[html]  
Okay, extensive powerplay in the past tense, but I tried to keep true to what we agreed to, earlier. Anything you want changed, I'll change it.
"Good," the bronze wolf said, his feet landing beneath him after skirting to the side to avoid her flashing teeth. "You're fast enough, but I want you to keep target priority in mind. Pay more attention to my face and neck, less to my shoulders. Flanks can be safely bitten if you keep your wits and feet ready, and know when to disengage, but if your fangs are in my shoulder, it means that mine are in range of your neck. That will work against enemies who are unused to pain, but an experienced fighter will likely make you pay for that, possibly with fatal results, depending on where he or she gets your neck." He stood off from Tayui, before moving forward again for another pass, studying her own motions while he orchestrated a straight forward lunge.
She was an interesting student. She was quite physically powerful, and graceful enough that her movement wasn't impeded by her size. Nevertheless, the most interesting aspect of these lessons was the fervor with which she set to it. She didn't seem headstrong, but nothing discouraged her; she was focused completely on getting this right, and that focus had made for quick progress. They had met several times over the last few days, her appetite for learning this new skill reminding him of himself, back when he had met Gronnor. It brought a smile to his face, though he did not usually show it to her.
Something was troubling him, though. He had something to tell her...he had decided to hold off and give her the self-defense lesson she'd asked for, knowing that her leader instincts would probably kick in once he told her what he needed to, and she would be cheated out of the lesson.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
|
[/html]
[html] She nodded quickly as Skoll spoke, repeating parts of what he said back to herself in a quiet voice. "Target priority, face and neck, not shoulders, puts you in their range," she said, repeating them to herself as he made a few quick motions. She nodded again as he finished, frowning as she tried to imagine the scenarios in her mind. She exhaled slowly, then glanced back at Skoll, ready for the next attack. He readied himself, then lunged at her.
Tayui turned slightly, moving so she would be out of his direct range. She ducked around, moving her head in a semi circle and allowing her body to follow. As he neared, she pushed off, twisting around, this time aiming to strike at his neck rather than his shoulders. If this were a real fight, the timing would be difficult, for she did not want to rely on brute strength, but instead use what her opponent had. Skoll had a heavier mass and was more experienced, so she hoped that if she could move around him, evade his teeth and counterattack. Theoretically, there should be some way to use his own weight against him, but it would require a great deal of training. For now, she just wanted to train herself to strike at the vital parts, attack the neck and the face, not the shoulders.
[/html]
[html]
Yay for making up how to fight on four legs! *totally wishes he actually knew this stuff*
Her execution was getting better and better, as was her aim. As he darted forward, she spun, attempting to take his head or neck from the side, getting out of the way of his own jaws. She was coming in from his left, and he quickly darted his head and body right, presenting her with his side, moving his head and neck out of range while presenting her with a shoulder. His head hung low, and he swung his jaws snapping back toward her in answer to her countered attack. He stopped short of resting his teeth on his alpha, and then broke away.
"And that is how you answer if your own head or neck is getting attacked. Darting away is good, and is the instinctual first response to flashing teeth. In the situation that I was in, where you don't have the time to dart away, your enemy is moving faster or you have too much momentum to change direction, presenting the enemy with a shoulder is a good way to save your vitals. If they bite your shoulder, they present their neck. If they back off, you've saved yourself from damage, and may even consider throwing your weight into them in hopes of forcing them to present a viable target. If someone does this to you as I have done, the better options are to escape past them, making sure to take a bite at their flank as you do so, or to follow the progression of their head and try to catch them at the back of their head, which is the most offensively pleasing option, but you're more likely to get hurt trying it." Quite a long speech, but the learning process required a lot of talking on the party of the teacher. He thought quietly for a moment, and then sighed.
"Tayui, there is something I have to tell you, before we continue."
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
|
[/html]
[html] He moved away as she moved to strike, presenting his shoulder and darting his head around to snap at her at the last moment. He pulled back; it appeared this part of the lesson had finished. She took a step back, realizing she was extremely close, giving the male some space. She tilted her head, watching, waiting for him to continue with the next 'lesson' or continue explaining this one. She nodded as he spoke, again repeating bits and pieces of what he said as he carried on. She frowned, trying to commit everything he said to memory. If she could recall this information in the heat of battle, it would be extremely useful, however, she doubted that would ever happen. When she was fighting for her life, or the lives of others, she suspected it would all come down to instinct and what felt natural. If she could commit these movements to memory and make them feel more natural, she would not have to stop and think while fighting.
There was a lot to it. Skoll spoke for some time, and Tayui continued to listen, attentive to each word. She pictured the fight he spoke of, trying to turn his words into an actual scene. Thinking of the fight like this seemed to help her associate his words with actions. "Alright," she murmured, then let out all the breath she had been holding. She shook her head, working out the kinks in her neck, taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. She understood the theory behind it, but would need a great deal of practise to put it into use.
There was a short lull in the conversation, as Skoll had run out of things to tell her regarding the fighting. Tayui waited, wondering if he had anything else to add. Again, he spoke up, and she nodded. "What is it?"
[/html]
[html]
Sorry for the wait.
"I have something that I have to do outside of the Shadowed Sun, in six days time. It is...dangerous. I may not come back." He didn't want to tell her those words, but he had to be honest. The wolf who had challenged him allegedly had the benefit of the same training he did, as well as a body which was a year or two younger, and not nearly so torn up. Skoll had confidence in his own abilities, but it was his lack of information concerning this other wolf's abilities which troubled him. His cohort had been far from an easy kill, and had been younger and probably less experienced. This new adversary was Skoll's size, where the man named Soro had been almost have a foot shorter, and probably much closer to Skoll's experience, also, though he couldn't say that for sure. After all, he didn't look as weathered as one might expect from a person who spent their life fighting.
