Calypso was on a high of sheer excitement, having not only met a new friend in Halo, but having been rescued from certain death in the tall grasses to the west. Though her new friend had taught her to navigate by the sun so she would not get lost again, Callie now respected the grasses for their towering height. She moved east into the along the ocean shores and gave the maze of green a wide berth.

The faintly familiar color of purple flashed by in the distance and Callie leaped up onto a rocky ledge to better see. She knew little of her aunts and uncles, though while the pack was dragged under by sickness their appearances had been explained late at night in the den. Family was forever or something like that, and it was enough that the brightly colored and faintly glowing pup was confident as hell to gallop herself into Aris' space with a good natured demand.

"Aunt Aris!" She called out, skidding her paws along the sand in a failed attempt to look smooth in her halt. "You're small, like me! Can you fight? Can you show me how to beat the bigger wolves? Can we do it right now?" The pup's glow intensified, pulsing more rapidly as her heartrate kicked faster from excitement. So far she'd met no one who'd turned down a friendly spar, so it didn't even cross her mind that Aris rejecting her would be a possibility.

"Speech"

Aris had taken to lurking as far away from Sedna's den as she possibly could to put off her required two hours of servanthood a day for as long as possible. Since that meant hanging around the sandy plain near the water it wasn't a hardship, since that's where all the sparring rings and stuff were. It wasn't as much fun as actually sparring against another wolf, but Tansy had sourly agreed to spar with her and - since Tansy had claws too - she'd had a more similar style of fighting than a larger wolf without claws so it had been interesting.

It was during a break, just after she'd taken a swim to cool off and had just finished shaking salty water from her fur, that she was startled to within an inch of her life by a brightly colored gremlin suddenly sliding in screeching her name. "AH! I mean, uh, yes, that's me, probably." She couldn't imagine a kid who wasn't related to her showing up in Armada so "Aunt Aris" it must be then which was.... well it was fucking weird is what it was. "Ari. No aunt bullshit. Just Ari," she told the hyperactive glowbug firmly. Aunts were like... old. Like Iolaire. No fucking thanks.

She did side eye the little rodent at the "small like me" which was... well it was bullshit too. Small. But she let that one slide, because... well just because. It was technically factual. She flashed her teeth at the girl in a wide grin, instead. "Grasshopper, I am so down for teaching you to fight bigger guys, because you know they deserve to get knocked down a peg. Why don't you show me what you know first and I'll give you pointers?"

She wasn't expecting much... the Azure kids were like... infants right? She was surprised to find out that they could even walk and talk let alone fight. It would be just like playing with the kid and that was a good thing to do with kids, right? She'd be careful. Moving into a fighting stance, she made a 'come at me' gesture towards the kid.

Her aunt gave her no argument to her demand - well, aside from insisting she wasn't an aunt, which, Calypso thought was weird but she could accept it - and jumped straight into it. Calypso tapped her forepaws upon the sand in excitement, listening intently as Ari agreed that the bigger guys needed to get knocked down. Basilisk was huge and she knew he'd always be bigger than her - while Callie would one day grow to tower over other wolves, she could always utilize the small wolf tricks on her brother, the favorite.

Her excited tapping slowed as Aris asked what she'd so far been taught, her ears pulling back in a meek show of shame. "I, uh, really haven't learned much." The pup admitted softly. "Mom still won't leave the den and Dad focuses all his time on my brother. Grandpa was busy being healthy while everyone else was sick. I just kind of fight people, bite and kick and claw." Her paw lifted, coming down in a cat-clawing motion to swipe her elongated claws through the air. "I'm sure Dad will have time for me soon, or maybe Mom will make him when she comes outside again. Maybe she doesn't like the sun?" Having been born in a practically-eternal night, Calypso wasn't sure whether she liked the sun or not either. She certainly wouldn't blame her mother if the bright burning ball in the sky was just too much for her.

"Speech"

The pup's excitement dimmed noticeably when Aris asked her to show what she knew so far, and Aris hesitated. She definitely didn't know how to deal with kids so if the kid started to cry she was definitely going to ditch and go throw herself back in the ocean...

But no thank fuck, the kid didn't start to cry. It was a little disconcerting actually because it was like talking to herself and it made Aris want to hug the little cinnamon bun close and squish her little fuzzy cheeks and never ever let anyone hurt that sweet summer child ever which was definitely a new feeling. It also made Aris furious enough to want to go kick her larger, older brother's ass because he was doing to this little squish exactly what she herself had been complaining about to him which meant that he had completely ignored her which was some serious bullshit. Somehow none of the parents in their family had figured out yet how to not play favorites. And no one had thought to kick Hanako's spotty butt out of her den to take care of her kids??

Aris reached out and dragged the kid closer with a paw over her shoulder, squeezing her against Aris' side. "Hey, buck up, kid, that's what I'm here for, right? You and me, we'll make them see what they've been missing out on. We'll be the two best fighters in the pack by the time I'm done teaching you. Reaper and General, that'll be us. What d'you say, Grasshopper?"

Aris knew exactly what to say and Calypso's excitement grew once more with each promise her aunt made her. She hadn't previously given much thought to what rank she'd one day strive for - nothing past, best-fighter-ever, at least - but being the General to Aris' Reaper sounded wonderful and filled the small pup with hope. Though she'd been pushed aside in training for her bigger brother, Calypso did not hold a grudge. If she could come out of this as an adult on par with Basilisk's skill even without their father's carefully guiding paw, then that only spoke to how much greater her natural skill was.

