Ezra started searching all over the castle ground for the blue and black boy that he had been assigned to train with, too focused on getting his assignment started as soon as possible to deviate from his search even after not finding him in his initial search. He moved his search into he castle and didn't find him in any of the obvious spots like the main hall or near the rooms where the Carpathius family lived so he wound up back at the main doors of the castle with a disgruntled hum. Aquila had landed on his shoulder after they moved their search indoors, chittering and looking at Ezra with a tilt of his head. "I know, I know... I could go patrol the alpacas instead, but... I wanna start with training with Artorias!" Was he putting his actual punishment off in favor of doing the thing that was more fun? Yes, absolutely. But, to be fair, Resin hadn't specified what order he needed to do things in. Ezra decided to walk around the castle again just to see if maybe he had missed Artorias in his first sweep or maybe Artorias had been out in other parts of the pack's lands and had come back in the time he was searching the interior of the castle. Surely the similarly aged boy had to show up at some point, right?

Walk | "Talk" | think

Artorias stepped out of the castle armory with a wooden sparring sword clutched in his teeth. The weapon was old and flimsy, just like all the others in the armory, and made for a poor choice in combat, but it was all he had to work with. He wasn't about to lose out on his training just because he only had shoddy tools to work with. Perhaps he could talk to Outlaw and convince him to make him another sword now that he was bigger, one that wouldn't break after a few good hits. It was because of that reason Artorias had all but stopped carrying the wood swords with him, bringing them only when he knew he would be going into battle. As it was, his teeth and claws were far more effective.

Wandering down the halls with Corbin perched on his shoulders, Artorias glanced out the windows at the dreary winter world, scowling to himself. He didn't know what spring was supposed to be like, but he was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to feel like a sequel to winter. He couldn't wait for warmer weather to get here; then maybe he'd be able to see Briar and the rest of the Fatalis family again. It had only been a few days since Briar had left, but the young wolf had felt oddly adrift since her departure, like going back into the regular rhythm of everyday life was so difficult. He couldn't explain it though, it just... was.

Walking through the doorway into the foyer and out into the courtyard, Artorias noticed a familiar brown and white speckled boy also meandering just outside the front doors. "Hello, Ezra," he greeted from around his mouthful of fake sword when he stepped past the entryway toward the east wing of the castle where he had seen some larger empty rooms he planned to use as a training gym of sorts for when the weather sucked... like every single day in this damned ice age.

"Speech" | Thoughts | ”Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

Ezra made another full lap around the castle and made it back to the main entrance of the castle before he finally spotted Artorias who apparently had been in the castle this whole time or they at least had somehow continued to miss each other in the process of his search. Either way though, he was excited to finally find the blue-hued boy and grinned wide as he trotted up to greet him. "Hey, Artorias," he greeted in return with a nod. Aquila gave him one of his chattery chirps as well from Ezra's shoulder as well, keen eyes watching Ezra's would-be training partner curiously. It looked like he had a fresh one of those wooden swords that had been such a problem for him and Tika in their spar and it made Ezra wonder if maybe he should think about getting some kind of weapon or something like that just to have some kind of advantage in fights like Artorias did, but he couldn't just materialize something like that right now so he ignored the thought. For now, at least.

"Hey, so, Resin says I have to train with you," he explained, cutting right to the chase. "That and guard the alpacas, but I figured maybe I should train first. You know, so I can protect them better." Totally not because he just didn't want to go stand around the stinky animals yet. Nope, not that at all. "Is it alright if I join you now?" he asked, figuring he was probably about to go train since he was carrying his sword around anyway. It was just a guess, but he also knew that Artorias was pretty much always training anyway. He hadn't been surprised when the more skilled boy had beaten him and Tika, but that didn't seem to stop him from being jealous of how much progress the boy at made already. Ezra knew it was really his own fault for not training more, but... when his father was his main teacher and he and his father didn't exactly get along, could anyone really blame him?

