Clouds moved in as late morning turned toward noon. Ashiel was resting on a ledge, overlooking the creek that rushed through the canyon floor. Spring was blossoming in Auster and the the melt from the mountains was rushing into the canyon. He'd been warned sternly by his mother not to go mucking around in the river and he could see the logic in this so he didn't bother to push his luck. Asharya on the other hand…. well, who knew what went on in her head. One thing was for certain, he was almost a year old and he still had much to learn. Ashiel got to his paws and padded along the ledge. He felt a sting of bitterness towards his mother who was off flouncing around doing whatever it was she did. She'd taken them out on a few outings and she'd held a few lessons but it never felt like enough, he felt like he was competing with the whole world for her attention. Asharya was the same way. Flouncing off… the… flouncies! Ashiel swatted a stone and watched it ricochet down the canyon wall and into the water. "Talk" "You" Think

A clattering up above drew Malleus' attention upwards just in time for him to see the ricocheting rock and duck out of the way. The small stone skimmed just over the top of his head before dropping into the water beside him. He stood wedged between a wall and the water's edge so there was nowhere else for him to go. If the rock had been just a little lower in its descent he would have gotten thumped with it.

Malleus watched the ripples in the surface of the water for a second before turning his gaze upwards. He quirked a brow at his cousin and searched his face in the hopes of sussing out the boy's mood. It was hard to tell from this angle if the rock's proximity to his head had been deliberate. Considering who his mother was it was entirely possibly that it had been intentional.

His gaze returned to the water just in time to watch the last of the ripples disappear. He was unperturbed by the idea that the stone had been aimed at him; kids were kids. "Your aim," he rumbled playfully, "could use some work."

Ashiel watched the stone hit the water with satisfaction which quickly turned to embarrassment when he realized that funny looking rock that his stone had almost hit was actually his cousin's head. His eyes met Malleus' gaze and grinned back sheepishly as his cousin stated his aim could use some work. "Oops, though in my defense you came out of nowhere and as for my aim I did hit my target." He gestured to the dissipating ripples. It wasn't his fault his cousin had such a big head. Ashiel carefully edged his way down to toward his cousin, being careful and calculating to where he put his paws. The journey wasn't easy but he eventually made it down to where Malleus stood. He wasn't quite sure what to say, he didn't really know his cousin very well. "Are you out on patrol or hunting or something? Can I come to?" "Talk" "You" Think

Ashiel was quick to deny evil intent and Malleus believed him. If he was lying he was very good at it for one so young; his sheepish expression was either the work of a master or genuine. The titan was inclined to believe the latter.

Malleus smiled softly up at the boy in the hopes of easing any fears Ashiel might have had about angering his older cousin. While many in their family seemed quick to anger and eager for a fight, Malleus was of a lower key. He wasn't above throwing his weight around, but he preferred not to squander energy and both physical and emotional responses tended to be rather costly in heated situations. It would take more than an accident to rattle the titan.

"I'm afraid I'm not doing anything interesting," he admitted. But perhaps he could be. An idea struck him then. He wanted to get to know his young cousins better. If the family was to function smoothly it would be in their best interest to form strong bonds with one another. Blood was a good unifier, but it only went so far. Real trust and respect were built up by positive experiences. "Say...how's your fight training going? If you're interested I can teach you a few moves."

Ashiel felt a bit comforted by the soft smile that Malleus gave him. Though his mother always preached wariness Malleus was family and he seemed to be laid back enough to at least indulge his cousin's curiosity. However, Malleus stated he wasn't up to anything interesting. Ah… Ashiel's ears drooped just slightly but he quickly hid his disappointment. Silence began to stretch between them and Ashiel felt the familiar heat of embarrassment and anxiety building up in his stomach. What should he say? What was the next piece of conversation or should he say he needed to get back to his mother? Thankfully Malleus rescued him by asking how is fight training was going and he even said he'd teach Ashiel some moves! Ashiel's tail began to wag. "Would you? That would be awesome! My fight training is going ok but my mother says I need more discipline and that I need to be more… adventurous with my attacks. She says I hesitate to much." His mother was a master at using her whole body to attack but Ashiel had trouble with that. He relied on his jaws and was nervous about getting to close to his opponents despite the advantage his stronger build would give him in full force physical attacks. Ashiel scampered back the way he came before finding a path down to Malleus' level. "Talk" "You" Think

Malleus eyed his young cousin curiously. Hearing that Ashiel struggled with hesitating brought Malleus' own childhood training to mind. "Does the idea of hurting your opponent make you nervous?" That was something he'd struggled with in the beginning. He vividly remembered being afraid of getting hurt and imposing that fear on his opponents. He'd been afraid to make others feel the way he'd felt whenever he was anticipating a blow. It had been a hard habit to break and he was curious to hear if Ashiel was the same way. Perhaps if he was, the titan's experience might help.

