Adalia made her way reluctantly to the battlefield. It was a warm morning, a rarity with the coming of winter. The sky was the burnt orange of sunset, and already her paws felt stiff and unwieldy beneath her body. She wasn’t built for fighting. She was small, fragile, and abused. She wasn’t the type of wolf that fought back. She had accepted her fate, and these Lord and Ladies were tossing everything she knew to the wind. Days. It had been days, and no one had claimed her body. No one had forced themselves into her, and left her broken and alone after they were done.

Apparently, the cost of his luxury was the requirement that she learn to fight. She made her way to the barracks, a touch earlier than Art had commanded, and sat outside the building. Looking out across the ocean, and feeling the stiff, salty breeze ruffle through her coat. Her expression was smooth, wiping away any trace of her reluctance and unhappiness.

Speech

Artorias knew Lia would show up for the training. He knew because she would have done anything he asked of her without hesitation. In the days that followed his acquisition of the fireborne fae, Art had learned just how loyal to a fault Idalia actually was. She served Briar well and gleefully, and Briar seemed entirely smitten with her new handmaiden confidante. This had gone over better than he'd hoped! The only reluctance Lia had shown towards anything was when Briar had insisted on her handmaiden learning basic fighting and self-defense skills. It was understandable; Lia was coming from a life where resistance or fighting back was a grievous sin and punishable in the worst ways. But those days were over. Both Carpathius and Fatalis wolf intended on keeping Lia in a more comfortable life—but to do so would mean preparing the girl to defend what she wanted to keep if she ever needed to.

So, it was for that reason that Artorias had asked Lia to join him at the seaside training rings for some basic introductory lessons. He wouldn't go too far, hard, or complex with the girl; just basic exercises to build muscle and ways to fight back against an aggressor. He knew she wasn't looking forward to this, so he tried to keep an open mind as he stepped out of the barracks to head over and meet Lia for their training. Imagine his surprise when he saw the fae who had been so opposed to the lessons there ahead of him! Blinking a couple of times to ensure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, Artorias strode up almost silently across the soft sand, a relaxed smile on his face.

"Y'know, for someone who loathed the idea of fighting lessons, you're my only student who's ever shown up early," he commented with a soft chuckle as he padded up alongside the fireborne woman, following her gaze out across the ocean. The cool sea breeze rippled through their fur, tousling it gently and filing Artorias' nose with the comforting familiar smell of salt. "How was your day today? Settling in to your new role?" He turned warm amber eyes down to Lia as he spoke. The training could come at its own time; Artorias was in no rush.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
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“My Lord” she said, a little more stiffly today, nodding her head deeply towards him. As to his remark on her early arrival - time keeping was rather an important skill for a slave. “I’m yours to command” was all she said in regards to that. Reluctant or no, she would go where she was commanded, and do as he wished.

The warmth he turned towards her did make it a little difficult to keep her indifferent air, but she didn’t let the smile she felt show on her face. She was here under deep (but silent) protest. “My day has been well, My Lord. I have been sleeping on my blanket” she promised him wryly, remembering one of the first stern orders he had ever given her. “And Lady Briar has been nothing but a privilege to serve” Which was all honest truth. Briar and Artorias were already deeply nestled into her heart. Who would have thought! She had never loved before, but she loved those two wolves deeply. "What is your wish for me today?"

Speech

Artorias' lips pulled downward in a subtle frown when she addressed him as "Lord" again. Gods, was he really going to have to get used to being called that from now on? He didn't know if he liked the notion of being someone of noble blood. He had been born to an alpha pair, but he was never led to believe he was of greater standing than any other wolf, no more or less important than his siblings, his pack mates, or anyone else. No fancy titles or accolades had been given to him by birthright. He had worked to earn what he had achieved so far; did that make him more lordly than anyone else?

