Oh, fly over me, evil angel;
Why can't I breathe, evil angel?

Auster held such wonders, she had yet to discover them all, but she would in time. This beach was easily one of her favorite places, The Shimmering Shore is what Alaric had called it and the place matched the name. Each wave that broke over the sand was alive with phosphorescent bacteria, a sight that her eyes had never witnessed before. The adults had mentioned places like this in passing, but it was almost as if they were secret places. Atreyu made her way down to the surf, playing in the waves with Bigs. She splashed his much smaller frame with a swipe of her massive paw, the water droplets staying alight for a bit before they sloughed off his skin and back into the ocean.

Bigs ran at her and barked in his tiny chihuahua-like voice, 'That wasn't funny!' His outrage amused Atreyu, only because she knew it was false, she laughed and gave him an apology then repeated her motion to splash him. The toy-sized dog did his best to splash back at the dire wolf but it was like a guppy fin-slapping a great white shark. "Now it's hilarious!" They carried on for a few moments longer, then Atreyu stood up and exited the water. She was soaked, mostly from her own splashing, and Bigs looked more akin to a naked drowned rat than a dog. "Hit me with your best shot, Bigs...We need to be sharp." Her voice was mostly playful but held a note of sobering seriousness.

Word count: 252 words.
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: ---

ART BY BRIENASKYSONG

Eltys gazed out over the shoreline for a moment between the edges of Lazuli Falls and the shimmering shore. The glittering shore was where he had first landed in Auster. And many things had happened. He walked the line of the waves for a while, heading closer to The Hallows. Hearthstone loomed above the shore on the northern most edge. It no longer filled him with dreadful memories of the cavern pillars in his past.

He saw a figure playing in the waves, her pink fur stood out to him familiar. Atreyu was playing in the water with a small puppy like creature.

He came within earshot of her conversation with her companion. Hit her with his best shot. He smirked, she would one day be a formidable foe indeed. Her stance needed some work though.

He approached them closer at an easy pace and when he was closer he tilted his head and watched them mock battle. Wondering how long it would take her to notice him.

"Speech!"

Code © Skelle/Witchdogtor DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Oh, fly over me, evil angel;
Why can't I breathe, evil angel?

Laughing at Bigs' attempts to come at her, Atreyu made sure she backed up as fast as she could with his tiny snapping jaws going crazy. It took her no time at all to notice the wolf approaching. There was a dark blur coming closer in her peripheral though, and she snapped her head up while gently batting Bigs' head to make him look in the direction of Eltrys. Before she recognized him, she took up her defenses, hackles raising aggressively.

Looking directly at whoever approached, the spotted dire woman was happy to see a familiar face and instantly relaxed her stance. "Eltrys! It is good to see you again, friend!" She was always alert, she had to be. What if the demon king was hunting her even now? She gave the dark male a bright smile, waving her spotted tail behind her. "I hope you have been well." There was sincerity in her warm tones, along with the bright shining happiness to see him in her eyes. She really was happy she ran into him. "It's good to have someone my size come along." Bigs tossed her a dirty look, but laughed anyway. 'I could take you.' He said with a chuffing sort of laugh.

Word count: 206 words.
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: Sorry for shortness!

ART BY BRIENASKYSONG

Eltrys noticed her stance properly when she was preparing to meet him before she recognized him. It was actually rather good, she flowed into it easily and instinctively, something he was still practicing himself.

She certainly seemed to be in better spirits since their last meet and he warmly smiled at her greeting, bowing his head curtly. He finished closing the space between them with an easy stroll.

"I've been well enough I think." He chuffed a laugh as the little one threw her a dirty look at her gibe. "You seem to be doing well for yourself. Practicing your moves? Let's see what you got, maybe I can learn something." Eltrys was always ready to learn something new, but also the type to find opportunities to teach.

He flowed into the defensive state and waited for her first move.

"Speech!"

