'Where I have wandered... I have seen both life and death. Life is a beautiful, precious thing. However compared to death life is flimsy, short, and easily taken away. Places like this always remind me of this... and that is why I take care of myself.'

Kar was looking upon the bloodstained earth before him with ears flicked back in displeasure. The smell of death lingered here... and it was clear that many wolves used it as a battleground. Kar took in a deep breath, trying to process the different scents that came to his nose. Male wolves. Female wolves. Young. Old. All of these types of scents mingled together.

'This is much like the Crimson Plateau.' Kar had been to the Crimson Plateau on only one occasion, when his mother had gone there to defend herself from a crazed wolf by the name of Krishna. Sadly things did not end so well and she ended up giving birth to four of his pups. His siblings.

Kar closed his eyes, thinking back, trying to remember their faces. Grantaire... Kimiazura... and... he frowned. Who was the other siblings? He could no longer remember all of them. He opened his lime green eyes, a look of disappointment flashing within them.

"Caelum is long gone now..." Kar said softly. He missed his homeland. Missed the rocky mountain terrain of Tilvera. The brute remembered playing there with Grantaire when he was still young. But he had long gone moved on from the pack of his youth... due to the earthquakes and rock slides that destroyed their lands.

'None of that matters now, however. I'm in a new land... and this is where my journey ends. I can feel it in my bones. I'm meant to stay here.' Kar looked out across the battlefield, giving a soft snort. 'Though not exactly here. I'd rather not be in a place like this.'

The brute shook his head, heading off in the northern direction.

The fea looked out of place in this home of blood and death. Her ivory form stood out against the bleak field, the breeze catching on her thick pelt. She padded silently across the land, breathing in the iron-tainted air of that the dried blood under paw gave off. The smell of death no stranger to her nose. In fact, it was a familiar smell to the assassin. Despite her innocent appearance she was not the wolf to anger. Her violet gaze, cool and calculating as always, raked across the land before her. The battlefield looked strangely empty today. It was quite a while before her eyes finally settled on another wolf. She lifted her nose to catch his scent as the breeze drifted his unique sent toward her. Not a pack wolf. That was all she needed to know. One of the few rules the Amenti had to follow was to not hurt allies so as long as he wasn't an aly he was fair game. It had been far too long since the fea had stretched her legs and tested her fighting skills in a spar so she hoped this brute was up to the challenge. Giving a short bark as a greeting, Alena padded up to him, dipping her head out of respect. She may be a murderer, but she wasn't heartless and still remembered her manners. Hello there," she greeted as she came to a halt a few feet from him. Her eyes assessed him, noticing that they were fairly evenly matched in size and possibly strength. It would be an interesting fight if he took her offer. "I am Alena and I would like to challenge you to a sparr. This is the battlefield so it's a fair activity, wouldn't you say? No stakes, only for practice, and no fatal wounds." A grin touched her muzzle and her eyes gleamed with excitement at the challenge. "What do you say, stranger? Will you fight me?" "Speech."

The short bark which served as the femme's greeting truly started him. Kar swung his body around, his ears flicking back for a second. Another stranger that these lands had offered up to meet him was approaching. Her ivory coat reminded him of his Aunt, though there wasn't much he could remember about her. Another looked revealed her violet eyes to him. 'Just like those of the bear.' He thought to himself. Though this she wolf might have not been as intimidating as the great beast he had come across beforehand, he felt something... strange about her presence. Kar couldn't place it, but it kept the normally trusting and kind wolf unsettled.

"Alena," Kar let her name slip out onto his tongue. She wished to have a spar with him? He hadn't ever really practiced when it came to fighting. Back when he had lived as a pack wolf in Tilvera he had no need for such things. Caelum had more or less been in a time of peace. But according to this she-wolf, since they were in the battlefield, this type of challenge was commenplace. "I accept your challenge and the rules of engagement. I'm not sure how much of an opponent I will be, but I'll do my best." Kar dipped his head, though that unsettled feeling in his stomach was rising.

He was no warrior... but... he was going to do this. Thinking back to when he had been training as an apprentice the young male took several steps back and began to set the defenses that he could remember. He widened his stance, splaying out his toes so that he would be ready to strike. His body was lowered to the ground slightly, which would help protect his soft and vunerable underbelly. His ears were pinned and his tail was tucked, to keep them protected during the fight. The rules were no fatal wounds, but he still felt it necessary to protect them as much as possible. Kar narrowed his eyes, rolled his shoulders forward, and scrunched his neck to keep it from being grabbed easily. As far as he could remember that was all his mentor had taught him, though he might have been wrong.

"Ladies first, Alena. Don't hold back." He knew he could definitely use the practice.

An excited grin spread over the ivory fea's muzzle as the stranger accecpted her challenge. This would be interesting for her since it had been quite a while since she had sparred for fun... or without the intent to kill for that matter. With a nod to his invitation to start, she took her place across from him, facing him head to head with a few feet of distance between them. Her ears flicked as the wind blew by them, ruffling her thick, white fur. "We'll keep this short and sweet. Three rounds." In one swift movement the assassin lowered into a crouch, folded her ears back against her skull, and threw herself into motion. She used her thin, light body to her advantage as she moved on agile paws, dashing around to the brute's left side. Her fluffy, ivory tail streamed out behind her, parallel to her spine, to help her balance as she quickly changed direction, her claws catching in the dirt as well. She sharply turned her path to aim straight for his back leg, lunging for him with outstretched jaws. Alena kept her ears tucked back against her head and her violet eyes in thin slits. Her lips were pulled back in a snarl as she reached in, hoping to get a taste of her opponent's left hind leg. -------------------- Rounds: 1/3 Defense: Ears flat, eyes slit, tail straight out for balance Attack: Lunging for his left back leg, hoping to land a bite Damage: None yet "Speech."

