Though it might not look like it Ophie was a very busy pup. She took her duties as a Fatalis oh so very seriously and such it was very important that she trained day and night to be the best girl she could be. Or at least that's what she told herself as she brandished a twig like a sword and swung it through the air, battling several invisible but very powerful assailants. She swished and slashed, twirling with all the grace of a dog clumsily chasing its tail, as she held them all back. The odds weren't looking good, it was a one vs eight but Ophie was confident in her abilities and why wouldn't she be? She came from a long line of mighty warriors, each more fierce than the last, there was no doubt in her mind that she would emerge victorious, even if the battle was long and hard fought.

She let out a mighty-if not muffled--HYAAAH as she rushed forward, lancing an enemy through the chest and then she twisted her neck and sent them hurting into the another. Two down, six to go. They would all soon learn what a grave mistake they'd made to even think of trespassing on Armada territory!

"Speech"

Malachai was being very brave, as far as he was concerned. He knew he technically was allowed in Armada lands, they had an open border after all but that didn't mean it didn't feel like a very big, quite brave, deal to finally take those steps, and he walked with his tail and head held high, a sign of his self-assurance, his feelings of satisfaction. That was quickly taken over my curiosity though as he heard a grunting, a young girl's voice.

Malachai changed his otherwise random direction out of curiosity, he wove through the tall grasses, still dwarfed by many of the stalks though not by a lot, he was quite large even for his age after all. He nearly walked right up onto the girl, spotting her swinging a large stick as invisible enemies. Malachai recognized her as one of the pups from the melee he'd fought, she seemed to have been stuck to Gossamer when she'd arrived so he assumed she was yet another Fatalis. His feelings on the family were a little muddled, he wasn't so sure about Gossamer and he'd not been too fond of Kotori when they'd first met but his feelings on the boy were warming...

Still there was something about watching the girl play fight with nothing that endeared her to him, enough at least that he decided to jump into the fray, imagining an enemy in front of him, his massive paws pinning them to the ground. "Sorry for the delay!" he exclaimed loudly, "Reinforcements have arrived!"

Art by Shirohoru

With all her wild slashing and thrashing Ophie was starting to get a little winded. Her sides heaved as she looked from one opponent to the other, her gaze sharp and focused as she slowly began to back up, intending to give herself more room to work. With every step Ophie took back the intruders moved one forward, they knew better than to mindless rush at her but they still had the advantage of numbers. If Ophie made one mistake she'd have 6 enemies taking advantage of it, she had to watch her back cause no one else was going to.

Or at least that was until another puppy rushed onto the scene. He charged in recklessly, knocking an invader off their feet and proudly proclaimed that backup had arrived. Usually the Fatalis princess would have been thrilled and for a moment her face light up with delight, pure and unadulterated joy that someone wanted to join in with her little game but wait- what if he was an enemy too? Could he be trusted? She too had seen him at the Empire fight training session but Ophie was still hesitant.

The invaders didn't seem to recognise him and if anything they looked alarmed at his appearance, maybe she should deal with them first and the boy second.

"CHAAAARGE!" Ophie hollered, dropping her stick as he mimicked his first attack and charged headfirst into the group of interlopers.

"Speech"

The combatant under Malachai's paw's squirmed frantically, trying to break free and he was forced to quickly finish them off. He lifted his head, licking the imaginary blood from his muzzle and watched the girl for a moment. She didn't seem like her other siblings, at the very least she seemed to embrace him joining in on the fun so she was better than her sister, and hadn't insulted him upon first looking at him so had started off better than her brother... though it would remain to be seen if she'd prove to be just as fun as him. She called for a charge and Malachai leapt of the corpse of his first victim to launch himself at the nearest enemy.

He bowled them over with a might swipe of his paws and leaned to the side to bite at the shoulder of the next target beside him. He growled and tangled and run around swiping at the air until he was nearly out of breath. He paused for a moment, panting and watching the girl again, looking to see if she felt they had cleared out all the enemies or not, taking his cue on their fight from her rather than his own mental images.

