The last few seasons had been hard on the Queen, having found herself thrust from slavery to royalty faster then she could blink and feeling terribly unprepared. Her children came so quickly after and only added on to her worries. All her life she'd dreamed of a crown but never once did she expect it to be so hard. It took time for her to approach a healer about the issue, though the herbs prescribed to her did seem to help. Finally she felt that things were manageable, and Zee was prepared to step back into her role and with as much effort as her husband gave to his every day. They'd had talks about the Armada's future in private, and Zee and Sirius could both see how much their pack had grown in strength. Anyone they chose as a target would be a target they were prepared to defeat. No longer did she need to worry about how their healers outnumbered their warriors, or how Sirius and herself were the only strength behind the army. The Ashen Armada could finally be a force to be reckoned with and as an extension of that, the Empire would have some of the strongest wolves in the land at it's disposal. With winter, activities noticeably slowed. Training was not as frequent as it once was and while her wolves were still in excellent shape Zee knew she needed to push to continue that improvement that they'd all shown last season. Her first target would be their new General to ensure that Tamsyn was prepared for her new position as the overseer of their army. It was a vital role, especially now when their first real raid was so close. She tipped her head back and called for the new General to meet her, taking a seat beside the obelisk to wait her arrival. "Speech"

Figuring out where to start with her new position had been harder than she had anticipated. She had taken to doing more patrols, but still kept up her usual training routine as well. Everything had grown more quiet around the pack with the onset of winter, but she couldn't blame them. The cold wasn't exactly welcoming and it was more difficult to convince herself to get out of the den early in the morning like she had been in the months prior. Her dedication to keeping up the same level of work that she had been during the Reaper competition and prove that she had really earned her new title was usually enough to keep her going though while she tried to figure out what she could do next.

Zee's howl was a welcome one and her ears immediately perked at the sound. She was always thrilled to talk to the woman that had brought her here in the first place so she was quick to respond, trotting toward the source of the call till Zee came into view. Tamsyn grinned at her leader and friend, her tail wagging gently behind her. "Hello!" she greeted happily, coming to a stop in front of Zee and settling down on her haunches as well. Perhaps she should have a more serious, professional manner with Zee now that she had more responsibility within the pack, but that felt incredibly unnatural for her. It would be different if this was a larger group meeting or training of some sort, but when it was just the two of them it felt strange to be so formal. "What's going on?"

"Speech" Thought

Tamsyn was always quick to respond and the horned queen gave her friend a grateful smile as she approached. "Nothing official, General." She replied with a dip of her head, voice playful. Zee had never required such formality from her wolves - not even from her handmaiden - though it was an excuse to use Tamsyn's new title. "The winter has been a bit of a slow one, I fear our wolves are becoming fat and lazy. I'm relying on you to oversee that they get back into shape." Her words were more teasing than accusing, and perhaps she was exaggerating just a little bit about any of their members growing fat. She moved a little closer to the other woman, looking nonchalant as she continued. "Though I should probably make sure you're up to the task first, and haven't succumbed to the winter like everyone else." Zee's smile widened, and then quickly she sprung to close the distance. Tamsyn was bigger than she was, but Zee figured she'd be swifter. She aimed to finish it quickly, her head lowered so she could try and angle her horns up beneath the woman's chin as she charged. Thankfully they were not as long as a kudu's spiraled horn typically grew, their short length gave her more control and feel over them so she'd not accidentally skewer her friend. Zeitgeist Fatalis vs Tamsyn for Spar Round 1/? Age: Over 1 Year Size: Small Build: Light Offensive Battle Accessory: Thorn wrappings Defensive Battle Accessory: King cheetah pelt armor Companion 1: Bush Viper, Female - Battle Companion 1: Channel-Billed Toucan, Male - Battle Mutation 1: Kudu horns (small) - Offensive Skills: Master Navigator & Master Fighter Specialty: Fleet-Footed "Speech"

Tamsyn grinned and chuckled at the emphasis that Zee gave her title, though it did make her the tiniest bit bashful. For some reason it was easy to refer to others by their title, like calling Sirius the Warlord, but to hear herself referred to with any kind of authority felt a bit strange. She had gone from being considered the lowest of the low among her family and former band to now holding a fairly substantial rank in the Armada so it was quite the adjustment for her. At least Zee seemed to be quite playful today so it made her feel less concerned about having any kind of "responsible" air about her. She gave a snort of a chuckle at the comment about the wolves in the pack getting lazy and fat over the winter, smirking a little at the idea. She thought about how her training had slowed a bit with the cooler temperatures and even though Zee's comment was surely made in jest, Tam wondered how much truth was there.

When Zee began to move closer, Tam watched her with a curious and mildly suspicious eye even though her grin never wavered. The Armada leader was a sprite of a wolf and her movements were quicker than Tam thought she could ever manage to match. Within a blink Zee was on her with her antlers coming dangerously close to her chin. Tamsyn immediately bristled and with a shot of adrenaline to her system she jerked back just out of reach, pulling her head back to avoid Zee's antlers in her charge. The dark woman grinned widely, loving the sudden and playful attack from her friend.

