Practicing with style {Open}

[Rykett]

Skia paraded down from the mountains where she had just received her power from the white wolf, Geist. Stone. It was perfect for. Strong and never moving were the two words Skia would use to describe stone. She looked around, eager to try to use her new power. Skia found herself in the barrens. Little pebbles and small stones were scattered around the landscape. But it was the giant boulders that occupied Skia's attention.

She walked up to one and command, "Move!" Nothing happened. Maybe it was more telepathic. Skia forced all her will-power onto the boulder and mentally commanded it to move. Still nothing happened. Maybe she needed to be touching it. Skia pressed her paw with the symbol for earth against the rock and pushed slightly. Nothing again! Skia rolled her eyes in frustration. Suddenly she remember something that Geist had said about practice. "Practice, my paw!" Skia mumbled. Despite her irritation, she lay down her eyes on a small rock in front of her nose. She focused as hard as she could and ordered, "Up!" Before Skia's eyes, the pebble lifted a couple inches upward before clattering back to the ground as the strain of keeping it in the air became too much for Skia.

(Cascade)

[Cascade]

It was a beautiful day to get away from it all, and where better than a barren wasteland? Peril looked at this place—with its sparse vegetation and dusty hills—and considered it a "fixer upper." With her power of botany she fancied herself the fixer, although life had interfered recently in a big way. She wouldn't trade her pups for anything—at least, not now that they had personalities and were not simply warm, wriggly potatoes on her den floor—but raising them was a full-time job, and parenthood had seriously cut into her practice time with her power. For someone whose power was at a more advanced stage of development this might not be as much of a problem, but Peril's little bundles of joy had come into the world when she was barely able to grow a flower without needing to take a three hour nap to recover from the exertion. It was not like she could just grab a quick training session in between making all those precious memories.

Now that the pups were big enough to entertain themselves and smart enough not to get themselves killed in the process, Peril felt okay taking a mini-vacation to the armpit of the world for a magical duel with the Earth itself. Perhaps that was a bit of an overstatement of her own abilities, but she was pleased to see that the sparse grass beneath her grew green without her needing to expend much mental energy on it. That was flashy, and she liked it. A few blades of grass today, the entire barrens transformed into a lush meadow tomorrow. If anyone could do it, she could...of course, it was entirely probably that no one could do it. Still, no reason not to keep practicing.

Rounding a hill, Peril saw another wolf a little ways away, crouched low to the ground doing god knows what. She was just about to give the unwelcome stranger a wide berth when the flower symbol on her paw caught her eye. It didn't take much to see it from a distance, especially when it glowed right when something popped up into the air, just like Peril's own symbol at the base of her tail, normally hidden by its matching blue shade, glowed green whenever she used her own power. Now this was an encounter she couldn't ignore. An opportunity to outshine another wolf in her own rare category? Peril hadn't had a good "win" in a while, and she could turn anything into a competition. An actual display of skill was too good to pass up.

"Stone, is it?" she greeted, deciding not to beat around the bush as she padded over to the stranger. The pebbles at her paws were the most likely culprit for the mysterious jumping object, and marking on her paw was clearly one of the earth powers. It didn't take a genius to guess.

[Rykett]

Skia enjoyed the feeling of triumph when the pebble had bobbed into the air. Such a feeling she hadn't felt for quite a while though it did come with some exhaustion. She focused on the pebble again, willing it to lift into the air once again. As the pebble started to wobble, Skia ears pinned back at the sound of another wolf's voice. She looked up, half-startled and half-angry to be interrupted in such a isolated area. So now there was another thing to add to her frustration; her failure to detect another wolf. Skia stood hastily, refusing to have her head lower than the blue female's.

"What other power could lift pebbles? Of course, it's stone!" she snapped in response to wolf's question. She studied the wolf. No mark of power was visible, but Skia could see muscles beneath the blue fur. Skia was glad to have an advantage over the female. If it came to a fight, which usually happened eventually, Skia felt confident that she would be the victor. "Can you say that you can lift stones just by looking at them?" Skia challenged in an exasperated tone.

(Ugh, I haven't really played Skia enough to make of the best of posts. So forgive me if it takes a while at times to make a post such as this...)

