The earth was a heartbeat beneath her paws, thumping with all the force of her as flurries of snow were left in her wake. Her strides carried her southward, down the eastern border of the Sea's Plain until she was hurtling down the shore. The yearling — well, almost two-years-old-ling, at this point — was on her fourth circuit around the training grounds when she slowed her pace. Once she was sure her velocity wouldn't bring her to a painful crash, the girl collapsed in a heap of limbs and tails, utterly exhausted.

For a few moments, she laid there, listening to her breath. She grunted, later, as she pulled herself up, just enough to twist around and lie on her back, tuck her forepaws over her chest. Malalia plastered her ears against her skull, and glared at the winter sun. Say something, I dare you.

Predictably, the sun had nothing to say to her, shining on without a word as it moved imperceptibly across the pale gray expanse. Snow glittered on the plain, the tide frothing at the shore several yards out, washing over her ears, which were slowly growing cold.

To say she was frustrated was an understatement. Everything was nipping at her heels these days — her new rank within the pack, Cairo’s injuries, her life before the Armada. She thought she’d been doing well, but lately she’d felt more and more off-key. Truthfully, her frustrations were beginning to burst at the seams in little, though she hadn’t recognized the pattern herself, yet. She could only eat, train, sleep, and repeat, and hope that this... whatever it was, would go away.

The girl turned over, hopped to her paws and gave a vigorous shake, bits of snow and ice flying everywhere. If nothing else, she could try. With an exhale, she set her sights on the plain for the fifth time.



"Speech"

After his morning run, Magnus found himself relaxing on the beach and ended up falling into a nap under the shade of one of the trees. It was quite restful, but by the time he woke and took one look at the sun, he knew he slept too late. Although he hardly ever remembered his dreams, this one stuck with him. It was home, a place he never wanted to go back to, but home nonetheless. A grimace crossed his face at the thought, but the dream and been peaceful and full of at least sort of decent memories. Or what he could remember, anyway. A bit groggy still, he stood and shook the snow and sand from his coat before a stretch and a final yawn. He needed to get busy, maybe get some things done today. He could hunt, he figured, but the cache hadn't been lacking last he was there. While he knew everything would be eaten and hunting more wouldn't go to waste, he figured he could at least go around and try to meet some more of the members of this pack. If this were to be his new home, he needed to treat it like it.

Moving from his hidden place under the tree, it didn't take him long to notice someone rolled over on the ground, staring into the sky. It wasn't long before she was up though, and it was then he knew who she was. The Reaper. The child that won a rank she likely wasn't ready for. After talking with Resin about her briefly, when he'd questioned why'd she been picked, he wanted to know for himself how good she really was. A high rank such as hers should be saved for those that already know what she's learning, in his opinion. But it wasn't his opinion that decided her rank, so maybe she could show him how she earned it. He wasn't here to see it, after all.

Approaching from behind, he wondered if she knew he'd been there the whole time or if now would be the first she saw him since the meeting, if she even did then. Before he got too close though, he called out to her and paused. "Malalia, right?"

"Speech!"

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"This is she." Mal's ears flickered as she twisted to set her eyes on the wolf, the newest addition to their pack. For all her frustrations, she still gave a smile, friendly swish of her tail as he finally approached her. She'd indeed noted his presence; Malalia wasn't the only one who hung out on the shore of their territory, whether it was training or leisure, and she was used to practicing by herself when others were nearby.

She closed the distance between them, and rolled to a stop with only a couple of feet left. "You're Magnus, then? It's good to meet you." The man had spent time with Sirius, Resin, and Mortis thus far, so she'd gathered his name fairly quickly, though that was the all she knew of him. She'd only laid eyes on him once, actually, at the pack meeting.

Leaning back on her hindlegs, forepaws planted forward in a stretch, she eyed him now with open curiosity. The pack had been growing steadily, but there was always some measure of excitement in seeing someone new. The gray and white brute was around Sirius' age, and though he didn't meet her father's stature, he looked formidable enough. She'd once joked that the Warlord could probably squish her with his pinky toe, what with their difference in size. With the look of this one, maybe he wasn't all that far off from that assessment, either.

