PGP+4 Words-400+

It was grand. On this day the Issum found himself out on the lands of Sangi’lak the atmosphere seemed brighter. There was a life here in his home that he had been overlooking or that might not have been at all. It was possible that the love between him and his friend was so grand that it alone brightened the world. Sure felt that way, even if the notion was a bit extreme. And it wasn’t the first time this realization came to the black and white male. Again and again he thought it, smiled, and continued on his way but it never grew repetitive. Why should it? He was in love and he was loved. It would simply never have enough acknowledgment.

And today he would find the lovely object of his affection for no other reason than he wanted to! The idea would have been alien only a few days before. He wanted to now spend every minute he could by her side. But Jaden also understood that after so long of avoiding each other and his traveling away from home, being by her side every minute of every day would be a bit awkward. The two had never functioned like that before, even when they were still on good terms. Maybe that was wrong. Either way, time and more aggressive stalking would tell just how much of Jaden is beloved could handle throughout the day.

It felt not a moment too soon he would find her training in the Rock Garden. He had taken the last two days to get himself back into order and catch up on things put off for moping. Now that everything was said and done with, all that remained was to begin training once again. The plan had been to do so after mingling with X’yrin but why not complete both at the same time? It had been a long while since the two had last sparred... but perhaps such an enticing dance wasn’t the best form of training. Training was an act to improve one’s self. He knew she could fight. Feeling the blows of her fists and closeness of her body, however attractive the idea, wouldn’t tell him much that he didn’t already know. Looking on her now, he absent mindedly fiddled with one of his gauntlets. He had worn them to grow used to the feeling of the traps on his fur again. As such he was pulling on and resetting where they pressed into his arms. He stopped in mid movement and looked from her to them and back. Perhaps a chance to improve her arsenal of skills was needed. A broad smile over took him as he stepped into the garden to make his proposal.

Jaden does. Jaden speaks. Jaden thinks.

PGP+4 Words-400+

The sight of his companion nearly always had him admiring her beauty. From the first time they had met her fur and the vibrant colors it came in was a decedent pleasure for the eye. Even when they were on bad terms her body had never lost its pull. Looking on her training and as she approached him was no different. If anything, it was worse. The scent that clung to her heavily constantly reminded him of intimacies they had come only so close to achieving. It was bad enough to the point that it had kept him awake a few a few nights as he lay alone in his chambers. This was surely not to improve as the attraction he had now bore actual potential. The woman sleeping just a few steps away had no reason he could think of to deny him what her body called for. It was hard to ignore but Jaden wasn’t the type to charge straight into something like that when their relationship had just been mended. Maybe after a bit more time… then he brushed the thoughts away. It was hard enough to keep his head without such self-goading.

She came to him happily and their embrace was sweet. He took an extra few moments to enjoy it before answering. A delighted smile split his jaws, You, my love. he couldn’t lie and say calling her such in a light manner didn’t feel a bit awkward, but the words weren’t used without thought. Thinking back on their time apart he had realized that not acknowledging their feelings had only made it easier to lose her, something he never wanted to do again. So, if he was more forward about it then perhaps their bond would be safer. I noticed your training and wanted to ask if I could offer something new for you, the Issum remembered little Zeus usually followed his beloved around and cast his gaze for the boy while he spoke. Bladed training around a blind pup didn’t sound terribly safe but might be so if he continued to sleep where Jaden’s eyes found the little body. Perhaps you would be interested in learning combat with a weapon? he finished and turned his cool gaze on the woman still sitting in his arms. He knew she had chosen at some point not to train with weapons, or that’s the impression he remembered getting when he asked her about it so long ago. But he was prepared to press upon her various convincing reasons should she wonder why it was necessary.

Jaden does. Jaden speaks. Jaden thinks.

PGP+2 Words-200+

He saw the dwindling of her smile and the light confusion in her wonderful eyes. So she would take a bit of convincing. He was confidant though and his smile didn’t let up as he looked down on her. From her words he took that she believed weapons to be… a sign of weakness? It was an odd way to view them. In his mind they were a tool and an advantage in any serious conflict. But even to a pair of untrained brawlers, should one of them locate a weapon of sorts the battle would be tipped heavily in the armed fighter’s favor.

