dark mists are cloaking what the eyes can see

Éldi needed to get himself in shape for the raid season. He knew at any moment he was going to be called into battle and even if they did not go raiding til spring he had a lot of catching up to do. During the festival he'd taken a good break and done some crafting but now it was time to get his fangs set back to the grind stone. He needed to be sharpened, polished and ready to go. His companions travelled with him until at last he arrived in the Battlefield. It was here he would stay until he felt that his skills had finally reached the level they needed to be. He would returned to Valkyrie a brutal battle machine ready for whatever the harsh winter would bring. Tipping back his head he howled for an opponent.

Zeitgeist made her way to the battlefield with renewed confidence. The last time she'd been here, an extremely rude male had beaten her badly, ego and body. Since then however she'd trained harder then ever with Sirius, even having defeated the Ashen samurai Harbringr. It took her some time to bring herself to return and look for a new spar, but the small blue slave was prepared to give it her all and make Ashen proud as she'd promised Deathbelle. With her she'd brought the item she'd crafted, as well as the companion viper Sirius had gifted her. A wedding present, he called it. What a ridiculous man she'd fallen in love with. Regardless, the viper slithered obediently at her heels and she found herself growing quite fond of the thing. She also wore a wrapping made of thorns. She'd made it to be able to be bent in odd angles so that one day she might move it to another location if it served her better in battle, but for now it wrapped tightly around her forelegs. Thankfully there was a soft backing to it that prevented the thorns from digging into her own flesh. A howl rang out and Zee's ears perked with interest. She began a steady trot in the direction, careful to not expend too much of her nervous yet excited energy before the fight began. She came upon the male and sized him up before speaking. He was huge - though not as big as Sirius was. Was she sure she wanted to pick this fight? "Hello there." She greeted politely. "I've come for a spar, if you're willing." A small grin, and she settled her feet into the dirt to set her defenses. Tail was held out behind her rather then tucked, ready to be used as a rudder and boost her agility. She waited until the male gave his confirmation that she could begin the spar, and then leaped. The height difference was large between them, and Zee wished she was as tall as Sirius so she might be able to clash head on with the stranger. Instead, she aimed to bite at his neck as high up as she could reach. At the same time, she'd use her right paw to try and swipe it against his left foreleg. She had yet to use her thorn wrap in battle and hoped the barbs might be able to dig in and pain the male enough to distract him from defending his throat. Zeitgeist vs Éldi for Spar Round 1/? Age: Over 1 year Size: Small Build: Light Offensive Accessory: Thorn Wrapping on Forelegs Companion 1: Rough Scaled Bush Viper (20") Fight Skill Level: Expert "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

dark mists are cloaking what the eyes can see

Éldi waited patiently and soon his patience paid off as a young woman answered his call. She was small but seemed equipped for battle. This would be different from his usual fights. He was used to just bashing right into his opponents but someone of this height might need to be regarded more carefully. He could already tell she was much quicker than him. "I am indeed. Ladies first!" He quickly set his defenses as he faced off from the woman. She charged and so did he, not content with just standing still while she attacked. He quickly dodged to his right his head diving down as he attempted to bite into her back, just in front of her hips. At the same time he threw his left arm up as he tried to throw it over her back seeking to throw his superior weight onto the woman so that he might force her to the ground. His dodge to the right took him out of the path of her leg swipe but her fangs cut lacerations into his left thigh as he streaked by.

Éldi vs Zee for Spar
Round 1/2
Size: Extra Large
Build: Heavy
Offensive Accessory: No
Defensive Accessory:  No
Companion 1: Raven - Flying
Companion 2: Bobcat - Battle
Fight Skill Level: Expert
Specialty: No

Her attacks did not land where she'd of liked and the failure of it made the small girl snarl in anger. She'd thought she'd improved more then this, but obviously she was not as formidable as she'd hoped. Her snarl signaled the viper from behind, it's scaled form slithering from between her legs to move up towards the male. His arm came down upon her and he began pressing to force her to the ground. At the same time she felt his teeth come upon her back. The viper lashed out from between her forelegs, seeking to bite upon his underbelly and hissing loudly before delivering the strike. Surely her opponent would hear the hiss, and Zee hoped it would cause him to release her from his grip rather then take a snake-bite to the chest. Zee herself needed to counter as well, and so she angled her head to try and grip upon his shoulder as he maintained his hold upon his back. Zeitgeist vs Éldi for Spar Round 2/2 Age: Over 1 year Size: Small Build: Light Offensive Accessory: Thorn Wrapping on Forelegs Companion 1: Rough Scaled Bush Viper (20") Fight Skill Level: Expert "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

dark mists are cloaking what the eyes can see

Éldi grinned as his fangs found flesh and his arm landed where he had intended. He heard the hiss of the viper but at that moment Kaler entered the fight. The bob cat dove under Éldi's belly and sought to counter the snake by catching it in his jaws before it could strike the wolf. Éldi growled. It was getting crowded in here and difficult to tell what was coming and so he missed Zee's fangs as they latched into the back of his shoulder. Well, crap. Éldi sought to bite harder on the woman's back and this time he aimed to twist in and throw his other arm over her back as well, anxious to pin her and end this fight before either of them came to too much damage. Askr continued to circle above, trying to call out to Éldi when he could but it was difficult to see in this tangle of animals.

Éldi vs Zee for Spar
Round 2/2
Size: Extra Large
Build: Heavy
Offensive Accessory: No
Defensive Accessory:  No
Companion 1: Raven - Flying
Companion 2: Bobcat - Battle
Fight Skill Level: Expert
Specialty: No

And the winner is...

ELDI	ZEITGEIST must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Eldi: 288.4 Zeitgeist: 249.36

It's a bunch of crows!

As Eldi becomes the victor of the match, a cawing can be heard. Then another. And another. Soon crows are perched on every elevated object and many still fly in the sky. They evaluate the pair with beady eyes and seem exceptionally cautious of them. Nonetheless, they watch, growing in number one by one as the others find a place to settle. It's almost as if they're waiting for something...