Strength and Water

Solban
And Skoll
Year 755 of the New Age, Autumn
Oakfern - The warren

Solban
Autumn was there, and Solban’s rack had finally taken a proper shape. It was not big yet, but then again, it would probably never become anyway. After 4 years of phyisical and 2 years of magical training, Solban felt strong, strong as a shadowcat. And as it was rut, Solban felt a strong urge to prove this to his surrounding. After beating up a few bucks and stags of his own size, he felt like it was time for a change, time for a real challenge. And where better to find such a challange than in the Warren, were Blackwood stags strolled around in order to find lost does.

The travel to the Warren wasn’t that far from the caves were he lived, but he was not used to being outisde the complicated maze system under the mountain. The first hours, the bright light of the red autumn sun stung and burned in his eyes and the wind felt like a strong force trying to keep him from moving forward.

But he did reach the warren after some hours, the sunset was announcing itself, and Solban knew he had to find a place to rest the night. A big, black, hollow tree provided the answer. He curled up inside of it and quickly fell into a low, almost wakefull sleep.

Skoll
Skoll was so engrossed in fighting and proving his own strength to both stags and does alike that he hadn’t even realized how far he’d ventured from his usual resting place near the Red River, where he could be a comfortable distance between his own home deep in Blackwood, and his mate’s home in Glenmore. Just the thought of Lira’s beautiful pale face made his heart stutter, but in a good way. She was always so happy to see him, and relieved during the rut when the rustling in the bushes was Skoll and not an unwelcome stag. He could practically hear her delicate voice in his head as if she were right in front of him,

“Please be careful this Autumn, Skoll. Don’t get in over your head like you tend to do when you fight. Remember that Fenrir watches you like a hawk and will do just as you do.”

But Skoll’s very young son was no where around on this night, and so Skoll was free to roam and romp about as he pleased. And challenge a stag when he saw one!

The hormones of rut were raging through Skoll’s veins, filling his muscles with sweet adrenaline, and hazing his normally tactful mind. He wanted to charge through the forest, over the mountains, and straight into an enemy’s den, but the setting sun reminded him that even a great Blackwood such as himself was no match for the dangers of the night. And worse yet, thick gray clouds were beginning to creep across the horizon and threaten a storm.

With a sigh, Skoll looked around himself and spotted a thick, towering tree with a gutted base. Before approaching, he lifted his nose to the air and sniffed for any threats, and when he detected none, he trotted towards the mediocre shelter. It was less than impressive, but it would do for keeping him comfortable just for the night until he could find better arrangements in the morning.

Solban
Outside of the hollow tree, Solban could hear some movements, other animals were strolling near his ‘safe’ place. He listened very carefully, trying to smell what was coming closer, but the tree bark smell was too strong, it prevented his nose from detecting anything strange. His big ears twitched from left to right, and he heard it clearly, a big hooved animal came closer and closer… that could only mean one thing. Fawn, but definitely not an Oakfern. For a moment he weighed his chances. He had slept for some time, he had had some food just before he left, he would not grow any stronger than he was now. He just hoped it was a blackwood stag, and not some stupid doe that wandered around alone.

He crept out of the big tree very carefully not to make a sound. He looked around causously, and quickly spotted what his eyes had told him before. A fawnling, a huge one. This was definitely a blackwood boy, the golden rings around his rack shone brightly in the last light of the day. His dark coat showed no signs of lost fights, it was smooth and dark, no big scars. The adrenline started flowing inside of Solban. This stag.. he was perfect, Solban was sure he could easily handle a stupid blackwood like this. He snorted loudly, announcing he was there, scraping one hoof over the ground. Oh he could not wait to feel the warm blood of this big guy flowing into his mouth.

Skoll
There was something off about the gnarled tree, though Skoll couldn’t quite put his nose on it right away. It was more of a feeling in his gut, which he had learned to trust long ago. His brown eyes scanned every inch of the woody form of the shelter, but nothing shouted “out of place” to him. A bit confused and a little curious, he tilted his head to the side and stepped closer, peering into the black hollow in the bark. There was something…

A sudden loud snort made him snap his head around, bristling instinctively. He expected to see a large Glenmore, or maybe another Blackwood upon whirling around, but was surprised more than startled when the only creature before him was a small little stag, with tiny little horns.
Without being able to stop himself, Skoll burst out into a deep, rough fit of laughter that shook his entire bulky frame. He looked down at the stag, flicking his tail in amusement.

“Yes, little stag? Can I help you?” He taunted with a dark gleam in his eyes.

