He carefully laid out a scenario for her, one she hadn't even considered. Her new home was not an oasis with swaths of empty dunes surrounding a palace. Devoid of dangerous animals. This home was chock full of lions, tigers, and bears. Warring and roving bands of pack wolves, raiding each other for resources, stealing a wolf from their homes for slavery and membership.

Her eyes widened with understanding, she'd already faced a bear, a tiger, and a slaver. Though Stockholm syndrome seemed to have taken care of the last one.

She shakes her head, closing her eyes, frustrated with herself, "I can't believe how stupid I can be. Of course, I'm protecting her! If I can... How do you keep from freezing?" She opened her eyes and looked at the man of her dreams... well... she never had a man of her dreams before so he was now!

"Speech"

That answer at least was easy. He could see  the scenario had affected her, and she would understand the dangers of remaining ignorant a little better. “You train. And then you train, and train..that way when the moment comes it's muscle and memory, and you act without thinking. Preparations and training is the difference between life and death, and experience keeps you that way.” He said softly, reaching out a paw to gently touch hers.


“So if you want to save that child, you don't wait until the cat is at your door, you act now. By training. With that in mind, I think we should go on a hunt.” He told her thoughtfully.

She nodded understanding, finally getting the gist of what is being asked of her. She can't always rely on someone else to protect her, though the thought was nice it was illogical. She watched as he laid his paw gently over hers, and she scooted her body closer to his face as they talked.

As soon as he said that they should go hunt she suddenly had a million other things she wanted to get to instead. But she knew she needed to power through and hone her skills. The idea was just making her queasy.
"A hunt then. Now or later?" She asked, wondering if they should peek in on some of the songbirds to make sure they were being diligent about their duties.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

His little Ignita was being exposed to a lot of new things in the Armada. He knew the necessity of it, and while he was excited to see her grow, he was also a little sad to know her experiences would change her. A part of him still wanted to hide her away in a very tall tower where no one else could touch her.

Instead of acting on any of his impulses, he turned and led her into the forest. Guiding her through the trees. Hunting wasn’t actually something he was teaching her, so he used his companions to shorten things considerably. They found an angry, grumpy pig that was more than happy to put off a fight. Once they had it cornered, he led Ignita towards it, raising a paw. “All yours”

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

As she asked her question she saw that hounding possessive glance washing over his features. She narrowed her eyes and turned slightly away, she had a feeling he didn't really want to teach her. Keep her helpless, beholden to him only. She wouldn't admit the idea sounded a bit more inviting than actually fighting someone.

He didn't answer her directly, instead, he got up and led her into the woods. She shook her head with a sigh and followed him. She hadn't spent a lot of time in the woods, she wished she did though. She eventually heard a snorting and scuffling. She saw the big pig, angry and grumpy, bristling as it was cornered. She glanced at the warlord with a sympathetic look. Surely he wasn't-

All yours... He was. The idea of attacking the beast like this settled in the pit of her stomach as something wrong.
She swallowed and tried not to think of all the reasons why the pig was so angry. Her heart beat rapidly as she approached, battling through her sympathy. She knew the moment it was released it would be on her faster than she could howl.

With an inward breath, she readied those practiced defenses.

And so it was, once it was released she gasped and leaped away. It swung around and charged at her, its tusks lowered. She couldn't think of how to attack it! It was coming at her too fast! She leaped away again! Her panic rising!

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

This was the test that would be the hardest for the Warlord. Standing on the sidelines when Ignita was in danger went directly against his nature. He rested on coiled haunches, tail slashing behind him. His extended claws dug into the earth, as if he was about to use them to launch forward. He looked every bit like a cat about to strike.

But he didn’t move, just held position. All three of his companions were around him, each and every one of them prepared to step in if Ignita needed the assistance. But first, they would give her her shot.

The pig charged at Ignita, and she leaped away. She didn’t try to engage, or attack. She went on the defensive, and couldn’t get out of it again. “Strike!” He snarled angrily, tail lashing faster behind him. He flicked a paw, sending his bird diving with a cry as she aimed to swipe her talons along the scruff of the pigs neck. She didn’t need to do much damage, just create a diversion and buy Ignita time.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Her heart hammered against her ribs, her stomach dropped as it rounded and came at her again. She leaped away another time and her heart leaped to her throat as she heard his angry snarl to strike it. She was trying! Suddenly, Thunder, his bird came down for an assist, she should bond with Galileo to do that same someday.

The bird gave Ignita the few precious moments to think. She had never faced this before. The tusks were dangerous, she needed to- the pig was on her again, squealing as it thrashed it's head in anger.

Suddenly, Idalia, her possum appeared and scurried along the ground toward Ignita. Right in the pigs path.

