Let The Games Begin (Captain/Natasha)

[Captain]

Although the silver colored male enjoyed walking along the sandy beach, he would never be caught dead in the ocean. He enjoyed the feel of sand under his paws, and the sounds of crashing waves. But, he made sure to stay towards the top of the beach, going near the substance he hated with a passion. The day was cool, though not cold, and there was a gentle wind. The sun was high in the sky, reflecting off the water as if it was one big mirror. To some, the day would seem like a good day to get one last swim in before the start of winter but he would most definitely pass on such a chance.

He was about halfway down the beach when his eyes caught movement not too far ahead. Freezing mid stride, his stomach rumbled as he realized it was a hare. He took a few slow steps forward before the animal realized he was there and took off running, but, Captain was not far behind. Strong legs propelled him forward, each stride bringing him closer and closer to his prey. He watched as the hare tried weaving through the sand in a desperate attempt to lose its predator. However, Captain remained in a straight line, knowing when he got close enough he’d be able to catch it. And sure enough, after a few more seconds, he saw his chance and as the animal went to cross sides, he pounced forward, landing on top of it. He was quick to bite its neck, shaking his head to make its death quick and as painless as possible.

Once his catch was dead, he took to tearing into it. The legs were the first to be eaten, gone in only a bite or two. The breast was the next part followed by the rest. Once he was done, he tossed the bones aside and licked his lips, getting rid of any evidence that he had just had a meal. With a yawn, he laid his head down upon his paws and closed his eyes. Though he wasn’t asleep, it wouldn’t be hard for a wolf to mistake him for being such.

Natasha

[Natasha]

Natasha wasn't entirely sure why she had ventured out of Aleru and into the loner lands right outside the mouth of the cave. She supposed, perhaps, that she should get a little fresh air every now and then since she did live most of her life in a cave. Besides that, prey wasn't plentiful in Aleru. It was mostly just frogs and snakes and occasionally a hare that would run in the opening of the cavern, but they never really traveled to deep inside. As a hunter for Ultoris, her job was to help keep the pack fed so they would be strong enough should a battle ever need to occur. Therefore, the only true prey that she would be able to find would be outside of Aleru and in the unclaimed territory of I'queyer. The prey was normally very plentiful, and oftentimes it was large as well, a good thing because then Natasha wouldn't have to hunt quite as many animals to feed the entire pack. A sigh left the young female as she found herself nearing the beach on the edge of the island. Normally, she would have loved to go for a swim and enjoy one of the last warm days before winter came, but today she was just in an okay mood, wanting more to just hunt and be done than to frolic in the water.

Natasha looked out over the ocean as her paws sank into the sand beneath her, leaving medium sized paw prints in a trail behind her. She hadn't seen any signs of the larger prey that she was so hoping to stumble upon, and only small hares had crossed her path, though she hadn't felt like catching a lot of those would be more work than needed. However, if she hadn't caught anything by then, she supposed that she would would need to start catching something on the way back to Aleru that evening. Just as the female was about to head back inland to look for some more prey, she spotted a slightly familiar figure not far ahead. It was a wolf, that much was sure, and he looked a little familiar, but she couldn't see him well... So she snuck closer. Using her skills as a spy and a hunter, she moved forward relatively silently. As she approached, she caught the scent of the other wolf, and recognition flew through her. The male was Captain, the Beta of her pack. A small smirk crossed her face as she pounced at him, growling playfully and hoping to at least nip him before she jumped quickly away. If she succeeded, she would get out of reach before he had enough time to react to her playful attack. If she didn't succeed, hopefully he would realize that it was her and not an actual enemy.

[Captain]

Captain often traveled out of his pack lands and into loner lands whenever his duties were done for the day. It was a place for him to escape, to think freely, and to relax. Rather it be on the beach or in the fields, he enjoyed his time away from his pack, almost as much as he enjoyed his time in his pack, though for two different reasons. He loved his pack, he loved his position, and his pack would always have his unwavering and undying loyalty. But, it was still nice to get out and do things on his own. Usually, he didn’t cross paths with anyone else during his adventures so he hadn’t expected today to be any different.

