She had done it again. The pup, now vastly approaching six months of age, was out exploring the world. She intended to conquer it, have an iron paw, and be the most respected woman others met. Odette hadn't even thought about telling her parents where she was going to go this time. After getting so far from home the last time she set out without anything happening to her, she was kind of over confident in her abilities as a young one. A smirk appeared on her pretty face when she realized where she was. Odette was near the Valhallan borders, yet she wasn't too close to be considered trespassing. She could smell the peaceful scents that swam through the air from their pack lands, indicating that there wasn't anything out of the ordinary going on. It was a familiar smell and she hoped that the memories she kept from her last "visit" would remain in her mind forever. Just thinking of how far she had come from home made her chest swell. She was proud. The only thing that made a difference between her current state of being and the iron-clad maiden she wanted to be was knowledge. At six months, Odette wasn't smart in the ways of defending herself and she had to learn. To be a great warrior and ruler, she needed to build her own knowledge and body up with the right materials. Her paws dug themselves into the ground, leaving claw marks as she imagined a large ruffian running to her. She didn't know anything about strategies or how to work with one in mind, so she merely growled and pretended to avoid the invisible strike. After a minute or two of dancing in a few circles, she got irritated and shook her head. "This isn't working!" She sighed, frustration evident in her tones. She needed someone alive, someone real. With her luck, though, she knew no one around here that fit that description. Talk like this

With the cooling of winter Solaine Adravendi was a healthy and spunky nine months old. Long ago had Valhalla lost some of its exploring appeal, and so she would find herself a small distance away, piquing her interest in the world that lay beyond Valhallan borders. The Plains of Valhalla had their appeal for one reason or another, but the land of the vagabonds was where her heart resided on this day. With a sigh she would tramp farther away from her home, paying little mind to how her mother might fret or how her father might raise his brow with every step she took. She was a child no more - at least not in her own eyes. Gael might've come with her if she'd asked, or even Guinevere - but neither of them were readily available when she'd vacated the Valhallan territory. And so, Solaine was very much on her own. Bi-colored eyes narrowed in on a figure looming in the distance, ears twitched forward to take in the plaintive cry of frustration. She would trot forward with little hesitation, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly. ?What isn't working?? Perhaps it was bad manners to listen to conversations that she wasn't a part of, but the girl cared little for manners at this stage in her life. She had been blunt since day one, and she wasn't going to change at nine months. ?speak,?

She was in the middle of walking in her circle, causing a trail to be made in the surrounding dirt, when a bodiless voice reached her ears. Her head had been hanging as she fumed over the lack of knowledge that it took to control the outcome of a potential fight. Odette's reaction to the voice was the way her head snapped up and her eyes narrowed on the source that was approaching at a steady pace. 'Great,' she thought. 'Someone has witnessed me being mad. Oh well, may as well not hide it.' The miniature version of Gargoyle himself stopped pacing in the circle. Instead, she sidestepped the ring she had been making and merely stared at the white pup that stood from afar. She was indeed pretty and a bit older, but that didn't stop Odette from expressing her emotions with more words. "Feeling like a complete dummy and not knowing the first THING about fighting!" She huffed, making her fur stick out around her body. If she was younger, the reaction would have made her look oh-so-cute. At this point in time of her short life, she would get madder if someone even said it. "I'm going to rule a kingdom one day, and if I intend to be one of the best, I need to be able to defend my castle." A fire burned in Odette's eyes, making the red and blue sparkle for effect. "My kingdom can't have a wussy queen as their ruler. I need to be a strong woman!" Her voice got squeaky at the word 'woman' and she only growled at her puppy trait. Odette's brow furrowed and she looked over the white female in front of her. "I bet you know TONS. You're bigger than me, so that means you know more...right?" Ahh, such as the na?ve outlook of a pup. Talk like this

It was a bit of a surprise to get an actual response to her question, usually wolves got embarrassed when she listened in and heard something she wasn't intended to. However, this younger pup didn't seem to mind, and answered quickly. It seemed she was struggling with the same lack of knowledge in warfare as Solaine had. She continued, professing her eventual rule of a theoretical kingdom which she intended to rule someday in the hypothetical future. It seemed the child thought Solaine would automatically know more than she, though she was oh-so-wrong. ?Wrong,? she would mutter with a slight huff in her tone. ?I haven't so much as watched a fight.. Every time I slip off toward the battlefield my parents take me back home.? She knew only what she'd learned when wrestling with Guinevere, and that was hardly anything at all. ?I do know that its hard to practice by yourself. You wanna be partners?? Head would tilt at an angle along with this question, as she was genuinely interested in the girl's answer. It would be fun to fight with someone for real, especially someone she didn't know and someone who wouldn't go easy on her because she was family or because she was young. ?I'm Solaine by the way.? Tactically she would choose to leave off her surname, Adravendi was well known throughout Alacritis - and she didn't want to take a chance of being returned home if this girl blabbed on her. ?speak,?

The older white pup told her that she had no fighting experience and Odette's spirits for learning from her were dampened. No one she had met in her short life was aware of how to fight! What was she going to do, especially when she had such a long time to live? Her counterpart continued to say that she wouldn't mind learning and wanted to know if she wanted to be her sparring partner. The wet cloth that had covered her spirits was removed and she brightened up with a powerful gleam in her eyes. "You bet!" She said, playful growls escaping her lips as she lowered her front half to the ground. Her tail began to wag and she began to think of possible ways to start the play fight. It was then that the white girl introduced herself as Solaine. Bi-colored eyes stared as she slowly rose from her stance, paws now supporting her full body weight. "I've never heard of that name, but it's nice. Pleased to meet you, Solaine." Ears remained perked as she said, "My name is Odette." A small pause rested between the two until Odette asked, "How do we start practice fighting?" Talk like this