The Wulf circled back and stilled, just watching Vidar think and move. He waited, inviting the warrior to make his move.
Romulus watched with a smile on his face. The Wulves were some of the best allies they had, and he was always excited when another one entered service in his close proximity.
He was also interested to see how long it would take Vidar to realize he would have to beat the Wulf at his own game in order to gain a submission.
(sorry it took me so long for so short an answer. Im half asleep)
Vidar glanced at the wulf and stilled as well. He gazed at the wulf. The wulf was strong, that much was clear. Vidar wasn't. He spat out a bit more of blood and hummed as he glanced at the wolf, and without thinking, he just rushed forward, leaped up, and slammed his head against the wulf's head. He used his momentum to cling to the giant wulf's fur, and flung himself away from the beast. He rubbed his head and grinned wolfishly, "This is fun, not going to lie."
The Wulf made a noise of… approval? as Vidar charged him head on. Their skulls collided, and the Wulf tossed his head, turning Vidar's jump away from him into a tumbling, spinning ragdoll movement.
Romulus grinned right back at Vidar. "Good! I'd be concerned otherwise."
The black Wulf flashed, his body seeming to blur, and his thick tail cracked against the back of Vidar's knees, before a dinner-plate sized paw landed against his back with the force of a falling boulder as the Wulf leapt back over him.
It certainly should have been impossible for something his size to move that quickly, but Romulus just chuckled. "They do that…"
Vidar seemed to balance himself out after his jump had turned into a spin. If there was one impressive thing about Vidar, it was definitely that he had control over his movements and balance.
When the wulf's thick tail smacked against his knees he made a surprised noise, catching himself when the wulf shoved him forward with a massive paw. His eyes were alight with excitement as he adjusted himself once again and got up to face the prince for a brief moment. "Do what? The speed? It makes sense." He grins and returns his attention back to the wulf. He looked pleased, to say the least. This was definitely a lesson he liked.
Romulus nodded. "Usually with more teeth involved, but I think he likes you."
The Wulf growled, and reared up on its hind legs like it was about to charge. Except, its fore legs never came back down.
There were a series of loud, rapid pops, and the black Wulf's physiology changed. Hind legs lengthened, posture became more erect, fore legs became more arm-like.
Within a second or two, Vidar was looking at a bipedal beast. Digitigrade legs, standing easily 13' tall, and hands in place of paws. The Wulf snarled at him, and lunged, the movement sending his shoulder into Vidar's midsection. His massive hands gripped Vidar's, and it was clear why Romulus had used the word 'wrestle'.
The Prince raised his eyebrows. He'd seen a few Wulves with this ability, but they were all from the Alpha family. Ruir must have grabbed a brother or son or something, because here he was.
"Huh. They do that too."
Vidar nodded before his eyes widened at the noise before his head whipped over to the wulf and he grinned a bit. He was learning so much from this and it was absolutely fascinating.
A started bark from Athene echoed around the cave but she stayed where she was. She looked slightly worried now, but she didn't dare move from her spot.
Vidar, however, was the opposite of anxious, even as the wulf lunged at him and grappled him into a wrestling position. Despite being smaller, he used his size to his advantage. That was fine. He had a wild look in his eyes as he let out almost a howling noise before thrusting a leg forward, and once again, slipping between the beasts legs, pulling the wulf forward and down. He used mostly his momentum, and the fact that the wulf was larger by almost 3x's his height.
The Wulf simply stood up straight. He manhandled Vidar out from between his legs before he could slide through, and back into a standing position, nearly dislocating Vidar's wrists in the process. He didn't let go of his grip, and by stepping back a pace, he put his entire body into a pushing match. His grip wasn't going to relax anytime soon, it seemed.
Romulus was curious as to why Vidar hadn't used punches or kicks or any real kind of combat other than dodging and evasion. He'd tried the pressure points, but nothing replaced a solid punch across the face. He also desperately wanted to yell that the Wulf still had some of the usual weaknesses of a canid. Like a sensitive nose, both in smell and to being touched. But it wasn't his place. Vidar would have to figure it out on his own.
