Her body had strength back to it. Not her full strength, but more than enough to hold this lesson. Her single remaining orb gleamed with life and a renewed confidence. She had survived. She had endured. Akemi had thought for a time she had been broken but that was not the case. She had been damaged yes, but to break one of her blood? No. She saw now that she could overcome. Her mind became sharper, getting through each trial. Every wolf would die someday... But when that day dared to try come she would meet death with her fangs.


Akemi was born anew.

The spitfire of a fae would move across the prairie with Tiny upon her muzzle as usual. Her adopted son seemed to enjoy the ride, despite the cold. Furry little puff ball didn’t know when to stay at home in a nice warm den. Of course... With an influence like hers there was little wonder the creature was becoming a bit more reckless.

She would come to a stop and once Tiny shifted his position to the top of her head Akemi would let loose a howl of summons. It was time now to show her stuff, and what she knew to the pack. When such a small fae could prove her strength, her knowledge, and hold the rank she desired, surely it would show them all that regardless of how you are built, who you are, you can achieve anything you put your mind to. 


{{Ooc:: Spars are not mandatory but if anyone is interested we can do them. Please try to post by the 9th or 10th at the latest as that is when round 2 will begin.}}

 
Walk | Talk | Think
 
Eirik had been waiting. As a Guard of Secretua, he needed to be on top of his game and stay fit, stay alert, so that he could be ready to defend the place should he find trouble along the border during a patrol or should someone try to break in unannounced. Doing so on his own was a tiresome and boring process, one that usually ended up with him quitting early because of a lack in self-discipline and drive. Fighting was not his calling, no matter how much his father wanted it to be, but without knowing what truly called to him he knew he needed to suck it up and work hard to appease his father's strict orders and expectations. So as soon as he knew there was going to be a training session he was alert and ready. 

He had never gone through any formal training before - the few lessons his father had tried to teach him did not in his mind count - and while he was nervous about messing up, about failing and proving himself to be worthless, the pale grey youth was still excited. He knew nothing of what to expect, of how it would be, and he was eager to learn everything that could be taught to him. Even if he did not find it in him to actively go out looking for a means to prove his worth as a Guard, Eirik was still an eager pupil. 

No time was wasted after the call for Secretua went up. He set off quickly, for once punctually, and arrived in good time. To his surprise no others had yet arrived, and though it meant he was actually doing something right this time it still made him feel odd. He padded swiftly over to the ragged, petite little wolf who had volunteered for the job, the single mother Akemi who was, as always, joined by her itty bitty friend. Eirik smiled at the both of them, friendly though the fact that he was actually here ready to experience his first proper lesson was making his anxiety slowly rise. "Hi again," he greeted with a nod toward the little wolf and Tiny, stopping nearby and glancing about in nervous anticipation for things to begin. 
 

The thrill of combat brought the young medic at a run. She burst upon the scene with palatable exuberance, her eyes shiny and her countenance bright. Immediately her gaze fell upon her brother and Warja's features sharpened in impish delight. Oh, how awesome would it be if she got to fight her brother? She pranced up to him, pausing at his side and attempting to lean her right shoulder against his left leg. Chin tilting up, she aimed to rest it on his shoulder and fix him with a wry stare. "You and me. Right here, right now." She threw down the gauntlet. "Let's fight." Where was Keiki? Maybe she could fight her too. Ohhhh! Or KISMET! Where was the burly young guard? It was about time they sparred. She'd take 'em all if given the chance. Warja versus Eirik, Keiki and Kismet. Didn't that sound like a party? Speaking --Thinking

Walk | Talk | Think   The second he heard the call go up, ushered forth by Akemi, Rune had known he would need to attend the fighter's training. He had gone to the hunt to watch there, and this would be no different. Not only would he expect to see the results within the work of the pack members who attended, but he wished to see for himself the style of the instructor, the knowledge and prowess there that could and would be shared with their fellow Secretuans. He wanted very much to be an active part in everything, and there was no way that would be possible without him being there to see it all for himself.  He moved to answer the summons as the others did, though he was happily surprised to see two of his own already present. Warja was no surprise really - the girl was headstrong and rambunctious; it made sense for her to want to participate in anything and everything she could become involved in. Eirik was slightly a different matter. His punctuality was a plus, though he had never really shown himself at all attuned to the warrior's lifestyle, no matter how well suited his build and sized were for it.  With a curious glance at his two children, he approached with enough time to catch the encouraging challenge that his daughter made against his son, and with a nod of his head offered to Akemi first he allowed his attention to shift back to them as he approached and offered his opinion with a frown that was rather teasing and amused. "Make sure Akemi is okay with that first." It was, after all, her training session, and he hardly wanted his kids to take over it and run it their way only because they were the first two to show up.

The first to arrive was the young gray and black male Eirik, being punctual and giving both a smile. The female would give a slight tip of her head, her own smile finding it’s way to her face. “Hello again indeed. Thank you for arriving so swiftly.” Akemi felt Tiny shifting around on her head, moving down to the edge of her muzzle as he looked up at the male wolf. “Hi hi! You’re joining us?” The little creature sounded excited and happy. Why shouldn’t he be though?

Another would arrive, the female who was apparently the healer of the pack, seeking the position that would have her as the head healer. Now this one was full of spunk. Akemi would give a soft chuckle. Now there was some spunk! The young woman definitely like the energy of this girl. Rune too would show up and Akemi would give him a warm smile and a polite dip of her head.

