Redsand Canyon You could be my habit

this is set before he leaves on his scouting trip
for @Malila
early morning, 20 F, overcast

The morning was brisk; it filled his veins with energy as he patrolled the southern part of the canyon. A little ways in from the border, there were walls of red, canyon stone that had erupted from the ground some time long before they were here. The auxillary had found a way to get up on the tallest one and then had made it a game to get back down to the ground, using whatever formation was closest. The walls were thin and required balance, so it helped hone is muscles too. 

It was where he spent a good part of his morning, jumping from wall to wall, attempting to keep his balance. He had fallen once from one of the shorter ones, but it had not done more than bruise his hip; it certainly wouldn't deter him from continuing the exercise.

Malila was up early. It was no big surprise, as she hadn't managed to sleep all night. So she stayed up, pacing or wandering restlessly. The soreness in her muscles from the spar with the Imperator was still a nuisance. Enough to make her uncomfortable and not fall into a blissful sleep.

She was making her way back, further into the territory after a failed attempt at getting herself something to eat. Her hunting was lacking, but at least there was hope for her in terms of self defense. The training session had gone far better than she expected. Heavy eyed and very much looking forward to tucking herself away, she cast a disinterested look towards the pale Kallik, who she had met, briefly. Still undecided on her path and aware of the Auxiliary's view on Civilians, she made no attempt to engage and kept walking.

The auxillary paused, straddling two of the formations. The new civilian caught his attention. Unlike any of the other plebians he had met, she didn't probe any kind of interaction from him; she merely continued on her way, and Kallik found this somewhat amusing. Maybe he was just in a good mood after being so adequately healed by their medic. 

He agilely jumped to the lower formation and then to the lowest one before leaping down to the ground. Then he trotted over to her. Upon closer inspection, Kallik could tell she looked worn out. What happened to you? he asked. The look was familiar to him because he had worn it often after training.

Jolted out of her fog by a noise, Malila looked up to see a pale form leaping nimbly down from the tall ledges of rusty rock. Kallik, making his way toward her. His voice roused her further. It was the first time she had ever heard him address her at all. 

Instead of trying to make her way around him, as she was first inclined to do, she took a breath and sat down. The slight slump of her shoulders showed her tiredness. Her fur, while slowly regaining it's shine, was a little disheveled. "The Imperator wished to test my fighting skills, two days ago. I'm still recovering."

The girl stopped and fell back on her haunches. Kallik studied her quietly—she looked rough. 

When she explained that the imperator and sparred with her two days ago, he nodded in understanding. She looked rather weak still, so a spar with their leader would have been particularly hard on her. Yeah, he's tough, the auxillary commiserated. Have you ever fought before? He was suddenly very curious about the events that had led her here.

She huffed softly, a sound of good natured agreement. "That he is. He didn't hold back." A blue and yellow eye gleamed, then. As if to convey that's exactly what I wanted. With her tiny stature and lean frame, being fully grown, Malila was as big as she was gonna get. There was no telling if she was even capable of bulking up more. No one would ever label her as the fighting type. And she wasn't.

She shook her head. "No. Not once." She scuffed a pale paw against the cold, rough ground. Red dust slowly rubbed onto the bottom of her pads. "My brother disappeared when I was young. And the pack I grew up in didn't stay intact long. So, I really never got any basic experience, even if it was just in play." Boy, how pathetic was she?

Even without her confirming, he knew the imperator wouldn't have held back. Kallik had never known him to go easy on anyone, not since he had known him. He was hard ass, and the soldier learned too late that he didn't want to fuck up. He had paid tenfold for his rule breaking. He ignored the swell of shame in his chest as he concentrated on the new plebian. From the look on her face, she was pleased that the imperator had been hard on her. She had seemed pretty adamant about learning, so he supposed he wasn't surprised to see the spark in her eyes. Maybe there was hope for her after all. 

She hadn't ever fought before—not surprising; she didn't really look the type. It sounded like her life hadn't been all sunshine and daisies even if it hadn't been quite as traumatic as his own. He was beginning to see that a hard childhood changed wolves. It was like living in survival mode created a certain kind of perseverance. Well you found the right place, then, he told her. The imperator will force your strength out, even if you don't know it exists. He had a love-hate relationship with that aspect of training. 

When you're feeling up for it, I can spar with you, too, the auxillary offered. He was still wary of the presence of civilians in a soldier's outpost, but that wouldn't stop him from helping them learn to fight. He liked the practice, too.

"That's why I pushed like I did at the borders. Not only did I have no other option, but I was sick of feeling weak." She shook out her fur. The idea of returning her den was still tempting, but she was more interested in Kallik, now that he was speaking to her. "I was reminded of an incident, a while ago. A stranger confronted me, deep in the heart of our pack's home. He just...came out of nowhere. I froze...I didn't know what to do. After he was chased off, I felt so ashamed. I hate that feeling...I never want to experience it again."

