He gave her a few days to settle in, and had been pleased to hear that her and Mortis had started in on some training between them. He always liked to encourage his son, and he was overall pleased to finally see the boy getting a head start in his work, and that Malalia had participated. He made his way to the communal space in his pack lands, shifting his paws as he looked across the flattened space of his meeting area, and then raising his eyes to look out where the ocean hid the land. He could just see a hint of the water from here, but his arenas were tucked closer to the cusp where sand meets grass, and were hidden by the slope of the land. He raised his head higher yet, pointing his muzzle at the early morning sun, as he let loose a gentle call, summoning his newest wolf to him. He would start her today on their training regime. "Speech"

Malalia

Back to the sea it was. Or close enough, rather. The young woman had already spent a fair amount of downtime on the shorepoint, getting sand caked between her toes and washing it away as she splashed in the tide. She'd never been to the meeting area, though, a secluded little place on the inland. Ears twitching at the summons, she crawled away from her den, blinking repeatedly. She hadn't been asleep, exactly but... she wondered if the man just enjoyed waking up at the crack of dawn.

Not that she was complaining. The sight of Sirius made her ears perk up and her tail sway easily behind her. It wasn't just training that excited her; it was being in a pack at all. And she would always have him to thank for that. Smiling widely, she bounded over to him. "Morning! What's on the agenda for today?"

"Speech"
[ooc: thank you again for the tablllllllle ;^;]

He did not have to wait long before the bright young student would appear before him. He grinned at the colourful wolf, tilting his head back to earth as he finished his song. Her excitement was catchy, and even the Warlord managed a light tail wag in response. “Today we begin your lessons” he explained. He had already spoken to Io about this girl, and his sister would start that side of the lessons shortly. Malalia would certainly have a lot on her plate between the two of them. He would expect her to keep at her lessons, even when the two older wolves weren’t looking over her shoulder. After all, he had a pack to run, and couldn’t devote as much time as he would like to tutoring. “Follow me” he directed, and would nod his head back towards the beach, noting she had started out from there by the sand on her legs. She had likely already seen his barracks and training arenas. He would lead her there without delay, and indicate for her to step into the ring. “Alright, I want to see what you know already. Set your defences for me” he instructed. "Speech" Ooc: My pleasure! Can't have any Armada wolves without tables ;)

Malalia

Malalia followed closely as they moved towards the training area. Images came to her of powerful strikes and practiced motions, ones she had seen watching the older warriors training, before. After her match with Mortis, the yearling was itching to spar, to show what she knew--she wondered what moves Sirius would teach her. Truth be told, she wanted to steal everything the Warlord had and perfect it for herself.

And yet, when she stepped into the ring, he asked to see her set her defenses. So, the bare bones. And it made sense, of course, to see what he was working with and to make sure her foundations were solid. She understood that, and nope, not her, she definitely wasn't disappointed in the slightest bit.

"Right."The girl lowered her body to the ground, her forelegs spread wide and even. Her weight shifted slightly to her hindlegs. Head lowered, and tucked to protect her neck. Ears pinned flat against her skull. Tail pointing straight out. "All set."

"Speech"

He waited for her to follow his instructions - and she did so, without delay. He walked a pace around her, examining her stance, and he could see this wasn’t her first rodeo. She must have some experience, with how quickly she put herself into the defensive stance. “Alright, we can move on from the basics” he teased lightly, stepping into the ring himself. He stood across from her, paws digging into the hot sand, the early morning rays catching the beach on his right shoulder. He noted it, to ensure she couldn’t maneuver him into a position where he would be sun-struck. The sound of gently lapping water and the cawing of seagulls was almost peaceful. He knew the peace would not last. He grinned at her, an expression of anticipation for one who lived for the fight. “Lets see you move, Malalia” he said, setting his own defenses, digging his feline-like claws into the sand, with his legs spread evenly across. He bunched up his neck, rolling his shoulders forward. He narrowed his eyes to slits, and motioned for her to come at him. He wouldn’t retaliate, not in this first practice round. He needed to see what his pupil knew, and what basics he should actually be starting with. "Speech"

Malalia

She snorted lightly as he joined her in the ring. 'Step one, done.' She was sure in herself when it came to the basics, but there was always something to reach for.