It was while his eyes were closed and he was resting, that he realized he wasn’t alone. However, it didn’t take long to realize who the scent belonged to and though he wanted to react, he forced himself to stay perfectly still, continuing to pretend to be asleep. five…. four…. three… two…. one he counted down in his head and just as he had thought, he was tackled as he got to zero. “Natasha,” he growled as he swung his head around and nipped at her neck. He couldn’t help but laugh as she jumped away, himself quickly getting to his feet as he watched her, waiting for her next move.

“Thought you could sneak up on me that easily?” he asked with mock hurt. “I’m hurt if that was the case,” he rolled his eyes before walking a circle around her. “But now that you did, why should I let you go without teaching you what happens when you sneak up on your beta, hmm?” he asked with a low threatening growl, only, he knew she would know he was playing. “I really don’t think I should,” he chuckled as he continued to walk around her. 

[Natasha]

Natasha had found peace in her pack... Her new home suited her well, and she was glad to have found the wolves that she had come to call her family. Still, she found it difficult to completely give into these feelings of trust and compassion. She was one to shy away from feelings of affection, and she had never really felt it, not even in the form of one family member to another. She still held memories close to her heart of a happy family. A family with a mother, father, two sons, and a daughter, who loved each other dearly. She held these memories close to her heart and never let them out into the harsh world where they could possibly be ripped apart. Memories of affection were heavily guarded by the rough exterior that the female put on to hide the emotions that she felt within... Though she really didn't know that she felt any complex emotions. Happy, sad, angry... That was pretty much it... And even then, Natasha didn't allow herself to feel sadness all that much. Sadness was a hard emotion to come by when attachment to objects or others was not present. Sadness usually occurred when these objects of meaning were taken away, and since Natasha didn't have objects or wolves of meaning, she didn't really feel sadness. Mainly, she felt sadness when she thought she could get out of Aleru for the day, but it was raining and she didn't feel like getting drenched by the falling water.

But the fact that the wolf had any emotions at all after her training. They had been trained to withstand any questioning that another pack might do. Any torture was useless against them because they would never give in. And threats to kill their entire family? Laughable. Every wolf in the program Natasha had come from had been taken from their families at a young age. Many of them didn't even remember what their parents looked like. 'Kill our families,' they would say, 'I dare you.' because many of them had been brainwashed into thinking that their parents had willingly given them up. The program was to train the 'undesirables' to be useful. That was far from the truth, though. Many of the wolves had been forced to give up at least one son or daughter to the program so that the pack would constantly have new wolves coming in to train and send off.

Natasha's ears perked atop her head, focused on her beta as he stood. She had felt the graze of his teeth against her neck as she had jumped upon his back, but it was nothing that would leave a mark, she was sure... Probably didn't even break the skin. Captain was good about that. He wouldn't do anything that would actually hurt her... Except maybe make her a little sore. The pretty female rolled her eyes at him, sitting down in the sand as he started to circle her. "Surely you know by now, dear beta, that if I wanted to sneak up on you, I very well could have. You see, I wanted you to know that I was coming," she replied, eyes watching him as he continued to walk circles around her. "Actually, since I didn't sneak up on you, or, as you saw it, I failed to sneak up on you, you have no reason to 'teach me what happens when I sneak up on my beta,'" she replied with a little sass laced in her tone, her eyes staying on the male in case he decided to pull anything.

[Captain]

Captain watched as Natasha’s eyes focused on him as he stood. She was an alert female, most always keeping her guard up and never giving someone the chance to sneak up on her. Now would be no different. Even though she had a close bond with Captain, Captain knew, or at least believed, she would know better than to think she was immune from his tricks. As he started walking a circle around her, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the words she spoke. “What I know is that even the greatest of wolves fall victim to mistakes, like walking too loudly,” he smirked as he watched her. “I think if you wanted me to know that you were coming you would have said something,” he said with a nod. After all, there would be no reason not to greet someone if you didn’t care that they knew you were coming up. “But,” he said stopping in front of her. “Even if you didn’t want to sneak up on me, I still see it fit to teach you what happens when you do. Otherwise, what would be there to stop you from ever sneaking up on me in the future?” he asked with perked ears and a tilted head.

