Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was early. The sun had barely risen, and there was still a chill to the Barrens as the land slowly awoke. This was Ragnar's favorite time of day, with light just spilling over the horizon, the sun still too low to bake them with its ferocious heat. It was still cool enough to do things, which was precisely why he had called on Torsten for an early morning spar.

While waiting for the armor they had commissioned from Dyna, the Warband was mostly grounded in the Barrens. It was not the worst thing. It had given Ragnar more time to train up some of their young warriors, better prepare them for the journey ahead. An added bonus was also the ability to listen in on the conversations flitting through Homewood. The news coming out was that something grim had happened, but he was still trying to get a handle on what exactly had gone down.

Right now, though, that was far from his mind. The striped buck shook his head, loosened his neck and shoulders and he and Torsten walked circling each other in warm up. There was really no better way to prepare for the day, and Ragnar felt it had been too long since his last fight. Sparring was imperative for staying in fighting shape in the stretches between raids.

"It has been a while since we've done this, hasn't it?" Ragnar asked, eyeing his friend with a gleam in his eye.

Long moments ticked by. They took their time warming up, neither willing to risk injury over a moment of misguided impatience. When at last they both felt loose and ready, Ragnar saw Torsten give him an almost imperceptible nod. And it was on.

The striped buck didn't hesitate. He didn't wait, He simply leaped forward, head lowered.

That headshot had clearly knocked Torsten off-balance, but Ragnar would be lying if he tried to pretend that he had escaped totally unscathed too. His head smarted a bit, and he just barely managed to sidestep his friend's attack. Torsten rushed by without landing a solid hit, and Ragnar felt a rush. These early attempts set the tone for the rest of the fight.

He eagerly lunged after Torsten, but whether it was hubris or that mild headache playing tricks on him, he found himself projecting his attack far too early. Torsten saw him coming. The lilac buck whipped around as Ragnar went to kick out with his hind legs, and Ragnar felt himself stumble as Torsten bodily shoved his hindquarters off balance with his shoulder.

"Nice move," Ragnar managed to say, swinging back around to face him.

That kick stung. Through sheer force of will, Ragnar kept himself from stumbling, but he would have to move fast if he didn't want Torsten to take advantage of his temporary drop in defenses. The striped buck reached immediately for his magic, drawing on gift that thrummed within him at all times.

He drew on Well, and a deep cone of water began to rise under Torsten's feet. Ragnar smiled to himself as his opponent began to thrash, trying to escape the water, and he dashed forward, plowing sidelong into Torsten and knocking the buck off balance.

Torsten's kicks landed, and with shoulder smarting, Ragnar danced away, deciding to disengage to buy himself a moment to think. The water he'd summoned had started to seep into the land, but not fast enough. Once again, he drew on his abilities and used spillway to evaporate some of the water - just enough to leave a muddy mess under Torsten's feet.

The lilac buck began to slip, losing his footing as the water became a slippery mess. This was it. Ragnar darted forward and plowed into him again.

Torsten managed to recover quicker that Ragnar had expected. In moments like these, he felt a renewed sense of admiration for his friend's grit. Ragnar shoved back, straining against Torsten. Then he stopped, quite suddenly, skipping backward and disengaging from the struggle in an effort to throw Torsten off balance and create an opening for an attack.

It didn't quite work. Perhaps the lilac buck knew Ragnar too well at this point. All the sudden disengagement managed to do was... simply take Ragnar farther away. Torsten didn't stumble or trip as he'd hoped, and when Ragnar dove back in for an attack, his opponent deflected his horn with ease. He could've sworn he saw a small smile on Torsten's face in that moment.

The idea that he was about to lose had never crossed Ragnar's mind. He had only thought of how close he had come, how tired Torsten was as well, how easily he might slip up.

His opportunity came not a second later, as he flung himself back just barely enough to send his opponent flying by. Before Torsten would have a chance to react, Ragnar ran at him and shoved his chest into Torsten's side, moving with such force that he bowled his opponent clear off his feet.

It was done. Ragnar stood above the fallen Torsten, taking in quick breaths, working to regulate his breathing once again.

"That was a spectacular effort, my friend. You almost had me there."