Her mentor stood opposite of her, and with a grin of his own, he made his challenge. 'Ohhhhh boy.' That was one thing she was less sure of--making the first move on a wolf that was larger than herself. The man being a relative giant, he could crush her if she made a wrong move. 'So, don't.'

When he motioned for her, she moved immediately, giving a strong push from her hindlegs. At full speed, she dashed in a semi-circle on her right, keeping her weight low to the ground. Her eyes were trained on his hindlegs. But as she neared his side, Malalia cut sharply to her left. Along a path going underneath his belly, she would grab his left foreleg by the ankle, barreling forward with the force of all her weight in an attempt to yank his foreleg back and behind his right, in doing so (hopefully) dragging him off his feet.

She would quickly release, darting out on the other side of him to avoid his weight, should he try to pin her. But as she spun around to face him again, she realized he wouldn't counter, not just yet. She gave a short exhale and lowered into a defensive position once again, awaiting his instruction.

"Speech"

He saw no hesitation in his young pupil, he joined her in the ring, and the two of them seized each other up. At his motion, she plunged into action, moving, to his surprise under his belly, and swiping at his paw, dragging it with her in an attempt to topple him. He spread out his right leg further, digging his feline claws as hard into the sand as he could as she dragged her paw right, in an effort not to let his weight fall to his left, or on top of the smaller wolf.

He grunted as he rearranged himself after her departure. “Alright, you’ve got spunk, and you're not afraid to dive in, but here's a couple things you need to know.” he said, looking at his young pupil. “Putting yourself under me like that, puts you fully at my mercy. For one, you go past my fangs to get there. For another, If I chose to sit to balance my weight, you would have lost your exit, and I would have you squarely in front of me. Your small and light, that would make it hard for you to win your way out at close quarters. Not to mention..” he twisted his ankle, and the hidden blade popped out. “I could have compromised my balance and scored a cut in you with my right bracer blade before I went down.” he carefully showed her all the little ways he could have countered her attack. “As a small wolf, you want to stick to the outskirts of a battle, come at me from the sides, without compromising your escape with such a direct attack as going under me.” He explained, settling his weight and balance back to normal, popping the blade back into its sheath with a push from his elongated fang.

Malalia

Her ears remained pinned on her head and her lips twitched, nearly frowning, but she listened as Sirius initially praised her, but—and there was always a but—listed every single thing wrong about her attack. And it was a very long "but" indeed: putting herself at the mercy of his weight, his fangs, the different countermoves she hadn't thought about, or cared about. She groaned audibly when he revealed the icing on the cake, the blade on his ankle, because of course she'd missed that entirely.

"Okay, I get the danger of getting under your weight, but if I'm quick enough to get in and out, does it really matter? What if I'm doing something simpler, like slashing at you instead of a full on grab? Or is that just a risk I never wanna take?" She was small, but she thought speed was one of her strong points. Still, it would suck if he did say never, because up to this point that had been her main strategy. Get up under a larger opponent to get them off their feet. Granted, most of her fights had been sparring matches with students as inexperienced as herself....

"Otherwise, how am I supposed to take you down? It's not like I can face you head on, I'm not big enough for that. Chipping away at the sides seems... less effective than trying to unbalance you from the inside, I don't know." The question didn't come to be contrary, or because she didn't believe the Warlord. There was a reason he held his position, after all. But habits were hard to shake. Frustrating as it may be... if she was doing something wrong, or not as efficiently as it could have been done, she wanted to know.

