Hazel couldn't say she was bored when she'd barely made an effort to actually find something to do. There were so many yearlings in the Armada, she may as well do something with them... right? Hazel sighed to herself, working carefully to come up with a lesson. They could do something theory related. They could do something learning related, less physical, more mental. It would be cool to actually get them to come up with goals, right? The exercise she'd had Kite do with self reflection was something she could repeat. They did a lot of fighting, but how did they know they were learning? How did they know they were getting better?

Making her way to the Cove and picking a spot with a tall rock that she could perch upon, the girl decided this was as good a day and time as any. Hazel tipped he head back and called for... well, frankly called for whoever. Not a scheduled lesson, no, but she supposed whoever would show up was good enough.

"Speech"

He hadn't been busy when the call came out, but he'd certainly been doing something else. Wrapped up in helping Halo with chores, today it had mostly been dishes. Why was it always dishes, actually? The soap they'd made last year was a rather awful smelling affair, but it was useful. A de-greaser, even if it made him smell like tallow and lye and all the not so lovely things. For someone with such an affinity for lavender, why did she leave it smelling like... well, like that. The boy was grateful for the opportunity to make himself scarce.

Excusing himself and making his way to the Cove, the crystal-studded boy moved to where Hazel waited. She was standing up on a rock, like it was a podium or something. Like she had something important to say. If she was teaching a lesson, he guessed that made sense. All Dread offered was a silent, serious nod as he sat his haunches in the sand and waited. Who else was going to turn up?

"Dread Fatalis"

Andy is patrolling the border of the forest when a call rolls out from the cove. It is an invitation to come and train in fighting and her head turns in the direction of the summons. For a moment, the girl ponders answering it. The run in with the dying polar bear had been terrifying experience and the fact that she had frozen at the unspeakable horror of its appearance still does not sit well with her. With her mind made up, the purple girl turns toward the Cove and moves swiftly to where the training is being offered.

By the time she arrives, Andromeda finds that her brother, Dread, is already there. A small smile tugs at her lips as she turns to the woman who had called and offers her a respectful dip of her head. She has not met Hazel but she has heard of her and knows that she holds the rank of Lieutenant. Moving to where her stoic sibling sits, Andy settles in close him and offers an affectionate bump of her shoulder. Pale blue eyes turn to catch his gaze and she offers him wink and gentle smile. With that done, she waits for the lesson to begin.


"Andromeda Fatalis"

Charlie had been wandering in the direction of the beach with Silveris when his ears perked at the call of one of the Armada members. It wasn’t specific, more seemed… to invite whomever wanted to show up. He frowned a little, glancing up toward his feathered friend. He had been working on trying to determine what he wanted for himself in the Armada, finding his path, and he felt like he was falling behind his siblings in that regard… he had briefly mentioned to his father his enjoyment in the marking of weapons, especially when they worked on his mace together, but as for what he was actually shooting for in the long term Charlie didn’t know. Ruga was already the blacksmith for the Armada. While it might be useful to have a hand in the smithy, Charlie wasn’t sure if it was… enough to simply be an apprentice. He furrowed his brow. He would find his place, his niche… he just had to keep working on figuring that out. He wasn’t sure he wanted as much responsibility as his father, a bit worried he might not be suited for it, but to say Charlie didn’t yearn to make more of himself would be a lie. His path felt like it branched before him and he simply didn’t know which path to follow.

He hadn’t spent nearly enough time looking for the guidance of those a bit older though, those who might be able to teach him things and make suggestions on his likes and preferences. That was ultimately what encouraged Charlie to quicken his pace into the cove towards where Hazel, Dread, and Andy were already gathered. He was quiet as he approached, not sure what the lesson would be about as he took his seat. He was sure Silveris would remain nearby, though she did not land to be near him.

"Speech," 'Thought.'

Hazel nodded to each in turn as they gathered around her. She regarded each of them carefully, now realizing that she had to plan out exactly what to say. Right, shit. She did have to do that. Dread came first, moments after her call. Andy next, and Hazel gave a gentle mod. Happy to see that there was interest in the training, as long as someone was here to run it. That boded well for her, that boded well for the future of the Armada. Speaking of future, it was another boy from the same litter that joined them. Charlie was the last. Satisfied with the turnout, Hazel figured that she'd begin.

