The Lapdog and the Wolf [Ares]

For a while, the wind and the leaves were the only sounds in the clearing. Even the usual night chorus of bug Pokemon was quiet for the time, leaving Summer to study the stars and watch clouds roll across the face of the moon in peace. That peace was abruptly shattered as a baleful cry echoed through the air--another howl. The familiar sound snapped Summer out of her reverie, and she leaped to her feet, gaze darting across the clearing's edge. She was frozen, not even daring to breathe. The thick hackles of fur running down her spine were raised in unease, and her tail was stiff but for the arrowhead-tip, which twitched back and forth intermittently. She knew her own kind, and there was no mistaking that another Houndoom had sent up the call.

Her immediate thought was that it was someone from her homeland, the rocky foothills beneath the Frozen Rise, and an icy knot of apprehension twisted her guts. Her brother had thrown her out of the clan, threatening to tear her to pieces if she ever showed her face in their territory again. Yet this was about as far from their range as she could be, why would anyone bother hunting her down all the way here? It was illogical, but the funny thing about fear was that it didn't care about logic. She couldn't shake the chilling feeling that she was the hunted here, not the hunter as she was so used to being. It wasn't a pleasant experience at all.

The lithe female sniffed the air, but the wind made it difficult to catch any scent at all, let alone discern where the other Pokemon was. She certainly didn't intend to answer the bay, even with the challenging edge it had carried. Whoever was out there was looking for a fight, and if they wanted to play tough and stake out the woods as theirs, she wouldn't rise to the bait.

Her posture was stiff-legged and uneasy as she slunk away from the meadow's center, making for the comforting shadows underneath the trees, where she could more easily hide. Now she regretted travelling so far from Colbagne. Which direction had she come from? She had lost her orientation when she was startled, and these woods were unfamiliar to her. It would be just her luck if she escaped a would-be aggressor only to end up lost. She paused and looked around, trying to find a path or other landmark she could use to orient herself, when her eyes fell upon a dark form not far from her position. Moonlight gleamed on the same raked-back horns and bony armor adorning her own body, and her breath caught in her throat. The other Houndoom looked like they were facing away from her, but they were still far too close for comfort, especially when they crooned tauntingly to the darkness. Oh yeah, they were definitely looking for her, which meant she definitely didn't want to be found. Summer went low, her belly brushing the leaf litter, and did her best to crawl away as quickly and quietly as she could--pity for her the two didn't go well together.

@ares

In truth, she hadn't really been expecting to be able to get away so easily. Nevertheless, she still flinched as the male's voice, dripping with contempt, froze her in place. For a moment, she considered bolting, hoping to catch him by surprise and use those few precious moments to outpace him if he gave chase. The idea galled her, though. Was she really so afraid of her own kind as to flee from them without a word?

Slowly, she straightened up, keeping her eyes locked to him. Her head was held level with her body as she eyed him warily, the motion not aggressive, but not supplicative either. She was sizing him up like a beast assessing a possible threat. He was bigger than her, with horns that raked back sharply. Several faded scars adorned his body, with the most noticeable being three deep marks over his muzzle, cutting into his lip. Scars were a common sight among her tribe, often shown off as badges of honor, but she couldn't help but wonder what kind of encounter had left him with such a grisly wound--or what kind of fighter he was if he had been able to come away from it.

To her relief, at least, he wasn't anyone she knew from her tribe, nor did he seem to recognize her. That hopefully ruled out the possibility he was here on her brother's behalf, but that didn't mean he wasn't still a threat. Indeed, there was nothing but scorn in his voice as he spoke, and a wince briefly broke through her scowl as he insulted her. "I'm not pathetic," she replied, quiet and sullen, "I'm just not looking for a fight, is all." Summer cocked her head, regarding him with flinty eyes. "Are these your woods, or do you just like to go around waylaying others for fun?"

@ares

He might not have hailed from her tribe, but his swaggering manner certainly reminded her of them. They would have scorned her for trying to escape an altercation like this too. Her lips tightened at his offhanded dismissal, muzzle wrinkling without quite becoming a proper snarl yet, even when he insinuated that he wasn't the worst thing these woods could have produced. "Oh?" she drawled disdainfully, "Then I suppose I ought to thank you for finding me before 'someone worse' did? I think I can take care of myself." In contrast to her guarded posture, he seemed perfectly at ease, but it was a tactic she had seen before. A fight for dominance wasn't always an actual battle; body language and intimidation could be just as effective. Before, when she ran with the pack, she wouldn't have contested such bids, but this was different. The guild was her "pack" now, and this hound wasn't her guildmaster.