"Speech"

“The time it takes for you to get under me - and more important, out again - is a lot longer than the time it takes for me to go flat” he said simply. She was welcome to stick to her attack if she pleased, but he couldn’t see it doing much but getting her injured.he was just too large and heavy compared to her. She was right, a small wolf against a large had a lot of disadvantages. “The truth is, it’s going to be hard for you to counter the disadvantage of your size” he admitted. Which no doubt was the last thing she wanted to hear.

He took a seat in the arena, thinking it through. Most of his small wolves took the harrying approach, taking them from the sides until they wearied, but the truth was, it wasn’t that efficient. “Tell you what. If you want to get good at fighting, you're going to need advantages. You're going to need battle companions, and weapons. I can get you both, if you want to walk through with me your preference for them and I can help you decide the pros and cons. Think it over. For the meanwhile, let's come back to fighting a larger wolf later. How about we take a patrol and talk over tactics, and if we can find something smaller to attack, we will.” he suggested. Already he was muling the thought over in his head. He had Tamsyn attacking him from the side, but it was true that it used a lot of energy for low reward. He had contacts both in the smithy business, and the animal business. Otherwise, he could just steal a baby from its den and raising it can be a part of her training.

Malalia

The girl exhaled, but said nothing. Maneuvers took time for even the fastest wolf. 'Fair enough.' Her frown only deepened as he confessed the failings of her size. Unbidden, the hairs along her back raised. Malalia had never been one to resent her body. For the first time, she hated just how small and vulnerable she really was.

She'd been an exemplary student, when she was just beginning her training. Drunk on her mentors' words, she'd practiced with whatever free time she had. But as the other students grew, and she remained the same size—smaller than her own siblings, even—sparring had only ever gotten harder. She'd begun, then, to push down the creeping sense that perhaps being a warrior wasn't right for her. That feeling was catching in her throat, now.

The mention of advantages caused her to look up, eyes brightening, but her heart plummeted even more as he went on. Not with a magic solution or new strategy she hadn't considered, but with talk of weapons and battle companions. She bit her tongue so that she wouldn't blurt out something stupid. 'What kind of warrior uses tools to do the fighting for them?' It was a concept she was entirely unused to. Not that she thought less of him, or his own companions, but she was sure that Sirius was plenty formidable without them. What kind of warrior was she if she needed anything besides her own teeth and claws?

They'd moved on before she could voice her frustrations, which was probably for the best. "Sure, let's do that." She gave herself a small shake, though her guard hairs wouldn't lay all too flat. Let them find something nice and child-sized, just for her. Malalia tried her best not to look like a sullen little cub, but try as she might she could barely conceal her disappointment. This was not how she had expected the lesson to go.

"Speech"

He looked at Malalia, and saw the disappointment in her eyes, and offered her a gentle smile. “ Anyone can become a master at fighting. You need to find a style that's perfect for you. The issue here isn’t so much that you're smaller - it's that your mentor is one of the biggest wolves in the land. It’s hard for me to teach you a style that fits you. I will train you, and you will grow and learn for yourself, but in the meantime, we’ll have to get you against opponents your own size. Don’t lose heart, not everyone is as big as I am” he promised her gently.

The Warlords greatest tactics were among his weight class - which he could not teach her, and hidden weapons, which he could. He would focus on the second half, and find her a teacher closer to her size. The Warlord liked to win, and he would use every advantage given to him to ensure it. He had not only his own protection to guarantee, but those of his family, and his pack.

He began to walk, taking them towards the border as he considered the issue of a small wolf against a large one. Perhaps she needed to perfect faints, to ensure the larger wolf through their energy in the wrong direction, and score her own hits. Regardless, he was keen to see her fight against an opponent in her own weight class. “So, companions - do you preferial arial, ground, or a mixture?”

Ooc: I’m happy to buy you a companion and a battle accessory if you pick out what you want! :)

"Speech"

Malalia

She couldn't help but chuckle faintly at "one of the biggest wolves in the land." 'Yeah, understatement.' But his explanation did give her a measure of comfort. Maybe she'd never be the best at fighting the 'traditional' way against a larger opponent. But it could still be done. Like the man had said, she had to figure out what worked best for her. Still, the thought of needing battle aids did not quite endear itself to her.