Art by Shirohoru

Ophie's heart raced in her chest as she held a paw to an enemy's throat, her claws slipped from their sheathe as she pressed them for answers. Who were they and why had they attacked? She hoped to learn something from this but the words that passed the intruders panicked lips had Ophie quaking in her little boots. What? No! She cast a look over her shoulders as her brows smushed tight together, he'd been so eager to leap to her aid and whilst she hadn't trusted him she wanted to...To think he would sink this low! With a slash of her claws she slayed the pinned baddie beneath her paws, all melodrama as though the fate of the Armada was truly at stake. She knew he was just playing along and for that she was really grateful, no one else seemed to want to indulge in her little games which was...a little sad to be honest.

"You!" She wheeled on him, eyes wide with the shock of betrayal. "I trusted you!"

And then without warning she bounded forward in an attempt to bowl him off his paws, the game was still on! Let the drama commence! Or uh...continue?

Ophelia Fatalis vs Malachai for dominance
Round 1/2
Age: under 1 year
Size: Medium
Build: Medium
Companion 1: Raccoon, Male - Battle
Mutation 1: Cat Claws - offensive
Skills: Beginner Hunter & Advanced Fighter
Specialty: N/A

"Speech"

His opponents squirmed and begged and yet he showed them no mercy, dispatching them with his claw covers (that had always been there obviously) and swift bites to their necks. The herd was thinning, and he cast about for his next opponent, snapping at the heels of a fleeing male. He pulled up short, letting the phantom man run away and laughing triumphantly. He turned just as the girl exclaimed angrily at him, blinking as she charged directly towards him.

A moment of shock passed over his face, and then he was off his paws, though she smaller than he was, so it wasn't a total knockdown, instead he stumbled, slipped, and felt his front legs buckle through his hindlegs spread frantically, keeping him from totally falling over. He attempted to bump her with his shoulder as she scrambled back to his feet, anything to get her out of this very close position. He also aimed to bite at her face as he struggled, hoping to snag an ear or cheek skin, nothing too serious but just trying to further force her to back off and give him a bit more space.

Malachai Cain Klein vs Ophelia Fatalis for dominance
Round 1/2
Age: Under 6 months
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Heavy
Offensive Battle Accessory: Sharpened candy cane claw covers
Skills: Beginner Fighter & Beginner Hunter
Specialty: N/A

Art by Shirohoru

Ophie attempted and promptly failed to knock the stranger off his paws. He was strong and made quick work of pushing her back with his shoulder. She stumbled back, tripping over her own paws and haphazardly managed to the dodge the reach of his teeth. Had the hit landed it would have stung a little but probably not done any lasting damage, she was just grateful her clumsiness had served to her benefit for once. She'd always been taught to keep up the offensive, to push and strive to keep her opponent on their toes, but fighting in practice had always been a little overwhelming for Ophie. So many things could go wrong and all the what ifs clouded her mind, but not here and now. It all just felt lighter, yanno? Fun without having to admit it aloud.

Stepping back she circled him with a prowling tiger, ears flat and teeth bared. As if she could ever dream of getting close to the sense of ferocity her Dad gave off when he got mad. She reared up on her hind legs, a rookie move for sure, and reached up to give him a good bonk on the head. Her signature move, if you will.


Ophelia Fatalis vs Malachai for dominance
Round 2/2
Age: under 1 year
Size: Medium
Build: Medium
Companion 1: Raccoon, Male - Battle
Mutation 1: Cat Claws - offensive
Skills: Beginner Hunter & Advanced Fighter
Specialty: N/A

"Speech"

Malachai was successful in pushing the girl back, even if his jaws snapped shut audibly with nothing to show for his efforts. He rolled his shoulders, rising to his full height as he watched the girl as she circled, mismatched eyes narrowing and he would flash a forepaw out at her, the sharpened sugar on his weapon aimed to scratch at her legs as she passed. But otherwise, he wasn't eager to lunge at her yet. That did give her an opening though and the last thing the boy was expecting was for the girl to suddenly rear up, exposing her soft and vulnerable underbelly and headbutt him right on the noggin. Malachai reeled back, blinking and small whines of pain coming from within him, though he'd never admit it. He flashed out his right forepaw again, more blind instinct than anything, hoping to snag exposed stomach as he continued to stumble backward some.

