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Zeitgeist



Malalia

Loner
Missing from Armada

age
2 Years
gender
Female
gems
1228
size
Medium
build
Light
posts
413
player
04-24-2020, 07:40 PM
Malalia

The Warlord had said that she needed a teacher closer to her own size. So when Zee had offered up her aid at the pack meeting, everything seemed to fall into place. Afterwards she'd approached the queen and sought after a lesson. Their talk was brief, but the time had been set. They were supposed to meet in the training grounds at sunhigh, though Mal was a little eager and a little early, pacing restlessly on the shorepoint, halfway between the beach and the training grounds.

The day was gusty, strong winds blustering freely through the grasslands and reminding her of the coming season. The girl gave a brief shake, thankful for her plush pelt and the cloudless sky overhead. A little wind wouldn't hurt her. Perhaps a sparring match would.

She didn't know the woman well, barely at all really, but her belly churned with a mix of anticipation and excitement. To be one of the Alphas of a warring school? That had to be feat unto itself. She wondered whether they'd spar today or simply review the basics, though she had to admit she wasn't pacing around for a sit down or lecture. Still, whatever it was, it'd be a welcome change of pace to training on her own.

"Speech"





Zeitgeist

Somnium

age
7 Years
gender
Female
gems
511
size
Medium
build
Light
posts
893
player

Samhain 2022Statue 1 WorshipExplorerOoh La LaWinnerPride - Bisexual
All Oozed OutThe Ooze ParticipantThe Ooze - Variation 1OverachieverStudentCritical Attack!
Critical Dodge!How many times do I have to teach you a lesson?! HomebodyIce Bridge ExplorerLoserVengeance
Island HopperDouble MasterLegendaryHalloween 2020 - Spooky Cave1KValentines 2020
VolcanoCritical Hit!Christmas 2019Trick 2019
05-03-2020, 02:15 PM


Lately the Armada's new warriors all seemed to be a little on the smaller side, and while that was fine it did mean they mostly struggled with the same issues. With Sirius' towering height, Malalia hadn't been the only wolf to approach her for teaching. To learn against a direwolf was difficult, Zee knew that first hand. How many times had she lost against him before her training was complete? Dozens, at least. Though the horned queen intentionally stopped keeping track at some point.

"Malalia." She greeted politely as she approached. Juggling the duties of an alpha as well as parent hood was hard, and Zee could not deny how nervous she was to be teaching now as well as everything else. While it was a part of her responsibilities she couldn't help but feel that anyone would be better suited for the task. "I'd like to start by hearing what you've learned, where you struggle, the things you feel you do well." It was short and to the point, but the alpha felt if she let herself relax too much that the student may notice the resistance in her and realize how out of her element Zee was at the moment. She just had to remind herself that if Sirius believed she could teach, that maybe.. possibly.. she could. Or maybe she couldn't, but the horned queen did not want to approach that insecurity.

"Speech"



Sirius as her husband may crash any of Zee's threads.

Zee has a rough scaled bush viper companion as well as a toucan, who unless otherwise stated can assume to not be present.
During combat, Zee wears a wrapping of thorns around her kudu horns.






Malalia

Loner
Missing from Armada

age
2 Years
gender
Female
gems
1228
size
Medium
build
Light
posts
413
player
05-03-2020, 04:29 PM


The sound of her name caused her tail to wiggle happily, and Malalia swiveled her head to greet the horned Alpha with a respectful nod. She leaned back on her haunches and sank into a sitting position. Hopefully the fact that she was practically vibrating out of her fur would be a little less pronounced.

Zee began with asking her for a summary of her training: her strengths, weaknesses, what she'd learned thus far. The yearling nodded, and took a few heartbeats to organize her thoughts. "The, um... the bulk of my training so far was with my old pack, but that ended when I left a few months ago." She gave a small shake, and continued. "But, I know my defensive stance. And I've had a couple of spars since I came here, and a lesson with Sirius." A lesson of sorts; the young woman had gleaned some useful information from the Warlord, even if it ended in a coyote hunt and not a sparring session, as she'd hoped. "I think I have a basic handle on attacking without leaving myself too open, but I have trouble fighting opponents bigger than me. Which is going to be basically everybody," she snorted.

"I know the kind of 'hit and run,' harrying approach.... I could probably work on honing that in some more. I guess I've been struggling though because I want to be able to do some real damage against a bigger opponent, y'know, outside from wearing them down." She didn't have the bulk to meet a larger opponent head on in the same way, and apparently getting under them left her too vulnerable... Mal was still a bit sour about that particular lesson. "I think I make use of my speed pretty well, though. And fighting someone close to my size comes way easier, to me. I've also been practicing my feints, although those could use some work as well..."

