Broken Boulder look the void in the eye and laugh

hoping for a wild @Lily if you want/have time emily but anyone is welcome! :-)

it doesn't take vilkas long to learn the layout of his new home — the firebrand's always had a penchant for learning the secrets of territories; concealed paths and escape routes. it was all apart of his 'job', after all. there were many faucets and layers to being a mercenary as he's come to learn the wolves of the wilds call his general area of expertise; often times scout and mercenary overlapped to become necessary. a warrior that did not know the land he sought to defend and protect seemed a bit useless to the firebrand who tended to live in a world devoid of the grey between black and white. it was on a exploration excursion of thick and dense vegetation that he found the fawn, no doubt left by it's mother as mothers tend to do. it was an easy kill without it's mother there to defend it.

vilkas drags it towards the nearest food cache and spends a good part of his morning splitting the meat up between the food caches though there are several times he is tempted to take a bit of it for himself. when he is finished he eats the spare rib meat that remains and heart, allowing himself the treat. what is left of the corpse he debates between burying and letting for the birds. in the end, he shoos the hungry vultures and ravens off and buries what's left for the earth to reclaim. with cubs about to come into the world at any moment, in his mind, the risk of attracting a big scavenger was too high. having to deal with wolves being allowed to come and go as they pleased was stressful enough on the territorial firebrand.

he cleanses the blood and bits of carrion from his muzzle at the nearby rainwater pool, watching the crimson swirl as it evaporates in the water as he swipes his tongue across is jowls to collect the stray droplets that cling to the short fur on his chin.

She slept late per usual, dragging herself out of her den around mid-morning, yawning and stretching. It was a beautiful, partly cloudy day, not too cool, not too hot. Her first summer here seemed to be off to a great start; sometimes the heat was unbearable on the plains, so she was glad to have Broken Boulder and the Bracken Woods for shade if she needed it.

Today, she wanted to be useful--she wanted to learn something. Whether that was about herbs from Liri, or hunting from Korei. . .Lily wanted to continue adding to her growing arsenal of skills as she rounded herself into a wolf of value. She saw Vilkas from a distance, and a smile oozed slowly over her muzzle, tail wagging as she loped toward him.

"Hallo," she greeted warmly, pulling to a halt and dipping her muzzle to take a drink from the pool. The water was crisp and clear, and tasted like rain. She ran her tongue over her jowls, still grinning at the man. "How are things? Settling in fine?" She knew the Sanctuary was a dramatic change of pace from what he was used to, but perhaps he had found a niche here already.

vilkas is still in the process of removing the gore from his muzzle when he hears the cadences of footfalls upon the ground. the firebrand's ears perk alert atop his skull and a grin begins to weave it's way across his lips at the voice — which is already becoming familiar to him — breaks the silence. "lily," the fiery whitemane returns, using her name as a greeting that rolls smoothly off of his tongue; glimpsing at her from the corner of his eye as she takes a drink from the pool. his thirst sated and his muzzle free of bits of fawn flesh and blood he takes a step back and reclines upon his haunches.

he studies her openly then, noting that she is grinning at him even as he tongue swipes across her own jowls. his gaze follows the elegant movement of her tongue before it flickers up to her fiery orange gaze. vilkas offers a slight cant of his head, a small movement, as he contemplates the questions she poses to him. "as well as i can." he replies to her honestly. to say it wasn't a struggle would be a lie. he would be suffering from culture shock for quite some time, he's sure. perhaps he'd never fully be able to adopt the lax and seemingly carefree manner of the sanctuary wolves ...and perhaps that would not be a bad thing for them. of course, time could prove it to be a disaster but there was always a possibility of it working in some sort of strange not-to-be-questioned harmony. it was all up in the air and vilkas wasn't too terribly worried about it one way or the other.

She laughed softly at his response, not intending to mock--but to show some understanding. "Yes, I suppose it must be an adjustment," Lily responded. "You know, though, pups are coming. And they'll need a teacher. I've heard there's someone with that skill set, somewhere around here," she added with a chipper wink in his direction, wagging her tail.

On that note. . . "Actually, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about," Lily said, voice growing more serious. She kept her gaze guileless and gentle as she stared at him, cocking her head slightly to one side. "Do you think we could have my first fighting lesson today?" she asked, a small smile blooming over her muzzle.

She didn't think she was ready, but she might never be, if she took to overthinking it. Sparring, frankly, scared her slightly; the lessons with Jimmy and her father had not gone well. She wondered what kind of teacher Vilkas would be, and if her newfound independence--and the fact that she was older, now, more mature--would aid her in her next try as a student.

