When Artorias had given Briar her anniversary gift, he had made the promise to teach her how to properly use it once she had given birth to their pups and was physically able to join him for some sparring. Well, the newest litter had been born, the little wolf nuggets were two seasons old and off running amok around the Hallows, and the Aegis and the Queen had a bit more time to spend by themselves now. A perfect combination to set up a little practice lesson to introduce Briar to the finer art of swordplay! Saying nothing to his wife to keep it a surprise, Artorias had snuck off after breakfast to go set up a private training area for them down on the beach. With it being the height of midsummer, having the ocean nearby to go take a dunk in to cool off would be a tremendous boon, and the soft sands would make for a much nicer cushion if they wound up losing their footing.

Artorias had scoped out the shore many times on his patrols, and as such he knew of a small secluded cove on the southern end of the shore just past the Hallows' pack lines. It was little more than an inlet surrounded by the rising rocky hills of the shoreline, but it was quiet, tranquil, and above all, private. Briar had asked him for private tutelage for their lessons and he would deliver on his promise to her. Though whether she wanted the privacy just for them to enjoy their one-on-one time together or for more mature ulterior motives remained to be seen. Artorias could hope for the latter. With a little grin on his face, the dire brute set up a pair of training dummies he'd taken from the Hallows' training yards, sticking them securely in the sand so they wouldn't topple over. He'd brought two dulled daggers from the armory with him for them to practice with, but he had also brought his own Carpathian steel dagger so he could train alongside Briar and learn with her. The Aegis may have been a master swordsman, but even he knew he was not above honing his skills.

With everything set up for them, Artorias stepped back to admire his work, then waited for Briar to come join him. He had mentioned to her at breakfast that he was going out to do something for them, leaving her with a little cryptic clue to come find him down the shore at midday. All he had to do now was wait for her to track him down, and then the real fun could begin! Artorias' tail wagged on the sand behind him while he sat and watched the rising and falling of the sea; he was so excited to get to train Briar in his special fighting styles!

"Artorias Carpathius"

In the hustle and bustle of their busy family life, the thought of training and becoming more adept with her new weapon had slightly fallen to the wayside. Of course it was a good problem to have being so caught up in the whirl wind that was so many happy, healthy new pups running around, but when Artorias mentioned his plans for the day to her over breakfast it caught her by surprise. She grinned eagerly at the idea and agreed to come find him once he had some time to set up their training area. It gave her a reason to hurry through her morning chores and make sure all of their children were off to their own tasks and adventures for the day. It had been quite a while since she had done any proper training and as someone who was always eager to learn something new it had her trotting down toward the beach at the first opportunity she had. Training and learning a new skill and finding some rare alone time with her husband? She was practically being spoiled!

As she stepped onto the sandy beach that sat below their castle, she began to follow her husband's scent to a more secluded cove that was out of the usual line of sight and walking paths that they would usually take. The secluded nature of their temporary training ground and what that might might lead to didn't slip past her, the thought bringing a little smirk to her lips, but she was still focused on the task at hand first. She had her new dagger strapped to her foreleg and at the ready for whatever training Artorias had in mind, though she did assume he would bring something less honed and sharp to practice with first. She found him next to a few training dummies and materials a short time later and she smiled as she came over to join him, leaning in to give him a kiss. "Well, teacher, where do we start?"

"Briar Carpathius"

Artorias soaked up the sun and watched the ocean waves while he waited for Briar to arrive, enjoying the peaceful interlude and solitude for a brief spell. When the sound of approaching paws on the sand caught his attention, the black and blue brute turned his head just in time to catch sight of his beautiful queen making her way towards him in the seclusion of their private cove. He greeted Briar with a loving smile that brightened up his entire expression just to see her and happily received her kiss, smooching her back to say hello. No matter how many years they had been married or how long they'd been together, he still got like a giddy teen having their first kiss whenever she gave him any affections, he just loved her so much.