As Ashiel made his way down to the same level, Malleus made his way back the way he'd come. Just a few feet back the narrow ledge he was on opened up into a wide clear area.

Still thinking about what Ashiel had said, he offered another possible reason for the boy's hesitance. "Or," he offered, "do you think you are afraid of getting hurt? It can be hard to stick your neck out knowing your opponent is going to get a chance to retaliate."

Ashiel pondered his cousins words. Did the idea of hurting someone else make him nervous? Well, it was a bit more complicated than that he supposed. "Yes and no. I don't really care if I hurt a stupid mortal or someone I don't really know but… sometimes I feel a bit weird when I have to hurt mom or Asharya. Unless Asharya is being a poop head. Then she deserves it!" Of course… Ashiel hadn't really sparred any mortals or those he didn't know. Pyralis had offered Lydia to be a punching bag before but it never really quite panned out since Lydia was their personal healer and needed to be functional to take care of the wounded part after any spars. Malleus had a point with his second question though. Ashiel hesitated for a moment then nodded. "Yea, that could be it. It seems like whenever I go to attack mother I've left myself open in some way and it all goes to shit. Not to mention it takes all my concentration just to focus on using my jaws let alone other parts of my body." His mother was skilled in combo attacks. In Ashiel's opinion he just failed at them and it drove Pyralis crazy. He was built like a mountain, his whole physical form was a force that needed to be utilized. "Talk" "You" Think

Malleus nodded knowingly. He couldn't say he identified 100% with his cousin's fears, but he understood, at the very least, the gist of it. "I have no doubt," he said reassuringly, "That with practice it'll get easier. Multiple attacks and sound defenses will become second nature." He paused to consider what he could possibly teach Ashiel that his mother hadn't already taught him. No doubt she'd covered defenses, but there was endless variety in combination attacks. He appraised his cousin for a second and tried to guess at what the boy would become. He was stout and his paws were huge; no doubt the boy would end up being built similarly to Malleus. "Because of my size most of my opponents are smaller than I am and I think it's fair to assume yours will be too." He moved to square off with the boy so that they were facing each other with a yard or so between them. "Whenever I am bigger, heavier than my opponent, I like to use my size against them. It's easy to use your chest in combination with a bite, since using the latter tends to naturally bring the former into striking range. Or you could use the front of your shoulder." He rolled his left shoulder forward and pretended to move in for a strike, his left shoulder lined up with the center of Ashiel's chest, but stopped a few steps shy of making contact. He cocked his head and glanced at Ashiel out of the corner of his eye to see if the boy was getting the picture. "Using your chest or shoulder while you bite works from most angles. A shoulder to the center of a chest or the ribs will knock the wind out of an opponent, and a chest slam to a shoulder or hip might knock an opponent of his or her paws. " He stepped back and shrugged. "It's not a sophisticated attack, but it's a good place to start and it's effective. Although I suppose," he said with a hint of a smile, "If you want to surprise your mother next time you spar, you could use your smaller size to your advantage too. Duck down and hit the lower part of her legs, and you'll sweep her off her paws. I bet she'd never see it coming."

Ashiel nodded as Malleus spoke. It made sent it would get easier with practice, his defenses were already second nature to him. He just needed to build up that muscle memory and stop over-thinking his every little move. Over-thinking caused him to hesitate and leave himself open for his mother to thoroughly kick his but to kingdom come and back. Malleus mentioned his size and Ashiel nodded. He was massive for a wolf and outside his family he didn't expect to meet many bigger than him. Some might match him for height and maybe build as well but that would be a rarer circumstance. Ashiel listened intently as Malleus spoke. Chest in combination with a bite, yes that made sense. Malleus also demonstrated a short jab with his shoulder. Ashiel jumped slightly back instinctively as Malleus moved forward though he needn't have worried as the older male stopped short of striking him. He took mental notes as Malleus spoke, rolling his own left shoulder and trying a short jab forward as he did so, trying to get used to the feeling. "Wouldn't that also hurt me though? Are there certain targets to aim for that are better than others?" He wanted to be able to use his shoulder as an efficient weapon without accidentally straining it and putting himself out of the fight. There had to be tricks to avoiding injury or at least minimizing his own injuries. Ashiel smiled at the mention of attacking Pyralis by going in low. He was right, she probably wouldn't expect that. Most of his attacks tended to aim high. It was where he felt most comfortable. "Talk" "You" Think

