Artorias had asked her and Ezra to help train some of the pack's knights. Although the Hallows was at peace, the world was a dangerous place. Even without considering other wolves, there were those beasts that had attacked and killed Resin. If they ever came back, the pack would have to be prepared so that no one else died before their natural turn. Of course, Avantika never needed a reason to work on her fighting skills or to try to make the pack safer. It was a long-held instinct of hers to focus on the preservation of herself and those important to her. And sparring was just fun! With that taken into consideration, she figured that a group melee would work. Open to all knights and kin who wanted to improve their fighting and optional but strongly suggested. It would be a good way for her and her fellow Templar to measure everyone's skills and see who would need more 1-on-1 training. After discussing this with Ezra, she'd call for anyone who wanted to participate. OOC: Since I'd like to have this move fairly quickly, I'll post the second round on the 15th. "Speech"

The call went out from Avantika summoning the Knights of the Hallows and any others interested to the training grounds, and Artorias, who had been patrolling the eastern border near the forest, raised a curious brow. He had been slowly but surely getting back into his exercise regiments to regain the strength he'd lost recovering from his fight with Oxx, but a little break to see what his sister was up to couldn't hurt. Veering course, Artorias headed for the training grounds just outside the castle walls. He spotted his littler sister there waiting for the rest of the participants to show up. She'd asked him about having some more responsibilities and duties around the pack, and it looked like she was taking his request of training the Knights to heart.

A proud smirk played on his lips while he came closer to take a seat along the edge of the sparring rings. He was pleased to see Tika taking initiative for the pack's benefit; it showed him how serious she was taking her new role. Although the call hadn't been for him, Artorias wanted to watch the Templar in action and give her his support through presence. If she wanted him to take part or aid her in any way, he would be there. Otherwise, he was content to be a passive observer.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

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.
____________________

I wanted to seek, but I got distracted

Despite her new role as a knight Lúta couldn't quite shake her healing habits and she dove into gathering as many herbs as she could while summer was in Auster. She wanted to assist in the stocking of the community stores. Soon though, it was time for her to turn her full attention back to fighting. Lúta took a moment to bid her healing arts good by, to officially retire herself as a healer. That role belong to others now and it was time for her to assume her new role with renewed vigor.

Spirits, it had been ages since she'd officially trained in battle. She'd been reared to be a fighter. It had always seemed a fate she could never escape and ironically here she was, a warrior once more. But perhaps it could mean something more this time. Maybe it wouldn't mean tragedy.

She heard Avantika's call and arrived to see the younger femme with Artorias. "Good morning!" She greeted the others as she took a seat to await the start of the meeting.

He had Avantika had briefly discussed holding a training, but it was Tika that really had the followthrough to call the meeting and get everybody together. He was on a patrol when he heard his fellow Templar's call and his ears perked at the call. He cut the patrol short and loped back toward the castle, arriving fairly quickly and finding Avantika there by the training fields along with Artorias and Lúta. He gave them all a grin as his tail wagged gently behind him. He hoped that a lot of the Knights and Kin showed up so that the training had a good turn out. Already he was happy to have Artorias there and he hadn't gotten to interact much with Lúta yet so now was a good opportunity for him to see her fighting style. "Good morning!" he said as well when he heard Lúta's greeting as he approached. He came to sit next to Avantika. He was happy to let her do most of the directing and leading for the training, but he was definitely there in case she wanted him to handle any part of it or wanted his opinion on anything.

Ezra Adravendi

The call came for fighters and, even though Eska was more of a hunter, she made her way towards the group anyway. Others may have focused more on their fighting than she did, but the brindled woman wasn't fussed over it. She wasn't entirely unskilled either. She and Ulric had been sparring though most of the time it took a turn and they ended up in the bedroom instead. The silvered fae was content with her 'training' if one could call it that.

Approaching the group that had gathered, Eska gave a nod, but said nothing. She recognized the angry girl from before and arched one brow. The older woman seated herself, back straight as she waited for further instruction. If this was sparring, she would be fine with that. If they were going in search of some large predator, she would be even better with that.

"Eska"

Sota was definitely not a fighter but he wondered if joining in on some lessons might be good for him. He didn't do it to show any initiative - he was more than content doing menial tasks around the pack and helping out where he was needed - but he loved The Hallows and what the pack had done for him, and wanted to be sure he could do the same back. They'd never had to defend themselves against a threat, but if they had to he'd be happy to fight alongside his packmates, so maybe learning the basics wouldn't hurt. Admittedly he felt a bit out of place as he headed to the gathering. He didn't spend much time with many of these wolves though he'd spent time with Lúta recently and instinctively headed her way. He gave her a little smile and settled down, focusing his attention near the front of the group to see what was in store for them. He just hoped his lack of experience wouldn't be a deterrent to the rest of the group.