"Fighter?" The query came with a toothy grin, her tail swinging easily as she shot back upright. They were a war pack, after all, so it would make the most sense. And if he was one, then that would mean she had another wolf to train with. She could get with that.



"Speech"

Well, at least he hadn't made a fool of himself by calling out the wrong name. Although she was unique in her own way, he wouldn't be surprised if there were another he'd had gotten her confused with. Thankfully, that didn't happen and soon the young woman was closing the distance between them and left just a few feet. Up close, she didn't look as young as he'd thought, but he still held a good amount of years over her. When she'd spoken again, she had correctly guessed his name, though it was likely easier for her. She only had one new name to learn while he had many. Though learning names was never a weakness of his, and everyone here seemed fairly easy to remember by appearance alone. No one seemed to really resemble anyone else, except for Sirius' kids of course. They all looked like him and a little bit like their mother.

"I am, and I you." He nodded a bit in respect of her higher rank, though hardly did much else besides lightly smile. He studied her briefly while she stretched, but hoped it wasn't obvious. She was young, and he was simply curious. At least she was easy on the eyes. When she asked if he was a fighter, he wondered if there was much use for anything besides warriors and healers here. While he was terrible at healing anything, at least he could fight. He could give someone else a reason to do their job, at least. He'd likely need bandaged up one day. "Yeah, newest recruit I suppose." He smiled back at her grin, though his less than hers.

"Speech!"

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The nod was new. Most of the wolves in the Armada were a bit less conservative in their greetings -- Mortis, especially, that excitable boy -- and Malalia herself was rather friendly. She idly wondered if it was simply how he chose to greet everyone, or if it was indeed because of her new status. She would've frowned, had she known it was the latter. She'd only just come into the rank, and one of the last things she wanted was for wolves to start treating her differently for it. Especially those who were older than she was, newcomers or not. It was just a bit strange, at times.

For the moment, Mal shrugged the thought away. She hummed approvingly when Magnus confirmed he was a fighter, a silent yessss thrumming in her head, though she'd did possess the patience to hold off on asking the man for a spar. For now. That didn't stop the slight uptick in her tail, however. "Is that your only interest? I'm training with our lead healer as well, actually," she offered.

"I hope you're settling in okay..." Her tone here was lilting, the trailing phrase somewhere between a question and a statement, and he could answer it or ignore it as he pleased. She began to move west along the shore, not wanting to stay completely stagnant.  "How did you come by the Armada, if you don't mind my asking?"



"Speech"

She was friendly, at least, though he did have to wonder why she was here of all places. To him, she seemed better suited for another pack, but it was really too early to judge. For all he knew, she was savage and only shows kindness to her pack mates. Shrugging the thought off, he looked back at her when she inquired if it was his only interest. With his eyes fixed on nothing particular behind her, bringing his focus back to her required a second that he failed to answer. "Just fighting really." He shrugged, unsure of what else he would really be interested in doing besides settling down into a pack and perhaps one day even settling further and having a family. For now, he just wanted purpose, and fighting in the Armada gave him that.

"It's been some time since I've been in a pack, but it's going okay." He started, pausing only to let her carry on about what brought him here. He wouldn't be here actually if Sirius hadn't found him in the woods that night, had he tracked the panther in a different direction away from him. He'd have never known about the Armada or even Ashen unless he got too close the next day. Although he never considered the pack life again until recently, it felt good being a part of something. That much he would admit.

"Sirius found me the other night, offered a hunt for a panther crossing the territory, and here I am." He mused, a small smile adding to his lips. "And you?"

"Speech!"

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'Just fighting, really' was well and good. In her own pack, ranks had been rather singular: you were either a healer, or a warrior, or what have you, with no official rank for something in between. At least not entirely. Honestly, she hadn't even considered multiple pursuits until Sirius had mentioned it himself, and then had only gone for it because of the scarce lessons her aunt had instilled in her when she was still young. Malalia would be firmly in the warrior track if her interest in healing hadn't pulled her in two different directions, seemingly opposite of each other.

