Jupiter had made up his mind. He was gonna be the best fighter ever. He was gonna fight monsters, and bad guys, and good guys. Basically, he was gonna fight everybody and be the best at it. And how did he go about being the best? By practicing an awful lot and getting into fights, duh. Upon realizing what it took to be the best fighter ever, he'd set off on picking his first fight, but the monkey on his back had literally stopped him from doing it. Said it was dangerous or whatever and insisted he would screech at the top of his lungs for Artemis until the boy gave up the pursuit, which he did, but only because he didn't like being harped at. So instead of fighting his first fight and being an awesome winner, he was standing in a clearing practicing his defenses like a chump. Every once in awhile he peeked up at Amadeus, who was sitting in the branches of a nearby tree grooming his mustache. If their eyes happened to lock the tamarin would pause what he was doing to shake his finger at the boy; the threat clear: behave or I'll tell your mother. "Fine," he snipped to himself. His expression sulky, Jupiter dropped into a crouch and stalked forward a couple steps to commit the move to memory. He felt stupid, but what else could he do with the mustachioed warden eyeing him like a hawk? "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

Lerato had been all over the place, from east to west to south. It was only a natural progression for him to find himself in the north at long last, which is exactly what had happened recently. With the lands to the south growing warmer and greener with each passing day, the north too was becoming more tolerable though still cold as usual. He breathed in the scent of the redwood trees around him, taking long, deep breaths and holding them before letting them out, his silver eyes closed in contentment. It was a beautiful day, the sun filtered through the massive tree's branches to warn his brown pelt in the most delightful way. Why, he could stay there all day given the opportunity. Ler was tempted to settle down in the mostly melted snow when he heard someone nearby. Interrupted as usual.

Normally, the man tended to choose to avoid the company of others and seek out solitude since even if he didn't enjoy his own company more than that of others at least he didn't judge himself for his own appearance. It was the fact that the pawsteps he heard shuffling about were very, very light and most decidedly that of a child which drew the man in. Wandering in that direction when his curiosity couldn't be ignored any longer, Lerato made his way over until a small blue pup came into view. Wait, blue? Now that was something he hadn't seen before. Hesitating for a bit out of reflex more than nervousness, it took some time for him to convince himself to approach. He noted the mixture of of frustration and melancholy written on the child's face. Eventually the man emerged from the shadows, approaching at an easy stroll. Tail wagging gently he called, "You don't look too happy, there." Stopping a fair distance away, he sat, appraising the boy with an indiscernible expression. He'd have smiled, but if he did that the child wouldn't recognize that look on his disfigured face anyways.

A hoot from the trees alerted Jupiter to the presence of another wolf. He straightened and was in the process of looking for the danger Amadeus warned him about when the other wolf's voice reached him. He turned back the other way and there the stranger stood. He'd approached quietly and so even though his appearance wasn't sudden, because Jupiter had turned to look the other way it seemed to him as if the stranger had appeared out of thin air. That by itself would have been simply jarring, but it, combined with the male's mutilated face, startled Jupiter. His eyes widened briefly and he couldn't help but zero in on the stranger's scars. His gaze was drawn like a moth to flame. "Um..." Jupiter snatched his gaze away from the scars and made himself look in the stranger's eyes. Behind the grotesque exterior he seemed friendly enough. Friendliness wasn't the second most (the first, of course, belonging to the scars) noticeably thing about him, though. He looked strong, like a fighter, and because he was so interested in the topic, Jupiter noticed. Those scars had to be war wounds! The boy was intrigued. This assumption warmed him to the stranger a little. Perhaps he should have feared for his safety, but he didn't. His expression bright and his stance friendly, he replied, "I'm not. I want to be a great fighter but nobody will teach me. And he," Jupiter glowered up at Amadeus, "Won't let me go to the battlefield because I'm 'too little' and 'the bad guys will eat me.'" "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

He forced himself not to squirm under the child's gaze. It was just a kid, after all - they couldn't help their curiosity, and it was often harmless so he would just have to forgive the stares until they subsided. He'd have smiled at the kid if he could have, but he'd have to settle for as warm an expression as he could manage when the boy brightened and began telling his tales of woe. Chuckling softly, Lerato replied, "Well, I think your friend's just trying to keep you safe. You never know who will show up to the battlefield. Sometimes they're looking for more than a friendly spar, and you wanna be big enough to handle 'em before you go parading around there where anybody could show up." Sure, it wasn't what the little blue child wanted to hear, but Lerato figured he'd try to cement the 'make good choices' mentality if possible. After all, it would be a shame for the child to go looking for a spar and find someone unsavory answering his call.

Wagging his tail lightly, Lerato would try to make up for his words by offering something he hoped would be just as good. "But, that doesn't mean you can't find others to teach you elsewhere. Maybe I can help. What do you wanna learn or work on, little warrior?"

Speaking with the eager young child was actually pretty enjoyable. The kid's enthusiasm was sort of heartwarming, and it almost made him feel better about having to struggle to carefully form his words so that they actually sounded like words. It was no easy task, but made less irritating when he was actually enjoying the conversation.

Jupiter's ears drooped a little when the stranger seemed to side with Amadeus. He was a bit wounded by the implication that he couldn't handle himself. Even if deep down he knew it was true. He was a little guy. Everyone else was bigger and stronger and smarter because they were grown ups. "Yeah," he agreed in a dejected tone, "I guess you're right..." Just as quickly as his mood had fallen, it lifted as the stranger offered to help him. He beamed up at the stranger and his tail beat the air with enough force to make little whooshing sounds. What did he want to learn? Well, that was easy! "Everything! Got any favorite attacks? Or defenses?" "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”