Iroh wouldn’t have called himself rotund, but he looked more akin to a barrel than an hourglass. He was a thick puppy, heavily muscled and not afraid to have second and third breakfast. Speaking of third breakfast he was looking for that as he waddled along. Bright blue and lavender eyes scanned the late morning horizon, he was really getting to know the garden well. Iroh didn’t have much desire to go further, yes he was curious about what was beyond the border of his nursery. However the young boy was not one for breaking the rules, and he was patient for his elders to take him out.

The spring time brought an interesting change in scenery, with the dry season ending everything was changing from dead and brown to bright green. He hadn’t decided how he felt about the mass amount of water, he wasn’t sure if he was going to be fully dry again. The mud on the other hand was amusing, and he decided after third breakfast he might to make some mud angels.

His father's decision to make him heir to the Empire weighed heavily on Pyrrhic's shoulders. Though overwhelmed with what it meant, Pyrrhic was taking the role seriously. He had soaked up everything his father had to offer and, after finding himself hungry for more, had taken up prowling the pack in search of leaderly things to do.

Seeing Iroh gave him an idea. As his father preached and preached, children were the Empire's future. And if he was the future leader shouldn't he make a point to get to know his future followers and help shape the little ones?

Pyrrhic woofed to announce his presence before trotting over. "Hey, pup!" What were they, cousins? That was probably a safe bet. "You're Kasdeya's boy, right?"

He wasn't having any luck in finding his next breakfast, Iroh had come to a point where he had started searching for bugs. He had eaten a grasshopper or two before, they weren't bad. No contest compared to a deer haunch but not bad in a pinch. His inky black nose was at the ground between his paws, sniffing at the dirt in case he could smell something interesting when he heard someone approach.

Bright blue and lavender eyes were brought up with curiosity at the massive wolf in front of him. His lips parted in awe as he spoke and asked a question. Iroh tilted his head curiously in response. Who was Kasdeya? Was he her boy?

"'M, Iroh. I'm my mommy's boy." he decided to answer, his striped tail wagging excitedly at having someone talk to him.

Well, Iroh didn't quite answer his question, but Pyrrhic was going to roll with it anyway and assume he was Kasdeya's kid. Who else could he belong to? As far as Pyrrhic knew, no one else had any kids that age. Iroh had to be Kasdeya's. Not that it really mattered much. The boy was in Risen, he was very clearly Abraxas, and that's all that mattered. "Yeah? Well, it's nice to meet you, Iroh. I'm Pyrrhic your..." Cousin, maybe? Pyrrhic wasn't sure what Kasdeya was to him but it felt safe to assume they were some sort of cousins which meant him and Iroh were also some kind of cousins. "Cousin. I'm also gonna be Emperor one day and I need good soldiers to help me take care of the Empire." He eyed his little cousin curiously. "Are you going to be a soldier someday, Iroh?" "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

If Pyrrhic was confused or disappointed in Iroh’s answer he didn’t show it. The older boy rolled with the reply like that had been what he expected. He introduced himself as well, and made sure he knew that they were cousins. Iroh nodded eagerly, his mom mentioned that the pack was full of his family if he ever needed anything.

Iroh hadn’t expected his cousin to mention that he was going to be the emperor. The boy’s eyes widened with wonder. The boy tried to stand up a little taller as Pyrric offered another question, was he going to be a warrior? Iroh nodded, ”I’ve been playing training with Zagan!” He knew that he wouldn’t officially pick his path until he was older, but he liked to play and fantasize about being a soldier now. ”I wanna be the General someday!” He had some pretty high sights set.

Upon hearing what Iroh wanted to be when he grew up, Pyrrhic's browspots rose in surprise. The expression was a little exaggerated for the sake of the younger boy, but Pyrrhic was surprised. That was a very specific rank and he was pleased that Iroh already he his sights set on it. "Yeah? Well if you work really hard I bet you'll get there someday. I'm going to need good generals too." A thought was beginning to form as he watched his enthusiastic little cousin. If he could just keep that enthusiasm alive, to foster it in Iroh, the boy could very well become the kind of general Pyrrhic needed. That thought made him think back to how his dad and Benkos had trained him up. They'd made sure he was engaged and excited about what he was learning. They'd made him feel special, like he mattered to The Great Abraxas Cause. If he was going to be Emperor one day he owed it to his little cousin to make sure he felt that way about learning too. "You know what? I want you to be a General too. How would you like to train with me? I could use a partner." "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

His cousin Pyrrhic, heir to the whole of the empire looked surprised to hear Iroh’s answer. The round boy beamed further as the Heir praised him for his choice. He nodded proudly, smiling brightly. He was prepared to work for his dreams, though he couldn’t quite comprehend how difficult the journey might get. His youthful dreams were enough to push him for now. Pale striped tail wagged eagerly behind him as he stood at attention in his best impression of how a general might look.

Though he meant himself to look stoic and important he couldn’t help the huge grin that spread across his lips at the older boy’s next words. He wanted Iroh to be a general as well, and he also needed a training partner.

All sense of decorum was lost as the barrel bodied pup exploded with excitement. The usual even tempered, patient pup wiggled like he was covered in ants. ”Yus! Yus, yus, yus..yusyusyus!” He couldn’t get any real coherent words out, but if Pyrrhic thought he was eager before, this was a new level for the young boy.