Walk | "Talk" | think

Artorias regarded Ezra and Aquila with a likewise nod to the two of them, but Corbin only leered at the chittering speechless bird with an upturn of his beak. The raven didn't care much for the eagle since their aerial spat during the pups' melee spar. Art had been about to pass by Ezra completely unassumingly until the larger boy turned to follow at his side and began to explain why he had been looking for him. His ears flicked to catch the speckled wolf's words, a curious look crossing over his eyes. Resin had instructed Ezra to train with him? Now that was odd... Why wouldn't be be training with his father, or with Dunkan, either of the two in charge of pack security and fighting lessons? Regardless of the reason, it made Artorias' ego swell with pride to know that his mother trusted his skills and dedication enough to entrust him with the responsibility of helping train Ezra. It had been no secret that the Hallows was sorely lacking in the physical protection department after their raid with Ashen, so he was more than happy to oblige his mother's command.

"Did she now? Guarding the alpacas... sounds like a punishment," he remarked, turning his curious glance on the dire wolf at his side while they strode down the corridors together. "What did you do to tick my mom off? Actually... don't tell me. Probably not my business anyway." He could understand the need for training first to sharpen and hone skills, especially if he was the only one being tasked to guard the herd animals for some reason. The extended winter had proven how dangerous it was, and the last thing any of them should be doing was going beyond the castle walls alone and unprepared. Ezra asked if he could train with him now, and since he was already on the way to do just that, Artorias gave a roll of his shoulders and nodded. "Sure, why not? The snow's getting a little too deep to do any training outside, so we'll have to use my gym in the east wing, so long as that's cool with you."

Artorias led the way down the east wing corridors until he reached a set of old double doors that pulled open with a squeal of the neglected iron hinges. Inside was another hall, significantly smaller than the great hall but still sizable enough for their purposes. Artorias had renovated it with a few training dummies he'd snagged when Ulric was setting up the outdoor training grounds and other makeshift targets around the edges of the room. The center had a circular arena marked off with scratches on the stone floor that he'd made with some old pieces of iron. It was crude, but effective. He would have to continue working on it over time. The floor around the dummies was littered with the splintered remains of broken training swords Art had clearly smashed during his workouts, a testament to the effort he put towards his craft.

Striding over to set his wooden sword down against one of the dummies, he turned back to face Ezra while Corbin fluttered his wings and flew to perch on one of the exposed wooden beams in the ceiling overhead and watch the two wolves. "Welcome to my little training dojo," he said with a proud grin. "So, where would you like to begin? You've gone over basics and fundamentals with your dad, right?" He had to assess and gauge the boy's combat prowess to know where to start with him. In their melee, he had been fairly good, but had a clear lack of tactics and form, meaning he knew rudimentary fighting skills—at least enough to bite and throw himself at opponents. But this would be his time to learn whatever he wanted to get from the blue boy.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

Ezra gave a guilty grin and his ears flicked when he was called out on the fact that guarding the alpacas sounded like a punishment - which was exactly right, of course. He was kind of glad when Artorias decided to not pursue the question of why he was in trouble so he wouldn't have to go through explaining the whole trouble between himself and his father. He would have been honest with the other boy if Art had really wanted to know, but it was just easier to not have to go through all of that. It was a lot of dirty laundry to go through just to explain his punishment and as upset as he had been with his dad as of late, he didn't really want to go around telling everyone everything that had happened. It was one thing to tell Resin all that stuff, but he didn't feel as confident about telling Artorias.

Ezra smiled with a flash of pointed teeth when Artorias agreed that they could train now, mentioning how they'd have to do it inside because of the snow. "Works for me!" he agreed easily. It didn't really make a difference to him as long as he was holding true to his end of the bargain he made with Resin. He followed along beside the Carpathius boy as they moved deeper into the castle until they finally ended up in front of some big double doors. The screech the hinges made made him flinch a little at the shrill sound, but he moved past it quickly so that he could follow Art inside, letting his pale gaze sweep around the room. There were some of the training dummies he recognized from the fighting area his father had put together and a circle sketched out around the middle of the room, along with a bunch of wooden splinters that he didn't really understand until he looked back at Artorias and saw the wooden sword he was carrying again. Oh. Right.

Aquila took off from Ezra's shoulder to go roost in the rafters with Corbin when he saw the raven do so, landing beside him with a tip of his head and a bit of chatter as if to say "Truce?" After all, if Corbin's wolf was going to be helping his wolf they were going to be seeing a lot more of each other. Meanwhile, Ezra focused in on Artorias when he turned to face him, returning his grin. He nodded to confirm the statement of having already learned the basics. "I'm... not exactly sure where I'd want to start," he admitted. "I know basic defenses and attacks, but not a lot else." He tried to think back to the melee spar he did with Artorias and Tika and went looking for things that he had noticed Artorias do that he hadn't seen before. It was admittedly quite a few things, he just had to figure out what he wanted to learn. "You were really good with the counter attacks and blocks in our spar with Tika," he mentioned after a moment. "I don't know if there's anything I could learn from that since I don't have a sword or anything, but maybe something like that?"