She responded stiffly, with trained decorum and short, impersonal answered. "You're really going to make this as miserable as you can, aren't you?" he quipped back to her, fixing the servant girl with a wry smirk. He knew she protested being here, she had made that point abundantly clear. He wouldn't try to change her feelings on the matter, but he would hope she understood the reasoning for it. "I know you're opposed to this, and quite frankly, so am I. If it was up to me, you would never need to know how to fight." He paused to look back over the frothy waves. "I didn't agree to train you because I think you need to be a warrior, or because I think you need to defend Briar. That's not your job. I want to do this because I need to know I won't lose you."

Artorias paused for a beat to let Lia take in what he'd said so far. "I need to have the peace of mind knowing that if someone else tried to force themselves on you, or tried to harm you, or take you away from us by force, that you won't go meekly back into the life you used to know. I hope to give you a life you'd want to keep, but to do that, I need to know that you'd fight for that life with me. Because you're not a piece of meat, Lia. You're a wolf—you're my wolf." Bright amber eyes that always appeared to be set aflame looked back down to the girl, his expression measured yet firm. "I'm not asking you to enjoy this, but I am asking you to understand, and to be willing to use what I teach you if the situation ever arises. If that's not something you can do, then you can go back to Briar right now. I'll tell her whatever she needs to hear to not push the issue further. But if you value what we're trying to give you—truly, deeply value this new life—then do yourself the service of learning to keep it."

When he finished speaking, Artorias rose to his paws and stepped over to one of the training rings. He entered past the perimeter of the arena, then smoothly turned to face Lia. He left the path back up the beachhead open, giving her permission to leave if she desired it, or waited for her to join him in the sparring ring. He would not force her to waste both their time learning something she had no intentions of ever using. As uncommon as it may be for a master to a servant, he left the decision in her paws.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

She blinked at that stark, honest rebuke. At least his expression was one of wry amusement and not anger or annoyance. She found herself not wanting to disappoint him. Not because she was afraid he would turn her anger onto her, but because she didn’t want to see such an expression cross his face, or feel the guilt she would for putting it there.

His next, equally honest statement startled her just as much. His admittance that he didn’t think she should need to learn, because he didn’t wish to lose her. “Well…” she said, still reeling from the emotion she could feel coming off him. “There goes my plan to be the slowest runner and the soonest meal” Her lip turned up slightly in a smile at the deadpan delivered joke. Well… mostly a joke.

He wasn’t done yet. He showed his Princeliness by delivering a rousing speech that actually made her believe him when he said she was important to him. She wasn’t sure she understood why, or that she ever would. But she mattered, and he wasn’t going to lose her easily. She found herself looking into the fires of his eyes and feeling things churning in her gut again.

“I don’t want to let you down, My Lord” she said it as a soft whisper, barely meeting the intensity of his eyes. But her conviction was there, put in her by him. “I want to always be your wolf.” she admitted, getting to her paws, and following him into that ring. No, she was not going to enjoy it. She hated the idea of learning to fight, but she would damn well do it anyway. And she would do it well.
When she stood in that ring, she lifted her own fiery orbs to him, filled now with determination

Speech

Artorias had never considered himself a natural born leader, nor would he have said he aspired to such things. But perhaps there was something inside the young wolf that made him a force of inspiration. As he spoke, he had seen Lia's expressions shift from one of disgruntled indifference to one of renewed determination. He smiled when she joined him in the training ring instead of giving up right away. She vowed to not disappoint him and to always be his. "Then let's make sure you always remain a Hallowed wolf," he said with a curt nod of his head. Artorias had not brought his armor or sword to their training today, not wanting to overwhelm the poor girl. They could practice basics, movements and stretches, maybe put theory into practice a bit with a spar. Everything would go by Lia's pace though. He wanted this to be worth her time as much as it was his.

"Let's begin with some basic stretches. There's nothing fancy to these, you just want to keep your body limber." Although from looking at her lithe, slender form, Art had no doubt Lia was capable of that on her own. He arched his body downward as he stretched his forelegs out in the sand, then leaned it forward to stretch out his hind legs, spine, and hips. He did this a few times, then alternated stretching out each limb individually, going slow so Lia could imitate him if she wished, or let her use her own methods. "I do these every morning as part of my routine. Meditation and stretches," he explained with a little smirk. "Help gets me ready for the day."

