How You Like Me Now

It would come as no surprise to Artorias if the entirety of the world came to know the Hallows as the pack with sword-wielding wolves. With the amount of fascination and passion the wolves of the Hallows had cultivated around the ancient weapons they had discovered and perfected the art of using, everyone from the adults to the pups seemed to be involved in at least some manner to the weapons. It brought great pride to the Aegis' heart when he saw that same interest mirrored in his own children's faces. He was always catching some little ones trying to poke their heads into the armory or spying on him when he was training solo in his dojo or sparring with Fern and Mercury. Artorias had been waiting until the little ones were a mite older before allowing them to truly get involved in the weapons training, but that didn't mean they couldn't watch and learn. Now that his kids were a half year old and Rudy and Fern's not too far behind, what better time than the present for a demonstration on what they could be someday?

The late summer weather of Auster had shifted from hot sunny days to temperate rainy ones, so finding a good time for a demonstrative lesson was tricky. Eventually, the cloudy weather held off long enough for the sun to dry out the plains and their training grounds. While not every battle could wait for clear weather to commence, the Aegis didn't exactly feel like slipping about in the mud and rain while fighting Fern just for the entertainment of their offspring. Today was the day though! Fern set out early in the morning to prepare their arena, and Artorias had headed down to the dojo to pick out two blunted sparring swords for them to use in their demonstration. He spent a little bit of time polishing and cleaning them, reinforcing the leather wrappings around the hilt, and then they were ready. He grabbed his armor from his chambers and set out to the training grounds just outside the castle walls where his protege would be waiting for him and where their pups would be gathering for the lesson.

Artorias arrived just as Fern and Puff were getting her set for their spar. At his side, Argent carried a small sack of sand from the Shimmering Shore that he went around sprinkling across the patch of dirt that made up the arena. The sand would help to make sure the earth was dry and prevent any slipping of paws. In his jaws, Artorias carried the two sparring swords. Fern greeted him and he tipped his head up in reply to her, unable to verbally reply with two weapons in his mouth. He stepped up to the center of the arena and drove both blades down into the ground til the swords stood on their own, then nodded to Fern with a lopsided smile. "Good morning, Fern. I hope you've been practicing, because I won't be holding anything back," he remarked with a flash of a playful grin. Tipping his head back, Artorias issued a short call to their pups, summoning any who were interested in the swordplay lesson to gather.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"