ooc: due date for the first round is April 16th! This is required for any character older than 1 year. edit: I'm going to extend the deadline for the first post on this a few days to account for the delay of it being put in the ic news box. But please get your posts in as soon as possible! I'll get it started no later than the 19th. Time passed so quickly. She realized recently just how long she had held this position as the lead fighter in Fiori and how little she had done to help train the pack in that time. She knew that the number of fighters in this pack was next to none, but it didn't mean that everyone didn't have to be prepared. Leo had been so patient, letting her deal with the drama surrounding her sons and letting her take the time to raise her daughters. He had never pressed her for these trainings even though he wanted them to happen. She decided that now was the time for her to step up and do her job. It was late in the evening now, the sun had set maybe an hour before. She wanted to show the wolves here that they had to be prepared to protect Fiori any time of day. If they were attacked it wouldn't be in broad daylight unless the attacking wolves were stupidly confident. She came to the large area they usually held meetings in and she stood in the center of it before she lifted her muzzle to the sky and let out a call for everyone to come- with the exception of the children. The yearlings and older would be fine this time around. She may do some basic things with the children one day, but for now she wanted to see them spar and see what she had to work with. She let the howl fade into an echo before she settled onto her haunches to wait for them to arrive. "Talk" "You" Think

Leo's head lifted from his paws to listen with surprise when Athena's howl reached him. A training? He certainly hadn't been asleep, sleep avoided him on a good day, but he was sure at least some of the pack would be asleep by now. It was very interesting timing to say the least. He of course was quick to get to his paws, glancing at his pups to make sure they hadn't gotten woken up in the process. He trotted toward their usual meeting spot quickly, arriving to see Athena waiting for him and whoever else would join them. He gave her a smile and sat back on his haunches as well with a soft chuckle. "Trying to catch us off guard?" he asked with a slight grin. It was a good tactic to take. He could see her logic behind it. He was happy to see more trainings begin to happen around here. They all needed it. "Talk" "You" Think

Oh dear, fighting. It was pretty well known that Amalia disliked fighting, and really didn't know much more than what her mate had showed her. A bubble of nervous excitement sat in her gut as she grabbed her medical supplies in a large leaf, setting off for the meeting area. Seeing Leo and Athena, a smile smile was offered around her herbs. She eyed Leo with a touch of concern, remembering their last conversation in her herb den. She sighed softly, patting one of his paws with her gray one, as her mouth was preoccupied. She then made he way to Athena, dropping her herb bundle as she settled beside her. Looking up at her taller mate, a sheepish smile was offered as she nuzzled her shoulder, concern still lingering in her blue eyes. "Are you going to make me fight?" she asked softly, shifting her weight across her front paws. The tiny woman would be an easy target for anyone, even a pup. "Talk" "You" Think

Amalia at the very least knew some pointers about fighting from her wife! Arivae knew nothing... not even basic defensive strategies. The girl had never really cared for fighting at all. It wasn't like she would get too far into that skill category, anyways. She was such a scrawny girl. If she were to ever be put with someone like Leo or Tiburtius, she'd be plowed in a heartbeat. The thought forced a whine up her throat as she made her way towards Athena, her head spinning. When she arrived she instantly moved to Leo and sat beside him. She didn't sit all up on him, but she sat close enough to feel secure. When she was settled she ducked her head and nervously eyed Athena, the one who called the session. Would she was really have to fight? Amalia, too... she was lover, not a fighter.

It was required, he didn't want to do it but he was going to. After resting with an attack last night, he felt oddly better. However it would come to reason that he would be fairly displeased with spars. Razor could hardly defend himself, so this would be interesting. Now that his brother was gone, he was in Fiori alone. He didn't mind, aunty amalia was here with the rest. With that in mind the boy stood to his paws and headed over. Softly stepping as he reached the small class of wolves. He spotted Athena and Amalia and immediately sought himself to get closer to them. Respectfully dipping his head to Athena.

"I can't say I'll be any good at this." he wheezed softly. Razor didn't want to remain sick forever but his lungs would always be at his edge. Still though he gave a soft smile to Athena and Amalia. His tail wagging a little bit, he was hoping to get out of it. If not, that was all the more okay.
"RazorSHARP"

Hesitation and fear gripped the delicate woman as she woke from a deep slumber to the call for fighting. In a confused, half-sleeping state, she worried that the pack was under siege, that they needed to defend themselves. Would she be of any use? Would there be casualties? But as she got to her paws and the fog of sleep lifted, she examined the tone of the howl in her mind, and realized that Athena's call was for training. Bright Moon shook out her coat and parted her way through the tangled roots of the mangroves which protected her sleeping place. Although the call was only for training, the woman still moved hesitantly, unsure of her abilities and confidence in the rough prospect of fighting other wolves.

Her uncertainty made her quite late, and when she arrived, she realized that many had already gathered around Athena, waiting for the training to commence. To her relief, she realized that she was not the only one who looked hesitant about this kind of training. Amalia, Arivae and Razor all looked unsure. Perhaps it was a good thing that they all got some practice in. Although fighting was not their favourite thing to do, it would be a tragedy to be caught off-guard by enemies, with no way to defend themselves. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad?