"Ezra"

While the two wolves got situated in the dojo, Corbin watched Aquila with trepidation while the larger bird came up to land on the rafter beside him. He turned a curiously cocked head to the eagle when it chittered in a diplomatic manner, considering his unexpected roost mate. Corbin exhaled hard and rolled his eyes. Oh, why not? Switching from lupine to avian, the raven replied with an agreeable croak, accepting the olive branch. He then turned his pitch black eyes back down to watch the two wolves below closely.

Artorias couldn't resist a small smirk and low chuckle under his breath when his new training partner admitted to not knowing where to get started. That was fair, given that combat was more of an art than an exact science. Techniques could be taught, but the lessons would ultimately be left to the students to decide how they used them, like a painter selecting the right brush or pigments to craft their masterpiece. "Well, the basics are a good place to start. If you have your foundation down pat, everything else can be built up on them," he explained. "Everyone's fighting style will be different. You tailor your moves and strategies to match your body and your brain. Play to your advantages, defend your weaknesses."

Ezra mentioned learning how to block, dodge, and counter incoming attacks as a first lesson. The dark-furred boy nodded; that was as good a place as any to start. "Like I said, everyone has their own style that plays on their strengths. I'm smaller and lighter, so I try to keep moving and make myself a harder target. The counterattacks and dodges allow me to use my opponent's own strength against them so I don't have to be the biggest or strongest in the fight." Artorias turned and took up his sword in his teeth, turning back to Ezra to join the boy in the ring, whether Ezra had noticed he was standing in it or not. "See, the nice thing about these skills is you don't need a weapon to use them," he said. "Maybe you can't block the same way I can, but you can definitely dodge and counter all the same. It's all about watching your opponent's moves for openings, breaks, or chances to use their momentum against them."

Squaring off against Ezra, Artorias set his body into his fighting posture, clutching his sword tighter in his jaws. "Let's start with an easy drill: I'll swing at your legs, you just need to dodge them any way you can. Move, jump over it, rear back, anything you can do to stop me from knocking you over." Art shot the bigger boy a challenging smirk from around his training weapon. "Ready?" he asked, waiting for Ezra to prepare himself, and then as soon as he confirmed he was, Artorias came at him with unrelenting horizontal swings of his sword back and forth, aiming to sweep Ezra's legs out from underneath him and use the boy's size against him.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

Ezra was glad that Artorias didn't mind that he didn't have something specific in mind that he wanted to work on. In honesty, this whole idea of training with Artorias was still very new to him and had gotten put on him kinda suddenly so he was more or less just making it up as he went along. He was excited though. It was a way for him to enjoy learning more about fighting and getting stronger while still getting to avoid being around his father for a while longer. He nodded in agreement as Art explained how the foundations were good to have and a good place to start and hummed thoughtfully when he pointed out how he would need to tailor his moves to himself. It wasn't really something he had really needed to consider before because it had become pretty clear pretty early on that he was going to match his father in stature so many of the things his father did were applicable to him as well. It was a good thought to have though and he kept it in mind as they continued.

Even just from the little bit Artorias had told him so far he was actually really impressed with the Carpathius boy's knowledge. Listening to him talk about how he used his lighter, smaller build to his advantage and how he took advantage of counter attacks was really smart. Art obviously had taken his training much more serious than Ezra had allowed himself to and he got the sense that he was going to have to do a lot of catching up to do if he wanted to get as good at it as Artorias. He didn't feel jealous though, he understood that this was his own fault and now he just had to fix it.

It was kind of a relief to know that he didn't have to have a weapon to do the kind of things that Artorias did. With his unusual teeth he didn't really know how something like his sword would work out. He'd have to figure out what sort of things were going to work for him instead. It sounded like one of those things that was going to be easier said than done, but with the motivation of improving to be on an equal playing field as Artorias in the back of his mind he was up to the challenge. The first drill was presented to him and he nodded in agreement, settling into the defensive stance his father had taught him right away. He may only know the basics, but he at least knew those really well. "Ready," he confirmed, meeting the boy's smirk with one of his own.

