As Forward by Choice still had not found Heart and Home, the best course of action was to stay in the same general area. He wasn't particularly eager to chase after the motes and was far more comfortable sparring. The notion of facing off against a wooden dummy did not appeal to him, which meant he had to be social and ask another kin for a match. He wasn't particularly skilled in that aspect, usually preferring to let Heart do the talking.

But she wasn't here and he'd managed even before they met. He spotted another totoma and was more comfortable approaching them with his request. "Would you be alright sparring with me to gather these motes?"

Mima wrote:

Lightning Caller had been chasing motes as best he could, but the effects of doing so were beginning to wear on him- the hallucinations were almost as bad as the ones from down in the caves had been. Still, he would feel terrible if he didn't put his all into trying to help out with all of the other kin gathered to fix the situation.

The other Totoma that approached him was, to his eyes, incredibly intimidating. The amount of wool on this lad was off the charts. Still, despite his hesitation, he nodded along with the request to spar. No, it would be ridiculous to refuse, wouldn't it? He'd just be failing to help everyone if he refused. Not to mention his children, several of which were around... He wasn't about to show that side of himself to his kids, was he? Absolutely not.

"Sure," he responded with a nod of his head. "I think they have a clearing set up for it nearby, perhaps with some sort of poultices in case we get wounded..." Well, he hoped. Maybe he was being optimistic to think that they'd be so prepared. Or maybe he wasn't! Who knew.

The relief Forward felt was not visible on his face but he was definitely relieved that he wouldn't have to muster up the nerve to ask another kin. He nodded in agreement, "Yes, sparring in a designated area is a good idea. And medicines are good to have on hand." Hopefully during this spar, he'd be able to draw Heart's attention.

((rolling!))

Together with the other totoma, Forward headed for the clearing. It was different from the one he had fought the stag in, but it made sense that there would be more areas given the size of the gathering. He positioned himself on one side, and once his opponent had taken their spot, Forward realized he should have introduced himself. "Ah, before we begin, I am Forward by Choice."

There. He'd done it.

((mulligan time))

A part of him chided himself for volunteering his name at the start, it almost came across as him trying to stall. Shouldn't he have done it after their match, there wouldn't be much in the way of conversation during this spar, after all. But he'd been the one to reach out and make the request. He let out a snort of frustration, mainly at himself for overthinking when he should be more focused on the spar.

He pawed at the ground for a moment before he charged towards the other kin.

((Rerolling everything))

In his hesitation, Forward had made his attack a little too obvious to the other totoma so it wasn't all too surprising that he missed. It wasn't a complete loss, this gave him the chance to gauge his opponent's speed and reflexes.

((mulligan))

Once a few exchanges were made, Forward finally found his rhythm. The other totoma proved quite sturdy, which only encouraged him to strike a little harder when the opportunity presented itself. The counter-blows were also solid and he was going to be feeling them tomorrow.

((finally a 1!))

Forward had a good rhythm going for this match. The exchange of blows, the force and weight behind them, it was almost relaxing for the totoma. If one could call getting hit and hitting back relaxing. But one kin's pleasure was another kin's poison. He'd only heard about the hallucinations the motes brought on, he definitely would prefer to getting battered and bruised over being unable to trust his senses.

((rerolling 6 and 3))

At the end of their spar, Forward declared (with the same amount of awkwardness as his introduction) "That was a good match." He was smiling despite himself, he did enjoy the spar regardless of the result.

((using last reroll for that 2

Final Hand: 4, 4, 4, 1 = 16))

Lightning Caller nodded to the other buck as they approached the clearing designated for skirmishes. It was nice of the others to have cleared it out for the battling kin. Or perhaps the big Kimeti buck had done it himself? How long had it taken him? Days and nights seemed to blend together in this darkness...

Steeling his nerves, he stood across the clearing from Forward by Choice, nodding to the other Totoma as he introduced himself.
"And I am Lightning Caller," he responded, digging in his hooves and standing his ground against the oncoming onslaught.

The other Totoma lunged forwards, and Lightning Caller dipped to the side to avoid his strike. He wasn't a terribly quick kin by most standards, but for a Totoma, he wasn't bad at dodging things. Combat had been fairly common at the base of the Shattered Obelisk, so he was pretty used to it... It was almost a blast from the past to be up to his old habits again.

But there was not much time to reminisce in the middle of a fight. He, too, stomped forwards, aiming to give the other Totoma a firm strike to the center of the forehead, as was common in their battles.

The two totoma had found themselves in a comfortable battle rhythm, the clattering of his shards together as he was struck ringing out like bone wind chimes. He found himself exchanging blows with Forward one after another as the two trotted back and forward and around the ring. It was actually a bit difficult to judge Forward by Choice's attacks for Lightning Caller, as he was usually used to staring at the shiny horns and shards of his opponents at home. And needless to say Forward didn't even have large horns, let alone shards to keep track of.

There seemed to be a number of new little cracks growing in his crystalline textured armor just from this spar. He was nearing his limit.

Lightning Caller breathed heavily as he made one final lunge towards the much fluffier, toothier Totoma, rearing up on his hind hooves to try to drive the front, dull portion of his horns down on his opponent to try to bring him to his knees.

Despite his exhaustion, it seemed as though Lightning Caller had been successful. The genuine compliment from Forward by Choice made him dip his head in respect. "The same to you. But I am not sure I'm ready for another... I think I will be looking for those medicines, now..."