it felt so nice to get out of that stuffy old den!

Godbrand marched along with his little tail held high, chin raised and his eyes trying to take everything in at once. Ma was tired as usual, but he and his siblings were big enough to go outside alone. she was probably watching them from the mouth of the den anyway and if shit went down, he knew all he had to do was call for someone and they'd come running. Beryl was off doing something though, and Gimli was probably practicing smashing his head against a boulder. he was most likely, a hundred percent, the normal one. ...okay, that was a lie. Beryl was the only normal one.

but at least Gimli was fun. "Gims!" he shouted, trying to locate his brother. Godbrand looked away for what seemed like a brief moment before he felt he smacked into something. hard. "oof!" the wind knocked out of his little chest, he'd roll backward and stare into the face of some guy he'd never seen before. he was huge and had big old fangs hanging from his mouth. Godbrand tried not to appear too frightened; this guy smelt like Pops. that meant he was in Ashen.

twisting his body to get to all fours, he'd stare up at the man like he knew what he was doing. Bran's fur fluffed up and he bounced around the man's legs. "you're too big!" he blurted out, attempting to be brave and not insanely shook up. "that ain't fair! I wanna be that big!" then nobody could push him around!

"Speech"

With so many pups running around Ashen, border patrols and safety measures where as important as ever. He had just finished clearing out a coyote nest that had settled a mile from the border. Taking them out had been proactive, to ensure they could never wonder too close to the packs borders. Still licking blood from his fangs, he started his way towards the lake, the main source of water for the Klein pack, when something orangy streaked towards him. He paused in his stride, looking to the pup, who was very clearly looking the other way, before it smacked into Sirius side. He had to wince for the pup, that had to hurt. This wasn’t one of Deathbelles, but he recognised the scent of Dutch on his coat. He hadn’t seen that wolf in quite some time, but knew she was around. Sirius took a step back to take a look at the boy, but he was already recovering, and came charging in like a spitfire. He expected an attack, the pups in Ashen where fiery, to say the least, but instead the boy bounced about his legs. Sirius squatted down so his head was closer to the tiny pups height. Marshall, who had been scouting the borders with him, began to glide downwards, and landed near the boy. Even his vulture was larger than the pup. “Too big?” he mused “That just sounds like an easier target. You know how you take on big wolves?” he asked the pup. "Speech"

he didn't know this was what Ma considered a buddy of her's. if Dutch was here, she'd be chatting to him and then Godbrand couldn't speak to the big wolf. adults. pfft. always talking about something stupid. he leapt at the man as he lowered his head, latching onto his big ear and knawing on it. big mistake, buddy! his little pup squeaks were heard through his attack. though his small baby teeth were probably nothing to him, Godbrand felt a sense of accomplishment all the same. he wanted to call for his siblings and they could launch an attack on this tree trunk of a wolf, but part of him still wanted to roam alone for a bit.

"mmm...pfft!" he spat out the guy's ear as he was spoken to. he tasted too funny anyway. take on big wolves? how? this one was so big he was sure he was gonna lose, no matter what he tried to do. Bran stepped back, eyes wide and looking him up and (more up) down. "I dunno..." he admitted easily enough, landing on his butt with a comedic cock of his head. his eyes strayed to the vulture before back at the big wolf. "ma...maybe I can... hrmm... no-o-o" his brows squinted. every scenario he thought of was easily replaced with a bad idea. "tell me! tell me!" if the guy brought it up, he must know!

"Speech"

The small puppy took advantage of his lowered state, and went for his ears. The little puppy nubs didn’t do much against him, but he made sure to make a few pained noises and twitch his head a few times so the pup would think he was making an impact. The pups interest was sparked as Sirius asked him if he knew how to take on a larger opponent. His ear was freed, and the small creature sat backwards, looking at the Titan with curiosity. “Alright then, let’s play it out.” Sirius suggested. “First off, let’s get you onto your paws.” the large wolf moved forward and gently nudged the pups stomach with a paw, indicating he should get to his feet. “Now, before any battle, you have to set your defenses. Do you know any of those?’ he asked, though he doubted the tiny creature had been given any earlier instructions then this. "Speech"

too arrogant to realize the man - who he named Tree Trunk already - was pretending to make pained noises, Godbrand whooped for victory. that's right. he was the best at tackling bigger dudes. even smaller dudes, like his brother Gimli. standing back after releasing the man's ear, he'd grunt as he was nosed at. a little paw raised to swat at the man's nose but he didn't protest much. he just didn't like some stranger sticking a cold nose at him.

he also tried to remember what Ma had told them. his head would tilt dangerously at the question before moving his legs apart, squaring his shoulders to make him harder to knock over. whether this was a 'defensive' lesson or not, he blurted out shit. "Ma says to, ummmm, make sure you ain't knocked over! balance your body!" he would like to see his Ma fight one day, but she told him it was a long way off. she had to 'recover' first. whatever that meant. Pops fought too; Godbrand would be like both of his folks.