"Thank you guys for coming." Was that a corny way to start things off? Nah, fuck it. May as well make them feel like they were wanted, like they were doing something good by showing up to an extra training. Because they were. They were being good. Hazel offered a lopsided grin. "Okay, so I know that we do a lot of sparring, and a lot of training. But doing the fighting is really only half of learning how to fight." She explained, thinking about the concepts Halo had taught her when she was recovering from her injury last year. All the things they'd talked about, learning how to learn.

"I want all of you to think about the last fight you were in. It could be a spar, it could have been a fight against a predator. But I want you to think about all of the things you did during that fight." Hazel paused, giving them each a moment to think about their chosen fight or spar or whatever. "We're going to go around the circle and each talk about what we think went well in that fight, and what we think we could have done better." She lifted her gaze, letting it flicker around to each of her pupils, waiting for any questions that might come up.

"I'll go first. My last spar was against Sirius. During that spar I did a really good job keeping my guard up over my left side, which I know is typically weaker. What I could have done better, is I overcompensated. I was focusing too hard on my left side, and I let my guard down on my right as a result." Hazel looked to the yearlings before her, satisfied that she'd modeled the discussion they would be having.

"Speech"

His siblings arrived. Looked like it would be a family affair... that was nice, actually. Dread regarded both Andy and Charlie with a nod, a bit of a smile. The most excitement he'd show, typically. It was better than nothing, at least. He sat on his haunches, listening carefully to what Hazel had to say. They were gathering for a fighting lesson, but they weren't... actually fighting? Seemed like a weird way to go about things, but that was fine. He supposed that Hazel might know what she was doing, if the Warlord had put her in some sort of authority to teach them things.

She asks them to think about their last spar. Shit. Dread knows exactly who that spar is against. He shifted his weight a bit from one side to the other, his mind on the pretty pirate girl. While Hazel had disclosed who she'd fought, Dread... well, he thought better of it. What had he done well that fight? He knew what he'd done poorly, at least. Dread had gotten distracted by just how close she was, and the fact that she'd just kissed him, and how wrapped up in it all he was-- no. None of those things were things he could say out loud, especially in front of his family. Certainly the fuck not.

"In my last spar I did a good job looking for opportunities to land counter-attacks." Sure, he'd go with that. That was something like how Dread replayed it in his mind. "But uh, I didn't do a great job keeping control of my opponent. She was a lot lighter than me, so I had a hard time keeping hold of her." She was slippery. And pretty. And had done far more than best him in that moment, seeing as she lived rent-free inside his head.

"Dread Fatalis"

Catching sight of Dread’s greeting Charlie would return the smile with one of his own. It was nice to see Dread, he felt like he hadn’t been able to see enough of his brother as they were growing up. They were a large litter and it seemed that all of them had found variations on the path they wanted to walk in life. But that was okay! They were still family, and a family that would stick together no matter what. As the slightly older Armadan would start their lesson, Charlie would allow his bright blue gaze to flick back to her. A lesson for fighting, but one that wasn’t about physically sparring your opponent. This lesson would instead focus on analyzing past fights while thinking about what you could do differently.

Charlie frowned. He… really didn’t want to admit that he didn’t have a ton of experience in actual spars or fighting predators. But surely even he had something he could mention. He furrowed his brow, thinking about his training with Yorrick. “Truthfully, my recent spars have been a mess, and a lot of trial and error. I’ve been practicing with my companion Yorrick, a fisher, and as a smaller and more agile opponent, I have been struggling on reading him and landing attacks. On the plus side, I’ve noticed I’ve become far more conscientious about my defenses in battle, particularly the last spar we had. While I may have trouble getting a hold of him, he was unable to grab ahold of any of my vital areas either.” Charlie shook his head.

“But… I also worry I might hyper focus on the main opponent that I’m facing, and I’m not really sure how to best approach potentially taking on more than one threat at once.” Which could potentially be a bad thing. Typically spars were against one foe, but even fighting other predators there could be more than one combatant. And what if you had an ally helping you? How did you figure out how to best work with them?

"Speech," 'Thought.'

Andy waits for more wolves to join and is rewarded with the appearance of her other sibling, Charlie. A bright smile is offered to the tawny boy and her tail thumps the ground hard as he joins them. He settles in with the small group and they all look to Hazel as she begins the lesson. Listening intently, the girl thinks back to the last fight she had been in and slowly works through it, analyzing what she had done. Hazel offers them an example and Dread is quick to follow up followed then by Charlie and Andy nods along as they all explain what they did well and what they could have done better.