After he had finished talking, he walked another circle around her. It was during his second one that he waited until he was beside her to pounce on her, hoping to make her lose her balance. A challenging growl came from between bared teeth, a threatening look though one he knew she wouldn’t take seriously. He snapped at her ear before pulling away and just as quickly snapping at her side. After the bites he darted away from her, crouching down as he waited for her attack. It had been a while since the two had, had a good old fashioned sparring session and his excitement was made clear by his wagging tail.

[Natasha]

The multi-colored female sat calmly as the male circled around her. In all honesty, he didn't scare her. In her short life, she had seen more terrible wolves than he could have ever imagined. She was positive that the wolves of Ultoris were still ignorant to the past that she held, and she wished it to stay that way. While she wanted her alpha and beta to know that she was a much better fighter than she made herself out to be, she wanted to keep her strength a secret... In a fight, how would your enemy know your secret weapon when you, yourself, don't even know. Of course, she was sure that there were many wolves in the pack that could hold their own against her, and she was by far not the best fighter in the world, but she did have a lot of training in the act of silent killing. Sometimes, that could be one of the scariest things for the enemy. They wouldn't see her coming... Or they might, but she was a lovely young wolf that found manipulation a tool that was easily used against many of the males that she had come across. She was smart, that was for sure. She thought a lot about all the possible outcomes of a situation and chose which one she thought would be best for whatever situation she was in.

Now, even though she looked to be lost in thought, she knew exactly where the male was that was called her beta. She expected the attack from him. To think that he wouldn't attack her would be foolish. Her ear flicked towards him as he launched himself at her side. She didn't have much time to react, and so she just swung her body around so that she was facing him, baring her teeth at him. Surely he knew that getting her off of her feet would be harder than that. She heard his challenging snarl and sent one right back to him, snapping at his neck as he snapped at her ear. He managed to get the very tip of it, but she quickly flicked it away. He then bit at her side, and she turned to bite at his side as well. She felt a slight pain from where he had nipped her side, but she didn't care. Watching as he retreated, she smirked and wagged her tail slightly. "Is that all, dear Beta? Surely you can do better than that," she said, trying to taunt him into attacking her again. In head to head combat, she was much more comfortable being on the defense. When the victim didn't know she was coming, however, her attack was much better. She could, of course, demonstrate some of the skills she had learned in her extensive training oversees, but she still wanted to keep that hidden from her pack. "Come on, Beta. Don't let a girl beat you."

[Captain]

The male watched the feme he circled, noticing how her ears perked, showing her attention was indeed on him even though her eyes looked glossy like she was lost in thought. He wasn’t surprised though, for he expected nothing less of her. He knew Natasha had much potential and many skills and slowly he was beginning to learn the tricks that she kept hidden in secrecy. He watched as she flung herself around after he made impact with her side. “So terrifying,” he said rolling his eyes as she bared her teeth. If she though that would offend him, she had much to learn.

He smirked as her teeth made contact with his neck, though not enough to really hurt. “Surely you can do more than that, little one,” he said with a snickering smirk. Teasing and getting under her skin was something he found humor in, especially since he knew she would know he didn’t actually mean any of it. With a chuckle, he side stepped her attempt to bite his side and shook his head in mock disappointment. “Maybe I was wrong, maybe you can’t do better,” he shrugged.

“Oh Nat, your beta is the one that seems to be winning this fight,” he smirked, brushing her comment off his shoulders. She may have nipped his neck but her teeth barely brushed his skin. He had managed to bite his neck and he could tell from her expression when he did that it hadn’t been pain free. “If you think I’m going to let a girl beat me, much less you,” he chuckled, “You have oh so much to learn.” With that, he went to move to her back, acting as if he was going to bite her hip but spun at the last minute, his teeth aiming straight for her nape instead.