Gulping nervously, Bright approached the small group and sat herself close to Leo and Arivae. What were they going to learn this evening? Would she have to test her skills against one of her pack mates? Who would she be paired with? Nails digging into the ground as she forced herself to sit still, she waited with ears folded to hear what Athena had planned for them tonight.

Tiburtius crossed back into Fiori's territory just as he heard his mother's summoning howl. He had gone just outside of Fiori's border in his wanderings while he tried to wear himself out a bit so that he could go to sleep at a decent time. Sleep was getting a bit easier to come by now that Arivae was well and that worry had been taken off his mind, but it still felt like he had so much running through his mind constantly that it chased sleep away. It seemed like he wouldn't get to sleep for a while longer anyway since his mother seemed to want them to do some training. Since he was at the edge of the mangroves when Athena howl it took him a bit to reach the group that was gathering. He was quick to spot Arivae sitting near Leo and he smiled a little. He knew she wasn't much of a fighter. Actually, as he made his way over to her and he looked around at the group that had gathered, he realized that very few of them were actually fighters of any kind. He hummed thoughtfully to himself as he came to sit beside Arivae on the opposite side of her from his uncle Leo, tipping his head down breifly to kiss the top of her head before focusing his attention on his mother to see what they would be doing today. Speak Thought Others

With hearts blocking her eyesight, it was difficult to catch any prey around. She had met someone truly special to her, but tell anyone, she would not. Muzzle was clamped shut from any spillage of her encounter a couple of days ago and the only thing that came out was breath.

Eventually, the lovestruck girl had caught a squirrel, but the call had reached her bat-shaped ears. The body dangled helplessly in the cross breeze as the tall and thin she-wolf bolted through the hunting grounds to see what exactly the hullabaloo was about. Some of the few she saw were at the meeting when a rare few were the first times her blues would catch a glimpse of. The voice of the summons was not the leader's, nor was it Bright's, so it must have been the female in the front/middle of the semi-circle of young and old alike.

Naturally, Nala tried to sit where she wouldn't be a bother to any of the other patrons at the meeting, but she was so excited to see what exactly was going on here!!! Why were they all gathered here? They already taught the little ones how to hunt, so it couldn't be about food...perhaps it was about fighting?

She heard the call, but she'd taken her time in getting there. The little woman had never fought before, she had no experience in it at all. But it wouldn't hurt to learn now would it? It could be useful if something like...no. she couldn't think about that night again. She refused to. And yet, every time she looked at her son, she was reminded. Still, what could a tiny thing like her do to someone much bigger then her? She supposed she would find out.
Sulking into the gathered group, she found a spot near the back to sit and wait.

ooc: sorry for the wait, guys! I didn't time this well in relation to my absence. But lets get to it! Since I play all three of our pack's fighters I will start new threads for each of our training groups and PM you links. Athena waited patiently while wolves slowly began to file in. She wasn't surprised to see Leo arrive first and she'd return the man's grin and chuckle with one of her own. "Attackers don't come for us when it's pretty and sunny outside," she commented. Everyone might not be pleased that they were being drug out in the middle of the night for training, but this was the most realistic situation she could imagine. Her wife arrived next with herbs and a concerned gaze in tow. Athena immediately felt conflicted as she looked down at Amalia's gaze, her ears flicking. She didn't want to force Amalia to do something she didn't want to, but she needed her wife to be safe if something happened and she wasn't around to protect her. "Just a little, okay?" she replied with a small smile, tipping her muzzle down to nuzzle the top of Ama's red head. Arivae and Razor come next, soon followed by Bright Moon and her son. Slowly she was beginning to realize just how outnumbered the fighters of the pack were compared to the non-fighters. Nalamimi and Ashelia came last and only added to the conundrum. She wasn't familiar with the two women and didn't know how they felt about fighting, but if Ashelia's face was any indication she at least wouldn't be pleased. Athena sighed softly, a small frown tugging at her lips. It seemed she had more work to do than she thought. She looked around the group and did a mental run through of the pack. It seemed the only member not here was Epiphron... but she couldn't wait for her forever. She glanced at Leo, knowing he would notice her absence as well, before looking back to those that had gathered around her. "Thank you for coming, everyone," she began. "I called you for training tonight because sieges and attackers don't come in opportune times. They won't wait for you to be prepared, they won't come in the middle of the day." She paused, looking around at the wolves around her. "I understand that very few of you have experience with fighting. I'm not trying to make you into warriors, but I am trying to make sure that if the need arises you will be able to defend the pack, or at least yourself. That being said, it will do you no good to throw you into a spar if you have no idea what to do." She started grouping wolves together in her head, speaking as she decided what to do. "Amalia and Arivae. You two go with Leo. Razor and Bright Moon. You'll be with Tiburtius. That leaves Ashelia and Nalamimi with me. Break off into groups. Our fighters will show our non-fighters some defensive moves. After you do that if anyone is comfortable enough to go into a spar feel free." "Talk" "You" Think