Northern Alacritis was like nothing the male had ever seen before. He had seen tundra before, but nothing like what he found here; towering ice pillars, glowing lakes, and monumental red trees separated the landscape from any other. Had Alta?r been a more expressive soul, his jaw might have been slack with awe. Instead, he wandered the area with bright citrine eyes, drinking the sights in as though they were a fine wine to be savor end, cataloguing each dip of the land for future use should he ever pass through again. In the distance, he could hear the roar of water as it tumbled down and crashed into itself over and over. Waterfalls were one of the few pleasures he indulged in. The sound calmed him and their sheer power gave him inspiration. He pushed himself a little quicker, a foreign surge of thrill pushing its way through his veins. He stopped short when the foliage seemed to abruptly give way to abyss, toes pushing pebbles downward, lost to the mist as it rose up from the lake in a fog. Backing away from the edge, Alta?r picked his way across the unsteady ground until he found a sturdy slab of earth. It was wide and mostly flat, providing a decent view of the falls without putting oneself in any particular danger. The air was heavy with moisture, a sharp contrast to the dry air he had been inhaling thus far. It was a welcome change, the heaviness making the chilly air seem a little less offensive against his coat. While his winter fur was coming in gradually, he was not acclimated to such temperatures the way a native would be. Still delighting in the thrill of the area and the cool breeze shooting awareness into him like a narcotic, Alta scraped his claws against them rock, tipping his head into the breeze. Speech,

She would meander the base of the peaks with a dwindling interest, quivering nostrils chasing the nearby stench of male. The youth had grown ever-hungry for battle, so determined to fill the towered expectations of her father. Within Glaciem there were minimal characters willing to test her skills, often off putted by her rank or daughter-status, or so it seemed. So she had strayed from the borders of her home, dainty toes tracing the inclinations of rocky landscape. She would spot the cr?me beast a short distance away, the marked oddity swaying with natural ease upon her wary though confident approach. Though she wouldn?t attack if he begged it of her, she didn?t see any harm in persuasion. So she would square, stance suggesting a mild aggression as the striking banshee would flag her tail above beige rump, ?You wouldn?t deny me a spar, would you stranger?? Feminine lyrics lightly muffled by the roaring of the nearby waterfall.

His solitude was short lived, the smooth voice of a femme clashing gently with the aggressive roar of the falls. Glancing over his shoulder, he regarded the female with veiled curiosity, a languid smile playing across his lips. What a striking specimen. And straight to the point too, wasn't she? Well, Alta certainly was no enemy of frankness, in fact he preferred it. Say what you must and be on your way. Others might disagree, but hey, Alta liked to keep things as simple as possible. And frankness led to short interactions, which were generally preferable. Climbing to his feet, marbled tongue ran across black lips, a low hum of thought passing nearly inaudible through the air. "A spar? I usually don't indulge in a such a thing without reason, but an opportunity to come close to such a pretty doe as yourself seems reason enough." He offered something of a charming smile. Lifting his head, Alta?r scrunched his ne?k up before bowing it, his legs inching apart to widen his stance, meeting her pose with a variation of his own. A spar wasn't the greeting he expected from this place, but it would be nice to stretch his muscles after travel, in any case. Speech,