[Natasha]

While the female was actually a highly trained fighter, she knew that she would never allow Severus and Captain or any of the other pack members know about her past and the training that she went through. She didn't want to be used, but if the time came, she would protect her pack with all she had if she needed to. Until then, she would keep her fighting ability secret from the rest of the pack, especially the alpha and beta. She really did hate keeping secrets from them both, but she knew it was for the better... At least, that's what she told herself to justify the fact that she was virtually lying to her pack about what she could do. In reality, it was really a selfish move to keep herself from being used as a weapon of war. While she enjoyed the times that she had gone on assassination missions, she had been overused and burnt out in a previous time, and she would do anything she could to keep that from happening again. Luckily, because of her training in keeping a straight face, showing no emotion, etc. just in case she got caught on the job, she was a pretty good actress. As far as she knew, not one of her pack mates had figured her out, and if she was lucky, they never would.

As she turned and bared her teeth at Captain, his words lifted to her ears, pushing a growl from her throat. She absolutely was terrifying. He just didn't have a clue just how terrifying she could be, and he never would. She had to constantly tell herself to hold back when he would try to irritate her and get under her skin. He didn't actually mean anything he said, and she knew that. As her teeth made contact with his neck, she heard him speak again, and she rolled her eyes. "Oh, Beta. I can do much better, but I'd rather not lay you up for a few weeks. We have a small enough pack as it is. Losing just one member could set us back," she replied, snapping at his side, missing by just a hair. She stood, tail wagging ever so slightly as she listened to his remark. "Dear Beta, if you don't win this fight, I do think we should find a new Beta. I'm merely a hunter. I'm not trained in the art of fighting... Yet if I can beat you... Anyone can." She said, putting herself down a little, but only to remind him that she wasn't a fighter (at least not that he was aware). As he dove at her once more, she growled and swung her body around, noticing him go for her hips first and then, at the last minute, go for her nape. Ducking slightly, she moved to dive her head beneath his jaw to grab at his throat, hoping to be quick enough that he would miss his mark on her nape and instead retreat so that his throat was not exposed. She did, however, feel teeth against her ears and head. She just hoped that her strategy worked.

[Captain]

Captain couldn’t help but smirk as his words so obviously got her, the look of annoyance and anger clear to see. “Letting some measly words get to you that easily?” he asked shaking his head, “Tsk tsk, you should know better by now, especially when it comes to me. But then again, it’s fun to get under your skin so who am I to complain?” he smirked slyly. As long as it remained easy to get to her, it would remain something he enjoyed doing. He would think she would have already learned to let his words go in one ear and out the other but he certainly wasn’t complaining that she hadn’t.

Her next set words left him laughing with amusement. “Oh Nat, don’t dream so big, you’ll be crushed when you realized just how wrong you are,” he chuckled shaking his head. “I have no doubt you can do better, at least, I certainly hope you could do better. I hope my expectations for you aren’t misguided. But you could never lay me up, especially for a few weeks. Hurt me, maybe, but nothing that I couldn’t shake off,” he nodded. Even if she ever hurt him past the point of him being to shake it off, surely she could never actually lay him up for more than a day or two at most.

His eyes narrowed at the mention of Severus finding a new beta. Captain would never disappoint him to the point of having to go out and pick someone else to take his spot. “I would never do anything to make Severus feel as if he needed to find another beta. But, at the same time, don’t try to fool me in saying you are merely a hunter with no training in fighting. I don’t know of your past, but it is clear you know how to fight and the fact you don’t like to show off that fact is something I can admire and respect about you so let us not lie to one another.”



With that, Captain moved to make his next hit. However, it didn’t quite go as planned. Instead, as she swung her head around, he missed his mark of her nape and ended up biting her ear instead. It wasn’t until he felt teeth around his neck that he realized that in his attempt to bite her, he had failed to watch her properly, allowing her access to his most vital spot. He snarled furiously as he tried to duck and turn his head away from her, hoping to make her lose her grip as he clawed at her. If he didn’t get out of her grasp, it was only a matter of time before he would have to give in.

