The Praetor boy found himself sitting alone in the edge of the saline tide as it lapped at the obsidian shoreline. His amber gaze lost in the horizon before him as he was vaguely aware of the gulls screaming in the distance. Every now and then, one would momentarily disappear beneath the surface, only to immediately resurface. Some were luckier than others, as they had been victorious in their efforts of fishing. Others, no matter how hard they tried, just couldn’t produce anything. A struggle that he was beginning to understand well. Mother and Baelfire had been gone for a few days now, leaving father scarce as he searched for them. Occasionally he would see the fiery red brute in between attempts at locating their missing family. However, he was beginning to learn not to ask if he had found them yet. It seemed to be a sore subject.

Aresenn had found the best way to quell the longing in the pit of his chest was to try to find ways to keep himself busy. He hadn’t really had the opportunity to learn much about the world yet with as busy Ignis had been. So he continued coming back to the beach as a place of familiarity. He oftentimes searched for sea shells, waded the water, or dug in the sand. Anything he could do to maintain a distraction. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to stop his mind from wandering. Keeping it out of the shadows was a task in itself. Bringing his attention back to the forefront, his focus fell to his paws as the ocean water surged past him ever so slightly. A sigh escaped him as he hauled himself to his paws. What was he going to do today?

The day is young and Nico will not be visiting today. The coyote pup had told Calico Jack yesterday that he had to do something with his ward, Oscar, and he would not be at the border to greet him in the morning. Now, Jack isn’t sad that his friend won’t be there but he does feel a sense of longing as he slowly wanders along the dark sands of the beach. If he is being truthful with himself, he actually kind of feels lost without Nico, like a ship without its rudder. Aimlessly he walks, small paws crunching the granules of black sand as he goes.

From the sky above, Jolly Roger, Calico’s blue and yellow macaw, calls to the pup, trying to pull his attention away from his thoughts. Stubbornly, the patchwork pup ignores his young bird companion, willing himself to brood a little more. Nothing is going to make him feel happy today. Suddenly, a form drops from the sky, streaking toward the ground and aiming right for Calico Jack’s head. A shadow across the sand alerts the pup to the incoming danger and, instinctively, he throws his body to the side.

Heart thunders against his ribs as he turns his ice gaze to his attacker to find… Jolly Roger unfurling his wings and clacking his beak in some strange sort of laughter. The pup scowls at the bird, indigently shouting, “What was that for?” Jolly Roger just continues to do the strange, mocking laugh, swooping down toward his head again with his talons outstretched. Cal rolls, batting a paw at the bird to make it stop. But his friend doesn’t stop and continues to harass the pup until Calico Jack has enough and springs up to his paws.

Issuing a loud bark of annoyance, Calico leaps into the air in an attempt and catch the bird and realizes, belatedly, that Jolly Roger wants to play. The macaw then begins to fly away, looking back to Jack as if to say, ‘you coming’. Dang it. The bird knows him too well. With a happy laugh, Calico Jack gives chase, small legs churning as he races across the beach, following after the bird as they zigzag along. After some time, the pair approach the water’s edge, with Cal huffing and puffing from the exertion.

A lone figure near the water pulls the patchwork pup’s attention away from his bird friend and Jack slows down, angling his path so he can approach the other pup. Icy blue gaze roams over their pelt, admiring how he appears to be made of fire. With a gentle bark of greeting, Jack tries to pull their attention to him and says, “Hey… you okay?” Stopping a little way off from the pup, Jack’s tongue lolls out of his mouth as he pants and watches the other. Jolly Roger reappears, landing on the sand a short distance away and cawing at the pair.


"Calico Jack"

However, as he set off down the coastline, his attention immediately fell on a mottled stranger. Well, maybe not stranger if he was this deep in the pack lands. But certainly strange to Aresenn. The sunlight illuminated his dominantly white pelt, but certainly did a fine job of setting the patches of orange, brown, and black ablaze. He became vaguely aware of a flash of blue from above. But dismissed it as a bird in his peripheral and didn’t give him much of a second thought … until it became clear that he was sticking with the older boy. That was cool. He silently wondered how he was able to manipulate a bird into behaving like that …

Once they entered a conversational distance, he was greeted with a friendly bark, in which he flicked his ears in acknowledgment. “I’m … I’m alright.” He was in fact not alright. But it seemed like father got annoyed when he talked about it. So he chose not to. “Just kinda bored.” The young Praetor added instead. His amber gaze fell to the sand at his paws for a moment as he thought, but lit up ever so slightly when he had an idea. “My name is Aresenn. What is yours?” He asked, curious as to what the other boy would say. An introduction seemed like a good idea.

