The days have grown colder as the chill of autumn has given way to winter. Seere lays on the beach near the lapping water’s edge, head laying on top of her paws as mismatched eyes look out over the sea. Her siblings are growing taller with each passing day and, while she is growing too, she is not as tall. A sad sigh rolls past her lips as the monochrome pup shifts her weight, settling onto her hip. Stolas was the tallest of the group and the most regal while Sitri is slightly shorter but a great fighter. Saia, her dear sister, is shorter the Sitri but her sharp eye and keen intellect have proven that she will be a mighty healer. And what about her? Usually her shorter stature doesn’t bother Seere but, when she been rough housing earlier with some bigger, older wolves, they had laughed every time she tried to attack them.

It had stung the pup’s heart and their mocking words still bounce around in her mind. All she has ever wanted to do is be a great warrior like her dad. But… if she will never be as tall as him… how can she hope to be a good fighter? A small tear slips down her cheek to land on her paw. What if she couldn’t be the one thing she felt she was born to be? What will she be then? Seere is lost thought as she stares out at the softly rolling waves before her.


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

It seemed that no matter what happened or what was going on the days just kept rolling forward and life continued on. The fallout after Hattori's sudden departure had settled for the time being and he was able to give more of his focus and attention back to his own family again. His pups were growing so quickly and he wished there was a way to freeze time and keep them these young, fun loving, innocent pups forever. He was enjoying training with them and preparing them for the real world they were undoubtedly going to have to face, but at the same time he wished he could just live this wonderful life with them every day till the end of time. It did make him wonder what he, Void, and Rava would do once their whole lives were no longer revolving around these perfect children they created, but that was a thought he continued to put to the back of his mind to wonder about later.

As he was walking around the island, he found Stolas and Sitri getting into trouble as usual and eventually found Saia at Rava's side, learning from her mother, but he hadn't found his little Seere just yet and now he was on the hunt for her. It took him a little bit, but he did eventually find her speckled, monochrome form on the beach, laying near the lapping water. He smiled and started to walk toward her, but his smile faltered when he saw her distraught expression. His brow creased with concern and he came over to join her, quietly settling on the sand beside her and slipping a paw around her shoulders, gently pulling her smaller frame into his side. "What's going on, my little storm cloud?" he asked with a soft smile, bringing his other paw up to gently brush away a couple of tears he spotted on her cheek.

Plague Abraxas-Destruction

The monochrome pup is lost in her own thoughts when her father silently appears. She lifts her small head to look up at him as sadness brims in her mismatched eyes. Plague settles into the sand next to her and pulls the pup to him. Seere doesn’t fight it, instead choosing to settle in against him. His soft smile and nickname have the pup offering him her own, albeit smaller, smile and pulls a short chuckle from her. His huge paw gently brushes the tears from her cheeks and she takes a moment to lean into the soft touch, enjoying the safety and love she feels pressed into her father’s side. When he is done, Seere presses herself closer to Plague while diverting her eyes to away to whisper, “Dad, am I… a bad fighter?”

Seere feels the tears beginning to refill her eyes but the monochrome pup stubbornly swipes a paw at her eyes, not waiting to be any weaker then she already feels. Sighing, she looks up to her father and explains, “I was playing some other… bigger kids. They just kept laughing at me when I wanted to spar too! They, they… called me a runt and laughed at me. Said I would never be a good fighter.” Despair crosses her features even as the monochrome tries hard to not let the hurtful words tear her apart.


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

Plague held his little daughter, her teary eyes tugging at his heart. He loved being a father more than anything in the whole world, but sometimes it was more difficult than others. He never wanted his children to hurt or upset. He looked at her with confusion and concern when she questioned whether or not she was a bad fighter, frowning as he replied, “Of course not. Why would you think that?” She explained the encounter she had with some other kids that were larger than her and the taunting that they had given her which made his brow crease and his blood boil. Part of him wanted to ask her who these kids were and where he could find him, but he held his tongue. This wasn't his battle to fight and she wouldn't learn anything by him constantly defending her.

