Novella would be lying if she said that watching the fight against Jupiter and Oddity hadn't had any affect on her or that she hadn't been worrying about the possibility of her new pack being dragged into this war. Fighting looked dangerous, that much the young girl was certain of even without trying it for herself, she certainly hadn't ever considered starting a fight and now she was even more sure that she didn't want to be part of one. Truth be told though, she at least wanted to know how to fight, just in case she needed to.
She suspected that Symphony would frown upon the idea, perhaps she would be better suited to studying the art of healing with her. Whilst another useful trade she ought to learn a bit about, for now she wanted to train to be able to fight. Novel and Dutiron hadn't really focussed upon any such skills with their youngest litter, in fact it had only really been Song who that had taught any such skills to. It was with that detail in mind that she decided to seek out her sister and ask for her help.
Jupiter had spoke of training other members of the pack, but to be entirely honest she would rather have some kind of basics down rather than be completely humiliated in front of the Sol. She had already perhaps been a little bit of a disappointment to her due to the lack of any skills. Maybe she didn't have a focus yet still, but she'd at least try become of some kind of use to the pack until she could figure it out. For all she knew she was destined to be a warrior of some sort, she had to at least try it.
"Song?" She called as she drew closer to her sister's den. Hopefully she would be there, and hopefully the children would be out elsewhere for now, as much as she loved her nieces and nephew she wasn't here to see them at the moment.
Her presence was secure in the den, she was relaxing the day away, something she knew she shouldn't have been occupying her time with but after all of the excitement from the meeting she needed a bit of a rest. Just as ehr eyes opened from her short nap she could hear the gentle approach of a wolf's paws. She hoped to see Cherokee and his comforting smile, but she was not disappointed by the actual presence. A smile would form on her lips as she heard the soft calling of her name, limbs would unfold as she pushed herself from the earth and up into Novella's line of sight.
She would whine in greeting, the pleasure of seeing her sister quite apparent in her demeanor and expression. How she loved being so close to her family now, after not having been in their lives for so long. She would approach the similarly colored she wolf and nuzzle her gently. "Hello, Novella. What brings you to my den today?" It was not unlike her to visit to see the rest of her family, but she still wished to ask since the children were out exploring. "I'm afraid the babies are not around at this exact moment." She would glance about to make sure her words were true. After her nap she was unsure really about what everyone was doing.
It seemed that her wish would be true as Song emerged from the den alone. Novella would have expected to see the children rush out to greet her as well had they been present, and even Cherokee would have said hello. As much as she may have been intruding on Song's moment of peace and quiet, for Novella personally, she couldn't have arrived at a better time. Returning the nuzzle in greeting, it was only as Song questioned her that she realised she hadn't exactly prepared herself. She had no idea really what to say.
"That's ok I just wanted to see you actually." Song's statement about the children not being present certainly allowed Novella to find a place to start though with the easy bit out of the way it was time to start explaining and asking questions of her own. "Mum taught you how to fight, right?" Almost straight to the point, it was actually going better than she expected. "Well she didn't teach the rest of us and with everything that's happening I thought maybe I should learn something. I was wondering if you'd help me?" She hoped she said yes. She hadn't actually prepared any alternative for if she said no.
Their mother had indeed trained her in the art of battle, that was one thing she knew she would never forget. Novel had been quite adamant about her daughter knowing how to defend herself. That was not the only part of battle she had been taught. That lesson had been quite dark, but it certainly served her well once. Novella was certain that her sister was the one she wanted to see and as her voice continued the motive became more clear. Song shouldn't have been surprised, after the challenge it seemed most of Ludicael was gearing up for battle.
Her kind features would gain a tinge of concern as she thought of the questions, Novella needed to know how to keep herself safe in case the rest of the pack was unable to protect her. There were wicked creatures that lurked outside of their borders, and she knew she wanted her sister to be safe. "I should have realized that they wouldn't have trained you so persistently." She would begin, the words almost wholly for herself, "Of course i will help you. We're living in dangerous times, everyone should know how to keep themselves safe." The smile would return to her maw as she thought of the time she'd be able to spend with the girl. "Do you know anything about battle?" Song would start the lesson with trying to understand exactly where Novella was coming from.
To Novella's relief Song didn't immediately decline her request. Perhaps she would suggest anything else, but maybe she'd still have some hope of persuading her if it didn't seem like a good idea to her sister. But that wasn't necessary, the words soon met her ears and it was a yes. Song would certainly help her out. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Song hadn't seen her grow up from a tiny pup, the willingness to let her try fend for herself, though the thought hadn't occurred to her at all. In fact, she wasn't even one hundred percent sure that Symphony would have said no, she could have surprised Novella if she had just asked. With her training though, Song seemed like the best bet for now.
"Thank you Song!" Although the first lesson had yet to begin Novella was still pleased to hear that they would indeed be going ahead. Her tone and mood would calm again at Song's question however, head dropping a little to stare at the ground. "Nothing really" She responded, her mind simply silently adding the detail that it seemed rather scary.
