He hadn't known what to expect when it came to what interests their pups would have, but as they started to grow and show their curiosities for certain things, they all seemed to at least have a interest in learning how to fight which of course made him very happy. He would have been excited for whatever they had decided to direct their energy toward, but it was important to him that they at the very least knew how to protect themselves and each other so at least it was something that they would enjoy learning and something that they could all work on together. He and his siblings had become so distant and fragmented and that was something he didn't want to happen to them. He tried to include them all in lessons together as much as possible just as much as he tried to spend one on one time with each of them.

It was a lovely day out, fairly warm but with a nice breeze coming off of the ocean and a nice bit of cloud cover which made for the perfect back drop for some training. He fixed them up a nice, clear area on the beach near the palace with Viridis' and Procella's help, building up a little training course of sorts—complete with pup sized training training dummies. Perhaps he was enjoying crafting and building things for his children a bit too much, but he was having a good time and nothing was too good for his sons and daughters. He called for them once everything was ready and he settled back on his haunches to wait for them, his snow leopard companions settling off to the side in some shade to watch with curiosity.

Plague | Viridis | Procella

Since venturing outside the palace for the first time, Stolas had become obsessed with exploring and understanding the world around him. He wanted to see everything for himself, up close and personal, and understand how it was and why it was. His inquisitive mind had him down by the beach on the sunny summer day, flipping over hermit crabs and watching them curl up into their shells before flailing about to try to right themselves again. It was all terribly fascinating to his young mind and the more he explored and learned, the more he thirsted for!

The young pup's playful antics were interrupted by his father's call further down the beach, causing little red and black stellar ears to prick atop his head. Flipping his most recent crustaceous victim back over so it could scurry off, Stolas hopped to his paws and pranced down the shore until he spotted the giant that was his sire and... some sort of training course? Graphite eyes widened in wonder as he came bouncing up to his father, nudging his ankles with his forehead in a greeting nuzzle. "Good afternoon, father!" he greeted Plague, looking at the training course and the combat dummies. "Is this all for us to play with?" There was excitement and enthusiasm in the young boy's voice, his tiny tail waving across the sand while he eyed the obstacles laid out before him.

The warm day is prefect for exploring and that is exactly what Seere is doing. Nose twitches as the small pup scents the air, trying to find some strange new creature to inspect. Usually the girl plays along the beach but today, the foliage a little further inland has grabbed her attention. Birds chirp and animals scamper around in the bushes while a short, monochrome form stalks them. Ears move as she listens to all the calls and songs, while her eyes try to pick out every little detail. Seere really likes this area, the shade offered by the tall bushes seems to have drawn all sorts of fascinating things.

Plague’s voice reaches the hiding girl and her head shoots up, spooking some nearby birds. Quickly, she moves out into the sunlight, giving her coat a good shake to rid it of any burrs or things before loping off toward the beach. Her father’s giant frame appears and the monochrome girl also spies Stolas’s black and red form. With a huge smile on her lips, the happy girl slows as she approaches them, walking over to Plague first to give one of his ankles a hug. Tipping her skull back, mismatched eyes look up to his face as she says, “Hi dad! What’s all this?”

Detaching her small body from his ankle, Seere moves to Stolas next, giving her brother a friendly head bump to his shoulder before moving to get a better look at the things that are laid out. Duel-toned eyes roam over the obstacle course before falling on the dummies and a huge grin appears as she points them out to Stolas. Excited voice says, “Look Stolas! They’re our size!” Tail wagging happily as she looks back to her brother and father.


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

Sitri loped away from the palace to head down to the beach after his father called for him and his siblings, grinning when he spotted him there along with Stolas and Seere. At least he wasn’t the last one to get there! He probably would have been there sooner, but he had gone to take a early noon nap and was just too cozy in the pile of furs in the palace’s main chamber to want to get up right away. He certainly wasn’t going to ignore his father though so down to the beach he went!

