Aw, thank you! And don’t worry about the delay, I don’t mind at all.
His punch came quickly, like the strike of a snake, and Finn barely had enough time to move. It was her muscles, not her brain, that did the work and she ended up doing a not ungraceful twist away from the blow. She felt his fist pass by, just barely grazing her shoulder. It didn’t hurt, it hadn’t hit squarely enough to do that, but she doubted it would have seriously pained her anyways. They were just testing the waters now, dipping their toes and seeing just how good the other was. She could already tell that Jac was very good. Finn wasn’t accomplished with fighting in an Optime form, but somehow some things translated well from her wolf form into this one
She dropped down, kicking one long leg out at his feet. The ground around them had been flattened by their feet, and made for good terrain, but she could sense that there were a couple pitfalls hidden beneath the browning grass. She would have to be careful. It was hard enough missing toes, she couldn’t get her balance quite right, and gritted her teeth when she started to wobble. She couldn't emulate the way Jac stayed up on his toes, bouncing along using the balls of his feet, and trying just made it worse. With a flash of insight, she leaned back a little, shifting her weight onto the pads of her feet.
A startled look crossed the grey wolf’s face as she stopped teetering. She hadn’t felt stability like this since she had lost those toes so many seasons ago! A laugh welled up in her throat and the grin grew fiercer. She wanted to win, wanted to beat this king at his own game, and though she knew it was probably impossible, she had to try. Already the chill had been banished from her bones and she felt content. This was what she lived for, craved like a drug. This feeling was better than whiskey, better than sunny days. Better than love? Perhaps.