Azure had thought his training was going perfectly. That was, at least, until his mother had told him he would need to see Tamsyn for additional lessons. It frustrated the boy beyond belief that he'd be sent to learn from someone newer even to the skill then he was, though his father had made it clear to him that his position of Heir was one that could be withdrawn. Already he'd earned a strike from the way he spoke to Malalia, so if his mother wanted him to see Tamsyn he could humor her at least to avoid receiving a second. The boy's stomping was audible as he made his way across the border to the plains where they trained. His wide, bear-like paws slapped hard against the ground and only softened in sound when the dirt and grass vanished into the sandy shore. He hated the arenas that were built into the sand, his paws always seemed to struggle against the uneven ground and it reminded him each step of when he was a brand new pup barely able to handle his too-big paws. Now he was older, bigger and stronger. His birthday was a mere season away and yet he still had never won a single fight. What was he doing wrong? Azure didn't know, but he was unconvinced that a session with the new General would help.  "Tamsyn?" The boy called out, sounding bored and not really like he wanted a reply. Maybe she wouldn't be here and he could just go back to his den to sleep some more. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Whenever Tamsyn wasn't doing patrols, she tended to linger near the training areas. She did it mostly for her own benefit so she could spend plenty of time here training on her own, but she also hoped that perhaps some of the other wolves in the pack would come for training as well so she could work with them and make herself available as their General. She was slowly becoming more and more comfortable and familiar with her new responsibilities, but she hadn't yet gotten the courage to call the pack for a full pack training of any kind. Maybe it would be better to just do one on one training for now... Either way, she hoped she would get more chances to be helpful sooner rather than later.

As if the world was reading her mind, she heard a voice calling her name. The tone of it didn't sound super thrilled to be doing so, but it still got her attention none of the less. Tamsyn came around the corner of the barracks and her mint green gaze landed on one of Zee and Sirius' sons. She was surprised to see him looking for her, but she was pleased all the same. "Hello, Azure," she replied as she walked over to him, giving the young man a warm smile. The bracers Sirius had presented to her were firmly attached to her forelegs as they always were when she was out and about these days. She tried not to focus too much on how indifferent and perhaps even irritated his tone had been, but instead just felt hopeful that she might be able to help him in some way. That's really the only reason she wanted to keep this position in the first place - just to help the wolves that had let her be part of their family. "What can I do for you?"

"Speech" Thought

The General gave him a smile as she approached, and Azure turned his head away to stare out into the ocean so he wouldn't feel obligated to return it. He may have held no bad feelings for Tamsyn, but that didn't mean he was going to turn into the sort of wolf who smiled all the time. The too-proud prince had other ideas on how he wanted his image to be, Mortis was friendly enough for both the heirs. "Mom sent me to see you. She thinks I need more training. I think she's full of shit, but.." He quickly looked around, realizing what he'd said. The last time he'd insulted someone his father appeared out of nowhere to tell him off. Thankfully the warlord didn't seem to be nearby. "Whatever. Train me, or something. I don't want to get in trouble." It occurred to him that even if he did agree to the training, Tamsyn wasn't obligated to tell his mother that he went through with it. He could get in trouble either way. "Then you can tell my mom that I listened and was polite and all that." He added. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Tamsyn lifted a brow at the Heir when he responded with nothing short of cocky arrogance. She didn't appreciate his attitude, especially when he made quite the disrespectful comment about his mother's concerns and wishes. She wanted to chide him about his outlook on the whole situation and tell him to be more respectful to his mother, especially since Zee held such a high place in Tamsyn's mind, but she could already tell that kind of response was going to go in one ear and right out the other. That wasn't going to be the way to get through to him and she knew that. She could also already tell that it wasn't going to be the skills in fighting that Zee probably had concerns over - it was most likely going to be the boy's headstrong nature that was eventually going to land him in trouble.

"That's a bold demand coming from someone who just said his mother was full of shit," she replied, fixing him with a firm, unwavering gaze. "What I should do is go tell your parents how disrespectful you've been and how uninterested you are in your training. However... I'll make you a deal." She tried to remind herself that no mater how large he already was from the genes he had gotten from Sirius, he was still very young. There would be plenty of time still to temper his attitude. Perhaps it was a bit optimistic to think that she could help curb that snark and aggression into a constructive outlet, but she could try.

She walked over to one of the sandy arenas that were set up for the pack to practice their skills in and then turned to face him again. "If you beat me in a fair fight then I'll go to Zee and tell her that you were a wonderful student and I won't say anything about your comments. If I win then we're going to go to her together and you're going to tell her what you said. Deal?" She braced herself for their fight, thinking back to when she fought Sirius and everything she had taken away from that when fighting wolves significantly larger than herself. Part of her wanted to win just to have the opportunity to teach him a lesson that would hopefully stick with him, but if he did win then perhaps it would help prove to Zee that he was indeed skilled as a fighter. It wouldn't help his ego, but that would have to be something worked on with time.

