Onyx did enjoy her time outside of the den after their whole short life had started and remained inside. But naturally she wanted to go farther out into the worlds, into the wilds, explore and discover what else there was besides this place. She was quite a firecracker herself, but she still knew the importance of obeying what her parents expected of her. She may have come off a little blunt and was entirely misunderstood, but she did care for her parents and her siblings and she didn't start to realize this until she came outside the den a little more and met other wolves inside Incendium. She had really only met one other, a dark and red boy who seemed to have just a little more of a freestyle life than herself. But she had seen other wolves from afar and she generally had just a sour attitude by looking at them. She wasn't much a social creature, or maybe she wanted others to believe so. She didn't really know what she wanted herself, she was too young to understand her emotions and why she felt such ways. She was sitting just outside the den along the fluffy drifts of snow, most of it was undisturbed by foot traffic, just some from her own family who had come in and out of the den. The blizzards had subsided if only today, or even just the hour. She had to admit that she didn't much care for the freezing temperatures they resided in, but she was getting used to it day by day and she could see some sort of superiority by surviving such harsh conditions. She was getting used to making things work out in her favor, even if she hated them. She may have had an itch to go out and explore, but she also enjoyed the quiet sounds of nature. This may have been on of her favorite places in the very few she had experienced. She admired the near silence. Walk "Talk" Think

Loosening her reins on her children was definitely not an easy task, but it was something she knew was necessary as they got older. She knew as time went on they'd only grow more and more independent, and she was determined to spend as much time with them as possible while they were still here. Ultimately she'd make it her life mission to defend them at all costs, to ensure they had the skills necessary to survive in this world - and even once they were old enough to be on their own it was hard to imagine being far from them at all. But it wasn't that time yet, and Kirsi was sure they were all heeding her warnings and staying close to home. She could no longer wrangle all five of them together constantly but she tried to keep an eye on where they'd gone as best as she could.

Which.. was getting increasingly difficult. She caught a whiff of Onyx's scent though and decided to follow it to see what her quiet daughter was up to today. Slowly she made her way through the pines forest, which was silent thanks to a layer of freshly-fallen snow. She felt it crunch beneath her paws as she moved, taking a path already-traveled as Onyx's scent grew stronger. It wasn't long before she appeared through the trees, sitting not far from the den's entrance. Kirsi gave her daughter a warm smile as she approached. When it came to her children she was an entirely different wolf; she was warm and full of love, a far cry from the usual stony exterior she displayed otherwise. "My daughter," she sighed contentedly as she drew a few strides closer. How quickly they were growing - far too quickly for her liking. Onyx looked far more adult now, a far cry from the tiny wriggling child she'd been just a season before. She wished desperately she could slow time down just a bit. "What shall we do today? Now that the snow's stopped?" The season had been a brutal one and it seemed it snowed more often than not, but they ought to take advantage of the good weather while it was here.

When her mother started across the few trees from their den, Onyx would slightly wave her tail a couple times to Kirsi's welcoming grin. She wasn't much a smiler herself, but her family meant more to her than any rando who walked by. She wasn't entirely fond of the pack as a whole, but she was still young and believed in herself to let time work out the details. Maybe one day she could find a strive to do more with herself. Today, she was just happy to stick to herself and the rest that joined in her family den. "Mom." She greeted back with a tiny dip in her chin, as if she was already an adult and mature and sophisticated. She wasn't all that though. She definitely needed to learn some manners and what she could and couldn't handle especially at her young delicate age. She wasn't entirely stupid, but she also knew the exceptions of her mother in regards to her safety. She definitely wasn't careless. She perked as Kirsi asked what she wanted to do, but she didn't really have an answer. Still, she rose from her sitting position by the den as if to join her mother in whatever activity could be in mind, "I don't know, what kind of stuff is there to do?" Onyx was still pretty young to really hunt anything on her own, and while she was growing a hidden ambition of learning to protect her family, it wasn't prominent in her interests right now. She still needed a lot of guiding and figuring herself out, even if she tried to act cool and mature. Walk "Talk" Think

It seemed like it had been all snow and ice since her children had been born. Though part of her longed for warmer days so that they could spend less time worrying about mere survival, at the same time she knew the unforgiving environment would shape her children into strong wolves. They would grow to be warriors and protectors, not soft like the wolves raised in the temperate south. Eventually when - or if - the seasons shifted to something normal they'd have more leisure time, but for now this was the life they lived. Kirsi wouldn't have it any other way.

