Hanako had very little interest in fight training. She liked to watch the other's train, to see them test their mettle against one another but the thought of joining them in the ring made her nose wrinkle. It just wasn't her scene! Why fight when she could talk her way out of most situations? Sure...she was beginning to suspect that might not always work but then she could also just run away. Stubbornly she felt as though Sirius was trying to force her to fit into a mould that would never suit her, basic training he'd called it but it seemed more like a waste of her time. Kicking at the sand, Hanako let out a long, withering sigh. Sirius had said he'd throw a training partner her way but  if they for one second thought they could treat her like the other warriors then they'd have another thing coming! At face value she was a diplomat and as such she deserved at least a little bit of respect and then some.

Who was she supposed to train with? One of the lower ranked warriors, someone who was a little soft around the edges too? Or perhaps someone sharp and grizzled, who'd be able to smush her into the ground in no time at all? Hanako grumbled and planted her rear on the floor, her tail slapping at the sand like drumming, impatient fingers.

Mortis trotted down to the beach, hyped and raring to go. He had done the basics with a couple of beginners now, and well it was a strange experience, he felt he had the idea of it. Training Hana was going to be… extra fun! Because they were already friends, and she would listen to him, right?

He found her waiting on the beach, rump on the sand, and tail flicking behind her. He trotted up to her, and stuck his cold nose in her ear as a greeting. “Hey Hana! Ready to go?” it was midday, and warm without being overly hot. A cool breeze drifted off the ocean, and he knew they would both appreciate it once they had done a few workouts. Summer wasn’t becoming his favourite season. Winter was best, the perfect time for cuddling.

He pointed his nose in the direction of the training dummies. They really did offer the best idea when training someone from scratch. She didn’t want to fight him right now, and he certainly didn’t want to hurt her.

Hanako pulled away, her nose wrinkling as she shot Mortis a sour look. Okay the thought of training with her friend was more more appealing than the alternatives but his chirpy disposition just made her all the more sulky. How did he find the energy to be so happy all the time? Instead of responding she just sighed, long and weary as she begrudgingly followed in his footsteps. She liked Mortis far too much to take out her frustration on him but that didn't mean she'd do a sudden 180 either. Once he drew to a stop she followed his gaze and her brows smushed together, not the most flattering of looks to be honest. She glanced back and forth between Mortis and the dummies, her ears pivoting to the side as though she was thinking of a hundred other places she'd rather be. Had she hands they would've been firmly planted on her hips.

"What? What am I supposed to be doing?"

He raised a brow at the very long, gusty sigh exhaled from her lips. She did not seem to be her usual, chirpy self, and he found himself wondering what had gotten her down. “Everything okay Hana?” he asked as they began to walk towards the training dummies.

He glanced at the stuffed creations, and back to Hana, and his smile sneakily made its way back to his maw. “Well, the beginning point for fighting is always defenses. So your not going attack your terrible foe just yet. First, do you know the basic defenses?” he asked her. Even as he spoke, his body fell into the very familiar rhythm of them spreading his paws, digging in his toes, bending his knees. His tail went out behind him like a banner, and his wings he held loosely at his side, shielding his ribs without being fully tucked. He scrunched his neck, rolled his shoulders, and folded his ears. The stance was so familiar to him he fell into it as naturally as breathing.

"I'm fine. Sirius bullied me into this, that's all."She grumbled with a pout. It didn't take a genius to work out that she wasn't a fighter and thus not really interested in learning the ropes but whatever, she'd play along albeit reluctantly. At his question she rolled her shoulders in a shrug, she was as clueless as they came. She hadn't even had siblings to play fight with as a pup, she was she was green as grass."Nope. Never even had to lift a paw."

And maybe she ought to have been ashamed or at least embarrassed by her obvious lack of skill and prowess. After all, if someone as soft and as caring as Mortis could be a fighter then why couldn't she? It just seemed so...moot, she had so many wolves who were eager to leap to her defence if the need arose, wouldn't it be disrespectful to ignore their efforts? That was definitely an excuse, an attempt to wriggle out of the rock and the hard place Sirius had dropped her in. Sure sure, if she ran into trouble on a mission she might need to fight to defend herself but...what if it never came to that. Wouldn't all this time and effort be wasted?

She eyed Mortis' posture and wondered if there was something in the Fatalis blood that brought out the warrior in him. It was as though a switch had been flipped, gone was his sense of carelessness, replaced by an obvious display of strength and dignity. It was a look that suited him, as though he was ready to take the crown for himself.

"But I don't have wings like you, or claws or big teeth." She huffed, coming to stand beside Mortis as she bumped against his shoulder. At this point she was just making excuses.

Mortis laughed easily back despite her sulk. “Da is a giant bully” he teased her gently. Eyeing her critically. He loosened his stance, stepping closer to her. he had trained a couple people now, but he had never trained someone that didn’t want to learn. He wasn’t sure what this would entrail, or how much he would be expected to push Hana. “I’ve seen you lift a paw at least once” he snarked back, tapping her gently on the nose.

