Pure Animal

ᏟhᎪᏢᏆᎬᏒ ᏆhᎥᏒᏆᎬᎬᏁ

A howl echoed through the clearing. Then a snarl. Claws met fur, teeth met flesh. Blowing Wind struggled to hold back a yelp. Minnow was starting to get good. He saw her hackles stand up as her pupils dilated. The wolf was slowly but surely starting to come out. They had been training for months, and both Freezing Rain and Blowing Wind had enough wounds from Minnow to prove it. The husky that they found all those years ago was all but gone. Instead of a minnow, she was a piranha. Quick and ruthless. She picked up on the slightest disturbance during training but was able to relax when the threat of battle was gone.

Blowing Wind flipped over, landing on top of Minnow. He growled in her ear, "Not so quick little Piranha. I'm not getting down that easily." He nipped at her ear. He was careful not to tear a piece off. That wouldn't make for a good "battle scar" story. He thought. Minnow growled back, trying to force him off of her. Blowing Wind laughed at her efforts which just seemed to make her angrier. She barked, struggling to get out. Blowing Wind scratched at her shoulder, then her belly, finally-after sheathing his claws- he scratched her neck gently. "Dead." He said quietly, knowing full well that the wolf-or as Freezing Rain had dubbed "Piranha"- was still in control. He got off her slowly. Minnow jumped up breathing heavily. Her hackles were still raised. She stalked closer to him seemingly unaware the battle was over.

"Blowing Wind," Freezing Rain warned.

He waved his tail in acknowledgment. "It's ok I got this." He turned his attention back to Minnow. "Piranha, it's time to stop. The battle is over." Blowing Wind barked. Minnow shook her head. As she did this her hackles flattened and her pupils went back to their original size. She looked back at Blowing Wind and whined, "Sorry Blowing Wind. I'll get a handle on this soon." Blowing Wind padded over and affectionately licked her cheek. "It's ok. You're getting there. You've come a long way from the pup you used to be." She barked and wagged her tail. Freezing Rain walked over and wrapped her tail with Blowing Wind's. Not before planting a quick kiss on his lips. "Good job you two, but now I think it's my turn to battle Blowing Wind." Blowing Wind took a step back when he heard her say his name. His eyes widen. "M-me?" He stuttered. She nodded.

"Come on! It'll be fun! I haven't properly attacked something in forever!" Now it was Minnow's turn to look affronted. "Properly attacked something? What about my training?"

"It's not the fact that you're weak Minnow, we just don't want to give you battle scars. Mainly because they wouldn't be battle scars, but training scars and that's boring. Once you've gotten a little better we will start to go harder on you. Blowing Wind, however, is well trained so I can go harder on him than we can on you."

Minnow sighed knowing all of that was true. "Fine, go get her Blowing Wind!" She yipped as she ran out of the clearing. Blowing Wind jumped on Freezing Rain the same time he unsheathed his claws. Freezing Rain jumped out of the way. Blowing Wind landed and knocked the wind out of himself. As he struggled to get it back Freezing Rain jumped on him instead. " You know your muscles bunch up right before you jump right?" She whispered in his ear. She unsheathed her own claws and attacked him. At that point, air rushed into Blowing Wind's lungs. With a burst of adrenaline, he stood up, making Freezing Rain dig her claws in deeper. Then an idea hit Blowing Wind. He could take to the skies instead. He unfurled his wings and jumped pulling them down so quickly he launched into the air. He didn't go as high as he usually would because of Freezing Rain's added weight but he still managed to get higher than the tops of the trees.

Freezing Rain felt this and let her claws plunge deeper into Blowing Winds back. Her heart hammered in her chest as she momentarily forgot that she too had wings. Suddenly she felt them aching to open. She pulled her claws out of his back and allowed them to open taking her higher in the sky. Blowing Wind followed all the while scratching her. She howled and turned to face him. Just then she felt the familiar rush of heat as her body started to catch on fire. She took a breath and allowed that breath to rush out of her like she was blowing on the fire to put it out. She let out a sigh as the heat left her body. Blowing Wind noticed this and backed up as she got control of her fire.