Sensei

There had never been a question in Artorias' mind of letting the Adravendi trio back to rest in the Hallows while they made up their minds whether they wished to rejoin the pack or continue on their own path. Ezra and Syanna had been fast friends of the Lord of Cinder for years and he couldn't ever imagine a time when he would deny them a thing. It also allowed him plenty of time to catch up with them and meet the newest Adravendi, the last remnants of Ulric's line, Aylin. She was a young and chipper girl with a bravado for adventure and a contagious confidence about her. She reminded Artorias of Ulric in many ways, and though the memories brought about melancholy and sadness, they also brought a smile to his face to think of how proud Ulric would be of all of them. He just hoped the rest of Ezra's family was faring as well as they had.

Returning to Hearthstone from his walk with Ezra, he was met by the enthusiastic young girl in question who had apparently spend gods knew how long waiting for him in the gardens. The coming of spring had turned the lush gardenscape into a vivid canvas of flowers and buds, and the draping branches of the iconic wisteria trees were alight with their violet blooms. The girl was dressed in full battle barding, a leather cuirass covering her torso and a sword slung across her back. Artorias raised a curious brow as she intercepted them, a chuckle rumbling in his chest. "Good morning, Aylin. Heading off to war?" he teased her playfully, an easy smile lopsided on his lips. He gave Ezra a parting nod as his friend excused himself so the two of them could talk, and Aylin wasted no time explaining what she wanted from him. So she wanted sword fighting lessons, eh? That didn't surprise the Lord of Cinder much; he didn't think any other wolf in Auster or Boreas was as renowned as he was for his peculiar combat styles. And she had been so polite too.

"Y'know, when I saw you arrive at Hearthstone with that sword on your back, I wondered how long it would be before you asked me that," said Artorias with another chuckle. His eyes were alight with delight as he nodded to her request. "I have time right now, so long as you don't mind a duo lesson with my daughter. We can go over some basics and then we can have a group lesson if you'd like." Art sent Corbin off to find Ember and motioned for Aylin to follow him with a tilt of his head, then began to leisurely walk his way out past the castle walls and headed for the outdoor sparring arenas. The weather was much drier and sunnier than the winter had been, and the sunlight was a welcoming warmth on his dark coat. A gentle coastal breeze carried over their lands, making the perfect day to spend outdoors doing a little physical training. Stepping up to and into the sparring ring, Artorias turned to face Aylin and motioned to her sword on her back. "All right, let's see what you're working with. We'll see what you know so far while we wait for Ember to arrive." Artorias was eager to see what Aylin was wielding and how much she knew already.

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