He went over to where Stolas and Seere were waiting for the rest of them and wiggled his way between them, forcing his siblings to let him sit between them. He gave them both a cheeky grin before looking up at their father eagerly to see what he had planned, his tail giving the sand behind them the same treatment as his siblings.

"Sitri Abraxas-Destruction"

Watching his own children learn and grow and become real little wolves was an incredible experience he wouldn’t trade for the world. It made him wonder and ache about why and how he hadn’t ever really had both parents in his life. He never knew his own father and Eulogy was only present for a portion of his life. Plague had cemented his place in his life. Together forever, and somehow they had been given the precious gift of children. Seeing Plague as a father was the most endearing thing he’d experienced with his husband yet. The way he lit up and cared for them.. He hadn’t thought he could love him more but here they were, his heart swelling.

Void followed after their children as Plague called them out to the training grounds. He grinned as he saw the man, and swooned as their children greeted their father. At one time Void hadn’t felt much of anything, now he was filled with a deep indescribable love he never wanted to end. He lowered himself to his haunches as his dark brows raised in curiosity about just what Plague had planned.

"Void Abraxas-Destruction"

Saia was curled up with their mother when Plague had called for them, probably blending in so much that Sitri hadn't even known she was in there. As her brother left the royal chambers, her head popped up and watched before she slowly woke her stiff legs and followed after him.

She was a little bummed to be the last one but... She supposed that's what she got for being so lazy. She didn't really offer any physical greetings as some of her siblings had, instead just smiling as she looked at each one and found her place among them before looking at their fathers. She only glanced over the setup that Plague had created, but her full attention was on him.

"Saia"

Plague didn't have to wait long for his family to appear, Stolas very quickly coming to greet him and question him on if this was all for them to play with. He chuckled and leaned down to nuzzle the top of his son's head. Something like that!" he agreed, giving the boy a grin. He always encouraged his children to have fun with their training so if he viewed it as playing then he felt like he was doing something right. Seere appeared shortly after, his pretty, marbled girl as excited as ever as she ran up to hug his leg. He quickly gave her a kiss between the ears as she greeted him, questioning him as well. He laughed lightly and nudged her to go join her brother, telling her, "You'll see soon enough!" A few moments later Sitri and Saia rounded out their group along with his husband and he got up to nuzzle both of their remaining children as well as give Void a light kiss, giving his sweet man a grin before turning his attention back to their little students.

"I've set up a bit of a training course for you four," he explained as he motioned with his paw for the pups to follow as he lead them over to the area he had set up. There was a pup-sized training dummy for each of them along with an obstacle course with a series of pegs stuck in the sand for them to weave in and out of, a ramp that was covered in adhered stones for climbing, and at the end of the ramp a pit dug into the sand and filled balls made of rolled up pieces of fur pelts that had been tied into ball-like shapes with twine. It wasn't a long drop, but it was a tall enough to still feel like a pretty big jump for such small pups. It was all to help them build agility and dexterity while still having fun at the same time. "You're going to run through the course and then at the end jump out of the pit and jump into a fighting stance to take on your opponent at the end," he told them, pointing to the dummies standing at the very end of the track. "Any questions?"

"Plague Abraxas-Destruction"

The pups were curious and excited and Void couldn’t blame them. Living life through their eyes was an incredible experience. They were so much more joy filled and innocent than he nad his siblings had been. Void never knew his own father, and his mother was absent at best. Not that he blamed her, Eulogy had been through so much… He couldn’t imagine that for his own children. It would take a team of wild horses to pull him away from his family. He didn’t know how his father or mother could so easily walk away. It was no wonder he and his siblings had their issues.

He was given a sweet kiss from Plague before they began, affection given to each child as well before his husband began. Void chuckled a little as their father explained the obstacle course he had ready for them. He couldn’t deny he was eager to watch the exuberant puppies race through. He didn’t know about the kids, but Void was excited.