*writes you a novel* as always, no need to match the ridiculous length of this! ♥

her soft laughter fills the air between them and causes the firebrand's ear to twitch as he listens to it, unwilling to hide the new grin that twitches and tugs like it is being pulled by invisible marionette strings across his muzzle. vilkas has no qualms about admitting what is truth to him: the sanctuary is a major culture shock for him. adaptation to the stark opposite of what he's used to was never destined to be easy or perfect. he offers lily a contemplative noise in his throat when she mentions cubs — no doubt queenie's — and goes on to say that they'll need a teacher. "yeah, might be a good idea to touch base with him soon." he teases with a lift of his lip in a wily smirk as he plays along. the truth is that he's not quite certain how well his ability to teach pups how to fight will be received ...and the only time he's 'met' queenie was at the meeting(s). he's been busy trying to integrate his skills into alarian's unorthodox ( to vilkas anyway ) pack that he hasn't made much time to get to know the only other mercenary. plus, she was heavily pregnant and from his experience he habitually gives mothers that look like they're about to pop any day space. an introduction — at the very least — likely wouldn't hurt, he tells himself.

the conversation lingers within the general topic that it started out but shifts then as lily confesses that presumably his skill set was what she wished to talk to him about. there is a swell of something in the raptorial firebrand's chest as she tells him that she sought him out. he does not have a specific name for the feeling: some sort of hybrid between pride, satisfaction and ardor — a flame that sparks to life and burns low and hot while in her presence. the firebrand admits to himself that there is something about her that allures him, captivates him in a way that he can't explain even if he wanted to ...wanting her is not too far of a stone's throw and thus should not surprise him as it ( briefly ) does.

vilkas is drawn back from his wandering thoughts when she asks about her first fighting lesson. a copper and rust ear twitches atop his skull and he drags his tongue across the roof of his mouth, sharpened canines biting lightly into the muscle as he assesses her. "of course." he replies a heartbeat's time later. it has been far too long since he's sparred ...or, rather, taught anyone how to spar and admittedly the last had been a bunch of rambunctious cubs with attention spans of squirrels ( and that was probably giving them too much credit or insulting squirrels whom had bigger attention spans than those particular cubs ).

he shifts, immediately, into hard-ass instructor mode without hesitation. the lax, ( perhaps ) flirtatious delinquent is gone. in it's place is the konahrik. vilkas approaches her, studying her closer. he already had done an assessment during the tour though she had not asked for it then. she is small; and particularly lovely. and in a fight her femme wiles could prove to be just as useful against a brute as actual skill. he knows for a fact that a goliath would look at her and see no threat at all against his brawn; arrogance and over-confidence was a surefire way to lose a fight. "the most important thing to remember is that during a fight it's not all about your skill. skill's important but so is learning how to play your opponent's disadvantages against them," he circles her slowly. "as i mentioned during the tour: you've got several advantages in your corner. if you spar at night it will be hard to spot you, but most importantly: you're small and pretty and i can guarantee you that anyone that is bigger than you will immediately pin you as an easy victory." because that was how it always worked. the big and the bad always thought that their size and brawn made them conquerers, that they would never lose. especially not against someone smaller than them and the arrogance made vilkas want to laugh. "it's important to let them underestimate you. it will put you at an advantage."

vilkas stops when he stands before her, taking a few steps back. he is used to cubs with no skill, no redefined instincts; and while lily might think that she has no ability she's an adult and has defined instincts that will give her more skill than she likely thinks. "i need to see what skill level you're at," he explains. "fighting should be instinctual. you have to pay attention to your opponent but overthinking it will get you killed in a real fight. listen to your instincts. they will guide you. survival, self-preservation. they'll keep you alive during a fight. don't doubt them, just listen to them." of course, this is easy for him to say and easy for him to do: he's always been extremely instinct driven. "i want you to come at me with everything you've got, lily." he encourages, because it's the only way he'll know what he's working with and how to proceed with the lesson. "don't think about it, don't hesitate. i won't attack back, only block and defend." he promises tucking his chin towards his throat. he offers her a Machiavellian grin as he shifts into a defensive stance, encouraging her to proceed.

She smirked as he played along with her joke, but listened intently as he agreed to teach her, his face shifting from one mask to another. It was serious, now; he was the teacher, and she the pupil. She nodded along with what he had to say, absorbing it. As far as her skill level, well. . .it was the source of some embarrassment for her, knowing she'd likely be worthless in a real fight. But, hey, that was why she was doing this, right?

As he got into position and instructed her to attack, Lily balked for a moment, not knowing how to proceed. "Erm. . ." she murmured, her mind scrambling for ideas on where to begin. Her eyes raked him over, assessing the situation. In spars, she'd seen Jimmy overpower the other wolf, leaping on top and pinning them down--but when she'd done the same, she was too small, unable to dominate from the top. Perhaps. . .