Calico Jack easily lopes toward the other pup, a happy grin on lips. As he nears, he speaks and the pup answers, causing Jack’s lips to tug downward slightly downward as he thinks that the kid looks far from alright but allows the comment to slide. Pulling to a stop and panting, he finds out that the other pup is bored and dips his head in understanding, sympathetically agreeing, “Not much to do that we haven’t already done, hm?”

The smile he offers is easy and he watches as the other pup’s amber gaze falls to the sand at his paws and Cal’s eyebrows suddenly knit together in silent worry. But the pup’s eyes brighten slightly as he looks back up and Jack’s tension falls away as the grin returns. The pup offers his name and, with a dip of his head, the patchwork pup says, “I'm Calico Jack. That’s,” a paw is thrust in the direction of his juvenile macaw friend as he says, “is Jolly Roger. Pleased to meet ya!”

Jolly Roger clacks his beak in greeting as he walks forward a little, stretching his wings out and giving them a hard flap while clicking his beak at Calico. Jack glances to the bird and hums thoughtfully before looking back to the pup and saying, “Well, the way I see it Aresenn, we have some options for fun. There’s racin', explorin', fightin’, or huntin’. My friend, Nico, and I are even learning to fish with my net!” Eyes sparkle as his grin grows and he adds, “Whatever ya want to do, let’s do it!” Silently, Cal hopes that will help cheer up the pup that seems to have a dark cloud around them.


"Calico Jack"

He was met with an understanding nod, and something like condolences. A verbal acknowledgement that perhaps boredom was a familiar state around here- at least for the pups of Pirate’s Plunder. The Praetor boy nodded in response to the other guy’s observance, certainly out of ideas for himself in solo endeavors. Rivin was usually the one to come up with the creative plans … not him. However, the introduction he offered was well met. Earning one back in return. “Nice to know you as well!” He responded with a smirk of his own. Amber eyes quickly shifted with the other boy's motion to the nearby macaw, which he nodded to in greeting as well. “And you too, Jolly Roger.” However, he was more puzzled than anything by the bird. One day, he would ask how Jack had managed such a company. But he felt that was a question for a different time.

Aresenn’s ears perked as Jack began running through a small list of ideas to get started. He wasn’t much of a competitive type. And he didn’t want to get too far away from home if Ignis came back with any news. He’d hunted plenty of the tide pools already this morning. “Ummmm …” His voice escaped as he thought. The fishing net sounded interesting, but he didn’t want to mess anything up. But fighting? He wrestled some here and there with his siblings. But there was no rhyme or reason to it. And again, father hadn’t been around much to really go through any of it. So he was curious as to what the other boy knew. “What do you know about fighting?” Aresenn asked. It was kind of naive of him in a sense. But he truly didn’t know much about it- he couldn’t help the next inquiry as it rolled off his tongue. “Is it hard?” It might have been silly to think that it was easy. But having never fought anyone, he honestly didn’t know.

As the pups speak, Calico Jack finds it easy to smile at Aresenn, feeling a certain kinship in their shared boredom. The fire-striped pup gives a cordial greeting and a smirk of his own and the patchwork pup chuckles softly to himself. Then Aresenn greets Jolly Roger and the juvenile macaw turns his head sideways so that one big brown eye is staring at the pup and squawks a greeting back, saying, “Rawk! Nice ta meet.” After that he whistles and clacks his beak together as Cal’s grin turns into a smirk.

With a shake of his head, Calico explains, “Jolly here can be really talkative. I found him while I was out exploring and he has been following me around ever since.” A genuinely joyful laugh rolls past his dark and he offers ideas for play, looking to Aresenn to pick their activity. Of course, the fiery pelted pup isn’t getting away from him now that they have found each other. Boredom alone is difficult but with a friend, it can be cured!

As he is asked about if fighting is hard, Jack shakes his head in the negative saying, “Nah, not hard at all! I’ll teach you what I know. Ma is training to me to go on raids with her and the pack!” At the comment about his mother, the small mottled pup’s chest puffs out a little in pride before he quickly switches tracks, falling into teaching mode as he shows Aresenn what he knows.

