While Anala's words didn't quite have the effect of riling them up, their own irritation at their failures did. They did let out a musical giggle briefly as they avoided the attempt to trip them and Anala commented on it, but then they were back to being intensely focused.

This time, they were going to succeed. Try, try, and try again, right? They were a determined, fierce little fox-child.

Except, apparently, not determined enough. They pouted strongly. "How about... the one who succeeds at the same attack they've been trying first, wins?" Rhapsody suggested. That way, even if it their success wasn't yet, they could still win.

ROUND 3/?

100%

ATTEMPT: Scratch Face with Toxin Claws... Take Three
DEFENSE: Childish Cuteness
INJURIES: N/A

@Anala

ANALA
From a spark to a flame

This was... unlikely. What were the chances that they both failed back and forth so many times? They weren't that evenly matched, were they? That would either be very impressive of the young one or very embarrassing of her.

"If you say so!" She agreed with another playful swipe, this time trying to catch Rhapsody's tail to bring them down. Third time's the charm, and all that. Clearly she needed this spar, given all that had happened.

And then, just as she began to give up hope, she made contact. "Gotcha!" She teased, victorious.

OOC Notes:

ROUND 3/?

100%

ATTEMPT: trip up, alternative form: tail yank!
DEFENSE: harness
INJURIES:

@Rhapsody

Rhapsody tumbled on the ground, tripped up but not by the an attack at their feet. "No fair!" the child proclaimed with a grumble. "That was my tail, not my feet! So it's not the same attack!!" they protested.

That being the case, it was their time to shine, hopefully. Or, at least, scratch that smug face! That had been cheating, grabbing their tail like that. It was only fair that Rhapsody win now.

At their off-balance miss once they had stood, they seemed rather upset. "We're sparring until you sweep me off my feet or I scratch your face," Rhapsody told Anala with resolve, turning their distress into steely determination.

ROUND 4/?

89%

ATTEMPT: Scratch Face with Toxin Claws... Take FOUR
DEFENSE: Childish Cuteness
INJURIES: Tail Yanked

@Anala

ANALA
From a spark to a flame

"It was the same move!" She protested with a chuckle before indulging the child's version of the rules. "But if you insist, She began as she dodged another swipe, "then you've got to be faster!" The wolf laughed as she struck out again, this time, of course, at their legs.

She immediately wished that they had ended the battle there. The whole swiping, dodging and weaving of the battle had led them a decent ways from where they had started, and the concentration required had left Anala none the wiser. She swiped, Rhapsody side-stepped, and Anala lost her own balance, tumbling to the ground. Except, it was not the ground that met her. It was water. The sudden cold was a shock, an onslaught of the senses that she could only call karma for 'cheating' in their fight. It took a moment for her to figure out which way was up again, and by then she was soaked to the bone with barely any air in her lungs.

With a disgruntled heave, she pulled herself back onto the shore, coughing up water. "Talk about swept off MY feet!" She chuckled once she caught her breath, walking back away from the river again. "Let's continue over here? I'm alright now." She steeled herself again, resolving to remain more focused this time.

OOC Notes:

ROUND 4/?

100%

ATTEMPT: leg swipe!
DEFENSE: harness
INJURIES: half-drowned

@Rhapsody

It was a good thing that Anala capitulated, because there was a determined resolve in the fox-child's gaze. "I will be!" the child told the wolf, then watched in bemusement as the wolf proceeded to trip herself into the river.

Though it might've seen obvious to some, the fox-child watched her struggles with confusion. As the wolf finally managed to get out, the child gasped with horrified shock. "You don't have gills?! I thought, since you look a bit like me that... You also had gills," Rhapsody's musical voice was turned sincerely apologetic for not helping, though how the child might have helped is unknown.

Rhapsody observed her coughing up water with concern, but regained their good humor when Anala only made a joke about her fall. "Yeah! It's fine, we'll stay away from water if you can't breathe in it," the child informed Anala.

The child moved over with Anala, then once they both seemed prepared and ready, they lunged for Anala's face to scratch.

Unfortunately... they stumbled a bit still, this time due to their tail twinging. They pouted. One day they'd succeed!

ROUND 5/?