"but I dunno any other de-fance-ases?" Bran admitted with a furrowed brow.

"Speech"

The pup swatted at the titan’s paw as he used it to nudge the boy back. He still didn’t know the little ones name, he hadn’t met Dutch’s pups before now. He had known she was pregnant, but little else. “Good, good.” Sirius said as the small pup spread out his paws and set his balance. “Dig your toes into the dirt, narrow your eyes, tuck your chin, fold back your ears.” he instructed “These are easy targets, make them harder” he said, pointing at the boy’s eyes, neck, and ears. “Now, your smaller than your opponent. Use that to your advantage. Be sneaky, be fast, but do not be still.” he told the boy. “Run circles around me, make me feel slow, confuse me on where your aiming for. Go for vitals, back of my legs, my neck - careful of the fangs. Between my toes. Soft place. Ready? Go.” "Speech"

Godbrand felt silly, his chin tucked against his fluffy chest. he had done as Tree Trunk told him to do. but his sight was now limited against his fur. the pup's eyes rolled up to the large guy as he told him weak spots before dropping. a smarter child would go for the back of the legs. when Tree Trunk said to 'go', he did go. right at his neck.

he was perhaps a bit too eager. Bran burst from the ground, trying to hop and bounce to grasp the other's neck. he flailed desperately and didn't exactly even grasp a hair. he landed heavily, grunting with frustration before zipping around to nibble on Tree Trunk's back legs. his big pup paws grasped his massive right leg, jaws knawing bone and fur. one could practically hear the 'nom nom nom' noises he was making.

a few times he'd look up with his wide eyes, wondering if he was even doing this right. or just looking for praise like a child needed and wanted from an adult.

"Speech"

It's a coyote stampede!

Do coyotes run in packs? Surely not ones of twenty or more members. So fifty coyotes pummeling through the terrain would definitely be strange, right? As the two train, a coyote runs past them, then another, and another. It's a... coyote stampede? Their yips and yaps fill the air as they flood the area, seemingly unaware of the wolves. Watch out! Some are headed directly towards Godbrand!

The fearless young child responded, unleashed at his words as he ran for the Titan. Sirius braced himself. He went for Sirius’s throat, but could not reach his target. Sirius considered knocking him gently to the ground, but gave the young trainee a chance.

He dropped the target quickly, which pleased Sirius. He wasn’t hooked on one idea, and one alone. Godbrand was going for his back legs, when the sound of an approaching force caught the Titan’s ears.

THe sudden appearance of the coyotes shocked the man. Never had he seen them in such force, and running through the territory of the pack like borders meant nothing to them…

His shock lasted a few moments, but then the coyotes began to make a path towards the young pup, and the titan reacted. He turned, grabbing Godbrand in his jaws by his scruff, before fully leaping over one enterprising scavenger, snarling through his mouthful of wolf pup as the Titan ran for the lake, leaping upon the rocks he knew he would find there, his superious height getting him to places the coyotes could not reach. He put the pup down then, but curled a paw protectively around him, as he watched the invasion of scavengers in superiors numbers.

At least they were simply running through the territory and not remaining. Running to, or from something? He would have to find out, for the safety of Ashen.

"Speech"

it all happened so fast.

well, that's what he was going with anyway. too focused on nomming Tree Trunk, the coyotes congregating on them was beyond the pup. Godbrand yelped by the sudden yoink! the man plucked him from the ground in an instant and he protested by yipping loudly. what was this? some sudden attack?! he knew these Ashen folk couldn't be trusted! he was about to scream at the guy to put him down when he saw the coyotes. his amber eyes widened as they ran underneath him. he even curled his toes to avoid being snapped.

the guy even jumped over some of them. hot damn. when it was over, Godbrand was put down. stumbling a bit, trying to get his bearings he shook his head this way and that. his little coat puffed up as he jumped around, spitting insults that a child should really not know. "that's right! ya better run! or face my wraith!" he howled after the retreating coyotes. Dutch had her work cut out for this boy. stopping himself after calming down, the pup turned back to Sirius. "who're you anyway, huh? never seen ya before!"

"Speech"

The little pup stumbled, and Sirius made certain he couldn’t tumble off the edge and into the waiting jaws of the coyotes below. Once he had gotten his legs under him properly, he began to bounce around, offering insults to their foe. Sirius just watched in silence, keeping a careful eye on the boy so he could grab him if he went to close to the edge. The coyotes continued their mad dash, the sounds of yipping and quickly moving feet the prominent feature in the landscape for a time. When the boy added his final threat, Sirius echoed it with a menacing howl, knowing even he himself would hesitate before taking on so many predators. If the pup hadn’t been with him, he might have tried regardless. “I’m Sirius, Deathbelle’s Warlord. Your Dutch’s get.” he said, not knowing the boys name. "Speech"