He was doing well, all things considered.
The main reason Vidar had been on the defensive for the most part was because of the fact that he wanted to see everything the wulf could do. There was this eagerness in his eyes that replaced everything else. The entire time he had been wrestling the wulf he had the barest of smiles until recently. This entire encounter was incredible in his eyes. It was no wonder that these wulves were used as war mounts and messengers. They were fast, cunning, strong… It was incredible.
He let out a breathless laugh when he was thrown back into the grapple, barely wincing at the pain thrown at him. He was practically delirious with excitement before he let out a yell that sounded completely wild and proceeded to throw himself forward with as much strength as he could muster and proceeded to once again headbutt the wulf square on the nose.
Romulus nodded in encouragement as Vidar absolutely clocked the black Wulf in the nose. Ruir rumbled something that sounded like approval as well.
The black Wulf let go of his grip with one hand, a snarl ripping involuntarily out of his throat as his sensitive nose took the full force of the attack. He swiped at Vidar, but it was a glancing blow. Prodigiously strong, but it mostly missed, as the Wulf was seeing stars for a moment.
Vidar used the black wulfs imbalance to his advantage. While the wulf was still holding onto one of his hands, when the wulf swiped and missed, Vidar quickly moved to knock out the other leg with a strong kick to the weak point of the wulf's leg. He was brutal in his movements, using the strength that he had to take the wulf down while the wulf was still confused. He glanced at Romulus and in his eyes, there was the killer many had talked about for just a flash of a second. His expression was completely wild, blood dripping from his lips, a wolfish grin on his face. But he then paused and the expression turned neutral and an eerie calm flashed over his expression.
Romulus had to smile. So far, he'd seen a very mild man in Vidar, and he'd begun to wonder if this guy was a tea-drinker in every aspect of his life, after all.
The look on his face, even for a brief moment, was a relief.
The Black Wulf started to topple, still had a grip on Vidar, so he used it to take his weight. He twisted Vidar's arm so that it wound up in front of his chest, and when he fell, he landed with most of his weight pinning that wrist to Vidar's chest, as they both went down. He was big enough that his weight pinned Vidar, at least momentarily.
Rather than a clawed swipe, his next attack was a series of closed-fist punches, aimed at Vidar's face.
Vidar was trained not to show emotion when it came to fighting, it was considered a weakness by his mentor. But- this. This wasn't a mission to kill. He could do as he pleased. He was as wild as he wanted to be, and that was the point. That was the point of fighting against this wulf. Not only to gain a mount and a possible companion but to learn the ways of the wild. Vidar grunts when he's pinned down. He misses the first few punches before he leans forward and bites the wulfs nose hard before using his strength to roll the massive wulf over and return the blows.
The Wulf snarled loudly, and rolled onto his back. Vidar had no time to return the punches before the Wulf threw him off, sending him rolling across the dirt. Jumping the creature where his limbs could reach was a bad idea, as he was stronger than Vidar on pretty much every front. His physiology left his back open, though, if Vidar could get behind him.
However, the Wulf was no idiot, and thus there had been no chance to take his back so far in the fight. However, the unintended result of the bite was a nosebleed. A small one, sure, but a nosebleed nonetheless.
The Wulf watched Vidar get up and circled. He flexed his hands, careful to keep his claws pulled back.
He sneezed blood, and Vidar had a split second to act where the Wulf was distracted.
(Hello! I'd like to apologize. Some family drama occurred and I wasn't doing well. I will respond shortly!)
(hey, no problem buddy. take it easy, respond when you can. no pressure!)
(And!!! I'm officially back lmao)
Vidar certainly rolled and sat up with vigor and excitement as he glanced back at the Wulf and lunged. He was as quick as lightning, adrenaline shooting through his veins. When the powerful wulf sneezed blood, he feinted to the right before sweeping to the left and leaping onto the Wulf's back. He was in a position where he could easily hold on, and avoid the strong limbs of the Wulf below him. His eyes were wild as he placed some well-aimed fists into a) various pressure points, and b) a few solid punches to various weak points along the body. He looked ravenous, and the wild look in his eyes was a sight to behold.