Her eyes flashed toward his belly, then to away, not wanting to give away her tactics. Perhaps if she went under, instead of over, she'd be able to knock him off his feet and get him on his back. Go for the abdomen, ram into him. He had strong, sturdy legs, but he was taller than her; his center of gravity must be higher, and therefore easy to topple. . .if she took him by surprise.

Sucking in a quick, nervous breath, she coiled her muscles and shot forward, charging at him with all the strength she could muster. Lily barrelled into his side, the fleshy part of his belly just before it met his back legs, hoping to knock him off balance.

did a simple evens/odd tabletop roll here to determine whether vilkas was caught off guard or not. :-)

the mercurial firebrand watches her, watches as she hesitates and gives a subtle shake of his head. hesitation would always be a downfall. if she were ever in a situation where she was in a real fight hesitation would get her killed. of course, this wasn't real and vilkas had no place he had to be other than here training with her. don't hesitate. trust your instincts. the konahrik implores of her with her eyes, with an encouraging ( and surprisingly gentle ) noise in his throat. his muscles tense beneath pelage dripping with fire, the wispier hairs at the nape of his neck instinctively bristling as she assesses him.

he is antsy, yet he does not try to rush her again. he knows in a real fight there is no time to figure out tactics — it is a heady rush of instincts and adrenaline; quick, split seconds for you to assess what your opponent is doing but nothing longer. he lives for that chaos, for that rush: of blood, of adrenaline. it is in that chaos that the raptorial whitemane thrives. yet, he lives for this too: for ensuring that those in his tutelage — whether out of a precaution or because they desire to become warriors themselves — are prepared and know what they're doing.

she launches towards him, darting from her position with a speed that does not surprise him. she is small and lithesome: he knew she would be fast; faster than him. however, she's faster than he anticipates even though he is ( somewhat ) prepared for it. she charges for him and barrels into his side before he can react. her body might be smaller than his but there is a dull pain radiating through his ribcage where she collides against him as he is knocked off balance and collides then, on the other side, with the unforgiving earth. he lets out a defiant snarl of surprise and struggles with the rising desire to snap his teeth at her. he told her he wouldn't fight back and he meant that even while everything in him screams otherwise.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting--perhaps just to bounce off him like water from a stone, cast backward from an impenetrable force. Instead, Vilkas went toppling over, and in the shocked rush that followed a split-second later, she lost her footing too, tumbling to the ground beside him. She heard him snarl, and hastily leapt to her feet, not making the connection that he was merely reacting in instinct rather than chastising her for something done wrong.

"I'm sorry," Lily blurted automatically, backing away from him, her fur bristling with surprise. "Did I do something wrong? Should I have tried something different?" Perhaps not--she had achieved the goal, after all, of knocking him down. In a real fight, she wouldn't be apologizing. . .but she didn't want to go for his belly quite yet. He might have some pointers for her, after all.

vilkas rolls on his back and and tests his legs carefully, ignoring the itch to wince as the action pulls at his the sore muscles. the pain has already begun to fade: thrumming like a dying heartbeat as the pain slows and eases. he does not immediately realize that his snarl startled her, only that he notices as she leaps from her place beside him on the ground to her feet; and begins to blurt out an apology. an apology. vilkas can't help himself. he starts to laugh, and is still laughing even when he rolls onto his stomach and is interrupted by a sneeze as dust stirs in the air. his pelage is covered in bits of dirt and debris but the firebrand is hardly concerned by it. he rises to his own legs and levels an amused stare at her. as she fusses and worriedly asks him if she did something wrong. it was cute. she was cute; almost unbearably so and vilkas cannot help the hooded look he gives her.

"damn." the word lulls out of his mouth as he looks up at her, not bothering to hide that he was, indeed, impressed. "that wasn't wrong lily. that was good," the firebrand assures and encourages. "you used your speed and size to your advantage. we need to work on that initial hesitation but that was impressive." cubs only have fledgling instincts: the instincts that tell them to eat when they are hungry, to cry when they want attention or hurt or uncomfortable, to pick fights over food ( which if vilkas is of any indication they do not always grow out of that one ), squabble with their siblings over dominance. training adults is not like training cubs, he was right. "don't ever apologize for knocking me on my ass, or anyone else for that matter." he advises, thinking that they truly are opposites: she apologizes for too much ( in his opinion ) and he apologizes for nothing.

vilkas takes his defensive position once more. "again." he barks the command, curious as to if she'd try the same move ( though this time he would be more prepared for it ) or another move entirely.

