Wapun Meadow give 'em hell, kid

12/3/18—Merrit is on PPC! Adding a conclusion and archiving.

Merrit was eager, which was a good sign. The downside was that he called out for another — summoning a silver-clad boy to his side soon after his arrival. Tulimaq did not like this; he observed the second boy shooting across the meadow, and felt instantly put-off. It wasn't that the child was weak or otherwise unwelcome, but he had made a deal with Merrit, not this other child. He knew it would be wise to teach them both, ingratiate himself to their mother — yet Tulimaq was formulating other options.

He watched Merrit, waited for the other boy to join them, and then stated flatly: We will begin, then.

And in the next moment, without explanation, Tulimaq bolted. He stopped when he was a good measure away, and then his voice boomed: First you will need to catch me, boy. He wanted to see Merrit move, get a grasp for how he employed those long limbs, used the space available, his breathing — there was much to study. As soon as the order was issued, Tulimaq was rounding through the meadow again; it would be easy to keep away from the boy, but it was his hope that he could bait him, test his limits.

The hours wore on; when the boy managed to catch up to him, Tulimaq proposed a few drills and showed both Merrit and his friend how to properly utilize their footwork, although the going was slow considering the lack of previous training shared between the two youth. The more effort he put in the better, but Tulimaq soon realized that these boys were not like the children of his own kin — they were raised by passive beasts, and likely wouldn't be as skilled as a creature born to Tartok no matter how much he trained them. This hurt him deeply, but he kept such things to himself. Once the lesson ended he complimented both boys for their efforts, and bid them farewell.