Mal stepped away from the arena, following closely after the man. The lesson wasn't a total bust, after all, and hopefully they would come across something she could attack. Even without the difference in stature, she was itching to practice. She kept her senses alert as they moved further away from the training grounds.

Her head tilted slightly as she caught the man's next question, and she raised an eyebrow. Prefer? "Well, I don't know, I've had so many it's hard to choose," she joked. "But honestly, I'm not sure? An aerial companion could be helpful with a different perspective, I guess... and it's not like I'm growing wings anytime soon." Attacking from the air? She had to admit that was kind of cool. "But I think that a ground companion would suit me better," she decided. "Pack an extra punch. I don't know much about either of them, though."

"Speech"
ooc: oh jeeeeeeez thank you!! I just messaged ya

Still settled into the roll of her teacher - despite his conviction to also find her someone closer to her size to train her - he would continue to educate her. WInged companions can fall into two categories. You can train them to observe, watch, and give advice*1 or, alternatively, you can use them in battle*2. Specialise them in fighting, harrying, and distracting your target” he explained to her. Marshal was of course a fighter.

She mentioned a ground fighter, and he nodded. “I know someone who specializes in raising fighting companions. If you can think of what creature you would like as your companion, I'll source one for you. I always keep my warriors equipped with whatever they need” he explained to her. At that point, they reached the border. Sirius was itching for a fight too, mostly so he could observe and give pointers to his pupil. He also was disappointed at the frustrations that came from their size difference.

Ooc:
*1this means buying a flying companion under Perception
*2 flying Companion under Battle

"Speech"

"A wolverine," she blurted out. "I mean, if you can get one. You can't get just any animal, can you?" She was still trying to wrap her head around the custom, but if she could really get anything she wanted.... "There was one that was nosing around our dens last spring, trying to pick at our caches. She was feisty." She'd giggled when the warriors had come back again and again, exhausted and bleeding and nothing to show for their efforts. The animal had left several calling cards before she eventually moved on.

Across the border, the scent of coyote drifted towards her, and she whipped her head around to see three figures slinking across the flatland, half-hidden in the underbrush, their own noses lifted to the air. Guard hairs began to prickle all up her back, and her gaze swiveled back to Sirius, who no doubt had sensed their presence at this point. "Well, there's something smaller."

She was quick to make her decision after that, and he gave a soft laugh, and a slight swish of his tail in amusement. “We’ll see” he said. He would need to check his sources, and see what he could scrounge up for her. “A good choice” he would add, having also run into one on his lifetime, and finding them to be disagreeable bastards. If they could train one right, it would make a valuable ally.

As they spoke, the presence of coyotes would make themselves known to the two patrolling wolves. Exactly what the Warlord ordered, in fact. A good choice of smaller prey. “Indeed” he agreed easily. Coyotes were scavengers that often picked at the edges of pack borders. Getting rid of them would give him a good chance to see her fight against a smaller opponent. He signalled for Bast to begin heading behind them, and looked upwards to ensure Marshal was still within sigh. With those cards on the table, he would turn to Malalia. “Head towards the West and cut them off, i’ll came at them from this angle, once they see we’ve penned them in we’ll have a fight on our hands” he said, knowing Bast would also be a part of their corralling

A wolverine at her beck and call. Now that would be something. She wasn't too thrilled about needing a battle aid, sure, but the yearling couldn't help but feel a bit of excitement. Still, she returned her attention to the present. Coyotes were nasty little pests, but simple enough to handle, she thought. The girl watched quietly as Sirius checked for his companions, then gave his command. "Right." She moved west as he'd instructed, stooping low, her paws pressing silently into the earth.