In response to the boy's question Malleus nodded. Still fixated on getting hurt, eh? Honestly that wasn't surprisingly. It would take more than a few words from a (slightly) older wolf to cure Ashiel of his fear, but at least Malleus tried. "It would," he confirmed out loud. "But a little bruising is worth it; if you use it wisely your shoulder can create a lot of damage while taking relatively little." While it was possible to incur serious injury throwing your shoulder, Malleus had never had it happen to him and he didn't know anyone who had either. "With your shoulder?" He thought for a second and then nodded to himself. "Yeah, soft spots in general are good. The nose, the flank, places like that. My favorite - and one you shouldn't use unless you mean your opponent serious harm - is the throat. With enough momentum behind it you can collapse a windpipe." He paused for a second before adding so that the boy would know just what he meant by serious harm, "It might not kill 'em right away, but I've never seen anyone get up again after a blow like that."

Ashiel nodded as Malleus spoke. Using his shoulder would reap rewards greater than what it might cost him. He had to get used to pain if he was going to be a warrior. He knew that and he vowed to work on that immediately, even if it meant asking his mother to spar. He supposed he could ask Asharya to if she wasn't off wandering somewhere. Ashiel nodded as Malleus asked a question. He could figure out the general targets for his jaw but he hadn't really considered what would be good to use his shoulder for. Thankfully Malleus had a good list of targets. Ashiel visibly winced at the mention of the nose as a target. Yes, he could definitely see how a shoulder to the nose would send an opponent reeling. Soft places in general, that made sense. Ashiel's ears perked at the mention of using one's shoulder to smash an opponent's wind pipe. "Really? That is cool!" His mind drifted to other targets and he resisted the urge to giggle. He was a man now! "I suppose if your opponent is male ramming your shoulder into his uh… delicates would be a suitable target. I don't know that I would attack someone from behind but you never know when some mortal will get in a huff and try to just walk away from you. What happens if you were to throw your shoulder into a joint? Like…" He looked down at his own body for an example. "Like a knee or maybe where someone's shoulder connects to their chest, would that do anything?" He wasn't sure about the knee in particular because he was too tall probably to really attack below the hips and shoulders. "Talk" "You" Think

Ashiel's words - and his reluctance to name the "delicate" targets he was talking about - brought a smile to Malleu's lips. He chuckled and nodded. "I've seen some crazy fights. It may seem like an attack you'll never have reason to use, but in a fight you can get turned around easily and find yourself staring at the ass end of an opponent when moments before you were looking him in the eye." Malleus nodded again as Ashiel asked him about joints. "For serious damage I would strike the outside of a joint so that it bends in a direction it isn't meant to. Doing this at the very least will strain the connective tissues. If you hit it hard enough you could do more damage, like dislocate the knee or the elbow." With his nose he pointed to the crook his own elbow. "If you hit there, in the crease, you'll force the elbow to bend with you. It may not create as much damage as hitting the back of it, but it will upset your opponent's balance." "As for where the shoulder connects to the chest, it's pretty much the same as any other joint. You'll really mess their leg up if you hit it just right. Throw off their balance, deaden the leg, etc." There was one thing he needed to note. "A word of caution: bone on bone tends to hurt you more so that should be taken into consideration in a fight. Don't fixate on that though. I'd hate for that to be the only thing you take away from this. A little extra bruising is a small price to pay in pursuit of a win." He fixed his cousin with a wry look.

Ashiel nodded swiftly as Malleus spoke of how easy it was to get turned around in a fight. He experienced that quite a bit with Asharya. She was quicker than him and it only took a second for the dynamics of their fight to change entirely. Asheil knew this was something he'd have to get used to. Like it or not he was a large, solid wolf and he was going to have a hard time matching many of his opponents for speed. Malleus moved on to explain the value of attacking joins from the outside. That made perfect sense! He nodded swiftly. The decisions whether to cripple an opponent or take them off balance would depend on the sort of fight he was engaged in and also the position of himself and his opponent. "Malleus, how do you compensate for your height when fighting smaller opponents? Perhaps I just need more practice but coming in low enough to strike at a knee or elbow seems difficult, like I'd lose a lot of speed in trying to come in that low. Perhaps I don't do it right?" Ashiel was grateful for the hint about bone on bone strikes. That made sense and looking back at some of his spars with Pyralis and even Lydia on occasion he could see this. When his opponent would move in a way he failed to predict this sort of unintentional collision did hurt mightily. Malleus was right though, a small bit of bruising for the chance to cripple an opponent was easily worth it. He smiled and nodded. "Thank you, that makes sense." "Talk" "You" Think