12-26-2009, 05:48 PM
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 Ty's words were unusual, especially given their presumptions about him. From the sounds of it, he hadn't actually been in Phoenix Valley all that long...a stint outside of it would go a long way toward explaining where he got these skills from. Defeating Mala, even if she wasn't going full-throttle wasn't something to sneeze at, provided you weren't born to the lifestyle. She calmed down at the statement, though she didn't turn around to let anyone see it. As long as she didn't have to let anyone know a Souls wolf beat her...they didn't have a good name for themselves in the Pine: where some foreigners saw the situation as due to Inferni's strength, Jantus and his packmates attributed it to the weakness of the wolves. Mala was glad to hear that Ty hadn't learned to fight here. "We're not a pack, Aivyr said, the first statement he'd actually made straight to Ty. "But you certainly should keep coming back while we're here. You're more interesting than anyone else we've met so far. No disrespect to your leader, Jefferson...I bet he'd have you beat if he could tell us where he got so torn up." The white wolf spoke without the same bite of sarcasm as his friend Nikolov, nor with the warm familiarity that Jantus often mustered. He seemed more formal than the other three, more proper, but not unfriendly for it. "As it stands, you're the only one around here who's given us any spectacle at all, let alone joined us in fighting. Next time I'll see what you can do on four legs, and I'm sure Mala will need a rematch with you"--she didn't so much as flick an ear at the mention of her name--"But really, it'll be fun to see how you do against Jantus. It's always fun for us to see someone fight a guy of his size for the first time." A weird pause came over Nik and Aivyr after he said that. "Well, the first time they meet him for fun, anyway." He seemed to have no more to say, but Jantus shrugged. "Fighting is an important skill, Ty, but we've all gotta remember it isn't always fun or pretty. When Mala fights for real, she gets peoples' blood all over the place, sometimes hers, sometimes theirs." Her ears fell. She seemed to soften up a bit at his words...she knew he worried about her. "When I fight for real, I take advantage of my weaker and smaller enemies, and break their bones or put my weight on them so they can't get up until I'm done killing them. Nik breaks skulls with his metal bat and Aivyr's got the skill and size to choose his method." The lot of them had fallen quiet. The point of their trip came back to them. "We have fun with these spars, and we like seeing who's best, but with the training you've received, I'm sure you were taught the downside. Our friend who we came to honor was the best of all of us at this, and combat claimed him anyway." He turned a smiling face back to Ty and the rest of them. "Fate willing we'll a softer exit than he did. Until then, we'll remember our old friend Skoll, but not forget to welcome any new ones that come along." The other three nodded, and that seemed to bridge the last of the distance between their group and Ty. They walked closer to him now, and when they finally came to a stream, they did not give him space as an outsider but as one of their number. They were not a pack, but as friends went, they could include another for the duration of their stay. |