Avantika wanted a fight. More specifically, she wanted to practice sparring. If she was going to be the best protector of the Hallows that she could be, she needed to be the best fighter that she could be, right? And to be the best fighter that she could be, then she'd need to get in a lot of fights first. And since she was conveniently in a pack with what seemed like quite a few kids near to her age who enjoyed fighting, she might as well take advantage of that. She would learn by doing. After letting Kaata know what she wanted to do, she wondered who she might be able to spar with today. Rudy and Art were the two she knew best, so she was sort of hoping one or both of them would show up, but she supposed she also needed practice with talking to people she didn't know well. In the end, she decided she'd be happy if she could get anyone, and walked around, searching. "Avantika to Kaata telepathy" "Kaata to Avantika telepathy" "speech"

Ezra walked across the empty plains with Aquila making slow circles in the air above him. He knew his avian friend wasn't the biggest fan of this area of their lands since there was no where for him to roost without landing directly on the ground, but the boy hoped he'd only be passing through anyway. He knew that they weren't allowed to go far if they did leave the pack lands, but he'd take every inch he could get. It wasn't that he wanted to stress his father more than he already was, but he was dying to "spread his wings" so to speak. Sometimes he was so jealous of how Aquila could just fly around wherever he wanted, even though the eagle did tend to stick pretty close to him anyway.

As he was passing through the Starlit Plains, he spotted one of the pups he had seen around the castle fairly often, but had never actually spoken to. He hadn't interacted with many of Resin and Tamsyn's kids, though that wasn't much of a surprise considering he hardly interacted with anyone. "You need to get to know your pack mates, Ezra. They're your family as much as your siblings are." His father's scolding popped into his mind and he frowned a little with a sigh. He had to start somewhere, right? And if he told his father that he met someone new today when he got back to their room that night maybe that would get him off of his back for a little while.

He turned his path toward the girl, walking straight toward her like a pup on a mission. "Hey," he said in greeting, keeping it short and to the point. "I'm Ezra." He glanced around and realized that she wasn't with anyone else and added, "What're you doing out here by yourself?" Of course he knew he was technically by himself too, but he was at least walking toward the border with a purpose while she seemed to be wandering around the plains looking for something that he didn't know what was just yet.

Walk | "Talk" | think

The days were starting to get longer and warmer, both qualities Artorias was happy to see coming back to the world. Though the winter in Auster had been mild with only the occasional snow flurries, he had already decided that winter was his least favorite season. The boy was, as per usual, roaming around the plains beyond the castle walls, in his mind patrolling his homelands to help keep them safe from potential threats. In actuality, he was just bored, and so he settled into going for a walk with Corbin gliding by overhead like a big black airplane. If nothing else, it would help him build up stamina. Plus the castle had been oddly quiet today; the adults must have all been off doing work, and Bowen was probably tending to their alpaca hoard. Maybe if he was lucky, he'd run into Rudy or Tika and they'd feel up for a spar.

As luck would have it, Artorias crested a small hill and found not just Avantika, but another wolf pup too: one of the Adravendi kids. He hadn't interacted much with the other litter, mostly due to his focus on his training, but they all seemed a decent lot. Besides, they were all brothers and sisters in a pack, right? Tugging at a strap to readjust his armor that seemed to be shrinking by the day, Artorias sauntered his way over to the two, greeting both with a dip of his head. "Hi Tika, uh..." He paused, trying his hardest to remember the big spotted boy's name from the couple of times he'd interacted with him. "...Eeeezra, right?" He had heard through hushed discussions from his parents that their mother had recently disappeared along with one of their sisters. He didn't know if he should bring it up or offer his sympathies, but decided to hold his tongue unless it came out otherwise. "What're you two up to?"

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

Not too long after Avantika started her search, she found what she was looking for, in the form of a brown and white pup marching right up to her. His name was Ezra. He asked what she was doing all by herself. This was the problem with trying to meet people. You had to talk to them. "I was looking for someone. Not anyone in particular--"she didn't want to let him misunderstand her"--Just someone to practice sparring with." Would he join her? She didn't know him well enough to hope for or against any particular outcome of this conversation. He seemed nice enough, and not too old that it wouldn't be a fair fight. Although she was older than him, neither of them was a year old or older. So it would be fine! Another pup came up to them. Artorias! Avantika couldn't resist a little swish of her tail. He didn't seem to know Ezra too well, considering he hesitated over his name, but that was fine. He was still better at talking than she was. Most people were. "I wanted to practice sparring." Artorias would probably be up for it. He seemed very enthusiastic about fighting. "Are you going to fight if we get to that or stay up and watch?" She didn't say watch in a derogatory way. It was easy to think of scenarios where another set of eyes to keep an eye on her opponents would be very helpful. She knew Kaata would tell her instantly if she needed to know something, and the bird was so little that she wouldn't be too much help and might end up accidentally hurt in the fray. Because of all that, she wasn't surprised when the hawk replied, a bit sheepishly, although there was no real reason for her to be, "I think I'll just watch." "Avantika to Kaata telepathy" "Kaata to Avantika telepathy" "speech"