She scowled, unused to being laughed at and not liking it. But her anger soon faded as she registered the look in his eyes, and the note of praise in his voice. Slowly but surely, her frown lifted in a pleased smile, eyes sparkling. She noted his constructive criticism and vowed to apply it to the next try, which came shortly after, sooner than she had expected.

He was in trainer mode, though; it was to be expected. Lily tried to come up with her next plan of attack on the fly, not wanting to hesitate as much as she had. This time, she tried a feint, going for his left side and instead darting away and charging toward his right, aiming at the fleshy part where the leg met the belly.

She hoped that if she wasn't able to knock him over outright, she could distract enough to aim a blow at his weak points. Maybe last time had been a fluke; she'd never felt this confidence. But then, she'd never trained with Vilkas before.

you can decide whether or not she hits successfully again; up to you! i'm so rubbish at spar writing haha

did another simple dice roll to determine the outcome. :-) i wrote this quick before work so hopefully this post makes sense and i apologize for the icky quality of it.

the firebrand snickers at her fierce scowl before it is smoothed by his praise and subtle explanation for his amusement and he watches it smooth to a smile upon her muzzle. he readies himself as she prepares to attack him again, his eyes following her movements. she has the advantage of speed and he knows this now. he makes a contented noise that she does not hesitate as she did last time and comes for his left and then abruptly feigns to his right but vilkas is quick this time, more prepared. he side-steps her quickly and steels his shoulder to block her attack, seeking to nip at her shoulder in return, subtly seeking to let her know with the nip and posturing that they would be switching tactics. vilkas needs to know how her reaction times are an on-coming attack now as they gradually progress to an actual spar and the raptorial firebrand readies himself to switch their positions and take up a offensive position.

This time was not successful, like the last, and Lily instead found herself bouncing off his sturdy shoulder. She felt his teeth nip her gently and stumbled back, confused--hadn't he said he wouldn't fight back?--but then realized, as he geared up, that the lesson was changing; that she was now expected to defend. Tail lashing, she braced herself, ready for the onslaught.

Lily had felt much better about offense than defense. There was no way she could fend off a brute like Vilkas; she'd either have to dodge him or run. Since the latter was out of the question, she kept light on her paws, ready to dance out of the way. If she moved at the last second, perhaps she could throw him off enough to go on the offensive again.

vilkas rolls his shoulder to rid himself of the smart as lily more or less bounces off of it and watches as she takes up a defensive position, accepting the change of the lesson without complaint. he's pleased. the eventual goal was to get to a point where they could actually spar with one another — that was the only way that a wolf would really learn the areas they needed to work on and where they were strongest; lessons worked for getting a loose feeling for those things. thus far, she seemed pretty good on the offensive and once she curbed her hesitation ( though she'd improved the second time around vilkas was quick to amend his inner thoughts ) she would quickly be able to hone her offensive tactics.

vilkas's gaze does a quick sweep but he does not spend time calculating his move. instead, he launches himself at her right side only to implore the tactic she had just used moments ago upon him and feigned to the left, aiming for her left front leg. the goal ( providing she does not dodge or defend herself ) is to grab it and knock her off balance. the goal of sparring was always to get your opponent down and force a submission from them so that the victor is recognized, though of course when applying that to a real fight the end result isn't often so merciful. but this is far from a real fight ( and not even actually a spar ) and the raptorial firebrand has no intentions of actually hurting lily.

rolled a successful dodge in Discord tabletop

This was starting to be fun. Tactic after tactic was rolling through her mind, her heart pounding as she tried to work out what to do next. It was like a game, even more so because she knew Vilkas wasn't trying to hurt her. She understood that true battle had higher stakes--but for now, it was simply a lesson, and she might as well enjoy it while she could.

She recognized his move from what she'd done moments before, and had time for a fleeting smile before dancing out of his way, leaping back like a startled rabbit. Panting with adrenaline, she trotted in place for a brief instant, a boxer on her toes, before launching forward again, aiming at his right rear leg, the same fleshy place she'd successfully hit before.

Another knockdown and she'd have him on his back, at her mercy.

the dice gods like to see vilkas get his booty kicked apparently, lmao.

vilkas enjoyed watching as lily got more into the lesson, steering it away from strictly one sided and into an actual spar. it's progression was natural and the firebrand wasn't not about to complain. he was content to move at her comfort level but he is pleased — perhaps smugly — that he was right: she only thought she couldn't fight because it was what she'd been telling herself ...or someone had once told her. just because she was pretty didn't mean she couldn't have thorns. lily dodges his feigning attack and dances out of his way, earning a playful snap of his teeth at her as he steels his shoulders and moves in tight and controlled steps to her right, muzzle tucked to protect his throat, ears splayed back against the crown of his head and tail lashing against his hocks. she launches into an attack and ...

vilkas finds himself once more on his back at her paws. the firebrand's collision of the earth is not graceful: he falls hard again, with a thud and a grunt of muted pain as he feels the impact vibrate through his bones.

