WHAT ELSE MATTERS? Aros had never seen such a bitter, desolate place. He loved it immediately. The water was gunmetal grey, the sand as black as the night sky, the wind as cold as he had ever felt. He was surrounded by slabs of blood red stone and over head rolled storm clouds. A blizzard was certainly on the way, though it currently had yet to break. He and Impra had been walking for quite some time, and had been through so many different lands Aros had begun to wander whether their journey would ever end. He had grown to quite enjoy her company, of course, but still. She always seemed to know where they were headed, and could tell him exactly where they had been, but Aros was ever eager for their destination. He had spotted this beach from the corner of his eye as they made their way ever more northward. It had been less conscious decision and more the willful rebellion of his paws that had carried him to the water's edge. Now that he was here, he felt so magnetized to the area that he was unsure if he would ever be able to leave again. He looked over his shoulder, trying to see if Impra had by any chance followed him, or whether she had sent him a wayward glare and kept on her way. He could not abandon the princess of course, but neither did he feel he could leave just yet. Not yet. Something had to happen here first, to commemorate his discovery. He needed a memory. "Speech," Thoughts,

The wind bit at him, and Aros found himself smiling. This is a marvelous land indeed, He thought to himself. Impra named this land as well, as she had done for so many others, and he mulled it over in his mind. Soul Sand Cove, eh? He could not help but to agree with her. Not that he'd asked, he reminded himself. As it was, recently Aros had found himself struggling to hang on to his old lessons. This land was changing him, perhaps. It was too much like home, he felt comfortable amongst the hardship. Impra's opinions should matter nothing to him. She was nothing more than a vessel homeward, all he needed to do was win her from her father. That was his goal here, and he would be damned to forget. A sudden sense of panic welled up inside of him. Was he losing himself? Changing? No, he could not do that, his honorable father had spent far to long training him. Molding him, both Aros and his brothers. He could not betray them like this, to go soft. Impra was nothing more to him than a bloodline and a pretty face. He grit his teeth, forcing himself to believe it. He whirled on Impra, desperate eyes shining like bronze coals. "Fight me," he said, voice rougher than he'd intended. He meant to propose a spar with a calm, collected head. But this was no small matter now, he needed it. The fight, the scars, the blood. He needed to know if the old him was still buried under the soil of this new world, if his roots would still lead him home. "Please." "Speech," Thoughts,

WHAT ELSE MATTERS? Sliding into a battle stance felt as natural as sliding into his den after a long day. Aros' muscles ached for the want, the need of it all. The rush, the passion, the red haze that would cloud the corners of his vision. Every paw step, every shift of balance was an experience that would make him better. Stronger. It was not his goal to beat Impra, not necessarily. He did not need to dominate her, nor did he want her maimed, gods forbid! But... there was something he was after. Recognition, perhaps. Be it Impra recognizing his worth, or Aros reconnecting with his own. As his alabaster companion sank into her own stance, he mirrored her, and waited. It seemed as though she was going to wait for him to make the first move. It was his challenge after all, it only made sense. His ears pressed flat against his skull and his bared teeth flashed in the weak winter light. He spaced his paws out around him, placed evenly for the best balance, claws digging into the soil. He shifted his wait from side to side, tail swinging slowly in time, so that he could leap away if she decided to charge, and so that he could move quickly without her predicting him. Through squinted eyes he eyes her larger form, and all the lessons of his youth came back to him. A larger opponent will almost always be slower than you, his father's voice growled within his mind. He remembered the impact as if it was yesterday, when his father had charged him with no warning. Almost always... He would have to stay on his guard. As quickly as he thought it he acted, leaping for Impra head on, so that she could not see it in his eyes. He aimed to barrel his entire weight into her neck where it connects to the shoulder. It would not draw blood, but he hoped it would off balance her both physically and mentally, give him an advantage from this point on. In the event that she spun away and he missed, he kept his paws level so that he could land and turn at a moments notice, ready to block or dodge. "Speech," Thoughts,

She would watch him carefully, her cherry gaze fixed upon his frame. Her gaze would narrow as her ears fell back to protect themselves. A growl would resound from her chest as her fangs were exposed and her chin was lowered. She would let her feet grown an even distance apart as she centered her weight and balanced herself expertly on her toes. Her tail was sent out straight to help with her balance as her hackles raised and her knees became bent. She let her defenses fall into place just as Aros let loose his attack. He would suddenly come straight for her neck, but the she wolf was ready for him, she would brace herself and let him collide into her shoulder. With all of his weight being pushed upon her she would stagger a few steps, but it would only give her room to build up momentum for her own shove. She could feel the moderate bruising that would blossom from her chest as she readied herself. Champagne claws would dig into the sand as she let another growl leave her lips as she pushed herself forward. She would aim her own shoulder at the man's right side, hoping to go for the same place that he had aimed for her. Impra v. Aros for Practice Round ONE of THREE Speech,

ooc. I believe we are only doing one attack per round?