Art was the first to arrive, sitting along the edges of the sparring rings and watching silently. Avantika hoped she'd make him proud here and get more missions in the pack. Although it wasn't really his job to give her stuff to do all the time. She should take the initiative herself. She made a mental note to brainstorm some stuff later--maybe more long-term fighting training?

Next was Luta, calling out a good morning, and Ezra, doing the same. "Good morning to you both," Avantika replied. Then was Eska. She recognized the woman from that time she'd angrily chased a bear on the border after Resin's death. She hoped that she could present a better picture of herself now than that grief-stricken day. Sota then arrived at settled down near Luta.

Avantika waited a few more moments, but no one else showed up. It was a disappointing turnout, to say the least. She'd been hoping for more than this. But it meant she could spend more time focusing on each individual, right?

She smiled at the small crowd. "Um, hey," she started awkwardly, not used to talking as an authority. She took a deep breath. "I was thinking that we could do one big melee spar with everyone, just to assess where everyone's at, and then work on whatever we see that's a problem after, if you all think that's a good idea." She glanced over at Ezra. "Since we don't have too many people here, do you think one of us should fight while the other one does more of the watching?" Her nerves were itching for a spar. If Ezra wanted to fight, she'd stand off to the sidelines willingly, of course. They needed to have at least one of them focused on observing. But she did want to fight.

"Speech"

Artorias watched pensively while wolf after wolf arrived in response to Tika's call. He greeted each with a nod of his head and a "Good morning," to both Lúta and Ezra respectively. A total of four wolves had shown up, not counting himself. He could tell by the frown on his sister's face that she'd been hoping for more. Artorias made a mental note to have a discussion with the two Templars about what they could do to motivate the rest of the Knights to complete their training. Laziness was not a vice tolerated in the Hallows.

Tika began the meeting, explaining their training and their goals. She seemed nervous, but who could blame her? This was her first time calling together any sort of group activity like this. She conferred with Ezra for how they'd like to handle this, and Artorias was equally intrigued to see how they would go about teaching. Would his Templars be the kind of teachers who observed from the side to take notes and critique with a sharper eye, or would they be the kind to teach by example and get into the activities with their students? "If you need additional fighters, I can participate," Artorias offered from behind Tika and Ezra. He had come here with the intention to observe, but he wouldn't let low attendance mess with his Templars' training.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

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.
____________________

I wanted to seek, but I got distracted

Lúta allowed her thoughts to wander as she waited for others to arrive. Out of the corner of her eye she caught movement and saw Kolfinna step out from beneath the shadows of the trees. Lúta was swift to beckon her feline companion over. She'd sent the feline north to do some scouting and double check that there was no ice bridge forming in the northern regions of Boreas. She intended to go north at some point to see for herself but it would be such a long trip she wasn't sure if she dared take it.

Lúta spoke to her companion in hushed tones so as not to disturb the others. "Well, any news?" Kolfinna nodded, tail wrapping around her paws. "The good news is I saw no sign of the ice bridge returning. The bad news…" The mountain lion hesitated and Lúta prompted her to continue. "Lúta, I saw a northwestern patrol not too far from Boreas." Kolfinna didn't feel the need to elaborate further, Lúta would know what it meant.

Lúta's stomach flipped and her heart sank. What on earth was a northwestern patrol from her homeland doing out this far? She could easily guess that another war had broken out. It seemed there was always conflict in her homeland but that soldiers from any faction should journey out so far was deeply troubling.

The meeting began and she turned her attention to Avantika who suggested a melee spar. She nodded, a signal of her understanding. She was fine with this idea.

Ezra waited for more wolves to arrive, but surprisingly only Eska and Sota arrived after him. It wasn't neccessarily a bad number as far as a melee fight went, but he had certainly expected more than this. He shrugged it off though. It was the first lesson that Tika had called and it was also the first training that they had held since they became Templars. There was room for improvement, but he was confident they could round up even more wolves next time. Once Avantika started their training and explained to the small crowd that had gathered that she had planned on them doing a big group spar, a grin lingered on his face. He knew Luta was a pretty good fighter from being at the tournament and seeing her compete and he knew that Eska had been working with his father on her training as well so he had a feeling she was pretty skilled as well. He didn't know about Sota, but he was just excited to see what the smaller wolf could do.

He nodded in agreement to Avantika when she asked about one of them watching while the other fought. He could see how eager she was for it so he grinned, giving a wave of his paw. "You go ahead! I'll hang back this time." Glancing over his shoulder at their Aegis, he smirked and gave a tip of his head toward the area ahead of them. "Why don't you get in there too, huh? Last time I saw you fight was when I beat you in the tournament!" He gave Artorias a teasing grin and chuckled before he turned his pale gaze back toward the others, eager to watch the fight go down.

Ezra Adravendi