"Void Abraxas-Destruction"

Seere giggles as Plague kisses her between the ears before shooing her over to join Stolas. As she settles next to her brother, Sitri shows up to wiggle his way between them. The monochrome pup playfully pats at her brother’s nose, giving a giggle before moving to give Sitri room to sit. Void shows up next and Seere waves enthusiastically at him, before Saia grabs her attention. She offers her sister a huge smile before once more, turning her attention to Plague. Dad doesn’t make them wait long and, as he explains the course, the pup’s mismatched eyes take in the obstacles. Run through the course? She can do that. Jump out of the pit, check. Dad turns it over to questions and Seere shakes her head showing she does not have questions.

The monochrome pup moves the starting spot, turning to call out to Void, “Dada watch me! Watch me!” Tail wags furiously as she moves to the start of the obstacle course, stopping to hunker down and narrow her eyes. Suddenly, she shoots forward, racing toward the pegs that stick out of the sand. When she reaches the first peg, Seere zigs when she means to zag and ends up tumbling head over heels to the side. Giving a small, “Oof” the pup quickly rights herself and runs back to the starting spot, ready to try again. Again, the pup races forward, slowing when she reaches the pegs so as not to topple over again.

Weight shifts from side to side as she weaves through the poles, not as smoothly as she would like but at least she doesn’t knock them down! Next comes the ramp and Seere leaps onto it, working to climb up to the apex. She pauses a moment at the top, giving a triumphant look to her Dada (small tail wagging furiously) before descending the ramp. The momentum from the descent sends Seere tumbling into the pit with the leather balls and the monochrome pup has to pick herself up, again. Now, to get out of the pit. Taking a running leap at the wall has her front half making it but the weight of caboose drags her back down. Huffing loudly, she circles once in the pit and takes another running leap at the wall.

As she nears the point she wants to jump from, a ball suddenly trips her up and Seere grumbles as she has to try again. Third time is the charm as she manages to jump out of pit and moves into her fighting stance to face the training dummy. Scrunching her scruff, dropping her center of gravity while narrowing her eyes and pinning her ears back. Seere is huffing slightly as she pulls her lips back to bare her teeth, a tiny puppy growl emanating from her mouth. Not the best run but she will do better next time!


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

Stolas smiled and gave a happy little giggle when his father nuzzled him between his ears. Seere showed up next, the boy smiling to his tiny sister, followed by the rest of his siblings. Eager to hear what their parents had arranged for them, Stolas looked between Plague, Void, and Rava, his tail wagging behind him on the soft golden sands. Plague was quick to explain what he had summoned them all for: an obstacle course to train! Plague explained the rules of the course: run the length of it, then engage the targets at the end. Stolas nodded his head; seemed simple enough! "No, sir," he replied when asked if there were any questions. When no one else said anything and their father gave them the green light to begin, Seere was the first one to take off into the course. Being the level-headed and logical boy he was, Stolas sat back and watched while his sister took an attempt at it, studying where she stumbled and fell and how she progressed.

Once he felt he'd seen enough, Stolas sprung into action. The lad steeled his gaze and rushed forward, trying to weave nimbly through the pegs set up. He slalomed through many of them thanks to his long legs and lanky body, but occasionally he bumped a couple with his chunky puppy sides as he went. Not enough to knock them over, thankfully, but definitely rattling them in the sand. Growling with frustration at himself, Stolas ran for the ramp next, leaping onto it to get a head start while his paws scrabbled for the stone grappling points. He secured his hold, then began to hoist himself up and up, his hind paws slipping as he neared the top and threatening to send the pup tumbling down again. But Stolas grunted and held on, letting his body swing for a moment before he caught his footing and finished the climb to the top. Though not very high, the Abraxas prince still felt the height, and when he peered down into the ball pit, he felt a nervous clench of his stomach.

