moment, her coat catching some the black sand as she passes. When she stands, the pristine white fur is marred by spots of black. A sudden gust of wind obscures her vision, forcing her to raise a paw to shield her blue eyes from the frozen whip of snow.

The wind continues to pick up, tossing flakes every which way at an increased rate and the tropical wolf starts to second guess what her eyes are showing her. Paws spread and Keahi takes a deep breath, tensing her muscles as she holds it for a moment. As she releases the held air, she sinks her weight down, lowering her center of gravity while also allowing her eyelids to close. The wind howls in her ears and she gently tilts her head, listening for the subtle crunch of sand under large paws. A smile plays across red lips as Keahi finds it and she turns to face the direction of the sound. With her eyes still closed, she pushes off the sand, rushing forward toward the area of her target.

Jaws open wide as she follows after the elusive sound, the wind howling louder and louder as the moments tick by. Teeth snap shut around one of Mercury’s legs and a ripple of surprise runs through her body. Wait… it had worked?! She releases her hold, a smile on red lips as she moves to dart away from the male with her eyes still closed. And… that is when she runs into trouble a solid wall of something smacks into her lower legs, causing her eyes to spring open as she is sent tumbling head over heels. Had Mercury tripped her? Had she smacked into a rock? No time to ponder the what the situation, there is only time to react. Bouncing back up to her paws, the red wolf turns back toward Mercury and finds… a white wall of snow.

A vicious gust whites out the landscape and forces Keahi to duck her body against the cold. Ears pin against her head, eyes squint in an attempt to find the dark form of her opponent against the worsening landscape.  


WC: 584
Total WC: 1509/1500

"Keahi Mogotsi"