It seemed he'd said the magic words. His little cousin was suddenly a blur of excitement and it took every ounce of self control Pyrrhic possessed to not burst out laughing. He was afraid the boy would think he was laughing at him and in a sense he would be, but only because he remembered what it was like to be that little and to be so excited about something. Iroh's exuberance was contagious, but Pyrrhic was afraid of undermining the seed of equality he'd planted in the boy's mind. He didn't want Iroh to think he (Pyrrhic) thought himself superior. "Alright, we'll start with defenses." Pyrrhic stood up and stretched, then said, "Why don't you show me what you got, huh?" He wasn't sure if Iroh had been taught anything about fighting yet, but defenses seemed like a good place to start because training or no training up until this point, defenses were easy and something he thought Iroh would pick up quickly. "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Pyrrhic was much more calm and collected than Iroh was, and the older boy’s decorum had its effect on Iroh. The boy attempted to still himself, but even if his paws stopped moving Iroh’s tail was attempting to wiggle off his butt. This action caused the whole of his barrel like body to move, but his effort was obvious. ”Alright, we'll start with defenses.” Iroh tried to give him his attention as he vibrated at the taller boy’s paws. ”Why don't you show me what you got, huh?" Iroh nodded and finally got his body under control.

With a bit of thought and effort Iroh shifted himself, his mom had gone over the basics, but he’d learned the most from playing with Zagan. He took a deep breath and finished his wiggling so that he might show the older Abraxas what he knew. He lowered his ears to his head, one of the first things he learned. Painfully. His brother’s teeth were sharp on his sensitive ears. He raised his little striped hackles as his tail flagged out behind him. His dark paws shifted to equally distribute his weight. He beamed up at Pyrrhic. ”What’dya think?”

Pyrrhic watched with an approving expression as Iroh calmed himself and then set his defenses. "Not bad for one so young," he thought. His little cousin showed promise. While he couldn't promise the boy the General position, Pyrrhic could hope he worked hard enough to earn the rank. Someday, if Iroh trained hard and devoted himself to the Fallen God, he could reach his goal. "Very good," he said approvingly. "Tell me..." He padded closer; adopting the low, slinking stance of a stalking predator as he did so. "What would you do if your opponent tried to grab one of your legs and pull it out from under you?" Pyrrhic lunged forward suddenly and pretended to swipe at Iroh's left foreleg with his right forepaw. He stopped shy of actually striking the limb, but the intent was unmistakable. Hopefully that paired with his question would prompt the boy to think about his defenses and how they needed to adapt during fights. It was easy to think of them as rigid, unchangeable things, but that belief was a costly one. Attacks were fluid and changeable; to be effective defenses had to be too. "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Iroh didn’t miss the approving features of his cousin and his eager grin seemed to grow to take up the whole of his face. Losing focus a bit he couldn’t help but let his tail wag excitedly as Pyrrhic praised him lightly and continued. His question made the boy think, and his tail stopped wagging so erratically as the older Abraxas moved quickly to try and remove Iroh’s leg from beneath him. Acting completely on instinct the boy bounced backwards.

He looked a bit less confident while his blue and lavender eyes returned to Pyrrhic. What was he supposed to do when that happened? Move out of the way, try and stand his ground? The boy would be very big when he finally reached his adult size, were it a smaller opponent he could probably redistribute his weight more heavily on that limb. If his opponent were the same size that tactic could be completely different.

”Was that the right way?” He asked, with a tinge of timid trepidation that wasn’t there before. ”I know Abraxas aren’t supposed to run…” He was a little nervous that he had done wrong, but he wanted to learn. He’d make a million mistakes but as long as he learned from him that was what counted… right?

It seemed his actions had taken a bit of the wind out of Iroh's sails. Pyrrhic was quick to reassure him, "It was a right way. Retreating is the smart move sometimes. If you're outnumbered, if your opponent is bigger, retreating gives you a chance to reevaluate the situation." "'The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom'," he quoted a line he knew from heart. "Benkos taught me that. It's from The Art of War, which is a military manual an ancient species used in warfare. Its teachings served them well, they served Benkos well, and I think it's safe to say that if it says it isn't dishonorable to retreat, we can believe it." Pyrrhic studied Iroh in the hopes of sussing out the effect his words were having. He wasn't sure if he'd been successful in reassuring his little cousin, so he added, "You did good." "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Iroh sat back onto his haunches as his bright blue and lavender gaze watched his cousin and his reaction to his reaction. Dark ears perked as the words fell from Pyrrhic’s lips. The boy nodded slightly as his older mentor went on, just so he could show that he understood. Except the part about ancient species, but they had built the castle as well hadn’t they?

”I’d like to learn more about the manual,” he mused as Pyrrhic reassured him in the end that he indeed had made the right decision. Iroh nodded proudly, and felt himself lift instinctively at the praise. ”But what does.. ’advance without coveting fame’ mean?” He went on to ask as his striped tail wagged absently at the side of his barrel body.

He was quick to promise, "I'll tell you everything about it." The Art of War was, in his opinion, the best gift he could give another Abraxas. He was proud to have had the chance to learn from Benkos, someone who the manual had clearly worked well for, and he was equally proud to share what he'd learned. "Some wolves do things like start conflicts and pick fights just because they want everyone to know their name. A general who doesn't do that - one who advances without coveting fame - is a wise one because he or she acts when they have good reasons. And that makes them very valuable." He made a point to stress how important such a wolf was. Hopefully Iroh would take his words to heart and commit them to memory. "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Iroh beamed at Pyrrhic’s promise to tell him more about the manual. It would be a guidebook to live by, even though he knew barely but a few verses the boy would commit to it. His cousin went on to explain the passage more thoroughly for Iroh and the boy perked his dark ears to listen intently. Iroh nodded seriously, he understood them as Pyr explained. When doing your duty you made the right choices because they were right, not because your name would be remembered. Iroh had no doubt that a General like that would accredit fame for the right reasons, and be the jewel of his emperor’s arsenal.

”I see,” he said as he felt like he understood the answer rather well. He would indeed commit them to memory, and further strive to be that wolf for his cousin. ”That’s the kind of General you want, right Pyrrhic?” He asked, already confident in his answer.