Tamsyn vs Azure for Spar
Round 0/2
Age: Over 1 Year
Size: Medium
Build: Light
Defensive Battle Accessory: Bracers
Skills: Advanced Fighter & Advanced Navigator
Specialty: N/A

"Speech" Thought

Azure's shoulders shrugged at her threat as though he was unshakable, though the boy could not bring himself to meet the general's firm gaze. "I am interested in my training." He muttered argumentatively, tattered ears falling back to his skull in annoyance. Azure always worked hard in training, it wasn't any fault of his that he couldn't ever win. He sighed, peeking over at her as she continued and offered him a deal. Was it worth it? Azure previously had had so much confidence in himself but even that was fading away as he suffered loss after loss. His two torn ears were a permanent reminder of them, each maimed by a different wolf who'd bested him in combat. If Tamsyn won, Azure wasn't sure if he could bring himself to hold up his part of the deal. His teeth worked gently against blackened lips as he studied her. The prince was too proud to refuse it and show himself a coward. "Alright, fine." She'd stressed that it would be a fair fight, and Azure ran his gaze over her contemplatively. For this one he'd not call his companions as it appeared she had none at her side. He'd keep his bracers as she had some of her own, though he'd leave off his condor armor so they'd only have one piece each. The boy straightened and looked down upon the smaller wolf, his lips curling back in what was half a snarl, and half a grin. "Prepare yourself, General." With the warning given Azure thundered towards her, his upper body lifting and his left leg reaching forward in an attempt to bring it down upon around her shoulder. Very quickly the prince had learned how deadly his mutated paws could be, and it was rare for him to not initiate a fight by attempting to put the long curved claws into a solid position upon his opponent. His right leg he kept close to the ground, aiming to wrap it around Tamsyn's left above her bracer and use the blade hidden behind to cut against the vulnerable back of her leg where her tendons lie. Azure Keres Fatalis vs Tamsyn  for Spar Round 1/2 Age: Under one year Size: Dire wolf Build: Medium Offensive Battle Accessory: Bracers with knife Defensive Battle Accessory: Not equipped Companion 1: Not present Companion 2: Not present Mutation 1: Saber fangs - Offensive Mutation 2: Bear paws - Offensive Mutation 3: Bone spurs - Offensive Skills: Advanced Fighter & Advanced Hunter Specialty: N/A [OOC: I've ranked down Az's skills for plot purposes, as I want it to be a fair fight <3] "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Even as the over confident young man considered her proposal and tried to keep up his bravado, she could see the slight deflation in his expression. Of course, she had no context of how much he had actually trained thus far or how many fights he had won or lost - she was only assessing what she saw in front of her right at this moment. If she was being honest if she did win their fight then she wasn't sure she'd have it in her to actually drag him in front of Zee to hold up her end of the bargain, but it had been enough of a threat to perhaps make him take this more seriously. At the very least he seemed to actually think about the deal before accepting it.

She also noticed how he made an effort to make it an actually even fight and for that she was impressed. If he had used all of the armor the had at his disposal she wouldn't have been surprised or bothered. After all, if this had been a fight in a raid or otherwise he would have been expected to use it. For the context of their "fair" fight though she appreciated it. A grin tugged at her lips when he said to prepare herself. Now that she was more comfortable on the battlefield fights were exciting and fun for her. No longer was she worried about how it might go or what she should do. She understood that there was always a chance of failure or wounds and that there was no need to be worried over it. Now she just focused on how she could improve herself from her last fight and how she could get better and better.

She shifted her stance into the widened, more stable stance that now felt more comfortable and natural than simply walking from the countless hours she had spent perfecting it. Her joints were slightly bent and muscles coiled, ready to dart one way or another to avoid his first wave of attacks. She knew all too well that she would have little chance overpowering a wolf this much larger than her so she leaned heavily on her lighter frame and more nimble speed to help her out. Azure threw himself into the fight, her mint gaze locked onto his left forelimb that came swinging through the air over her shoulders. She made a quick hop back and to her left to put her far enough out of range so that he wouldn't be able to get a full grip around her shoulders. Instead, his large, bear-like paw swatted at her right shoulder and left a series of shallow cuts in her skin and sent her stumbling another side step or two away from him. She was able to keep her balance so she wasn't knocked off her feet.