Oh, hell! She'd done it again!

Lily resisted the urge to stumble backwards in shock, letting out a laugh instead. She hastily cleared her throat, looking away, though the mirth still remained in her eyes. Before he could rise again, she moved to place one paw gently--but firmly--on his shoulder, the other hovering just above his neck. She looked down at him, head cocked quizzically.

"So this is where I'd try to pin you down, yeah?" the girl asked, teeth gleaming white in a smile. She prodded playfully at his cheek a couple of times with her paw, then got off him altogether, stepping around him, tail aloft and wagging. "Or go for your throat, if you were trying to kill me?" she mused aloud, gazing upwards at the sky for a moment.

"Was that good?" Lily inquired, looking suddenly down at Vilkas again. "Here, get up--I feel weird with you on the ground and me. . .well, not. Although I could get used to it, with time." Her voice broke in a giggle. "Listen to me, getting haughty."

vilkas blinks slowly up at her, charmed by her even as she places her paw firmly against his shoulder while her other one hovers just above his neck (insert heart eyes motherfucker gif here). a wily smirk unfurls across his lips — his pride might be licking it's wounds but he isn't disenchanted by her winning against him. he might have experience but that didn't always guarantee a win. life was a lottery and fights were no different. "right." the firebrand rasps at her inquiry, grumbling half-heartedly as she prods at his cheek with her paw a few time. lily releases him and he rolls onto his stomach and stretches upon the ground, wincing as the action pulls at bruised sinew. still, he relished for the pain of spars and battle. pain was the fuel to the fire. it was a reminder that he could bleed, that confidence did not lend to immortality. pain was a discomfort but it was also a lesson.

"it depends. if you want a quick death a throat kill is the best way. belly kills are slower but just as effective." and whether he was a 'go for the throat' or 'go for the belly' kind of guy strictly depended on the circumstance. "it was very good." he assures her, laughing as she encourages him to rise to his paws. for a moment vilkas considers staying there but her haughty response that follows has him rolling his eyes playfully at her and pushing himself to his paws. "if your interested in further honing your skills i recommend sparring some more, trying new tactics." an ear flicks in her direction as he speaks, not sure if she would be interested in it or not; yet he makes the suggestion all the same.

heart eyes motherfucker! wanna fade here? <333

"Hmmm," she murmured, pondering what he'd said. Belly or throat? Both seemed reasonable, though quite messy. She shivered. She'd never had to kill a wolf before; she didn't even know if she could. If her life was in danger, sure. Or the lives of her friends, her family. With Vilkas's training, she was beginning to learn the technical skills--but perhaps her emotional skills needed work, as well.

Lily smiled as he got to his feet, nodding as he spoke. "Well, yes, I'd love to," she responded, shaking some dust from her pelt. "I've got to keep practicing, don't I? And I've got a pretty good teacher, too," she added, giving him a friendly nudge to the shoulder before grinning, walking away.

She stopped several long paces away from him before turning around, fixing him with a fiery stare. "Do you want to give it another go?" Lily asked, cocking her head in inquiry. "Because I do."

sure thing! i'll go ahead and conclude + archive with this post. :-) ♥

vilkas has been trained to disassociate his opponents in a true fight from beings with feelings, with family. it gives him the ability to efficiently and swiftly make the kill without the baggage of guilt that might come later. he's a warrior, it's his job and if he hadn't been the one to make the kill he'd be the cold corpse the scavengers would pick clean; which is rather similar to the way he views prey. "everyone has to practice. even me. spend too long outside the sparring ring and you'll lose your touch." and there was no use for a rusty warrior, in his opinion. spars were beneficial to both parties regardless of who won and who lost them. vilkas offers her an amused snort as she nudges his shoulder and subtly watches her walk away from him.

she stops though, several paces away and rounds on him inquiring if he wants another go and stating to him that she does. how could he deny a lady what she wanted? a wily smile plays coyly at the edges of his lips and he lifts his muzzle ever-so-slightly. "i'm always down to spar." he tells her before offering her a flash of his teeth in a predatory grin and lunges himself at her, taking the first move and choosing offense this time.

the pair spar for a while until there is a clear winner and then part ways, though vilkas is confident as he heads towards the borders that they'll likely be having another training session again soon.