Walk | Talk | Think Miksa had waited the few or so days - could it really have been a whole week?? - after the meeting until the spars were called to order. The time had been spent in a permanent state of anxiety, caught between his fear of failing and his desire to get the deed over and done with. He tried, when he was not completely overcome with nerves, to review what he knew, to go through his paces and see what he remembered. Stances, positions, defenses, scenarios that he could try to prepare for, but even as he did his secret training - he was too self-conscious to have an audience - he knew nothing would compare to the actual moment of battle. This was really just to distract himself. It worked. Somewhat. When the day finally arrived, he felt there was little else he could do in terms of preparation save sparring with someone else, and considering that would put him below peak condition he opted out of it. Besides, he still knew no one aside from Surreal, his friend Varda, and the kind healer woman Kavdaya in the pack personally, so his options were limited regardless; he was not yet brave enough to seek out the strangers. Keeping his breaths evenly measured and forcefully calm, the white wolf traveled to the heart of the Vericona Plains and looked about with nervous yellow eyes. Would this go well? Would he prove his worth or just confirm for himself that he had yet a lot to learn? He tried not to think, especially about the impending spar, and instead set about searching for his intended partner, seeking out whoever would be taking on his spar.

Surreal Adravendi

It was time to test Miksa, both to see where he was in his skills, and to see if he was ready for the rank he wished to obtain. That of Legionary. She had caught his scent, and now she followed at a trot. Thus far, she had no one else to test him with, so it was down to herself. When she found him, he seemed to be looking for someone, and she supposed he must be looking for his opponent. A gentle woof left her jaws as she stopped about ten feet behind him. "Are you ready to begin?" Her voice was gentle, warm, and she looked him over as she waited for his answer. She had stretched already today, and she was limber, ready to fight, even if it was a spar. Her tail wagged slowly as she watched her pupil, and possible first Legionary. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Walk | Talk | Think He was fidgety and could hardly stand still as he glanced about and shifted his weight from his left side to right and back again, still carefully drawing in each breath. Would he find his sparring partner here, or had he gone to the wrong place for it? Could they possibly have been waiting for him elsewhere? Full of nerves, Miksa found himself second guessing everything, including matters beyond the spar at hand, and tried desperately to calm himself with the reminder it would be over soon. Just as soon as he found... Instantly his ears perked when a voice sounded behind him, causing the gentlest of starts as he hastily spun around to face Surreal. His yellow eyes took her in, looking quite comfortable and expectant, and as his eyes looked to either side of her, noting she traveled alone, he realized his sparring partner had arrived. The alpha. No pressure. Feeling a resigned sense of calm now that the moment was upon him, Miksa somberly straightened himself out across from her, breathing in deeply and releasing the breath as if the tension of his body might be expelled with it. There was a soft furrow to his brow as he looked across at his grey-colored leader, but there was also a stalwart determination set within the serious expression of his face. He nodded twice, muttering a quiet, "Yeah," and hoped instinct would kick in to help him through this as he once again reflected on everything he had thus far been taught.

Surreal Adravendi

The nerves were strong with this one, but she kept her amusement veiled as he spun to face her, and even when he seemed to realize that she would be the one he'd be sparring, the gentle smile never grew into a grin that he might see as patronizing. "Remember your defenses." With that gentle reminder, she charged, seeking to close the distance between herself and Miksa as swiftly as possible, defenses settling into place within the first and second strides. Her hackles rose from the base of her skull to the base of her tail as her head and tail flowed smoothly into line with her spine. Her paws fell into a balanced, squared spread, toes spreading to widen her balance, claws grabbing for turf under her feet as she tucked her chin, flattened her ears, narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth in a silent snarl, chin tucking against her throat to guard her vitals. Her hocks and elbows bent slightly to lower her center of gravity, with the added use of loosening her joints for movement as her abdomen tightened, her shoulders rolled forward and her neck scrunched backward, and her scruff rolled into place over her neck to guard the sensitive vertebrae and nerves against teeth. She sought to meet Miksa head on, aiming to drive the center of her chest squarely into his in a forceful ram, wishing to knock him back as her jaws parted, bared canines seeking a hold upon Miksa's muzzle as her head tipped to her right, aiming to fasten her upper canines on the left side of his muzzle and her lower canines around the right side. Simultaneously, her weight canted onto her hind legs as she sought to raise her front legs and wrap her forelimbs tightly around Miksa's neck and shoulders in a bear hug, tail flicking behind her to maintain her balance as her hind paws squared under her pelvis. She wanted to see what his instincts would bring to the surface when he was pressed. Normally, she would have taught him these moves much later in training, but this was a test to see what he could do, and where he stood in skill. Could be that he had undiscovered talent for fighting. They would just have to see. -:: Surreal vs Miksa for Legionary Rank Test Spar::- Round 1/3 Defenses: Attacks: Injuries: Extra Notes: Ten feet of distance agreed upon between Mouser and myself ^^ *Edited round count, overseen and approved by Arin <333

