Fishing had never been his strong suit. In fact, he was quite terrible at it. Living so close to the sea now had him curious and attempting to better his skill at it and maybe even provide for the pack a bit. Regardless, he was lousy and every time he thought he'd finally sink his teeth into the protein, he'd come up short and covered up to his ears in muck. Spitting some of the foul mud back into the water, he groaned and sunk his face in and shook, freeing the rest of the muck from his waterlogged fur. With the sun beating down on his back and heating him far beyond what should be allowed for winter, he snapped at the water in frustration as he broke free from the water again.

With a snort, he left the waters edge and strode back inland a bit. The tide would still be low for a few hours, but he was certainly done trying to fish. He stomped through the sand really, throwing quite a fit about it too while tossing sand with his paws as he grumbled about how stupid fish were. They weren't even that good, so he hardly understood why someone would want to eat them. Who even decided it was a good idea to try and catch them anyway?! Slippery shits.

"Speech"

Mortis stood back a few paces, watching the entertainment and struggling to keep a straight face. He lost the fight in the end, breaking out into little peels of laughter as the pup moved closer to the man. He always asked his dad to tell him when a new wolf joined the ranks. There wasn’t a single new wolf he hadn’t introduced himself to. He was curious and bright eyed, with kindness etched into his expression. As Magnus moved away from the waters edge, the young Armada pup moved forward, prancing towards the stranger. “Your Magnus, right? I’m Mortis” he introduced himself. “Looks like fishing isn’t for you, huh?” "Mortis"

He didn't know he was being watched, much less laughed at. The child had gone unnoticed until he spoke and Magnus had been too busy grumbling to himself to hear him approach. Tossing some more sand around for good measure, he nearly snapped when the child spoke but bit his tongue likely just in time. One look at the kid and he was already betting his life on it being a spawn of Sirius and it almost made him laugh, but he was still too annoyed for that.

They introduced themselves and made a jab at his fishing skills, or rather lack thereof. "Good job, kid, you're right about one thing." He wasn't about to let this kid think he was always terrible at fishing. Absolutely not. He was good at everything... most of the time anyway. "Today's just not my day." He lied with a bit of a laugh to sell it and plopped himself into the sand with a huff and a cloud of sand dust rose, irritating his nostrils and causing a sneeze, plus another groan.

"Speech"

The kid was always quick to believe the words of his elders. He knew nothing about fishing, hadnt given it a go himself yet. Other then that one time where he and his brother killed a shark beached in shallow water. So he looked to the man, looking up at him - figuratively, not literally. He was going to be a beast of an adult - and lapped up the others words. He spread out his feathery appendages, letting them drape lightly onto the sand on either side of him. The new wolves always had something to say about his wings. To Mortis, the just existed, but outside of The Armada they were something unheard of.

"Next time your having a good day, think you could teach me?" He wondered. It would be a neat skill to learn, and he could impress his siblings next time he saw them.

No one had taught him how to fish, it was just something he had tried himself and apparently sucked at. He knew the general basics of it, but if there was an art to it, he certainly lacked it. His lie had backfired however and he mentally cursed himself for making himself sound better than he actually was. Oh well, maybe if he did actually teach this kid a thing or two about fishing he might even figure it out. It seemed like a good idea, at least. Wouldn't hurt to try.

"I bet I could, but what can you teach me?" He raised his brows at the boy, curious to see if the little punk had anything to offer him in exchange.

"Speech"

The young boy considered that for a moment, chewing over the words as he sat upon the sand, and looked out at the sea. No one had ever asked him to teach them something before. What did Mortis know that could hold value to others? It was a tough question for a young mind, but he was willing to tackle it with all his might. “Okay, yeah, so if you teach me to fish, I can teach you… to climb trees” he looked down at his unusual paws, the pads replaced with a style more often seen on a cat, with retractable claws. Good for purchase, climbing, and clawing. He glanced back at Magnus, brow furrowed in thought. Maybe not. “Or… well… the only thing I’ve really been training in all my life is fighting. I can help you with that, but you're probably already better than me” He admitted. Most adults were. "Mortis"

He could tell the boy was struggling with coming up with ideas, and although he would love to learn to climb trees, he doubted his paws had the capabilities like the boy's did. Perhaps with some modified armor, he would be able to climb trees one day. He'd have to toy with the idea, but he'd certainly come to Mortis if he wanted to learn to climb and had the equipment to do so. It would come in a great advantage with stealth, but when the boy continued on about fighting, he ignored his own thoughts and focused on his words. Of course he was younger, but the child was quite large and had a few things stacked in his favor if he were to take Magnus on. Magnus had certainly never fought anyone with wings before.

"Maybe in some ways, but I've never battled someone with wings before. I'm sure you know how to use them to your advantage by now." He offered a smile, attempting to make him feel a bit better. Being a child of Sirius, he had no doubts the boy was quite capable of winning a fight, but he wondered if he had the confidence for it. He was still a child, and more than likely raised much differently than himself, but if he knew anything it was that you have to be strong in more than just your muscles.