Straightening up, Cal says, “First thing ta know is the defensive stuff.  In case someone attacks ya.” Moving to stand across from Aresenn, Calico faces the fire-kissed pup and says, “If someone charges ya, best to lower your body slightly and put your legs shoulder width apart. Like this.” As he talks, Jack demonstrates the pose, waiting to see if Aresenn has any questions before continuing on.


"Calico Jack" | "Jolly Roger"

Just as the thought had crossed his mind, Calico Jack answered. “That’s cool! I was just wondering how on earth you’d become friends with a bird.” He said with a smirk, attention drifting to Jolly Rodger once more. However, he didn’t allow it to linger for long before trying to choose a cure for their boredom.

At the inquiry on the difficulty of fighting, he was relieved to hear that it was more simple than what he had originally thought. Though, when Jack mentioned his mother was training him, he felt a vague jab of jealousy in the pit of his gut. Ignis was so busy looking for Eden and Baelfire … it didn’t leave a lot of time for learning new stuff like that. Though, at least he had a new friend that would be willing to help. “Raids? That sounds like fun!” He had never heard of such a thing, but at that moment he knew he wanted to participate and be included. If the other boy was excited for raids, clearly it was something worth being excited about. “Maybe I’ll get to go too, one day.” He murmured wistfully. But once the instructions began, he quickly dissolved daydreams to pay attention.

Listening carefully, he began processing the idea of adopting a defensive posture. After the explanation of why it should be done this way, Aresenn was quick to nod in agreement. Whether it be wrong or right, it sure made sense to him. “Okay,” Aresenn answered in acknowledgment as he observed the demonstration before him. Without hesitation, the younger boy began shifting his stance into something closer to what Calico Jack was modeling. He shifted his paws a little wider to broaden his base into a defensive stance. He flexed his joints as he lowered himself closer to the ground. “Like this?” He asked, glancing back and forth from his own paws to the Jacks. He wasn’t sure quite what he was doing … but it felt good!

Aresenn admits he had wondered how Calico had made friends with the bird and the patchwork pup chuckles saying, “Ah, you’ll find that wolves can make friends with all kinds of animals! My ma has a bird, monkey, and a cat that follow her. My brother, Ajax, has a couple ducks that like him.” A small shrug and lopsided grin is offered before they go on to decide that fighting will be the cure for their boredom today and Jack immediately talks about raids.

His new friend agrees that they sound fun and Cal chuckles nodding his agreement and says, “Yeah, we’ll all get a chance to go! One day. But for now, we can train!” Jolly Roger toddles off to peck at random creatures that wiggle under the sand, freeing the area for teaching and sparring while Jack switches to instructing Aresenn on the few tricks he knows. The fire-kissed pup is a quick study and immediately falls into the stance that Jack has shown.

Giving a whistle of appreciation and awe, Jack says, “Say, you’re a quick learner! My friend Nico took a couple tries to get that right! Okay stay like that.” Straightening up, Cal moves the few steps to where Aresenn stands while explaining, “'K, so this gives you a good place to start from! If someone tries to push you over, it is much more difficult. Now, feel what happens when I try ta push you over.”

Nodding to the other boy, Cal then steps up and carefully begins to apply his body weight to the other pup’s side while trying to allow him to find his center of gravity and remain standing. As he works, Jack says, “Okay now you can adjust the weight in your paws to help keep your balance. Don’t let me tip ya over!” Slowly, the patchwork pup applies more and more pressure, waiting to see how Aresenn will react.


"Calico Jack"

The description of all the wolf familiars that the other boy was aware of genuinely surprised him. Maybe sometime when he was alone he would try to tame something down for himself. What it would be, he didn't know. But in line with Cal's shrug, Aresenn offered a similar gesture of his own. It was a project for another day.

Nevertheless, at the certainty that he was offered that they all would get to go on raids, the Praetor boy beamed. It was tough to imagine himself and his brothers and sister going out on a raid ... but that didn't stop him from trying for a moment. Though, the daydream quickly faded at the sound of Jack's whistle. "Thanks!" Aresenn remarked in acknowledgment of the praise. "You're a good teacher." He finished, happy to have someone who could show him things.

He remained still as he was asked to do so. And as Jack slowly began to apply pressure, it left Aresenn to instinctually absorb the force into his foundation to avoid being toppled over. The stance encouraged him to support most of his weight on his off side- using the footing on the side Jack stood on more for balance than anything else. Eventually, he extended the joint he had flexed to ease in an attempt to slowly apply his own pushback. A smirk flashed across his features as the recognition hit him. The whole point of this was he didn't fall over, as the older, mottled boy had said. "Yeah, I see what you mean!" Aresenn assured. "It is a lot easier to stay up on your paws with a wider stance." He hadn't ever thought about it like this before, but in the end, it just made sense.