Walk | Talk | Think Defenses. Right. Mechanically the white wolf reacted to the prompting statement, rolling his shoulders forward as his frame sank into a more square stance to lower his center of gravity. Chin tucked to protect his throat, he lowered his head in line with his spine as his ears pinned themselves against his skull, bright eyes narrowing. His tail afforded itself one nervous lash before it stilled, held straight out behind him and level too with his spine. What else was there? There was no more time to consciously think, no further time to set himself up to react, as the grey wolf across from him leaped cleanly and expertly into action. Almost immediately, Miksa felt the first rush of adrenaline, his toes and claws digging into the earth for traction as he braced and felt his hackles rise across his neck and back. He held his place, letting Surreal come to him, and was pushed back a step as his opponent's chest struck squarely against his own, feeling a dull ache caused by the collision that was likely to become a minor bruise later on. He stumbled back a step, going with the motion to keep his stance square and balanced, and met her opened jaws with the same. With her jaws open and her head angling itself to its right, Miksa sensed as much as saw the bite coming. In close quarters and still acting mostly in defense of himself, the white wolf could not think of a proper counter measure and reacted with the first instinct that came to mind: baring his fangs as his jaws parted, the boy too attempted to tilt his head to his left in unison with Surreal's motion to try catching her lower jaw between his upper and lower canines in a bite and compromise whatever hold she attempted to get on him. She acted quickly, distracting her opponent with the bite until he suddenly felt her forelegs bearing down against his shoulders. He braced beneath the added weight, thoughts desperately seeking a way out of his new predicament as he felt far too vulnerable in this position. Seeking to throw off whatever balance Surreal was currently taking by supporting herself against him, Miksa sought to bring her down. With her head still tilted to her right, he swung his hind legs to his own right and angled to her left, in effect pulling his center of gravity out from directly in front of her. Attempting to use her force against her, he let his left foreleg fold slightly to bring his upper body on that side closer to the ground - squared stance bracing for the change in weight distribution while his tail swung out to keep his balance. Simultaneously, he attempted to push against the left side of her chest - exposed with her forelegs around his neck - with his right shoulder. By doing so, he tried to shove her weight off of him and to his left so that she would lose balance and release her hold against him. MIKSA vs SURREAL for legionary rank testing (spar) I II III OOC: Confirming the ten feet of distance!

Surreal Adravendi

Her ram met with success, and moderate bruising brought by the force of the collision spread over her frontal chest. Her momentum succeeded in knocking Miksa back a step , and his distraction by her jaws, while successfully catching her lower jaw between his teeth, his molars leaving mild scratches over her gums, tongue and underside of her jaw, proved a boon to her attempt to hug him. Her defenses, such as they were remained as she kept her hind legs squared under her hips, her tail flicking parallel with the ground for an added rudder of balance, while her hind toes spread wide apart for added balance, claws digging into the earth for traction as her abdomen tensed. Her hackles remained raised from the base of her skull to the base of her tail down her spine, while her eyes remained narrowed, face wrinkled into a silent snarl, and her ears remained flat to her head. As Miksa dropped his left side, and pushed with the his right shoulder, the Archangel sought to adjust, and use the shift in weight against her opponent, driving her hind legs into the ground as she sought to ram the whole front of her chest into the full front of Miksa's chest and lower neck, both to maintain her balance and hopefully shake his just a bit, and to put into motion the plan she'd formulated as she'd sought to grab him in her front legs. Attempting to tighten her front legs' hold on his shoulders, she sought to twist her upper half to her right, Miksa's left, seeking to use her hold on his shoulders to bring him to the ground on his left side, while simultaneously seeking to tighten her jaws on Miksa's upper jaw and striving to thrash her head side to side as an attempt at dealing some painful damage that would distract her opponent. Thus far, for one with little training, Miksa's instincts proved sound. There would be mistakes; on the fly, there always would be. It was all part of the learning process. But he'd gone for a tooth to tooth defense, which was a good move, if done right. -:: Surreal vs Miksa for Legionary Rank Spar::- Round 2/3 Defenses: Attacks: Injuries: Extra Notes: Sorry this took so long, Mouser, but Here we go! Major crap post, but it's waited far too long.