Wow, that was a much harsher move than he'd expected, if he'd had the ability to focus on anything but his pain he'd wonder if he'd ever see straight again.

Malachai Cain Klein vs Ophelia Fatalis for dominance
Round 2/2
Age: Under 6 months
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Heavy
Offensive Battle Accessory: Sharpened candy cane claw covers
Skills: Beginner Fighter & Beginner Hunter
Specialty: N/A

Art by Shirohoru

And the winner is...

Ophelia

Malachai must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Ophelia: Rolls:    10, 30, 43, 89 Adjusted rolls:    13, 30, 43, 89 Total:     175.00 Malachai: Rolls:    14, 66, 48, 22 Adjusted rolls:    16.8, 69.3, 48, 22 Total:     109.27

"Speech"

Yep okay he wasn't coming back from that one, the boy shook his head, wobbled on his paws and then with a dramatic groan he allowed hismelf to collapse to the ground. "H-how did you know?" He sputtered, gazing up at the girl. "It doesn't matter, you've won the fight but not the war. You'll never know who you can trust."

It was ooh so dramatic. "This isn't the end...." And then with his last final breathe... Malachai "died." He closed his eyes and let his tongue loll from his mouth and did his very best to hold back the giggles that were building in his chest.

Art by Shirohoru

Ophie felt a sharp pang of guilt as her hit landed, she hadn't meant to do it that hard! She was just playing! She surged forward to engulf him with apologies as he swayed on his paws and collapsed to the floor with a finality that had Ophie gawping. It was over, her enemy slain. But it seemed as though he was not done yet, he had one last bit pain to inflict. The warrior princess (HA!) blinked as he uttered his last words and they were like a blade slipping between her ribs, she stumbled back, mouth still hanging agape as she put all the pieces together. Quickly falling back into the drama of their game. No! Surely it could not be-what...what had he done? She rushed forward, resting her paws on his shoulders as she gave him a shake, as though that would be enough to pull him from his forever sleep.

She needed to know more. What had she done to deserve such a cruel fate?! Forever alone with no one to trust!

Ophie's legs began to wobble as she fumbled back, as though touching him burnt the pads of her paws. She cast her gaze skyward as she collapsed to her belly and let out a long and throaty "NOOOOOOOOOO!" for all of the heavens to hear. Her ears twitched at the stifled giggles coming from the dead guys maw and she had to bite her lips to hold back her own. But it was no good, the flood gate swept open and she rolled onto her side as a giggle fit overtook her.

That was just too much fun!

"Speech"

Malachai was determined to be the best darned corpse anyone had ever seen, that's just how dedicated to his craft her was. Still his sides shook when the girl let loose an anguished "no", even if he just managed to keep his laughter silent. But that wouldn't last too long, when he heard the girl's own high giggles. He too soon he was unable to hold it in any longer and added his own voice to hers. He opened his eyes, already starting to brim with tears and rolled a little.

It would take a few minutes before he managed to catch enough breath to formulate words, he rose onto a bent foreleg and beamed at the girl. "You're pretty good." It was a compliment, at least from the boy. "Name's Malachai by the way!"

Art by Shirohoru

Giggles was catching and Ophie had it bad. She snorted like a little piglet as her eyes squeezed tight, rolling onto her side as she kicked at the air, as though to rid herself of all her pent up energy. By the time she managed to catch her breath her vision wasn't quite as blurry around the edges and she decided she liked the boys smile, it looked better on him than a snarl. Rolling back onto her belly, Ophie extended her limbs horizontally as she got comfy, her tail still wagging away with a tippity-tap-tap. She lapped up his praise like she was a lizard resting in the sun, letting her warm her from inside out as she ducked her head a little. A touch shy.

"Thanks! I-I'm Ophie." It meant a lot to know he thought she'd done well, they'd only just met but she felt as though his opinion was important. Like he counted. She crawled closer, still on her belly. "I'm ss- I didn't hurt you did I? I didn't mean to hit you that hard I just...got a bit carried away. It was loads of fun." She rested her chin on her leg, looking up at him with eager eyes.

No one played with her like he had, just creative and free as though the world didn't matter for a little while.