She regarded him for a moment after she had spoken. Considered his offer. "After I have recovered, I think I will take you up on that. I insisted that Germanicus point out what I did right, and what I did wrong. I still want to improve." She glanced to the rocky towers, where he had been. "What you were doing there...that is a form of training, right?"

He listened quietly as Malila told him of her goal to not feel weak anymore. She moved on to a story from her past where she froze instead of attacking an intruder, and Kallik kept quiet, seeming to sense that she needed to get this all off her chest. He knew that if she flourished here, she would never feel weak again, at least not physically. 

He nodded once when she agreed to spar him once she was feeling better. Kallik was looking forward to helping her learn more.

When she looked to the rock formations he had just been jumping on, his own icy blue eyes followed. It's not like anything official; I just like to test my strength and push myself. He paused and shrugged a bit. So I guess it works the same way. He glanced between the plebian and the rocks. Did you want to see what I do up there? he asked. Maybe she could join him when she was feeling better.

She followed his gaze again to the rock formations, tracing over their detail. It was his personal way of training. "I guess I will have to find my own form, if I decide to go down the soldiers path." She murmured to herself, considering.

He offered to show her what he did while up there. She had already been curious, and now even more so. "Sure." She nodded, beginning to walk closer towards the formations, where there may be a possible route up. She was in no hurry, giving him plenty of time to move ahead of her, to lead the way. "It...must take a lot of nerve so high up there..." She said, looking up to where he had been.

So she was considering joining the auxillia. Interesting. Nothing about her said soldier; she seemed too soft. Too naive. But maybe she could work her way there. He supposed it was between that, finding purpose as a civilian, or leaving. He was interested to see what path she chose. 

He trotted over to the rock formations, stopping near the shortest one and glancing up. She commented that it must take a lot of nerve, and Kallik shrugged. Yeah, you don't want to fall when you are on the higher rocks. The auxillary knew if he did fall from that high, he would be decently injured, enough to put him of work for a bit. Maybe that was why he liked to do it—the thrill; he found it a little addictive. 

The first rock, the shortest one, still required him to find a place to get up; he could jump down safely, but it was a bit too high to jump up on. Luckily, there was a ledge in the canyon wall that was between the ground and the top of the shortest formation. 

Kallik backed up some to get a running start, then sprinted forward and jumped up on the ledge. From there, he was able to easily jump to the formation. Once up there and once he was sure he had a good balance, the auxillary jumped to the next highest one. He swayed a little when he landed but was able to balance himself. The third highest was, thankfully, a little wider, so he had no trouble balancing once on top of that one. There were two more, each a little higher than the last. Kallik didn't go all the way to the top often. Maybe once while he was messing around on the formations just to make sure he could. 

He drew in a deep breath and jumped up. He had to take a moment to balance on that one before finally jumping to the highest one. He carefully turned around and look down at Malila. It was fairly high up there; one good jump, and he could probably see the top of the canyon wall. He never tested that theory, though. 

Kallik concentrated again before jumping down to each lower formation. He slipped a little on the last one and thought he might fall again, but he caught himself. Then he jumped back down to the ground, his heart racing and his sides heaving from exertion. It's fun, he said with a grin. Then a thought made him frown a little. Don't go up there by yourself yet, he told her. He didn't know what the imperator would do if she got hurt doing something he showed her. When you're feeling better, I can teach you how to do it, he explained. If you want.

She let out a short, dry laugh. It was only common sense that one would not want to fall from the rocks at that height. "Yeah, I figured that." She replied in a humored voice. "A fall like that wouldn't end well, put nicely." From that point on, she gazed up, watching in silence. She was mesmerized by the way he leapt and navigated the ledges so easily, climbing higher and higher. It was like he was part mountain goat, part wolf.

She could only imagine the thrill running through his blood as he did it. How brave he must be. She would be up there quivering, maybe even sick from dizziness. When he had reached the highest point, she flashed him an approving smile. 

Now, when it was time to come down, the part she imagined would be just as tricky, she watched closely. Towards the bottom he slid a little, prompting her to rush over. But he was okay. "Sure looks it. I dunno how I'll feel about it until I give it a try." She sent one last lingering glance up to the towering rocks. "Later." She grinned faintly, sealing her promise that she would not go up there alone. "I should be feeling better in a few days. I...don't know what your routine is here, but maybe next time I see you." 

Kallik thought she showed the appropriate amount of fear regarding the tallest rocks; he thought that was promising for her. 

And even when he was done, she seemed excited but still a little hesitant. She thought she would feel better in a few days, and wanted to know if he could teach her then. Yeah, sure, he told her. If I am not training, I am patrolling. So she would know where to find him when she was ready.

For now: I can take you to Aquene if you want. He would head in that direction, leaving it completely up to her if she followed or not.