[p] cut it out of my mouth
#1
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For Raoth! Set in Arachnea's Revenge, close to CdC.


It had been nice coming home (the encounter with her Aquila’s sister aside), but Vesper still craved the routine of constant patrolling and checking up on the lands just outside of Inferni. She padded south from her territory, heading through the short strip of grassland into the mixed forest that spread across the center of the peninsula: Arachnea’s Revenge, a place she had frequented when she was a loner. It was nice to walk the old paths she still remembered, finding a little pond that had been her drinking source last time this year. She stopped and smiled, cocking her head and observing the glittering water in silence, before turning and trotting onward.

Stark would mock her for being so nostalgic, no doubt, but for once the Inferni second-in-command was not being babysat by the big black bird. With her shift toward working with the ravens, her usual scouting partner had offered to help out and observe them in ways she could not. He said he’d pick out a few that showed real promise as scouts and perhaps hook them up with a coyote the same way he’d hooked up with her—although Ves liked to think her little bond with the old crow was special.

Perhaps one of the puppies would be interested in a raven partner, and Vesper could start a tradition from there. She’d told Stark as much, and he’d made fun of her, but she knew when he was gently shooting down an idea and when he was just teasing about something that might work—this time, it had been the latter. She still felt silly at the thought of bringing the idea to Myrika or even the rest of the clan, but who knew? Ezekiel had had a raven companion, and she knew Ithiel had his vulture, so it wasn’t too far-fetched.

The patter of tiny paws made the coyote halt, her ear swiveling toward the sound, the line of her body alert. She swished her tail once then made a pounce at the mouse, which scuttled free and wedged itself underneath a bush. She scowled, glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking, then nearly stretched out on her belly to follow suit. As a pale paw rushed out to smack the mouse senseless where it was trapped against the trunk of the shrub, however, it became caught on something sticky. She jerked back, dislodging twigs and more of the stickiness, then scrambled out into the open as she rubbed her paw on her muzzle and tried to get the spiderweb off.


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#2
The dark coyote strode through the lands near the pack. He was free to come and go as he pleased, but he never went far. His need to remain near Aro was too strong for that. The wolf never called for him, but a strange part of him insisted that it would happen as soon as he went too far. He needed to serve his master. Raoth's freedom had been granted, but something had been taken from him when he was turned to a slave, a scar that couldn't be repaired with time, and kept him trapped to the wolf that had bought him.

The scent of a strange pack brought his attention round sharply. It smelled rather like his old home, actually, where he'd been born. That thought alone fueled a dark rage as he came along. Spotting a female coyote pawing at her muzzle to remove a spiderweb was actually rather humorous. Scoffing he leaned against a tree, the sharp noise echoing through. It was one of the few sounds that he could still manage, and one he rather enjoyed being able to use. Standing as he was it was clear he thought he was the coolest creature ever born, and worth more than anything the scarred coyote might be worth.
#3
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As she fought to rub the spiderweb from her whiskers, the light tawny coywolf heard a scoff. She abandoned her plan immediately to turn her head and narrow her eyes darkly at the offending party; this, of course, would not have the same effect since there was sticky spiderweb all over her muzzle. She realized this after a moment then rubbed with a paw again, noting that this job might be easier in a form with the capability for hands.

“All right,” Vesper drawled once she’d succeeded, “it’s hilarious.” She smirked sardonically before she looked at the other luperci, actually looked for more than a sudden glance, and then her blue eyes darted all over the points of his body as she sized him up curiously. He was pure coyote, but with a pelt greyer than the tawny coats she was used to; he was also large for the species, and muscular. His body was covered with scars, with at least one she could see in an actual pattern. She let her mangled ear flick then grinned at him.

“You look just about as fucked up as I do, kid.”




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#4
The female turned to glare at him again, her elder age obvious to him. She wasn't ancient, but she was definitely at least a couple years older than him, and in his opinion past her prime. It looked rather humorous, glaring at him with the web all over her muzzle. His smirk only increased in size. She was smart enough to realize how silly she looked, and resumed pawing at it to try and remove what was there, Raoth silently laughing at the sight. Nodding his head Raoth dipped down, bowing rather comically at her acknowledgement. He was there to put her in her place, of course.

