"Talk" Walk Another day. Another fruitless attempt at trying to find his missing child and mate. Eden and Baelfire had seemingly vanished into thin air, the only trace was the blood and fur he had found several days prior. He was still hung up on their disappearance. Still wondering if they had been kidnapped, or it if was a trick set by Eden so she could finally make her escape. Would she do something like that? Was she even capable? She made herself seem so...naive. So willing to make herself seem like she would never do anything like that. Like she'd always be there for him. But alas, he was a paranoid beast and had no reason to believe he could've ever fully trusted her, he supposed. The night that led them to conceive their pups, well...it had been an accident. Both had given into their primal desires, but...did he regret it? No. He loved his children. While he had fucked up with his first litter, at least this second litter he could try and do better. Baelfire, however... was like a repeat of his family history. His father and mother had disappeared with a couple of his siblings. Then Acere's mate had disappeared with one of their kids...and now? Now his mate had disappeared with one of his. While he wasn't the nicest guy on the block, he would do anything to protect what was his! Even if it meant trying to tear himself apart fighting his own demon to protect them from him... He was tired. His wounds from the prior season had finally healed. He was more scarred than before, but did he regret anything? No. Not really. He still planned on trying to get Azure back for that cowardly show at the challenge. Ignis still had no clue what that was about, but it didn't matter. Azure and Bellamy were at the top of his list now...but until then, he wanted to be with his children. Especially after Eden and his son... He walked into the cave, crimson gaze searching for Aresenn's familiar form.

Aresenn had been out early that morning. Not for any particular reason other than having a difficult time sleeping. However, because of getting little sleep the night before, it left him feeling exhausted later on in the day. On weary paws, he found his way back to the cave he and his family shared- or what was left of them. Settling himself into the furs to sleep, his body was all to willing to drift off into unconsciousness.

-fade into nap-
An ear flicked as heard the faintest movement at the mouth of the cavern. His drowsy amber gaze peeked open as he drifted somewhere between waking and sleeping. His head was almost unbearably heavy, but he managed to pick it up off his paws as he searched the lowlighting for just who else had found their way homing. Blinking a few more times, he recognized Ignis’ silhouette. A flash of excitement flooded his hazy expression as he half expected to see Eden and Baelfire follow the patriarch back into their den. However, as the dreamlike state wore off and reality set in, he felt foolish for even thinking that. Wiping the grin from his features, he looked to find Ignis’ face. “Da?” Aresenn sat up, doing his best to shake the sleep from his features. “Is everything alright?” He knew in fact that everything was not all right. Nor would it probably ever be again. But ... he was unsure of what else to say. It was an attempt to convey condolences with not necessarily knowing how.

"Talk" Walk He moved further into the cavern to find his son waking from a nap. His voice reached him, sending an instant calm through the crimson male and letting the pup distract him from all that had been going on. He sighed as he moved towards Aresenn, wrapping a foreleg around him as he hugged his remaining son. "No, but they will be. They're not problems a pup should worry about, hm?" Indeed, he wanted to protect them. But he also knew that he wouldn't be able to protect them from everything. Especially if they bore the demons that his lineage was cursed with...so far...none of them showed signs of it, but then again, neither did he really until he reached his second or third year of adulthood. He pulled back from the boy, studying him for a moment as he decided he would likely let the kid run today's show. "Why don't we do something to distract ourselves? You're just waking up, so I'll give you some time to gather yourself. When you're ready, we can do whatever you'd like. Anything at all, how does that sound?"

As Aresenn had sat up, his eyes settled on his father as the man drifted inside their den and closed the distance. The boy was comforted by his father's embrace, though he sat rigidly and wasn't entirely sure how to react. It was some semblance of normal, at the very least, and he was grateful for it. "If you say so." He agreed. Though, the sentiment didn't immediately cure his worry either.

He stifled a yawn, trying to shake away any evidence that he had been tired. Especially when Ignis offered to take him to do anything that he wanted to do today. He was flooded with excitement, forcing himself on sleep clumsy paws. "I'm ready!" He insisted, not wanting to waste any time. But as for what they should do ... it took him a moment to decide. The jealousy that he had felt towards Jack for his mom teaching him how to fight still hung with him in the back of his mind. So perhaps they could spend some time trying to remedy that. "Teach me something about how to fight?" It started out as a firm statement, but his tone shifted into something more of a question- even though it didn't quite make sense. Regardless, he hoped that his father would comply. "Calico Jack showed me how to do a defensive stance ..." He said, immediately staggering his paws to a shoulder-length distance, and flexing his arms and legs to lower himself a little ways to the ground to demonstrate. He held the position for a few moments before relaxing back to a normal stance. "but that's not really fighting. It's just trying not to get toppled over." Aresenn finished, a little more pointedly. His golden gaze settled on his father's face, doing his best to read any expression that presented.

