“Give her a kiss from me” he teased her, knowing full well the type of kiss he gave vs the one Tamsyn would, were entirely different. He rubbed his shoulder possessively against Tamsyn as she left him. Ensuring his scent was much more powerful then whatever remained of Osmond’s. The words she gave Rhona brought a raised brow to his features. Tamsyn had gotten where she was from her own hard work.

They watched Tam leave together, and then turned to each other. Large wolf to mountain of a Warlord. “When we found her she was alone, lost to the world. Broken. I would beat every one of those bastards if they set a single foot in my door, Rhona. Can you live with that?” he asked her softly. Looking past her to the bloody mess Resin had left of the wolf. Alike indeed.

“In the Armada you will learn how to fight, how to care for yourself, how to be cared for. You will form bonds, and if you are abused by one of mine, I will break their nose. It won't be a soft life, but it will be honest. Is that what you want?”

Perhaps if she hadn’t just witnessed what had just happened to Osmond she might not have believed the threat that Sirius gave toward the men that had hurt Tamsyn, but as it stood she felt the truth behind those words. It made her ears flick uncertainly, but it felt necessary. Those wolves were too far gone to be helped and if violence was their only answer then they would need to be met with violence in return. She nodded in agreement to his question of if that was something she could live with. She wasn’t sure if she would ever find the strength or courage to stand up to them herself if one of them showed up again, but if Sirius was serious about beating any of them that appeared then she certainly wouldn’t be the one to stop him. She listened to what life would be like in his Armada and couldn’t stop herself from being surprised. She could learn how to fight? It was a thing that had been strictly forbidden from her for entire life up to this point so the very idea that this knowledge wasn’t just available, but it was expected for her to learn seemed impossible. There was no sign in his expression that he was joking or telling a lie though so she had to believe that he was being truthful. “I do,” she replied after a beat of silence, giving him a small nod. “I want that very much.” "Speech"

He leaned forward, brushing his coat against hers, spreading his scent across her. “Then your mine.” He said. He hadn’t wanted to commit to a new wolf until he heard her full story, now that he had it, he welcomed her with open arms. For Tamsyn, and for the healing she had done in the Armada.

“Come on” he said softly, “Let's get you started on the basics of fighting” perhaps he could set Mortis as her teacher, if she could stand close contact with males after what she had been through. She seemed to be handling him well enough. Mortis was gentle, and encouraging. He might be the type of wolf perfect to help her form her confidence and understanding of fighting. He would help too, of course.

He led her quietly down to the beach, and the training rings. The stuffed dummies placed by Asla and Io sat quietly there. “What do you know on defences?” he asked.

She was surprised and uncertain of his claiming her as his, but she logically understood that he meant it as being a part of his group and his pack. The only reason it made her hesitate was the fact that the last time someone had called her theirs had been with Osmond and nothing about that possession had been a pleasant experience. This felt very different than that though. When Osmond had called her his it had been dripping with ill intent and thinly veiled threats. When Sirius spoke it was with a protective reverence that she was quickly becoming fond of. She could see why Tamsyn liked him so much. It was still hard for her to not flinch away from his touch as he brushed against her, but she felt like she had to put her trust in someone if she was going to stay sane. It was the same reason she had made herself trust her father to check up on her and Osmond frequently enough to keep Osmond from hurting her too badly even though her father had technically gotten her into the situation in the first place. She had to trust someone since she couldn't protect herself. Rhona blinked with surprise when he mentioned getting started on her training now. She hadn't expected to start so soon, but considering how much she didn't want to rest right now she couldn't think of a reason not to. If nothing else maybe it could be a good distraction to get her out of her own head. His words weren't really a question as much as they were a statement anyway so she got to her paws with a quiet nod and followed behind him. He led her to an area that she had to assume was some sort of practice area even though she had never seen dummies like they had set up here. She was eyeing them curiously when he questioned her about defenses. She brought her amber eyes back to his and her ears folded back against her head uncertainly. "I... I don't know what you mean," she replied honestly, her head lowering a bit with concern as she began to feel felt like she had already failed her first test somehow. "Speech"

He could give her a chance to rest, but judging by Tas’s quick departure after Resin, it would mean leaving the new recruit by herself. He might not be the best at judging what comfort a wolf needed, but even he could see that might not be a good idea. He debated carting her off to Mort’s den, to ensure she had company and comfort. It wasn’t a bad idea, and he might still do that, but for the moment… practice.

He let out his breath softly when she explained her lack of understanding with defenses. He really was starting from scratch with her. He had been near enough to with Tamysn when she had first come here. He could go through it all again with her sister in law, couldn’t he?