A snarl ripped through Ignita and she launched at the pig, her teeth aimed to blind it as she struck it's face and it attempted thrash against her. Her claws raked across the other side of its face as she worked her teeth into face and the screaming of the prey was deafening. Incensed she leaped away for a breath then went back in, this time to rip the hardy bristly flesh from its hump then kick it down as she leaped away again. Blinded, enraged, in pain the pig attempted to retreat. Ignita knew Bas would want her to kill it, hunt it. She leaped again and grappled with the beast, knocking it over and finding it's jugular was no small feat against a pig. So she dug into the side of its neck until bled out and expired.

The little golden possum, it's job as bait done, had scrambled up Bas's leg and smugly sat on his shoulder blades as soon as Ignita had flipped the switch.

Ignita stood over the corpse of the pig, panting and covered in blood. Her legs shook. She looked up at The Warlord, was he entertained?

His bird's distraction only went so far. As Thunder climbed the skies once more, Ignita took her available time to think. Forgetting the first lesson he had taught her. How to empty her mind and respond, instead of letting her thoughts freeze her. He thought he was going to have to step in when her companion put herself in the path of the pig.

Ignita leaped into action, her need overwriting her mind. She tore at her prey, bleed it and hurt it until it went on the retreat. She didn’t let it escape. Instead, she grappled it and tore into its throat. The pigs thrashing only increased the bleed out until it expired.

Basilisk gave the possum a gentle pat, acknowledging a job well done. She made her way over to Ignita, stepping through the blood until he could place a paw gently over her shoulder and look at her. He refrained from kissing her, knowing her adrenaline was up. He didn’t know what mind space she was in yet.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Ignita stood, panting, shaking. She hadn't used her muscles like that in long time and they screamed at her with misuse. Recovering her breath, she closed her eyes, as she saw him begin his approach. She snacked her lips. Her lungs ached, the blood in her ears drummed on.

She bristled as she felt his soft paw in her shoulder and her body flinched to round on him like a strike of lightning. She was able to halt herself and clash her teeth together on thin air before they grasped his arm. She shook her fur out, stepping away from him with a huff. Her trembling increasing until she fumbled over a tuft of plants and crumpled into the earth, her legs unable to help her stand as the adrenaline ran it's course.

"I don't want to... That again." She lifted her nose to tell the air in front of her. She could barely remember what happened. She saw Idalia with the pig bearing down on her and suddenly she was covered in blood looming over the corpse of said pig. "did I pass the test... At least?" She asked, wiping away her tears of exhaustion.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

He let her go, watching as she pulled back from his touch and sunk to the earth. “It’s not enough to defeat your opponent, you need control, Ignita. Otherwise you are just as dangerous as whatever is threatening your family.” He said, gentling his voice as he sank to the earth beside her.

He reached for her again, gently gripping her in his as he began to clean the blood from her pearly coat with his tongue. There was a fire in his Ignita, ready to burn when unleashed. If she didn’t figure out how to control it, it would burn friend as easily as it burned foe. “Have you never hunted before?” Wolves usually learned to deal with blood a lot younger than Ignita.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

She opened her eyes as he sank down next to her. Just as dangerous to her family? She nearly bit him herself when her adrenaline was that high up... it made sense.

She let him gather her closer and clean the blood off. She closed her eyes leaning into the touch. It grounded her more than the breathing and walking, and anything else. His smell, his care, but none of that actually pulled her out of the dissociative state a mere minute ago.

She sighed as he asked if she hunted before. She raked her top teeth across her bottom lip. Was she really such a pampered princess? Great she wasn't just useless she was dangerous to her own kin. She slumped into his arms.

"Not... really. I was able to sneak out a few times and help round up some of the sheep. Before... you found me on the plateau, I had barely survived on a couple of rabbits and ducks. Most of which I got from setting traps. It took me a few tries to figure out how to skin them." She admitted shamefully. What kind of wolf was she, barely hunting for her own food? She hardly knew the thrill of the chase. The only thing she was thrilled by chasing was knowledge and discoveries. She even forgets to eat when she's in the thick of discovering something new.

"Pampered princesses hardly make good wolves." Sheltered, bullied, isolated... What a mess she was, denied the very essence of what makes her whole.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

He carefully finished cleaning one arm, and moved to the other. He enjoyed caring for his Ignita, his fiery consort. He enjoyed that he let her as he carefully removed the blood, and gave her time to come to terms with it all. While he was a possessive, volatile beast he tried to give her what she needed. Right now, she needed patience.

“You’ve undergone a lot of changes since I met you. You’ve been willing to try, and you’ve put in the work. That you didn’t have the experience to back it up only makes it all the more meaningful.” He told her, tugging her a little closer and brushing his tongue under her chin. Cleaning her further. “Practice is at the core of everything.”

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"