She would regard the pale male with a sense of curiosity, watching as he seemed so blissful beneath her attentions. The femme was somewhat inexperienced with flattery, having only just reached maturity, but she would accept his reasoning all the less. Though alas, the African-marked demoness didn?t entirely understand his desires, nor did she find it particularly complimenting. ?The terms, no permanent maiming, yes? That is all I feel required,? with her finale she would allow the beast no time to interfere, watching his defences rise as she attempted to pinpoint a weakness. He seemed to boast of physical fitness. Good. She needed a challenge, there was no victory in easy defeat. With his weight equal, the woman felt it wise to attempt to falter it some. Hackles would raise, weapons baring as her snout would crawl, weight shifting to allow for easy take-off, chin tucking, shoulders rolling as eyes would narrow simultaneous to the flipping of ebony marked towers. She would lower her weight, elbows dropping beneath her as the dainty woman would charge; previously facing the male, she would attempt to manoeuvre her body in a manner to approach more against his left, skull lowered as slimmed globes would target his left forelimb. Swiftly the demon would haste, loping towards his frame as she readied herself for any attempted dodging, she was small enough and fast enough to disallow it. Upon him now, jaws would gape, attempting to grasp at his lower left forelimb and push it towards his right, exposing only scruff to his reach as she strive to flip the beast left-wards. If Satis could get him off balance, she?d have their practise session in the bag. Alta?r vs. Satis - Round 1 of 3! For practice. Defenses: Raised hackles, bared teeth, weight shifted backwards to assist her in charge then lowered to get beneath him, tucked chin, rolled shoulders, pinned ears, narrowed eyes Attacks: Satis attempts to shift Alta?s balance greatly to the left with a forceful grasp at his lower left forelimb, pushing forwards/towards his right limb, also hoping to flip him sideways. Injuries: None, round one.

She seemed indifferent to his compliment, though it seemed perhaps she simply didn't understand it. He couldn't imagine how, he'd never seen much markings before and surely she had been complimented as she grew. Well, no matter, that wasn't important now, was it? What was important was the dance they were about to indulge in, and permanent maiming or not, a slip up could result in a nasty accident. "Naturally. It would kill me to do such an injustice to the world." He winked, wondering if she would catch the meaning since she seemed so perplexed before. If she was in fact completely and knowingly rebuffing him, that still didn't matter. The chase was half the fun. Wasting no time, the strikingly patterned femme was setting her defenses. An attack was sure to be quickly in the preparation's heels. In addition to his rolled neck protecting his jugular, Alta?r pinned his ears safely out of reach of grasping fangs. His stance was already wide, and he pressed his weight downward to hold on, as the ground could be slippery where the mist collected. Although for the moment his tail was for the moment out of reach, he tucked it safely under his belly to protect it and certain other areas. She came fast with the certainty of a practiced warrioress, taking aim at his left foreleg. It was a predictable, but reliable move. Dodging would only result in her follow, and was likely to throw him off balance in the end. He had little time to contemplate, but knew he had three inches on her, and their weight difference was unknown. He was fit and lean, and she was compact and left quite sturdy. He made the quick decision to meet her attack rather than try to avoid it, and dropped his stance. There was no possible way he could redirect her teeth, since she was aiming too low, but what he could try to do was grab the flesh around her shoulders, aiming more for the center in case she tried to move one way or the other. He did so carefully, though by the time she might think to go for the throat, he could have already locked his jaws down, and she would be hard pressed to angle her neck to threaten his. While it would do little else but perhaps create light puncture wounds or bruising, it would provide him with a hold on the female that if he fell, her balance may be thrown enough for him to gather a defense. He was hoping it wouldn't come to that, that by pushing against her he could cancel out her moves to topple him. She'd have little room to move with his fangs in her flesh, forcing her to hopefully try to get away and give them some space. Alternatively, she might just snap deeper into his leg. But that might risk a nasty break, and didn't a limp count as permanently maiming? Well, he could only hope she put such stock into rules, or he could be in trouble. Not every opponent was honorable. End round 1/3 Defenses: Scrunched neck, pinned ears, wide stance, tucked tail. When they make contact, he shifts his weight forward in effort to rebuff her attempts to unbalance him. Attacks: He attempts to attack the closest flesh in her shoulder area, as he is positioned in a way that gives him an off centered eagle eye of the back of her neck and shoulders. Injuries: Damage to lower left forelimb, amount yet unknown.