She felt Ari's paw come around her shoulder, squishing herself into the one-armed embrace with a small, pleased wiggle. "Oh, I can't wait!" Callie's glow grew stronger, her eager anticipation clearly visible. Aris had said they could start now, and from what little she knew Calypso understood that the element of surprise was vital to success... Her grin widened, her tail thumping hard against Aris's side as the brilliant plan sprung to the forefront of her mind.

"Ready, set, go!" Calypso's words ran into each other, leaving little room for understanding before she turned her head and aimed a bite down upon the toes that rested on her shoulder. Simultaneously she pushed off with her rear legs in an attempt to spin herself around to face her aunt, then threw at her surprise opponent all the puppy weight she could manage to try and bowl her over.

Calypso vs Aris for Spar
Round 1/?
Age: under 6 months
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Mutation 1: Bear Claws - Offensive
Mutation 2: Saber Teeth - Offensive
Mutation 3: Bone Spurs - Defensive
Skills: Beginner Fighter & Intermediate Navigator

"Speech"

The pup seemed eager for the idea of taking two of the highest ranks with her, and Aris was smug as hell for thinking about it. That had to make her the best aunt ever, right? Taking her brother's offspring under her metaphorical wing, guiding her into being the almost-but-not-quite-as-good-as-Aris best in the pack. Hell, if Aris had had an aunt as cool as her, she could have been Reaper already and Asla never would have had a chance to get it. She could have even been -

The run-together gibberish of readysetgo!!!!!!!!! hadn't even had time to register before the little rodent turned and chomped on Aris' paw and then slammed into her. "Ahhhhh fuck shit donkey balls," she yelped, further proving the point of her being the best aunt ever, and instinctively pulled on her bitten paw towards her chest, which, since the little weasel's jaw and like... body... were in the way, might be a bit of a problem for the pup, as the motion could jerk Callie's head down towards her chest. Already falling, Aris gave up on the whole 'staying on her feet' idea and instead twisted as she fell to use her free foreleg to try to wrap around the pup and drag her back against Aris' chest and pull her down with her, simultaneously reaching forward with her jaws to try to chomp on Callie's ear. She wasn't... trying to bite it off or anything, just give her a nasty pinch on it for chomping Aris' paw.


Aris vs Calypso for Spar
Round 1/2
Age: over 1 year
Size: Small
Build: Light
Mutation 1: Oversized canines - Offensive
Mutation 2: Cat claws - Offensive
Mutation 3: Spine bristles - Defensive
Skills: Advanced Healer & Advanced Fighter

Calypso was not any more focused then the average pup her age, and succeeding in finding her teeth between Aris' toes all other strategy went swiftly out the window. Her heart raced in excitement, her lips pulling in a wide grin of victory before suddenly her head was being yanked the wrong way, her upper body being pulled along with her falling Aunt, and her wide paws finding themselves poor at maintaining her quickly departing balance.

She collapsed forward onto Aris' chest with a soft yip of surprise, her teeth leaving the paw as she did so. There was a sharp pain upon her ear and instinctively (and stupidly) Calypso jerked her head from the teeth, earning another yelp as her ear stretched to it's limit. Unable to think through the panic, the fiery pup lifted a paw and began swatting it towards Aris' muzzle desperately. Careful, well thought out moved were a lot harder in the heat of battle, she realized.

Calypso vs Aris for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: under 6 months
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Mutation 1: Bear Claws - Offensive
Mutation 2: Saber Teeth - Offensive
Mutation 3: Bone Spurs - Defensive
Skills: Beginner Fighter & Intermediate Navigator

"Speech"

The pup landed with a thump on her chest and began swatting at Aris' face with those mini bear claws she bore. While not as sharp as the cat claws Aris herself had they were still much longer than normal wolf claws, and Aris yipped and spat a bit of blood when one managed to stab her in the gums. Seeking to wrap her forepaws around the girl to trap her against her chest, Aris alligator rolled to try to bring the pup under her and pin her to the ground and squash her there, all the while aiming tiny pinchy nips for any part of Callie she could reach - ears, nose, flailing paws.

Aris vs Calypso for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: over 1 year
Size: Small
Build: Light
Mutation 1: Oversized canines - Offensive
Mutation 2: Cat claws - Offensive
Mutation 3: Spine bristles - Defensive
Skills: Advanced Healer & Advanced Fighter

And the winner is...

Aris

Calypso must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Calypso Attack Roll: 47 Defense Roll: 86 Agility Roll: 43 Perception Roll: 41 Total: 217 Attack[47] + 30% Bonus[14.10]: 61.10 Defense[86] + 10% Bonus[8.60]: 94.60 Agility[43] + 10% Bonus[4.30]: 47.30 Perception[41] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 41.00 Total[244.00] + -30% Bonus[-73.20]: 170.80 Aris: Attack Roll: 65 Defense Roll: 11 Agility Roll: 37 Perception Roll: 27 Total: 140 Attack[65] + 15% Bonus[9.75]: 74.75 Defense[11] + 25% Bonus[2.75]: 13.75 Agility[37] + 10% Bonus[3.70]: 40.70 Perception[27] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 27.00 Total[156.20] + 15% Bonus[23.43]: 179.63