His frame tensed, feeling her gaze studying him. This wasn't anything casual. She was figuring out how strong he was! Immediately he changed to an attack position, ready to strike if she proved to be threatening. There was no way that he was going to give into her. His own eyes darted over her frame, noting the various scars. She was a fighter, and a good one judging by how long she'd been living for. He nodded his head, orange eyes now wary of her. What did she want? Yes, he'd approached her, but he didn't appreciate the look.
#5
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She was amused by the coyote, mangy as he looked, when he bowed mockingly. Perhaps a year ago she might’ve attacked him for the perceived disrespect, but she knew better than to snap at everyone who teased her, especially considering how quick she was to tease others. She was tough enough to take his jabs anyway, unless he wanted to insult her personality—but she doubted that a stranger really could. She also knew when she was beat, and there wasn’t really any salvaging the situation unless a mass of spiderwebs fell down on him or something ridiculous like that.

The grin tugging at her muzzle faded when she noticed the sudden tenseness that came over him. She was no stranger to paranoia, even now that she had been with the clan coyotes for almost a year. She might’ve ignored it if she wanted to pursue a different conversation with the kid, but this provided her one shot with taunting him back: kind of like a game.

“You scared of me?” Vesper asked, and she took another step forward though there was no indication of a real threat in her posture. She was consistently light on her feet, ready to move if need be, but her fur remained flat and her face and frame were relatively open. She just wanted to know.




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#6
She was smiling back at him after he bowed mockingly, the teasing nature of their conversation passing back and forth. He was cocky, and he was enjoying the rough ribbing back and forth. The older female just bounced back, noticing the tenseness in his frame. Raoth never liked the sharp analyzing aimed towards him. When the female called him scared he snarled, lips pulling back and revealing. Scared? Of her? There was absolutely no way that he was scared by a coyote with spiderwebs on her face!

Shaking his head he growled back at her. He raised his hackles and stepped forwards, a mock show of strength in his actions. He was a warrior, a trained fighter, and there was no way that he was going to back down to someone older than him without a good reason. He could show his strength.
#7
Sparring bit carried out over Google Docs! ^^

Vesper
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[/html]The scarred grey coyote bared his teeth at her, and Vesper grinned as she realized she’d struck a nerve: a cord of pride that ran taut through her just as much as him. There was no cruelty in her sharp-toothed expression but rather a fiendish amusement, one that only grew more intense when he bristled and stepped toward her. Maybe it was just a bluff, but she intended to find out—all just for fun, of course.

“Been a while since I sparred,” the coywolf drawled to lay the terms out then and there: that she wasn’t going to fight to the death with some cocky whelp. “Come on, kid.” She lowered herself lightly to the ground, ears pinning back and shoulders rolling forward, her blue eyes goading him to make the first move.[html]
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Raoth
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[/html]The sharp smile didn’t send Raoth into a frenzy as perhaps she had hoped. He wasn’t going to leap at her just because she was too stupid to recognize someone stronger than her. The challenge brought a mirroring smile from him, eager to accept the challenge and lean into it. He usually sparred with Aro, and a chance to battle someone else, even if it was just for fun, was a great idea. It’d put her in her place as well, so she wouldn’t dare to act so cocky with him.

Shaking his head he crouched down, his own form shifting to mirror the crouched pose she held. He didn’t wait for her to attack, going straight ahead to leaping forwards and setting his teeth to strike at her shoulder. He wasn’t left completely unexposed, his muscles taut and twisting to try and make it more difficult to grab.[html]
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Vesper
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[/html]Vesper couldn’t remember the last time she’d fought in Lupus versus an Optime, other than certain incidents with dogs and their knives. This grey brat was unarmed, though, and so she saw it more as a fun challenge than something that would put her at a disadvantage.