Finally, it is her turn and the dusty lavender girl shifts slightly as she straightens up. Clearing her throat, her soft voice says, “My last fight was against a bear.” A shy smile appears on her lips as Andy continues on, “I think I did really well working with my companions. We have learned how to work together and watch each other for cues on where to strike. What I could have done better is to read the predator for where it was going to attack next. I got hyper focused on attacking its throat and I didn’t pay attention to who it was going to attack next.”

Heat floods her cheeks and Andy ducks her head as she admits her failure out loud. Thankfully, her companions had been better at reading the attacks and were able to avoid any injuries. Still, no matter how confident the girl is in her ability to fight, she is finding that she will never stop learning how to do better.


"Andromeda Fatalis"

Hazel listened carefully as each of the yearlings took their turn. Talking about what had gone well, talking about what hadn't. Dread went first, and it seemed that his analysis was cursory at best. Hazel thought for a long moment about his words, considering each of them. The things that he was taking into consideration for himself were a good start, and she supposed that in-depth analysis would take more practice. That was okay, at least he was thinking. "Dread and Charlie, you both bring up good points about learning how to fight someone or something smaller than you. It's important that you're sparring against all sorts of opponents of different sizes and different strengths. Learning how they move, and how you need to move around them, will get easier with time and experience." Hazel nodded softly, allowing them to continue on.

Charlie had an additional concern. Facing multiple opponents was something she wouldn't recommend until he was stronger, more experienced, but it was also important that he get an answer to his question. "Potentially taking on more than one opponent at once can make things complicated. You need to make an assessment in the moment-- where is the biggest threat coming from. After you make your choice, everything you do after that needs to be as decisive as possible. It's tough, but if you commit as hard as you can to neutralizing the biggest threat first, you stand a better chance of making it out on top." Or making it out alive. Hazel wouldn't bring that into it, but her tone of voice offers some clarity on the situation, for anyone who could read between the lines. She remains serious through it, at least.

Andy talks about a fight against a bear. Hazel considers for a moment, though it seems the girl has sagged some, over admitting her shortcomings. "Striking a balance can be hard, but that's why we practice. If you're able to reflect on the things you didn't do as well, then you can focus on that the next time you spar, the next time you fight." Her tone is kind, without its usual edge. She doesn't want the girl's confidence shaken-- Hazel doesn't want any of their confidence shaken. "Reflection helps us learn, reflection helps us grow. It helps us learn where we need to practice more, and where we can help others."

Hazel takes a breath before continuing. "Helping your packmates reflect is important, too. I want to give you guys the floor, if you have any feedback for your peers, or any advice to offer them when it comes to the things they think they didn't do as well. I know that you were going to anyway, but keep it constructive." The girl had spoken her piece, and now she'd give the yearlings the reins. Ready to step in if anyone said something truly off base, but it seemed like this was a smart cohort that could handle a discussion like this.

"Speech"

Dread wouldn't say he was getting antsy, so to speak, but it did seem like they were doing an awful lot of talking. When he came down for a fight training this was certainly not what he had in mind. Sitting around talking, discussing... it's not something he's necessarily thrilled with. Granted, it seemed like Hazel knew what she was talking about. The idea that to get the most out of training, he'd have to actually... think about it. Using his head, not just when it came to fighting and doing diplomat-related things, but also... after? Fine.

"Charlie, when you're fighting one thing, I think it's alright to swap targets too. Like if you knock one over, they're less of a threat until they stand back up. Then you can deal with the other threat." Dread looked to Hazel now for some sort of approval, trying to figure out if what he's said really was good advice. There was a nod from the older girl, and he's glad he's spoken his piece. Was it good enough? He could hope so.

"Andy, would you spar with me more? It's sorta hard to find opponents around here that are shorter and lighter than us." He tipped his head, indicating both himself and Charlie in this. Maybe he's a little sheepish, wondering about the kind of hit his pride would take if he lost to his sister. Still, if it was in the name of improvement, then Dread could probably take the humbling as it came.

"Dread Fatalis"

While this fight training is different that Andy had expected, the girl will be the first to admit that is highly effective. Normally, when she fights, the purple wolf is in the moment and relies solely on her instincts. Afterward, she does not dwell on the what ‘ifs’ and ‘should haves’ because they did not seem important. Now, as she sits with the group, reflecting on her last fight, the girl realizes just how important that self-reflection is. She listens as Hazel offers pointers to Dread and Charlie before looking to her and the girl offers a sheepish grin. Head bobs in understanding at the words that are given and she vows, to herself, that she will take more time to analyze her fights and attempt to learn from her mistakes.

