The Sentinels We get what we deserve

all welcome but hoping for @Constantine since he was mentioned in her first thread

Aria had mentioned that she would be required to learn how to fight, though the witch had an abhorrence of violence. She was a peace keeping type of woman though she could understand the need to protect one's life, home, and those around them.

It was such that led the witch to abandon patrolling, which she had been at since waking, now that it was later into the morning to find a wolf to teach her. If it was a requirement then the dryad would learn.

His pace was contemplative as he swept through the tall redwoods – his form moved like a wraith – he did not hold sheer bulk upon him, but his grace matched that of a druid, despite not holding the powers that seemed to be blessed upon the other members of his family.
 
There was much to be considered – but these thoughts were pushed away with his own concern, and Constantine once more pondered the reason he remained. He stayed for his family – they were the sole purpose of his life now.. but often times he wondered if they would be better off without him – as such thoughts of a moody yearling would surface.
 
The scent of another drifted to him. This one was unfamiliar – though not unwelcome, as she bore the scent of Donelaith’s regal. Casting his fiery eyes up, his gaze cautioned over the diminutive form. Pale fur – a creamy white that seemed considerably soft even from the distance he stood from her. She could have been mistaken for Aria, but the Mayfair knew better as his eyes cast upon her darker ones. It was intriguing how the women within Donnelaith were primarily of pale fur and grey eyes. He spoke nothing.. instead, studying her as she seemed to search for someone or something.

Tansea had smelt the males that roamed the territory certainly, only a handful that she had yet to meet with scents mingling amongst the females. She stopped in her searching, noting that she had come across one of the males though it might have been hard to see him if the forest were any shadier. 

He was slender for a man but larger than she and most certainly taller, Mother had always spoke of some odd tale about her kind of wolf not being frequent in the wild. He had a dark pelt of browns and blacks, like a smudge of shadow had been incorporated into his coat. His eyes were intriguing given that she had never met anyone with orange eyes. 

Tansea took on the correct position, submissive, as she approached. The male did not speak, only watching her which made her a bit uncomfortable. "Hello," she murmured once close enough, dipping her head in greeting. "I'm Tansea. Some call me Tansy, either works." 

She noticed him then – studying him and lowering herself in submission that he was not accustom to receiving. His own uncertainty for such a display stirred his own muzzle down in quiet greeting, his tail giving a gentle flick as he attempted to remain relaxed – perhaps even encourage the other to do the same. “Constantine,” he offered quietly, his muzzle tipping slightly as he repeated her name in his mind – quietly, he wondered if she would stay within their ranks, or slip away as so many did.
 
“Welcome to Donnelaith – how long have you been here?” He knew she was new – otherwise, he would have seen her about. For now, he was content with small talk – gauging his companion.

He seemed unnerved by her submission, something that made her cock her head curiously. Nevertheless, she relaxed some in a hope of making things less awkward. "Pleasure to meet you," she responded to his name, Constantine. 

"Only a few days," Tansea shrugged her shoulders slightly, knowing it was not an impressive amount of time. She had plans to stick around, to make Donnelaith home. "How long have you been here?" 

He gave a small nod at her respone, knowing there were still a couple of others within the ranks he was not overly familiar with yet as well. "A few months, but.. I was born to this pack before they moved to the forest. I had previously been traveling." He fell silent then, realizing only now that it was pointless to mention his father -- the girl had come after the death of his father, and the name would be irrelevant to her.

"It is a nice place to call home," she commented, turning to look up at The Sentinels, straining to see their tops. Constantine had paused in his explanation, leaving her to wonder if there was more but she was never one to pry into peoples' lives. Tansea would leave whatever it was just as she had left Rowan and Arias' tension be.

"This is going to sound like an odd question...," Tansea trailed off, a rare smile crossing her face. "Do you know how to fight?" Her tone was hopeful as she completed the question, head cocking slightly.

It was a skim of pleasantries shared – simple conversation that the ebony wolf did not necessarily mind, a she shifted his weight lightly. He allowed the silence to drift between them as she complimented the forest – wondering if he only felt at home here because of his siblings and pack, or if Blacktail Deer Plateau was simply a fond memory he would push to the back of his mind.
 
His eyes lifted up at her question, studying her thoughtfully. “I’m not an expert,” he began carefully. His days with Tartok had offered him much value in certain aspects of the world – and he had begun to learn battle, but he was not an expert. “Dante is probably the wolf with most experience here – but I’m always willing to learn more if you want a spar.”

Tansea nodded thoughtfully. "Noted, I will seek him out at some point," she commented with a smile, mentally checking that she would go and find this Dante later in the day. 

"Aria wants me to learn to fight and I admit I'm horrendous," Tansea chuckled lightly. "It wasn't common for women to fight where I grew up," a slight grimace crossed her face, unsure why she needed an excuse for this man but feeling like she should give some explanation as to why she was so inexperienced.

"If it would be no trouble to you I would love to spar anytime," she admitted, a slight wag to her tail.

It was quietly noted when she spoke, that women had not necessarily be seen as an equal force in her old pack, and the man tipped his muzzle thoughtfully. “I don’t think Aria would force anyone to do something they are not comfortable with,” he noted with a quieter rumble, wondering if it was his concerns that he had brought to the pale Alpha that had encouraged these orders. He did not seek to build a militia in Donnelaith – war was not their nature. He simply hoped his pack mates could defend themselves if something arose.
 
“But if it’s something that interests you.. I’d like that very much. I could use as much practice as I can get.”

Tansea grimaced slightly, not meaning to come off as she were being forced. Aria had expressed that she needed to learn and Tansea could see the reasoning behind it. She wasn't being forced to do anything. 