She was relieved that her sister could come to her so easily for help, and she was ecstatic that it had been her instead of another wolf. She and Symphony had known each other longer, and silently she would wonder why the wolf had not gone to her other sister first. Symphony was going to teach Novel the arts of self defense, she knew she had skill in that area at least. None the less she would let the happiness overwhelm her, and try to start their lessons.
Novella would respond as Song assumed, she knew little of battle probably only what she had seen during the challenge. Not that Song had seen any more than training, but she had certainly trained a lot. "Alright, well we should start with the basics and that's defense." She would begin as her body changed its demeanor drastically. Her hackles would raise as her knees bent and her tail would extend flat to help align her spine. "Most of what you'll need to do is instinctual, if you're angry your fur will bristle, it makes it harder for other's to bite at the back of your neck." When her toes splayed she would continue, "You want to distribute your weight evenly on each paw so it's harder to disrupt your balance, if it helps don't be afraid to dig your claws into the ground. Bend your knees so you have the ability to move." She'd smile as she'd watch her younger sister, "Try it!" She would encourage.
Perhaps had she known her sister would be teaching her niece some things then Novella may have had a different view upon asking Symphony. It certainly would have made the decision a little tricky if nothing else, though perhaps at the end of the day her initial instincts still ought to be trusted the most. Song after all was surely a little more experienced and this of course would be a way to spend more time with her, and though she hadn't considered it from this angle, but a way for Song to feel like a part of Novella's life as she grew up. Whilst she may be considered an adult now, this situation evidently proved that the young girl still had a lot to learn.
Watching Song's demonstration, Novella then set about following the instructions step by step. Paws would move out slightly, widening her stance and remembering to bend her knees. For now her gaze lingered from paw to paw as she attempted to work out whether she was centred or not, a task that seemed far harder than it should have done if she concentrated a little less upon it. "Like this?" She questioned, lifting her gaze from the ground to look towards Song for confirmation.
It was certain that Song felt a bit of pride swell up within her chest as she went on with their lesson. She was glad to be able to teach her sister something, to be part of the memories and lessons she would call on in her time of need. She would become an actual integrated part of Novella's life, and that thought alone made her beam brightly as her pupil attempted what was asked of her. The pretty young she wolf would distance her paws and do her best to center herself, but Song would see she might have been having a more difficult time than intended. She seemed to be over thinking the process, but with practice she was sure she'd be wonderful.
Bicolored gaze would draw itself from the ground to Song's own mismatched eyes, her face looking for confirmation. Song would bring herself closer to her young sister, her gaze looking over the she wolf's stance. "You look good, do you feel balanced? If I pushed you would you be able to keep your footing or would you fall over?" She would question, by sight she seemed to be doing fine, but only she would know how balanced she actually was. "Don't forget about using your tail, too." Song would add as she attempted at helping the girl, once she had the stance down it would be time to move onto attacks.
Still so young, it was only recently Novella had begun to realise just how much help she still required. She could look after herself perfectly fine providing life continued along the rather peaceful path it had typically stuck to and though she could get around the world well enough it was apparently a lot more dangerous than she had previously realised, and it was that side of things she would clearly struggle with. One little lesson certainly wasn't going to change that though it was another crucial step that Novella knew she needed to take to properly fend for herself, not that she intended on needing to do so any time soon.
With her sister's prompt, Novella moved her tail into place as Song had demonstrated and forced herself not to look back at her paws again, knowing staring at them certainly wasn't going to give her the answer. "I think so..." She began somewhat hesitantly, certainly not sure in her stance. "I don't know." She admitted, perhaps the only way to find out would be to actually receive a little push. Though the tallest of Song and Dutiron's girls, Novella knew full well she certainly wasn't the strongest. That would probably be Song she imagined, then Lyric or Symphony, it was probably only Myth that she would say she was stronger than.
Well at least one of them was having fun with the little lesson, not to say that Novella was finding it boring, more challenging than anything else. It was still early stages, there was probably far more things that Song could teach her but even something as simple as focussing upon her balance and stance was a little on the difficult side. Never could she remember thinking about her movements quite this much, and perhaps she was still putting more thought than she probably actually needed to but she wanted to make sure she got it right. Not that she was really sure whether she was doing it right, Song definitely had more confidence in Novella's abilities than the young girl did herself.
"Alright, well we are about to find out." Novella watched as her sister began to move, certainly a little curious about what she was actually about to do. She wasn't worried though, although she probably still had a lot to learn about her sister, though already Song had gained her trust. Perhaps it was simply loyalty to her family, but there was no denying the fact that Song had been nothing but good to her.
With no other warning, Song stopped at her side and gave her a gentle shove. Her body shifted slightly with the impact, but her feet remained in spot, a little stunned the expression soon shifted to a pleased smiled. "It worked. Right?" Still clearly a little unsure she looked back to her sister for confirmation.