Right away, Art came out swinging - literally. The first swing Ezra was able to hop with the momentum built up in his slightly crouched stance, settling more of his weight back into his hind legs as he reared up to miss the wooden blade. He danced backward, jumping from side to side and sometimes completely jumping over the blade. After several swings though, his large paws tripped over one another as he tried to move quickly to dodge Art's swing and he stumbled, causing him to take a hard swing of the practice sword right to his shins. He sucked in a breath through his teeth with a hiss at the sharp pain the wack gave him and took a second to shake out each of his legs while he waited for the pain to subside. It would probably just bruise if anything, but it still didn't feel good.

"Ezra"

Artorias watched Ezra's movements, observing the way the larger boy moved and dodged his swings. It was clumsy and amateur, but it was getting the job done. He hadn't known what to expect from Ezra given that he hadn't seen him at many of the trainings, but the Adravendi wolf had a fire in him that could be stoked. After a few dodges though, Ezra got caught on his own feet and stumbled, and that was the fatal mistake. Artorias was unable to stop his swing in time to prevent the wooden blade from smacking hard into the other boy's shins, and while painful and would probably leave a welt, wouldn't cause any lasting damage.

Artorias paused and took a step back before settling back into a sit, posture firm and upright while he let Ezra recuperate from the attack. He didn't feel sorry; sometimes training hurt. His mother hadn't held back on him with his training, and he likewise wouldn't with his pupils—but he could be more empathetic. "You okay?" he asked, then raised a paw and pointed to where Ezra was standing. Artorias had managed to force him out of the ring with his own attempts to dodge the blue boy's assault. "Even if I hadn't chopped your legs off, you would've fallen out of the arena if this were a fight on the side of a cliff. Don't forget to pay attention to your surroundings and use them to your advantage when possible."

His lesson imparted, Artorias stood back up and moved back to the center of the ring, motioning for Ezra to join him. Once the dire boy had taken his position across from him, Artorias assumed his fighting stance, settling comfortably into position like it were more natural than standing. "Take what I've told you and put it into practice. Try to avoid getting hit, stay in the ring, and take me down," he said. There could be no mistaking the implication; this was about to be a spar. Art gave Ezra the grace of allowing the boy to assume his own fighting stance before he sprung into action, leaping right for Ezra with a twist of his head to bring his sword in another strike aimed for the his legs, intending to sweep his paws out from under the bigger wolf. He would not go easy on Ezra; the best way for him to learn was to treat every spar like it were a real fight with real stakes on the line. No blood would be deliberately shed, but there would be no holding back either. Artorias wanted Ezra to match him, and then both boys could become the guardians of the Hallows.

Artorias Sirius Carpathius vs Ezra Adravendi for Spar
Round 1/2
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Extra large
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Wooden sword
Defensive Battle Accessory: Reinforced leather cuirass
Companion 1: Common raven, Male - Flying
Skills: Master Fighter & Advanced Navigator
Specialty: Weaponsmaster

"Artorias" | Thoughts

Ezra nodded to confirm he was fine when Artorias questioned him, putting his paws back on the ground. His legs might be a bit sore for a while, but no real harm done. He knew that little wounds and things could come from fighting, even during practice, so he wasn't that concerned about it. But, that sword sure did sting! When Artorias pointed out the line of the fighting ring, he blinked with surprise, looking at how he had ended up well over the line during his leaping and dodging. To be fair, he hadn't known that was part of the objective, but he could see what Artorias was trying to tell him as part of the lesson. Dodge and be nimble, but also pay attention to what was going on around him besides the opponent in front of him. Got it.

When Artorias started moving back toward the center of the ring Ezra followed, facing off against Artorias when he settled into a very natural looking fighting stance. He was honestly just impressed with how skilled the Carpathius boy was and seeing him like this really told him why Resin had wanted him to train with her son. He mirrored the motions, though they weren't nearly as easy or natural as Artorias'. He certainly didn't look like the clumsy pup he had been when his father first started training him, but he clearly didn't have the many hours dedicated to it that Art did. Soon though he hoped he might be able to at least get close to matching his new mentor and looked forward to when a spar with him would feel more like an even playing field. He grinned with a flash of sharp, spiked teeth to the instructions he was given to dodge, stay in the ring, and take him down. He wasn't too confident about being able to go through with the last of those orders, but he'd certainly try.