Kar felt a bit nervous as he saw the excited grin spread over the fae's mouth. Sparring wasn't something he had done in a long time, so truth be told he was a bit nervous. He double checked his defenses, making sure his ears and tail were tucked to prevent them from being bitten off. His neck was scrunched up so that way he could protect it in case it gotten bitten. This would also make it a bit difficult to get a good hold on it. He narrowed his eyes as he watched the fae cross into the path directly across from him, widening his stance so that he could attempt to counter whatever move she threw at him. All he needed to do was get past these three rounds as he would be fine.

The she-wolf got down into crouch, moving forward in a trained way. Had she been one of the wolves from his homeland he would have guessed her occupation to either be a spy or, even worse, an assassin. But he did not need to worry about death today. This was merely a spar, a friendly battle to test oneself. She was light on her paws, her slenderness giving her speed. His gaze followed her as she moved off around him, and he turned his front half of his body to follow her movements. Finally the attack came.

Alena's lunge won her his leg, sharp teeth closing around it. He grunted, but otherwise did his best to bear with the pain. His mind quickly went through his options. A lunge away would be pointless -- her grip was too strong for that. Going for an ear, since she had remembered to keep it tucked close to her head, was also out of the option. Had it been a serious fight for his life he might have tried to gouge out one of her slit eyes with his fangs. But that wasn't an option either. Her muzzle was too far too reach, however her front right leg was not. The move could prove risky, seeing as how once he got her leg he be off balance and be knocked to the ground. Still, if he was, as long as he landed on his stomach he wouldn't be exposing too much to her attack.

The brute went for her leg, jaws ready to grab. Three things could happen at this point. He could succeed in grabbing her leg, possibly losing his balance... Have her let go of his leg in order to dodge the attack... Or even miss her leg all together if she shifted her body just out of his reach.


~~~

Round:: 1/3

Defense::
-Ears and Tail Tucked
-Neck Scrunched
-Narrowed/Slit Eyes
-Widened Stance

Attack:: Attempt at right front leg {closest area to him}.

Damage:: Bite / Hold on leg. Blood drawn.

Alena felt satisfaction as her teeth met flesh, clamping down on his left hind leg, keeping a firm grip on the limb as his blood hit her tongue. She kept her ears folded back flat against her skill and kept her eyes slitted to prevent them from being targets for him in his counter attack. She also scrunched her neck back toward her shoulders to protect it. Her eyes glanced toward his head just in time to see him lunge toward her right foreleg with outstretched jaws. She reacted as quickly as she could, releasing her hold on his leg and attempting to jump back out of his reach. She failed to get back fast enough and his jaws claimed their prize, his fangs biting down on her foreleg. She gritted her teeth to bare the pain, feeling her blood run down out of the wound. She considered her options for a counterattack. He had put himself in an interesting position with his head right by her own. He had remembered to flatten his ears, scrunch his neck, and slit his eyes, making them all unlikely targets. She could bite at a leg again, but what was the fun in that. Grin coming across her muzzle again she bent her hind legs and dug her claws into the dirt, tucking her head down against her throat. She launched herself forward, attempting to head butt him in the lower part of his side toward his left hip. Her hope was that his left leg was already damaged enough so that she could knock him off balance. She knew she risked tearing up her leg even more with his firm grip on it, but she had never been one to shy away from an injury or two. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rounds: 2/3 Defense: Ears flat, eyes slit, neck scrunched, claws dug into the soil, head tucked down Attack: Attempting to head butt him to knock him off balance Damage: Bite to her front right leg, blood drawn Ooc: So sorry for the wait! Muse has been hit and miss with my getting ready to leave for college "Speech."

This time it was Kar's turn to feel satisfaction. Alena released her hold on his own leg -- his main priority -- and failed to get back fast enough for her counter attack. Kar's fangs snapped down on her leg in a firm grip. Blood was drawn from the bite, though there was not enough force upon it to break bone. Kar's heart leapt with a bit of excitement. He hadn't been in many fights, but it always made him happy whenever he figured out a good counter attack. Now both of their heads were close to each other -- this would likely prevent Alena from trying to bite him. But that also left his injured leg open for further attack. The brute felt her shift her weight... and his eyes widened slightly. Just by that shift in her weight he knew what she was planning before she launched her attack.

Kar let go of her leg as she tucked her head close to her throat, trying to aim a counter attack, but she was faster in her attack. Her center of attack, as Kar feared, was his already injured leg. He stumbled, sidesteping a couple of times before he lost his balance and fell to the Earth. He knew he couldn't leave his underbelly exposed so he managed to roll onto his stomach and keep from rolling further. His ears instantly pinned back once more, and he narrowed his eyes, keeping his head close to his body. His neck wasn't as scrunched up as he hoped it would be, but that was the cost of him protecting his throat. This would leave room for Alena, should she choose to, to leap on him and grab his scruff.

Kar let out a rumbling snarl. If Alena came in close he might be able to get another bite in on a leg or her muzzle if he was lucky. It all deepended on how Alena came in to attack. If he was smart he might be able to turn this around... but if not, well, at least on the plus side this was only a spar, rather than a fight for his life.

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Round:: 2/3
Defenses:: Ears flat, eyes narrowed, head tucked to protect his throat
Attack::
-Ready to counter if Alena goes towards his head or upper body with a bite to a leg or muzzle.
Damage::
-Bite to back left leg. Wound open and bleeding freely.

{{Ooc:: No worries! ^-^}}

{{Ooc:: Bump.}}