Moonspear heavy

some days, she feels dull and faded and empty. apathy swallows her; she wonders at the time she has lost, the utter uselessness of striving to better herself, to roam among the mountain-wolves, when at any moment stability and happiness could be stolen by some heavy-handed thief. some days, her brother seems so grown and strong and changed she wonders if she truly knows him, anymore, or if she is an outsider to him, to all of them. 

but today is not one of those days. as she heals; regains the luster of her pelt, the surity of her step on the mountainside, they become scarcer, and she bolder. she hopes, she dreams; but quietly, furtively. 

today they are adults. it rather surprising that both of them live, together, really, when fate had seemed so against this day. it is a warm, proud feeling to know they've made it, and when she finds herself on the lower foothills come evening, she is dancing. step once, twice, to the right; feint and snap at the left. spin, quick and simple, press forward with her right shoulder in hook with her right. it is a long time since she's practiced, and learned; she finds herself swallowed in the activity soon enough.

hecc timelines

a flurry of snow announced to arcturus isilme's endeavors atop the spear. for a time he watched her, as a teacher might watch a student -- noting with a light smile as she delved deeper and deeper into a primal focus: a joy.

arcturus moved to make himself known when she paused, his tail fanning lightly behind him in good faith. "would you like a lesson?" he inquired in a soft timber, his gaze upon her with a soft curiousness. it was not his nature to push -- but if she was ready, he would be here to teach.

she pauses, small smile set on her muzzle as she imagines her hapless opponent defeated. so focused is she inward, that Arcturus's advance has her start, something he hopes is covered up as she turns to face him her own tail wagging in as much friendliness as nervous energy. 

her heart rate goes down when she recognizes the man, and her muzzle dips down, up, in quick acceptance. but she's forgetting herself, this is a leader; not just any, but one of those who'd allowed her return. "yes, please." comes her answer then, auds flicking forward in eagerness.

arcturus was sorry to have startled the pale dove; he offered a brief smile as she turned around, attempting to appear disarming. it had not been his intention to interrupt her, or cause her alarm -- yet if she was to spar on his mountain, he wanted a part of it.

so they could learn, and grow, and become better -- together.

"do you do that often?" he inquired, making a motion with his head for her to follow him. he moved off at an easy lope, heading for the sparring grounds he and dragomir had often revisited. here, he would show isilme what he knew.. but first, he must learn what she knew.

she falls into step beside the beta easily enough, not entirely sure why, or where they're going, but making first to answer his question. "only recently — I haven't practiced in a while, and I wanted to remember what I'd learned." it's been weeks, months, and her lessons had been sparse; but the rhythm of it was well remembered. 

"where are we going?" she queries, inwardly uncomfortable with her lack of knowledge. she'd rather like to know the details of whatever secondary location she's agreed to go to.

arcturus slowed, his ear cupped back. the beta believed he heard some sort of uncertainty in isilme's voice, and turned back to regard her carefully. "the sparring grounds. it's where dragomir and i spar." he hoped that would serve as sufficient answer, but if she still remained nervous, he wouldn't mind sparring where they stood instead. "we can do it here, if you'd like - it is just flatter up there." he motioned uphill, where the stones that encircled the flattened ground jutted into view.

"i hoped you could tell me what you know, before we begin." arcturus' sunflower gaze studied isilme softly - if she had learned anything in her brief stint outside of the spear, he wished to know.

"no, it's alright," she reassures, pressing onward. she's warming to the beta fairly quickly, all things considered, and the knowledge that her brother had sparred with this man was more than enough for her to extend a certain amount of trust in him, for now. 

when she ground begins to flatten out, she offers an answer to his question, much like the one hydra had asked her not so long ago. "the basics of offense and defense, to use my speed to my advantage, since I'm not that tall, or strong." she recites, looking to him with a flick of her auds. it doesn't seem all that much, said allowed. "I didn't have that much time to learn, before we moved." and after that; well, he knew.

they reached the stony bluff, and by that point it seemed isilme had lost some of her reservation, for she spoke easier now than she had in the minutes prior. arcturus listened in interest - it was good to know she had some basics. moonspear was a dominion steeped in militaristic tradition -- isilme would be a fine soldier, should she apply herself.

he nodded in agreement to her assessment; she was lithe, and quick. there were tactics fast wolves could employ, that could change the battle in an instant -- and there were also many defensive maneuvers one with speed could fashion to keep their head above water.

