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Like every morning, Khanyo got up early to stretch his muscles and do some quick exercises before the sun was even over the horizon. This was how he'd been starting his day since a very young age, and like always, he was preparing for his morning spar with Neze. Ever since their father, Surtak, had engrained in them the need to train and spar against one another every day since early cubhood, the brothers had started their day in exactly the same way. Wake up, stretch, spar, eat something, and then do whatever needed being done during the day. It was a routine that had served them well, and not one that the brothers would easily break. Khanyo had just reached the sparring sands when he eyed his brother finishing his stretches on the opposite side of some rocks. Khanyo wasted no time in issuing his challenge roar to alert his brother, before charging at him.
Neze had just finished his morning stretches when he heard Khanyo bellow at him, and like clockwork Neze answered the call with one of his own. He knew how Khanyo fought, so instead of meeting his brother head on with a charge of his own, the darker male made a move to attack Khanyo from the side. What he hadn't expected was for Khanyo to see through this maneuver and counter with a heavy smack to the side of his head. Neze lost his balance for a moment or two as he shook off the heavy blow, before he made yet another attempt to get at Khanyo's side, this time to shoulder him and hopefully catch the smaller male off balance.
Unfortunately for Neze, Khanyo had already grounded himself and dug his heels into the dirt for such a move. He may have been shorter than his brother, but Khanyo certainly had the upper paw when it came to sheer muscle and weight. He was able to withstand Neze's attempt at toppling him over, and he had just enough leverage to reach around and bite Neze's exposed leg. Maybe not enough to draw blood, but he was certain Neze had felt that one as his brother was quick to jump away from him before he could do any real damage. After that it was time to go on the offensive! With a rumbling growl Khanyo charged after him, claws safely tucked away as he aimed to catch his brother on the flank.
It seemed he'd be fighting more defensively for this spar, as he was hardly able to get away from Khanyo's onslaught before a heavy paw slammed itself down onto his hip. Neze spun on his heels to take a few swipes at Khanyo to keep the other male from getting too close, but neither blow connected and Neze was forced back a few paces to keep some distance between them. His lips pulled back into a snarl as he eyed Khanyo's stance and attempted to gleam what the golden male would do next. When another attack seemed imminent Neze charged forward to attack Khanyo head on, hoping to catch the other male off-guard by such a bold tactic.
On the contrary, Khanyo had prepared for such a move. He had dug his heels into the dirt and steeled his muscles against the hard blow of Neze's charge, only to partially rear up and slam one of his heavy forelimbs into Neze's shoulder. The two grappled briefly, both struggling to keep on their feet against the other's weight and strength, while also attempting snap and bite at one another's face. It was Khanyo who managed to grab a hold of Neze's mane in the end, and he used his leverage to drive the other male to the ground and unbalance him.
Neze could tell that the grapple wasn't going in his favor, but it was difficult to separate at such close quarters. He was certain if this had been a real fight, he'd probably had gotten his face bitten off by now. It was frustrating, but he was not able to keep himself from being driven off his paws with sheer strength alone, as Khanyo was the stronger of the two brothers when it came to brute strength. Neze snarled as he twisted and attempted to rake his claws into Khanyo's mane, not enough to hurt him, but enough to get the other male to back off at least.
Khanyo did back off once Neze started going for his throat, though the golden male was not ready to completely back off just yet. He could feel he was close to winning this spar, and he wasn't about to give any ground back to his opponent. Before Neze could completely recover and get his paws underneath him again, Khanyo rumbled forward to charge at Neze shove him over completely, where Khanyo could pin him and render any further struggle useless. For good measure Khanyo latched his teeth around Neze's neck, close to his throat, not quite enough to draw blood but definitely enough to get the other male's attention. "Yield," Khanyo demanded through a rumbling growl as his teeth threatened to close further around the other male's neck.
No matter how he looked at it, Neze could not find a way out of this position without injuring himself. The darker of the two brothers allowed his muscles go lax and with a grumble he replied, "I yield." When Khanyo released his neck and got off of him, Neze rolled to his belly and shook his mane. That hadn't been one of his better spars, or perhaps Khanyo had just done exceptionally well this morning, but either way it left a sour taste in Neze's mouth. "Let's grab something to eat, I'm starving," he rumbled unhappily, hoping that some meat in his stomach would help turn the day and his mood around.
Khanyo did not miss the sour mood his brother was in, but the golden male simply rolled his shoulders in a shrug. He had had won, fair and square, and there was no need to rub that into Neze's face. Besides, they both had their off days every once in awhile, and Khanyo was no exception to that. "If we're lucky, the hunters will have brought something in already this morning," Khanyo replied casually, though he did smile at the mention of the hunters. He'd met Asali, one of the hunters, the other day and he had not been disappointed despite how bewildering their interaction had started out. In fact, there was a little bounce to his step as his mind wandered back to that day. He hadn't quite told Neze about it yet, especially after he had made fun of Neze for doing such a thing a few days ago. Best to keep those details to himself then.
Neze simply grumbled at Khanyo, his voice somewhat close to a growl. It's not that he lost, it's that he'd lost so utterly, he told himself. And of course he wasn't angry with Khanyo for winning, after all that's how half of their spars ended on a daily basis. It just so happened that this particular time Neze felt as though he could have done better. "Its still pretty early in the day for that," he managed to say without growling any further. It would be nice, but the dark male doubted there would be anything brought in early this morning. Most likely, they would need to catch their own breakfast.
((Word Count: 1,236))
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