All terrain paws

One by one, the wolves of Hemlock began to show up to her call. Ember had been expecting a couple of interested students, but was pleasantly surprised to see a good number turn up, ranging in age from pups to young adults! The first couple of wolves she didn't know, but when Erik showed up, Ember couldn't hide the glee that lit up her eyes, using all her self control to keep her tail from wagging like an idiot. He offered his aid in her lesson and a grin, which Em returned in kind. Oh, she'd have a use for him all right. "I think I have a way you can lend a paw." Once the group had gathered, Em addressed the five wolves with a bright smile and an upright posture, trying her best to look the part of instructor.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Ember Carpathius. I'm the Head Scholar of the Hallows and also one of their warriors. I'm here to help Hemlock get up on its paws during this transition, and what better way to do that than to hone our combat skills?" With her introduction given, Ember gestured around to the snowy, slushy ground surrounding them, much of the terrain now turned up from the six wolves' paws. "Today's lesson is all about knowing your terrain and how it impacts your fighting ability. This is an important lesson my father taught me. It's easy to prepare to fight in ideal conditions, but you can't count on your enemies to wait for a sunny day to attack. A fight could come at any moment and it's important to be prepared for combat at any time." Rising to her paws, Ember assumed her fighting stance and began to slowly shift her weight back and forth on the soft turf. "Consider the ground right now. Snowy, muddy, slippery. Move around, try shifting your weight and feel the earth move with you. Now what sort of challenges do you think fighting in terrain like this could pose?" An open ended question to the class for them to consider. Oceanic eyes moved across the faces before her, wondering what obstacles they might find in an arena like this?

"Ember Carpathius" | "Carpathian"