He came at her, leaning down to bite at her shoulder; she was able to dodge, scrambling out of the way and throwing herself at his legs, jaws parted. Balance was her god during battles, and if she could set this two-legger off balance, she could win.[html]
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Raoth
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[/html]Raoth reared up as Vesper came down at his legs. The good thing about this form was how easily he could switch between being crouched on all fours, where it was easier to attack her from, or standing on two. He twisted himself back before dropping again, striking with his claws to go across her back. His other arm was ready to grab at the dirt and use it to spin himself off in another direction to keep his balance if she managed to hit his legs while he struck.[html]
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Vesper
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[/html]The youth’s arm twisted back, and she could feel his claws run through her fur, pricking the skin and cause it to lift with irritation. She whirled back around to keep herself out of range, still snapping at his legs though more mindful of his contorted body and lashing hands now.[html]
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Raoth
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[/html]He felt his claws graze to prick her skin, growing more excited at the touch. She twisted out of range, Raoth clumsily moving forwards in his eagerness to follow her. She didn’t seem that strong. Raoth could take her. He lunged forwards to bite her again, both arms hitting the ground to keep him balanced as he moved to taste her.[html]
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Vesper
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[/html]The coyote had abandoned his slashing to lunge toward her, and Vesper growled with annoyance as his jaws came close to her. She wouldn’t allow herself to be struck, though, not for as long as she could dance out of his range, hoping that the large coyote would tire or make a mistake.

“You’ll have to be more creative than that,” Vesper yapped, jumping backwards and maintaining their distance so he’d have to move more, rather than flail around in one spot.[html]
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Raoth
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[/html]Was she seriously just going to keep dancing out of range like this? What kind of spar was it to never have her test him back? He straightened back up, taking his own step back as he eyed her, wondering how he was going to catch her. The taunt drew a snarl from him, knowing that he wasn’t able to speak back. He was a little surprised that she hadn’t questioned it, but he didn’t let himself dwell on it. Perhaps she’d just take it as him being too cocky to talk with her.

Circling Raoth tried to move to behind the coyote, his muscles tense. Suddenly swift he curled and changed direction, throwing himself forwards to tackle the smaller beast and capture her in his arms. In the tighter grasp it would be easy to take her down.[html]
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Vesper
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[/html]The grey male started to circle around, and Vesper turned to keep her eyes on him, confident in his youth. The spar was getting her blood up, and she was beginning to revert back into the cocky girl she’d been, this time her pride inflated with her age, as well.

She was taken aback when the coyote suddenly reversed direction, springing for her. She was suddenly in his muscular arms, writhing and snarling and snapping at whatever flesh she could reach as her legs shoved against him. She could be pinned, but as Helotes was fond of saying, she was too fiery to give up.[html]
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Raoth
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[/html]Her small frame was instantly trapped in his grasp. Raoth was against the ground rather clumsily, feeling her move and kick against him. The bites tore at his chest, but he ignored the pain and straightened up, careful to not let go of her. It was hard keeping a grip as she squirmed around. Raoth growled right in her face before a strike to his body loosened his arms enough to set her free. He reached out with an arm quickly to grab her leg, not wanting to let her escape. He had won the spar after all.[html]
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Vesper
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[/html]Vesper resented being pinned more than the average fighter; she had fears and vulnerabilities against being trapped against the earth that she never let on to anyone else. It only fueled her rage, her unease and her wounded pride causing her to kick out and bite more at him, though she remembered not to go for his throat or press hard enough to draw more than a little blood.

Freedom was hers for a single instant, but he reached to grab at her leg. She whirled with a high-pitched snarl and bit his wrist fiercely. He released her at that, and she quickly darted away, only to loop around and launch herself at the side of his body, snapping at his ear.[html]
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Raoth
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[/html]That hurt! His actions had worked and he’d stopped the slippery coyote from escaping, only to have her turn and bite into his wrist. He released her quickly, pulling the wounded wrist close. He must have triggered something, as he was really bleeding that time. Not enough to worry, but it was more painful than the other bites he’d received from her. He let out a choked cry as she struck him from the side, silent as he twisted about and hit the ground. He rolled away to keep her from grasping any part of him, turning to strike out with his claws against her flesh.[html]
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Vesper
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[/html]It was strange that her opponent wasn’t more vocal, but Vesper didn’t really care; there was nothing to distract her from the punishment she wanted to cause him. He struck the ground at her blow and began to defend himself, rolling away and lashing out. At least one of his blows caught her shoulder and clawed out a tuft of fur, but she didn’t care, instead lunging and snapping for his face, his flanks, his arms, anything she could sink her teeth into for just a brief moment for as long as he was on the ground.[html]
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Raoth
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[/html]She went right for his face. The teeth snapped again and again as he straightened, using his arm to knock the tiny attacking body away. He had several shallow cuts on his arm, but he’d protected his face from the worst of it. Straightening he let out a low growl, facing her with a smirk. She was letting her emotions get the best of her. It looked like he was going to win this spar after all.[html]
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Vesper
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[/html]The larger canine knocked her back, and she growled back as he straightened and stepped to safety. She needed to figure out a strategy to end this spar soon as, despite wanting to think she was always level-headed, she’d let her frustration and fear get the best of her.

