After talk of fight training for the Abaven wolves, Caelum had been thinking more and more about how horrendously out of practice she was. Honestly hunting had always been the activity she preferred, so it was easy to let herself just not think about things like spars for this long. But knowing how dangerous the world could be, it was more than time to brush up on her skills. So the ivory and onyx woman entered the battlefield, noting it was quite empty today.

Stretching her muscles, she noted the dissipating muscle tone with annoyance. She was old, but not that old, right? The woman didn't feel like her days were numbered just yet, anyways. Lifting her muzzle, she called for an opponent. Hopefully someone looking for a nice, relaxed spar would appear.

This particular battlefield was a place he hadn't been to in quite a long while, but today he sought to find a spar. He needed to brush up on his fighting tactics, so that he stood a better chance when it came down to a real, serious fight again. While he fought his best against Ashiel, it wasn't enough. It didn't take long for him to hear the call of another, and he was both curious and eager to heed the call. Kimahri and Shiva guided him through the field, and soon enough they came upon and old she-wolf. The trio stopped about ten feet from the woman, and the earthen male tilted his head. "You're from Abaven? A pleasure. I heard your call, and I figured maybe I could spar with you today?" "Dragon"||Kimahri||Shiva

Her heartbeat quickened in her chest as she awaited an answer. At first Cae had been worried that as an elder she might not do well, but she quickly dismissed the thought. Cae still felt like she had life left in her, and she'd aged surprisingly well. Then again, Maylin always said their family was long lived. That would be the end of thinking about her parents, though. It made her far to sad to think they'd likely passed a while ago and that she hadn't been around.

The approach of a challenger disrupted any further internal dialogue she might have had. Smiling in that warm, friendly way she had Cae answered, "I am, I joined with my family not too long ago." Her tail fanned the air a bit and her smile widened. "I'd love that! Nothing too intense though, I'm quite out of practice." Preparing her defenses, Caelum asked, "Would you like the first move?"

A small grin lifted inky lips at her response, head dipping to her as he chuckled. "You've nothing to fear, I'm sure we'd be an even match. You out of practice, and me, a blind man needing to practice to make up for that." He cleared his throat, head turning to each companion as he motioned for them to clear the field. "I intend to fight her one on one, a fair fight." Both companions nodded, moving away from him to sit out of the way so they could watch. Taking a deep breath, Dragon turned his attention back to the Abaven woman. He listened carefully to the world around him, mostly seeking to pick up her position. When she spoke again, asking if he'd like to take the first move, he listened carefully so he could try and pinpoint her location. He nodded to her question, the male beginning to set up his defenses while focusing on the task at hand. Hackles rose along his spine, legs spreading equidistant apart. Tail flagged out behind him for balance, head lowering to align with both tail and spine in a straight line. Ears pinned against his skull, and while he didn't really need to narrow his eyes, habit made him do it anyway. Lifting his lips to reveal semi-yellow fangs, he gave her a moment to prepare. Claws scraped into the earth for traction while toes spread, flexing over the earth. Taking another deep breath, he felt his heart pound hard against his chest. Though he'd always been a confident creature, he felt incredibly nervous. He felt like it was coming off of him in waves. This was, after all, the first spar he'd done since he lost against Ashiel. He was going in to his second fight blind, and though he had tried to train and practice with his companions and his mother, he felt like it was completely different going up against those whose fighting styles or experience he didn't know. And even though this woman said she was out of practice, he felt nervous regardless. Clearing his head from these thoughts as best he could, he finally decided to kick off from his position and sought to close the distance between them. He was going to attempt a full on collision, seeking to slam the entirety of his chest into her own in the hopes of knocking the wind from her, send her backwards, or at the very least, bruising. Assuming she didn't move, of course. But until he got up close and personal, he had no way of knowing. He needed to get in close, and stay there if he had any chance at all of winning. Or at the very least, landing his blows. Jaws opened up, the male lowering his head and tilting it to his left, seeking to land a bite on the upper right portion of her chest where it connected to her shoulder and neck. He sought a puncturing grip, a hold. Anything that might give him some sort of satisfaction that he had hit a mark. But if he missed...then, he would just have to try harder. Simultaneously, he shot his right forepaw forward, seeking to hook her left forepaw and drag it forward and unbalance her, though the chances of that were probably slim. He would probably be lucky if he had managed to hook his target, or her other leg or...anything at all, really. As much as he wanted to try and go all out thanks to the memories of the pack challenge, he would respect her wish of something not so intense. That was a reason why he had made his companions sit on the sidelines, he wanted to do a fair fight with her. An old woman, and a blind man. Round: 1/? Height: 39" Build: Heavy "SPEAK!"||Kimahri||Shiva

Cae chuckled at his reply. She wouldn’t discount him for lack of vision, as Cae was well aware that one could fight well despite perceived handicaps. ”I wish you luck, but I’m sure you’ll fight well” Watching as the cats moved off to spectate and Dragon prepared himself, Caelum got to work doing the same. She pushed her nerves to the back of her mind, taking a few steadying breaths and getting herself into that long neglected fighting mindset. She’d never been as good as Zephyr, but she wasn’t terrible. Now she just had to get herself back to where she left off.