He sighed softly and leaned his head down, kissing her crown gently. "The harshest words always come from ones who are bitter and jealous," he assured her, slipping his other foreleg around her to pull her into a proper embrace. "How tall you are has no bearing on how good of a fighter you are. Your skill and your hard work are what separate the poor fighters from the true warriors and you have all of the tenacity and dedication it takes." Plague pulled his head back a bit to be able to find her gaze again, giving her a reassuring smile as he lifted a paw to gently wipe away any tears that might have made it to her cheek. "They can never have your speed or your agility and that will be your secret weapon."

Plague Abraxas-Destruction

The world seems like such a discouraging place especially in the eyes of sad, crestfallen pup. While the monochrome girl has always been happy and able to find the silver-lining in almost any situation, this one seems impossible to see. Seere has always known that she wants to be a great fighter just like her father and, while she may not be as tall as her siblings, the girl has always thought it possible. But now, after those kids with their hurtful, venom-filled words and knowing exactly how to inflect the most pain… well, the girl doubts herself. Watery eyes look up into her dad’s brilliant green gaze, her smaller frame moving closer to snuggle into him. No matter what happens, Seere has always felt safe in his strong arms. It feels as if the world could fall apart around them and somehow those arms would make everything right.

She asks about being a bad fighter and the confusion that fills his loving eyes has her mismatched gaze sliding away, ashamed of needing to know the answer. Slowly, she explains about the mean kids and the hurtful words they had gleefully spit at her with smiles and laughter. How they had called her a runt. As she talks, her mismatched eyes once more find her father’s face and emotions roll behind their depths. Doubt creeps into her mind, making her wonder if she is a mistake. She knows that she looks nothing like her siblings and she is the smallest of the group. Anguish ripples across her features and her chest constricts as a few tears slip free and trail down her cheeks.

Worry lodging in her gut, making her feel as if she has swallowed a rock. Suddenly, a soft sigh pulls the girl from her thoughts and the feel of gentle kiss placed with great care on top of her head had her world wobbling. Plague speaks, making Seere feel as if he is applying a healing balm on the open wounds of her heart and, when he slips his other leg around her, the monochrome pup scoots closer to him so she can bury her face into his soft fur. A few more tears slide free to dampen her father’s fur but she takes this moment to close her eyes and inhale his scent. It smells of home and love; of days spent in the sunshine and filled with laughter.

It helps to ground the emotional girl and, when he begins to speak about being a good fighter, Seere reopens her eyes and lifts her face from his fur and listening to him with new, brighter purpose blazing in her veins. She is going to prove those stinky kids wrong and become the best fighter they ever met! When her father pulls back to look at her, a fierce dedication can be found burning in her mismatched gaze and where there were once tears is a spark of courage to prove those kids and her own doubts wrong. As he lifts a large to wipe away the tears that linger in her fur, Seere leans into his touch, enjoying how gentle those great paws can be.

A loving smile pulls her lips up as she looks at her father, nodding firmly about her secret weapon as she says, “Oh yeah! I can be fast! Those mean kids couldn’t even catch me, they were so slow.” She giggles at the memory of how angry they had been when she had eluded them, slipping nimbly through cracks that they could not to fit though. Doubt makes a sudden reappearance as her ears fall flat against her skull and she questions, “But dad, if others are so much bigger then me… how am I supposed to bring them down?” Seere knows that pinning is how wolves win fights but if she is smaller and lighter than her opponent, how can she hope to make them crash to earth so she can claim victory?


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

Plague grinned as Seere started to perk up, that endless love and radiant joy that he always admired from her starting to peek back through the storm clouds of emotion as she looked up at him and giggled about the bullies not being able to catch her. "See? Exactly like that." He chuckled, playfully tapping her nose with one of his talons before he lowered it again, giving her another little squeeze. He sincerely hoped that the worst of the world she would ever have to see and experience was mean bullies that teased and picked on her, but he found a bit of comfort in knowing that if she did then he was at least able to teach her the path back to the brighter side of things now while she was still young. He was already well into his adulthood before he learned how to be true to himself and accept himself for what he was and he didn't want that for his children. They were perfect and wonderful exactly as they were and that was a lesson he taught them as often as he could.

