hey kids, want some skill points?

Though Charlie would fall quiet, he knew the lesson was not over. He had shared his experience, and Dread had shared a similar sort of one before him, and now as Andy spoke the young male would turn his attention toward his sister. Her own situation was with a predator, a bear, and Charlie frowned thoughtfully as he listened to how it had gone. He knew bears, particularly the polar bears, lived here in the North, and they were dangerous predators that could be competition for a wolf. Someday he was sure he would take on such creatures, and until then the yearling promised himself to learn as much as he could.

His attention would then shift to Hazel as she gave feedback on what they had told her. She mentioned the importance of sparring opponents of different sizes and strengths. That made sense, you didn’t really know who you would end up fighting later in life, so practicing while you had the chance was important. Charlie would give a small nod, ears perked forward as Hazel went on to explain that taking on more than one opponent could be complicated. She wasn’t wrong, but he had noticed different wolves had companions to help them battle. Knowing how to tackle not only the main threat, but to keep in mind other attacks could still be coming and how to handle those, would be valuable information.

To his surprise it would be Dread that would offer him the best insight there. As Hazel turned them loose, encouraging them to help each other reflect on what they could have done and offer each other feedback. Swapping targets was something Charlie had not considered, though now that the idea was presented to him he could see the value in it. He gave a grateful nod to his brother, offering Dread a small smile. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time. It might come in handy.” He furrowed his brow. “...and maybe when we are dealing with slippery opponents, we can try to anticipate where they’ll be and attack there, rather than where they are, otherwise we’ll always just miss them. But if we attack where they’re going then maybe we could land an attack or two?” Like his brother he cast a glance at Hazel, wondering if he was on the right track.

Andy would give her own feedback on the situation, suggesting to lock their opponent in place. Using the terrain to corner them and keep them from slipping away could be a good idea too. He gives another nod. Calling for help was also a consideration, and Charlie chuckled softly. “That would be the idea. I was worried about fighting wolves with companions, mainly. I think I need to work not just on sparring with Yorrick, but learning to coordinate my attacks with him and utilizing Silveris’ different perception from the skies.” He furrowed his brow a little. “Maybe that could help you as well, Andy. Consider how you and your companions work as a unit, and discuss what areas you should focus on, while also occasionally shifting your own focus to ensure that a predator doesn’t target a smaller or seemingly more vulnerable target. I think that would be something that you’d learn best through practice though…”

He shifted his gaze from Andy to Dread.

“It could be worth putting into practice with each other, actually. We all have companions, and our varying sizes match what the others were struggling with. I mean, we're already here… Hazel would be able to watch over us and let us know if we’ve tried to put the feedback we’ve given each other into practice, and what we can still do to improve.” They were already here, so why not, right?

"Speech," 'Thought.'