Calico sets about passing on what knowledge he has for fighting to Aresenn and the patchwork boy is thoroughly impressed with how quickly the fire-pelted boy catches on. Voicing his praise, Jack grins as the fire-kissed pup compliments his teaching and he barks a short laugh while jokingly saying, “Ah, just wait. You might not think that by the time we finish!” Eyes dance with mirth as, Cal shows Aresenn the importance of his stance by pushing into him.

Once done, Jack listens to what Aresenn thinks, nodding in agreement to the other boy’s statement while adding, “Yeah and it helps to come back to this position during a fight. Now, while in that stance, I want you to try lunging to the right. But, before you move, try digging your claws into the ground.” Cal steps back to watch the boy, nodding when he does as instructed.

A knowing grin spreads across his lips as he says, “Now, how did that feel? Did you have more control over your movements or less?” With their lesson drawing to a close, Calico poses questions to see what Aresenn thinks and, more importantly, how he feels with the movements.


"Calico Jack"

As the tones of Jack's laughter momentarily dominated the space between them, Aresenn chuckled as well. "Well, we'll certainly see then, won't we?" He responded in his own teasing tone. In reality, the Praetor boy knew very little as to what he was doing, and he was grateful for Calico Jack's lesson.

When the next instructions came, Aresenn gave him a stiff nod. It took him a moment of stillness to concentrate. He lightly flexed his toes- and by extension his nails into the gritty sand beneath his paws. After getting a good feel for it, he relaxed the muscles. Only to double down on the action, followed by a coiling of his haunches and a thrust forward into the space in front of him. While digging his claws into the ground, it prevented his footing from loosening and sliding back as he lunged. "It gave me more control." He said firmly, meeting Jack with a grin of his own. "I guess I had a better grip, and I didn't slide when I kicked off." He finished, trying to explain what he thought had happened.

Aresenn is a good student and willing to do as Cal says. As the fire-kissed boy lunges and answers his query, Jack nods in excitement and says, “Yep! That is why, before you do any movement, you want to spread your toes and grip the ground. It will help you keep control and make it so you are less likely to fall over. Now. What do you say we put your defensive lesson into action?”

Eyes dance with joy as Jack turns and walks several steps away before turning to once again face Aresenn. Raising his voice slightly so that he can be heard, Jack says, “Okay set your defenses! When you are ready, thump your paws on the ground and I will attack! Since we are training, try not to draw blood… okay?” While he waits for Aresenn to get ready, Jack sets his stance, bunching up his scruff and narrowing his eyes in preparation for the spar to come.




Calico Jack vs Aresenn for Spar
Round 0/2?
Age: Under 6 months
Size: Extra large
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Modified cutlass
Defensive Battle Accessory: Reinforced bandana
Companion 1: Macaw, Male - Flying
Skills: Expert Fighter & Advanced Navigator


"Calico Jack"

Aresenn nodded along as Calico Jack offered a little more detailed explanation on the benefit of gripping the ground with your toes before you lunge. And once it was all said aloud, it made perfect sense to him. But when he said that they should put his new skill to the test, a pang of uncertainty filled his chest. But he would do his best to conceal that with a determined expression. "I'll give it my best shot." The Praetor boy vowed.

In that moment, his golden gaze was trained on his new friend. He watched with curiosity as Jack took a position a little further away. Even with the distance, the calico boy made his voice clear- giving further instructions on how they were going to start their spar. Though his last statement did leave him with a nervous edge. "I won't!" Aresenn insisted. He hoped that Jack would try not to do the same.

Aresenn adopted the defensive stance he was just taught. Slightly staggering his legs apart, roughly shoulder width apart. He flexed his toes into the sand once more to test out the action, before releasing. He flexed his knees and elbows to lower himself to the ground in preparation to make a quick movement. And when he felt that he was ready, he absorbed his weight on his haunches for a moment as he hit the sand with his front paws- almost like a much more rigid play bow, before correcting himself back into this defensive stance to prepare for whatever Jack had in store.