His pale blue eyes watched Artorias closely as he started to move with a swing of his head and in turn his sword and Ezra was quick to spring up onto his hind legs, rearing back enough to avoid the sword that swung for his front legs. Instead of just landing back on his feet the way he had during their practice, he reached for Artorias with his oversized paws while his sparing partner was on the back swing, wanting to shove hard against his shoulder and chest with the momentum from coming back toward the floor.

Ezra Fortis Adravendi vs Artorias Carpathius for Spar
Round 1/2
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Spiked pauldrons
Defensive Battle Accessory: Reinforced leather cuirass
Companion 1: Black-and-chesnut eagle, Male - Flying
Mutation 1: Serrated teeth - Offensive
Skills: Intermediate Fighter & Beginner Hunter
Specialty: N/A

Ezra Adravendi

Artorias' energized swing made no contact when his opponent reared up on his hind legs, the wooden blade skimming harmlessly against the stones where big paws had been a moment before. Smirking to himself, Artorias adjusted his movement, using his missed swing as momentum to come back in an upward swing towards Ezra's head. Except when he turned to swing, he saw the boy's big dappled paws coming down for his shoulder and chest. He was unable to move out of the way in time, taking the brunt of the force that pushed him back with a grunt, not quite enough to knock him off his feet, but enough to send Artorias stumbling backwards. The dark-furred brute quickly righted himself, regaining his balance and fixing Ezra with a fierce yet proud glower. That had been an effective counterattack and he deserved praise for it.

Not to be outdone, Artorias went on the offensive again, leaping to the right side of his opponent and spinning in place to bring a whirlwind slash of his sword aimed up for Ezra's neck and chest. His objective was to get Ezra to duck, and if the boy did, he would then push forward to try and shove his opponent off balance. The new goal of the fight was to overwhelm Ezra with a violent nonstop barrage of attacks, forcing him to go on the defensive and perhaps lose track of either his footing or Artorias' attacks. It would be up to Ezra to remain focused in the heat of the fight.

Artorias Sirius Carpathius vs Ezra Adravendi for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Extra large
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Wooden sword
Defensive Battle Accessory: Reinforced leather cuirass
Companion 1: Common raven, Male - Flying
Skills: Master Fighter & Advanced Navigator
Specialty: Weaponsmaster

"Artorias" | Thoughts

Ezra grinned with a flash of spiked teeth when his paws connected with Artorias, shoving his new mentor back before his paws came back down to the ground, giving him a brief second to reset his stance while Artorias righted himself and regained his balance. He noticed the pride in Art's glare and that made him grin a bit wider, glad to know that he had done well so far. Of course he didn't linger on that for too long since the Carpathius boy wasn't going to let him linger for too long before launching another attack at him.

He had to fight the instinct to step back when Artorias leapt to his right side, not wanting to put himself any closer to the edge of the ring than he already was so he wouldn't risk crossing it if Artorias shoved him or something of that sort. Then he saw Artorias begin to spin beside him and Ezra quickly changed his stance, dropping down into a crouch as he shifted to face Artorias' side, making an attempt to dodge the swing of that wooden sword, but a combination of his extra height and not being able to move quite fast enough ended up with him taking a hard whack to his shoulder, making him wince and recoil from the impact. But he didn't want to lose out on the opportunity of having Artorias in close quarters so he pushed through the stinging pain and immediately lunged forward as soon as his sword hit him, attempting to slam his chest into the upper part of Art's side, around his rib cage. He felt like most would have tried to grab his scruff too, but with teeth like his and the Hallows laws being what they were, he didn't want to risk hurting Art or drawing blood so he just settled for trying to shove Art out of the ring again.

Ezra Fortis Adravendi vs Artorias Carpathius for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Spiked pauldrons
Defensive Battle Accessory: Reinforced leather cuirass
Companion 1: Black-and-chesnut eagle, Male - Flying
Mutation 1: Serrated teeth - Offensive
Skills: Intermediate Fighter & Beginner Hunter
Specialty: N/A

Ezra Adravendi

And the winner is...

Artorias

Ezra must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Artorias Rolls: 34, 34, 97, 87 Adjusted rolls: 45.9, 39.1, 111.55, 95.7 Total: 365.31 Ezra Rolls: 70, 85, 15, 18 Adjusted rolls: 94.5, 93.5, 15, 19.8 Total: 245.08