Recent rains and threats of snowy flurry had swept over the southern lands they now called home. A normally marshy area now boggy and dense with mud and goop. Birds hardly inhabited the land during the winter season for that reason and that many prey animals tended to hibernate or go further south toward Auster for warmth. With the area open and practically undisturbed, Gilgamesh knew it would be the perfect place for a lesson.

Standing on a relatively dry patch of land so that his paws wouldn't sink into the mud, he tilts his muzzle back. Letting loose a call for all the pups and anyone else who needed it, he waits. Bright yellow eyes scan the scenery, planning and plotting what all his lesson would entail. Depending on how many would show up with dictate whether he start with the basic basics of simply learning fighting stances or if he would pair them up to practice spar.

The Raid King, Gilgamesh

table coding by bunni ♥

fight training w/ professor bonus (1/3)

Korona bounded through the muck, her galaxy and star's fur flecked with mud, but her spirits unsullied by the cold and wet. The recent rains had turned their southern home into a buggy boggy mess, but she relished the mire and the challenges of keeping her feet below her.

Hearing her father's call, she eagerly made her way to the dry patch where he stood, his imposing figure a familiar and exciting sight. What did he have in store!?

“Dad!” She barked, her bright amber eyes shining with anticipation. “Whatcha got cookin up?” She trotted up to him, shaking off some of the mud with a playful wag of her non-existent tail. She glanced around, wondering who else would join them, but focused quickly back on Gilgamesh, eager to prove herself. The muddy girl even gave him a snap of her teeth, complete with cheeky grin.

THE KRAKEN

It was starting to feel a little... always the bridesmaid and never the bride... if he was being honest. His sister always managed to beat him. Still, he tugged on one of her quills in greeting, falling on his shoulder and flashing his belly as he reached up to batt at her face, jaws parted in silent challenge. If she wanted a fight, he was willing to take her on, but that wasn't why he was here, was it? So he rolled away, and found his feet.

Intense violet eyes turned on the mottled man that had summoned them, weighing him up and down. He'd been there, always, since the first breath Corsair had taken the scent was familiar... but beyond that he didn't really know this guy. He didn't blink, just waited with his jaw relaxed and tongue half hanging out in a pant to see what the man had to offer, waiting for direction, for an order.Anything to solidify the expectation.

"speech"

At this point she was almost convinced Urtur was leading her the wrong direction on purpose. Why would dad be in the muddy mucky estuary when it was so cold out? Sure, she didn't know what real cold was, not like in the mountains, but it was cold by her standards to date.

She was pleasantly surprised when it turned out she had been wrong, her dads call bouncing off the Estuary as she corrected her course to join him. Of course, Kor and Cor had beaten her, but she wouldn't let that rain on her parade. She bounded over to her dad, jumping up to nip at his chin a few times, her tail sweeping through the dirt at their feet before dropping down to a sit almost on his toes. "Yeah! what'rewedoin'?"

"speech"

First to arrive is Korona and Gilgamesh isn’t surprised. The girl is fast, diligent, and opportunistically persistent. Her bright and sharp bark doesn’t phase him and he doesn’t respond yet. Not when he sees Corsair arriving, the boy quick to try and entice a fight out of his sister. Gilgamesh raises a brow, waiting to see what would play out, but Corsair rolls over and brings his attention up to him. Unblinking and honestly quite disturbing the way the boy stared all the time.

Last, but not least, his attention is drawn to Urtur with Gilda tagging along behind him. He looks to his wolverine, a chuckle in his throat at the sight of how attached his daughter was becoming to the animal. Maybe he would have to get her one when she was older.

“Now that we have enough participants,” he looks over to Urtur, a devilish smirk curling his lips. “Thank you for participating Urtur,” Gilgamesh comments, the wolverine giving him an annoyed glare. “Today, we will learn how to fight in the mud,” his smirk grows as he lifts a paw slowly so that it produces a loud sucking sound as it’s removed from the muck they sound in.

“Since I am still quite larger than you lot, I will have you fight Urtur,” his gaze flicks to the companion once more, a hiss rumbling from the wolverine, before he looks back to the pups. “Fighting on wet and muddy terrain is very difficult. You will need to focus on keeping your balance, slowing your speed, and making calculated attacks,” >Gilgamesh demonstrates by sliding his paws slightly outward, lowering his body and center of gravity. He lunges to the side, his paws slipping and forcing him to correct his stance.

“See what I mean?” His gaze moves to each pup. “On my mark, the three of you will attempt to take Urtur down.” At his word, Urtur moves back a few paces, unworried by the challenge that faces him. “Ready, set, go,” Gilgamesh turns to watch the pups and readies to give them advice as they move through the motions.

2/3 Participated in fight training, led by a professor

Korona felt her fur prickle with amusement as Corsair tugged on one of her quills in greeting. His attempt at a playful challenge was met with a quick nip at his ear as he batted at her face. Serves him right.

As he rolled away and found his feet again, she padded over to stand beside him, her stance relaxed but attentive, her eyes shifting from her brother to her father, and to Gilda sitting on his toes. Her tail, or where it would have been, wiggled in anticipation as she waited for direction, her eagerness to prove herself palpable in the air.

Korona’s eyes lit up with a mixture of excitement and determination as she listened to her father’s instructions. She couldn’t help but give Corsair a playful nudge with her shoulder in the middle of the lesson though.

Her attention then shifted to Urtur, the wolverine looking as grumpy as ever. A mischievous grin spread across her face. “Looks like we're gonna have to work together on this one.” She said, glancing at Corsair and then at Gilda. “Let's show Dad what we've got!”