His right paw that had swung at her left leg missed it's target because of her new position, but she saw it as a small opening and she darted forward with outstretched jaws to catch his foreleg between her teeth near his ankle. She wasn't particularly concerned about getting around his bracer, she would be fine with biting into the feather decorated piece of armor - though she did make sure to bite in a way that would keep the blade hidden at the back of them away from her mouth. She wanted to keep his right paw from hitting the ground again and use the moment to pull him off balance, making a sharp tug with her head to hopefully upset his stance. If she did happen to catch the skin of his ankle or upper portion of his paw instead she would still do the same, though perhaps not bite quite as hard. She wanted to pull him off balance, but put him out of commission for some amount of days.

In the same motion, Tamsyn lifted her right paw - leaning her weight into her hind legs and left foreleg that was still firmly on the ground - and attempted to use it to shove him either in the chest or in the upper portion of his inner foreleg near his shoulder. She hoped the extra pressure from the shove would either help her knock him to the ground or at least push him away from her so she could reset for his next round of attacks.

Tamsyn vs Azure for Spar
Round 1/2
Age: Over 1 Year
Size: Medium
Build: Light
Defensive Battle Accessory: Bracers
Skills: Advanced Fighter & Advanced Navigator
Specialty: N/A

"Speech" Thought

Azure noticed Tamsyn's muscles shifting to dodge, though he'd not built up the agility to react in time to save his attack. Flesh tore beneath his claws but he'd not landed the grapple that he had hoped for, his paw falling uselessly back to the ground. In the blink of an eye the woman's teeth had landed hard around his other wrist and Azure's first instinct was to try and yank his leg back sharply against the unyielding grip in protest. No, that hurts. Bad idea. He felt a few of her fangs catch the flesh around his bracer as she too tugged, and lowered his head both to distribute his weight lower and to snarl at her. His size and weight made him normally quite hard to topple, though with one paw stuck in her jaws he struggled to maintain balance. He felt her paw pushing against his muscled chest and pushed into it, intending using her own strength to help him remain upright. The young prince's heart pounded hard in his chest and his growl intensified, frustration breaking through. He wanted his paw back, damnit. They were the only weapons he'd thus far learned to effectively use. He flexed his paw inwards as hard as he could through the pain, aiming to gouge the curved claws along her face wherever they could reach. It would not be a terribly vicious assault at the awkward angle, but he'd hoped it could cause enough discomfort to her to at least force her to release her grip. At the same time he lifted his free paw, aiming to bring it down upon the top of her skull and use his weight to drive her head down or force her to let go. There was always the possibility that he'd topple after all, but if he did then she was going with him damnit. Azure Keres Fatalis vs Tamsyn  for Spar Round 2/2 Age: Under one year Size: Dire wolf Build: Medium Offensive Battle Accessory: Bracers with knife Defensive Battle Accessory: Not equipped Companion 1: Not present Companion 2: Not present Mutation 1: Saber fangs - Offensive Mutation 2: Bear paws - Offensive Mutation 3: Bone spurs - Offensive Skills: Advanced Fighter & Advanced Hunter Specialty: N/A "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

His frustration was clear as she was successful in getting a hold of his leg and keeping it firmly between her jaws. She held firm through the tugging and growls he did in response, watching as best as she could from this angle to see how he would respond. She felt his paw flex and twist in her grasp as he tried to reach her cheek with his curved claws - the tips of witch grazed her skin and left shallow scratches there. She was able to turn her head a bit and adjust the angle she was holding from in order to escape any further damage they might have done fairly easily.

What she wasn't able to avoid was his other forepaw swinging for the top of her head. With how her head was turned she wasn't able to see his movement as well and she didn't notice the shift in his stance until it was too late to dodge it. His large paw landing the strike on the top of her head, forcing her head down under its weight. She could have let go and jumped back out of the way to avoid any further damage, but part of her wanted to keep putting pressure on the frustrated boy just to see how far she could push him and how he would respond when she did.

Instead she held tight to the leg that he was clearly trying to free, letting the weight of his paw push her head closer to the ground - along with his leg. She knew she might go tumbling over with him, but she tried her best to maintain her footing and just gave herself enough bend in her joints and flexibility in her stance to side step and match the shift in position. She also twisted her body with the momentum to try and shove her shoulder into his chest as well to hopefully make the final push to shift the balance in her favor. Of course he had the chance to recover and she'd be fully within his grasp so she could be over powered as well - that was just the name of the game.

Tamsyn vs Azure for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Over 1 Year
Size: Medium
Build: Light
Defensive Battle Accessory: Bracers
Skills: Advanced Fighter & Advanced Navigator
Specialty: N/A

"Speech" Thought

And the winner is...

AZURE

TAMSYN must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: AZURE: 258.60 (31, 89, 97, 23 - Adjusted to 49.6, 89, 97, 23) TAMSYN: 185.73 (68, 65, 8, 9 - Adjusted to 71.4, 71.5, 9.6, 9)

Judged with by Tealah