Naiche felt ready this time! He made his way with long strides to the beach and the ring farther along.  It was still fairly early in the day, the sun was up but it still had quite the climb to go.  Excitement ran through him imagining the fight his competitor didn't know was coming yet. Hopefully, he would show, as long as there was nothing more pressing Naiche couldn't imagine him not showing.  Naiche had given it a week from the condor incident, time for the injury to heal a bit.  Sirius was not someone to fight if you couldn't do your absolute best.  The wound wasn't healed certainly but it wouldn't get in the way nor break open from the fight, good enough. Naiche howled out the friendly challenge to Sirius, a desire to fight.  Naiche didn't want to see how long he could last this time, he wasn't that humble young wolf who had just felt the drive to become worthy.  Naiche was stronger, faster, and smarter and he wanted to test it against the best.  Arrogant? Possibly but Naiche didn't give a damn.  Naiche waited, watching for signs of Sirius and ears up in case the response was a howl instead of a visit. Speech:"Live to fight" Think

Sirius raised his head, listening with amusement to the call that rang out for him. His newest warrior held a lot of ambition. Sirius hadn’t fought him since he had entered the pack, and wasn’t above a rematch. He had no doubt Naiche would take away a lesson from the fight. So long as his warriors were always learning, he was happy.
He walked down to the plains where the call had originated. No surprises there, this territory was put aside mostly for training. He found Naiche near one of his rings on the sand, and came to a stop before him. “I see you're wearing your new rank with pride.’ He teased the other wolf gently

No doubt he was perfectly brimming with confidence and he just opened his mouth a bit in a slight grin, “you bet.”   It didn’t matter how much larger Sirius was to him.  If Naiche could stare in the face of Bears, and a menagerie of other large predators without fear there was no reason to feel different facing Sirius.  Admittedly he had help in those fights but the real point was that size, teeth, and claws weren’t the overriding factor on who would win.  Speed, accuracy, and quickness of mind could make for a number of factors. “Besides, the more challenging the sweeter the victory, right?” Yup, beating Sirius would make a perfect start to a good day. If he didn’t win? He’d still get to show off his improvement and the fights he lost were generally the ones he found the most to learn from. Naiche moved to one end of the ring finding that wonderful rush that was always there when a fight was about to begin.   Pan was at a farther corner down, sitting with his tail strung out behind him.  The little pangolin gave a wave of encouragement.  This fight would be between Naiche and Sirius, just as it was the first day.  Naiche wanted to test himself as much as show off to Sirius.  Was it enough? How well did one need to be for beating Sirius?  The warlord had once suggested running at that time if he comes up against a challenge as dangerous as Sirius.  Naiche didn’t want to ever feel a need to run from a fight that was one wolf vs another.  Naiche was no coward, nor novice. Speech:"I won't Lose!" Think

Sirius laughed at the young wolf's bravado. No telling him how few fights Sirius had lost. He was determined, and maybe that would add something. Sirius wouldn’t go easy on, but he was still rooting for the little guy. He would take a win from Naiche as proof that the man could protect himself. That was one of the most important factors to the Warlord, that his people could and would stand up for themselves.

The Warlord stepped into the ring across from Naiche, his winged companion soaring lightly in the sky above them. Marshal was never far behind him, and his other companions began now to stroll up the beach and watch the fight. “Alright Naiche, show me what you’ve got.”

The golden wolf didn’t waste time, the moment Sirius said he was ready so was Naiche. The much smaller wolf felt that now-familiar rush of adrenaline as a new challenging fight was before him.  Sirius.  If he could beat Sirius how great would it be? That was something to brag over and something to prove himself.  Naiche charged towards Sirius with his first strides, as if once more he intended a straight on attack but shortly before collision he turned in a hard pivot to one side to gain distance while even with the head and curve back towards him the next stride to try and bite his rear leg with no intent to hang on.   The entire first attack was hinging on the feint of a foolish frontal charge and the speed to use the feint to get in one shot before the other wolf caught on.  As Sirius had pointed out way back when, going for the legs would make a lot more sense for the smaller and more lithe wolf.  Naiche had fought plenty of bears with that logic and now it would be used on the one who suggested the game plan. Naiche Dauner vs Sirius for Spar Round 1/2 Age: Over 1 year Size: Medium Build: Light Companion 1: Sunda pangolin, Male - Battle Skills: Master Fighter & Intermediate Navigator Specialty: Knight Speech:"Live to fight" Think

Sirius set his defenses, feeling the familiar pose roll over his body as he balanced and waited for the first strike. He was not a lithe, quick-moving wolf; he was one ready and set to hold their ground, and grab at the striking wolf. Most of his tactics revolved around that approach, with flexibility set in from experience. As Naiche charged, Sirius rolled on the balls of his feet prepared to grab the smaller wolf and crush him in his grip. Before he could strike, Naiche fainted to the side, rushing past him out of reach of his bear-sized paws. Sirius rolled forward, pushing his weight to his front, and kicking out with his back paws, if he could get in a hit, he would aim to scrap flesh with his feline-like claws. Hit or miss, he would set his balance again, waiting for Naiche to come at him. "Speech" Sirius Fatalis vs Naiche Round 1/2 Age: over 1 year Size: Dire wolf Build: Medium Offensive Battle Accessory: Front leg bracers with knife Defensive Battle Accessory: Back leg bracers Companion 1: Black Vulture, Male - Battle - Boosted Companion 2: Snow Leopard, Female - Battle - Boosted *Companion 3: Spectacled bear, Female - Battle Mutation 1: Cat claws - Offensive Mutation 2: Fangs - Offensive Skills: Master Fighter & Master Hunter Specialty: Bloodletter

Naiche felt claws get past the fur slip into the skin but it didn’t feel like it went any deeper, meaning it wouldn’t slow him down, and during a fight that was all that really mattered. On his last fight in similar circumstances, his plan had worked better and his next attack had taken a different route that hadn’t worked well.  It was this second part Naiche still had to figure out when fighting the faints.  Sirius using his back leg was not something Naiche had considered. Naiche ran wideout for a second to avoid the long reach but then charged in, once more trying for a feint, his head low as he came in he would go for the front leg, but an extra stride would be taken and he’d raise his head and front paws to attempt to get a bite in at the underside of Sirius's neck. Azure and Sirius were crazy strong and hard to battle, but if Naiche could learn some tricks to beat them other wolves would seem that much easier.  It was a conquest Naiche found worthy of putting in long periods of practice. Naiche Dauner vs Sirius for Spar Round 2/2 Age: Over 1 year Size: Medium Build: Light Companion 1: Sunda pangolin, Male - Battle Skills: Master Fighter & Intermediate Navigator Specialty: Knight Speech:"Live to fight" Think