Her ears flickered, faintly amused at Magnus' story, and not at all surprised. The giant was always out looking for new recruits, and was rather successful in that lane. Recently, they'd been on the younger side, what with Skyfire and Dunkan and herself having joined the ranks last reason. "Pretty much the same," she answered. "Minus the panther. Bumped into Sirius, and ended up here. I bedded down in the willows one night and ended up running into him the next morning. He took me in." Magnus had been there for the meeting, when Sirius had announced the adoption and her new name. Needless to say, the Warlord cared a great deal for his daughter, and she for him.

It was funny how a wayward step, a change in direction became the sole determiner of their fate. Just one encounter with the man, it seemed, and you were headed straight for the Ashen Armada. Mal had been an inch away from snapping up her dinner before it escaped her jaws. Had she caught it, she would've moved on from the area, rather than make her bed within the trailing woods.

"So did you just come out here for a nap on the beach, or...?" Her tone was casual, perhaps a shade teasing, the unasked question of a spar buried somewhere in there. Maybe he did come out to train alone today, but it wouldn't hurt to see what his plans were.


"Speech"

It seemed as though Sirius was good at finding stragglers to bring back to his home and fill his ranks, and if he wasn't doing that, he was making others to fill them. He smirked at the thought while Malalia carried on about how he had found her, but he listened a bit behind his own thoughts, enough to know what she had said but found little to say in response, unless she wanted to know that that was also where Sirius had found him. Interesting similarities, and he wondered if that was a common place to find fresh meat for the Armada. "I was at the willows when he found me, too." He finally said, impulsively.

Questioning about his reasoning on the beach, he shrugged. Although he had come here for a nap after his morning run, it clearly wasn't the morning any more and he wasn't sure if he was keen on admitting he'd been napping for a few hours on the beach like a bum. Magnus relaxed onto his haunches and let out a breath of air before responding. "A relaxing place for one." He smiled, deciding to keep some things to himself. A nap wasn't a bad thing, but she didn't need to know how long exactly he'd been napping.

"Speech!"

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A faint snort, and crinkling eyes was her answer to Magnus' being found in the willows. Even full grown adults weren't immune to Sirius's "charm," it seemed. She'd been a yearling at least, when he'd found her; though she could survive on her own, it probably would've done her well to have a pack to look after her anyway. But the man was much older, probably capable of handling himself.

Their circumstances were starting to sound more and more alike, though she was sure that Magnus's reasons for coming into the Armada were vastly different from her own. He said it'd been a while since he'd been in a pack; she wondered absently what drew him back to that life, now.

Half-amused and half-intrigued by his nonchalance, her eyes narrowed. She took a seat in kind, and gave a slight tilt of her head. "Well, how about a spar, for two?" She grinned, tail thumping behind her.

"Don't let me bother you, though," she tossed in, "if you wanna continue... relaxing." Poor thing had only just joined and he was already being asked to fight. Not a bad thing, she supposed, in a warrior pack. If she knew anything about her father, the Warlord had probably tested him already.


"Speech"

The cut on his paw was healing, though had scabbed over and caused him little stress now and his bruised skull would take some time to heal, but he was never against a friendly spar. He thought she'd never ask, assuming she herself wasn't in the mood for one right now but she proved him wrong. A smirk danced across his lips when she asked, so he stood when she mentioned if he'd rather relax. He wouldn't sneeze at the idea of being lazy some more, but he had wanted to test the skills of the new reaper himself, and what better way than to wait until she brought it up. He didn't want it to seem like he was against her and her position, but he simply couldn't believe a young wolf would have the same skills as an older, more experienced one. Perhaps the pickings were slim then, but that still didn't stop him from wanting to see her skills for himself.

"I'll never turn down a spar." Or a fight, or a death match even. Probably a bit too confident in himself and his skills, he hardly cared. Confidence is what often gave you the chance to succeed. A lack of such will only cause missteps and likely risk a life. Although he could easily be described as cocky, he was really just a little too self confident. "Should we head to the ring, then?"

"Speech!"

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Her grin was a twin to his own, tail beginning to sweep across the grass. Yesssssssss. She hadn't sparred with a new wolf in ages... relatively. Oh, she practiced, and sparred with her packmates as often as she could. Kicking Mortis' ass around was fun, but so was shaking things up a little. She snorted softly at his reply, not derisive but humored. "We should." With that, the younger wolf moved away to one of the rings on the beach, tail swaying easily behind her. Mal was happy to have a sparring partner.