For a moment, Stolas hesitated at the top of the ramp. He peered down at the pit, then back the way he came. No! There was no chickening out now! Steeling his nerves with a deep breath, he threw himself forward. Stolas was airborne—at least for all of two seconds before he plummeted into the pit, knocking a few of the balls out with his weight. He scrambled his way back out and lunged into the fight ring, puppy teeth bared in a vicious growl as he rushed the nearest target. Stolas threw himself at the dummy—actually legitimately threw himself at it—and used his size and weight to knock it fully over and out of the sand, snapping the stick holding it up while he began to savage its face and neck with his little needly puppy fangs.

"Stolas Abraxas-Destruction"

Sitri listened to their father's instructions as he explained the course he had prepared and what they were going to do with it and when asked if they had any questions he was quick to shake his head no, immediately jumping to his paws to get started. He was just about to run forward and start them off, but Seere beat him to the punch and got to the pegs before he did. He huffed a bit and sat back down on his butt, deciding fair was fair for her and Stolas to go first since they got here first anyway. He watched her go, taking note of how she struggled a bit up the rocky ramp and then watched Stolas go, seeing him have the same kind of issue. He hummed while he watched them, taking notes, and as soon as Stolas was on the other side of the ramp Sitri got up to take his turn.

The poles weren't too hard, weaving back and forth between them, though he did nudge the last couple of them out of place in his hurry to get to the ramp. Instead of taking a running leap like Stolas did, he instead focused on the rocks that were there for them to climb and did smaller jumps to get from rock to rock. It took him longer to get up the ramp, going slow and stead as he got a better footing on the rocks than his siblings had. When he got to the top of the ramp he looked down at the padded landing spot below and grinned as he hopped down with a "Weeee!", landing in the pile of balls and kicking some up around him. He jumped out of the pit and leaped for one of the dummies waiting for him, wrapping his forelegs around it and dangling off of it with a giggle—forgetting the whole "landing in a fighting stance" portion of their instructions.

"Sitri Abraxas-Destruction"

Plague explained the course he had set up, and Saia stared at it with a squint inspecting each area or at least from as far away as she was from each part of it. It was like she was running the course through her head before she would actually start, was that a good thing? As Plague asked if there were any questions, she simply turned her head to see if any of her siblings had questions before shaking her own head gently to mention she didn't.

Seere took off eagerly, Saia took a step forward as if they were all about to race but her head turned to look at Stolas who was standing back to observe what would happen first. Sitri didn't look too thrilled that Seere jumped the gun, she was really on neither side of those two, she'd just wait her turn. With a small smile she looked out at Seere as she bumped and tripped at the weaving pegs, chuckling quietly to herself.  Stolas made quite the show as his pegs swayed and rumbled as his body ran into a number of them. Sitri went off too, without much struggle through the first part of their course.

Saia bolted forward just as her brother made it to the wall, the course she had run through her head what felt like a hundred times but when she got to that first peg she ended up nearly stopping in a slide in front of it. She didn't stop and stare though, instead weaving slowly in and out until she had the hang of it and made it through the rest of the length of the pegs pretty well. She made it to the wall, one of her paws placing on the stones to help with the climb before she found her footing and was able to make it to the top, of course not so quickly. Only when she made it to the top, she didn't stop to look down as her siblings did. Instead she reached the top of the wall and immediately jumped up and over into the pit with a loud, and maybe alarming thud onto the padded bottom. Good thing Plague thought ahead. If there was any worry, it would have been washed away as she popped back up on her feet inside the pit, her back paws scrambling under her as she made it out. Finally facing her dummy, her head lowered and her tail aligned straight out with her spine as she side stepped around the dummy. She stopped to looked back at her siblings and fathers with a bit of a pant. She may have been a little more serious than most pups, but she couldn't deny that was pretty fun.

