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The sound of horns clashing against one another was almost constant. It rang against the surrounding trees and rubble, shouted through the hollows of ruined buildings that were being swallowed up by the reclaiming forest. Again, and again, as bellows of triumph and whimpers of loss punctuated each bout against their next opponents.

Sin smoothed one of her front paws down her unruly ruffles as she watched the surrounding kukuri cheer around the ring as more sparring lessons on offense and defense took place. She was perched high up on the leaning roof of a building, having used the rubble as steps to make it to the sun-warmed patch of moss that tried desperately to reclaim the man-made stone structure. She drug her tongue over the rough pads of her paws again and smoothed another errant curl with just as much care and attention as another pair of sparing rooks clashed one last time before a victor was declared. The marbled amber preened and stood tall as his opponent slunk back off into the crowd, ears pinned back for his miserable loss.

She scoffed as she looked down at the champion. He didn’t look all that strong or fast if anything he just let his opponent wear himself down before he took his chance. It was a simple tactic that she could tell he used for the majority of his sparring sessions. She certainly wouldn’t have fallen so easily for that tactic! Her horns would meet their mark before he could even think to dodge her. Not that she had actually taken down someone who stood against her without incurring some kind of injury herself along the way.

He pranced one more circle around the ring as the next spar was set up, and then went to collect his winnings- a hunk of meat that he quickly snapped down before another kukuri could step in and steal it from him. Her stomach clenched at the prospect of food, and her dark tongue licked over her teeth. She had two options in front of her: Win a quick and easy meal against another kukuri and gain a little experience under her metaphorical belt, or leave now and try to hunt for something on her own with the possibility of losing her prey and going hungry for the quickly approaching night.

Sin stood and shook out her fur, determination set in her eyes as she descended the rubble stairway to the ring of wild kukus still cheering on the two kukuri displaying their strength against one another.

She was placed with the only other dove who had stepped into the contender’s circle and watched as yet another victor was called. The prize was given out and they were pushed forward by a rook with six legs and a crinkled tail that no doubt had been caught in some kind of trap. She rumbled at him and he rumbled right back before giving her an extra push, shoving her out into the open clearing with a menacing grin as he watched her stumble to right her footing.

Pinnapur, as she was announced, skipped into the center of the ring with a lightness to her feet, her head held high as she waved to an older pair of kukuri that found a nice perch on a leaning tree. They encouraged her with their own bellowed shrieks and warbles, one going so far as to bounce on their perch and cause it to creak threateningly underneath them. Sin narrowed her eyes and huffed at the three of them, of course, the other dove would be there with her loaf. It felt like a jab to her own inner turmoil though it couldn’t have been possible for them to know how she felt about her own parents.

The starting points were marked by worn and flattened pieces of dark concrete buried into the ground, just big enough for their feet to stand on them. Pinnapur found hers easily and turned to watch Sin as the other dove strode to her sunbaked stone, a warm and almost friendly expression in her eyes as she stood patiently. The fight was called as soon as Sin came to a stop on her ‘pedestal’, and the noise around them ratcheted up another degree. Sin charged first; kicking up the powdery dirt as she lunged at Pinnapur, teeth bared as her hazel muzzle wrinkled deeply.

They glanced off of one another even though Sin was sure she had been aiming straight for the other contender. Pinnapur pushed Sin to the side with a surprising ease as Sin snapped her teeth at the other kukuri threateningly. The curly dove folded her ears back with a low grumble and put a few more paces between them, tail lashing sharply as she examined her rival once more. For what Pinnapur lacked in height she made up in weight and Sin realized that bowling her over wouldn’t garner her a quick and easy win. A brief flash of the amber rook from earlier caused her to raise her lips in a snarl. She wouldn’t be batted around like his adversary- she had to prove her strength!

She rushed again, and just like before, Pinnapur stepped to the side and shoved her body with the flats of her paws, leaning her weight into it as though she wanted to topple the dove over instead of just push her away. Sin managed to turn her head and narrowly missed snapping the thicker part of her tail between her teeth. Instead, she wound up with a mouthful of loose fur, ringing ears from the enraged warble of her rival and a stumble toward the ring of chortling spectators. Paws pushed her back toward the white-nosed dove as though they thought she would run from the fight. A low growl was met with more chuffs of amusement as she took a moment to wipe the fur from her tongue, disgusted at the sensation of it creeping back toward her throat.