Her legs would spread equally, positioned neatly under her body to evenly distribute her weight over them. Head and tail aligned with her spine while her knees bent slightly to lower her center of gravity and make movement easier. Good balance was important - especially if your opponent might be faster than you. Next her hackles would rais, ears fell back against her skul, lips raised in a snarl, eyes narrowed, and chin tucked over her throat. There, defenses set.

Her mind was blank, focus coming naturally like she’d never stopped fighting. The next test would be to see if her moves were still effective, or if she’d lost her touch entirely. She’d force both ego and anxiety to vacate her mind. Neither had a place on the battlefield.

As he came charging at her, Caelum’s mind whirred, trying to select a good option. She ended up running forward a few paces to meet him in his approach, while stepping to the right enough that his left shoulder would collide with her left shoulder, moderate bruising blooming along the point of contact. She used that momentum though, letting it help her swing her body to the right in an attempt to drive the point of her right shoulder in behind his left elbow where his leg met his body, hoping to leave moderate bruises there. Her movement caused his paw to miss it’s mark entirely, however his teeth did manage to find the upper right portion of her chest, leaving mild lacerations as she skidded into her attack. Her body would form an acute angle with his as her hips were not entirely parallel with his since she’d lacked the momentum to slide that far.

As she thrusted her right shoulder forward, Caelum would part her own jaws, amber-tinges fangs meeting daylight as they sought to sink into the back of his neck right where it met his skull, upper jaws aiming for the right side of his neck while lower jaws made for the left side. Ideally she’d manage a grip, or at least leave some respectable puncture wounds behind.

The adrenaline of the fight was reminding her why she picked up fighting in the first place, even if it wasn’t her favored activity. It was a hell of a rush.

Caelum vs. Dragon for Spar!
Round: 1/2
Height: 32 inches
Build: Light

His charge had landed, though judging by the impact of where his left shoulder hit, it was safe to assume she had decided to move positions and his attempt at slamming into her completely had somewhat failed. A moderate bruise blossomed on his left shoulder, but he ignored the pain. Ears swiveled to listen to his surroundings and his opponents movements to try and determine her movements. She was no longer in front of him since his attempt at trying to grab her paw failed, and he felt nothing in the general space. His teeth did manage to find a mark. Not the hold or grip he wanted, but he felt his teeth cut skin and was satisfied with that at least. With their new positions, Dragon suddenly felt Caelum's shoulder dig into the left side of his body right behind his own left elbow. A moderate bruise formed there as well, and here he moved quickly. Replanting his paw to the ground, he shifted his weight to his hind legs, pivoting to his left, he sought to face her own left side. The earthen male spread his hind legs to hip width apart just before he sought to raise his front half. Forelegs sought to wrap around her neck with his left foreleg aiming to wrap beneath her neck just below her jaw line and right foreleg sought to wrap over her shoulders. He aimed to hug her close to his chest, hoping this would help his chances of winning. He knew he gambled by trying to fight blind, but he was determined to keep at it. Due to his attempted movements, Caelum's bite landed further down his body. Instead of grabbing where she originally intended, she ended up biting his left side behind his foreleg where the rib cage began. Moderate lacerations would be the result, and Dragon winced at the pain. Without waiting to see what else she might do, he tucked his head in towards his neck and aimed to bite the top of her head right between her ears. Top fangs sought the far side (towards her right ear) while bottom fangs aimed to cut the side closest to him (towards her left ear). As he did this, he strove to shove his chest into the left side of her neck, seeking to push her away from him (and possibly strain her neck). All the while he kept his defenses in place. Ears pinned to his head, tail aligned with his spine. Hackles remained bristled along his spine, shoulders rolled forward and toes spread over the earth while claws dug into it for traction. Dragon vs Caelum for Spar Round: 2/2 Height: 39" Build: Heavy "SPEAK!"||Kimahri||Shiva

Her shoulder met it's mark, mixing satisfaction at the success with the throb of pain as light bruising would find her own attacking right shoulder. Dragon quickly got back into the swing of things even with the landed attack, rearing and successfully grappling her neck and shoulders. Cae's ears remained pinned, eyes narrowed and lips peeled back in a snarl as the opponent got closer to her face.

Tilting her head to the left Cae would eye their positioning and quickly shift her weight to her other three legs before shooting her hind left leg out in an attempt to stomp on Dragon's right hind paw and leave moderate bruising. Whether it hit or not, her weight would redistribute evenly over her legs once the attacking leg landed. Shoulders rolled forward to keep skin, fat and fur over her vitals. Her bite hit his side, which was good enough for her. After a moment the elder woman would throw her front end hard to her left, seeking to push against his left leg and bend it the wrong way and possibly strain the muscles of his leg, simultantously bending her knees and ducking down, hoping to aid her efforts to reach out and grab his left hind leg in a gripping bite. Her upper jaw aimed for the back of the leg while the lower jaw sought out the front of the limb, seeking to land the bite just below his hock. Her repositioning made it so that she ducked under much of the pressure of his chest, though she still felt mild straining along the left side of her neck as he pushed into her.

Her tail would remain even with her spine, hackles raised down her spine and toes spreading and sinking into the soil to aid her balance and traction as she moved.

Caelum vs. Dragon for spar
Round: 2/2
Height: 32 inches
Build: Light

I hate to do this to you guys but the winner is...

CAELUM

do to Dragon neglecting to put the reason for the spar in the first post. This information is required in every post. If you notice you don't have the info you should pm a judge to have it added in. Sorry!