Briar asked where they would begin and Artorias rose to his paws, gesturing with a flick of his head towards the makeshift arena he had set up. "Right over here, my gorgeous apprentice." Keeping the atmosphere and banter light and teasing between them was never difficult for the alpha couple to do, and it meant they'd just have more fun training and practicing together. Artorias liked to keep his lessons less rigid and tailored to his students. Briar would be getting extra special lessons all the same though. As he led her over to the training dummies, he picked up one of the two sparring daggers and placed it at Briar's paws, gesturing to Memento strapped to her foreleg. "We won't be starting with the actual blades right away. Basics first, then we can play with the fun toys." He waited for Briar to disarm herself while he took up his own blunted dagger, ready to begin their training.

First up, he would need to get Briar familiar with the feeling of fighting and maneuvering with something in her mouth. "Go ahead and pick up your training dagger. Get used to just holding it in your jaws. You want a secure grip, but not too firm that you're biting into the hilt, but strong enough that you won't lose hold of it." Art demonstrated by tossing his head back and forth, wildly swinging the blunted dagger a few times. The blade moved smoothly through the air, not wobbling or waving in his grasp. It was a fine line of finding the right amount of strength to use, and it was different for every wolf and every weapon. Once Briar had found that sweet spot, Artorias began a slow sway of his head left to right, then back again, showing how to swing the blade. "The important thing to keep in mind when using a blade is to make sure you know where your blade is pointing at all times. That determines how to move and turn your head to swing it. You always want the blade facing towards your opponents, like this."

Artorias positioned himself in front of a dummy, keeping the metal blade of the training dagger aimed in its direction. When he pivoted to face the other way, he smoothly turned the hilt around in his jaws so the blade stayed pointing at the dummy. Now it was Briar's turn. "Take some time, just get used to the feeling of brandishing a blade. Try positioning yourself at the dummy the way you would face an enemy. Try turning and moving, staying focused on your weapon." As she would practice these new moves, Artorias would go through the steps with her at her side, being a guide and live demonstration for her to observe and follow.

"Artorias Carpathius"

Briar chuckled at Artorias' compliment and came to join him in the training area he had set up, watching as he pulled out a training dagger for her to use for the time being. As she had assumed, they wouldn't be jumping right into swinging around honed blades. She nodded with understanding and unstrapped Momento's sheath from her leg, placing the dagger off to the side on a piece of driftwood before coming back to Artorias and standing in front of the training dagger that had been presented to her. First things first, it seemed, was just getting comfortable holding the blade. She had held Momento a few times, mostly just to show off her husband's thoughtful gift, but she certainly hadn't tried to use it in combat yet so that did feel like a good place to start.

She made sure to listen to his guidance first before she did anything, giving small nods to show she was understanding and listening. Trying to keep in mind the idea of not biting down too hard, but still holding on firmly enough to not let the blade slip, she picked up the dulled blade between her teeth, shifting it around a bit until she found a comfortable spot for it to sit in her mouth. It was hard at first to resist the urge to bite down harder as she started to mimic his motions and swing her head, afraid that it might slip free with the movement, but after a few testing swings so she could get used to the feel of the momentum it got a bit easier to know what that grip should feel like. She didn't feel as confident with it as Artorias looked, but this was far from her first training session and she knew that would all come with time and practice.

Briar watched her husband and followed his motions, trying to pay attention to the arc of his swing and how he moved the blade. She had grown up following her father's and brother's movements to replicate them herself so it was easy to fall back into that mindset. Some parts of the lesson felt like they should be very obvious, like the fact that she should keep the blade pointed toward her enemies, but how to move and handle the blade had a bit of a learning curve to it. Watching the way Artorias turned the blade around in his jaws with such ease was intriguing–and attractive if she was being honest. Trying not to let herself get too distracted just yet, she followed his lead and stepped up to one of the training dummies to try her hand at some of the movements Art was demonstrating.