A tail entered her peripheral just before it whipped over her face, hitting hard along her jaws and one of her ears. Sin yelped and reeled back, cradling her muzzle with one paw as she looked for Pinnapur with misting eyes. The other kukuri stood with a pleased posture like she had returned the disgrace to Sin after having some of her fur ripped out. Without thinking past the red creeping into her vision, she jerked forward again, paws reaching out to shove against the shorter dove’s chest.

Pinnapur’s claws dug into the dusty ground as she used her leaning weight to keep herself standing. Sin snapped her jaws again and felt something fall between her teeth. She yanked on it as hard as she could, and felt the wall of muscle under her front paws give as a pained squawk pierced the air. Honey golden eyes locked with warm brown, and Sin would have grinned with satisfaction if she knew it wouldn’t give the dove a chance to draw out of her grip. She had Pinnapur by a whisker! Of all things, a whisker!

Her lips curled despite her attempts to resist the expression as she pulled again, forcing the dove’s head to the side in a faux show of submission to the stronger opponent. It ripped a series of jeers from the crowd, loud and raucous as she yanked harder, forcing Pinnapur’s head further down and to the side.

The world twisted around her suddenly, like everything had gone topsy-turvy and weightless within the beat of her own heart. Everything caught up to her as quickly as it had stopped, dropping her to the ground, hard. Long talon-like claws pressed against her chest, pricking at the skin beneath the curls of fur with just enough pressure to sting but not yet to draw blood. Sin’s eyes watered again as the dust settled into them, body thrashing as she tried to get out from under her captor who growled down at her, demanding that she give in to her clear dominance. The only thing she could see was the rows of Pinnapur’s barred teeth as her front paw came to shove her muzzle into the dirt, grip strong enough to pinch her jaws together and keep them that way. It hurt.

She had been pinned. She lost. Sin went still in submission despite her humiliation and waited to be released. A whine escaped her as she was shoved more forcefully into the ground before Pinnapur’s weight released her. The other dove bellowed her victory, whooping loudly with the crowd as they celebrated the end of another fight. Granted, their fight had been short and unskilled on Sin’s end. Her yellow-eyed sparring partner must have known more about fighting, her loaf was clearly the answer to her skills.

She twisted and pushed herself up onto her paws with her tiny, dark ears pinned back and russet brown eyes cast down, pinched in frustration. The only satisfaction she could rile inside herself was that she had crimped Pinnapur’s whisker and ripped out some of the fur on her flank. She put up a good fight, had ‘wounded’ her opponent, and left visible evidence of her efforts to win. The defeat still twisted in her stomach like the carrion of rotten venison.

She watched as Pinnapur collected her prize and brought it to her parents with her head held high, leaving Sin to snarl furiously at them as she turned to push her way through the diminishing crowd. She wanted to lick her proverbial wounds in peace, without the mocking glances and the domineering shoves of those who no doubt thought they were stronger than her now that she had been forced to submit before them all. The grumble of her belly punctuated what she had lost as the sky shifted from its brilliant warm golds into the cooling shades of pink and peach over her head. She had lost the food she thought to be so easy to procure. But more than that, she had lost her pride in herself.

Her paws slapped viciously at low hanging branches as she pushed through the forest, her tail whipping in anger behind her. She was scaring away any other chances she had at finding dinner but that didn’t matter anymore. She had been humiliated, she had been left alone and mocked and again there was no one to comfort her. No one to look for the lost dove as she roamed the forest, loafless.

Sin could fill the roar of rage rip through her before she had a chance to stop it- not that she would have. It startled a small crowd of birds from the canopy high over her head. It raked over old wounds that had yet to heal fully. It called forth memories of sheets of rain peeling from the sky as thunder racked down her body and mud left her body cold, wet, and heavy. It left her breathless and panting as she stalked further away from the lingering signs of human life, feeling dazed and distracted as she struggled to regain her self-control.

She didn’t even try to catch the ground squirrel that scurried across her path, lost to her thoughts and memories. Flashes of Pinnapur’s joy as she brought her reward to flaunt it in front of her parents’ proud eyes. Scrapes of the betrayal she felt after realizing her loaf had abandoned her when she had been separated from them. The sound of Pinnapur’s dominance over her. The reminder that she was stronger because she had those behind her to support, and Sin had no one.