"She isn't forcing me, she just wants me to learn, I want to learn," the witch expressed a bit hastily, ears flattened in concern.

"Would you like to? Now?" She smiled again, somewhat hopefully and most definitely shy.

The girl still seemed uneasy, and so at her tentative request, the youthful man steadied himself.  He shifted his paws slightly further apart, his muzzle swinging lower in an aim for better defense. With his new posture, he awaited her as an opponent, offering a small smile as his gleaming orange eyes studied her. “Ready when you are,” he affirmed, growing more eager with each passing second. He himself was only young and needed to hone his skills – and it had been months since he had practiced. A new sparring partner was just what he needed.

Constantine shifted and Tansea felt her shoulders draw in slightly in dissapointment, sure he would refuse and was only thinking of a way to let her down easily. Her brows lifted a fraction in surprise before a brief, excited smile flitted across her features. 

Tansea schooled her face into the well practiced mask of stoicness, hoping not to too him off with some expression. Uncharacteristically, the tip of her tongue poked out in concentration. 

Drawing back, Tansea raced at him suddenly in a tactless charge with her head down with the intent of ramming it into his shoulder.

There was a certain endearment in the way the girl readied herself – concentrating fully upon her task, the ivory female’s tongue poked out, but before the Mayfair could crack a gentle smile at such, she raced him, head down, and charging him squarely.
 
He would try to leap away, his own stocky form pushing to one side as his own jaws snaked forward, aiming to gently nip at her shoulder in retaliation and distraction as her own form still managed to square partly in to him, pushing him back slightly. He was not a large wolf – though by no means was he small – instead, Constantine’s maneuver was to aim quickly at his opponent and strike, rather than try to throw his bulk.

Constantine moved out of the way in time, though Tansea managed to clip his shoulder and bump him back some distance. It was a brief triumph, the victorious surge in her veins dying as he nipped her shoulder.

The witch's paws shuffled briefly, trying to decide on her next move before pouncing towards the brown male. Her muzzle darted out, hoping to land a retaliating hit on his chest.

The witch was quick on her paws – his own nip only scourging fur, as he aimed to not hurt her, and as she pounced toward him, this time the dark wolf adjusted his tactics, and made to push forward as well, bracing himself for the impact that would surely come as they collided before bending his muzzle down to grasp gently at the scruff of her neck as she aimed a bite to his chest – something if in battle he would sacrifice for the tender flesh of the back of opponent’s neck should they reveal it to him.

Tansea was successful, grabbing a mouthful of his chest though she was careful not to hurt her instructor. That was not the intended result after all, only for the peaceful dryad to learn. 

Constantine was gentle in his own sparring as well, grabbing her scruff in retaliation but not harming her. Tansea released his chest in favor of twisting her head slightly to grab the side of his own scruff. 

This, she anticipated, would leave them at a bit of a standoff. So far she had been playing offensive but now it was his turn, at least if he didn't wish to stand here all day holding her by the scruff.

His jaws met purchase, grasping gently and in turn, the snow dove released her hold of his chest, twisting her muzzle upward with what would be an awkward angle to grasp his own scruff – and leaving them in quite the locked stance.
 
He felt a grin press to his lips, though he was not keen on releasing her. Instead, the stocky wolf made to push forward with a firmness, hoping to push her off-guard and balance as he tried to keep his own grasp on her in the interim.

Constantine's lips turned up in a grin, Tansea nearly letting go to ask what was so funny when she remembered they were in a spar. Too late to recover from her slip, his push met little resistance and Tansea toppled over onto her back with a small oomph! 

Tansea grinned good naturedly, her defeat apparent in her position. It hadn't been I never odds anyways, never sparring before this moment. "I concede," she called up to Constantine, content to lay where she was for a moment longer.

The spar, while stretching his muscles and mind, had in truth only lasted moments though it felt like longer. It would seem his bemusement had been the girl’s downfall, though as she fell over and admitted defeat, the swarthy male firmly believed she could have found a way from his hold – she could have pushed further. He had simply taken her off guard.
 
“You’re better than you give yourself credit for,” he noted quietly. He himself had far too much to improve upon – the wolves of Tartok had taught him much, but a friendly spar was far different than one that sought true blood. He had released his grip from her, sitting back and rolling his shoulders back in a leisurely stretch.

Tansea glanced at Constantine, slate eyes scanning to see if he were being sardonic with his words. Seeing no malice in him, a look of surprise flitted briefly across her features. Had she been able, Tansea might have blushed at the compliment. 

"I...um, thank you," she stuttered out as she got to her feet, smiling at him though it was obvious she was unused to conversation and even more inept at receiving compliments.

"You fight good," came her inarticulate response, tail wagging for she truly meant it, no matter how silly it sounded.

His muzzle dipped back, his tongue smoothing some of the furs and dirt from his shoulder, though one ear cupped in the direction of her voice. He held back his amusement – the two trading careful conversation as two new pack mates would. He gave no further comment on their fighting abilities – only feeling further invigorated to seek out his old mentor, Dante, and learn more from him.
 
“I’m going to do a quick patrol – want to join me?” Perhaps the two could get to know one another a bit better as the day went on, but he also wouldn’t fault her if she chose to pass on his invitation.

Tansea thought she saw a glimmer of amusement on his face but perhaps she imagined it. The witch was not yet familiar with Constantine, she could be seeing false images.

"I would like to very much," the dryad agreed, moving to follow after if he would lead the way. Perhaps the Goddess has given me more than one friend in Donnelaith. Or at least he might be one someday.