She started with just shifting from one side to another while focusing on keeping the blade pointed toward the dummy, getting used to the feeling of strafing from side to side with it. It wasn't all that different from keeping her antlers pointed toward an enemy so she just had to translate that into something that was moveable and not affixed to her head. After watching Art do it several times, she made an attempt at spinning the blade around to face the other way, but she didn't quite give it enough momentum and it toppled right out of her mouth, falling blade first into the sand. She chuckled and grabbed the blade again, going through the motions again and again. It had been a long time since she had really trained and learned something new and this was making her remember how much she loved it.

"Briar Carpathius"

As she took up her training weapon, Artorias watched Briar with rose attention so he could observe how she did, identifying what came naturally to her and what would need some special attention. It took Briar a few moments of adjusting where she was holding the dagger until she seemed to find a position that was comfortable for her. Artorias did not rush her; he remembered how much time it had taken him to get used to the feelings too. Nobody was a protege over night, after all. When he gave Briar her first set of exercises, the Aegis watched his Queen from the side of his vision, alternating between facing the training dummies so he could go through the motions with her and focusing all his attention on her as her teacher. Those awkward, clumsy motions of a first-timer feeling things out gradually became smoother as Briar became familiar with what holding a blade felt like.

Watching her as she moved about the target like he told her to do while keeping the blade pointed at her enemy, Art smiled from around the dagger in his own jaws, his tail giving a slow wag of approval. "Bun. You're doing great, Briar! But I know you're a natural handling things with your mouth." Artorias gave his wife a sly smirk, fiery eyes gleaming with a playful naughtiness. He couldn't help it, his wife was just so damn hot, especially when she was in her element in a fight! Just as the dire brute was busy admiring his mate's beauty, he watched as Briar tried to imitate one of his knife flips, only to lose control of the dagger and dropping it to the sand. "Well, maybe mostly a natural at handling things with your mouth," he remarked with a husky chuckle.

Briar resumed her practice, picking right back up where she left off while Artorias supervised and directed her, marveling at her beauty, grace, and strength. She had always been the most incredible wolf in the world to him, but getting to see her doing what fulfilled her in life was a simple and yet perfect joy to the sappy brute. After a few more repetitions, Artorias stepped up beside Briar so he was parallel to her side, smiling at her. "Now that you've got the gist of movement with your weapon, we're going to practice some basic attacks, starting with the horizontal slash and stab." Taking the lead again, Artorias began a slow turn and twist of his head, cutting the blade of his dagger horizontally through the air in a wide arc, moving as if in slow motion so Briar could see his every movement. He repeated this a couple of times back and forth, then finished with a thrust of his body forward, pointing the tip of the dagger through the air as if thrusting the blade at an invisible enemy. He glanced to Briar again, "Try it with me. Take your time feeling out the motions. It's more important to make your strikes accurate than fast at this stage."

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"

Briar glanced toward Art with a bit of a grin around her practice blade as he complimented her progress–and a playful glare at the context he framed it with. He was forever and always her lecherous husband, after all. Of course she disproved his comment shortly after as she fumbled the blade a bit and it fell to the sand, but that didn't stop him from his innuendos. She picked back up where she left off easily, staying focused on her pretend opponent while Artorias supervised and gave her direction whenever she needed it. She already knew how adept he was at teaching from seeing him giving lessons to their children and their other various pack members that had needed training here and there, but it was another thing to experience his tutorage as a student and she couldn't help but admire her talented husband as he helped her hone this new skill.

After a while of this stage of their training, Artorias moved on to another aspect of wielding her new blade–attacks. She nodded as he mentioned the horizontal slash and stab that would be one of the more basic attacks she could do with her weapon and then took a step back to give him some room in front of the dummy so he could slowly go through the motion and show her the stance she would need to take to do it. She was sure that as with every style and aspect of fighting that this would be one of the things she would eventually fine tune to fit into her own style, but for now she followed Art's movements to the letter to get the basics down and get an idea of what a strong attack would look like. She watched him the first couple of times before she joined in at his insistence, glancing toward him occasionally to pick up the little details like how his paws were placed when he lunged and how he reset his stance after. She practiced a few times, keeping in mind his recommendation to focus on her accuracy rather than the speed of her attacks for now. Once she got more comfortable with the movement of the slashes and stabs she started working on making them more fluid between the two, stabbing at their training dummy several times and slashing across with a little flourish toward the end. She grinned around the hilt and looked toward Art expectantly, wondering what they'd work on next.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