It seemed he would let free one last suggestion of admiration before she would commence. And although it would tumble her mind lightly for a few moments, she wouldn?t allow the beasts pleasantries to distract from her endeavours. It seemed for Satis that compliments would have to be learned, they would not be accepted so easily, as their purpose still puzzled her youthful mind. She was well aware of her differences, though growing with an albino sibling would often deter from her own spotlight. Alas, her focus would fall back to battle, as she seemed to find success in her initial attack. Though simultaneously it appeared as though the beige male was well thought out, a yelp of displeasure tarnishing the atmosphere that enveloped the wrestling pair as she felt his jaws collide with the top of her shoulder. The marked woman would attempt to pull from his grasp, stretching beneath him, but alas her efforts would fall unrewarded. She thought to shake her skull violently, though for whatever rare occurrences she would decide otherwise, unwilling to harm the males ligaments so early into their battle. And so her mind would tick over, leaving the woman only one choice as she would carefully lessen her grip upon his leg, jaws attempting to rake down the structures of his pale appendage as she would re-aim to tighten about the tenders of his foot. Here, the ambitious vixen would clench, attaempting to wound his paw enough to throw himf or the rest of their battle. Perhaps she risked broken toes, but they were easily healed. She would not thrive to injure him greatly, but she would do what was needed to win. That was a given. But she wasn?t quite done yet. Hackles still raised, spine aligned, shoulders rolled, tail tucking, abdomen tensing, eyes still narrowed as ears would re-pin, chin tucked to a point that still allowed attack. With a quick shake of her skull she would attempt to worsen any damage inflicted, hopeful that he may release out of pain. Though her weight would drop, pulling beneath his potential grasp as she would attempt to roll over onto her spine, with any luck forcing him to lose his hold. Pain would shred at her skin, face wincing as she basked beneath the consequences. But she loved it. Thrived by it. She was a risky fighter, as some would never threaten their health with such a taxing action. Though if she could get it right, she might just have a shot at victory. Alta?r vs. Satis - Round 2 of 3! For practice. Defenses: Raised hackles, tucked chin, rolled shoulders, pinned ears, narrowed eyes, tight abdomen, tucked tail, aligned spine Attacks: Satis is restricted by Alta's grasp between her shoulders, so she carefully attempts to rake her jaws down his forelimb and retighten around his paw. She hopes to inflict enough pain and damage to throw his soundness/balance for the rest of the battle. She then drops her weight and rolls, attempting to release his grasp if it hadn't earlier, simultaneously releasing her potential grip on his paw. Injuries: Skin tear between upper shoulder blades, hair loss?

edited to fix summary error, seen by bloss.

Thankfully his attack had landed, though as expected the consequences were rather dire. Her fangs sliced through the thin skin of his leg easily, pain lashing up the stretch of his leg, especially as her teeth raked downwards. The pressure to the ligaments there caused his paw to curl in on itself in an awkward manner, the pain swiftly becoming unbearable. His teeth clamped down tighter in response, an involuntary snarl ripping through his throat, mixed with a whine of pain. Then suddenly, relief. She released his paw, and began to roll, hoping the pain would make him release his grip. And gods above did he want to, to let out a scream or anything, but he held fast as long as he could bear it, wanting to maximize the pain he'd inflict. Moments later the tightening of his jaws abruptly released, and he leapt--or rather stumbled, backwards as if scalded, the texture of fur unpleasant on his tongue. One attack and the she-beast had made the rest of the fight look pretty bleak for him. What a mess. But for now she was on her back, and if he regrouped fast enough, he could take advantage of that. Acting as quickly as his lame leg would allow, Alta?r jerked forward with fangs bared and hackles raised. Depending on how fast she rolled would determine the success of his attack. He wanted to keep her on her back for the moment, as it put her in a difficult position to maneuver and would limit the movement he had to use to inflict damage. Adrenaline allowed him to briefly place his left paw on the ground, but there was no way he could hold it down for more than a couple of seconds before jerking it back. So, pinning his ears back and rolling his shoulders forward to pull his skin up around his jugular, Alta aimed to bite at her own slender right foreleg. He wanted to be able to jerk it toward him and limit any motion she may make to right herself, but even if he could just get a quick bite in to cause her some pain, it would be sufficient for now. If he made the connection, he was relying on her to stall, if only for a second, which would give him time to bring his rear almost parallel, in case she tried to use her back legs to scratch his face. But without being able to rely on his injured leg, it would probably be too flow of a reaction without the support from her leg. Nevertheless he kept his tail tucked just in case. End round 2/3 Defenses: Rolled shoulders, pinned ears, tucked tail, raised hackles, bared teeth. He attempts to pull his body parallel to her own, which will protect his face and ribs, leaving her to attack the more padded areas. Attacks: Alta?r tries to snap at her right forelimb. Depending on the grip, he will either yank backwards to force her to stay belly up as well as cause some discomfort, or cut through the skin as she pulls away, if she rolls quicker than he can establish a grip. Injuries: Severe cuts on his lower left forelimb and paw. Likely sprained.

