The Fight

We circled each other, glaring daggers and snarling. There was only one hard and fast rule during these fights, and that was that you couldn't leave the square, or take anything from those outside of it. There were other, unspoken rules as well, such as the order of which you were meant to fight. It tended to be in three parts, the first being in human form, the second in your fur, and the third in your mind. It was widely accepted that the first person to go from human to wolf form was loosing, and the same for the person who ended the second bought, as it implied that you could no longer hold your ground in the previous round.

Da had raised me to never give my opponent the round unless I would die if I didn't. Not an inch given unless thoroughly earned, that was practically our family motto. I started first, darting forward and feinting to punch him in the nose, only to slam my other fist into the bottom of his jaw. He staggered back a little, biting his lip and spitting out blood, but before I could back off he delivered a vicious kick to my knee, sending me keeling over. I stuck out my hand to catch myself, just managing to regain my balance in time to snatch it back as he went to stomp on my outstretched fingers.

I rolled to the side, avoiding a strike to the head, and managed to get my feet back under me despite the pain screaming in my knee. I could hear Nate and Gwenna cheering for me, screaming with such enthusiasm it almost drowned out the sounds of the others encouraging their leader. I darted forward, a quick jab to the throat that he turned away easily, but that I followed with a fist to the gut.

He half doubled over, but managed to catch himself enough to wrap his hands around my throat, putting pressure and weight on me so I would have to decide between having my neck snapped or being forced to the ground, if I was an untrained pup. I seriously didn't know what he thought he was doing, being it was a popular packling tactic for tackling rogues so like, one of the first tricks we were taught to break out of?

That was what I did, twisting around and bringing my elbow up and then down again across his arms to break the grip. Then, dug my nails into his shoulder, drawing blood and holding him still for a couple more seconds until I slammed my knee between his legs. In rogue fights there was no such thing as below the belt.

Between the drugs visibly slowing his reactions and the fact he was doubled over in pain, I expected him to shift and take the fight to the next stage, but Theodore hadn't been blessed with ample common sense. Unfortunately, neither had I, and I was extremely cocky, so I didn't see his next attack coming until he had slammed his head into my stomach and tackled me to the ground. I got a few seconds before he managed to react, and I used that to grab a handful of the sand I had in my pocket and fling it directly into his eyes. I bucked, throwing him off balance just enough to scramble out from under him and get to my feet. He roared with anger, pawing at his eyes and shaking his head, even though the best thing to do was stay still and blink furiously until your vision cleared.

I darted forward to strike again at the base of his skull, hoping to knock him out, but then the pre shift shudder passed through him and I leapt back from him like a puppy that had just pawed the fire for the first time. A heartbeat later and I was shifting too, managing to settle into my fur a few seconds before Theo because my head was still clear. It meant that as soon as he was in wolf form, I had already tackled him, and the fight quickly devolved into a fast mess of claws and teeth and fur and snarls.

The advantage I had had due to the drugs was tempered now, as his different form barely felt the effects of the sedative, but wolf scraps were my forte. He was in my wheelhouse now, I thought grimly as I sunk my teeth into his flank and my claws raked bloody furrows into his underbelly. He yelped and snapped at my tail, catching it near the base and threatening to tear it off. It did the trick, and I released him, darting away even as his fangs tore at the skin. That had been more my wolf acting than me, and it took me a second to wrest back my half of the control.

To fight properly as a wolf, you had to use both your human brain with its superior tactics, and your wolf brain, with the primal instincts and knowledge of how to manoeuvre. Unfortunately, loosing my mental balance for but a moment had given Theo back the upper hand, and he bowled into my side, knocking me prone as he fought to pin me, to get his jaws around my throat as I scratched at his underbelly, writhing and wriggling to try and get out from under him. It was hard, though, because he had pinned me well and he was bloody heavy, and for a moment I thought that I was about to loose.