If Artorias had been told as a pup that he would one day be the Aegis of the Hallows and an accomplished weapons instructor, he would have laughed his head off in disbelief. Now, as the Carpathian brute was training with his wife out on the shimmering sands of the Austral coast, he couldn't remember a time when he hadn't enjoyed teaching. Whether it was their children with their basics or practicing new weapons with his mate, Artorias lived for that a-ha moment he saw in all of his students' eyes as they learned new skills and tricks and refined their techniques. Teaching Briar was no exception—if anything, it was twice as fun for the added company! He loved doing things with his Queen, from the mundane routine chores to the special occasion activities and everything in between. So watching her as she learned this new skill with him brought out that proud teacher moment in the Aegis.

Step by step, Artorias watched as Briar began to smoothen out her movements, growing more confident and sure in her footing and her pacing. What started as clumsy attempts meant to feel out the basic action gradually grew to a more natural movement. Briar's fluidity increased, and soon the dire brute was watching his gorgeous mate take precise slashes and stabs at the training dummy. Behind him, Art's tail began to wag with delight, the corners of his lips curling up into a proud grin from around the hilt of his dagger. When Briar eventually stopped and looked back at him for her evaluation, Artorias simply closed the distance between them and nuzzled the side of her head with his own, careful to make sure he avoided Briar's dagger while pointing his own safely away too. "You're a natural, my love!" he praised her, stepping back a pace to regard her with his warm gaze. "You've got the basics of movement and simple attacks down pat. How about you pick your next lesson? Would you like to learn defensive stances with your blade or would you like to put these moves into practice with a spar?" Artorias would let Briar decide what she felt she'd gain the most from: another set of moves for her beginner repertoire or some live practice with the ones she'd just learned.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"

Briar grinned proudly as Art stepped closer to nuzzle her affectionately, her braided tail swaying eagerly at his praise. With so much of her training and knowledge being taught to her at a young age, it had been far too long since she had learned a new technique for fighting and it had truly reminded her how fun this kind of thing could be. Although, perhaps it was this enjoyable mostly because Artorias was her teacher. She turned away from the training dummy and faced her husband instead as she was given two options for how they could proceed–practice some defenses or go straight into a spar. Both were valid options and she knew how important the basics were to learning a new skill, but she could hardly turn down an opportunity to spar her mate. "Well, I have always learned best by experience," she replied, smirking around her practice dagger as she began to settle into a fighting stance across from him, her turquoise gaze gleaming with amusement and challenge. "Lets put some of this lesson to the test, shall we?"

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

Unsurprisingly, Briar chose the sparring option, wanting to put her lessons thus far into practice. Artorias nodded and fixed Briar with a determined grin. He would have chosen the same thing. "All right, my Queen, let's see what you've learned! First one to land three blows with their dagger on the other is the winner." With the simple objective of their fight explained, Artorias assumed his fighting stance opposite his mate with a few paces of space between them. Flexing his toes in the soft sand and wiggling his body to limber up his muscles, Artorias fixed Briar with a determined stare, eyes narrowed in focus as he got set to engage. He'd lost his last three spars against Briar; he did not intend to give her a fourth win easily. "Ladies first," he said with a wink, offering Briar the honor of the opening move. He wanted to see just what she was capable of with her new knowledge and weapon.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"

Briar grinned around her weapon as Artorias began to square up with her and gave her the rules of the game–the first to land three hits was the winner. Simple enough. He opened the floor for her to kick things off and with a little nod she did just that. She was far from a novice when it came to fighting and in some ways she knew exactly what she was doing. Her defenses never wavered and her paws were firm on the ground despite the shifting sand under them. Where she struggled, however, was actually landing any kind of hit on her husband. Between the fact that she was still mastering how the dagger felt between her teeth and with Art's far superior experience fighting with weapons she was certainly fighting an uphill battle. She was learning quick though and even though he landed the first tap of his training dagger against her shoulder fairly quickly she was able to defend against his other swipes pretty readily.