He gave her a little tip of his head as she presented new doubts to him over how she could possibly bring a wolf down if she was smaller than them. It was a valid concern, but luckily for her she had a father that was a seasoned fighter that valued strategy above most things in his way of fighting. He grinned and replied, "Well, as a taller wolf myself, I'll tell you... The bigger the wolf, the harder they fall." He chuckled softly and added, "Be fast, stay out from under them, and build up your stamina and at some point you'll catch them making a mistake or leaving something unguarded that you can take advantage of. Maybe their ankles, their belly, something like that. Catch them off guard and you can trip them up to make them fall without having to muscle them down to the ground. They'll do the falling for you." He gave her a curious look and then offered, "Would you like to try it out? Think you can get your old man to fall over?"

Plague Abraxas-Destruction

Seere looks up at her father the happiness once more taking root in her soul. He taps her nose with one of his talons and the pup squeals in delight, turning to bury her face in his fur so she can giggle. But then the doubt sets in and her face reappears so she can question him. The grin that her dad gives her pulls a confused but hopeful smile from the monochrome pup and she listens with rapt attention. Seere considers his words for a moment, head bobbing in semi-understanding as she thinks on her father’s advice. When he looks at her curiously, she lifts her brows in silent question and he offers to let her test it out.

Eyes round in excitement and her tail begins to thump the sand as the joy that is always with her returns in full force. Enthusiastically, Seere says (maybe a little louder than needed), “Yeah! But I won’t hurt you. Promise!” Lifting a paw, the monochrome girl touches the toes to her chest and crosses her heart, showing her father that this makes the promise binding. Once done, she wraps her legs around her dad once more, closing her eyes as she whispers, “Thanks for believing in me dad.” The moment is brief and the excited girl is already detaching herself to run back a few steps and so she can wheel around to face him.

Carefully, she runs through the defenses in her mind and sets them. Paws spread, center of gravity is lowered, ears pinned, lips pulled back, eyes squinting, and scruff bunched. Standing there ready to attack, Seere asks, “Am I doing it right dad? Did I miss anything?” If she is going to fight, she wants to make sure she is doing it right.

"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

Seere vs Plague for Spar
Round 0/?
Age: Under 1 year
Size: Small
Build: Light
Skills: Advanced Fighter & Advanced Healer

Plague grinned and chuckled as Seere very enthusiastically agreed to a spar, promising not to hurt him in the same breath with an adorable cross over her heart. He always emphasized the importance of knowing when to use real force with his kids so that when they were practicing and sparring they weren't getting hurt unnecessarily while still having the tools in their arsenal to defend themselves if they needed to. Seere very clearly took that lesson to heart in her own cute way. His expression softened a bit as she hugged him again, thanking him for believing in her. It was the most brief gesture, but it still made his chest swell with emotion and he smiled happily down at her before she ran off to get into position, his tail wagging against the sand behind him. Sometimes he had moments like every parent where he wondered if he was a good father, if his children were really getting all of the attention they deserved from him since he had to balance his time between all four of them and their pack, but little moments like this made him feel like he was doing something right.

He got up and moved to stand across from her as she got her defenses set, the teacher in him scanning her over to make sure she had them all in place. Ever the dutiful student, Seere asked if she had missed anything and he gave a little shake of his head as he set his own defenses. "I don't think so, darling!" Her and her siblings really were growing and learning so fast and he was so incredibly proud of them. He got down into similar defenses as well and gave her a nod with a playful, challenging grin. "Show me what you've got, little warrior!"

Plague vs Seere for Spar
Round 0/2
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Mutation 1: Green obsidian talons - Offensive
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Intellectual
Specialty: Professor

Plague Abraxas-Destruction

The excitement of fighting her dad is evident as Seere bounds away from him, her tail wagging fiercely as she turns to face him. A brilliant smile is flashed at her tall father before she begins to set her defenses, asking for confirmation from her father that she didn’t miss anything. He says no and then issues the challenge the small monochrome pup. Mismatched eyes flash with joy as she takes a moment to tune into her body, noticing the way her muscles feel as she bunches them up in preparation to run.