"Hey Theo! I just slept with your girlfriend!" Gwenna yelled from the side lines, coaxing a strangled gasp from Ada who shot her a furious look. It was enough to make Theo pause in his actions, glancing to his girlfriend as though trying to ascertain if it was true. "Take a sniff, you can smell her on me!" Goddess, she was a mad genius. He lifted his snout and snuffed the air, allowing me to finally get out from under him. I saw his hackles shoot up and he snarled as he smelt the truth, and I managed to get my paws under me just as he sprang forward, ignoring me in favour of killing Gwenna.

Now, in leaving the circle and attacking one of the crowd, he would be disqualified and I would win by default, meaning I would get his team, but that would be a little hollow for my taste. Not to mention that I quite liked having Gwenna around with all limbs still intact. So I sprang forward, clamped my jaws around his hind leg and yanked, feeling the bone crunch beneath my teeth and blood spurt across my tongue as he lost balance, though his front paws still scrabbled in the dirt in his desperate attempt to kill her.

He was infuriated, trying to get this fight over and not caring who got hurt, so he was the one who escalated the wolf fight to a mind battle. As soon as his first clumsy but forceful strike was sent my way, I felt Nate in my head, throwing up my walls and turning the blow with ease. He took over that part of the fight, attacking and defending while hiding in my mind, leaving me to continue fighting with no distractions while Gwenna taunted him from the side lines and Ada slunk away, face burning scarlet, scorned by the members of the raiding team.

Theo was only half heartedly fighting me, injured and angry and distracted and realising, just maybe, that he wasn't going to win this fight. We broke apart, circling again, snarling and snapping across the few feet between us. He tried to lean the dominance of his wolf against mine, but I shrugged it off with ease, turning it back on him two fold until he whipped his tail between his legs for a moment before forcing it back up, trying to resist me.

I mock pounced, waiting for him to brace himself before twisting and snapping at his ear, biting through the soft flesh and severing it half in two. His yelp echoed around the entire camp and he made a twisting leap away from me, only managing to shower me with blood and get some of it running in his eyes. I struck again, quick snaps, circling the half blind enemy and opening his hide again and again until I was ready to go in for the kill.

Of course, this wasn't a killing bout, or at least, it didn't have to be. All I needed to do was wring a submission out of him, and that would do the job just as well, if not better than killing him. It showed that I didn't need to use lethal force to defeat him, and he was a rogue as well, not a packling. Though we might fight, we were still, in essence, on the same side.

I muzzle slammed him and then sprang over him, keeping him pinned down as I managed to get my jaws around his throat and snarled, demanding a submission. He didn't. I tightened my grip, fangs beginning to draw blood, making it clear that while I didn't want to kill him, I absolutely would. Finally, he dropped his gaze, bringing his tail between his legs and letting out a low whine. I released him and moved back, and thankfully he wasn't quite stupid enough to attack me once I'd already secured the victory. It may have taken three years, but I finally had taken back my raiding team. I raised my bloodied muzzle to the sky and howled my victory, Gwenna and Nate joining in while in human form as Theo slunk off in the direction Ada had fled. The members of the raiding team dipped their heads in silent recognition of my new leadership before going about their business. It wasn't too big of a deal for them, just someone else they needed to answer to.

"Nicely done, kiddo." Da said, the first to trespass into the circle, a blanket in his hands and a proud smirk on his face. "Or should I say, kiddos?" He amended with a look to the other two, draping the blanket over my wolf form. I shifted back, bloodied and bruised but my veins burning with adrenaline and eyes bright with victory.

"Have you figured out how we did it?" I asked, wrapping the cloth around me and standing up, Nate and Gwenna coming to stand at my shoulders, the three of us wearing matching grins.

"Can't say I have, but Gwenna sleeping with Ada certainly was a nice touch." He commented sardonically, raising an eyebrow and shaking his head at her sheepish smile.

"Yeah, that wasn't actually part of the plan, she just has no self control." Nate told him with a sideways glance.

"I ain't surprised. Right then, day after tomorrow the three of you and the rest of your team will be showing me your mettle, so be sure to make it clear to your rogues what your rules are and how things will go. But, for tonight at least, just enjoy your birthdays. Come find me before midnight." He instructed, turning and starting up the hill. As soon as he was gone, I yelled with excitement, hugging the other two as we celebrated our victory.

"Right, you need to get dressed, and then we need to get drunk."