Still, whenever she tried to swing in for an attack of her own, she was thinking too much about her form and how to do it and that it left her wide open. Despite a valiant effort for her first attempt at wielding a weapon that wasn't her own antlers, Art landed three taps on her shoulders and forelegs and she relented with a sigh, panting lightly around the handle of the dagger as she looked up to her husband with a grin. Sticking the pretend blade down into the sand, she chuckled and gave him a playful glare. "I guess that means you win... for once," she teased, her tail wagging gently behind her.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

The spar was on as soon as Briar kicked her paws off the sand and came charging towards him, her weapon held ready to strike. Artorias smirked around the faux dagger in his jaws, amber eyes narrowed in steely focus as he tracked his mate's movements towards him. He knew Briar was no pushover or slouch when it came to combat; he had been on the receiving end of more than a few losses to his beloved wife's fighting skills. But this was his wheelhouse now and Briar was about to get schooled. Artorias bided his time until Briar had come close enough to the point where she wouldn't be able to retract her attack, Artorias pushing back on the soft sand to quickstep backwards away from Briar's wild swings of her dagger. She had the heart and the gumption, but she lacked the finesse and the technique of practice and time, just like any student learning a new skill. But just because she was a novice didn't mean he was going to go easy on her.

Chuckling to himself as he dodged her attacks one after the other, the Lord of Cinder managed to catch his Lady's weapon against his own with a clang of dulled steel, pushing her attack off to the side and leaving her open to a quick tap on the shoulder. One point to him. Trying to show off a little bit, Artorias began a rapid barrage of quick strikes back at Briar, and to her credit she did manage to hold her own enough to either deflect or dodge his assault. Pride shone in the dire brute's eyes, but so too did a challenge burn in their fiery depths. He was goading Briar on, encouraging her to come for him. It was a valiant effort of student against master, of enthusiasm versus knowledge. Their dance would continue like this for a while, with Art deflecting, blocking, or dodging Briar's attacks only to take advantage of his wife's less-than-perfect form and get a strike in to tap his blade against her side and a third on her shoulder. Game, set, match.

By the end of their spar, both wolves were breathing heavier, adrenaline coursing through the Lord of Cinder's veins, his eyes shining with a playful mischief as he secured his victory. He returned Briar's grin, watching as his beautiful wife speared her dagger down into the sand and admitted defeat. Art's tail was also wagging a mile a minute as she conceded to him. She was teasing him with her words, but Artorias was too excited from his win and what that meant to pay much attention. No sooner was Briar speaking, Art was also tossing his dagger down into the sand and then the great big dire brute was advancing on his beautiful wife, a sly grin on his face and an eager gleam in his eyes for a different type of "playtime". "About time I did after all the times you got me on my back," he replied in chuckled, husky tones, not stopping his advance until he was almost nose-to-nose with Briar, booping the end of his muzzle against hers with that lusty yet playful grin on his face, tail still a-wag off the end of his rump. "So do I get a prize for finally beating you, Deer Girl?"

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"

She couldn't expect anything less than lustful eagerness from her husband as she admitted defeat and watched him immediately begin advancing on her. There hadn't been a single time in her memory where they hadn't ended a spar without immediately falling into one another and she knew already this wouldn't be any different–especially not when her husband finally secured a win against her. She returned his sly grin as he approached her, chuckling at his comment about all of the times that she had gotten him onto his back with her victories. She did certainly enjoy her moments of being in control of her big, dire wolf husband, but that didn't stop her from absolutely loving when he was in control as well. She chuckled as he lightly booped his muzzle against hers, his contagious energy and grin making her own grin widen in response. She adored that he still after all of these years was always just as excited and eager at the prospect of getting to ravage her. It never failed to make her feel like the most beautiful and desired fae in all of Auster and Boreas. "I believe you do, Blue Boy," she purred in reply, giving the end of his nose a teasing lick. "So now the only question is how do you want to claim your prize?"