For all that Aros made contact, his stocky frame did little more than batter the larger fae. She took his hit head on, and only stumbled a few paces back. As experienced as I thought, he mused, pleased. As hit hit grazed, Aros hit the ground once more, skidding in the sand. He kept himself braced, falling back into his stance, waiting for her retaliation. It came as swiftly as he might have guessed, her form moving languidly and with deadly precision. Her attack mimicked his, but as she connected, her weight proved too much for his smaller stature to bear. She barreled into him and he went down. Aros snarled, trying to keep his wits, and keep calm. As her body as over his, his reached his jaws out, attempting to latch onto her fore leg and bring the pale princess down. He would not clamp hard enough to break the skin, not if he didn't have to, only to halt her and pin her. No matter how large she was, the odds of her pushing up against his weight if he pinned her was low enough that he knew his wager was worth the effort. And eve if she sailed over him and broke his grip, he hoped he could roll back to his feet before she could launch another attack. Keep her moving, he reminded himself. Tire her out. "Speech," Thoughts,

As the woman would make contact with the man, Aros would snarl and she would watch as he went tumbling to the ground. She proved too much for his smaller stature, a smile of pure victory as she stood over him. She would not let herself be distracted though, for a wounded enemy was a dangerous enemy. As she pulled her ears back and her eyes were narrowed she would let a growl slip from between her agape jaws. She would lower her head so her chin was protecting her neck, and hackles would keep themselves raised as she watched him make his next move. The man would aim his jaws dauntingly at her legs, and would reach menacingly towards them. With her weight evenly distributed between each limb she would attempt to use her own jaws to parry away his bite towards her leg. She wanted to grab hold of his pesky jowls and show him her dominance. She wanted to bite down and end his feeling of superiority, for she held the greater genes and she carried the Armada name with pride. She could defeat this man, even if he was dutiful enough to escort her home. Her tail would flag above her as she aligned it with her spine. Knees would bend and toes would splay in the sand as she dug her claws in for even more traction. Impra v. Aros for Practice Round TWO of THREE Speech,

Hear us now - clear and true Wretches and kings we come for you Aros felt more than disadvantaged from his current position, and panic began to well up in his chest. He could not loose to this wench, even one as finely bred as the Princess Impra. It was simply not an option. He thought quickly, and knew how he could get the upper hand once again. As he lunged for her leg, Aros found that his teeth managed only to graze the fae's limb before her own quick reflexes shot out to block him. Her ivory teeth glimmered in the corner of his eye, narrowly missing his muzzle, and he locked his gaze with hers in the intent of holding it there. He hoped to have her sufficiently distracted. With all the speed his small frame provided him, and with all the force of the muscle that corded his body, Aros would attempt to kick upwards into the soft space of Impra's gut. The ribs could only protect one so far, but below that would only be soft flesh. With the fae's momentum driving forwards with a bite, her center of gravity would shift in the same direction, weakening the stability of her hindquarters. He knew that even weak contact would likely drive the breath from her, and at best the impact would weaken her muscles for at least a few moments. While stunned, rolling her onto her back as grasping her neck would be short work, if only he could land this hit perfectly. AROS vs. IMPRA for Practice. Round Two "Talk" Think

She would miss his muzzle, but find herself looking more towards the man now. She aimed once again for his erring chops, she was quite determined to get ahold of them and keep hold of them. Her eyes were still narrowed and ears laid back as her open jaws attempted at her catch. She would tighten the muscle in her abdomen as she spread her weight evenly between her limbs, knees would bend, and toes would remain splayed. She wondered if he would attack her again, and just as the thoughts left her she could feel his foot make contact with her soft underside. A growl would be forced with her breath from her lungs as she made a quick retreat from him, she didn't want to give him room to stand but she knew it would be useless. She needed to regain her composure. With raised hackles she would let her tail act as a rudder for her balance. He would regret such a move if she had any say. Impra v. Aros for Practice Round THREE of THREE Speech,