Initially it seemed her master plan of forcing release would tragically fall short of success, sending the woman whining with the increased pain as she would drop, feeling the tearing of her flesh as gravity forced her downwards. There was no going back now. Though rapidly he would release, sending her body crashing to the rocky earth beneath her with a satisfying thud, shocking though somewhat relieving for the youthful dove, who?s ambitions slowly began to blind her to pain. Yet it seemed this beige beast was full of surprises, as he so hastily leapt from her proximities, seemingly offering her the chance to surface herself only to dive back into the fray. He would reach for her forelimb, destroying any hope she had of reaching his jugular. Fine, she?d improvise. Pain would rocket her ligaments as he held her right forelimb, preventing the vix shifting. But she wasn?t all out of luck. No, the daughter of a king surely couldn?t be so easily deterred. He had made a critical mistake. Willingly he had exposed his face to her jaws, and what was more? He hadn?t even attempted to guard them, his eyes unshielded by pale lids. That could be just enough to give her what she needed. Rapidly she would snarl, a vicious scathing rumbling her feminine pipes as narrowed gaze would pin-point her tender target. The eyes. Canines would search hungrily, thrust towards the left of his face, his amber gaze, as she would so eagerly seek tender flesh. Defences would still stand; spine aligned, tail protecting lower abdomen as stomach would tense, ears flattened against tapered skull, hackles raised as much as possible, chin tucked. Then, as she had so often done before, haunches would coil elegantly beneath the male who stood so strongly above her. He wanted to keep her paws away from his face, but it was his abdomen her hinds would so desperately seek; thrust upwards with all her containable power, hoping to bruise both organs and send his balance off-centre enough to either throw him completely, or topple him just enough for her to regain her feet. Alta?r vs. Satis - Round 3 of 3! For practice. Defenses: Raised hackles, tucked chin, pinned ears, narrowed eyes, tight abdomen, tucked tail, aligned spine Attacks: Satis takes advantage of Alta's vital mistake, noticing quickly his exposed eyes as he failed to protect them; taking her chances a calculated swipe to the tender flesh surrounding the left socket. She then coils her haunches, using her opponents position above her to launch a forceful double kick at his tender abdomen; aiming to cause organ bruising and force his balance off her. Injuries: Torn skin on right forelimb