Vesper swallowed back another scathing taunt, instead opting to run toward him and leap, sailing toward one of his arms and biting down.[html]
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Raoth
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[/html]Raoth wrapped his arms around the female as she hit his arm, growling and biting down. He wrapped tightly around her, refusing to let go even though her fangs tore into his arms. Neither of them seemed ready to release the other, Raoth unable to speak and her with her mouth full. Huffing he met her eyes and shook his head, indicating that he didn’t see a win.[html]
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Vesper
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[/html]Her jaws clamped down, but his arms were a vice around her body. They were locked in the awkward embrace for a few moments, and then the male looked at her. Her ear flattened and her muzzle began to wrinkle, expecting a taunt or a finishing blow, but he only shook her head. She was wary of a trick for a moment but allowed her facial muscles to relax, and then she slowly released her grip on him while shoving her paws against his chest so that she could jump back away onto the ground.[html]
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#8
The spar had been more than he'd expected, fighting back and forth with a high intensity. He wasn't panting, but his muscles were warmed up more than they should be for a friendly spar. It looked like she was ready to keep going, snarling over at him. She got what he meant though, and released his arm. Raoth grimaced as she pushed off him back to the ground. They were both bleeding now, though he was the one that had gotten the worst of it. He hadn't been able to get in as many bites.

It was a good thing he could take the pain. Raoth lifted his arm to lick at his wounds before he remembered that he didn't have a tongue to lick with. Sighing he sat down and faced her, a little wary still after the spar. He itched to keep fighting, but Raoth was never really done. The only time he really could spar without struggling to cool down was when he fought to exhaustion, or Aro forced him to stop. Both brought him to a complete halt. He looked over the grey coyote before smiling. She'd done better than he'd thought she could do.
#9
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Vesper landed and sidled away from him, her ear still flat and her tail puffed out behind her. She took a seat and lowered her head to lick at a scratch, her light blue eyes staring intently up at the scarred youth. She was pleased to see that he was a little worse off, though her arrogance was draining. She hadn’t thought he’d be that good; he must’ve been trained by someone, and his scars could very well tell of a number of battles similar to she’d seen as an unruly youth.

The boy began to lift his arm then decided against it for some reason, plopping down. After a moment he smiled at her, and she smirked back, rolling a shoulder. “You did better than I thought you would, punk,” she admitted, the last word carrying a rare tinge of pride normally reserved for her young scouts back in Inferni.

There was something else that bothered her, though, that she’d noticed throughout their meeting and the fight and that was obvious in his silence now. The mangled remnants of her bad ear twitched, and she looked at him with a frown. “Do you talk?” she asked after a moment of hesitation.




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#10
The grey coyote landed lightly, twisting around and still ready to go. Both of them were warriors that were too proud to truly back down. The muscles in his body tensed again when their eyes met. If she wanted to go another round he was all for it. She didn't launch an attack though, just settled down and made herself more comfortable. The smirk on her face was arrogant, Raoth lifting his head haughtily. He'd held himself well in the spar. She hadn't been on the winning side for that.

The female's words surprised him. He hadn't expected praise from her. His eyes widened, studying her. It was nice to be complimented in such a manner, but truly unexpected. He didn't know what to make of it. Shrugging Raoth tried to look like he was used to such compliments. He knew that he was good. He just wasn't used to others noticing. He stiffened at the question, managing a half smirk as if it was no big deal when he shook his head. Why did everyone have to notice that?


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