His ears perked forward as she asked if he meant to call her weak. His smile wavered a bit and an apology was on the tip of his tongue before he realized the tone was more of teasing than serious questioning. So he would tease her back, Weak, no no no, you are far from weak. You can best me on a good day. Now, whether that is strength or luck might be debatable, He chuckled lightly at her before licking at one of her attention-set ears, ...but I offer this training not to a simple Exultare, or Evan’ules, but to a leader, to my Issor. Is it not your responsibility to indulge in a bit of everything? To know the basics should the need arise? He was still teasing her with a light tone on his voice. He’d meant not to be overly serious in his explanation, perhaps hinting at his trued desire to simply be with her under the sort of “cheap shot” their responsibilities offered.

Jaden does. Jaden speaks. Jaden thinks.

PGP+3 Words-300+

He had not foreseen such stubbornness from X’yrin. They viewed weapons in a very different light, just as they did combat. Jaden had been taught to kill, rather than to fight out long drawn battles and weapons held the ability to much more easily and quickly kill than fighting flesh to flesh. The thrust of a blade was far more dangerous than the blunt attacks from paws to most any part of the body. But he could not present this as a reason to adopt armed combat to his beloved for he felt she hadn’t the intentions or need to kill.

He could only let his grin dip slightly in disappointment as she disassembled his reasoning and made his teasing seem like the male was stepping on his own tongue. He chose to drop the teasing in her favor and looked for a more sensible reason to arm her. Perhaps you are right, but that is assuming the armed attacker you seek to disarm is less skilled than you are. This isn’t always the case. There will always a warrior more skilled than you, and most definitely more skilled than I. If chance leads you fight such a combatant, wouldn’t the ability to blunt his blade with a weapon not made of your flesh find some value? A very small bit of worry might have shown in his expression for he realized a piece of truth then. Perhaps it was that he felt her inadequately armed to face a skilled swordsman or someone of the like. Knowing how ruff some of the relationships were Jaden had seen in his travels, the likely hood that Sangi’lak would forever live in peace was slim. He would feel better should such a day come knowing his beloved knew how to handle more than her beautiful body in a fight of weapons.

Jaden does. Jaden speaks. Jaden thinks.

PGP+3 Words-300+

He too realized the change his offer was taking as she again told him weapons were not necessary in battle. At this his features grew even further from the elated mood they carried before to take on a look of pleading. But then she explained it to him and he finally understood exactly why she viewed weapons as weakness. They were unnatural and there was no denying that. Even when the Issum had called Alaska home they were an oddity brought forth from across the sea by Russian traders. His had been made by his mate, but the metal and the inspiration for the guards he wore and dagger she had were not of this land but one he himself had never even seen. So he could not argue when she offered a strong point he understood even though he felt the need to.

Then she asked him, a positive step away from the turn their short conversation had taken. But he had to think on it for a moment. No… It’s not weakness to be without a weapon… It’s just… well… He didn’t want to say it was because he feared for her that he pressed the matter. His fellow leader might take that as another underestimation. His eyes followed hers down to where the dark metal on his arms hid black fur. I feel that, no matter the skill, flesh… your flesh will tare when slashed by blade. It was a gruesome sight to acknowledge and pulled his ears back in a sad disgust. Then an idea put a small spark back into his eyes. If you will not carry or train with a weapon, then will you carry… a shield. He looked up at her with the pleading still written on his face but a small flag going up in the back of his mind. Was he to offer the gauntlets given to him by his first mate? Could he part with them after they had been a part of his body for so long? My gauntlets? The offer was soft, maybe showing his own caution in giving away such meaning full gifts. Without understanding to the weight of his offer, it might have been seen by her as more worry for her if she were ever to fall under a blade.

Jaden does. Jaden speaks. Jaden thinks.

PGP+ 2Words-200+

He hit that end with his final offer. If she turned him down once more, there would be no reason to continue pressing her on it for today at least. Already he could tell she did not appreciate his persistence. He couldn’t tell exactly how little she enjoyed it, but there was a tightness that settled over her once joyous voice. She didn’t simply turn him down then, perhaps sensing he would not ease with his pressing as time would wind on. And instead she offered him a compromise. There was silence as he debated simply giving up for the day instead. The price she asked was steep and the bout of fighting would not prove what he desired her to understand. Her being able to best his gauntlets did not offer insight as to how the metal could protect from a blade, unless she carried that dagger he gifted her up in that gloriously long mane of hers. No, the challenge was tilted a bit in her favor but the price she asked for, that he never bother her with this again, offered insight into just how strongly she felt.