By the time he had noticed his critical error, there was little he could do to correct it. True he had succeeded in his goal of keeping her on her back and protecting his face from kicking legs, but her jaws were another story. There was little time to dwell on that now, what was done was done. His snarling jaw did bunch some of the skin around his eyes, offering padding, but it wouldn't be enough. There was no time to release and meet her fangs with his, he was going to be forced to take the hit. He jerked her leg up to the right roughly, with the hope that doing so would allow him to dodge a direct hit to his eyes, by scrunching his neck tight and tipping his cheek into her attack. The last thing he needed, even if she didn't seek to render his eye useless, was swelling that would close it anyway. Cheek bones were just as sensitive, but less debilitating than a wound to the eye, so he would gladly risk it if it could be pulled off. The problem was if Alta?r did succeed in shifting her fangs, if she opened wide enough she could get a shallow grip on the side of his neck. It was scrunched enough that any real damage would be prevented, but it would still put him in a rough spot that she could easily take advantage of if her shoulders would allow it. Her kicking legs were another story. Though he had pulled his body parallel enough to avoid the brunt of a full on kick from her legs, his ribs would still be scraped by her actions. All he could do in his current situation was try to curve his body, bunching the skin along his ribs up to offer protection. He could limit the damage to bruising rather than tearing if he did so. He just wasn't sure this was going to be a win. Well, if it was looking like it was over, he was going to get his payback, at least. As he braced himself for the inevitable attack to the face, Alta?r clamped his jaws tight around her forelimb, longing to feel his teeth shallowly break the skin, hoping to cause even a fraction of the pain she had caused him at their spar's beginning. This also served as a way to brace him, as he pulled his teeth further back, the skin about his face scrunching tight. He made sure his hackles were still raised, his stance as balanced as he could get with three legs, using her own body as support even in his efforts to defeat her. End of round 3/3! Defenses: Scrunched neck, hackles raised, fangs bared. His stance is affected by his leg injury, but using his grasp on her forelimb he is able to keep himself steady. He curves his body to bunch the skin around his ribs up to offer protection against her legs. Attacks: Alta?r makes no new attacks. He uses the grip he already has on her right forelimb to extend as much injury as possible to her. Injuries: Cuts on his face from her teeth, bruising on his ribs.

[[ Okay, that was fun. :) Can't believe I missed his face!]]

