Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn opted to bed down in the Thicket for awhile. She was still debating where would be the best place to settle down in Boreas for the summer and the Thicket was one of her favorite places, at least in the east. There was an abundance of small prey and plenty of good den sites. Since Abaven had lived her for a time she didn't even need to dig a new den, she simply cleaned out an old one. Time to explore more of the east.

While she'd already been to every land there was always more to discover. She arrived at the cliffs as a warm breeze picked up. She suddenly had the urge to go racing along the cliff edge. How thrilling would that be? Maybe someone was nearby who would be interested. With a howl she made her intentions known.

Artorias had spent a good bit of time wandering the Boreal continent since he'd found himself up this way more frequently as of late. Between the dissolving of Abaven, the challenge for Habari, and his family trip to the Armada, the Hallows wolf had been exceptionally active in the northern continent. Plus it made for a good excuse to finally get out and see the world like he'd always wanted to. Today the alpha wolf wandered along the edges of the seaside cliffs, gazing out across the shimmering eastern sea in the bright summer sun. A cool coastal breeze carried with it the tinge of salt and kept him cool as it tousled his fur. The sky was a picturesque cerulean with sparse fluffy white clouds dotting the endless canvas. A perfect day by all accounts.

From up ahead, a call of a wolf seeking a racing partner rang out. Black auds perked atop his head and Artorias picked up the pace, following the towering cliffs until he spotted the leggy woman down the way. From a distance, she simply looked like a lithe and lanky wolf, but upon approach, Art realized that she was a different species entirely! He'd never met a maned wolf before, but even he could tell there was something different and unique about her. "Hello there!" he called out and greeted the stranger with a smile. "I'm Artorias. Pleased to meet you! You were looking for a race?" Artorias shifted his weight back and forth on his paws, bending to stretch and limber out his back and limbs in preparation for the sporty challenge.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn limbered up, stretching her legs and try to shake off the excess jitters that always plagued her before a race. It wasn't long before a large, blue-pelted male gave her a friendly hello and introduced himself as Artorias. "Hey, Artorias, nice to meet ya! My name is Jynn and yes, I was thinking we could race along the moontouched cliffs from here to that boulder there surrounded by poppies." She gestured with one of her paws to the finish line then glanced over at her companion Tahmores. "Tahmores here can start us off." She moved to line up next to the man with a grin on her face. She crouched and prepared to go.

Tahmores, the Ethiopian wolf, nodded and chirped his own greeting. "Pleasure to meet you. Ok, Ready… set… Go!"

With that Jynn sprang forward and charged through the flowers toward the finish line.

Jynn vs Artorias for Race
Round 1/?
Age: Over 1 Year
Size: Large
Build: Light
Skills: Master Navigator & Master Fighter
Specialty: Scout

The maned wolf was equally as friendly and greeted him with chipper enthusiasm. She introduced herself as Jynn, then offered a race from where they were to a boulder amongst a field of poppies. It was an easily marked finish line and the course didn't seem too overwhelmingly difficult. The slopes and turns of the cliffs would make for a challenge to footing, but otherwise it seemed more like a sprint than a marathon. "Sounds good to me! By your companion's count then!" Jynn's friend began the countdown while he and Jynn took their positions side by side, Artorias' body crouched and muscles tensed, ready to pounce at a moment's notice. The Ethiopian wolf gave the signal, and then they were off.

Artorias burst from his position with a kick of powerful hind legs off the firm, grassy ground, launching into a burst of energy while large paws ate up the terrain beneath him. His eyes remained on the goal yet also surveyed the route immediately ahead of him, not wanting to get tripped up by an unexpected rock or dip in the sloping turf of the cliffs. Artorias had never been to this territory before, so he wasn't as familiar with the land, relying heavily on his experience in tracking and navigating to help him leap and bound across the ground as he made a beeline for the boulder some several hundred meters away.

Artorias vs Jynn for Race
Round 1/2
Age: 1+ years
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Navigator
Specialty: Knight or Fleet-footed

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn loped as fast as she could, opting to put her long legs to good use by taking as long a strides as she possibly could. Artorias quickly proved to be a challenging opponent. He started to pull ahead of her so she dug down and put on another burst of speed, hoping to at least bring them neck and neck. Moment by moment the boulder was getting closer and she had to shift her focus solely onto the finish line. At one point she stumbled, the sandy cliffs getting the best of her but she rallied, kicking off hard with her hind legs to push forward. In a few more moments they'd have their victor and she hoped it would be her.

Jynn vs Artorias for Race
Round 2/2
Age: Over 1 Year
Size: Large
Build: Light
Skills: Master Navigator & Master Fighter
Specialty: Scout

Artorias had not participated in many races in his lifetime, but the ones he had been involved in had all been with skilled runners. Jynn was no different, the lithe woman putting him to his paces as she loped after, keeping her long strides close in time to his. Artorias breathed hard, heart pounding to push oxygen and adrenaline through his veins as the two racers drew closer to the boulder with every beat of their paws against the ground. Rocky earth and grass soon turned into loamy soil and fragile poppies as they entered the flower meadow, mere yards from their goal. With a grunt, Artorias mustered up his reserves of energy, hoping to tap into enough of a burst of speed to give him that edge to reach the finish line first.

Artorias vs Jynn for Race
Round 2/2
Age: 1+ years
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Navigator
Specialty: Knight or Fleet-footed

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"

And the winner is...

Jynn

Artorias was left in the dust!! Totals: Jynn: Speed Roll: 31 Stamina Roll: 63 Balance Roll: 68 Total: 162 Speed[31] + 5% Bonus[1.55]: 32.55 Stamina[63] + 5% Bonus[3.15]: 66.15 Balance[68] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 68.00 Total[166.70] + 25% Bonus[41.67]: 208.38 Artorias: Speed Roll: 1 Stamina Roll: 45 Balance Roll: 98 Total: 144 Speed[1] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 1.00 Stamina[45] + 10% Bonus[4.50]: 49.50 Balance[98] + 5% Bonus[4.90]: 102.90 Total[153.40] + 25% Bonus[38.35]: 191.75