"Speech"

”Hmm, yeah, they do come in handy, I normally surprise people with keeping my balance against certain attacks by spreading them” he demonstrated, flaring them to the side, giving him a great center of gravity, and extra extremities to flail with whenever he was falling. “Did you want to spar? Maybe we can learn something from each other” he offered. At this stage, he had sparred with a few different people, and he was always looking to expand his knowledge. Despite his size, and parents, there was still an air of innocence to the boy. Looking at him now, filled with friendships and parents that would kill for him, you would never know his brother had tried to kill him. That he had once considered taking his own life. He blinked up at Magnus with a gentle smile, the offer hanging from his lips. "Mortis"

Watching as the boy stretched his wings and commented about them. He wished he had wings, though if he were to wake up tomorrow with a pair, he'd be terrified. Of course the child had known nothing else and seemed to be quite comfortable with them. Unless they could carry himself to great heights, he'd rather not have the extra weight of the heavy appendages. Though he did smirk a bit when he thought about knocking someone out with one. That would probably be pretty fun.

When he was asked if he wanted to spar, he certainly didn't want to turn it down. Mortis wasn't a small child, but he knew he still had to go a bit easy on him. Plus, he was still a bit sore from his spar with Sirius days prior. It'd been a while since he'd trained so often that his muscles weren't used to the work, but he knew he needed the training. If there were more wolves with wings around here, he wanted to be ready for when he had to really fight one.

"Sure, I bet we could both use the training." He was rusty and Mortis a child, so maybe they really could learn something from each other.

"Speech"

The pup grinned at the idea, still hoping he could wiggle in some fishing lessons from all this. He was like a dog with a bone, he didn’t give up an idea easily. “Alright!’ he said, a bounce in his step as he began to move across the sand. He knew the direction to the training rings so well he could walk it in his sleep. He had already spent so much of his young life here. His father had believed in training the kids well they were young, starting off as friendly tussling, and then full blow matches. Against his family, he had fought an uncountable amount of times. A newcomer always brought a fresh aspect, and Mort happily hopped into a ring and waited for Magnus to join him. "Mortis"

The boy seemed ecstatic to spar with him and was eager to head off towards the training rings. He was happy with having the spar here, but he assumed the training rings would be the best bet. Unfortunately, he wondered if that's where they always took place. They'd have to practice battling on other terrains if they wanted to have the best chance at success on enemy territory. He shrugged it off and followed the child however, thinking about how he would even begin to teach the child to fish. Sure, he knew the basics, but he'd never really actually caught his own fish. Maybe he should get lessons from someone else before teaching Mortis. Or maybe he'd just be better at it and whatever knowledge Magnus had on the subject would be enough.

Once they'd made it to the ring, Magnus found his spot across from Mortis and readied himself. "You make the first move." He nodded towards him, allowing him to go first mostly because he didn't want to get smacked right down into the sand by those wings. Maybe if Mortis came at him first, he could watch how he used them first.

"Speech"

Mortis Fatalis

The Pup steadied himself, spreading out his weight and lifting his wings subtly at his sides. He glanced up at Magnus as he spoke, and gave one sharp nod, showing he understood. Right, the first move… taking a page from his father's book, as he often did, the young boy charged.

Heading straight at Magnus in an attempt at a frontal assault. He might be young, but he was already a whooping height. Taking after his father, and not his mother, in that regard. He aimed to slam his right shoulder into Mag’s right side of his chest. His head, he would keep raised above the other wolfs, an attempt to scrape fangs across the closest ear, the right one.

"Speech"

[align=left]Mortis Fatalis vs Magnus for spar
Round 1/2
Age: Under one year
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Mortis Fatalis vs (opponent) for (fight type)
Round x/x
Age: (Only include: over 1 year, under 1 year, or under 6 months as applicable)
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Front leg bracers with knife
Defensive Battle Accessory: Back leg bracers
Companion 1: Snow leopard, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Kea, Female - Battle
Mutation 1: Saber fangs - Offensive
Mutation 2: Feline claws - Offensive
Mutation 3: Wings - Offensive
Skills: Expert Fighter & Advanced Hunter
Specialty: N/A

Magnus wasn't surprised when the younger, yet much larger than he expected, child charged first and clearly tried to use his weight and size to his advantage. He was fast too, because as he tried to steady himself to simply dodge the shoulder coming right at his chest, he had fallen a bit short of the maneuver and felt the child's shoulder graze against his own. A grunt escaped his chest at the impact, but unfortunately he hadn't moved well out of the way in time to dodge the teeth scraping his ear and felt some of the flesh tear as he slid out of the grasp from the force of the shoulder. While he had slid back a bit from the force, he was quick to regain his stature and swing his head back towards the child with fangs reaching to graze his right wing appendage.