“Now pay attention” this was a little more serious than their normal fun and games they engaged in. This was to help her stay alive. He knew by now that she had been granted the rank of diplomat. What happened if she went to a pack that didn’t want ‘diplomacy’?

“Neither does Tamsyn, and dad managed to get her into fighting shape, are you saying I can’t do as good?” he was still teasing, trying to loosen her huffy mood. “Come on, spread your paws like this” he suggested, moving his feet back into the right stance.

Hanako pursed her lips tighter as she struggled to hold onto her sour mood. Mortis wasn't making it easy on her, nor was he letting her grumpiness get the better of him. She'd sorta just assumed that he'd drop it since she clearly wasn't interested, but he was persistent in his own way, wriggling behind her defences and dismantling them from within. It was true she'd been pulling her weight around here but- grrr, she didn't mean it that way and he knew it. She wanted to nip his paw as it touched her nose but annoyed or not she couldn't find the will to follow through. The next time Mortis spoke everything shifted, as though the world had titled on it's side. It was only a slight difference but considering what Mortis was usually like it was so blatant and obvious that it left Hanako blinking in confusion. He seemed almost taller, commanding as he directed her to focus and swatted her feeble excuses aside. In this moment it was clear to see that he was Sirius' son, perhaps even Azure's equal. Hanako's cheeks felt a little warm at that, for some reason.

With one last grumble she slid up to Mortis side and mimicked his pose with the ease of a well trained dancer.

"Like this?" She asked, looking to him for guidance.

Mortis couldn’t drop it, even if he wanted to. He wasn’t entirely kidding about Sirius being a bully, he was at the least a leader, it didn’t matter that Mort was his son, he still had to do what his leader told him. Perhaps even more so, since being the alpha’s son came with all sorts of unwanted responsibilities. Besides, Hana being safe was important and this helped.

When she dropped the act of reluctance, she fell into place with remarkable speed. Listening to what he said and mimicking it. The sudden change was as surprising to him as it had been to her. She was smaller and more delicate, and well his motions were fluid and sure, her’s were graceful and dainty. Wasn’t there a saying about combining fighting and dancing? Perhaps she knew more about balance and defenses then she realised.

“Yeah… that’s… actually perfect. Now hold it for a minute” he loosened his own defensive stance, so he was simply standing at ‘attention’ “Now, release it, then fall back into it for me?” he wanted to see if she could do it without the template of his own body to guide her. And to see how naturally she could do it.

Hanako braced herself for some sort of negative feedback. She didn't think that Mortis would be harsh or mean, but her reluctance paired with her lack of experience was sure to make for a poor show, right? But no, he seemed rather pleased with her display and encouraged her to hold the pose, as if to let it sink into her muscle memory. With a quiet hum of acknowledgement she held it for a moment as she pulled in a slow but deep breath. It wasn't so bad, she felt a little dull ache but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. It reminded her of those old but hauntingly beautiful dances she'd seen in the east, with long and lingering poses that looked easy but took a great deal of poise and control to pull off. Compared to that this was easy and at Mortis' command she let it go, her form relaxing for a beat before she fell back into the position once again.

She turned to him then with a subdued wiggle of her tail.

"So how does this help? Someone could still attack me, even if I stand like that." She'd found the first part easy enough but she couldn't see how the rest of the parts connected.

"Your right, knowing the mechanics of it helps" he agreed, pausing to think, and assessed her held pose for a moment. He then leaned forward and 'pushed' her. If her legs were spread, knees bend, and claws dug into the ground right, he should do little to knock off her balance. "This part of your stance, your balance, is to set you up to move fast, or hold fast. With your bent knees you could suddenly surge forward, or weather a hard push to the side." He didn't have the hang of lecturing yet, but he plunged onwards. He could only hope he didn't miss anything important, and remained clear and concise for his friend to understand him.

He made a quick swipe for her head, his paw intentionally sailing over it. "You don't want small loose things hanging out that will hurt to pull, like your ears. Your tail can switch between helping your balance, and tucking under you if your opponent is going behind you a lot." He paused, and then tugged gently at her scruff. With her rolled shoulders and tucked chin, he couldnt easily get to her throat. "If someone gets your throat, it's game over. That is your most vulnerable part of you, followed by your belly and back of your ankles and knees. Making it a hard target to get helps keep you alive. You won't need all the defenses I've given you at once, for example tucking your chin limits your reach. But you can always fall back on it, and if its as familiar as breathing you can do it fast and without thought. Offering you the best balance or protection at any given time. With me so far?" He was pretty sure he had managed to keep himself sounding assertive and sure the whole time. It helped that he had been fighting since he was a baby. This was familiar territory to him. But he couldn't help but run it back and forth through his mind, looking for things he might have missed.