Aresenn vs Calico Jack for Spar
Round 1/2
Age: Under 6 Months
Size: Large
Build: Medium
Skills: Beginner Fighter & Intermediate Intellectual

Jack sees a momentary flicker of uncertainty in Aresenn’s expression but the boy quickly conceals it with determination. Before he trots away, the calico pup gently claps his friend on the shoulder and says, “It’s okay, you’ll do great! Just remember, this is all for fun.” With an encouraging grin, Cal gives a wink before moving away to take up his position a little way off. He states about not drawing blood and Aresenn gives his reassurance and Jack nods, knowing he will not draw blood either.

Aresenn assumes the defensive stance and Jack waits, toes spreading to grip the sand while bunching his scruff. Once his friend is ready, the calico pup pushes off, coiled muscles releasing their energy in one smooth motion. He closes the distance, moving straight toward the fire-streaked boy and not wavering. Jack charges Aresenn head on, aiming to try and bowl the pup over if he does not move. This is the first test of the stance and the patchwork pup is confident in his new friend’s ability to read the attack.




Calico Jack vs Aresenn for Spar
Round 1/2
Age: Under 6 months
Size: Extra large
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Modified cutlass
Defensive Battle Accessory: Reinforced bandana
Companion 1: Macaw, Male - Flying
Skills: Expert Fighter & Advanced Navigator


"Calico Jack"

As Calico Jack offered him so final words of encouragement, Aresenn gave him a stiff nod. "Yeah, I know. It'll be fun." He said in a reassuring tone, partially to his friend, partially to himself.

Once Jack responded to the signal to begin their match, he didn't spend any time hesitating. Aresenn watched as the other boy kicked off and crossed the distance in the flash. As quickly as he could make his legs work, Aresenn pushed himself off to the side as best as he could in a shuffle to try and avoid the brunt of Jack's larger frame. While he did take a good part of the impact, thankfully he wasn't knocked off his feet. The extra force sunk his paws back in the sand a bit as he slid on the unstable ground, but he quickly fought to regain his footing to try and make his own shove.

It felt like he should try to get a hold of his friend with his mouth- though he wasn't exactly sure. This was his first spar after all. With his attempt at an opposing force, he reached out with an open jaw to try to find purchase in Cal's shoulder or side- but careful enough to ensure he wouldn't leave a mark. The movement was very clumsy though, and he was uncertain if would even come close to landing.

Aresenn vs Calico Jack for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Under 6 Months
Size: Large
Build: Medium
Skills: Beginner Fighter & Intermediate Intellectual

Jack charges Aresenn, his larger frame aiming right for the other boy. Now, while Cal wants this spar to be an actual spar, he also does not want to deter the fire-kissed pup from ever wanting to learn again. So, right before impact, the calico pup throws just a bit of his weight into his hind end in an effort to slow his forward momentum. Truthfully, he didn’t need to worry about his friend as it seems fighting is in Aresenn’s blood.

As Jack gets close, Aresenn throws himself to the side and avoids some of the impact. He notices the attempt and the recovery and makes a mental note to praise that later. His friend’s jaws snake out, aiming for his side or shoulder and Cal moves in to attempt a grapple. Shifting his weight further into his hind end, Jack stands while seeking to try and wrap his forelegs around Aresenn’s shoulders in a bear hug. The pinch in Jack’s shoulder has the pup grinning in pride as they both seek to end the spar with a victory.



Calico Jack vs Aresenn for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Under 6 months
Size: Extra large
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Modified cutlass
Defensive Battle Accessory: Reinforced bandana
Companion 1: Macaw, Male - Flying
Skills: Expert Fighter & Advanced Navigator


"Calico Jack"

And the winner is...

CALICO JACK

ARESENN must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: ARESENN Attack Roll: 49 Defense Roll: 2 Agility Roll: 93 Perception Roll: 66 Total: 210 Attack[49] + 5% Bonus[2.45]: 51.45 Defense[2] + 5% Bonus[0.10]: 2.10 Agility[93] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 93.00 Perception[66] + 10% Bonus[6.60]: 72.60 Total[219.15] + -30% Bonus[-65.75]: 153.41 CALICO JACK Attack Roll: 87 Defense Roll: 21 Agility Roll: 10 Perception Roll: 42 Total: 160 Attack[87] + 10% Bonus[8.70]: 95.70 Defense[21] + 15% Bonus[3.15]: 24.15 Agility[10] + 20% Bonus[2.00]: 12.00 Perception[42] + 10% Bonus[4.20]: 46.20 Total[178.05] + -10% Bonus[-17.80]: 160.25