[Cascade]

Peril raised an eyebrow at the stranger's snappy tone, but dismissed it. From the looks of it, she was a newcomer to the realm of magical powers and Peril herself was no stranger to the frustration that came along with those first clumsy attempts. "I didn't mean anything by it," she said with a shrug, not wanting to offend the wolf and scare her off before she could display her own superior might, "I can't say that I can; stones are more of my mate's thing. My thing is a little more...elegant." Truthfully, Peril didn't care at all about the elegance of her power, but anything to give herself a quick ego boost before the big show.

She didn't want to guess too much at the alliance of a wolf based on stereotypes, but she had seldom met a red and black wolf who wasn't dark-hearted. Well, aside from her own son of course, but he was clearly an exception for being adorable. Her harsh demeanor along with her harsh appearance led Peril to think that she might be evil, but she didn't want to make too many assumptions right away.

"I could give you a little demonstration of the basics if you want," It was a lie of omission that she neglected to mention that 'the basics' were all she had in her arsenal, but that was a pesky detail, "Wha'daya say? A little friendly competition?"

[Rykett]

Skia looked distrustfully at the other wolf. Her thing... She acted like she owned a power but Skia still couldn't find a symbol. Skia rolled her eyes. Maybe the wolf was bluffing but something in the female's smile warning Skia of something that she'd missed. She dismissed the feeling. Despite her disbelief that this wolf actually had a power, Skia wondered what she meant by her 'thing' and what she meant by her mate's 'thing.' Skia decided to humor the wolf, if only for this competition that she suggested.

"I don't see why not," Skia said unable to hide the tone of mocking behind her words, "Show me the basics as you call them. I can out-do anything you throw at me." Skia gave a smirk to the blue female. What am I saying? I can barely lift a pebble off the ground! This isn't the moment to challenge a possibly powered wolf. The part of Skia's mind that was protesting against the challenge was the part that Skia usually ignored. She took a step forward as she looked down at a stone an inch in front of her paw, preparing to lift it much higher than Skia had previously accomplished.

[Cascade]

Peril smirked lightly as the wolf fell into her trap. Okay, it wasn't so much falling into a trap as it was a semi-cordial conversation between two fellow wolves, but she was not one to deny herself the pleasure of unnecessary theatrics. Now, how to carry out the most awe-inspiring display...

She didn't have to go out on a limb to figure that this wolf wouldn't be impressed by green grass and pretty flowers. What was a tough plant? Casting a few glances to her surroundings for some quick inspiration, Peril spotted a thorny shrub near their feet. Focusing hard on making something, anything happen, the shrub began to vibrate back and forth, as though infested with bees. Slowly, the previously-unseen mark at the base of her tail revealed itself, glowing more brightly until it was a vibrant green. From the roots of the shrub, a thorny vine appeared and began to snake its way across the ground. She didn't quite have the finesse needed to make it look natural, but she hoped the somewhat jerky motions of the vine could be passed off as a purposeful effort, perhaps to make it more menacing.

When the vine had stretched its way across, fully separating the two wolves, Peril shot a smug glance at Skia. "It's a slow grow," she said, "But speed isn't needed when you have the element of surprise." The vine began wriggling itself back and forth like an insect, pushing aside the loose, dusty soil of the ground until it was covered and mostly unseen. "See? Perfect, inconspicuous tripwire. All you need to do is wait for someone to come close and SNAP!" Peril sorely hoped that this wolf wouldn't ask for a demonstration of the moment of capture. Creating the thing had been difficult enough to give her an achy muscle in her neck, and she didn't want to overexert herself and look out of breath.

[Rykett]

Skia waited for the female to do something. She watched carefully as the blue wolf focused on a bush. Skia looked at the bush but couldn't figure out why the wolf was so intent on it. As the bush buzzed, Skia wonder whether there was a giant wasp's nest inside that the other female had noticed. Then why didn't she say something about the danger that the wasps might explode out to attack. Skia couldn't fight an insect swarm. She imagined herself snapping at it but making no dent in the overpowering numbers.

As the bush writhed into growth, Skia felt a sort of relief that no swarm of bugs was about to cause her more pain than any wolf had. The relief turned to surprise as Skia realized she was watching a power at work. She looked at the female that was probably the commander of the thorn bush's movements. Sure enough, there was the mark of earth glowing green. It occurred to Skia that the symbol's color must cause it to blend into the fur.