Hear us now - clear and true Wretches and kings we come for you Aros quickly realized that Impra was not done with his muzzle just yet. Her second attack was luckier than the first, and instead of grazing his muzzle, she clamped down on it, hard. His growl was muffled by his pinned jaws, and he felt her fangs break the skin, tasted the salty blood in his mouth. Just as she the bite landed though, so did his kick. The fae was flung off of him, and seemed to try and take his jowls with him. The grasp dragged, worsening the sting of her bite. He was free though, and quickly rolled back to his feet. The male would drop back into his stance: feet braced, tail aligned with the rest of his body, toes braced for balance, his ears pinned. He was losing strength rapidly, and he sensed that perhaps she was as well. He only had one more attack left in him, but she was ready for him yet again. His only hope that, as she was reeling, he could land a hit. Aros would charge the fae, suddenly, as if he made to retry his first attack. As if I would be so foolish, he thought sardonically. At the last moment he pulled up his feint, dropped his haunches, and used his forward momentum to put force behind a paw swiping straight for the larger fae's muzzle. If he would be so marred, she should bear the like. All the while he kept his neck down, and his ears pinned, wary of a sudden counter. He hoped that she would be slowed by his kick, and that perhaps this could be his chance to strike back. AROS vs. IMPRA for Practice Round Three of Three "Talk" Think

