OOC: This is part of Valen's spar challenge against Alacritia. Observers are welcome but manners are expected. If you can't follow that simple rule there will be IC consequences.

Rolling his neck, Valentine prepared for yet another fight. This time his opponent was an all white male with blood smeared (intentionally?) into his fur. He just kept meeting weirder and weirder folk, but to each his own, right? Crusty blood funk aside, Valentine was looking forward to this spar. With each one he banged out he was getting closer and closer to his grand finale: the lion. If he was going to go out he may as well go out with a bang, right? Head dropping so he could level a gaze at his opponent, he rumbled, "First move is yours." He was used to attacking first. May as well make this challenge thing a learning experience and learn to go second, right? VALENTINE versus SIN for SPAR Round ZERO of TWO "Speaking" -- "Thinking"

Sin Armada

It was time. Sin's turn at fighting the Alpha of Imperium was finally here, the Rex had put on a good show so far, hopefully he still had energy left in him to fight those still waiting. Amber eyes gazed steadily at the Rex, the white male stepping forward a couple of paces to bring himself away from the spectators. He rolled his shoulders a little to loosen up his muscles, and then he'd easily slip into his defenses that came so naturally to him nowadays. His legs spread equidistant apart, toes splayed, claws biting the soil for traction, tail flagged out to aid him like a rudder, hackles raised, ears pinned to his crown, eyes narrowed, the fat of his scruff bunched up, head tilted down to protect his throat, head aligned with his spine and tail, his weight became evenly distributed, and finally he bared his teeth in challenge. "Good luck." Without much else to warn him, Sin kicked off and propelled himself towards Valentine in an attempt to close the distance between them. He was sure the younger boy had been sparring for most of his young life, and Sin himself had been a little out of practice lately, but fighting had always been a part of him. He was born and bred into it, the skills came naturally to him. Even though Valentine was bigger, Sin had experience as well. As he attempted to draw closer, Sin veered first to his left, and then abruptly to his right to try and throw Valentine off. He sought to smash the bony part of his left shoulder into the upper portion of Valentine's chest near the base of his throat. As Sin aspired  to knock the air out of the boys body, Sin's head would tilt to his own right slightly, jaws swinging to his left as he set his sights on another target. His teeth would seek to bite at Valen's head, upper canines wanting to bite just below the base of Valentine's left ear, and bottom canines seeking to grasp just below his jaw line (or at the base of the jawline, google isn't helping me figure out how wide jaws can open e.e). The devil sought to attain a grip and hold on, and should he be successful in his endeavor, he wanted to violently shake his head to cause disorientation as well as lacerations and cuts to the brute. Sure Sin was merely a passerby, and whether or not he was supposed to go easy in this little challenge against the world, well. He didn't quite care. The Alpha seemed strong enough despite having fought twice already, and he didn't seem like he wanted to back out just yet. So Sin would give him something to remember, and he'd go all out (to an extent), in this field. Sin's weight would redistribute then, as his left paw sought to swipe at Valentine's right forepaw in an attempt to leave annoying welts and scratches, as well as attempting to compromise the other males balance. Fight Stats Sin VS Valentine for Spar world domination Round: 1/2 Defenses: Attacks: Injuries: Out Of Character Notes:

"Good luck," bade the other and Valentine chuckled darkly in response. There was no such thing as luck. Rather, there was only natural talent and training. Relying on anything else was foolish. Sadly there wasn't any time to debate Sin's choice of words. A wicked grin split his maw, lips curling and nose wrinkling to bunch the skin around his eyes. Slate ears flicked back and lay flat against the slope of his crown as his eyes narrowed to protect his sight. His hackles rose to span the breadth and length of his back as his tail rose to hang level with his spine, the rudder-like plume raised for balance. Watching the other kick off suddenly, Valentine quickly widened his stance so that his paws were firmly planted slightly wider than hip and shoulder width apart, he also splayed his toes and dug his nails into the gravel in the hopes of making himself an immovable target. To better absorb the impact he was about to willingly take, he kept his joints loose and his knees bent slightly. Tension ran the length of his body, muscles held taunt in preparation of the coming assault. Keeping his head up, Valentine nonetheless dropped his chin so that it covered his throat. Unperturbed by Sin's feint, Valentine remained motionless and watchful as Mr. Crusty Blood Funk charged at him until it seemed like his opponent's attack was unavoidable. He then sidestepped to his left in the hopes of lining the center of his chest up with the center of Sin's chest. In doing this he displaced the attacks of his opponent. The bony front of Sin's left shoulder dug into the right side of Valentine's chest just to the right (Valen's right) of the bony front of his right shoulder. The contact painfully jolted the wound on his right shoulder and left a moderate bruise in its wake. As he moved to his left, Valentine unwittingly avoided Sin's attempt to smash the toes of his right forefoot. Seeking to use his height to his advantage, Valentine shifted his weight to his hind legs and lifted his forefeet off the ground as his own plan of attack began to solidify. As he did so pain flared up his neck as Sin's teeth dug in. The King's shift to his left and his rise up misplaced Sin's bite. Instead of landing below Valentine's left ear, his teeth skidded down the center of his neck. Starting about three inches below his lower jaw and moving downward along his throat ran shallow lacerations that ended in slightly deeper puncture wounds as Valentine's upward momentum aided Sin's efforts slightly. The shaking of his opponent's head succeeded in tearing the skin of Valentine's neck and worsening the wound. All in all the damage could best be described as moderate. Valentine began to drop back to earth suddenly. As he did so he stiffened his forelegs and reached out with his forefeet, hoping his momentum would carry them down onto the tops of Sin's forefeet with enough force to severely damage the tendons and ligaments that held them together and render them painfully useless for the rest of the fight. He was also hoping to pin them beneath his weight; the intent of both grips was to instill a sense of powerlessness in his opponent as the King's final (and hopefully unavoidable) attack came from above. He hoped his left forefoot would slam down squarely onto Sin's right forefoot and his right forefoot would slam down squarely on Sin's left forefoot. As he fell, Valentine's jaws flung impossibly wide and his crown rotated to his right so that his lower jaw rose to his left. Keeping his chin tucked and hoping to capitalize on (and punish him for) Sin's hold on his neck, Valentine sought to wrap his jaws around the top of his opponent's muzzle starting at the middle of his nose and extending roughly three inches down his snout. He sought to sink his upper front teeth into the left side of Sin's muzzle and his lower front teeth directly across from his top jaw, hopefully driving them into the right side of Sin's muzzle. The King intended to slam his jaws shut in the hopes of achieving a powerful grip and causing an immense amount of pain. Given the soft nature of a wolf's nose it was entirely possible that disfiguring damage could be done. Like Sin, Valentine was out to make a lasting impression. VALENTINE versus SIN for SPAR BAMF STATUS Round ONE of TWO

OOC// writing this on my phone so sorry for any errors

They would clash together with a bang. Sin's shoulder smashing into Valentine, though not the way he'd intended. Instead, the brute had sidestepped and realigned himself with Sin, causing sin's shoulder to target the right part of Valens chest instead. The impact would cause a bruise to blossom on his adversary, as well as a moderate bruise welling upon his own shoulder as well. The attempt at swiping at Valentine's paw, (wasn't trying to smash the toes), was unsuccessful, and so Sin would immediately return his paw to the ground and return his weight to all four limbs.

The bite he had sought was successful, however, Sin had attained a grip upon the boys neck rather then the originally intended location. No matter, it would have to do. Sin proceeded to shake as hard as he could, Valentine's raised body having aided him and he could taste blood and the tearing of flesh satisfied him enough to where he'd decided to let go.

Amber eyes would narrow, hackles remained flared, ears pinned, tail balanced out like a rudder, muscles tensed, teeth bared, his scruff bunched, shoulders rolled forward to protect his neck, his toes were spread the second he regained his ground, weight leaning more towards his hind legs now as he sought to counter Valentine's movement with his own.

Almost immediately, Sin would move abruptly towards his right, swinging his hips out to his right as well until they were almost at a "T" formation (with Sin's front aligning closely to Valentine's left shoulder)and lunged forward and up, attempting to meet Valentine almost head on at a slight angle. Due to his movement, Valentine's attempt at smashing his front paws would bode unsuccessful, however, Valentine's left foreclaws slid down Sin's right foreleg, creating moderate scratches that were more irritating then anything. His weight redistributed to his hind legs that in turn, spread for better balance, toes splayed and claws digging into the dirt to ground him.

