It was a cloudy day, with a light chill brushing over Avantika's fur, but it wasn't raining yet. If it ever would. Avantika was no sky-reader, but it smelled like rain and that was good enough for her. Still, she was going to go out and roam around. Maybe she'd get in another fighting lesson with one of the pups. She was having a lot of fun working with all of them, but there were still some she'd hadn't met yet.

She was standing out in the courtyard again. She liked the open air better than the enclosed, sometimes stuffy dojo. It was valuable if she wanted to work on using weapons, but that wasn't really her style of fighting. She'd have to work pretty hard to learn to use a sword as well as Art did, for example, since she hadn't been working on the skill since childhood like he had. She called out, inviting any pups to come for a fighting lesson.

"Speech"

The growing girl made her way through the castle courtyard. Sticking close to the walls of the tall bushes, she attempted to hide among the shadows. Her body was lowered, eyes peeled wide, and a sneaky smirk pulling at the corner of her lips. She prowled around as if she were a cat, peeking around every corner and darting behind and around things to stay out of sight. Her objective? To catch someone by surprise! Everyone was always so busy and not being fun. All Bramble wanted to do was have fun! And maybe do some training. She did enjoy training! But not yet. She was on a mission!

Lucky for her, a familiar but unfamiliar call rang out. This wolf she had not yet met, but when she saw a look at that grey coat from her hiding spot, she knew it had to be her dad's sister, Tika! Pausing, Bramble remembered something about how Tika really, really enjoyed going on patrols and training. Which would be perfect! She could ambush her aunt if she were careful enough...

Crawling forward with gentle but wobbly steps, Bramble let her ears fall down, her smile widen, and elbows nearly touch the ground. The pup crept closer and closer to Tika until she could see the individual hairs on her. At the very last second, Bramble pounced forward with paws outstretched and a peel of giggles leaving her mouth. Hoping to land on Tika's backside, she couldn't stop giggling!

Bramble Carpathius

Kit chirped from a ledge on the wall of the castle that he had swooped down to land on, alerting Avantika that a pup was coming up. Sneaking, though, he told her. Clearly, she didn't want to be heard. Avantika decided that it was probably right to humor the kid a little, and so she let herself appear to be completely oblivious to her approach. It wasn't much of a wait. The girl leaped onto her backside with a sudden burst of giggles, and Avantika gave a playful yelp, twisting to hopefully throw Bramble off of her. If that didn't work, she'd try to headbutt her off.

She grinned, now facing the pup. "You're a sneaky one, aren't you? I didn't even hear you coming!" It was true, mostly. The reason she'd known that Bramble was stalking up was nothing the pup could have countered, nor something she probably even knew about. She hadn't heard her.

She didn't know if Bramble -- a pup she hadn't had training with before -- had had much fighting training besides the basics she knew Briar and Art would teach any child of theirs, but in this fun mood she was in now, she felt like both of them would enjoy just jumping into a spar. Maybe they could conduct a more lecture-y lesson after, to correct anything Bramble may need improvement with. But for now, Avantika would slip into her defensive position, too used to the rigidity to feel at all right playing more casually, even with a child, and spring forward, snapping her jaws far enough away from Bramble's ears that it would be clear that her intent was not to land a hit.

Avantika vs Bramble for Spar
Round 1/x
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Large
Build: Medium
Defensive Battle Accessory: Metal mask w/ throat cover
Companion 1: Sharp-shinned hawk, Female - Flying
Companion 2: Black-thighed falconet, Male - Flying
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Intellectual
Specialty: Tactician

"Speech"

To Bramble, she had been successful! Her paws were loose on Tika's back as she heard a playful yelp. The pup's ears flicked back for a second as she slid off of her aunt's body. She hadn't hurt her aunt, had she?! Only a moment passed before Tika turned around and smiled at her. Oh good! They would still be able to play!

Brushing herself off quickly with a shake of her coat, Bramble grinned back at Tika. "I've been practicing! I wanna be super stealthy some day!" She chirped back as she squared her shoulders in response to Tika's positioning. It was true, she hadn't had much formal training yet, but her parents had taught her enough. The number one rule was to always be ready!

Before she could say anything else, she was watching with wide eyes as Tika reached forward to snap at the air near her. Clearly avoiding her ears, Bramble still flattened them against her skull. Her lips pull up in a grimacing smile as she retaliated. Dancing on clumsy paws, Bramble darted forward toward Tika's ankles and aimed to nip playfully at her aunt's toes.

Bramble vs Avantika for Spar
Round 1/2
Age: Under 1 year
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Light
Defensive Battle Accessory: Green leather cloak with a hood
Companion 1: Male Fisher, 45" - Battle
Companion 2: Female Common Raven, 48" - Battle
Mutation 1: Cat claws - Offensive
Skills: Beginner Fighter & Expert Intellectual