She remained standing even as he sat back languidly. With a soft scoff, a puff of steam rose from her nostrils, a product of the caustic flames that churned in her gut. "Funny, I could have sworn all of this belonged to that king fellow..." The mention of hunting other Pokemon didn't disturb her as deeply as it might have a townie, but at his idle threat to do the same to her, her head lifted abruptly, and already-oversized hackles rose just a bit more. Her tail's nervous swishing grew more pronounced, but she didn't back down just yet. "I already told you I'm not looking for a fight," she rumbled, "But that doesn't mean I won't defend myself. Besides," she added, a slightly-unsure smirk on her lips, "if a member of the explorers' guild were to go missing in 'your' woods, you might bring down unwanted attention on yourself."

Privately, she wasn't at all sure how the guild would react, if at all, if one of their new recruits went missing, but he didn't have to know that.

@ares He managed to make her get all prickly a lot faster than I expected she would, but I'm having fun lol

Her bristling posture wilted slightly as he responded to her threat with feigned terror, clearly not intimidated in the slightest. He finished his mockery with a snarled threat of his own that made her gulp nervously, the steely glint of determination in her eyes faltering noticeably. With almost-feline grace, he rose from his spot and began to stalk towards her, prompting her to take a few steps backwards as her nerve finally cracked. Summer growled in warning as he drew closer, but it was glaringly obvious that her attempts at aggression weren't accomplishing much.

As he continued to approach, steadily closing the distance between them despite her backwards stumbling, the she-hound's heart was beginning to race. Her eyes darted about, seeking an escape from the now potentially-dangerous situation she had found herself in. She was pretty fast, maybe she could make a break for it--better to get away with her bruised pride than not get away at all.

As her eyes went back to her aggressor, however, something shifted inside her. For a brief moment, his smirking visage was replaced by the face of another, one much more familiar. A face that had tormented her since their puppyhood, graduating from bullying her off the scraps of food their parents would bring them to lording newly-won leadership over her and their fellows. Coward, he would call her. And every time she had just taken it.

The Houndoom's legs were trembling. She was terrified, and looking back on the moment, she still couldn't explain why she had suddenly decided to act with such utter lunacy. But even the most timid of beasts, when cornered and pushed to their limit, would lash out.

Summer's backwards steps suddenly reversed as she instead quickly strode forward, closing the last few feet of distance between them. Shoulders were rolled forward as she did so, and her neck curved sharply, bringing her horns to bear. If she was successful in what she intended to do, the silence of the night would be broken by a rattling clash as their horns came together, leaving their eyes scant inches from the other's. There was an answer to his challenge glowing in her eyes now, a spark of unexpected and momentary courage that she was almost afraid to let go of, lest she allow herself to realize just how painfully stupid she was acting.

"After the threats you've been making?" she growled, "Pretty scared."

@ares cackles

She saw it. She had caught him off-guard for a moment--but only for a moment. His brief look of surprise grew into an almost deranged-looking grin, with wrinkled muzzle and bared teeth mocking her own snarl. If anything, he practically approved of her sudden backbone, albeit in a way that reminded her of a Persian toying with a little captured bird, batting it about as long as it was still moving.

She only growled at his sardonic praise, spreading her feet across the loamy soil for traction as he pushed back against her horns. Her neck was stiffened as she fought to hold her position against the larger Houndoom, and her hindclaws were digging deep into the dirt. Putting all her effort into pushing forward proved to be her undoing, for he suddenly shifted his weight backwards, leaving her without the support to throw her weight against. She stumbled forward a couple of inches before she could catch herself, leaving her open to his violent counterattack.

Most Pokemon with horns were built to be able to use them, but even so, their heads collided with enough unexpected force to send Summer reeling backwards as starbursts of color exploded behind her eyes. She only barely managed to avoid pitching over by splaying her legs out and doing her best to stay upright while the forest stopped tilting wildly around her. She was stunned, but could dimly hear his derisive challenge. No, she wasn't out yet. Summer braced herself and shook her head back and forth, doing her best to dispel the dizziness plaguing her. "Right..." she growled quietly, glaring in his direction. Her turn.

Summer whipped about to face him once more, tail slicing the air behind her. There was no hesitation before she charged him once more, bringing her horns down to bear. Rather than lock crowns with him again, however, Summer's ram was aimed lower, for his chest--right where his skull-shaped "medallion" grew. A bash to the sternum was a good way to knock the wind out of an opponent, assuming one could land the hit in the first place.

@ares

So, how do you picture this going down? I was thinking that they fight hard for a few posts, but end up in a stalemate. Ares could probably take her down eventually, being the more-experienced fighter, but she'd still do her best to hold her own, so the potential injuries might not be worth it to him, unless you want to go all the way.