Her daughter's greeting made her smile linger a moment longer. "We could do a lesson, if you'd like. Now that you and your siblings are getting old enough, I think it's time you learn to defend yourself. You know not all wolves are to be trusted. It's good to know how to keep yourself safe," she started carefully. Kirsi had never shied away from teaching her children the dangers of the world, but at the same time she didn't want to make them fear the outside world either. She'd much rather them be practical and wary of the wolves they encountered rather than overly trusting. It was what would keep them safe in the long run.

Her parents had always been very protective of her and her siblings, Kirsi more specifically but Song also showed how much he loved them and protected them as a whole family. It made Onyx feel much more attached to her siblings and her parents, especially with what Kirsi was teaching her now. She shouldn't trust everyone, and she needed to learn how to protect herself essentially. She already felt overpowered, or the need to fight and stay strong because yes, the weak did not survive or maybe didn't deserve to. Onyx still was not quite sure of her greater outlook on life, other wolves, or her future. She was in no hurry though. Though she also believed that she was meant for the skills of survival, and she would conquer and protect, and anything else that she needed to do to get her to where she wanted in her life in the moment. So when her mother offered, she wouldn't reject, "I'd like that, I think I can handle it." The training at least, though she felt like she could handle a lot more than she was capable of. It was dangerous and had her making rash decisions but the words of her parents kept her safe within the borders of the pack so she wasn't quite the trouble maker she could have been. "I did fight off a saber cat." She confessed, realizing maybe she shouldn't have, but it wasn't really that easy to hide the scratch on her shoulder that she come home with. Without going back on her word, or thinking of a way to dim down the dangerous situation, she continued, "I guess I needed to know a little more though since it scratched me." Walk "Talk" Think

Kirsi was glad when Onyx seemed interested in a little lesson. As she got older she knew she'd had plenty more to teach her children, more tangible lessons, but she felt there was no harm in getting a head start. Teaching her children how to survive on their own was one of her top priorities. She hated to think they'd ever need to use those lessons, but keeping them soft and naive was dangerous, no matter how much she wanted to protect their innocence. Day by day they were getting older and less childlike, and before she knew it they'd be full grown adults. Kirsi didn't like that thought and she pushed it out of her mind, for now willing to pretend her children would always be just that - children.

"Of course you can," she commented with a grin. She didn't doubt Onyx wasn't ready for some training, even if she didn't like the thought of her really brawling yet. Though... before they even began she was admitting she'd gotten in a fight with a saber cat. It was hard to tame the reaction of panic that welled up inside her, and she had to pause to remind herself of a few things - that Onyx was likely more capable than she realized, given the way she and Song parented, and that she wouldn't be able to protect her from danger forever. "Well, you fought it off, and that's what matters. Let's work on making sure you fare just as well next time you get in a fight then," Kirsi commented.

She didn't want to imagine Onyx faring with a worse injury, though she supposed it was out of her control. All she could do was try to teach her to protect herself against all odds. "The first thing you'll want to be conscientious of is your posture. It can be hard to think about that during a fight, but you need to always focus on protecting areas like your throat and belly. It's good to keep yourself low in general - it'll help you stay balanced too," she instructed, giving a little demonstration, bending her legs just slightly and tucking her head down.

As worried and protective as Kirsi was with her children, it made Onyx feel a bit of pride while her mother hadn't scolded her or fret over the saber cat. It did make her just feel a little more attached to her mother, like Kirsi was proud of her and she did a good job. At least in the way of protecting the pack maybe. It wasn't like Onyx initiated a fight with a dangerous animal at least.

Onyx followed Kirsi outwards of the den area a little more before her mother started to instruct her and demonstrate. Onyx carefully put her knees in a bend while facing her mother as she did, watching her paws to make them even and her tail flowed naturally behind her for balance. She had never thought of a stance like this before, but with the couple fights she had with the other kids and the fight with the saber cat, it almost fell in place for her.