She watched Gilgamesh demonstrate the techniques, studying his movements carefully. Lowering her body and shifting her paws slightly outward, she tried to mimic his stance. The mud squelched beneath her paws, threatening to throw her off balance, but she steadied herself, muscles coiled and ready as they could be. She was trying to get a feel for the motions.

When Gilgamesh gave the signal, Korona sprang into action, her mind racing. She circled to the side, aiming to find an opening with a skid-stop, while keeping her eyes on Urtur’s every move. But something unexpected happened, one of her rear paws found purchase on something - a stone maybe. “Cor! Gilly!” She called out, her voice strong and confident even while her fore paws slid around.

With a bark, the girl lunged forward, aiming to distract Urtur and create an opening for her siblings. She snapped at the wolverine's face, her dire-puppy paws swiping at it’s shoulders as the rest of her body slid directly into the wolverines chest.

THE KRAKEN

Gilda listened to her dad's directions, testing out her stance in the mud as he demonstrated just how slippy it would be. She supposed, at least her fur would do a better job of hiding any mud than Korona's or Corsair's. Maybe if she was lucky she'd be able to dodge having to have a bath after this too.

Urtur waddled away confidently, and Gilda dropped her shoulders with practiced ease. She'd been stalking the wolverine for weeks, it couldn't be that hard right? She tried splaying her toes to make use of the webbing between them, hoping it might stop her from sinking too deeply in the wetter spots.

As Korona snapped towards the wolverine's face, Gilda aimed for his left side. She was uncoordinated, having to work to keep her feet beneath her, but she closed the distance between them, fangs wibble-wobbling as she aimed a nip at the wolverine's hip.

"speech"

With Gilda targeting the close side, Corsair attempted to sneak around to the right. His paws slipped in the viscous mud and while he was able to find a purchase occasionally, more often his gangly limbs were splaying. Pressing against an old bit of branch, Corsair pressed on to try and nip at the wolverine's hip. Urtur didn't seem to be having nearly as much trouble as the kids were, so Corsair attempted to mimic his stance, getting down closer to the ground, spreading his dexterous paws to try and find purchase. A hind paw caught against a buried branch and while it wasn't solid, it was sturdier than the ground around it. It gave Corsair something a bit less slippery to work with bracing one hind paw against it.

"speech"

Gilgamesh stands back and watches as the pups barrel toward Urtur through the mud. As to be expected, their paws slip and slide on the slick surface, fighting to find solid purchase beneath. Urtur stands his ground, teeth bared and eyes watching the pups as he keeps his center of gravity closer to the ground. Three on one was indeed difficult though and the wolverine is unable to miss all of their advances.

As Korona distracts him with a frontal attack, he misses the other two going for his hips. Gilgamesh smirks as the pups pile on his companion. But Urtur wasn't finished. He may be plump in his older age, but he was still fast and smart. Dipping even lower to the ground, Urtur tucks his hind end and pushes himself forward, past Korona and away from the biting of Gilda and Corsair at his hips. Once free from their advances, he utilizes the mud to spin around and face the trio once more.

"He's almost tired out. Don't hold back now," Gilgamesh taunts the pups, a smirk beaming in Urtur's direction. "Dig deep and find ground beneath the mud. Or hell, get dirty and throw things at him," he offers which ends up with a dirty glare from Urtur in response.

The Raid King, Gilgamesh

table coding by bunni ♥

Korona panted, her chest heaving as Urtur slipped past her, his surprising agility making her stumble in the mud. She quickly scrambled back to her feet, her fur caked in the thick, sticky muck that clung to her legs. Narrowing her eyes, she saw Urtur pivot to face them once more, his old but wily strength not yet fully spent.

A low growl rumbled in her throat, not of frustration but determination. “Fast.” She muttered under her breath, her gaze shifting to her siblings. Gilda and Corsair were poised, ready to lunge again. Urtur’s glare only fueled her desire to get the upper paw, to push him to his limits as Gilgamesh suggested.

Without missing a beat, Korona shot a grin toward her father, her competitive spirit flaring at his taunt. “You got it, Dad!” She called out, pawing at the mud beneath her. She could feel the slickness but knew there had to be firmer ground somewhere. She wouldn’t let Urtur's experience get the better of her. Not today.

Deciding to embrace the mess, Korona scooped a pawful of mud and flung it toward Urtur with a mischievous snicker. "Let's see how fast you move covered in this!" she teased, the mud sailing toward him as she bounded forward to back up the distraction. If the muck didn’t slow him down, maybe their combined efforts would.
THE KRAKEN

The wolverine powered his way free of the flailing pups and Corsair's lips pursed. An ear took in their dads instructions and Kor was quick to pick up the hint, flinging a pawfull of mud at the snarling wolverine. Seeing it as an opening, Corsair bounded past the companion, his dexterous paws gripping the slippery surface a bit better than his siblings might. He too, slipped past the wolverine, using the slippery surface to aid his turn as he snapped towards the back side of the companion, driving it towards his sisters. If they worked together, they could get it done, he was certain.

"speech"

Gilda was having too much fun to really take in what her father was saying, but when Kor started flinging mud, well that was something she could get in on. Though Urtur had escaped their clutches, Sair was moving quick and Gilda pivoted to use her back paw to rain mud on the wolverine to keep him distracted while Kor moved up, "Yeah! Get him guys!" She struggled to contain her giggles, which made keeping her footing even harder as she turned around to join the pile on the cranky companion, her grey patched fur turning as brown as Kenway's as she joined her siblings in their attempt to pin the wolverine.

"speech"