Walk | "Talk" | think

Kotori was in the fighting ring, working with the targets that had been set up.  The pup had come up with his own attack he was trying to perfect and memorize.  There was certainly a lot he needed to learn but for today he would work on refining his own individual and thus awesome move!
The boy was slamming his head into the bottom of the target and then raising his head up to bite.  Of course, still being a young pup it didn’t look that impressive, especially with his horns being little more than nubs on his forehead.  Someday it would be different.  Someday Kotori would be big and the horns super huge.  At least in his mind, that was how he was imagining.

Jab and bite.  Jab and bite.  Jab and bite.  He would memorize this perfectly.  The repetition was great at first but it became harder to put his full focus in it the more consistent it got.  He wanted to go off and have fun doing something.  What did he want to do?  He wanted someone to play with and to go out to somewhere new to explore.  

All Kotori would need is someone to go with him and play with.  The distracted mind caused a mistake, his snapping far more air than target on the last bite.  Focus was the hardest part of all of it.

Az was in a mood, likely some reaction to his recent lady troubles and realization at how frustrating women really were. He was headed over to the plains for some mutilation of a combat dummy when he stumbled upon his little brother and raised his brow. While Az didn't have a particular fondness for this litter as he had with his littermates, he didn't hate them either. They just simply.. existed. And if any of them got the idea in their heads that they would one day be heir, well, he'd do something about it then.

He stepped up to the pup on soft pawpads, waiting for the perfect moment between a bite and headbutt before he threw out his paw. With long, curved claws he aimed to catch the pup's back leg as he shot forward to bite the target, flexing his muscles to yank back the child towards him. It was not malicious in any way, Az was merely curious what the pup might do when he was 'in the zone' and attacked from behind.

Walk | "Talk" | think

Kotori was definitely in his zone, with his eye on his opponent the pup had no clue of Az slipping up behind him.  The boy lunged in, slammed his horns up, and was ready to bite when suddenly he was going backward? There was a second of confusion and thus stalling before he caught on to what had happened.  Narrowing his eyes he would sink puppy teeth into the paw and try to get away.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t both bite something and getaway.  Despite that, his tail was up high and wagging at the challenge.

Bracing his paws, which wouldn’t do anything against Az’s strength he let out some of his best aggressive sounding growls, "As!" Yes, it was an attempt at Az but hard to say at that moment.  Sure, there had been coyotes farther out in the grassy area but even before he’d realized it was Az’s paw that had got him the boy had no fear of any predator getting to him from here.

The pup responded mostly how Az'd expected and he hissed a small noise of discomfort as the puppy teeth came down upon his paw. Immediately he lifted his left, aiming to bring it down upon the pup's snout to dislodge the small jaws. "If I were a coyote or a cougar you'd be dead by now." He commented offhandedly. "Someone grabs you from behind you bite to kill, not.." Sharp gaze moved from his brother down to his paw. He didn't finish his sentence, unable to put words to what sort of pathetic attack the paw bite was. "Gifting someone the back of your neck as a target isn't the greatest idea." One good slap from his bear-like paws and he could break Kotori's neck, especially when his jaws were anchored to Az. His littler siblings were not pushed into the same training that Az and his litter were - what was father doing if not teaching them the basics of self defense?

He released the pup's leg and took a step back, widening his stance and raising his brows towards the boy. "Go ahead, try it again." Az suggested, lifting his chin and looking down his muzzle at the boy. If Kotori didn't learn to fight, that reflected badly upon the Armada. Az would need to do what he could to remedy the situation.

Walk | "Talk" | think

“No stupid coyote could get this far in the pack though,” Kotori offered up in defense of his not noticing Az, though it even sounded week to Kotori.  The tail did sink down at his older brother’s blunt honesty of how Kotori had done.  

“You’re too big also.  When you had me in your paw I couldn’t have got to where I could kill you in time.” Kotori’s words coming out slower as he puzzled it.  “Oh,” as you could just see the reality coming to mind, “I should have got away instead of biting the paw, and then try to find an opening.”  

He was getting a second chance! Kotori perked up in excitement.  He got into a battle stance with his legs spread evenly, ears back and tail even with his body for balance.  Of course, Az was kind of huge and Kotori got the idea he wasn’t going to let him get a bite in easy.  He could have called Snow in to help but decided in a spar with his brother it should be one on one.

Kotori needed Az to lower his head if he wanted to get a chance for a good bite on it.  If Az would attack the same way as last time it would be with a paw instead of his mouth probably but to be sure he’d try to keep an eye on the guys leg and face.  If Az lowered his head or threw his paw out the boy planned to try and use that as a chance to get to his neck.

Kotori's logic was sound and Az offered a slight dip of his head as he argued the size difference and that perhaps he should run instead of attack. Azure figured most parents were probably telling their kids to run when there's danger, but he saw little use for it. "Your muscle memory is what will save you in a fight." He explained. "One day you will be bigger, and if you've been practicing backing away all your life you're not going to be useful to anyone as a warrior." Perhaps his father would disagree, but Az figured that if there was real, true danger for any of these young ones that running wasn't going to help them either. If a bear approached this close they'd die without an adult around no matter how fast or ingrained their attempt to flee was. It was better to get them in the habit of biting back hard and fast, as far as Az was concerned. Surprising the enemy. "Backing away to find an opening is.. fine, however." It wasn't Azure's style, he fought with force not with careful consideration. Though his younger siblings would understandably learn their own techniques. "If you were bigger, where would you bite me if your life was on the line?" The pup shifted into his battle stance and so Az crouched low and moved forward once more, deadly claws swinging a bit slower to aim to slap Kotori's side. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."