"Ha! Not a chance!" she quickly replied to Zee's previous comment about her succumbing to the winter blues and immediately launched her own retaliation. She made a quick dip of her head with outstretched jaws to try and grab a hold of Zee's scruff. She made sure to keep her head turned so that the back of her head and the upper part of her scruff would be facing Zee's antlers and the thorns that were wrapped around them. That way if Zee did try to tip her head back to send those thorns toward her they couldn't possibly get her eyes or face. She braced herself with a slightly widened stance and claws digging into the soil under paw in cause Zee tried to push into her so she would be far harder to knock over.

Tamsyn vs Zeitgeist for Spar
Round 1/2
Age: Over 1 Year
Size: Medium
Build: Light
Defensive Battle Accessory: Bracers
Skills: Advanced Fighter & Advanced Navigator
Specialty: N/A

"Speech" Thought

It pleased her that Tamsyn was able to react so quickly to her attack and Zee wore a grin as her friend evaded her horns. Her move was to grab upon the Queen's scruff and Zee could tell by the way the skin bunched beneath Tamsyn's jaws how her face had been angled to avoid the thorn-wrapped horns. Knowing that by doing so could not injure Tamsyn's eyes, Zee tilted her head sharply upwards. It was a very difficult maneuver for her to try and plan where her horns might land while unable to physically see that part of her opponent, but she thought perhaps that the angle might be right to land upon Tamsyn's skull and squeeze her head between their thorns and where she held onto Zee's scruff. While her head angled backwards, Zee ducked a shoulder and shifted her weight to one side heavily. Tamsyn was larger then she was and would be harder to knock down, but if she was lucky and could catch the general stuck as she'd planned she might be able to control her head enough to wrestle it to the ground. "Phew!" She exhaled heavily as she worked her weight against Tamsyn's. "Feels like you've put on a few pounds!" She tried to laugh at her own playful prodding but the sound was strangled by the effort the spar was taking. Zeitgeist Fatalis vs Tamsyn for Spar Round 2/2 Age: Over 1 Year Size: Small Build: Light Offensive Battle Accessory: Thorn wrappings Defensive Battle Accessory: King cheetah pelt armor Companion 1: Bush Viper, Female - Battle Companion 1: Channel-Billed Toucan, Male - Battle Mutation 1: Kudu horns (small) - Offensive Skills: Master Navigator & Master Fighter Specialty: Fleet-Footed "Speech"

It seemed like her quick thinking to keep her face turned away from Zee's horns worked to her benefit. Of course she would never expect her friend to hurt her in any kind of serious way, it never hurt to treat every fight with the same level of caution. She didn't completely escape Zee's thorns though. Tam soon felt her tip her head back and felt a sting of them poking into the upper portion of her scruff and the back of her head. It would certainly a healthy scattering of little cuts all over her skin before all was said and done. She felt the pressure of Zee trying to push against her weight now that her head was effectively trapped between the thorn covered antlers and the scruff that Tam was still holding on to.

She snorted at Zee's comment about putting on a few pounds, but she didn't want to release the hold she had gotten in order to make a quip back at her. In stead she shifted her weight a bit and dug in the claws on her back paws as she went to throw her front legs around Zee's neck. She tried to use her stronger back legs to really shove back into Zee and reinforced the grip she had by hopefully holding on to Zee's neck as well. At this point it was just a matter of time to see who held out longest before finally collapsing or toppling over. Maybe her "extra weight" would be to her advantage this time.

Tamsyn vs Zeitgeist for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Over 1 Year
Size: Medium
Build: Light
Defensive Battle Accessory: Bracers
Skills: Advanced Fighter & Advanced Navigator
Specialty: N/A

"Speech" Thought

And the winner is...

TAMSYN

ZEE must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Adjusted rolls: 12.6 25.3 14.85 69 ZEE'S total is.. 152.19 Adjusted rolls: 40.95 11 111.6 94 TAMSYN'S total is.. 296.18

Eventually Tamsyn's heavier weight and larger size won out, and Zee found herself collapsing to the ground. She angled her head sharply down to direct her horns far from her opponent as she fell, hitting the ground with a breathy 'oof'. "Alright, I give! Get your fat ass off me before I squish!" The queen barked out a laugh, lowering her head to rest upon the ground. She could not be more pleased with the performance of her General, and upon her face she wore a beaming grin. "I'm gonna need to have Sirius come avenge my poor wounded pride." The choice they'd made in promoting Tamsyn was a good one, Zee knew it before and she more then knew it now. Her wolves had all come so far.   "Speech"

The moment she felt Zee's form begin to give way to her weight she grinned triumphantly and began to untangle herself at her friend's insistence that she not be squished. Tam laughed lightly as she got back to her paws and gave herself a good shake, grinning at the threat to send Sirius after her. "Good! I need a rematch with him anyway!" She couldn't help but giggle at her own confidence, knowing all too well that Sirius would most certainly still wipe the floor with her despite all her training and preparations. Beating Sirius would be her ultimate mountain to climb - perhaps literally considering how tall he was. She'd just have to keep getting better till she actually felt like she might be a real opponent for him. "I guess putting on a few pounds didn't hinder me too much, huh?" she added with a wink and a soft chuckle. She knew they all needed to get back to work though now that the sleepy winter was behind them. "I better go make sure the rest of the pack hasn't gotten rusty either!"

"Speech" Thought