Sin pushed herself into the barely hidden crack of a den she had made for herself there and dropped onto the cool, moist earth in resignation. This was supposed to be her day, and as usual, it had been ruined by a ‘chance’ encounter.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

The sound of horns clashing against one another was almost constant. It rang against the surrounding trees and rubble, shouted through the hollows of ruined buildings that were being swallowed up by the reclaiming forest. Again, and again, as bellows of triumph and whimpers of loss punctuated each bout against their next opponents.

Sin smoothed one of her front paws down her unruly ruffles as she watched the surrounding kukuri cheer around the ring as more sparring lessons on offense and defense took place. She was perched high up on the leaning roof of a building, having used the rubble as steps to make it to the sun-warmed patch of moss that tried desperately to reclaim the man-made stone structure. She drug her tongue over the rough pads of her paws again and smoothed another errant curl with just as much care and attention as another pair of sparing rooks clashed one last time before a victor was declared. The marbled amber preened and stood tall as his opponent slunk back off into the crowd, ears pinned back for his miserable loss.

She scoffed as she looked down at the champion. He didn’t look all that strong or fast if anything he just let his opponent wear himself down before he took his chance. It was a simple tactic that she could tell he used for the majority of his sparring sessions. She certainly wouldn’t have fallen so easily for that tactic! Her horns would meet their mark before he could even think to dodge her. Not that she had actually taken down someone who stood against her without incurring some kind of injury herself along the way.

He pranced one more circle around the ring as the next spar was set up, and then went to collect his winnings- a hunk of meat that he quickly snapped down before another kukuri could step in and steal it from him. Her stomach clenched at the prospect of food, and her dark tongue licked over her teeth. She had two options in front of her: Win a quick and easy meal against another kukuri and gain a little experience under her metaphorical belt, or leave now and try to hunt for something on her own with the possibility of losing her prey and going hungry for the quickly approaching night.

Sin stood and shook out her fur, determination set in her eyes as she descended the rubble stairway to the ring of wild kukus still cheering on the two kukuri displaying their strength against one another.

She was placed with the only other dove who had stepped into the contender’s circle and watched as yet another victor was called. The prize was given out and they were pushed forward by a rook with six legs and a crinkled tail that no doubt had been caught in some kind of trap. She rumbled at him and he rumbled right back before giving her an extra push, shoving her out into the open clearing with a menacing grin as he watched her stumble to right her footing.

Pinnapur, as she was announced, skipped into the center of the ring with a lightness to her feet, her head held high as she waved to an older pair of kukuri that found a nice perch on a leaning tree. They encouraged her with their own bellowed shrieks and warbles, one going so far as to bounce on their perch and cause it to creak threateningly underneath them. Sin narrowed her eyes and huffed at the three of them, of course, the other dove would be there with her loaf. It felt like a jab to her own inner turmoil though it couldn’t have been possible for them to know how she felt about her own parents.

The starting points were marked by worn and flattened pieces of dark concrete buried into the ground, just big enough for their feet to stand on them. Pinnapur found hers easily and turned to watch Sin as the other dove strode to her sunbaked stone, a warm and almost friendly expression in her eyes as she stood patiently. The fight was called as soon as Sin came to a stop on her ‘pedestal’, and the noise around them ratcheted up another degree. Sin charged first; kicking up the powdery dirt as she lunged at Pinnapur, teeth bared as her hazel muzzle wrinkled deeply.

They glanced off of one another even though Sin was sure she had been aiming straight for the other contender. Pinnapur pushed Sin to the side with a surprising ease as Sin snapped her teeth at the other kukuri threateningly. The curly dove folded her ears back with a low grumble and put a few more paces between them, tail lashing sharply as she examined her rival once more. For what Pinnapur lacked in height she made up in weight and Sin realized that bowling her over wouldn’t garner her a quick and easy win. A brief flash of the amber rook from earlier caused her to raise her lips in a snarl. She wouldn’t be batted around like his adversary- she had to prove her strength!

She rushed again, and just like before, Pinnapur stepped to the side and shoved her body with the flats of her paws, leaning her weight into it as though she wanted to topple the dove over instead of just push her away. Sin managed to turn her head and narrowly missed snapping the thicker part of her tail between her teeth. Instead, she wound up with a mouthful of loose fur, ringing ears from the enraged warble of her rival and a stumble toward the ring of chortling spectators. Paws pushed her back toward the white-nosed dove as though they thought she would run from the fight. A low growl was met with more chuffs of amusement as she took a moment to wipe the fur from her tongue, disgusted at the sensation of it creeping back toward her throat.