“That’s actually not too bad of an idea. Though before we go on such an endeavor let’s wait and see if any others show up first.” The small female figured it would be good to see where their individual strengths lay, as well as review the basics. She had no idea how far along these wolves would be with their training, if at all, and so she would focus first with making sure their defenses were drilled into them. She wasn’t exactly too thrilled with the turnout, but regardless she would do her duty and try to prove her place.

“Now... The most important thing to remember in a fight is to never underestimate your opponent. Age, size, gender... None of that matters on the battlefield. Overconfidence can very easily lead you to make mistakes, and believe you me I speak from experience on that end.” The female’s single orb burned with seriousness. Fighting wasn’t fun and games... When it came down to the nitty gritty you could be fighting for your very life. You couldn’t afford to make careless mistakes.

“The second and more commonly known thing to keep in mind with fights, however, are defenses. Keeping yourself whole as possible, avoiding major attacks, and being able to keep fighting are far more beneficially than losing all your steam in the first round. Judge your strength and attacks accordingly.” The female would adjust her stance, bending her knees.

“Your stance in battle is one of the most important to be mindful of. Your stance helps you carry yourself and your attacks, your balance. Distribute it across your legs to start and then adjust it as needed when you launch each attack, counter, or recover from a blow. When bracing for an opponent’s attack you can dig your claws into the earth for a more firm grip, letting your weight drop and become a wall for your opponent to face.”

The female would waste no time in moving on to the next set of defenses. “Your face is a prime target area, as well as a good place to seek openings on an opponent. Eyes and ears, since they are so vital, must be carefully protected. Your eyes should be narrowed into slits, to protect not just from attacks but from possible dirt or other matter from the ground being flung into it. Your ears on the other paw should be laid flat against your skull, pinned there. This will make it harder for them to be grabbed. You can also furrow your brow and lift your cheeks for some minor additional defenses.” She would show them the example with her eye at least, while Tiny, doing his best to support her, would try to mimic Akemi’s stance and pin his large ears back against his body.

“Lower your head to align it with the spine, scrunching your neck. This will make it harder to get a heavily damaging grip upon your scruff. Your chin should also be tucked a bit lower than your head, towards your chest, to protect your throat for obvious reasons. Shoulders should be rolled forward and hackles raise as well. With them raised it can make it harder for an opponent to judge where to land a bite, as well as give a bit of a buffer to bites so that they are not as damaging on the first go to that area.” The knowledge she held would spill from her mouth as if it was an everyday conversation, each new defense being added with the rest.

“Tighten your core, breath easy, and keep your calm in battle. Emotions will rule you, lead you to make mistakes. They have no place on the battlefield. Finally, in the case for the rest of you, your tail has two positions in which it can be held. The first is tucked underneath your body, to keep it from being a tempting target to grab. However it can also be held out, level to your spine, to aid with balance. In some cases it can also be used to launch a minor ‘diversion if you will be smacking an opponent in the face with it. Not something to rely on, but it might save you from a bite if you time it right.” Well, it worked well enough in her fight with her brother at least.

Akemi would hold her position for a bit longer before relaxing her body. “Now... Seeing these defenses are not enough. You must use them and working in spars would give you that chance, as well as give me the opportunity to judge where you are individually. So let’s get down to business. Warja, Eirik, if you will I'd like you both to spar. After some observation I'll stop you and we'll move on from there, alright?”

Walk | Talk | Think

Eirik was glad to receive Akemi's praise for being on time - it was nice for being recognized for doing something right for once - and he stood a little straighter for it with a crooked little smile quirking up one edge of his lips. The teeny little companion that the woman kept edged forward from his perch upon her head and addressed Eirik with its own squeaky question, and finding the smallness of the little creature matched with such happy boldness pulled his half smile into a full one. "Yeah, that's the plan," he answered with a nod, feeling his good spirits about this training session rise the longer he stayed here. 

It was no surprise to him that the next wolf to arrive was his sister - the ambitious little healer one. He eyed her as she approached, rosy eyes speculative. Go figure. She was always ready to jump right into the middle of everything and nothing seemed to give her pause for very long. So it should not have surprised him - though it completely did - when she sauntered right up to him and challenged him to a fight. He blinked his rosy pink eyes at her, shifted them over to Akemi questioningly, and then back again, feeling his nervousness that he had finally been stifling begin to rear its head once more. "Now?" he questioned, feeling unprepared and not in the least bit ready. They had not even been given any instruction yet! 

He was saved, surprisingly, by his father whose suggestion was to make sure it was fine with their teacher first, and imploringly he set his gaze upon Akemi. For a second he thought she was going to let it happen without instruction first, but to his relief she began with their lesson. Eirik chanced a sidelong glance at Warja beside him, hoping she was temporarily appeased, and fell into listening as Akemi spoke on the points she wished to make about fighting, particularly on defenses. There was a lot to remember, but he did his best, grateful for all that she was saying since there was a lot that went into fighting he had not given thought to before. Being a Guard was a lot more daunting task than he had realized. 

At the end of it, however, the suggestion of spars was brought back again, and the inevitable had returned. He still felt a bit unprepared, but Akemi wanted to see them fight and so the choice was out of his hands. But it was still training, right? He could afford to make mistakes here so long as they would be brought to his attention and corrected. Drawing in a breath, the bulky youth turned to face his sister, steeling himself for their spar. "Looks like we're fighting after all," he stated, feeling silly for being rather intimidated by his littlest sibling. She was just so ready though, so confident that he had no choice but to believe she was capable of holding her own in a fight. He wished he had her confidence, but for the moment he could play at it and tried to as he managed a half-hearted sort of smirk. "Might want to get your plants ready," he teased. He had a feeling he was going to need them.