This was to be his only chance then. A shallow sigh escaped his nose. Fair enough, he said. To show his good will, he nudged the end of her muzzle with his before taking a step back. He glanced over her body and wondered if he had it in him to defeat her this day. How shall we start?

Jaden does. Jaden speaks. Jaden thinks.

His affection went unanswered and his question received one that came with not words but action, something he was beginning to expect from the woman. Had his eyes moved from the woman for only a second he would not have been ready for the attack that came. Having been sizing her up already, he saw it coming but was still left without room to place metal between the blow and his flesh.

She wasn’t in the same mood as before and that much was obvious. An irritating thought crossed his mind that perhaps this first strike had been planned as impossible to block with his gauntlets to show him as a fool. He quickly pivoted his body to avoid her strike and used the movement to toss a low shot for her exposed belly. Then he would spin and sweep low for her legs, trying to take her balance or knock her down to gain the room he needed to present his armor.

Jaden does. Jaden speaks. Jaden thinks.

There was something cold that turned in him as the attempt for his neck was thrown. The last time she had locked him into that steely grip of hers had been the movement he thought to express her loss of love for him. With the realization that this was not the case he was forced to reassess her near choking the life out of him as a fluke. A fluke he would not soon forget, but a fluke none the less.

The Issum managed to avoid the grab by ducking and batting it away with a swish of his forearm. He was unfortunately not able to pull himself from her grasp though and she managed to pull him down with her. Both fell and with no room or way to roll while still connected with the woman he loved, Jaden was forced to catch himself on one arm. A loud metallic raking sound was short but loud as his armor took the impact on a particularly sharp stone in place of his flesh. The jarring of his shoulder was uncomfortable but not enough to slow him down. He didn’t wait for her to take control again. Instead he rolled toward her with a twist of his arm to dig the gauntlets edges into her flesh that trapped him and offered another two quick jabs to the body as a incentive to let him free

Jaden does. Jaden speaks. Jaden thinks.

She would not let go! Jaden twisted with all the give he could find but it wasn’t enough to free himself. What was worse, his jabs seemed to have no effect on the woman. She held herself in the sharp rocks and he wondered just how uncomfortable they must have been to fall on. But his wonder was cut short by a knee to his gut that connected painfully. But it didn’t slow him down either. He was trained to resist the lure of pain to stop fighting. Instead he retaliated. Using the grip she had on his armored arm, he propped himself up and thrust his knee hard into her nearest thigh. Should it connect with the muscle there it would no doubt leave an incredible bruise and perhaps a bit of intense pain too.

If he wasn’t to be let go then this needed to turn into an offensive battle. She needed to be made aware that holding him to her wouldn’t grant as much safety as letting him go. He moved to mount her with a knee used press down on her lower body and make it more difficult to reach him for another kick. Then he would try to land some hits on her shoulder that held him, aiming for the soft and sensitive tissue near the lower font of the joint.

Jaden does. Jaden speaks. Jaden thinks.

PGP+2 Words-200+

There was finally some progress being made as he delivered a few hard punches to the nomad’s shoulder. The grip on his arm was loosening and he would soon be free. The male’s position wasn’t comfortable, but he knew even without her acknowledgment of it that his knee was painfully pressed into her. The muscle and tendons bunched under it as she tried to pull away uselessly.

With a final punch and mighty pull, his arm came free from her. He would have then proceeded to use it for another assault on the body under him had she not suddenly lunged at his face. He jerked back to avoid it and his mane consequently fell right into the woman’s grasp. She yanked, exposing his throat and arching his back with the sudden pain. His teeth barred too for he knew what would come next. Anticipating that she might lunge for his neck or that her muzzle might still be close from her last snap, he swept his arm up in an attempt to connect the hard metal he was armed with to the side of her head or jaw. If he missed, he would be left vulnerable and the fight would likely come to a quick end when her jaws found his throat.

Jaden does. Jaden speaks. Jaden thinks.