Whenever Skia had imagined the power of botany, the plants grew out of the ground quickly and eager to fulfill their master's orders. Skia thought that the wolf probably had more room for improvement when she described the bush's rapid growth as slow. The feat of lifting pebbles suddenly seemed so weak in comparison to the female's control over the bush. Skia scowled mentally refusing to lose quietly. "What else can you do with a bush?" she put a mocking accent on the word 'bush' as if to show that plants were not helpful.

Time to show what I can do, Skia focusing on the greenish brown pebble she previous picked out to lift. She decided not give any order out loud and just project it telepathically. Move! The stone wobbled in response. Up! The speck of rock bobbed a couple inches into the air. Higher! It began to slowly rise. Skia's strength and willpower was disappearing. She found herself resisting the urge to pant from exhaustion. The pebble was at almost at eye level when Skia lost her hold on it and it dropped to the ground.

[Rykett]

(Cascade Sorry for the double post, but I wasn't sure if tagging worked in edits.)

[Cascade]

Peril could tell that the stranger was trying hard to hide how impressed she was. Or maybe it was her ego telling her that, but either way she felt a surge of pride. At the stranger's question, she laughed. She couldn't do things very big or very fast, but if there was one thing she had no lack of, it was creativity. "What can't you do with a bush?" Peril asked innocently, "The sky's the limit, really. Even if you can't do anything big and flashy yet, you can put yourself ahead of an opponent by outsmarting them. Coming up with something they'd never think of in a million years and taking them by surprise when they completely fail to plan for it." She looked off to the side, "Honestly, I'm almost not looking forward to developing my power further because I worry it'll make me lazy. Once I can grow a tree from seed to branch in a minute, I won't need to get creative."

She stopped and observed the display that was being put on before her. A pebble shot up once again, but this time it hung in the air, bobbing up and down as the stranger clearly expended quite a bit of effort in keeping it up. Peril subconsciously patted herself on the back for her own perceived superiority, but looked approvingly at the pebble. "Not bad, not bad at all."

[Rykett]

"Not bad doesn't mean great." Skia wished she could do more with her power. You would think that getting a power would feel empowering, but Skia felt the opposite. She had always been one of the best fighters due to her large build and years of picking fights. Now with a power, she would be against a different group of wolves. Those that had a power, a group that Skia used to avoid because she rather not experience the embarrassment of losing against one. This outcome in a fight was probable since the opponent would have a power. Now that Skia had a power of her own, she had no excuse to keep avoiding other powered wolves. That was except for the fact that she was so weak with her power. Skia was so frustrated that she couldn't control pebbles the way that this blue female controlled her plants. But, Skia reassured herself, They are just plants. My rocks can crush plants if I ever get better at handling them.

It was satisfactory to think of her pebbles destroying that bush. This blue wolf was being to nice. If their roles had been reversed, Skia would've been boasting of her own skill and criticizing the other wolf's inability. This wolf was definitely not evil. Skia was wondering whether it be a good idea to pick a fight with this wolf. Though her skill with her power was greater, her power was still just plants. What did Skia have to fear from them compared to the teeth and claws of any wolf? "What about a head on fight? Something that slow would do you nothing. Even if you can delay and avoid a fight, it still comes to fighting eventually."

[Cascade]

"Not bad means not bad. You can't expect to be great when you're just starting out, so don't be too down on yourself." At the mention of a fight, Peril shrugged. "I don't know about that, I'm not too much of a fighter myself. I've found my power useful for setting snares to catch myself some dinner, that's good enough for me so far. I guess if it really came down to a fight I would...run back to the Honovi with my tail between my legs and hope that Treason or Perjury would scare them off?" She laughed. Living on her own, she had gotten into a few scraps out of necessity for survival and thoroughly hated it. She was big and stocky for a female, but fighting was one thing she had no competitive drive for. That was a big reason why she joined the Honovi, for the security of knowing that she had a pack—two packs—behind her if she ever found herself in trouble.

