Dragoncrest Cliffs i woulda coulda used to be the shit

few days pre-war

The tension crackled over the eastern coast like lightning, all over. The storm, still taking its time to pass by, certainly didn't help. Verx weaved through the redwoods, looking for @Kasatka. He wondered how the girl was settling in, but more importantly, there was no better time to start to teach the little marshmallow how to fight. She was dead meat if it came to war with the sound wolves.

The brute poked around, following traces of her scent here and there, but kept coming up empty. Damn it, where was she? With his luck, she'd be up in a fucking tree or something. He wasn't climbing jack shit today, not even for a chance to spar.

Kasatka was in a tree. This time, however, it was sort of understandable. She'd found one of the larger redwood stumps and made her way - through trial and error and a lot of falling - to the top. She'd had an inkling that there might be something interesting at the top and, well, she'd been wrong. But there was a little hollow full of plant detrious and moss, and she'd found that it was soft and spongey and not too damp. So yeah, she was going to live in this tree, now.

Plus, it afforded a lovely view of the area for several dozen yards all around. She caught sight of the large, dark form as it weaved between the trees, and as soon as she'd determined that it was for sure Vercingetorix, she stood and called out to hail him. "Vercingetorix!"

She still hadn't quite worked up the nerve to try and shorten his name.

"I found a bed," she said as he drew closer, circling once or twice and curling into a little ball to demonstrate. It probably didn't look like much from where he stood, as she would likely disappear from view once she laid down. A moment later, though, she'd popped back up to see what the male thought of her discovery.

Sure e-fucking-nough, her voice came from up high, and he lifted his face, painted with a martyred expression. She blinked back down at him, demonstrating her new bed. Cool. Yeah. Okay. He preferred to be on terra firma, but you do you, Kasatka.

Nice! Vercingetorix responded, not wanting to pick that kind of fight today. Can you get back down, though? I thought we'd start your training today. His voice was friendly but guarded, a poker player loath to reveal his hand. Maybe she didn't want to learn to fight (well, that was non-negotiable, sorry).

Kasatka could get back down - it took about fifteen seconds of frantic scrabbling, but soon enough, she stood in front of Vercingetorix with her tail fanning happily behind her. "What are you going to teach me?" she asked, her earnest, open expressing showcasing her willingness to go along with whatever he said. Kasatka knew she didn't have a lot of useful skills - unless they needed a tree climber! - so she was actually pretty desperate to receive Vercingetorix's teachings.

He tried not to let the worried wince show too much on his face--oh god, was he turning into a fuddy-duddy Dad?!--letting out a small sigh when she was standing in front of him. Fighting, he informed her, gathering his self-composure and leveling a gimlet stare down upon the girl.

Whatever path you choose, you'll need to know at least the basics of combat, Vercingetorix continued, stepping back and motioning for her to follow. He continued to talk over his shoulder as he looked for a suitable space between the trees for a spar. Offense, defense. . . No one in Drageda should be a weak fighter. It's not a good look.

The cheka finally discovered a wide expanse of snow and dead leaves, the trees spaced farther apart here than the rest of the forest. He turned to face her, offering Kasatka the same question he'd given Aure, in their first lesson: Offense or defense?

Focused as she was at getting down without incident, Kasatka didn't notice the anxiety she was causing her tutor. By the time she stood before him, he seemed fine, if not a bit aloof. The aloofness worried her, at little, and she made sure to stand extra straight so as not to evoke his ire. She just barely stopped herself from cringing when he turned to ask her a question she didn't know the answer to.

Actually, she didn't even quite get the question. Offense or defense? What was the difference? She wanted to ask, but she also didn't want to disappoint him even before the lesson began. Besides, she didn't care which she learned - only that she learned it, and that she became useful to her packmates. It was only through his usefulness that a wolf gained value, after all, and Kasatka didn't want to be worthless.

"Please - I want to learn whatever will help Drageda most," she said, relieved to find a viable answer. "I don't know - well - anything about fighting, but I'll work very hard to learn it. Which do you think would be better?"

His mouth twisted as he gave it some thought, nodding silently to himself. Offense might be better to start, Verx said slowly, sizing her up. It might be intimidating, having to fend off a dude my size at this point. Let's, uh, let's do offense.

The brute squared himself, rolling his shoulders slightly. Your size compared to mine means that you need surprise on your side, he told her. There's no way you'll have the strength to just knock me over, unless I'm dying or some shit. You'll have to outwit me--make me think you're doing one thing, when really, you're attacking another way.