He relaxed a little bit when she explained that she was looking to spar with someone. Well, that much he could do. It was a lot easier to spar with someone than it was to try and make conversation. Before he could respond though, he heard someone walking toward them and looked up to see one of Resin and Tamsyn's other kids coming to join them, greeting the girl girl first, calling her Tika. He wasn't entirely positive what her name was so he went mentally went with Tika even though he thought her name was something longer. Maybe it was a nickname? At least he knew the boy's name from hearing his name called around the pack a few times. He nodded to confirm that Artorias had guessed his name correctly.

He looked back to Tika when she mentioned again that she wanted to practice fighting. He had never done a spar with two other wolves, but that seemed interesting. He looked back at Artorias again, saying, "I'm ready to practice if you two are." He took a little step back to square himself off between the two wolves before he got into the defensive stance he had learned from his father with his knees bent a little bit and his paws nicely spaced apart so that he was more stable. Aquila still soared overhead, circling around the trio and doing a bit of a dance between the birds that hung around Artorias and Tika. Trio of pups and a trio of birds.

Walk | "Talk" | think

Avantika's request perked Art's ears up atop his head and his eyes alit like a bonfire. A spar, eh? Of course he would entertain her with a spar! But a spar with two other wolves—a melee—that was an experience he hadn't had yet. The idea intrigued him, and it was definitely something he was interested in! He glanced back and forth between Tika and Ezra for a moment, gauging the other boy's reactions to see if he was into it as well. Surprisingly, he was! Ezra had always seemed like the self-imposed outcast of the pack, avoiding all of their training regiments and pack activities like a leper. He did feel bad for the boy; with the disappearance of his mother and sister, that had to be a lot to process. But Ezra seemed to be shunning the help and comfort of his pack mates entirely in favor of isolation. Artorias was glad to see he was at least willing to participate with them this time—but it didn't mean he was going to go easy on him. Ezra was the biggest of them, and he could deal with whatever came his way. Call it a dose of reality for scorning his training.

"All right, let's do this," Artorias remarked, taking a couple paces back to give them all some space to start. Corbin gracefully dove down to land on the boy's back, turning his head curiously. "We're doing a melee," he told the avian. "Keep an eye out, just like we practiced."

Corbin nodded. "Understood, Master Artorias." With a strong flap of his wings, the raven took to the skies once more, circling low overhead of the three wolves so he could observe the fight, the terrain, and the opponents and keep Artorias alert and prepared. Corbin croaked in surprise when the giant eagle zoomed in front of him, barely able to slow himself with a few flaps of his wings to prevent from crashing into the bigger bird. "Well, excuse YOU, you dolt! Not enough room in the sky for you?" he snapped back at Aquila with a click of his beak before resuming his circling pattern.

Artorias briefly considered whether or not to use his sword in their fight. Resin had told him to always fight fair with his siblings... but with Ezra in the mix, that changed things, right? Besides, if this was a real melee fight against two other wolves, there would be no limits, no holds barred. This would make for a good practice scenario. Grabbing the hilt of his sword in his jaws, Artorias drew his sword, aligning his head with his spine and spreading his feet to assume his battle stance, tail tucking out of the way between his legs and eyes narrowed to focus on his opponents. From there, he waited for Ezra and Avantika to get ready as well. This was still a spar, after all; some rules of decorum had to be observed. Once they were ready, however, it would be a free-for-all. May the best wolf win.

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

Avantika would have felt bad about attacking the other unarmed kid first, so she turned to Artorias once in her typical fighting stance. She was kind of hoping that Ezra would help her. While she was a season older than both of the boys, she held no weapon and was less experienced than the blueberry boy at least. She didn't know how good Ezra was at fighting yet. But the two of them together could probably beat Artorias, right? Two against one? She hoped so. She hoped even more that Ezra and Artorias wouldn't team up against her. She checked in with Kaata quickly. Their silent connection could pass any sort of thoughts, although words seemed easier. That was all they could do in the beginning, but now that they knew each other and their connection better, they were able to communicate anything that their individual thoughts could, including just abstract ideas. Therefore, Avantika didn't waste time on trying to explain what she was about to do in words. She dashed forward at a sprint, trying to get in close so Artorias had less room to swing that sword. She would aim to nip the curve between his shoulder and his neck and hopefully spring back a foot or two. Kaata would watch her back, but she still had to be prepared to follow her warning. Avantika Carpathius vs Artorias Carpathius vs Ezra Adravendi for Spar Round 1/x Age: Over 1 year Size: Large Build: Medium Companion 1: Sharp-shinned hawk, Female - Flying Skills: Novice Fighter & Intermediate Intellectual Specialty: N/A "Avantika to Kaata telepathy" "Kaata to Avantika telepathy" "speech"