[Rykett]

Skia couldn't hold back a snort of contempt. Great, so this female turned out to be no more than a coward. She used her power to do stuff that she could already do. Hunting came so easily that Skia could hardly imagine that snares could do a better job than her own teeth and claws. This she-wolf relied on others to fight her battles. Actions such as this seemed so alien to Skia especially with powers. Just to think of running from a fight when one had a power.

Skia decided that this 'friendly' competition wasn't going anywhere. This wolf obviously wasn't a servant of darkness, though neither was she a wolf of light. She wasn't an ally to Skia at all. If anything she might become an obstacle, a powered wolf that stood in the way of Skia and the power within this valley that the blood-red wolf deserved. "I think we're done here," Skia said in a dangerous tone, "Cowards don't earn any respect from me. Neither do they deserve my politeness." The evil wolf flashed a malicious smile. Usually Skia wouldn't try to pick fights with powered wolves, but this time Skia was confident that the blue female's power wouldn't protect her from teeth and claws. Besides, Skia needed to vent some of her frustration about the weakness of her power.

[Cascade]

Peril snorted at Skia's hurt feelings. "So touchy." She said, "Sorry that I'm not interested in throwing my life away over something as pathetic as flowers vs. pebbles. You call it cowardice, I call it actually having priorities." She wasn't sure if this wolf was actually going to fight her, but she made her mental calculations with plans for the worst. She could see the edge of the heathlands from here, so they were in the north barrens; not far from the bluffs. If she ran, she could probably make it.

"Look." Said Peril, trying to de-escalate the situation somewhat, "It's clear that we don't agree on how we live our lives. But how much trouble would it be for you to pick a confrontation with everyone you crossed paths with who didn't see eye to eye with you on everything? Besides, I'm more trouble than I'm worth. I might not be able to beat you down, but my alphess could do it with ease no matter how many pebbles you flicked at her. And I've heard from the alphess of the Frigid Plague—our ally—that she has been wondering what it's like to flay a wolf alive, she's just looking for a just cause that will allow her to do it. Revenge is a very just cause in her eyes. So why trouble yourself?"

[Rykett]

Skia picked a fight with almost every wolf she met. If they didn't share her goals, they didn't deserve her mercy, not that she was merciful to those of evil who fought against Skia. The alphesses that the she-wolf had mentioned held some sway with Skia. She wasn't ready to confront an alphess. Frigid Plague was well-know to wolves of evil. Skia had no doubt that the alphess of such an evil pack wouldn't hesitate to destroy another wolf, especially if they were in a mood as bad as Skia was right then. If she was going to fight this she-wolf, Skia would need to take extra care that one of two things had to happen. One, Skia couldn't leave a trace of this looming battle. Or two, Skia could loose. Loosing was not an option. What was the point of fighting if Skia purposely lost? None whatsoever.

"If you just disappear, they'll never know," Skia said, tensing her muscles in preparation for this fight. According to what the female had said earlier, she would run if it came to fighting. Considering Skia's speed, she'd never catch up. Best to attack soon rather than later Despite this logic, Skia waited. It would be slightly amusing to hear the female's last words. Last words were always the sweetest words in Skia's ears. They often spoke of the loved ones that'd never see one another again. Sad to any other wolf, but to Skia it was enjoyable to think of the life she'd just ripped from another wolf.

[Cascade]

Peril furrowed her brow. She had gotten herself into quite a serious situation, and all over bushes and pebbles. In the back of her mind she wondered if this was somehow karma for always taking things too far competitively. If she were a year younger and didn't have pups waiting for her at home, she probably would not have hesitated to put her life on the line for this power struggle. But alas, she had mouths to feed and a mate who probably was not too keen on her mysteriously disappearing. She'd have to find a way out of this alive somehow.

"Okay hold on, let's talk about this. You can't just make me disappear, someone would find the blood or the body and you would—" Peril ran. In the middle of her sentence, she took off like a shot from a gun. She couldn't fight, so the only option was to run, and she wasn't about to broadcast that decision and give Skia time to react. With any luck, she could put enough distance between them to reach the Honovi lands, or at least get to somewhere more populated where Skia's 'make her disappear' plan would fall flat. As she ran, she had to admonish herself for her bad decisions. Picking a fight with a wolf in a place where there was hardly any vegetation to lend her her only advantage was not the smartest thing she had ever done.