A small smile is on her dusty lavender lips as Hazel opens the floor to them and her pale blue eyes move to her brother Dread as he speaks. At his request to spar with her more, Andy dips her head in agreement as she says, “Of course. I am always free to spar with my brothers.” As her head lifts, a warm smile breaks across her lips and she adds a wink for her quiet brother. Dread has always had a special spot in the girl’s heart because they both seem to prefer not to speak, but to observe. Truthfully, that tendency is one of the reasons that the girl decided to take the Trader route. Because she needed to push herself out of her comfort zone.

Taking a breath, the girl decides to offer Dread some advice, since that is what Hazel has asked of them. Her voice is gentle as she says, “When your opponent is smaller and faster, it helps to lock them in place. If you can’t do that physically because they are slippery, try using the terrain to your advantage.” A shy smile is flashed to her brother before she turns her attention to Charlie and she gives him a warm, comforting smile. All of her siblings are special to the girl and she loves them all fiercely.

Voice still soft, Andy offers, “For a single opponent, I suggest the same things I told Dread.” A paw lifts to gesture at their sibling, the smile on her lips never wavering as she continues on, “Now, when you face multiple enemies, I would like to add a suggestion; calling for help. There is no shame in knowing your limits and I would rather you come out of the fight unharmed than face unreasonable odds.” Her ears slick back for a moment as she admits that she worries her siblings and she hopes that Charlie will not take her advice as a slight but as what it is; a sister’s worry. With that the girl hopes that she did a good job and looks back to Hazel.


"Andromeda Fatalis"

Though Charlie would fall quiet, he knew the lesson was not over. He had shared his experience, and Dread had shared a similar sort of one before him, and now as Andy spoke the young male would turn his attention toward his sister. Her own situation was with a predator, a bear, and Charlie frowned thoughtfully as he listened to how it had gone. He knew bears, particularly the polar bears, lived here in the North, and they were dangerous predators that could be competition for a wolf. Someday he was sure he would take on such creatures, and until then the yearling promised himself to learn as much as he could.

His attention would then shift to Hazel as she gave feedback on what they had told her. She mentioned the importance of sparring opponents of different sizes and strengths. That made sense, you didn’t really know who you would end up fighting later in life, so practicing while you had the chance was important. Charlie would give a small nod, ears perked forward as Hazel went on to explain that taking on more than one opponent could be complicated. She wasn’t wrong, but he had noticed different wolves had companions to help them battle. Knowing how to tackle not only the main threat, but to keep in mind other attacks could still be coming and how to handle those, would be valuable information.

To his surprise it would be Dread that would offer him the best insight there. As Hazel turned them loose, encouraging them to help each other reflect on what they could have done and offer each other feedback. Swapping targets was something Charlie had not considered, though now that the idea was presented to him he could see the value in it. He gave a grateful nod to his brother, offering Dread a small smile. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time. It might come in handy.” He furrowed his brow. “...and maybe when we are dealing with slippery opponents, we can try to anticipate where they’ll be and attack there, rather than where they are, otherwise we’ll always just miss them. But if we attack where they’re going then maybe we could land an attack or two?” Like his brother he cast a glance at Hazel, wondering if he was on the right track.

Andy would give her own feedback on the situation, suggesting to lock their opponent in place. Using the terrain to corner them and keep them from slipping away could be a good idea too. He gives another nod. Calling for help was also a consideration, and Charlie chuckled softly. “That would be the idea. I was worried about fighting wolves with companions, mainly. I think I need to work not just on sparring with Yorrick, but learning to coordinate my attacks with him and utilizing Silveris’ different perception from the skies.” He furrowed his brow a little. “Maybe that could help you as well, Andy. Consider how you and your companions work as a unit, and discuss what areas you should focus on, while also occasionally shifting your own focus to ensure that a predator doesn’t target a smaller or seemingly more vulnerable target. I think that would be something that you’d learn best through practice though…”

He shifted his gaze from Andy to Dread.

“It could be worth putting into practice with each other, actually. We all have companions, and our varying sizes match what the others were struggling with. I mean, we're already here… Hazel would be able to watch over us and let us know if we’ve tried to put the feedback we’ve given each other into practice, and what we can still do to improve.” They were already here, so why not, right?

"Speech," 'Thought.'