Show Me Your Grrrr Face

Aresenn blinked, his stern expression softening momentarily at Sericea's question. A small smile briefly tugged at the corner of his lips before it disappeared, replaced by a thoughtful frown. "Yes, Sericea, that is correct," he conceded, his tone flat. “But we aren’t playing right now. We are training.” He stated a little more forcefully as his attention settled on Xi trying to antagonize her brother. “And if it’s too hard to pay attention, then you may return to the den for the rest of the afternoon, Araxina.” Aresenn was serious, and he was fully prepared to follow up on consequences in the event she chose to try and call a bluff.

“Every situation is different, every fight unique. You need to learn to adapt, to respond to changing circumstances.” Aresenn’s voice was firm, his words a command rather than a mere suggestion. He paced around the small gathering of pups, his powerful figure dominating their collective attention. “You need to learn your enemy.” He glanced to the terrain around them, the mossy forest floor and towering old growth trees. "Learn their habits, their strengths, their weaknesses. Every bit of information is valuable." Aresenn's gaze was as hard and cold as the winter landscape that surrounded them. "You need to learn how to turn their strengths into your advantage, and their weaknesses into their downfall. You see, strategy isn't about the fight itself - it's about everything leading up to it."

With that, he extended a nail, tracing patterns in the moss beneath them. "You need to know when to strike and when to hold back. When to pursue and when to retreat. Timing is everything in a fight, and you often get only one chance. One moment of hesitation, one wrong move, and it’s over." His distant amber eyes reflected the winter sun as they swept over his audience, gauging their reactions to his harsh teaching. “So once you have taken as much information you can regarding a fight into consideration, then you can begin to form a strategy.” Aresenn’s voice cut through the crisp winter air, the rawness of his lessons striking hard in their tender hearts. He looked at the pups before him, their innocent features bathed in the light of the sun. The world was a cruel place, and if he could do nothing else but prepare his kids for it, he would consider this all to be a success.

"Aresenn Praetor"