Vidar loved every second of this. The fighting, the lessons, the wild nature of the wrestle. While he was small, he was fast, he was deadly, and he had every intention to assess and to learn.
The Wulf knew he couldn't reach Vidar back there, so he rolled several times, using his bulk to squash the smaller fighter against the ground.
The punches did next to nothing, his insane musculature protecting any pressure points from being helpful to an opponent, his weak points being too differentiated from human weak points as to be impossible for Vidar to know just yet.
In fact, as long as he was breathing, he would keep wrestling.
The Wulf was unable to shake Vidar, even with the roll, so he stood and back into one of the rocks near the den, slamming his back against it and smashing the clinging human once again.
Romulus leaned forward, watching. Vidar was good, and if he could get the chokehold, he'd have this fight won. It was a matter of the man figuring that out before the Wulf crushed him.
Vidar grunted faintly when he felt the wulf's strong body nearly crushing him, but he did not relent in his grip, and he did not deter from his mission. His eyes fell on the wulf's neck, and he clambered up carefully, trying to avoid getting crushed in the process. He noticed the wall incoming and that gave him just enough time to leap up and wrap his arms around the wulf's neck to avoid getting crushed. He dug his arm into the windpipe of the beast. While he was having the time of his life, and he loved learning, he could feel the adrenaline in his body pulsing, which meant it was time to end things as quickly and as cleanly as possible.
There. He'd got it. Romulus smiled as the Wulf reached up and tried to pry Vidar's arms loose. He was unsuccessful, and without using his claws to slice Vidar's arms, there was no getting out of this one.
The gathered Wulves gave low rumbles or growls, noises of approval, and the Black Wulf dropped down to all fours, signaling he was done trying to fight it. It would be Vidar's call whether he held the choke all the way to unconsciousness or not.
The Wulf was standing, for now, but his legs would buckle soon.
(Finals are kicking my ass, holy shit. But hello!)
Vidar grinned ear to ear, a wild look in his eyes. He knew that if this were a life or death match, he'd probably lose to the great Wulf's claws, but it was not. It was a test. He did not let go when the black wulf dropped onto all fours, keeping a steady grip. However, he did not choke the wulf until he was utterly unconscious. Instead, he slowly slipped off and allowed the beast to breathe.
Suddenly, he was leaped on from behind, Athene sensing that the fight was over for now, leaped at her companion, licking his face as he laughed and rolled around with her, ruffling her fur gently before standing and facing the black wulf and bowing his head. "Thank you for the opportunity to learn from you." A suitable companion, in his opinion. An ally that matched his weaknesses with strengths.
(youre ok! I'm happy to answer whenever you're good to do so :)
The Black Wulf took a deep breath, and shifted down from its bipedal form to the huge Wulf form. It watched with almost an amused expression as Athene jumped Vidar.
When his conquerer bowed, the Wulf lowered his head, keeping it below Vidar's at all times, an intentional sign of submission. He held eye contact the entire time as well.
Romulus spoke up. "Now is your opportunity to name him. He has a name, but this is the moment in his life where you can ask for his, or change it. Whatever you name him lays claim to him. Your call. Just… be respectful. Don't call him Fluffy or something like that." The Prince snickered. Ruir would have actually tried to kill him if he'd done any such thing.
The Black Wulf waited, his tail moving just slightly as he prepared to be claimed by Vidar.
Vidar kept eye contact with the black wulf. He looked back at Romulus when he spoke up before chuckling and returning his attention to the black wulf before him. He hummed and gently reached up, touching the black wulf's snout. He hummed as he tilts his head in thought before he smiled a little and removes his hand. "A name is a name. A name bestows honor." He says simply. His parents had named him Vidar with the idea of their son being a warrior. And that's what he became.
"What is your name?" He asks softly, never lowering his gaze to the wulf's. He was never good with names, he feared that he would name the wulf something unworthy of his strength. That was the last thing that Vidar wanted to do. Insult the very wulf that agreed to become his companion.