The young woman trailed off and swung her gaze back around to the Alpha. "Umm, I think that's about it?" Hopefully she'd covered everything, though if Zeitgeist had more questions she'd be ready to answer them.

"Speech"





Zeitgeist

Somnium

age
7 Years
gender
Female
gems
511
size
Medium
build
Light
posts
893
player

Samhain 2022Statue 1 WorshipExplorerOoh La LaWinnerPride - Bisexual
All Oozed OutThe Ooze ParticipantThe Ooze - Variation 1OverachieverStudentCritical Attack!
Critical Dodge!How many times do I have to teach you a lesson?! HomebodyIce Bridge ExplorerLoserVengeance
Island HopperDouble MasterLegendaryHalloween 2020 - Spooky Cave1KValentines 2020
VolcanoCritical Hit!Christmas 2019Trick 2019
05-04-2020, 02:41 PM


Zee kept her attention upon her student as she spoke, considering her words and where she may be able to throw her own input in. It was a difficult thing to give advice upon, as it was only natural that a smaller wolf may struggle against one twice their size. Zee herself had few victories versus direwolves like Sirius, and she thought hard upon what exactly might have been the turning point in those fights to allow her to win. "I see. Well it's good you have the basics, and yes the most common approach with such a size difference is simply to out-harass your opponent. I can understand your struggle however when you'd like to inflict real damage."

The horned queen exhaled, her gaze drifting off past Malalia as she thought upon it. So many fights with Sirius - and so many loses, too - how did she manage to tumble the titan? "It's difficult, because many of the sure-fire ways to win a fight are not exactly appropriate for sparring. There are many parts to a wolf that are as sensitive and accessible on a small one as they are on one like Sirius. The eyes, the ears, the nose, they're all targets that even a direwolf could fall to. It's much more difficult to practice those safely without injuring a packmate, though I recommend you keep them in mind for when you may be in real danger."

A thought crossed her mind, and she remembered the gifts Sirius had spoken to her about. A wolverine and a pair of steel claws. "As for general fighting, if you want to get close enough to do some damage safely you need to successfully distract your opponent. A large wolf's throat is still a vulnerable place to strike, though going head-on against him could very well be the reason you lose. Your companion can help you. If you direct him to do the harassment for you he may be able to steal the wolf's attention long enough for you to get in a real hit. If you can find opportunity, a grab to the muzzle or throat or even a heavy slam to the toes - your new claws are weighty, they will help with that - could turn the fight in your favor." Her voice was beginning to run dry, and Zee sat back on her haunches to wait while Malalia was able to think her words over.  

"Speech"



Sirius as her husband may crash any of Zee's threads.

Zee has a rough scaled bush viper companion as well as a toucan, who unless otherwise stated can assume to not be present.
During combat, Zee wears a wrapping of thorns around her kudu horns.






Malalia

Loner
Missing from Armada

age
2 Years
gender
Female
gems
1228
size
Medium
build
Light
posts
413
player
05-09-2020, 10:25 PM (This post was last modified: 05-09-2020, 10:25 PM by Malalia.)


Malalia watched patiently as Zeitgeist came together with her answer. It seemed that she'd had the right instinct, going for the sensitive areas. But that went for any opponent no matter the size, and her ability to keep her hold on those hits were still harder with larger opponents. It'd be hard to practice, explained the Alpha, and Malalia hid her frustration. It was easier to tamper down this time, though. The yearling was slowly learning that there wasn't a magic solution to every obstacle.

What did help was Zeitgeist's suggestion for her companion. It made sense... Hit and runs meant that she could only score glancing blows, but if her wolverine distracted her opponent, she could hold on a little longer, maximize the damage she could do. Her tail wagged slightly, ideas for different maneuvers already beginning to form in her head. "Okay.... I'll definitely try that out with Pachou, and the claws." The hungry little kit was going to be in for a rude awakening when she returned from this lesson.

The yearling took a beat to think, and then turned her eyes back to the horned woman. "I don't -- I don't want to rely too much on them, though. Say Pach is sick, orrrr I'm repairing my claws. So, um, Sirius said it might be better to work with someone closer to my weight class, for that. Do you mind if I try out what I have so far? As if you were bigger, I guess?"

Now that she was thinking about it, she wasn't quite if it would work out as she had hoped. Sirius hadn't been able to teach her as it directly pertained to her weight class. Zee could do that... but she wasn't actually bigger than her. If she had to run back and forth between the two of them, she'd do it. But Mal almost wished she could have a lesson between the three of them. However it worked, though, she was eager to improve.

"Speech"




[ooc: Sorry this is so late >.<]