[Natasha]

Natasha watched the Beta carefully as he spoke to her. She tilted her head slightly as she listened before giving a small chuckle. “I'm afraid, dear Beta, that you have misunderstood. I don't let words get to me. I use other wolves' words against them to figure out their weaknesses. Your weakness, dear Beta, is that you assume your words have a greater effect on me than they really do.” She said smoothly, letting her eyes casually watch him as she waited for another move. She was almost never on the attack in a face to face battle. She waited for the other to strike and then acted accordingly. When she had the advantage of going unnoticed, however, she would most certainly attack, and she would attack well, usually managing to at least injure the wolf enough to where they would offer no threat to her as she performed whatever task she had been given. It had been a long time, though, since she had been sent on one of these kinds of missions, and she felt as though she might need to touch up on her skills. Maybe Captain was right and she was getting a bit rusty in the stealth department. “You also underestimate me, Captain, in saying that I could not injure you enough to lay you up for multiple weeks. I will, however, not do any such thing to you, for as I have already said, we need all the bodies we can get should we be attacked for any reason.” She said simply, relaxed as she watched him. She wasn't afraid of him. Not hardly.

A smirk crossed the femme's maw to hide her slight worry about the fact that he knew she had some previous fight training. She was quick on her feet, however, and knew just the things to say to hide her past from the Beta. “I am, Beta, only a huntress. That was the role that I was assigned in this pack, and that is the only role I will perform. I do, however, have some fight training, but don't we all? For the obvious reason of defending ourselves and our pack.” She replied, sweetly, looking over him as she waited for his attack. And, at last, she got her reward. He leaped at her, but she was quick and managed the dodge the original attack, ducking so that he just got her ear. He, however, made the deathly mistake of leaving his most vital part of his body unprotected, and she immediately reacted. She snapped her jaws onto his throat and held on. Her grip was strong enough to hold on and probably hurt at least a little, but she would not draw blood on him, and she was certainly not going to kill him. Growling softly, her blue eyes looked up at him as he tried to shake her off, his claws scratching at her pelt. “Give up, Beta. You have lost.” She growled around the mouthful of fur and flesh that she had in her mouth, swinging her body around to attempt to knock him off his feet. She would not be letting go of his neck, no matter what he did. Once she had the upper hand, she wasn't going to give it up easily.

[Captain]

“If you think that is my weakness, you are far from the truth my dear. Rather I am right or wrong in my assumption, I have nothing to gain or lose from it and therefore it is neither a strength nor a weakness,” he said shaking his head. Even if it was that his weakness, he would be thankful that he had such a minute and insignificant one. But, it was not and though he knew what his weakness was, he wondered if Natasha did. The truth was that for those few wolves he let get close to him and whom he gave his undying loyalty to, he cared too much and was too loyal. Though there were only maybe three of them; Severus, Natasha, and Mythril, they all could be used to get him. They could all be used against him far too easily. That was his true weakness.

“I don’t underestimate you. But I know you, even if just a part of you, and unless you absolutely had to, you wouldn’t. Even then, it wouldn’t be an easy feat. Possible, yes, but it wouldn’t be anything like this.” While he really wasn’t trying during this sparing session with her, if she ever meant him harm, that would be a completely different story. If he knew his opponent was trying to seriously injure him or kill him, he would not go down without a hardcore fight. It would be unlike any fight he had would have ever been in.

“You are a huntress, yes, but like I said, don’t lie to me. I won’t ask questions or say anything about it to anyone else, but in order to fight against me the way you do, you had to have had specialized training somewhere down the line. Now let’s drop it before I get annoyed with the lying,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm. Lying was one of the things that really annoyed the silver male more than anything else. It was disrespectful, rude, and a slap to the face. It was unnecessary and he had a lot more respect for those who would say they didn’t want to talk about it than for those who chose to lie.

In an attempt to get away from that conversation, he attacked her again. However, with his mind clouded, he made a huge mistake. The moment Natasha saw his exposed neck, she had her teeth locked onto it. A deep snarl came from the pits of his chest as he attempted to get free from her grasp. He clawed and bit at her all the while snarling and glaring at her. He ignored her when she told him to give up, not about to give in so easily. When she went to throw him off balance, he stumbled back slightly but remained on his feet. He continued to bite at her, never going for the same place twice. He hoped she would have enough soon and would let go of him.