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

The sultry grin and giggle he was able to pull out of her with his affections brought a toothy smile to Artorias' face. There were few things he loved more than making Briar smile and laugh. She was so perfect, so utterly flawless and everything he ever wanted and needed and he always wanted to make her feel as amazing as she made him feel. Gods, he just loved her so, so much! Briar confirmed that he did indeed get a prize for beating her and Art's tail was wagging a mile a minute as she planted a teasing lick to the end of his nose. When she asked how he wanted to go about claiming his prize, a litany of excitable memories and fantasies flashed through his imagination. So many options to choose from... But gazing deep into those perfect turquoise pools, Artorias knew exactly how he wanted his wife.

Stepping even closer to press his broad chest gently against his mate's, Artorias gave a lecherous rumbling growl as he slid back onto his haunches, giant forepaws lifting to stroke slowly along the sides of Briar's chest. His digits slid through her soft, silky fur, tracing the smooth planes of her body until he looped his powerful forelegs underneath hers and around her chest, using his immense size and strength to pull Briar's body closer to his and hoist her off her paws. Artorias gave a playful laugh as he scooped Briar up and held her close while he toppled backwards onto the beach, cushioning her atop of him as his back hit the sand. Then, in a swift display of strength, Artorias rolled them both so he was on top of Briar and pinning her down to the sand below, a lopsided grin on his face, a lustful gleam in his eye, and that playful puppy-like wag of his tail going all the while.

"It's about time I got you on your back," he teased in deep, rumbling tones, leaning in closer to slowly press his lips to Briar's in a deeply passionate kiss, pouring forth all his love and desire for this amazing fae. After a few long, perfect moments, the dire brute moved his mouth from his tawny fae's, grinning down at her as he slid one giant paw down to her waist, scooping up her hips to align them with his. "Sunteți toți ai mei, Briar." Then with a sigh and a groan, Artorias pressed his hips to Briar's and joined their bodies together on the beach, timing the rhythm of their motions to the lapping ocean waves nearby.

- fade -

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"

Briar hummed with delight at the feeling of Artorias' paws tracing along the sides of her chest and down around her sides, her turquoise eyes gazing into the rich, fiery tones of his with a sultry smirk as she waited to see what he had in mind. She got her answer in the form of his strong embrace wrapping securely around her sides and all at once she was swept off of her paws as he pulled her over top of her. She gasped at the sudden shift, but there was no resistance as he pulled her body over top of his own as he fell back into the sand. She was only on top of him for a moment through before he rolled them over just as easily, showing off his strength as he put her onto her back and pressed her down into the sand under his larger frame. She returned his grin with a lustful look of her own, chuckling as her paws traced up along his broad shoulders to loop around the back of his neck, her tail brushing back and forth across the sand.

Her grin widened at his comment about him finally getting her on her back, her memories flashing back to all of the times when she had bested him in their fights and she had throughly enjoyed riding him like there was no tomorrow. The roles were reversed for once and she was more than happy to let him have his way with her. Her lips connected with his in a deeply passionate kiss, a soft moan escaping her only to be muffled by his kiss. Her back arched as they made out and that deep heat in her core grew from a spark to an all out inferno, pressing her lithe body up into his own while her claws combed thorough his thick scruff. She didn't know how long they remained like that, but eventually their lips parted with a little gasp and she felt one of his large paws slip effortlessly around her waist to pull her hips up to his. She grinned up at him at his declaration in the Carpathian tongue, but before she could respond she felt him join their bodies together, cutting off her words with a heated gasp and a trembling moan. She pressed her cheek to his, nuzzling into his fur as she purred in response, "Totdeauna și întotdeauna..."

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"