"Saia"

Plague stood back and watched all of the pups work their way through the obstacle course with Void, leaning into his husband's side with a wistful grin. A couple of times he had to fight the urge to run over and help them or adjust something to make sure they didn't hurt themselves, but he knew he wanted them to really have a go at it on their own. He knew they could do it and he had purposefully put together something that would be safe for them so he knew there was very little risk of their pups getting hurt, especially when they were still young and bouncy like they were now. It was so mind-blowing to him as he watched them figure it out in their own ways, finding the ways that worked best for them and learning from one another as they made their way through it to the ball pit at the other end. To think that he, Void, and Rava had made such perfect, smart, strong pups and that they were growing so very quickly... It astounded him in every way imaginable.

As they all made it to the other side and more or less followed his instructions for when they got to the training dummy, he chuckled and walked over to the end of the course to join them, bringing Void along as well. "Good job, my little warriors," he said affectionately. He went around to each of them, correcting a couple little things about their stances, but he knew they were still pups and their positioning would need to change anyway as they continued to grow and their full heights revealed themselves so he wasn't too strict on it. "Why don't you pretend to fight your opponents here for a little bit longer and the two of us can give you some pointers as you go," he told them with a glance toward Void, waving them on as he watched two of them and Void watched the others. The course was enough of a workout for such young pups so he wasn't going to do much more today, but since they were here they might as well take advantage of it.

"Plague Abraxas-Destruction"

Sitri looked up from where he was still wrestling with his training dummy when both of their dads came over to where they were at the end of the course, grinning happily at the praise they received. He always liked their dad's lessons because he always had a way to make them fun and this was no exception. Jumping from the climbing wall had been exciting and he kind of wanted to do it again, but he didn't really want to go through all of the trouble of climbing those rocks again. Maybe he'd do it tomorrow if the obstacle course was still here! "Okay!" he agreed easily as their dad told them to keep fighting with their dummies, jumping to his paws to get into an actual stance this time around before leaping at his pretend opponent and showing off all of the fighting tips he remembered from all the lessons they had worked on.

"Sitri Abraxas-Destruction"

Seere keeps her attack stance right up until her dads come over. When they approach, the pup stands and wags her tail to them in greeting. Seeing how happy they are, makes the small pup happy too, and she smiles brightly at them. Plague helps her adjust her stance a bit and she pays close attention to everything that she is told. When they are released to fight their dummies, Seere gives a happy bark and turns her attention to her opponent.

Eyes narrows as she sizes it up. This thing is going down. Suddenly she sprints forward, leaping up to wrap her forelegs around the dummy’s neck, happy yips follow her the whole way. With a mighty (tiny) growl, she latches her teeth on the target’s ear. Tail wags happily as she noms on the pointy ear, small body hopping and wiggling to keep her grip on its neck. Puppy growls fill the air as she works to chew off this dummy’s ear.

"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

From his position on top of the downed dummy, Stolas savaged the sandbag body and face with his tiny needle-like puppy fangs and claws. It wasn't the cleanest by far, but he certainly had the spunk and fire in his heart of a warrior! As he ripped and tugged at the dummy, he felt Plague gently nudging his body into a more stable stance, looking up at his father with a smile and wagging tail as he panted for breath, wearing himself out in his enthusiasm. "Yes, sir, Father!" he replied, then immediately turned a snarl back to his downed foe and continued to rip away at it until he managed to tear through the burlap bags and spill the sand from within back out onto the beach. "Aha! Another foe defeated by the Abraxas family!" he declared triumphantly, then proceeded to gnaw on one of its stick limbs to aid his growing teeth.

"Stolas Abraxas-Destruction"

Saia's tail wagged slightly as Plague praised them for their efforts but she didn't say anything after he told them to continue on with their mock battles. She looked over at her siblings for a few seconds, she would have much rather been sparing them than a dummy. But she wouldn't speak out or pick a fight. Instead aiming her bites around the shoulders and neck or at least what she imagined being so of her dummy. She didn't fight with it long though, she was much more toned down than her siblings it seemed. It wouldn't bother her though. After a few imaginative attacks on the dummy she'd back away to watch as her siblings continued their own training.

"Saia"