Nootau noticed that Noel stayed standing. He didn’t mind, but it certainly spoke a volume about Noel’s personality. Socially awkward or socially inexperienced. Nootau’s ear twitched at the odd rhythm put to gentle words. Was speaking difficult on his brain? Nootau certainly didn’t think him mentally unsound, but he had met wolves that words came difficult to. They were completely intelligent, but disliked talking or had difficulty with it for some reason or another. Nootau took this as the case, and he stood up when Noel turned to make space for them to begin a sparring match. Nootau’s tail waved and he exclaimed, “Excellent!” as he play bowed momentarily before he bounced up on energetic paws to face his taller opponent.

Nootau’s eyes narrowed, as they usually did in serious situations. The effect gave his face a less puppy-like look and revealed the well formed adult that he was. He watched Noel’s movement and predicted the strengths that Noel had. He was five inches taller than Nootau, but looked leaner than Nootau. He probably weighed the same, but on his taller frame, the effect was that Noel seemed leaner. Endurance and speed with agility as a weaker point? There was one way to find out. Attack!

Nootau waited eagerly for Noel to give the okay. The excitement hidden behind his peer’s eyes was all he needed to know that this challenge was being met with enthusiasm. It caused Nootau’s competitive drive to kick in and he launched himself with explosive force forwards. He Hovered himself slightly on his rear legs as he aimed for Noel’s muzzle. Should he grab hold of it (kindly, he wasn’t going for blood), he’d attempted to push Noel’s head to the ground. Nootau figured that he should practice playing the dominant game a bit. It was sort of fun. He growled deeply, though a characteristic playful tone weaved through it.

Although a formal spar, Nootau saw no reason to treat it like a death match. They were testing each other out, and possibly would teach each other a thing or two. For this, Nootau was eager. There were so many different fighting styles! He wanted to learn them all… or at least know how best to counter them. After all, his future as an alpha required him to master a ton of different skills, fighting being one of the most important. He’d need it in order to make sure he held onto his position!