Far out towards the border of their lands, hidden away by jutting rocks and the crashing sound of water against sheer cliffs, the two Stormborn tussled and tossed in their fight. Those knew these two likely would have been weirded out at the sight of Dreki'dido and Hjalmar, because for once in their lives, they weren't fighting to legitimately rip each other's fur off. No, this time it was all in good fun.
It hadn't taken long for Hjalmar to take Dreki up on her offer of a challenge, though he had insisted on keeping their fights relatively secret. She suspected that it had to do with his injury, but the lioness said nothing of it. If he wanted to be concerned about that, then so be it. She wasn't going to try to console him or any such nonsense.
Besides, she as far more interested in the action anyway. Finally, after so long without venturing outside the borders, she was competing with someone who wasn't wet behind their ears. Oh sure, she could duel anyone wanting to enter their lands, but that was hardly stimulating for her, and honestly, there weren't that many lions trying to enter the Stormborn nowadays. Perhaps it was the change in leadership, or their reputation had already drawn in those interested, or maybe it was just a slow time of year - whatever the reason, there were more Shield Maidens than there were joining rogues. The chances of her being on shift when someone came by were slim.
And that annoyed her to no end. Her days were spent wandering around, chewing out those that stepped on her toes and generally trying to avoid most people. Dreki had become rather anti-social these days, a contrast to how she had been. She needed something new, somewhere she could feel free... and she was getting that from their spars.
Hjalmar knew better than to hold back against her, just as she knew not to do so with him. If anything, she tried to challenge his weak side, tried to show him where he needed to improve; and in return, he would give her something to actually look forward to, someone who wouldn't treat her as if she were weaker.
Whipping her paws up and around, Dreki thwacked his side, throwing him sideways. His reaction time to such hits was improving though, and this time he didn't go tumbling down like a sack of rocks. Good! Maybe now he would choose a new tactic to counter her.
Hjalmar let out a growl at the hit. His first attempts at sparring had ended in mostly failures, but he was nothing if not tenacious in becoming better, so he continued to come back asking for more. And now, slowly but surely, he could tell that he was improving with each fight. It was only a matter of time before he could fight just as well as he could before he'd lost his eye.
That said, he was still learning, and he was still that surly, cocky jerk that they knew he was. Frustrated at not being able to see her anymore, he twisted around after her and threw out a paw at where he thought she would be.
Which.... she wasn't, not anymore.
Letting out a grunt as she swiped mockingly at his tail, he glared when she came into view around his other side. He would have snapped at her, but her light laughter, so carefree and joyful, stilled his tongue. It was a rare sound, something he had never heard when they were younger, and it cooled his temper to hear.
Dreki simply looked amused at his annoyed face, more entertained than intimidated. Between the high she'd been getting from their spar and the lack of border duties today, she was in an incredibly good mood and she doubted that any of his biting words would actually bring her down. Besides, he needed to learn how to fight when his enemy was in his blind spot. That was nonnegotiable.
"Is that all you've got? Come now, you can do better than that!"
He let out a grumble in response, throwing a strike at her as he did so, "It's not that easy when you can't see from that end."
She let out a clear laugh, dancing away from the hit, "And are you always able to see what's behind you too? You have ears. You can feel the changes in the air and ground. Use them!"
Frowning, he tried to focus on that. It was true, he could notice the differences as she moved around him, though he was still a bit too slow to react to her punch against the back of his ear.
Snarling, Hjalmar stumbled backwards with a shake of his head, muttering curses under his breath.
She raised an eyebrow as she stopped to watch him fumble. He could do it, she was sure he could.
Hm.... Perhaps some incentive, then.
Sauntering closer, Dreki used her chin to rub at the ear she'd swiped at to try and sooth it, then slid her way down along his side, fur brushing against fur, until her tail flicked up against his chin with a soft pat. The lioness danced away again then, before twirling around with a challenging look. She wasn't normally the type to do this, mind you, but as was said, she was feeling particularly good... and playful.
"How about this: you manage to actually counter against me, and I'll show you some of the hunting moves that make me so quick." She chuckled, "You'd benefit from learning how a lioness hunts."
Hjalmar raised an eyebrow back at her at that. The challenge was innocent enough, though her brush around had left his mind spiraling into less innocent things. He looked like he was debating over it for a moment, and then he hummed, interested.
"How a lioness hunts, huh?" He had a glint in his eye, half at his own plan and half in determination to make sure it worked in his favor. "Alright then," he said, crouching, "You're on."
That was all the encouragement Dreki needed.
With a grin, she zigzagged towards him, trying to throw him off before charging in and swiping at him. After a hit, she would dance away once more with a giggle, and then turn around and begin the assault again.
This tactic continued for a few minutes, Hjalmar uselessly striking after her but managing to hit nothing. This time though, with a focused, determined look on his face, he kept trying to catch her before she could hit, paying close attention to where her movements were taking her and the sounds of her pivoting in the ground,
Finally, he managed to catch her unawares. Kicking out a leg as she came around, he snagged her foot and sent her tumbling down to the ground with an oomph! Quickly, the lion spun around and lunged forward, using his mass to pin her on her back to the floor.
She struggled, of course, but held on fast until she eventually stopped fighting with a laugh.
It had worked! Dreki couldn't stop the gleeful, tearful laughter that erupted from her, overjoyed that he had managed to throw something new at her. She hadn't been expecting him to kick out her footing from behind like that.
When her laughter had subsided, she opened her eyes to look up at the triumphant smirk staring back at her.
"Alright then," she lifted her head to nudge her nose up against his chin, enjoying the almost purr that the lion made in response, "I suppose you've earned your spoils."
Hjalmar let out a low growl, and lowered his head to nuzzle at her neck and beside her ear, tail twining around her leg. He debated his words carefully, then muttered softly, "These hunting techniques better be good." He paused a thoughtful look on his face, "You know... It'd be a shame if others got to see them too."
He cast a look around them, spotting a darkened cave a little ways away.
A pleased, fluttery rumble in her chest, Dreki followed his gaze to the cave, then grinned and nudged him off of her. "I suppose you have a point." Then, with a happy hum, she meandered off in its direction.
Hjalmar smirked at her response, before quickly chasing after her.