Simultaneously, Sin's jaws flew wide open as Valentine's did, the beast rising upon his hind legs and lunging at Valentine's open jaws. He sought to counter the boy with his own teeth. His movement wouldn't save him from everything, for Valentine's canines sliced across the bridge of his muzzle, the power dealt behind the potential attack left severe lacerations across his muzzle which could potentially scar later. And before he could attain a hold on his(sin's ) muzzle, Sin slightly rotated his head to his left and sought to latch onto Valentine's lower jaw. Upper canines sought to embed themselves on the right of Valens jaws (potentially seeking to cut Valens tongue but not enough to damage it completely) and lower jaw seeking to wrap beneath Valens lower jaw and attain a grip, Sin's lower canines hopefully embedding themselves somewhere beneath the kings softer underside part of his jaw.

He wanted to induce plenty of pain, despite his cruel demeanor he didn't seek to maul or massacre the man. In a way, Sin could respect the boy. He could let him walk away with his dignity still intact, after all, he knew Valentine carried the blood of an Armada. Even though the boys grandfather had labeled his father a traitor, Sin cared not for past follies let alone his own father's constantly wounded pride. And as such, through this battle, Sin would grow to like this giant twerp.

Sin vs Valentine for spar #TooGood4U
Round 2/2
Edited to add round count with permission of lunarcat7.

As he fell, Valentine's bite glanced off the top of his opponent's muzzle, leaving in its wake severe lacerations. His bite landed funny; feeling that something was up, the King quickly abandoned his goal of getting a grip, instead turning his head so that he was once again facing forward and tucked his chin. His downward motion (as he was still falling forward and his forefeet were still reaching for the ground) coupled with the snappy decision to duck and level his head with his spine saved him from the brunt of his opponent's attack. Instead of gripping Valentine's lower jaw, Sin's teeth skidded across the top of Valentine's forehead, leaving moderate lacerations from between his eyebrows to the middle of his forehead. In a matter of heartbeats the rapid fire exchange of bites and counters was over and all four of Valentine's paws were firmly planted on the ground with the nails of each dug into the dirt for added traction. His stance was slightly wider than shoulder/hip width and his knees were bent just enough to keep his joints loose. With his head down and his chin tucked, the King completed the protective hollow around his throat by rolling his shoulders forward, a move that bunched his scruff and would hopefully make his throat an undesirable target. His ears were held flat against his head and his eyes were narrowed – the latter a move that was now all the more important since blood was running down his forehead. Thankfully it wasn't in his eyes – yet. To bunch the skin around his eyes and along his muzzle Valentine curled his lips. He kept his tail on the same plane as his spine, the usually curved plume held in a rigid line in the hopes of bettering his balance. The brute also kept his hackles raised. Seeking to once again line the two brutes up so that they were facing one another, Valentine swung his hips to his right and sidestepped in that direction quickly. Instead of seeking a chest to chest positioning as he had the last time, he wanted them to be slightly off center. His goal was to line the bony front of his right shoulder up with the center of Sin's chest. With this positioning (and the raised stance of his opponent) in mind he intended to ram forward and drive the aforementioned shoulder into his opponent's chest centered right between his armpits. There wasn't enough distance between them to build up enough momentum to do serious harm, but Valentine was still hoping the move would drive the breath from Sin's lungs and hopefully knock him over backwards. Reaching out, Valentine's jaws parted as he sought to sink his teeth into the meaty outside of his opponent's right shoulder. Tipping his head to his left so that his jaws rose to his right, the King sought to drive his upper canines into the center of the meaty exterior of Sin's right shoulder and his lower canines approximately four inches directly across from them, near the bony front of that shoulder. Valentine sought a deep, damning grip that would damage muscle, cause a fair amount of pain, and hopefully severely limit his opponent's movements for the rest of the fight. VALENTINE versus SIN for SPAR BAMF STATUS Round TWO of TWO