Code © Skelle/Witchdogtor DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Oh, fly over me, evil angel;
Why can't I breathe, evil angel?

Atreyu smiled at the news that he was doing well. She was doing alright she supposed, aside from her still-missing family and pack. That smile grew as he continued, asking to see what she had. There wasn't much she had learned, having only a few weeks to train before the demon king ransacked her home. But, she had learned a lot while being here. "Okay, if you really want it." She watched as his defenses fluidly fell into place with a grin, her own stance didn't change much. She took her time, building anticipation.

Suddenly, she was a flurry of motion, coming at him head-on with a playful batting of her right paw aimed at his nose. There was no need to truly hurt him, but had her claws been out the wound she could have inflicted would be devastating. She would keep them sheathed for him, he was a friend. Hell, if he had wanted her hurt he would have done so the first time they met. He didn't seem like the type to hold back. She hoped to surprise him, to catch him off guard with her suddenness. Meanwhile, Bigs barked excitedly and ran around the two much larger canines, knowing he didn't have to truly protect her from Eltrys.

Word count: 212 words.
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: ---

ART BY BRIENASKYSONG

"Speech"

He ducked his nose just in time to avoid her strike, she had raised her paw to smack him halfway through her charge. Her sudden flurry was a good start, he sidestepped and let her pass him, taking the opportunity to rake his teeth over the nape of her neck. To warn her that he could have sunk his teeth into it if he chose to.

"A good start, but a frontal assault would work better if you started closer. It gave me too much time to see you coming and react."

He leaped toward her, ducked to one side then shifted his weight to the other at the last moment. He swung his body around to slam into her side, unsteady her, and hook a leg out from under her in the same motion. Intending to get her on the ground and make it easy to dominate.

Oh, fly over me, evil angel;
Why can't I breathe, evil angel?

There would be no booping his nose today, as he swiftly moved away from her frontal assault. He moved well, and as she moved passed him, she felt the brush of his teeth on her nape. He was right, he would have had her. It was something she stored away for later. Telling her it was a good start, but she should be closer next time, Atreyu absorbed every word she could. When he came at her, Atreyu moved fast, light on her feet.

She backpaddled away from him, moving her feet quickly and splaying her legs out in the sand so she couldn't be unbalanced. She moved with him to avoid his slamming into her, picking up her paw fluidly to keep him from taking it out from under her. Without much thought, only action, Atreyu swung her jaws down, aiming for the outstretched limb to deliver a playful bite there. He wouldn't get a win so easy with her. "Nice try, but I don't fall that easily." She smiled and backed away from him, giving him some space and herself time to think.

Word count: 185 words.
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: ---

ART BY BRIENASKYSONG

She moved like water despite her size, she was quick to avoid his body slam and quicker still to avoid his grasp over her leg. He felt her teeth graze his leg as he missed his mark. Instead of allowing her to pull back, he followed her in another attempt to knock her down. Half-rearing on his back legs he surged forward to grapple with her neck with his forearms. He shifted to throw her head and body to the side, using his momentum to crash into her shoulder. He hooked one of his back legs to kick out one of hers, while her head was preoccupied between his arms. She doesn't get to pull back in a fight to think. She needs to react! She needs to better her opponent! Giving herself time to think, gives her opponent time to think!

Oh, fly over me, evil angel;
Why can't I breathe, evil angel?

Backing up wouldn't work this time, Eltrys following her motions and rearing up to grasp at her neck with his paws. This time she ducked down, still backing away, though she could not avoid the hind leg he threw out. His hind limb connected with her forelimb, just as his momentum carried his weight into the front of her shoulder. She stumbled for a moment, but she found her opening, reaching her jaws up from her head-down position to gently rasp her teeth along his side, hoping to surprise him. There was no time to actually think, which she suspected may have been his point in this. She was glad for the small bit of training she had gotten from her father, and now from Eltrys.

Word count: 126 words.
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: Muscling through writer's block, bear with me <3

ART BY BRIENASKYSONG