IMPRA vs AROS for PRACTICE Round 1 impra ? clarity ? 1 out of 10 ; failure to specify which of impra?s shoulders aros? managed to hit (-2). in regard to impra?s injuries to aros? attack, you state that aros impacts her shoulder and yet moderate bruising blossoms upon her chest as a result (-2). failure to specify which of impra?s shoulders is aiming for aros (-2). failure to include what impra wanted to achieve with her attack (-2). while you state that impra is aiming for the ?same place that aros? aimed for,? it should still be clarified in your post (-1). powerplay ? 8 out of 10 ; ??as she pushed herself forward.? given aros? and impra?s close proximity, this needs to be made an attempt (-2). defenses ? 10 out of 10 ; eyes narrowed, ears pinned, teeth exposed, chin tucked, limbs spaced evenly, weight evenly distributed, balanced upon toes, tail out, hackles raised, limbs bent. attack ? 2 out of 10 ; shoulder-thrust to aros? right side (+2, points not awarded in full, refer to clarity section) injuries ? 10 out of 10 ; first round ? moderate bruising to chest. round one impra total ? 31 out of 50 aros ? clarity ? 0 out of 10 ; failure to specify where on aros impra managed to hit (-2). failure to specify the damage dealt upon aros from impra?s attack, i.e. moderate bruising, etc (-2). failure to specify how aros is falling, i.e. to his left side, etc (-2). failure to specify which forelimb aros is aiming for (-2). failure to specify where on impra?s forelimb aros is aiming for (-2). in regards to aros? intentions behind the bite to impra?s forelimb, you state that he wished to ?pin her? and yet it didn?t make much sense that he would pin her by simply grabbing her forelimb ? in order to pin her he would need to utilize his weight to drag her down and then manage to find his way on top of her (-3). failure to specify which direction aros would roll in order to regain his footing (-2). powerplay ? 3 out of 10 ; ?As her body [w]as over his?? you may not assume anything of the opponent?s position (-3). ?The odds of her pushing up against his weight if he pinned her was low enough?? you may not assume what is or is not likely for another character (-2). ?Eve[n] if she sailed over him and broke his grip?? the wording here makes it sound like you assumed he managed a grip upon her forelimb as intended (-2). defenses ? 0 out of 10 ; although you state that aros falls back into his stance, you need to clearly reset your defenses in every post. attack ? 2 out of 10 ; bite to impra?s forelimb (+2, points not awarded in full, refer to clarity section) injuries ? 10 out of 10 ; first round ? unspecified damage from impra?s shoulder attack. round one aros total ? 15 out of 50 Round 2 impra ? clarity ? 8 out of 10 ; failure to specify exactly where impra intended to bite down upon aros, i.e. upper or lower jaw (-2). powerplay ? 10 out of 10 ; ??as she stood over him.? while no points were taken away from your score for this since aros assumed impra was positioned over him in the previous post, I would have taken points here otherwise for it is an assumption of the opponent?s position. to avoid this, you could include in the previous attack that she intended to position herself over him or something of the like. defenses ? 10 out of 10 ; ears pinned, eyes narrowed, jaws set agape, skull lowered, hackles raised, weight evenly distributed, tail out, limbs bent, toes splayed, claws gripping soil. attack ? 2 out of 10 ; bite to aros? jaws to stop his attempted bite from occurring (+2, points not awarded in full, refer to clarity section). injuries ? 10 out of 10 ; counterattack to aros? bite, pending damage. round two impra total ? 40 out of 50 aros ? clarity ? 7 out of 10 ; in regard to aros? kick to impra?s stomach, I didn?t feel this would be very realistic, considering the fact that wolves don?t pack very much power behind their limbs ? especially not enough to kick upwards very well (-3). powerplay ? 0 out of 10 ; ??Aros found that his teeth managed only to graze the fae's limb?? impra?s previous post never stated that aros? attack managed to hit at all (-3). not only did aros manage to avoid impra?s attack to his jaws without a specified reason, but he managed to completely avoid the attack altogether. there needs to be a specified reason as to how aros would have been able to avoid impra?s bite, i.e. ducking (-4). ?With the fae's momentum driving forwards?? from this point on, too many assumptions are made about the opponent. you may not depict what your opponent is doing nor can you state what your attack against your opponent would do. these can, instead, be made as what your character intends to achieve with their attack (-5). defenses ? 0 out of 10 ; again, your defenses need to be clearly reset with every post; they do not carry over throughout the whole fight. attack ? 2 out of 10 ; kick to impra?s stomach (+2, points not awarded in full, refer to clarity section). injuries ? 7 out of 10 ; while no injuries were specified in this post, I am deducting points here for the unfairness of aros not receiving an injury at all (-3, refer to powerplay section for explanation). round two aros total ? 16 out of 50 Round 3 impra ? clarity ? 4 out of 10 ; failure to specify where on aros? jaws impra is aiming for (-2). failure to specify the damage done to impra?s underbelly (-2). failure to specify where impra positions herself in relation to aros as she retreats from overtop of him (-2). powerplay ? 7 out of 10 ; the success of aros? attack to impra?s forelimb depended on the success of impra?s attack to his muzzle. as there was no mention of the hit in the first post since it was a counterattack, the attack should have been responded to in this post since her counter was not a success (-3). defenses ? 9 out of 10 ; eyes narrowed, ears pinned, jaws set agape, abdomen tensed, weight evenly distributed, limbs bent, toes splayed, raised hackles, tail out. attack ? 2 out of 10 ; attack to aros? jaws (+2, points not awarded in full, refer to clarity section) injuries ? 8 out of 10 ; unspecified damage from aros? kick ? judge deduction for moderate bruising (-2). round three impra total ? 30 out of 50 aros ? clarity ? 1 out of 10 ; failure to specify damage done from impra?s bite to his jaws. while you did a better job at stating that her bite broke his skin, it?s still vague (-2). ?Aros would charge the fae?? as impra had a hold on aros? jaws, this seemed entirely unrealistic ? feint or not (-2). failure to specify which paw was aiming for impra?s muzzle and where on the muzzle aros was aiming for with his swipe (-3). failure to mention what aros would hope to achieve by swiping his paw along her muzzle (-2). powerplay ? 4 out of 10 ; ?The fae was flung off of him?? aros did not manage to fling impra off of him, she merely stepped off (-2). there was also too much movement in this post, what with aros ?charging forward,? stopping, sitting down, and then lifting his paw to swipe at impra?s muzzle (-4). defenses ? 4 out of 10 ; tail out, toes splayed, ears pinned, head lowered. I didn?t understand what having his ?feet braced? would do, and therefore I did not count it. attack ? 2 out of 10 ; swipe to impra?s muzzle (+2, points not awarded in full, refer to clarity section). injuries ? 7 out of 10 ; unspecified damage from impra?s grip to his muzzle ? judge deduction for quarter-of-an-inch deep puncture wounds to upper and lower jaw, bleeding moderately (-3). round three aros total ? 18 out of 50 Totals: impra ? 100 out of 150 aros ? 49 out of 150 And the winner is... impra! aros must give up by either fleeing, passing out, or submitting. Damage: impra ? moderate bruising to stomach and chest, mild lacerations to left forelimb (will take three ooc days to heal). aros ? moderate bruising to right-sided chest, fourth-of-an-inch deep puncture wounds to upper and lower jaws (will take five ooc days to heal). Notes: i understand this is a spar so attacks weren't meant to be that great, and therefore i won't say too much about them. overall, there was a lack of clarity upon both of your parts so be sure to include as much detail as you can throughout your attack posts! this makes it easier to understand on both the judge's part and your opponent. fox, do not be discouraged about your score! fighting through roleplay is something you get better at through experience, so just take what judges say to heart if you want to improve! c: be sure to reset your defenses with each post and try to include as many as you can think of to improve the defense score. [ judging by aly ]