"Talk" Walk Aresenn was quick to jump to his paws at the mention of doing whatever he wanted to do today, which earned a chuckle from the crimson male. He waited a moment as Senn thought about what he wanted to do, and soon enough, the boy requested to be taught how to fight. His lips twitched up into an amused grin as Aresenn briefly explained that Sparrow's kid, Calico Jack, had shown him how to do a defensive stance. Even demonstrated it for a beat or two before claiming that it wasn't really fighting, just a way to not get toppled. "That is correct, though there's a bit more that goes into not getting knocked to the ground. Defensive fighting is just as important as offensive, and it'd be in your best interest to learn both," He rose to his feet, stepping back a few feet as he decided to honor his son's request. He wasn't going to start with a lecture, no. The best way to learn was by doing, and of course, he'd give pointers and input while they practiced. "I want you to come at me in whatever way you think is best. I am bigger than you, for now, so keep that in mind. But no doubt you'll get as big as I am at some point, if not close. When possible, use your size to your advantage." He lowered his head a bit, setting his legs equidistant apart. "Whenever you're ready."

Defensive and Offensive fighting. That line of thought took a moment to sink in. He knew what the idea behind defending yourself was. But, he had made up his mind that something like a defensive stance wasn't actually fighting. But his father disagreed. He made it sound like it was just a different kind of fighting- an important part at that. It was a humbling moment for him, and it fed into his determination to learn more. With a solid nod, he made an effort to commit every single word his father said to memory.

Aresenn watched with interest as his father rose to his feet. Ignis made the invitation for the boy to launch an attack- a pretend one for teaching purposes of course. The older male pointed out the size difference, and that it should be taken into account whenever preparing for his move. With another stiff nod, he made a verbal agreement out of acknowledgment. "Okay."

Just as Jack had shown him, Aresenn gripped the ground by flexing his nails against its surface. He lowered himself to the ground slightly to give him a better opportunity to lunge forward. And when he was ready, that's exactly what he did. However, he didn't put much thought into what he was doing beyond the initial surge. Aresenn found himself seeking a hold at the base of Ignis' neck just in front of his shoulder blade off to the side of his chest. Even still, it was with a gentle force. The boy was careful to not break skin or cause injury of any kind. It was a movement with just enough force to make his intention known.

"Talk" Walk He watched as his son got ready to do as he was asked. So far, Senn had the basics down. Nails for traction, lowering his body for more fluid movement. Good. When his son took off towards him, Ignis waited for contact before he did anything. Aresenn opted for a grip at the base of his neck just off to the side, and Ignis grunted with the contact, though it wasn't quite enough to hurt. "Good place to hit, but keep in mind that it also opens you to your opponent!" With a grunt, he lifted himself onto his rear paws, forelegs flying up to wrap one over Senn's neck, and the other beneath it. "You can get wrapped up like this, and even earn yourself a bite to the face if someone can get the leverage over you," He demonstrated by lunging his head down, jaws open wide as he aimed for Senn's face, though he stopped and snapped them just mere inches away. His goal here? He wanted to see how Aresenn would react. To see what he'd do. Would he figure out a way to counter? Defend? Retaliate?

When he made contact at his intended point, he was immediately flooded with a feeling of satisfaction- and it was only reinforced by his father’s praise of the choice of location. However, he remained still in order to listen to his father’s retaliating point. It also opens you up to your opponent. He wasn’t given the opportunity to consider his next move before the larger male reared up, pulling free of Aresenn’s softened grip. The boy looked up just in time to be encompassed in a restraining hold. However, he did nothing to defend himself at this point, as his father had more to say.

After further explanation, he was met with snapping jaws immediately in front of his face for demonstration. Yeah, he understood how easily he could have had his face bitten off with his first movement. So with that revelation, he took a few more moments to try and figure out a way he could retaliate a little more safely. Though, he decided the first thing would be to try and free himself from restraint. Gritting his teeth in concentration -as quickly as he could- Aresenn made an attempt to try and back out of the hold- aiming a snap at the arm that went beneath his neck in order to try and shift some of the focus off holding him in place.