Her weight suddenly shifts forward and Seere is rushing toward her father’s long legs. Small body darts towards him, tail straight out behind her to act like a rudder. Paws shift direction, weight leaning toward one side, tail snapping sideways to help her keep balance. Seere runs toward her dad’s right side, aiming to rush past him. Small mouth opens as she leans in toward his back leg, aiming a quick bite at it will trying not to slow her pace.


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

Seere vs Plague for Spar
Round 1/2
Age: Under 1 year
Size: Small
Build: Light
Skills: Advanced Fighter & Advanced Healer

As much as Plague wanted to boost his daughter's confidence he knew she would be able to tell if he went easy on her and that would just bother her more than if he hadn't and she lost so when she took off like a bolt of lightening toward him he braced himself and took the fight seriously for her. She was incredibly fast, obviously taking his notes to heart, and that did make it pretty difficult to follow her movements or anticipate where she might go. He misjudged which way she was going to go as she cut toward his right and wasn't able to block her as she went for his back leg. He tried to pull his leg away to avoid her bite and didn't quite make it, feeling her teeth graze his leg lightly. By the time he turned to try and catch her she was already moving past him and was on the move again. He chuckled and spun around to face her again, realizing just how much energy a little pup like her had compared to him with his much larger size and several more years of age. He tried to catch her this time around as she continued her rapid fire attacks, attempting to throw his paw out in front of her to trip her up and even scoop her up with his larger foreleg.

Plague vs Seere for Spar
Round 1/2
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Mutation 1: Green obsidian talons - Offensive
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Intellectual
Specialty: Professor

Plague Abraxas-Destruction

The monochrome pup runs, her bite grazing her father’s back leg and sending a zip of excitement through her. Laughter fills the air as Plague spins to try and catch her but Seere’s small body is already past him back end and racing around. He spins again and a large paw suddenly blocks her path, moving to up catch her smaller frame.

There is too much momentum behind her to be able to stop so, the pup does the next best thing. As she puts all of her weight into her back end, she watches the approach of attacking paw and the small pup aims a sharp bite in an attempt to hit her father’s tender pad. At the same time, she puts all the energy she has generated into her hind legs and tenses the muscles.

Jaws release and her back legs push off as Seere tries to jump over her father’s leg. She sails through the air, mostly missing the attempt to scoop her up but his leg does clip the airborne pup, causing her to stumble upon landing. Seere knows that the moments lost on regaining her balance could cost her the fight so she works to get running as fast as she can.

"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

Seere vs Plague for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Under 1 year
Size: Small
Build: Light
Skills: Advanced Fighter & Advanced Healer

Plague was impressed by Seere's quick thinking as he puts his paw in her path to try and stop her. Her bite on his paw landed and made him wince, but before he could even react and try to keep going with his attempt to stop her she was leaping up and over his leg, only just grazing his leg with her own which threw off her leap. All in all it was an excellent attempt at avoiding him and it certainly did the job even if she did fail to stick the landing. Of course, being the concerned father that he is, he made sure that she didn't hurt herself with her hard landing first and gave her just a beat to regain her balance before he jumped in to keep their spar moving. He tried to leap forward and land with his front paws on either side of her as he attempted to almost corral her among his legs and keep her from getting away again. He tried to scoop her up one more time to see if she could recover and escape or if he would have to give the win to her this time around.

Plague vs Seere for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Over 1 year
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Mutation 1: Green obsidian talons - Offensive
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Intellectual
Specialty: Professor

Plague Abraxas-Destruction

And the winner is...

Plague

Seere must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Seere : Attack Roll: 92 Defense Roll: 4 Agility Roll: 29 Perception Roll: 15 Total: 140 Attack[92] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 92.00 Defense[4] + 15% Bonus[0.60]: 4.60 Agility[29] + 10% Bonus[2.90]: 31.90 Perception[15] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 15.00 Total[143.50] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 143.50 Plague: Attack Roll: 20 Defense Roll: 35 Agility Roll: 5 Perception Roll: 90 Total: 150 Attack[20] + 25% Bonus[5.00]: 25.00 Defense[35] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 35.00 Agility[5] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 5.00 Perception[90] + 25% Bonus[22.50]: 112.50 Total[177.50] + 25% Bonus[44.38]: 221.88