The sun was high, plastering the sky with joy. Birdsong had finally arrived and the earth rejoiced—birds called out wildly and other creatures frolicked in the new found warmth. Frostfall had been such a treacherous time for all of Helovia—even the Foothills, a herd land that was not used to harsh winter climates—and even the Dauntless found a great relief in the diminishing snow. Taking a deep breathe of the warm air, he pushed forward with Loretta trotting smoothly at his heels. Archibald was very pleased with his warriors that wished to spar with him. He was pleased firstly with Romani, an ambitious mare. She had much to learn, but he believed she would benefit the Foothills well. The Halflinger would do well. Archibald was also very happy when Locket, an eager pupil, was ready to learn more in the ways of battle. The stallion, speaking in such an odd way, showed interest and desire to excel and protect his herd. Something close to pride swelled in his chest when his warriors were thirsty for the knowledge that the Dauntless stored.

Walking easily towards where Locket had called him, Archibald looked down to Loretta. Their bond was silent, but still she knew his body language and cues when he did not want her to be a part of his battle. Loretta was used to not being used in battles, as Archibald does not let her fight often. Whether or not she was used to the feeling, she sometimes did feel useless, because not all of the fights Archibald had been in were for the same purpose as this. Archibald had fought against the white stallion with the tree growing out of his leg, and she had to watch and do nothing! The pain, from not being able to help her bonded, was agonizing, and she would often bark or snarl on the sidelines. This, however, she had familiarity with—she had sat out of the spar with the palamino mare, and watched as Archibald defeated her with ease, but this time she would not stand idly by. Not feeling his emotions and not hearing his thoughts during battle was too much, so she would hunt. Skillfully the red malamute trotted in the other direction, tail erect as she disappeared in the shadows of the thick trees to find a hunt. Nodding, to nothing more than himself, Archibald turned to face Locket. “Today will be a test—show me your skill and I will not hurt you, I expect you to do the same for me.” A slight smirk would have lit the handsome Chief’s face had it not been for his years of training to stay stoic. “After we have finished, I will evaluate your ability and give you feedback. Perhaps I will give you a task like I did Romani, she had to spar with others and report back to me. Be prepared for that, and willing. The Foothills does not need lazy warriors.” Archibald finished, and took another step forward.

Fluidly, his ears pinned back to his flesh and his neck arched, chin tucking slightly for protection. Without hesitation the Chief’s body surged forward in a thundering canter. As he closed the distance between himself and Locket his eyes narrowed and his head lurched straight out, jaws closing in an hoping to snap over the well-muscled shoulder of the Arabian. The muddy earth gave way under Archibald’s heavy hooves, sending chunks of grass and wet earth flying around him. Locket would have a quick reaction time—his Arabian blood aiding him in speed and agility. Archibald had raw strength on his side, but because of his battle buffs his speed was slightly heightened as well as his reaction time. He doubted, even with the experience and battle buffs, his speed was not equally matching Locket’s and never would be. His mass was far too great.


[WC: 650 | 1/2 | Archibald ran forward and attempted to bite Locket's shoulder. | Archibald will not be using magic or companion.


For a spar that is not intended to cause much harm, I always view it as the same as when my herd plays. They bite or lightly kick areas with lots of muscle(or fat xD) so that they don't cause too much harm. Most "friendly" spars are to see how a character thinks about their attack and building strategy rather than to actually attack and cause harm, and I will illustrate that in my next post.

Opening posts, for me, are often rather dry. However, that does not mean they always have to be--in the rubric there is a lot of points given out for description of the surroundings. First posts are also a time when your character would be noticing breed differences and how they would apply to the fight ahead, for their benefit or not. First posts can also establish a lot of emotion, depending on what the spar is about. You did an excellent job in establishing why Locket wanted to learn about battle and another good thing to build off of that is how he would be able to benefit the herd, going into more detail than "he can defend them" is good, and I think it helps you connect better with a war-type character. When I role played Archibald on Anarore, none of his family was present, so his only duty was to the herd, and I got to express how much defending them and battling for their favor benefited his growth as well as herd growth. They can also establish how companions(if you have them) feel about their character sparring. ]