Ezra waited for his fighting partners to prepare, watching as Artorias drew his sword and Tika got into a defensive position similar to his own. He gave the girl a glance as she seemed to focus on the blue furred wolf across from them and he silently aligned with her. Two perhaps slightly less experienced young wolves against Artorias and his sword seemed to be how the balance had played out and that seemed pretty fair to him at least. Once Tika took the first move, he waited just a beat before he followed in after her, letting her draw most of Artorias' attention before he tried to get in any closer. As soon as she went to nip at the other boy's neck, Ezra darted in toward Artorias' opposite side to attempt a nip at Carpathius' ribs before also quickly trying to get out of the way again before Artorias could swing his sword this direction. Aquila circled around overhead, not so subtly flying just slightly in the way of the raven that had squawked at him so loudly for no reason just to irritate him a bit while also potentially blocking some of the avian's view of the fight.

Ezra Fortis Adravendi vs Artorias Carpathius vs Avantika Carpathius
Round 1/2
Age: Under 1 year
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Companion 1: Black-and-chesnut eagle, Male - Flying
Mutation 1: Serrated teeth - Offensive
Skills: Intermediate Fighter & Beginner Hunter
Specialty: N/A

Walk | "Talk" | think

As they prepared, Artorias had watched the other children to gauge their reactions. The fight was a free-for-all, but the moment he saw Avantika turn wordlessly towards him he knew this wasn't shaping up to be a melee and more like a 2-vs-1. His suspicions were confirmed when Tika sprung towards him, teeth going for the crook of his neck. Artorias had been watching her though and turned his body so the blade of his sword guarded the section of his neck and shoulder she was going for, deflecting her bite with ease. Unfortunately, that left his right side vulnerable, something the bigger Adravendi boy was more than happy to take advantage of. Ezra managed to sneak a nip to his ribs, those serrated teeth grazing skin and alerting Artorias to the boy's presence. As it turned out, Art had been practicing transitioning from defense to offense, and as soon as he had stopped Avantika's attack, he used the momentum of his move to bring the sword toward Ezra in the same instant the boy nipped at him. Ezra was big, and he made for a much easier and slower target. He couldn't get Tika before she jumped away, but he could still get Ezra.

Once his strike was made, hit or miss, Artorias shifted into an offensive stance, body tensed and ready to leap and dodge, eyes focused on Ezra but keeping his sword turned toward Tika. If she came at him fast, he could counter easy enough. Artorias lunged after the boy when he tried to pull back, pushing the assault. He weaved his paw with deft paws to Ezra's left—then kicked off the ground to feign and dive to the right. He turned with the movement of his paws, bringing his sword to bear towards Ezra's neck, targeting the largest part of his opponent and the easiest mark to hit. If he was going to win this fight, he was going to have to keep moving and use his sword to keep them at bay until he found any openings to exploit.

Up above, Corbin huffed at Aquila's attempts to block him, zipping and diving past the larger bird. ”Oh, you want to go, mate? Well I'm happy to oblige!" he quipped before folding his wings to his body and diving down through the sky like a missile, extending his wings as he neared the ground to burst into a graceful and speedy glide across the battlefield. He knew he was faster than both other birds, and he was going to use that to his advantage to take them on a wild chase if they dared interfere with him helping his little master.

Artorias Carpathius vs Avantika Carpathius vs Ezra Adravendi for Melee Spar
Round 1/2
Age: Under 1 year
Size: Extra large
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Wooden sword
Defensive Battle Accessory: Leather harness armor
Companion 1: Common raven, Male - Flying
Skills: Expert Fighter & Advanced Navigator
Specialty: N/A

