After his obvious interest in the sword the Hallows wolf had wielded, she had offered to give him a practice lesson. She had been far from home, and without the right tools so she had set them a date for them to meet, and he found himself waiting with some anticipation. The idea of carrying something in his maw like that wouldn’t have occurred to him without witnessing it for himself. But seeing her strike the final blow with the tempered metal had sparked something inside of him. Something boyish and excitable.

He left a day early, giving Wren the heads up before vanishing deep into the Southern territories of Bores. He didn’t like leaving her alone across such a vast distance, but that was a feeling he would have to get over. With the extra time available, he was able to find the territory she had indicated and set up a temporary camp. He was able to bring down a young deer, so they would have a meal once they’d expanded their energy in the training.

Now all he had to do was wait. He sat on his hunches by his little camp, and watched the horizons. Waiting for a hint of the friendly Hallows warrior

WC: 207

"Speech"

As dawn breaks over the castle, Fern eagerly slides from her bed to begin gathering the equipment that she will be taking with her when she goes out to meet Mercury. As she goes, memories of her first lesson with Art plays through her eyes. She remembers how they had donned armor to run through some paces and happy smile crosses her pale lips. Running to the armory, the girl borrows two wooden training swords and a large set of training armor for Mercury to use. Carefully, she packs the armor and bundles the swords together in the hopes that it will be easier to carry on her trip. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, the gray girl had put on her own armor, gathered the supplies and set out across the bi-frost.

It isn’t too terribly far to the gully and, by the time she can be seen on the horizon with a big bundle hanging from her mouth, it is barely creeping into late morning hours. Fern had oiled her leather armor and the training set that Mercury would be using and they gleam in the sunlight as she trots happily toward the tall wolf. Tail wags behind her as she dips her head in greeting before stopping to set down the equipment she had brought. Mouth free, she joyfully greets the black and blue wolf, saying, “Hey Mercury! I brought you a set of training armor to use. This is how Artorias taught me and I want you to get a feel for sword and armor.”

Part of her hopes that Mercury will be intrigued with this ‘taste’ of swordplay and seek out Art to further his knowledge. Nudging the oiled, dark leather armor toward the tall male, Fern says, “Here, let’s get this on you first. I can help you get it buckled and sized.” She picks up the chest piece and shows him how to slip the straps over his head before working to tighten and buckle the armor into place.


WC: 337
Total WC: 544 / 1500

"Fern Lark"

The grey-silver wolf appeared in no time. Over the vast gulley, it was easy to see her form trotting towards him. Her mouth filled with a heavy burden - which was hardly any surprise. He rose to his paws, and then began to trott towards her. Lessening the distance between them a little. Meeting in the middle, Fern dropped the bundle. And his eyes glanced towards it in stark curiosity, before back up to the blue eyed wolf. “Fern, it's good to see you again” He said warmly, nudging his snout into her shoulder in greeting.

“Training armor?” he asked, eyes going back down to the bundle again. Even more goodies for him to play with. “Artorias, he’s your alpha, right?” He asked for clarification. He was still learning a lot about Boreas and Auster, but he knew he would get up to speed eventually. The more he knew about the packs, the better he could support Wren. not that today was about that at all. Today was about having a little bit of fun, and learning to beat people up with sticks. His grin grew.

She wanted to start with the armor, and he wasn’t about to argue. She nudged that towards him, and he went to grab it. He tossed it a little awkwardly over his shoulders with her help, and then stood still, allowing Fern to work the buckles and adjust it as needed. “I feel like a right proper knight now” He teased

WC: 256
Total: 800


"Speech"

Mercury moves toward her and they meet in the middle where she carefully drops her bundle. The tall male greets her warmly and Fern chuckles softly, giving him a gently headbutt to his neck as he nudges her shoulder. She explains about the armor and he seems excited to get underway. He asks about Artorias and she dips her gray head in agreement as she says, “Yep! He is the alpha of the Hallows. If you decide you really want to learn about swords, he is man to seek out.” A wink is given to Mercury as they get his armor on, the chest and back piece easily falling easily into place over his frame. He then stands still and allows her to tightens a few straps before buckling the armor piece into place, giving it a gentle tug to make sure he has enough breathing room while asking, “How does that feel?”

Stepping back, she allows him to test out the feel of having armor on and, when he mentions about feeling like a proper knight, Fern happily quips “You’d fit right in the at the castle!” A light laugh falls from pale lips as she then turns her attention to the two wooden swords. Untying them, she passes one off to Mercury while she explains, “Okay so important parts of the sword to know. The hilt, you’ll be biting this part.” Paw points to it before moving to the sideways piece of wood above it and saying, “This is the cross guard. Helps prevent an opponent’s sword from smacking your face and lastly… the blade.” Pale paw points to the long, blunt part of the sword that serves as the blade. That done, she reaches down and grasps her wooden sword by the hilt.

As Fern lifts her head, her lips move around the object in her maw and her voice comes out clearly as she explains, “Now, this might take some adjusting. When you pick up the sword, you need to find the best place to grip it for yourself. Your bite should be strong enough to hold it but not too lite that it will fly out of your mouth when you hit something. Go on, give it a try.” Fern steps backwards to watch him gather the sword in his mouth, remembering the time when she first started and questioned if she would ever be able to talk normally around a sword like Art. A smile pulls at her pale lips.


WC: 416
Total WC: 1216 / 1500

"Fern Lark"

“Feels good” he said, shifting his paws to get a feel for his range of motion. A little stiff, but that was to be expected with trying on armor for the first time. The weight would take some getting used to, as well. “I’ll keep that in mind” he said in regards to Artorias. So he was the expert at swords, was he? Just maybe it would be worth it for Merc to seek him out at some point.

“Did you say castle?” Mercury asked, eyes darting back to her in surprise. He definitely needed to check that out some time. She passed him a wooden sword then, and he obligingly picked it up in his maw. Feeling the weight of it, and giving it a few experimental swings. A bit strange, but pretty fun, too!

“Got it” he said a little awkwardly around the hilt as she explained the proper grip. “Now do I just.. Smack you with it?” he teased. When she explained some of the basics of actually fighting with it, he nodded his head and they began. They traded a few blows, and he got accustomed to the feel of the weight as they clashed. He was enjoying himself!

Eyes bright, they started a match in earnest. He charged in, aiming to smack his practice blade into her neck by ducking his head to the side as he approached. She deflected the blow easily, swinging her own head to the side so it collided with his own. unaccustomed to the sudden jerking of the practice blade in his mouth, he dropped it to the ground by mistake. “Alright, alright, match to you” He laughed. Not at all phased with losing. This was all a learning experience for him, and he was having fun.


WC: 312
Total: 1528


"Speech"