Vercingetorix lifted his chin, staring at her. The goal is to get me in a vulnerable position, he continued. On my back, or even side. Throat exposed. Any weak point. So attack me--try to surprise me enough that I'm left scrambling to defend myself. He clicked his tongue in warning, adding, But wait too long and they'll attack you first. I won't, today. . .but just so you know. You gotta make a quick decision. Life or death, kid.

It was strange to be measured the way that Vercingetorix measured her. Unconsciously, she found herself giving her teacher the same up-and-down kind of look. She wasn't small - not for her age - but the male's large frame nearly dwarfed her, and she knew she was rather meek when it came to confrontations, even if her legs and her spirit were strong.

Too, she knew that she was not a wolf of guile or craftiness. This, she realized, would be her worst struggle. She could learn to use her body in violence, and she could train until she was strong and fit - but she didn't know how to lie with her words or her actions.

Still, no one got anywhere without trying. Kasatka decided to start simple and threw herself bodily at her opponent, giving no warning as she surged suddenly into motion as soon as the decision had been made. She thought at first to go straight for the throat, as he'd said, but then she realized she was staring at it, and she was almost there and he probably could tell what she was thinking! So at the last moment she went for a leg instead, switching targets in an instant as she reached him with her full-frontal, kamikaze assult. If she was quick enough, she intended to latch onto his leg and then continue forward, hopefully dragging it under him along with her and putting him off balance enough to come up with a plan.

Just as he had somewhat expected, she came at him head-on, a small, mighty warrior. He let his guard down, amused at the way she so clearly looked at his throat which was a mistake. He really had to stop underestimating little girls. Verx was just about to dodge when he felt the sting of teeth in his leg, and was so surprised that he stumbled backwards a couple of steps (though not enough to send him completely off-kilter).

Holy shit, Kitten! the cheka exclaimed, laughing broadly. He glanced over at her, tail lashing with delight. That's how you do it! You had me going for a while, thinking you were going for my neck. If you can fool me, you can definitely fool some of the dumbasses you'll be fighting, for sure.

Vercingetorix began to back up on his toes, sending his balance into disarray. Okay, so you've gotten me unbalanced, he continued. Now what's next? What's your next move?

Kasatka gave the male a bright grin, although her jaws were still held loosely around his foreleg. She didn't point out that she'd hadn't fooled him at all - she'd simply changed her mind a the last second. It didn't really seem pertinent to the lesson.

His next question had her furrowing her brow in thought, but after a moment, she whirled into motion again, ramming her head hard into the male's chest. She'd been aiming for his abdomen, but she didn't have a great angle here (especially because she'd forgotten to release his leg until the last second as well) and she ended up hitting him kind of in the side, anyway. She didn't stop there, though, but dove for his back leg as well, planning to grab onto that and drag it back toward his front and across his other leg, if she could. But her tail was within swishing distance of Vercingetorix's face, so her attack could be easily curtailed by grabbing onto that, or by simply bearing down upon her while she was underneath him.

Shi-yit. He felt more bad for her than he did for himself as her skull made impact with his broad chest, although he did get some of the wind knocked out of him, and staggered back. He felt her teeth connect with his leg and gritted his own, trying to wrench it from her. Little fucking piranha, this one.

Carefully--he didn't want to hurt her--he used his weight instead to push her down, one of his shoulders against her ribs. If he was successful, she'd go rolling into the dirt. If not, who knew. Wincing slightly, he did sort of a Wolf Piledriver, but a kinder one than you'd normally see--like the pillow fight version, or whatever.

Even though she knew that Vercingetorix wasn't trying to hurt her, she couldn't help but feel a little alarmed when his body began to come down over her own. It reminded her, a bit, of being safe and warm with Daddy or Aditya - but scary and she didn't like it! Feeling a bit panicked, she turned her head and bit at his chest, his underbelly, whatever she could get her teeth on!

But in the end, his sheer size overwhelmed her, forcing her to the ground with a low, muted whine of defeat. She wiggled mightily to try and free herself, disliking the sensation of being trapped and vulnerable, even though she'd never learned to fear such a thing.

He put up the fight for a little while longer, laughing as she whined and wiggled. Finally, he rolled to the side, letting her free and rising, shaking the ice and debris from his thick pelt. You did good, kid, he assured her, knowing that her pride must be hurting a little after that. Seriously. We've got some work to do, but you're off to a great start.

Verx gave her a grin, but it was soft, filled with genuine joy. Happy to have you on my team, he continued. You wanna teach my fat ass how to climb trees?

Like he'd get into a tree, honestly. But he wanted to give her some agency and a chance to have some fun, so why not have her teach him some things? It would be fun to watch her try, anyway.

fade here?