The sun continued to head towards the western horizon as afternoon dipped toward evening. With their stretches finished, Artorias straightened up his position as he considered Lia. The girl was smaller than he, but by no means small, though she definitely was built more as a lover than a fighter, her slim frame and physique showing fitness, but not strength. That was fine; he'd seen wolves like her topple knights before. "Fighting itself is not a hard practice, and like other... ah, activities, it can be simplified down into an art form," he explained, shifting his body fluidly from standing erect to a lowered and tensed fighting stance. "Fighting is two main principles: protecting yourself and damaging your opponent. You want to keep yourself from getting hurt as much as you want to keep your opponent away from you." He relaxed and returned to his standing position. "The techniques I want to teach you are more for self-defense. I don't think you'll go looking for a fight, but these will help keep you safe if Briar or myself aren't near you." He waited for Lia to confirm she understood, or to ask any questions she might have, before proceeding to the actual lessons.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

Well, that sounded like a fairly unambitious start. That was good news for Lia, who was still overwhelmed with the idea of learning to fight in the first place. “Limber, I can do limber” she agreed. Quarking a light smile at him as she stepped forward in the ring. She slowly imitated Art’s stretches, before adding a few spins to it, twisting herself around and showing her limber and graceful body. She found herself…. Oddly… enjoying a moment of showing off. The moment she realised what she was doing, she stopped, and brought her body back to its normal state. Not calling attention to yourself was one of the first and most important rules as a slave. She had barely been owned by Art for any time at all, could he really be changing her so much already?

“Should I consider fighting like loving then, My Lord?” she teased him, having decided to take amusement by their abashed approach to things relating to the topic. It was charming, in a way. An indication of their gentler approach. As she watched, Art lowered himself into what she could only assume was a fighting stance, and she watched him with a careful eye. “That sounds straightforward, My Lord. What are these techniques?” she prompted.

Speech

Lia's enthusiasm to show off her limber nature didn't go unnoticed by Artorias, who while trying to loosen up his muscles found himself getting more than a little distracted by his sparring partner's flourishing stretches. It was impossible for the young man to keep his eyes off of her with the way she moved her body, twisting this way and bending that way. She was graceful, fluid, svelte... She had him transfixed—until she very abruptly stopped just before he did, and Artorias made his best attempt to make it look like he hadn't been watching her the entire time. A deep breath in, then released slowly to help get his mind focused and back on track. Hoo boy, this is going to be tougher than I thought...

As he explained the basic fundamentals of fighting and self-defense, Lia made a quick remark about treating fighting like loving, and once more Artorias felt his breath catch in his throat. He smirked at her, knowing she was trying to tease him and push his buttons, and dammit she was being successful at it too. "Well, it's certainly not how my parents taught it, but I suppose you can," he remarked with a husky chuckle and crooked grin. She at least seemed to be having a little more fun with him now. "The techniques you can use will look different depending on whether you're on your paws, or grappling your opponent, or if you find yourself beneath them, but the idea is the same: go for soft spots and weak points." He sat down before her, using a paw to indicate each vulnerable area a wolf had. "Eyes... Throat... Belly... Genitals... These spots will usually disable an opponent for a period of time, enough for you to call for help or get distance between you at the least. Scratch the eyes with your claws, go for the throat with your teeth, try to claw at the belly or the balls. In your case, the goal isn't to win the fight, it's to prevent your opponent from winning and preserving your own safety."

Artorias stood back up again, settling himself into his fighting posture. Paws spread to the width of his shoulders, feet planted firmly to the ground. His tail tucked in toward his body, ears lowered to his skull, head in line with his body. "If you're squaring up with someone, try to keep a posture like this. Keep your body low, legs spread evenly apart for easy movement. Tuck your tail in toward your body, keep your ears down, straighten your spine as much as you can. This will help make you stable and brace your body, so it's harder to knock you around." He straightened up a bit. "You try. Find a position that is comfortable, but protects as much of you from harm."

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
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