Dragoncrest Cliffs we are one kru

sirio & blixen are welcome to jump in at any time! ♥

The goufas arrive. Sirio stays in the back while Dalia takes center stage. Eske’s gaze lowers to take her in offering the girl a soft smile. Eske realizes that in all reality this will be her first actual interaction with the children aside from the times she’s seen or spoken to them in passing. As she is Heda’s trikova — her shadow as Cheka — she has come into contact with the Goufas as such is inevitable as three of them are her’s and Wildfire’s. Artaax arrives next, grinning like the cat that got the canary with the lifted chin and all before he shrinks low and sheepishly comes forward to greet her with bowed head. The Cheka’s head dips in acknowledgement but still she does not break her silence yet. Bobby is next to appear on the scene and as his brother before him, he, too bows to her and it is a strange thing to be bowed too, if only because she is not Hedonakru. Hedakru is close but being close is not nearly the same thing. Still, she thinks it is a good thing as it shows her they acknowledge her as their teacher today.

She waits for a little while more for Blixen but figure that if the girl should show she is more than welcome to jump right in. She glimpses at Heda who watches nearby before she looks at the three children amassed in center stage before her. “Monin,” Eske greets them. “As I am sure you have all heard, today marks the beginning of your Gona lessons,” She pauses and her ears flutter back to rest at half mast atop her skull before they cup forth, alert. “No one here expects you to become Gona just because you are being trained.” She emphasizes upon this because she believes that they should not feel pressured into pursuing it; it is hardly fair and the choice needs to be theirs and theirs alone. She was gona because it calls to her, because (though she will deny it) she is valkyrie born. The call of war is in her blood. Perhaps they will hear the call, too and pay heed and perhaps they will not; regardless there are no expectations upon them other than to do their best.

“We will pick partners to play spar with in a moment, to show me what you have learned so far,” She does not say so she can analyze their strengths and weaknesses. They are children and though she does not seek to make it so they leave from her lessons arrogant she does not wish to crush their spirits either by telling them they have weaknesses. They do. She, herself does. Eloquence, for one, has never been Eske's strong suit. “There an uneven number of Goufas,” even with Blixen present and Sirio deciding to join in they would still be uneven. “one of you will have to spar with me.” Though Eske would be sure to hold back, of course. Idly, she cannot help but wonder why Portia or Wildfire couldn’t have pooped out another puppy when they gave birth so the numbers would be even. “First, I want you to each tell me why you think these lessons are important and then name your sparring partner.” Eske’s gaze touches all of them one by one waiting with a patience a long time learned and hard earned.