Mal took the path of a semicircle, taking cover in the undergrowth as she neared them indirectly, ears flicking at their chatter. With only a few lengths left between them, she dashed out to block their movement, ears pressed back and a snarl bubbling out of her lips. The coyotes startled briefly, before standing their ground and replying with growls of their own. It was three against one, or so it seemed. They were too slow to realize that Sirius and Bast would trap them in.

In a frenzy, the closest one leapt out at her. Mal met the creature head on--its teeth scraped briefly at her chest before she threw out her forelegs to crush the smaller animal beneath her. Her own teeth found the soft swell of its throat, and copper bloomed across her tongue as her jaws snapped tightly shut, its cry going silent.

Sirius watched her move until she was out of sight, and then Marshal was running areal above them, following her with a lazy swoop of his wings. Following the bird with his eyes told the Warlord where she was, and he knew when she was close.

She provided a distraction then, snarling and dashing into view again from the other side of them. He almost lost track of his own fight as he watched her move. She killed the coyote before he could even approach the first. And he whistled appreciatively at her moves. No hesitation, no doubt. She might not know the best moves to attack something so much larger than herself, but when it came something in or under her weight class, she was a sight to behold.

The sound of Bast engaging the other coyote snapped Sirius from his revere. He slid his eyes to the leopard as she circled the coyote, and he paced forward, waiting until bast had circled it into position so its back was to him, and then he pounced. He crushed it beneath his weight, damaging it beyond repair before his teeth even grazed its skin. He completed a mercy killing swiftly after that, elongated fangs easily finding its throat. He removed himself from the carcass, and turned back to malalia, a grin forming on his lips. “See? Your a born fighter.”

"Speech"

Malalia

While Bast and Sirius tackled the second coyote, the yearling went for the third. It was easy enough; seeing its comrades fall, the frightened thing turned tail and had begun to run. Not fast enough — Malalia vaulted over the body of the first, stretching out her paws and tripping up the coyote's back legs. From there, it was all over, her fangs sinking into the back of its neck for a swift and deadly blow.

She turned back to Sirius. She would have asked how she'd done had her mentor not been so ready with praise, and the grin that followed was a twin to his own. She tried and immediately failed to look a little dignified, tail waving rapidly in wordless happiness. Her troubles about becoming a master warrior forgotten, at the moment. "You better watch out, then," she teased, dipping into a play bow, "'cause I'll be fighting you next!" And the yearling meant it wholly. She knew she'd lose that fight to the Warlord, that was a given. But the second he deemed her ready to spar with him? She'd be ready.

"Speech"

Sirius turned over the dead bodies as Malalia spoke. Her killing blow had landed right on its throat, it hadn’t stood a chance. He dragged over the one that had tried to get away, joining it with the other two. “Let’s bring these back to the kill pile” he suggested. No point wasting food, or leaving it near their borders to encourage other scavengers to approach.

“I’ll make sure to watch my back” he teased back at her light joking. He wanted her to get some more experience fighting smaller wolves first. He didn’t want her to lose heart again by coming at the Warlord next. He wanted her to see what she was capable of when the playing field was a little more even.

"Speech"

Malalia

"Sure," she said easily, thought her nose couldn't help but wrinkle in habitual disgust. Herself and her former pack had viewed coyotes as vermin but, well, food was food. She padded forward and grabbed one of the coyotes, slinging her first kill over her shoulder and grabbing her second by the scruff, adjusting slightly as its body bumped into her forelegs, threatening to trip the gal. She wasn't trying to show off with a game of how-many-coyotes-can-I-carry, but her enthusiasm perhaps went a little overboard, at times. And they were her kills, after all.

She flattened her ears at Sirius' words, a mischievous glint in her eye. Though with a mouth full of coyote, any retort would be basically unintelligible.

There was no question that the experienced warrior would hand her ass to her, when they started out, but the knowledge didn't faze her. Even if it took a while to learn to hold her own, Mal thought it was better than being benched, however temporarily. The knowledge that she could do it one day, though, that was enough. She was more or less in better spirits than before, a bounce in her step as they moved towards camp.

--Exit?--
"Speech"