"Speech" | Thoughts | ”Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

Luckily, Ezra seemed to have made the same decision as Avantika had, choosing to stay on her side. Of course, this was still just a temporary alliance. She'd have no qualms about breaking that alliance if she could, and she hoped for the boy's sake that he didn't either. It was still a free-for-all. If (and that was still a pretty big if) they bested Artorias, who else would they have to beat next but each other? It just made sense. When Avantika tried to nip at Art's neck, she found the guarding strength of his sword stopping her, and simply moved back as she'd planned. She would attack again. Artorias's sword was turned towards her for a second or two, keeping her back, but an opportunity came when he was attacking Ezra. His sword was to the other boy now, not her. She'd attempt to move swiftly in from his back-side while he was distracted and nip his tail before dashing back again. She had to stay out of the range of that sword. Above, Kaata couldn't resist throwing herself into the bickering of the other birds. She should have known that she was slower than Corbin, but... She dove after him anyway. It was entirely for fun for her, just a little friendly game of tag between companions. Once she realized that she wasn't going to catch up no matter how hard she tried, she turned to the large eagle, chirping something to the effect of: "You're it, chase me!". She then flapped her wings furiously to make a getaway, going as fast as she could. Avantika Carpathius vs Artorias Carpathius vs Ezra Adravendi for Spar Round 2/2 Age: Over 1 year Size: Large Build: Medium Companion 1: Sharp-shinned hawk, Female - Flying Skills: Novice Fighter & Intermediate Intellectual Specialty: N/A "Avantika to Kaata telepathy" "Kaata to Avantika telepathy" "speech"

Ezra was excited when he successfully reached Artorias' side with his light nip, but that excitement was short lived as his opponent ducked and dodged till he was swinging his sword toward him. Ezra tried to hop out of the way and almost succeeded in ducking out of the way of the weapon, but fell just short and ended up getting a good wack on the spot between the top of his neck and shoulder. He winced and finished getting out of the way so he could reset his stance, waiting for Tika to draw his attention before he dove in again.

Over head, the three avians continued to swoop and dart around each other, Aquila throughly amused with ruffling the raven's feathers. He didn't attempt to follow Corbin toward the ground, instead happy to have some more space freed up in the sky. Shortly afterward though, the hawk that had come with the girl of the group got his attention and then took off in an obvious game of chase that he just couldn't pass up. He chittered and screeched excitedly as he took off after his fellow bird companion with a few hard flaps of his wings.

Ezra ducked out of range of Artorias' weapon until Tika had a chance to go for his tail and as soon as Artorias made a turn toward her he leapt in, attempting to throw his shoulder into the smaller boy's side in an attempt to knock him down. He kept his face turned away from Artorias' though just in case he didn't get out of the way in time to avoid another swing of his sword. If he did get hit at least it'd just be on his side or hip - nothing that couldn't withstand a bruise or two.

Ezra Fortis Adravendi vs Artorias Carpathius vs Avantika Carpathius
Round 1/2
Age: Under 1 year
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Companion 1: Black-and-chesnut eagle, Male - Flying
Mutation 1: Serrated teeth - Offensive
Skills: Intermediate Fighter & Beginner Hunter
Specialty: N/A

Walk | "Talk" | think

Artorias was having much more difficulty managing taking on two opponents at once than he expected. While he felt confident when facing off against one of them, having to keep his eye on a second opponent circling around behind him became a major challenge—a challenge that ended up with a sharp nip coming at the tip of his tail. Art yipped in surprise and spun on his heels, bringing his sword around in the swing and aiming for Avantika's side, hoping to score a sweeping strike before she could back away enough to avoid his sword. While Tika was making an annoyance of herself, Ezra was the real threat in the fight here. The boy might not have had much proper fighting training, but he was the biggest of the two.

Not wasting a moment's time, Artorias turned back to face off with Ezra—only to see the big brown boy throwing himself toward him. Artorias braced his paws on the ground, taking the brunt of Ezra's charge but not going down, pushing back against Ezra's force and weight with his own. Grunting and growling, Artorias turned his head just enough to try and slip his sword between Ezra's front paws, aiming to hook the wooden blade behind his legs and jerk it out to trip toe boy up enough to get him to the ground and maybe get him in a pin too to end the fight as quick as he could and maybe get at least one opponent out of the fight. Two on one was not an ideal situation; he would have to start incorporating multi-foe training into his regiments and strategies.

Artorias Carpathius vs Avantika Carpathius vs Ezra Adravendi for Melee Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Under 1 year
Size: Extra large
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Wooden sword
Defensive Battle Accessory: Leather harness armor
Companion 1: Common raven, Male - Flying
Skills: Expert Fighter & Advanced Navigator
Specialty: N/A

"Speech" | Thoughts | ”Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

And the winner is...

ARTORIAS

Avantika & Ezra must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Avantika: Rolls: 68, 5, 29, 14 Adjusted rolls: 71.4, 5.25, 29, 16.8 Total: 122.45 Ezra: Rolls: 99, 41, 13, 3 Adjusted rolls: 123.75, 41, 13, 3.3 Total: 172.00 Artorias: Rolls: 81, 41, 94, 63 Adjusted rolls: 93.15, 47.15, 108.1, 69.3 Total: 333.59