"Speech"
Magnus Vyle vs Mortis for Spar
Round 1/2
Age: 1+
Size: Large
Build: Heavy
Skills: Novice Fighter & Beginner Intellectual
Specialty: N/A

Mortis Fatalis

He felt his teeth make contact with a surge of excitement for the fight. He was aiming with his standard teeth, not his dire-like fangs. He only wanted to spar, not cause real injury. In his excitement, he didn’t see Mag’s intention. As the older wolf fell back, he would also reach for a wing, and Mort let out a squeak of surprise when he felt fangs in his heavy-set wings.

His free wing aimed to reach over in an attempt to smack Magnus and free him from the older wolf's fangs. Meanwhile, the pup would reach forward with a foreleg, aiming to scratch his cat-like claws down his opponent's chest.


"Speech"

Mortis Fatalis vs Magnus for spar
Round 2/2
Age: Under one year
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Front leg bracers with knife
Defensive Battle Accessory: Back leg bracers
Companion 1: Snow leopard, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Kea, Female - Battle
Mutation 1: Saber fangs - Offensive
Mutation 2: Feline claws - Offensive
Mutation 3: Wings - Offensive
Skills: Expert Fighter & Advanced Hunter
Specialty: N/A      

The squeak that had came from the child startled him and he was quick to release in case he had actually hurt him more than intended, but he hadn't quite gotten out of the way of the opposing wing swinging over towards his head. Although it had managed to miss him due to his own bit of a startle, it had caught him off guard and he hadn't been prepared for the swipe at his chest. He felt the claws glide through his fur, scraping down his chest and he hissed in a brief, stinging pain as he felt the skin snag. Quickly he snapped downwards to grab at the offending limb and hope to hold it, stopping the child from furthering his scratching.

"Speech"
Magnus Vyle vs Mortis for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: 1+
Size: Large
Build: Heavy
Skills: Novice Fighter & Beginner Intellectual
Specialty: N/A

And the winner is...

MAGNUS

MORTIS must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Mortis: 108.68 Rolls: 26 7 40 9 Adjusted rolls: 46.8 7.7 40 9 Magnus: 197.8 Rolls: 64 28 77 26 Adjusted rolls: 64 30.8 77 26

- nyx

Magnus grabbed at his paw, and held him. It surprised him into stillness, he had become too accustomed to taking on smaller opponents. Well he took a moment to be shocked at the power behind his opponent, the older man twisted his paw, and with a yelp, Mortis followed it. Magnus drove him into the sand hard, and stood over him. The younger wolf knew when he was beaten.

He rolled onto his back in a gesture of submission, his pride a little rankled, but not enough to be rude. “Alright, alright, I yield” the poor boy didn’t seem to be winning many of his fights… but, that just meant he still had a lot to learn. “How did you do that twist thing, anyway? That was cool”

His grab had landed and he held onto the boys paw, twisting and forcing the boy onto the sand. At the sound of the help, he released and frowning, having not meant to cause him any real pain especially if it meant the boy wouldn't be able to put weight on the paw for a day or two. He stood over the boy though and was relieved he didn't seem too sore when he was asked how he'd done it, and quickly moved off of him to explain. "It's not complicated when you're facing your opponent, as long as you can grab ahold of it. When you're facing opposite directions, what's comfortable for you is often uncomfortable for your opponent, making it easier. If we were standing next to each other, it would have been much harder and probably wouldn't have worked as well." He hoped his explanation was good enough, it was hard putting actions into words when it all happens so fast. "Your paw is okay though, right?" He was concerned, simply because he hadn't meant to cause him any pain yet seemed to have when he yelped. A frown pursed his lips together, eyeing the paw he'd grabbed.

The bite marks would linger for a few days, but the boy was well-stretched, and well-trained. He knew how to take a fall, and the twisting had done anything permanent. Ignoring the few new cuts he had gathered, he bounced back onto his feet with easy energy, excitable as a pup as he looked to the older wolf.

The boy reached out his paw in thought, mimicking the turning sensation that Mags made as far as he could make it. Reaching the point that it hurt, he nodded. “And then you just twisted me over, right?” he was still playing it out in his head, trying to decide how he could have countered it. “What would you have done in my place?” he asked. The best way to win next time, was to work out why he lost this time. “yeah, the paws fine” he promised Mags.

He watched as Mortis demonstrated what he'd done until his paw wouldn't twist any further and let him have the moment to watch himself do it. He saw the marks he'd left, but was reassured they weren't too deep once he'd seen them himself. He nodded when Mortis spoke again, then thought for a second what he would've done in the kids place. "Well, with my head lower than yours, you could have grabbed one of my ears or if you were anticipating the fall, you could have grabbed my scruff to take me with you or make it harder for you to fall." He paused for s breath, allowing his words a moment to absorb. "Do you want to try it?" He offered, knowing it'd be easier to understand if he could try it himself in a controlled environment.