89%

ATTEMPT: Scratch Face with Toxin Claws... Take Five????
DEFENSE: Childish Cuteness
INJURIES: Tail Yanked

@Anala

ANALA
From a spark to a flame

It took a bit for Anala to react to that one. "You do have gills?!" Whatever gills Rhapsody had were clearly well hidden, as Anala would have had no idea if not for the announcement. The distraction was not enough for the hybrid to land a hit, however, as she refocused her attention to see them swing and miss.

Maybe they were both coming down with something, she thought as she returned the attack. They had to be coming down with something, she decided as she slipped on the puddle of water that had resulted from her 'swim'.

OOC Notes:

ROUND 5/?

80%

ATTEMPT: guess. (trip)
DEFENSE: harness
INJURIES: half-drowned

@Rhapsody

Rhapsody gave a cheery nod. "Yeah! They're mostly hidden by my fur. I can't swim that great, since like... My build isn't meant for it, but I've got gills!" Then they paused, thinking the shock of Anala over. "Is that weird?" they wondered.

The child was torn between wincing a bit as Anala slipped on a puddle or feeling victorious that they hadn't officially lost yet. Maybe this was their chance, Rhapsody thought.

Sharp claws on hands scratched at Anala with her face as the target, likely causing some light bleeding. The child probably was about as surprised as Anala by their success. "I did it! I won!" they announced with delight.

But there was something more to their claws then just a minor cut. There was a toxin. It would not harm physically. But it would induce a feeling of euphoric joy, even if for a briefer sort of moment from such a momentary scratch, not really meant to harm properly or dig deep.

Perhaps it was a familiar toxin to Anala, though not because she had felt it before. Rather, she had heard about this toxin, from a friend who possessed it themself.

ROUND 6/6?

89%

ATTEMPT: Scratch Face with Toxin Claws... Take ...SIX????
DEFENSE: Childish Cuteness
INJURIES: Tail Yanked

@Anala

ANALA
From a spark to a flame

Anala righted herself as she responded, shaking her head. "Not weird at all for a hybrid! Just makes me wonder what's in your bloodline since I couldn't see them. Must be handy!"

She was cut off by the sharp sting of claws, followed moments later by a strange feeling. A warm, nice feeling, she admitted, but strange in the sense that it came on seemingly without reason. It was fleeting, thankfully, as she shook her head to clear it. "That might explain it." She began with a smirk, trying for one last not-so-sneaky swipe to make them even. She missed, but didn't care, bursting into giggles.

"You're Doru's, aren't you?" She declared with a smile. Same magic, different gem. Wings, venom, an upright way of standing. Oh god, how tall would this one become? It still left a lot unexplained about them, given that this was definitely not the child she had seen Doru guarding. Who, or what, was their other parent? Maybe she shouldn't be nosy about that, considering Doru's partner that she still had yet to meet. Would it be a sore spot?

She could have been wrong, of course, but she remembered very well what Doru's venom was capable of. It was the only reason they hadn't sparred that day, or planned a spar. She was actually rather glad now that the other hadn't been more successful in their attacks.

OOC Notes:

ROUND 6/6

75%

ATTEMPT: vengeance! (trip)
DEFENSE: list defenses
INJURIES: half-drowned, scratched

@Rhapsody

"Bloodline?" the child repeated, confused, before a part of their brain informed them that bloodline was kind of like the word family. Except not. They weren't sure what parts didn't match with that word, though.

Anala burst into giggles despite losing, and it made the child grin with delight. It might've been an unnerving sight to some, those unnaturally sharp teeth, but it was simply an expression of joy. Thoughts of comparing the word bloodline to family were forgotten.

The child looked baffled by the question, thinking hard to try and understand it. "I don't know a Doru, I don't think," they tilted their head and their big, pointed ears flopped a bit to the side.

@Anala

ANALA
From a spark to a flame

Ah- Was that the wrong word to use? She only meant that she was curious about their hybridization, but she had a bad habit of making things come across wrong.

Rhapsody followed the change in subject, and so did she. "Ah, sorry! I might be mistaken, then. You share some similarities is all, and I thought you might be related." She rambled, backtracking on her statement. It was strange, given the amount the two seemed to share, but she also wasn't going to further question a child who did not recognize their supposed parent's name.

"It's not important, really!" She set the idea aside, turning to the more obvious topic at hand. "It seems we both needed that practice, but I'm sorry I wasn't able to teach you more. I do know other skill, though, like how to stop someone mid-cast, if you wanted to see?" She offered, both a distraction and an effort to prove herself.

OOC Notes:

@Rhapsody