Solban
Solban snorted again, especially when the big dark stag started to laugh loudly. ‘Yes, you can, by getting the hell out of here, filthy Blackwood!’ Solban felt deep hatred when the stag called him small. He hated his small size, even though it came in well inside the oakfern caves, outside in the big bad world, he wished for a bigger body, and also a bigger rack. He looked at the rack of this bulky, huge blackwood. His rack was massive, looking even more impressive because of the golden rings that gave it something extra. His own rack was nothing compared to it, even though he had tried making it look more impressive by hanging a chain between two of the prongs. Solban’s body was lightly built, good for speed, not so good for strength. He knew this fight would be tough, but he could handle it. He growled when the blackwood stag did not start leaving immediately. “GET LOST”’ he yelled. He pushed out his chest, standing strong on all four of his hooves, he swung his head, showing off his small but sharp rack. He looked aggressive, ready to charge towards the big blackwood stag, who was about twice his size. He stamped his hoove on the ground again, this was it… now it was going to happen!

Skoll
How dare you! Skoll felt his blood boil, and could feel the sharp twinge of rage beginning to settle into his muscles. This minature stag had the boldness, for all the world, of an Ice Bear. Skoll couldn’t even remember the last time he’d come across such a mediocre opponent, but had them challenge him right away with hardly an exchange of more than two sentences.

But if this tiny fool wanted to fight, then by Uir, he was going to get one.

Normally Skoll would have taken it easy on a challenger, and only fought with his brawn and tactic, but this Oakfern devil had really jumped on a nerve, and for that, Skoll would not be so forgiving. The enormous, dark stag with decorated horns took a deep breath, filling his chest with fresh, damp air, and allowed his mind to expand outwards,  covering the shadowed ground, creeping across the ferns, and weeds, and fallen leaves. He was searching for a life essence he knew had to be nearby, and when he locked onto it, he grinned with triumph.

Formerly hidden by shadows and foliage, a young Red Fox came trotting out from the underbrush. Its golden-brown eyes were glazed over, and its face was masked by a blank expression, as if the animal’s consciousness was no longer driving it… And it wasn’t. Skoll was all too ready to allow this possessed predator to do its dirty work while he stood at a comfortable distance from the scrawny male before him. He welcomed the ability to use his black magic with open hooves.

Solban
The blackwood stag had an evil, dirty grin on his face that did not please Solban all that much. He scratched his front hoof over the ground and bowed his head so his rack became more clearly visable. This evil stag was apparently not preparing to leave just yet. ‘Good,’ was all Solban thought. He wanted this to be a pure psychical fight, but just to make sure, he stretched out his magical vectors and felt in the surrounding for water, which he could use if things went really, really bad. The blood and adreneline rushed through his veins, his heart was pounding at top speed. His body was preparing, and so was his mind. No more than five meters from where he was standing, he could feel a small pool of groundwater. Cool and refresing for after a fight, a good source of magic for sure.

“Are you planning on leaving yet, or do I need to make you leave?” Solban snorted sarcasticly piercing his ice cold eyes into the dark stag’s. Solban analyzed his opponent; strong body, probably relying on strength more than agility and speed. Soft spot was his nose bridge, but Solban knew he would not be able to hit that point, he knew he was too small. On the other hand, he knew he was small enough to reach his belly, and he knew how badly that could hurt. He noted it in his mind, if he could, he would pierce his small rack as deep inside the soft belly and rip it open… that would be perfect!

Solban was so deep in thought that he did not even notice the red fox coming closer, his nose was filled with the smell of blackwood stag. He did not count on a blackwood using magic, underestimating his opponent was his first mistake, before the battle had even started.

Skoll
“I think I’ll pass, boy,” Skoll replied in a mocking tone. The Oakfern had courage, Skoll had to give him that. Courage never saved your life, though. Strength did.

The only downside of Skoll’s magic was that he wasn’t advanced enough in it to possess control over any animal for extended periods of time, and he knew that. He also knew that in order to manipulate the fox, he had to put all of his focus and energy into his magic, and that could really wear down the mind after a while, especially when it involved something as strenuous as controlling another living creature.

He did, however, have the upper advantage. A quick glance to his much smaller opponent revealed the tiny stag was not looking even remotely in the fox’s direction. Its attention was focused on Skoll, and… its eyes kept jerking over to a puddle close by? Skoll flicked his ears back, feeling a bit suspicious. This was no time to think about drinking water! Did the little stag not know that he was facing a much larger Blackwood stag, and that Skoll was not going to just walk away?

Oh well, it just meant that Skoll was going to emerge the victor more quickly than he thought. With a grunt, Skoll threw his head up, and the fox sprang on agile legs towards the other stag.