Rhyme was slowly teaching the kids how to defend themselves. They were still very young yet so he had only really touched on the basics. Once they were older and started to really show interest in their fields of study they could start getting into more advanced techniques. For now he focused on puppy lessons.

He tried to keep their class size small, it was easier to get a couple of season old pups to pay attention than all five of them. Right now he had Poem at his side and he sought out Theory. While Motif would have been a more logical choice she and Poem knew each other too well. He wanted all of them to be able to work together well, though having Noir be the odd one out made things difficult. He had mostly trained him on his own, and he’d focused on defense rather than offense lest that backfire against his sisters.

Another reason he wanted the girls to be able to defend themselves was their big brother. Noir.. was likely going to be a giant when he reached adulthood, or even the year mark. He was leaps and bounds ahead of his sisters, even Motif and Poem and they were not small pups. Of course the boy tried to hide the teasing and bullying from him, but not a lot escaped the slate alpha.

Rhyme halted beside the massive maple tree where Tana’s three pups had been born. The woman had been avoiding him since trying to steal away Noir that night. Not that he blamed her, but he did feel himself worrying for the crippled woman. They were practically strangers now despite having these beautiful growing pups.

”Theory?” He called out for her, wondering if she was close to the den or not.

Poem followed behind her father rather obediently. Though she’d been upset about her game of find the salamander being interrupted as soon as he said ‘training’ the girl had dropped Motif immediately. She kind of felt bad that her sister hadn’t been invited along but Tato had assured her that her litter mate would be getting her own training with out Poem.

So the young Destruction skipped after her dad, her pale icy paws carrying her with obvious joy. She loved to learn, especially when it came to fighting. She and Motif mock sparred all the time, with Poem coming out on top most of the time. At least when she was the judge she won. A bright toothy grin played on her features as she rushed to a stop beside Rhyme at the base of the maple and he called out for her tailless sister.

Theory had been the most obedient of the bunch it seemed. She was not purposefully so good but her pure heart let no mischievous desire filter through. Noir had been the grumpy butt of the three while Verse still seemed to hold hesitation in her heart from the events weeks ago. The midnight bundle of joy attempted to do her best at spreading her undying amount of cheer but it seemed it was almost useless. A call met her ears and the source was her Pa from right outside the den! Theory instantly got up and darted from the base of the tree to lay a baby blue gaze down on both Rhyme and Poem. A gleeful look flashed over her fluffy form as she stopped about two feet from them. "Theory reporting for duty!" A flurry of giggled could be heard as she nodded to Poem then looked to Rhyme. "What are we doin'?" Why was only she called? ""

For a moment Rhyme was worried that Theory had been sitting alone in the den all day, but likely she and her siblings were just napping or resting during the afternoon. ”You haven’t spent the whole day in the den have you?” He asked curiously as Theory appeared from beneath the old maple tree. During his second thought he wondered if Noir would have had anything to do with it.

Theory was as delightful as ever when she saw the pair of them, Rhyme smiled brightly back as she eagerly repoted. He’d have to remember this time fondly when she was old enough to more seriously offer him those words. ”What a reliable soldeier.” He answered her warmly, ”We’re doing some training today, I thought you might enjoy doing so with just Poem today.” He added, though he didn’t mention why he’d excluded the other three.

”We can get started with some questions, what do you two remember about defenses in a fight?” He was sure either he or Shaye had gone over them with the pups already, but knowing what they had retained would be valuable as well.

Poem bounced up and down as Theory popped out of her mother’s den. She beamed, and her toothy grin seemed too big for her face as she rushed to her half sister’s side. She wagged her tail in excessive speeds as she kissed her sister on her cheek and turned around to face their father as well.

They were training today! Her and Theory together. They didn’t have Noir to get in the way or Motif to monopolize Poem’s attention. This was just the three of them. Rhyme was asking them a question as soon as he explained the day’s events and Poem stopped wiggling quite as much. She furrowed her brow and her tail stopped wagging as she thought about what he’d asked.

They’d been through it a couple of times she was sure, and she knew she’d be able to get a couple answers in. ”Oh! You lower your ears so they don’t get nibbled on!” That was rule number one around Motif. She didn’t hesitate to go for the ears. Or toes.

Theory thought over her day. She had done some exploring but it was minimal. The babe was curious about the new pups that were staying in Abaven and had a bit of an urge to go talk to them. But, her courage was faltered as she would have to cross the border of the rapids and that was a big no no. "Not all day! I did some explorin' in the morning but I am always careful not to leave for too long." The news of the training came with a wagging stump of a tail. Glee was written across her slim features. Theory was really growing and her legs were miles long. One day the femme would be a giant among Wolves and it would be rather evident. It was a rare occasion that Noir and Verse did not join their learning sessions. As well as Poem being separated from Motif. But, Theory was polite enough not to question her father. She was just grateful to have such a lovely opportunity! The babe offered a delightful smile towards her sister as her attention quickly moved back to Rhyme as he asked his first question. After a moment of thought and hearing Poem's response she piped up. "You gotta make yourself big to scare your opponent!" A pause. "But you also gotta hide your sensitive bits like eyes and ears!" Theory thought of the little lessons Tana and Rhyme had offered previously. ""

Seeing Poem and Theory interact with each other with such innocent love lifted his heart. Rhyme fought the hardships of his life everyday, most of the time he couldn’t admit making any headway. However, being here with these two allowed him to see the hope that new life brought. They would be better than him, and he vowed they’d never experience what he’d gone through.

