Sirus was watching her from a defensive stance, steely grey eyes watching her, "You're not half bad I'll give you that." he said softly. "But I'll also admit sparring in human form was never my strong point."
Gwen smiled a little at the unexpected compliment and gave a small nod, still keeping her eyes on him as she got back to her feet. ”Thanks. You're pretty good yourself.” she replied, speaking just as softly as he did.
"I would hope to be," he said, waiting for her move, "After all I am a bounty hunter and a lone half wolf…"
She nodded thoughtfully at that, wondering if that meant that he performed most of his career in his wolf form since he practically admitted that he preferred that shape. ”And apparently good enough to catch the king’s attention…” she added before quickly dropping down to kick his legs out from under him.
"More like the first convenient hire to bite on the upfront pay." he said, jumping to avoid her but his timing was off, and he ended up using the leftover force to awkwardly tackle her with his full weight, trying to push her down rather than regain his feet.
She let out a surprised yelp as she was uncomfortably pinned by his body. ”What exactly does that mean?” she asked, not understand the term he used as she started struggling to get free.
"Usually getting paid upfront means that the job is a suicide mission, or you're going to get ripped off and double crossed later on." said Sirus, effectively using his body weight to keep her down, "Also I think you should surrender now."
“You mean, you think my father isn’t excpecting you to come back? With or without me?” she asked, a little surprised by that possibility as she continued to struggle for a few more minutes. The thought that her father would be that… carelessly dismissive of someone. It didn't seem like him to her.
Sirus' face turned more serious, "No. He does expect me to come back with you." he said softly, gently putting more pressure on her shoulders to force her down till she stopped struggling. "More likely he was going to double cross me as soon as you were returned." he frowned a bit at the thought of the bounty on his own head.
Gwen lay still as he explained and gave a small nod, though she was frowning. That still didn't sound very much like her father… But then again, how much did she really know about the man in front of her? Before she left the castle, she’d heard of Bounty Hunters, in general, being compared to pirates, though in a slightly better light.
”Is that why you're taking your time in deciding whether or not to take me back?” she asked, matching his gaze.
"No." he said softly, then paused, "Well, maybe part of it if I'm honest." he shrugged, getting back to his feet and offering a hand to help her up. "Most of it's just a moral code though." he said, "There's a difference between pulling in a bounty for a murderer or an assassing, and dragging back a princess who's thriving with her former captors."
(I'm really glad my motivation came back to be honest, being able to torture Sirus later on is gonne be fun~)
Gwen laughed a little at the confession as she accepted his hand and stood up. ”Then, I’m thankful for that code of yours.” she smirked, almost teasingly even though she truly was grateful.
(I’m glad you did too. 😆 That's always the best part. 😏)
Sirus nodded, making sure she was balanced before backing off, giving her a silent nod in response.
Gwen returned his nod with a smile. ”Good fight but I’ll get you next time.” she said playfully as Corvin walked over to them.
"Possibly." said Sirus with a soft hum, a glimmer of laughter in his eyes.
(Y'know, it'salways so hard to RP fight scenes… like.. I know Sirus has more experience than her, but that fight was pretty even and it's weird…)
(Yeah… Sorry about that. I’m not too good with writing fight scenes either. He probably should have won earlier tbh…)
(Eh, pretty sure it's mutual. At least both o us were able to write it without controlling each other's charas. Which is honestly the hardest part about writing those types of encounters.)
"Possibly." said Sirus with a soft hum, a glimmer of laughter in his eyes.
(I’m going to take that as a compliment so thank you. The last thing I want to do is control someone else in a fight scene.)
(I'd do the same in your shoes!)
(The trick is write the reaction to the other characters moves, then what they'd attempt to do realistically while keeping in mind the chances of success throughout based on supposed skill level in context with the opponent.)
(At least that's how I see it.)
Corvin chuckled at the two of them and shook his head. ”Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. That was a good fight but Gwen still has room to grow as a fighter.” he pointed out. ”Plus her final test is coming up… and they're rarely simple.”
Gwen’s smile dropped at the reminder. ”Yeah… I wouldn't be surprised if they get me a particularly hard trial either.”
Sirus hummed curiously at this. "Some sort of test for her to become a warrior of your tribe then?" he asked.
”Yes.” Corvin nodded. ”It’s similar to the test of a hunter but it takes longer. Often times there’s something to find and bring back. More than just a good buck.”
”I’ve heard a couple stories about how these trials can last for almost a month.” Gwen told Sirius. ”At least, we don't go alone. We just lead and our mentors go with us.”
Sirus nodded, "Makes sense." he said softly. "I think there's something similar for some wolfpacks."
”Really?” Gwen asked, both surprised and interested that wolves had a similar rite of passage.
Corvin smiled kindly at him, also a little curious, but it was their guest’s choice whether or not to tell them.
"Depends on the type of wolf, but yes." he said, "It usually happens a year or two after a wolf comes of age. After that they're considered a full adult in the pack."
(In Sirus' home pack, this rite of passage is holding your own in a duel with the alpha, and with the current one? It means getting beaten half to death.)