Hanako shot Mortis a look as he leaned into her with a fair amount of his weight, clearly unsure as to what he was trying to do. He didn't leave her in the dark for long and was quick to explain, or rather imply, that he'd been testing her balance. She supposed it made sense and staying upright sounded like an important part of fight, after all how was she supposed to defend herself when she was flat on her side or back, legs and tail a tangled mess. He sorta had a point though, it wouldn't have been her fist choice but this pose did give her a lot of options to work with, like she was a coiled spring ready to move in whatever direction she pleased. Mortis raised a paw and Hanako's brows smushed together in confusion, the realisation only just sinking in as she felt a woosh of air tickle the tips of her ears. He was a pretty paws on teacher but it worked, helping Hanako visualise a fight despite the fact she'd never even got into anything remotely close to one. With luck it would stay that way but...Sirius was right, at the very least she needed to know the basics. Very very gently Mortis tugged at the fluff of her throat, further demonstrating the importance of keeping her throat out of reach.

It was all a lot to take in for her untrained mind and body but she think she got it, mostly.

"I think so. Stay on my paws, watch my ears and tail and don't let anyone get my throat."

“Yeah, that's the basics” Mortis agreed, studying her for a few moments lying, trying to determine if he was forgetting anything. She looked pretty good, well balanced, with everything tucked. She looked like a coiled spring, ready to strike. He wondered how much her punch packed. He grinned, stopping in front of her once more. “Alright, now hit me Hana, hard as you can” he commanded. Wondering exactly what she would think of that order, and how she would take it. Would she try to avoid it, would she punch him softly, or would she smack him for all he was worth. He grinned, standing still in front of her. "Mortis""Hana"

Hanako blinked. Hit him? With what? How? She stared at him dubiously as she slipped back into the pose, her ears flicking in an obvious display of displeasure. She knew where he was coming from, of course, but training or not she didn't want to hit anyone, least of all Mortis! The silence between them grew and Hanako suspected that the Fatalis wouldn't let this go either, that he'd wait and wait till she finally did as she was asked. Had he been anyone else she would have sighed all loud and petulant, like a princess scorned. But instead she just exhaled, all soft and airy and did as she was told. Just cause she knew she had to. With a fierce- not really- scowl she raised her paw, ready to hit him with all her might.

With a surprising amount of force for such a dainty girl Hanako just outright slapped Mortis across his muzzle. Watoosh! Hanako felt smug for about half a second before the guilt came rushing in and she dropped out of her pose to rush to his side.

"Omigawd I'm so so sorry! Mort are you okay! I didn't-"

He grinned at Hana, knowing he had thrown her into a conundrum, and she wasn’t sure how to react. He still believed in her, she had already shown herself to be a natural with her defenses. He had no doubt she would be just as steady and reliable with her hits. He stood loosely in front of her. Was she ready yet? She would need to- oof his head snapped to the side, and he heard his neck click with the sudden motion. He paused, blinking in surprise. That was the strangest hit he had ever received. His an open paw across his muzzle. He sneezed, shaking his head, and then lifted his gaze back to Hana, and grinned. “That was wicked! Got me totally by surprise too, that was good! If you land a hit like that in a fight, always follow it with something else. Like snap at their ears or eyes or something. Drive your advantage” he advised her. "Mortis""Hana"

Hanako fussed on the spot, shifting her weight from one paw to the next in a nervous little dance. Mortis didn't seem all that hurt, just surprised, but she worried all the same. She supposed an opponent wouldn't expect her to outright slap them, so she could kinda see where he came from, but she really had a hard time imagining himself hitting someone...and then hitting them right again, before they had time to gather their wits. Her lips twisted into a pouty frown once more and Hanako slapped at the air,just going through the motions. It would take some time for this lesson to truly sink in, to push aside her prejudices and finally realise that just cause she knew how to fight-ish- that didn't mean Sirius would be throwing her into an open battlefield anytime soon.

Hopefully.

"How...do you know when to stop?" She asked somewhat tentatively, she'd seen her Keepers fight and it was as though they didn't have an off button, or at the very least they were unwilling to show much restraint. She knew it wouldn't be an issue for her, but as someone who could no doubt inflict major damage if he wanted to she couldn't help but wonder if Mortis knew for certain where to draw the line. When a battle was over and the other side had lost.

He knew Hana didn’t want to fight, that it wasn’t in her nature to bear her teeth and strike. He also knew that if she had some training, there might be a time where this introduction to self defence might save her life. He understood the importance of it. Enough to gently push her from her comfort zone.

“Until you know they aren’t going to hurt you, or those you're protecting. Often, that means getting in a strike that hurts them enough to make them back down, or getting your teeth on a tender part. When that happens, it’s not to hurt them, its just to warn them ‘back off, or next time I will hurt you’ “ he furrowed his brow, wondering if this wasn’t the sort of tactic Hana would or could use. “Maybe for you, its enough to give them a surprise or slow them down, so you can high tail it out of there” he suggested.