And had she the ability to read his thoughts, it wouldn't have dampened her spirits at all. Hell, she probably would've agreed. Magnus wasn't the only wolf who thought she was too young, too inexperienced for the position, and Malalia was keenly aware of that. Sirius had said it was a position to grow into, and so she kept her mind on just that. Sparring regularly, training vigorously. Like she'd always done.

The air was even colder so close to the sea, and the brackish winds battered her fur, tickled her extremities. The girl put some distance between them, and whirled around to face him, rolling into a defensive stance, bracing herself. Not that she actually expected to meet him head on. The brute was big, and heavy, and mostly likely a good deal slower than she was. Didn't mean she could let her guard down though. "Alrighty," she called, offering a friendly smile. "First move's yours."


"Speech"

He followed as they made their way to the training rings, settling into his place across from her as she did. She allowed him the first move, though he was hesitant to start. She was shorter and leaner than him, giving him the size advantage for once, but it was hardly much of that. She had far more experience in this ring than he and he was still getting used to the sand and the difference it had from the usual dirt and grass he was used to. Perhaps better than sparring where they had been, but still uneven and easy to lose one's footing if they weren't careful.

Usually, he used his speed and lack of height to his advantage since many of the wolves here were much larger than him, but that wouldn't work with her. While he was sure she was used to fighting wolves seemingly twice his size, this spar wasn't looking to be in his favor. Regardless, it wouldn't stop him from trying and he finally lunged towards her, tucking his head low in case she assumed he would use his height to get above her.

He moved swiftly, but the sand of course slowed him as he pushed through. Careful to keep his footing, he tucked his jaw as close as he could to his chest and flattened his ears as he hoped to work his way under Malalia or at least ram into some part of her if she started to move away. His body was kept low to protect what he could, but there was little he could do to protect his back and nape in this position. He could only hope his weight would be enough to at least knock the wind out of her, or maybe even make her stumble and struggle to regain her stance.


Magnus Vyle vs Malalia for Spar
Round 1/2?
Age: Over 1 Year
Size: Large
Build: Heavy
Skills: Novice Fighter & Beginner Hunter
Specialty: N/A


"Speech!"

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It was a small ring, and the Reaper had less space to work with than she preferred, but she could make it work. Already, Magnus was big and heavy, and the shifting grains beneath his paws weren't going to help with that anytime soon. He gave up speed for traction, lunging for her across the space of the ring. The yearling set her own defenses, reacting much faster than her opponent.

And yeah, Mal wasn't letting him ram into her for anything. She slammed her forepaw diagonally across the sand, in an effort to blind him. The tawny fae darted neatly through the shower, sailing parallel to the brute's right side. He wouldn't get under her, and his shoulder merely brushed against her own. One paw extended to clip the male hard across his back right ankle, hopefully unbalancing him as she scurried past. Mal would twist on her forelegs, swinging her lower body around and out of reach as her teeth sought to land harmlessly in his haunches or lower legs -- a spar-appropriate grip, not hard or deep enough to draw blood.

Malalia Fatalis vs Magnus for spar
Round 1/2
Age: Over one year
Size: Medium
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Steel claws
Defensive Battle Accessory: Leather armor
Companion 1: Wolverine, Male - Battle
Skills: Intermediate Healer & Master Fighter
Specialty: N/A

His charge had done little but brush against her shoulder and hardly did a thing while she sailed past him after sending sand up to disorient and then attempting to trip him up by clipping his right ankle. Thankfully, he was still stepping and had dodged the intent of her diversion but had stepped back down with the right rear paw as she had aimed to nip as his haunches. He felt her teeth graze his skin almost painlessly as his body curved to his right and reach to grab at her tail while she had a fair hold on his hip. He of course meant no harm to it, but sought to get ahold of her in a way to keep himself behind her and away from her teeth as much as he could.

Magnus Vyle vs Malalia for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Over 1 Year
Size: Large
Build: Heavy
Skills: Novice Fighter & Beginner Hunter
Specialty: N/A