”Good, you must be getting to know the rapids well.” He praised Theory quickly before asking his question.

Rhyme felt a beaming pride in his chest for the both of them, obviously so eager to learn. He hoped they both kept that quality throughout their lives. They answered the question correctly, though not completely. Of course he wouldn’t have expected them to answer fully either. They were very young, though he couldn’t quite remember the age he had been when he’d first sparred with his sister.

”That’s correct girls,” He offered, lowering his form to the ground closer to their level. Both of them were long legged, just like he and Rhys had been. Shaye too, he imagined. ”A new concept I want to teach you is vitals. You’ll learn this when you go on your first hunt too. The weakest parts of any creature is almost always the underside of the neck.” He motioned to his neck as he lifted his chin to show the pups. ”The base of the neck,” Rhyme shifted his paw to the point where his chest met his neck. ”Or the underbelly.”

Rhyme rolled to his right slightly, exposing his white underbelly to his young girls. ”Those are the areas you want to protect the most, but also the places you want to aim for when you attack.” He hadn’t explored attacking as much as they’d focused on defense so far.

Poem listened as her sister replied with just as much if not more enthusiasm than herself. She smiled over at her sister as she replied similarly. Poem looked back up to their father as he proceeded to praise the both of them. The young Destruction felt her lips pull up in to a huge grin, but she found focus easily as Rhyme went on to teach them more.

He introduced a new concept to the young children, and Poem thought she understood pretty well. Those places were also where the heaviest wounds were on their prey animals. She might not have noticed by herself, but as he said it she pictured a juicy rabbit with its throat missing.

Poem nodded enthusiastically. ”So, how do protect those areas, Tato?” She asked curiously, her next question would be how to attack them but her mind was on defense at the moment.

Theory was riddled with excitement as her father went on about defenses as well as mentioning attacks. With wide blue eyes the babe watched both Poem and Rhyme. She carefully took in every bit of information and stored it into her wondrous mind. Theory would likely never evolve into the type to fight but she was very much interested in having the skills to protect herself and her family. The idea of conversing and getting to know others was much more appealing. The babe watched as her father gestured to the bits he spoke of. Thousands of questions filled her mind. How do you protect your underbelly? How do you even attack something so hard to get to? She listened as Poem spoke up and asked a question Theory would have asked if given the chance. A little nod could be seen to agree, awaiting an answer just as much as her sister. "How do you even attack someones belly?" A peculiar question but she was obviously finding it hard to grasp. Theory tilted her head in curiosity. ""

If the slate alpha was being honest with himself he hadn’t expected this level of enthusiasm for learning in his children. Not that he had a good idea of what he had been expecting in the first place, but he had been pleasantly surprised. Poem practically danced in her seat as he spoke, they soaked up the information like little sponges. What impressed him more was their ability to take in information and then turn it around and ask for more.

Moments like these made the dark years fade, and put a grin on Rhyme’s features. He didn’t smile nearly enough these days, but the motion was easier around his children. Even if they were troublemakers sometimes.

”Good questions girls.” He praised them again, wanting them to always question and wonder about the world. ”With your throat, it’s best to tuck your chin and roll your shoulders forward.” He made the motions for them before relaxing his form again. ”Depending on the action you’re performing, tucking your tail is a great way to defend your belly.” He was sure there were times when they had been scared and instinctively tucked their tails. ”Your opponent may roll you, and going for the belly is a valid option if they’re above you.” Rhyme looked directly at Poem as he said it.

He hadn’t seen Noir bully any of the kids, he was a sneaky pup, he had observed him and Tyranis’ pup going at it, and he’d heard from Motif what Noir liked to do. Attacking his belly might be a good course of action for either girl if they were put in that position.

Poem Destruction Poem nodded along to Theory’s question as she seemed to read her sister’s mind. Poem didn’t know if her half sister wanted to be a fighter, but she was so smart! No matter what she did she knew she was going to be great at it. The young Destruction was eager to be great as well. She was going to be just like her parents. She was going to have a raven beside her, and she’d do patrols all of the time. Rhyme was quick to praise and answer their questions. Poem’s dark ears perked, her form obviously focused on her father’s every word. She nodded, but saw a lack of knowledge. "But what if you’re running, or about to bite?" The way he looked at her when he mentioned when to attack someone’s belly made her think that he was alluding to something she had been trying to hide. Poem tried not to look bashful and give away her guilt. "Speech"