"that is promising." arcturus murmured, walking around in a small circle. he dampened the snow down, and dragged out from under a heap of snow a stick that was well-worn and chewed. a stick that had seen many sessions. "we will start with the basics of offense - i defend, you offend." he placed the stick in the small circle, and stood over it.

his sunny gaze fell upon isilme, intense yet filled with the warmth of a tutor. "take my kill."

she watches as he drags from a snowdrift a stick; obviously one that had survived many battles. despite its scars, it seemed solid, as arcturus deposits it in the center of the circle he's created. she accepts the scenario he lays out with a nod, beginning to pace a short line in front of him as she ponders her first move. 

tongue slips over her lips as she considers. going straight for it would be too obvious, surely. there's a certain amount of nervousness, too; she does not want to disappoint. gaze flickers to his and down again, and she's determined her plan of attack. she lunges toward him; jaws reaching to grab hold of his muzzle while she tries to send the stick out of the circle with a forelimb.

arcturus readied, wondering if she would be like her brother.

instead, she proved surprising -- and did not one move at once, but two.

arcturus met her jaws with a grunt of his own, his jaws pried open to meet and lock with her teeth. as her forelimb went out, he realized her goal and attempted to the best of his ability to subvert her by a rough heave to her shoulder;

should she be pushed back, he would place a hind paw upon the stick to secure it. should she lunge, he would try his best to grab her.

she was faster, and so, arcturus played conservatively.

their jaws meet messily, and her attempted kick is made less than effective by arcturus's shove. she grunts in turn, mind working for a new strategy. this had not gone as planned, but then again, in her life, things seldom seemed to. she's smaller, but no less determined, and so presses against his shoulder with hers while aiming a snap at his muzzle once more, aiming to press him away from the prize so that she may create an opening with which to grab it.

isilme was quick -- quicker than he, quicker than dragomir. arcturus noted this with a thin smile: she made a quick study.

her teeth pull away, and arcturus readied for her new attempt.

keeping his balance and weight low, he braced against isilme's impact, feeling her shoulderblade dig into his. her teeth swung towards him, and at that moment he ducked (her teeth clipping his ruff as he went down)-- only, it was not so much a duck as a drop.

lying down in full across the stick, arcturus grinned widely -- and then aimed a playful snap at her toes.

arcturus is there and then he's not, and the girl stumbles as she whirls. it's a messy recovery, and to her sharp disappointment, he's made any attempt to reach the stick impossible. a "hmph." slips from her muzzle as she considers, jumping backward with a sharp laugh as he makes for her toes. 

recovering, tail lashing behind her, she makes a grab for any exposed section of stick, aiming for a last-ditch tug.

confident his bulk would sheath the stick, arcturus grinned as isilme worked out what had just happened. she nimbly darted from his searching teeth, leaving him with naught a mouthful of snow. grunting as he shifted to face her, arcturus was nearly blinded by the spray of powdery snow as isilme lunged with lightning speed for the stick --

and wrenched it out from under him.

he lugged after her with an empty snap, but she had succeeded -- and he would allow her to savor her victory. "you are fast." came the mountaineer's appraising remark. "good. we keep doing this and eventually you will get it first try." he sat down in the snow, a spearing and dark figure against blanched rags of white. "but not against me, though." one yellow eye winked, followed by a panting smile.

isilme’s company was a pleasant break from his usual duties. Arcturus stayed a few moments longer, but eventually excused himself. there were many matters to attend to, so he left isilme with some instruction on what exercises to do to sharpen her skills, and then made his leave.