SIN vs VALENTINE for SPAR ROUND ONE SIN CLARITY – 2 “or at the base of the jawline, google isn’t helping me figure out how wide jaws can open” – (OOC posts are NOT required in IC posts. It can cause confusion and it’s really not necessary You need to be clear EXACTLY where you are attacking and putting it in a OOC note to specify isn’t counted towards that clarity.) - 2 “His left paw sought to swipe at Valentine’s right […] to compromise the other male’s balance” (Are you attempting to..grab his paw and pull it out from under him? Or just raking your nails? I don’t understand how this would compromise his balance, or even what you are trying to do.) Total: 6 POWERPLAY – 2 “should he be successful in his endeaver, he wanted to violently shake his head” (This is a nested attack, you will want to wait to see if your attack lands before trying to worsen the damage.) Total: 8 DEFENSES Def +1 (legs) + 1 (toes) + 1 (claws) + 1 (tail) + 1 (hackles) + 1 (ears) + 1 (eyes) + 1 (scruff) + 1 (head) + 1 (weight) + 1 (teeth) Total: 10 ATTACK + 2 body/shoulder slam + 3 Bite to face + 0 paw swipe Total: 5 INJURIES - First round! Total: 10 Total for Round One: 39 / 50 VALENTINE CLARITY – 1 “valentine unwittingly avoided sin’s attempt to smash the toes of his right forefoot” (Sin’s move was a paw swipe not a smash) Total: 9 POWERPLAY -0 Total: 10 DEFENSES + 1 (lips) +1 (eyes) + 1 (teeth) + 1 (hackles) + 1 (tail) + 1 (stance) + 1 (toes) + 1(nails) + 1 (knees) + 1 (head) Total: 10 ATTACK +2 gravity aided foot stomp/pin +1 maim attempt to nose + 3 bite to muzzle + 1 grip attempt Total: 7 INJURIES - First round! Total: 10 Total for Round One: 46 / 50 ROUND TWO SIN CLARITY – 2 “(wasn’t trying to smash the toes)” Do not place OOC notes in IC posts. Even if they are there to “Fix” a mistake of your opponent. That is not your job, your job is to write a clear response to theirs. It’s the Judge’s job to catch those mistakes, which I did before your note. Total: 8 POWERPLAY – 1 “Head shake + Snap attempt” (Because your last post, the bite and head shake was nested. By shaking and then moving you do not give enough time for your opponent to respond. Moves and arounds are usually only a second or two long at most, so you cannot realistically fit all these movements in.) - 2 “Sin would move abruptly to the right” (Movements that involve your opponent including “formations” must be writing in a clear attempt) Total: 7 DEFENSES + 1 (weight) + 1 (eyes) + 1 (hackles) + 1 (ears) + 1 (tail) + 1 (muscles) + 1 (teeth) + 1 (shoulders) + 1 (Toes) Total: 9 ATTACK + 1 head shake + 3 snap attempt Total: 4 INJURIES - 1 bruise to right shoulder - 2 lacerations along muzzle - 1 leg cuts to right foreleg Total: 6 Total for Round Two: 34 / 50 VALENTINE CLARITY -0 Total: 10 POWERPLAY -0 Total: 10 DEFENSES Def + 1 (chin) + 1 (head) + 1 (paws) + 1 (nails) + 1 (stance) + 1 (knees) + 1 (Shoulders) + 1 (ears) + 1 (eyes) + 1 (lips) Total: 10 ATTACK + 2 body shove + 3 bite to shoulder + 1 grip attempt Total: 6 INJURIES - 1 Mild lacerations to forehead Total: 9 Total for Round Two: 45 / 50 Totals: PLAYER 1 39 + 34 = 73 / 100 PLAYER 2 46 + 45 = 91 / 100 And the winner is... VALENTINE SIN must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Damage: SIN Bruise to Right shoulder – 1 OOC weeks to heal Moderate lacerations to muzzle – 2 OOC weeks to heal, potential to scar VALENTINE Moderate bruise to right shoulder – 1 OOC week to heal Shallow lacerations and puncture wounds to neck – 2 OOC weeks to heal fully Mild to Moderate lacerations to forehead – 1-2 OOC weeks to heal fully Notes: Tips for writing and some suggestions. (no points are deducted here): DRAGON You need to stop placing OOC notes in your IC posts. As I’ve already said it adds confusion to your post and it can be seen as spiteful or even rude. Also, you do too much in such a short time frame. Remember, rounds are very very short, so there’s only so much you can do! I have to add, though, that I got severe Dejavu with those defenses, did you copy paste? XD Aside from those notes, and being sure that everything is clear and easy to understand, you’re doing well. Keep it up! LAZULI As always, you are a Beast! I don’t have much notes for you, aside from maybe double checking paw slams to paw swipes? Erm, keep up the good work? xD This section is always super short for you. - By [Arin]