“Alright… Defenses are exactly as they sound. They are the way we defend ourselves from attack. Setting up your defenses is preemptive, it limits what your opponent can do to hurt you. Things like tucking down your ears, tucking your chin, rolling your shoulders forward… and so on. Protecting vital or weak points. Start with your balance, spread out your paws, and bend your knees, and see what you can think of to limit what a wolf can grab.”

Rhona listened to every word Sirius gave her and absorbed them like a sponge, letting everything else that had just happened slip away as she focused on the lesson at hand. It was actually incredibly calming to just let herself focus on one constructive task rather than letting her mind wander and self destruct on its own. As she listened to his description of what defenses were she felt a bit silly for not being able to piece that together on her own. Her exposure to fighting and anything relating to it had just been so incredibly limited by the men in her life before that she had no real frame of reference for it. She knew that had been a calculated thing for them to make sure that she and none of the other women would be able to defend themselves or fight back... but now those limitations weren't there. She had free reign to learn whatever she wanted and Sirius was giving her the keys to do it. She nodded as he finished his description and then immediately went into trying out the examples he had given her for herself. Her paws experimentally spaced themselves evenly under her, trying a couple different placements before she finally found one that felt best. Her knees bent slightly and she tried out how it felt to sway back and forth from side to side to test out her balance. She tucked her tail out of the way under her and folded her ears back while her head tucked down over her throat protectively. She physically drew into herself a bit with her shoulders rolling forward and her scruff scrunching and bunching around her neck. She realized with a start that this was more or less the stance she would take when Osmond would come into the den looking for her late at night - naturally and instinctively putting up her defenses without realizing it. She gave a little shake of her head to quickly break that train of thought before it could really settle in on her mind and brought her eyes up to Sirius with a silent question. Was she doing it correctly? "Speech"

Sirius Fatalis He explained the key components to defenses, and then waited, giving her a chance to experiment with his descriptions. She spaced her legs, and he began to walk around the smaller wolf. Watching the positions she moved into, and occasionally would gently nudge her with a paw, indicating she should spread this leg out a little further, or move her balance forward. He stopped before her again, and witnessed a flicker of… something, pass over her eyes. Was she remembering her abuser? She was safe here now, but the scars would last a while longer. He knew that. Teaching her to fight would be a step in the right direction, would teach her that she had the strength to stand on her own paws, and hold her own. “Alright, you’ve got the basic idea. Fall into the stance a few times each night, until it feels familiar and instinctive. Now, let's look at fighting. Take a shot at the dummy, just take it however you think feels right.” and then he could gently correct her from there. "Speech"

A little flicker of a smile crossed her lips when he agreed that she had the idea of it. She nodded in agreement when he instructed her to practice this a few times a night, though the felt like she might do that more often than just a few times. She felt like she had a lot of time and ground to make up to keep up with these wolves she would be living with now and she certainly didn't want to let Sirius down since he was kind enough to let her live here despite the fact that she really didn't feel like she was a good or helpful addition to their pack. She would just have to work until she was a good addition so she could feel like she actually deserved to be here instead of just getting a place because Tamsyn asked for her to be here. Turning her attention to the dummy as he instructed, she felt a little awkward as she tried to work out how she would go about attacking it - or anything for that matter. She at least got into that same stance they had just been working on since that seemed like a good first step. Trying to imagine the dummy was a real wolf so she wouldn't feel quite so silly, she took a leap toward it and started aiming toward places that seemed the most logical to aim for. She gave a bite at it's front leg near where a knee would be before hopping back a bit and repeating the process, giving a new more attacks around its neck and the other leg as well. She listened for any corrections or advice Sirius might give her along the way, trying to adjust and correct as she went. "Speech"

Despite the abuse she had suffered, she seemed determined to make the most of the situation she had landed herself in. He could see it in her pose, in her gaze. She wanted to become something more. So long as she held onto that determination, she would rise in the Armada.

He kept a critical eye on the younger wolf as she set herself against the dummy. Her and the dummy were close in height, and she went for the attack, hopping back, and moved in again. “You know the vital points, that’s good. You're not a small wolf Rhona, and when i’m done with you you won't be a pushover. Don’t be afraid to get in close and hold the wolf in close-combat. “ that was his main tactic, but not one he would advise if she was any shorter - or taking on a larger wolf. “if you're taking on a wolf smaller than you, you’ll definitely want close combat, if they are larger, you’ll have to consider how devastating their blows would be, and keep your guard up.” he advised her. He needed someone of similar height to set her against. He did not want to put her off by facing her himself. She had only just left the arms of her abuser. Perhaps Sedna might help her feel more comfortable with learning to fight.