A tail entered her peripheral just before it whipped over her face, hitting hard along her jaws and one of her ears. Sin yelped and reeled back, cradling her muzzle with one paw as she looked for Pinnapur with misting eyes. The other kukuri stood with a pleased posture like she had returned the disgrace to Sin after having some of her fur ripped out. Without thinking past the red creeping into her vision, she jerked forward again, paws reaching out to shove against the shorter dove’s chest.

Pinnapur’s claws dug into the dusty ground as she used her leaning weight to keep herself standing. Sin snapped her jaws again and felt something fall between her teeth. She yanked on it as hard as she could, and felt the wall of muscle under her front paws give as a pained squawk pierced the air. Honey golden eyes locked with warm brown, and Sin would have grinned with satisfaction if she knew it wouldn’t give the dove a chance to draw out of her grip. She had Pinnapur by a whisker! Of all things, a whisker!

Her lips curled despite her attempts to resist the expression as she pulled again, forcing the dove’s head to the side in a faux show of submission to the stronger opponent. It ripped a series of jeers from the crowd, loud and raucous as she yanked harder, forcing Pinnapur’s head further down and to the side.

The world twisted around her suddenly, like everything had gone topsy-turvy and weightless within the beat of her own heart. Everything caught up to her as quickly as it had stopped, dropping her to the ground, hard. Long talon-like claws pressed against her chest, pricking at the skin beneath the curls of fur with just enough pressure to sting but not yet to draw blood. Sin’s eyes watered again as the dust settled into them, body thrashing as she tried to get out from under her captor who growled down at her, demanding that she give in to her clear dominance. The only thing she could see was the rows of Pinnapur’s barred teeth as her front paw came to shove her muzzle into the dirt, grip strong enough to pinch her jaws together and keep them that way. It hurt.

She had been pinned. She lost. Sin went still in submission despite her humiliation and waited to be released. A whine escaped her as she was shoved more forcefully into the ground before Pinnapur’s weight released her. The other dove bellowed her victory, whooping loudly with the crowd as they celebrated the end of another fight. Granted, their fight had been short and unskilled on Sin’s end. Her yellow-eyed sparring partner must have known more about fighting, her loaf was clearly the answer to her skills.

She twisted and pushed herself up onto her paws with her tiny, dark ears pinned back and russet brown eyes cast down, pinched in frustration. The only satisfaction she could rile inside herself was that she had crimped Pinnapur’s whisker and ripped out some of the fur on her flank. She put up a good fight, had ‘wounded’ her opponent, and left visible evidence of her efforts to win. The defeat still twisted in her stomach like the carrion of rotten venison.

She watched as Pinnapur collected her prize and brought it to her parents with her head held high, leaving Sin to snarl furiously at them as she turned to push her way through the diminishing crowd. She wanted to lick her proverbial wounds in peace, without the mocking glances and the domineering shoves of those who no doubt thought they were stronger than her now that she had been forced to submit before them all. The grumble of her belly punctuated what she had lost as the sky shifted from its brilliant warm golds into the cooling shades of pink and peach over her head. She had lost the food she thought to be so easy to procure. But more than that, she had lost her pride in herself.

Her paws slapped viciously at low hanging branches as she pushed through the forest, her tail whipping in anger behind her. She was scaring away any other chances she had at finding dinner but that didn’t matter anymore. She had been humiliated, she had been left alone and mocked and again there was no one to comfort her. No one to look for the lost dove as she roamed the forest, loafless.

Sin could fill the roar of rage rip through her before she had a chance to stop it- not that she would have. It startled a small crowd of birds from the canopy high over her head. It raked over old wounds that had yet to heal fully. It called forth memories of sheets of rain peeling from the sky as thunder racked down her body and mud left her body cold, wet, and heavy. It left her breathless and panting as she stalked further away from the lingering signs of human life, feeling dazed and distracted as she struggled to regain her self-control.

She didn’t even try to catch the ground squirrel that scurried across her path, lost to her thoughts and memories. Flashes of Pinnapur’s joy as she brought her reward to flaunt it in front of her parents’ proud eyes. Scrapes of the betrayal she felt after realizing her loaf had abandoned her when she had been separated from them. The sound of Pinnapur’s dominance over her. The reminder that she was stronger because she had those behind her to support, and Sin had no one.

Sin pushed herself into the barely hidden crack of a den she had made for herself there and dropped onto the cool, moist earth in resignation. This was supposed to be her day, and as usual, it had been ruined by a ‘chance’ encounter.