"I take my duties as the guardian of this pack very seriously, as you know. So you know I wouldn't do this without the utmost need. What I am going to do should not earn our pack any enmity, however." It was difficult to inform her without telling her the details, which he wasn't certain was the proper course of action. The tradition of what was happening might be something she didn't understand. The ceremony behind this risk was...necessary, he felt, given the circumstances. Also, there was the bit about Asphyxia. He would need to try and make Shadowed Sun open to her before this occurred...because he now knew that she would be unable to stay in Inferni.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
|
[/html]
[html]
He wasted no time. The moment she asked, he began speaking, and Tayui felt her heart sink. She nodded, hoping he might continue, or expand on this at least. She wanted to tell him he couldn't, forbid him from leaving if it would result in his death (or disappearance), but knew that he would not have told her this, that he would never do this (whatever it was) unless he thought he had to. Tayui trusted Skoll's judgement, but her own selfishness made her wish she didn't.
She nodded, slightly relieved he was going to speak again, but dreading what he had to say. She nodded; I take my duties as the guardian of this pack very seriously, as you know. "Yes," she replied, frowning. "But why? What is... this?" She wanted to understand, but she was not sure if she should, or if it was her place, even. As one of the leader's, certainly it made sense that she would like to know the details, even with Skoll's assurance that it would not drag Shadowed Sun into anything. As a friend, she would rather she help him find an alternative- one that did not require him to warn her of his possible death. She was not going to go down without a fight. Her frown deepened as she thought, glancing over at Skoll for a moment. She would find a way.
[/html]
[html]
Sorry for the wait.
"It's complicated, but I will do my best to explain," he answered. "Two wolves came into the Souls lands recently. I'm not certain how recently. They were looking for me. One of them kidnapped a woman, a woman I've been...well, a woman I have strong feelings for. I went out to get her back, and found a wolf waiting there for me. He tried to kill me, and made a fair go of it before I finally defeated him, and ended his life." It was hard telling her this, but he kept his composure, knowing that she was stressed herself right now.
"Several days later, a stranger approached our border, and I went out to meet him. He introduced himself as the cousin of the man I'd killed, and had many things to tell me, things for me to understand. The short of it is, they want me dead, due to an issue of politics within their community, the issue being that through my teacher I came across fighting secrets which they consider exclusive to their society. Not to worry, our training here is far more basic than what this is all about." He knew that this would be quite difficult to understand, but he would do his best to make the situation as clear as possible.
"This original group, of which only one wolf remains, killed my teacher, as well as my best student. I am the last living beneficiary of these 'leaked secrets', which is why he needs to kill me. Given what has happened, it is my responsibility to kill him, in turn. We opted to meet one another openly in a duel, a one-on-one battle with no interference, hoping to bring some honor into this ugly affair, and more importantly, to prevent anyone else from getting dragged into it." He paused, hoping that was sufficient. He wasn't sure how she would take it.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
|
[/html]
[html]
"I understand," she replied with a solemn nod. She could not interfere-- not if this was how Skoll wanted to end everything. It would be him or the other wolf, and Tayui could only hope (and pray) that Skoll would be the victor. She was unsure if he would be able to, if he was still recovering from the wounds he had received fighting against the rogue coyote. She would just have to put her faith in the old warrior's skills.
She did not know if there was anything else to say, do, or feel. She felt numb, worried, and apprehensive. She did not want him dead, did not want anyone dead, no matter what their reason. He would have to kill someone else to live. "Do... make me proud, Skoll." There were no smiles or tears, just the simple words. Live with honour.
[/html]
[html]
"I'll do my best," he said, sighing. He was glad that she understood. It would be much harder to do this with a leader haranguing him about why he couldn't and coming up with possible political ramifications he didn't want to think about. The people here liked to interconnect everything, it seemed, and that made it harder for people to settle their own issues.
"On the off chance that I don't come back," he intoned after a moment, "I'd like it if Shadowed Sun offered what help it could to a black coyote hybrid named Asphyxia. She has children on the way, and in making sure that no one is going to harm her or them today, I may not be here to ensure the same tomorrow." Figurative, he wasn't fighting Asmodai today, but he hoped she would understand. He was sure that Asphyxia's ties to Inferni would be shocking, but in her he had sensed the impact of culture, not nature. She had quickly turned away from her past when they'd met, quickly turned away from the senseless, race-driven violence. There wouldn't be any trouble coming from her, he knew that much. Having plenty of his mind, and suspecting that Tayui might change her mind about letting him go quietly once she made the connection, he turned to leave. There was much he needed to think about.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
|
[/html]
[html]
I'll do my best. A quick nod was offered in reply to his words, but nothing more. She had nothing to say to that, and thus, did not try to say things she did not mean. It would be a waste of breath to ramble on about something or other when she did not believe it herself. He didn't need those kind of words.
He spoke again, and Tayui did not bother trying to restrain herself. She growled low in her throat, trying to dispel the unease that had settled in the pit of her stomach. She jerked her head in reply, but said nothing for some time. Asphyxia, the woman who had started the war. She did not pretend to mask her unease, but she knew Skoll would not ask her unless he were serious about her staying. Unless he seriously believed he might not return. "If you do not return... we will welcome her as the one you were close to. I will see to it that no harm befalls her. Not for her, but for you." She glanced away. "Fight well." And then... there was nothing else to be said.
[/html]
|
