hardly sportsmanlike

[Phoenix]

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Sounds of furious growling Phoenix clearly recalled the day he had first clashed with Glaesring. He was bigger and stronger, but back then he had lacked experience or discipline with fighting. It had been only his brute strength that got him by, but already he could see that Glaesring had prepared himself for that. The other wolf had been working out, Phoenix could tell by the firm yanking on the axe. Now, though, he had a little training thanks to Skoll, which put the advantage back in his field, if only slightly. Eventually his enemy gave up on trying to reclaim the axe, and instead tried to thrust it into Phoenix, since he had the bladed end. But such a blow was merely a ploy of desperation, since the axe had only one sharp end, which was easily avoided. However, it brought Glaesring’s arms closer and left them vulnerable. Leaning in, Phoenix chomped down on one thick limb as hard as he could. This finally weakened Glaesring’s grasp on the axe, and Phoenix yanked it free finally. However, he was unused to using human weapons and instead of turning it against his foe he merely tossed it away. He was still unused to combat and not as ruthlessly-minded as the wolves who made a career of fighting, so the possibility of attempting to use the weapon never even crossed his mind. Instead, he relied on his hands and teeth, which he worked his way up onto Glaesring’s shoulder. He tried to deflect as many of his foe’s powerful blows as he could, but many made it past his defenses and came down on his sides, back and neck. However, Phoenix continued to bite down while relentlessly pounding into Graelthim’s own gut and chest. Being on the ground didn’t leave much opportunity for leg work, but every now and then they each managed to land a kick on each other. Somehow his enemy managed to position himself and flip them both around, leaving Phoenix on the bottom and on the defensive. However, this didn’t last long, since after a few blows were taken Phoenix managed to free his arm and punch Glaesring in the throat, or right next to it—at least it was close enough to cause him to weaken and make some kind of sick gurgling noise. Seeing his opportunity, the massive male pushed Glaesring off himself and kicked as hard as he could into his belly. Another kick, this time to bring himself back on his feet, and Phoenix towered over the wolf on his knees. Mercilessly he clutched Glaesring by the scruff of his neck and smacked him a couple times, open-handed and claws extended. Glaesring tried to stand back up and fight back but Phoenix merely kicked him between the legs (again). Defeated, Glaesring collapsed in a heap and Phoenix stood triumphantly over him. “This is th’second time you’ve tried t’kill my friend,” Phoenix said as he picked up the axe. Looking back, he felt a wave of relief to see Skoll standing alive over the corpse of Glaesring’s accomplice. Though not a stone-cold killer, Phoenix had seen enough death in his day not to be shocked by the site of a dead body. He did not abominate the wolf, but since he had tried to kill his friend Phoenix couldn’t feel an ounce of remorse for him either. Sorry, tough luck. “Already it’s cost you one brother’s leg an’ another brother’s life. I told you I’d kill you if you ever tried again… but instead, I’ll leave you to his mercy.” This was, after all, Skoll’s enemy. Phoenix had killed once before but he didn’t want to do so again, not an enemy who was already beaten. Phoenix held the axe up and motioned for Skoll to come and take it if he wanted it. The Alpha of Storm wasn’t about to do another wolf’s dirty work no matter how close they were… and he didn’t particularly want to watch either. “Skoll, do whatever you want with this guy.”

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