She tucked her chin in too a little too much at first, looking in an awkward position up at her mother but she gently relaxed into the lower, almost pounce like position. She smiled when it felt right at least, raising her head back to normal but her legs remained still in the same stance. "I never thought of how to defend myself, I just did it." Well, she was more bitey than shieldy. But either way, in her young age she was just throwing herself into fights without really any instruction or better training. At least she could look forward to doing better while her mother taught her this.

"Onyx"

Mature! For foul language. Can be prone to violence.

Kirsi had seen how smothering could lead to rebellion in children; it was part of why she, as a child, had wanted to pull free of the restraints her parents placed upon her. Now that she was older, and no doubt wiser, she knew that their restrictions had been out of love rather than mere desire to stifle her. She wouldn't repeat her own mistakes in raising her children though, nor her parents', as well as they had meant. It took a great deal of effort to stifle the scolding that part of her wanted to unleash on the girl, but she refrained. All she could do was pride her on a job well down and help keep her attentive so that she'd only grow stronger and more capable of defending herself.

She nodded with approval as Onyx mirrored her movements. "You're right, a lot of it is definitely instinctual. But some little things you'll have to train yourself to do during a fight. It's easy to get swept up in thing and leave yourself vulnerable," Kirsi explained carefully. "Just remember when you're fighting it's not all about doing damage. You do need to protect yourself too, especially when some of the best attacks will leave you the most open to retaliation." She was built large like her father and would likely lean toward using her strength rather than her agility to fight, but it was an important thing to keep in mind no matter what style of fighting she tended toward. "At least a cut on your shoulder is mostly superficial damage. Hard to avoid though, but you can make sure they don't get closer to your throat," she reiterated by tucking her neck down a bit lower.

She listened intently to what her mother had to say, it could be seen on her face just how important this was to her. She would have only listened to her mother and father for advice on her fighting skill. Her siblings she would spar and do the same afterwards. For everyone else though, she was just down for the fight. She would only accept the help of her family, and she wanted to show others just how superior her and her family were. Or at least that they were all strong enough to protect each other. Strong enough to protect herself and her siblings who didn't take to fighting well. It was more important to her than anyone could really know. She almost didn't know the extent of it herself.

Her mother was basically talking about protecting the more fragile, vital areas. If someone did get a hold of her throat, it could be fatal quickly. She took that to heart. She understood the importance of that, and she wouldn't move on ignoring what her mother had to teach her. Relaxing, she looked up to Kirsi with a gentle smile, "I want to learn more, from you and dad." Onyx was at least honest, even if she withheld some truths or details, "I want to fight for my other siblings if I have to. I want to keep them safe, always." It could have been more deep than a young pup should be considering, but it was how she felt. And she wanted her parents to know that. She would want to protect them one day too. She wanted to learn from each of them to understand the strength of her father and the agility of her mother, and she wanted to use and know all the methods of fighting for her own best outcome.

"Onyx"

Mature! For foul language. Can be prone to violence.

"Then we will continue training. As much as you want," she stressed, wanting Onyx to know she meant those words. Whatever her children needed she would provide them, even if they needed something she couldn't provide - she'd find someone who could train them however they wanted. She'd survived this far though and she knew she could teach her children enough to take care of themselves too, no matter what trials and tribulations might await them. "And I'm glad you want those things. Your siblings who aren't as... fighting inclined will need you on their side." Calling them weaker didn't seem appropriate. They were all strong children, some mentally more than physically; she just hoped as a group they could support each other where one might fall short. "You're a good sister, and a good daughter," Kirsi admitted softly, relaxing her defensive pose to something more casual. She wanted Onyx to know she was proud of her, despite all the growing she had to do - and how could she not be? Though she was a fiercely protective and loving mother she often lacked the warmth that emanated from some mothers but her more icy veneer seemed to crack for a moment, leaning to embrace her daughter tenderly before pulling away. "Enough training today. Let's go patrol a bit, and maybe find some food on our way back."

-exit?-