SATIS v ALTAIR for PRACTICE Round 1 satis: clarity ? 10 out of 10 ; no issues reading/comprehending the post. powerplay ? 9 out of 10 ; ?..as she readied herself for any attempted dodging, she was small enough and fast enough to disallow it.? this came off to me as if you were stating that it would be impossible for altair to dodge satis? attack. in that case, that should not be stated because you can?t determine what is or is not possible for altair. instead, you could say something along the lines of ?satis would attempt to follow altair?s movements to limit the possibility of dodging? rather than cut it out completely. defenses ? 9 out of 10 ; eyes narrowed, ears pinned, hackles raised, chin tucked, shoulders rolled, body lowered, skull lowered, weight properly distributed, teeth bared attack ? 6 out of 10 ; forceful grasp to altair?s lower left forelimb moving towards his right to knock him off balance. injuries ? 10 out of 10 ; first round. Round One Satis Total ? 44 out of 50 altair: clarity ? 8 out of 10 ; you did not specify how much damage satis did to his left forelimb. although satis could attempt to tighten her grip on altair?s left forelimb, what damage was done this round needs to be clarified (i.e. deep, moderate, or minimal puncture wounds). powerplay ? 10 out of 10 ; no powerplaying found. defenses ? 5 out of 10 ; neck scrunched, ears pinned, widened stance, weight distributed, tail tucked attack ? 4 out of 10 ; single attack to the area in between satis? shoulders. injuries ? 10 out of 10 ; first round ? bite to the lower left forelimb. Round One Altair Total ? 37 out of 50 Round 2 satis: clarity ? 8 out of 10 ; you did state that altair managed to hit his mark but you did not clarify exactly what damage was done to satis. be specific even with injuries. powerplay ? 10 out of 10 ; no powerplay detected. defenses ? 7 out of 10 ; hackles raised, spine aligned, shoulders rolled, tail tucked, tensed abdomen, narrowed eyes, narrowed eyes, ears pinned, chin tucked. deducted two points from initial score because rolling onto her back puts her at a fairly vulnerable position. attack ? 5 out of 10 ; shifts bite down towards altair?s paw, possible skull shaking motion to accompany her grip. injuries ? 8 out of 10 ; unspecified damage to the in-between of satis? upper shoulder blades. Round Two Satis Total ? 38 out of 50 altair: clarity ? 7 out of 10 ; exactly where on satis? right forelimb did altair attempt to grasp and to what side of satis does he attempt to move parallel to? powerplay ? 7 out of 10 ; minor powerplay used. ?Moments later the tightening of his jaws?? although it is logical that altair could tighten his grip, an attempt still needs to be made rather than an assumption to keep it fair on satis. also, i felt that, especially with an injured paw, it would be less probable for altair to jump away from satis and then back to her before she had enough time to get off her back. defenses ? 4 out of 10 ; hackles raised, teeth bared, ears pinned, hackles raised, tail tucked, moving parallel to satis. two points deducted from initial score because reaching over satis to grasp her right forelimb would result in the exposure of altair?s neck, which is a very vital area to a wolf, even if it was just for a moment. attack ? 4 out of 10 ; bite to satis? right forelimb, attempting to pull back on it to keep her from moving. with her position, i felt a lot more could have been done here, even if it is a spar. injuries ? 6 out of 10 ; hindering injury to left forepaw, cuts to left forelimb. Round Two Altair Total ? 27 out of 50 Round 3 satis: clarity ? 9 out of 10 ; exactly where upon satis? right forelimb did altair manage to grasp? there was also slight confusion in regard to the positioning which is detailed in the pp section, but i didn?t dock you points in clarity for it. powerplay ? 7 out of 10 ; ??beneath the male who stood so strongly above her.? in altair?s post, it was specified that he moved parallel to her, not above her. defenses ? 6 out of 10 ; spine aligned, tail tucked, tensed abdomen, ears pinned, hackles raised, chin tucked. narrowed eyes were mentioned in the summary but not the actual post, so no point was awarded for it. attack ? 6 out of 10 ; bite to the left eye, hinds thrust upward to impact altair. full points for the kick attack weren?t rewarded because of the unlikeliness to actually hit where she intended to due to the misconception of positioning. injuries ? 8 out of 10 ; wound to right forelimb. Round Three Satis Total ? 36 out of 50 altair: clarity ? 6 out of 10 ; a clear injury was not taken this round. the post stated that altair turned his cheek in towards her attack ? which would, in essence, actually angle his eye closer to her mouth ? but even so, you did not specify that satis actually managed to succeed in hitting anything. it seemed, to me, as if you were waiting for satis to clarify where she would hit since he moved his cheek, but that is actually up for you to decide. powerplay ? 7 out of 10 ; ?He jerked her leg up to the right?? and ?Alta?r clamped his jaws tight around her forelimb?? similar to the last issue, altair cannot automatically manage to succeed in doing these things even if it is probable. both would have to be made attempts. defenses ? 4 out of 10 ; teeth bared, neck scrunched, body curved, hackles raised. attack ? 1 out of 10 ; tightens his grip on her right forelimb. injuries ? 5 out of 10 ; bruised ribs, unspecified damage to eye/cheek area. Round Three Altair Total ? 23 out of 50 Totals: satis ? 118 out of 150 altair ? 87 out of 150 And the winner is... satis! altair must give up by either submitting, fleeing, or passing out. Damage: satis ? torn flesh between her upper shoulder blades, moderate puncture wounds to right forelimb. will take an ooc week for her injuries to heal. altair ? moderate cuts to lower left forelimb, hindering injury to left forepaw that'll complicate walking, moderate gashes to left cheek. the forepaw injury will take ten ooc days to heal and the other injuries will take an ooc week. Notes: Tips for both writing, and some suggestions. (no points are deducted here) both of your writing depicts nearly impeccable grammar so it made for an easy read. yumpy, for you, most points were deducted from attacks, so my only suggestion for you would be to perhaps incorporate multi-move attacks into your fights. bloss, there were slight issues with pp, but just remember that even small and logical movements such as tightening a hold on a limb need to be made as attempts. also, try to incorporate more defenses into your posts to raise your defensive score -- you can never have too many defenses! that was, overall, an enjoyable read, and this was my first spar i've judged so thank you for that! great fight guise! c: - By [ aly ]