Redsand Canyon double cuppin' in the ride

@Germanicus

She had been looking for skills anywhere she could find them. She had noted the way that Glaukos had carried himself as an auxiliary outside of the pack borders, the way he kept tension in his body when he had waited to pounce upon encountering a stranger on a simple herb gathering mission.
 
From Kallik she had learned that strength was not everything, and speed could be a vital tool if you were fast enough. Not all of the enemies she faced were going to be slower than her and she needed to account for that in her strategy. While she was becoming more well-rounded as a fighter, it wasn’t enough. When she set her mind to something, she did not stop until she was a master in the craft. Fighting would be no exception, and she would attack it with the same determination and grit in which she had attacked the healing arts.
 
There was so much to learn, and she wanted more. She found herself seeking out the Imperator once more, eager to show him what she had learned in the meantime, and to learn more from him as he had taught her the first lessons she had ever learned about fighting.

at one time germanicus had been concerned with their numbers.

now he was only concerned with their skill.

"aquene," he greeted when he had come across the plebian. he had seen her sparring with kallik. he knew she had gone outside the borders with glaukos, and she had attended his lecture about large predators.

but she had not officially joined his ranks. "you have been learning." the imperator commented, halting before her. his yellow eyes were gently appraising but he said nothing more for the present.

She did not have to search long for the Imperator. He was like a shadow, always lingering and silent until he wanted his presence known. “Imperator.”She greeted back in turn, offering a respectful bow of her head in turn. She had not been aware that he had witnessed her other spar with Kallik, though she had learned a lot from it.
 
Her head tilted lightly to the side curiously, a conviction clear in her eyes at his comment as a soft smile found her features. “I have… but not fast enough.” Truthfully, she would never be pleased with the rate at which she learned. “I won’t be satisfied until I have learned all there is to learn.” It was a quest for knowledge, for perfection, and it was truthfully one she knew she would never obtain.
 
It wouldn’t stop her pushing, however… but it did bring a question. “Is it possible to do both?” The question was vague as it left her tongue and so she clarified. “I’m a medic, first and foremost. It’s a role that is needed here with the mission of Mereo… but is it possible to do both that and train?” She knew she could not abandon the post that Ruenna had offered for her, and yet she yearned to join his ranks… she just didn’t know how the logistics would realistically work.

"currently, no." his words were direct. germanicus watched aquene with the air of a centurion with arms crossed behind his back. "but mereo is new. you show merit as a physician and a fighter. if you continue to work as hard as you have, this will be recognized."

he had not considered a framework to transition plebians to the military ranks. it bore significance and demanded to be considered at another time.

"there are three branches: guardian, warrior, and tactician. i am the latter. in addition to these skills, you should also hone your hunting where able. the goal is to be as acquainted with survival skills as you are able. the goal is to one day endure any situation and any terrain."

there was much to learn. he was pleased that she welcomed the challenge.

Truthfully, Aquene had been hoping for a different answer, though she understood the direct nature of the man and his words. If she continued to push, which it was solely in her determined nature to do so, then she would be recognized. Those words in the form of a promise were quite enough for her. She sensed that she had offered him something new to think about in the way that situations such as these were handled when a wolf clearly had a paw in each world that Mereo offered in current spheres.
 
Guardian. Warrior. Tactician. She much liked the sound of the latter two. Hunting as well and she nodded to show she understood her assignments. She could practice hunting when she travelled for collection, especially once spring arose and she was busy restocking and stocking that which she had not been able to find in the bitter cold. “I’ve found I’m quite fond of creating strategy already… I find my knowledge of the body through my role as a healer helps me in a fight.” She offered, hopeful that she could learn more about strategy in general.
 
“Would you honor me with another spar? I have been learning, and I want to see if I can apply what I have learned against someone with a gift of strategy.” It would do her well to see where she could improve.

germanicus showed his approval with a rare smile. "another strategist in mereo," he rumbled. "i would enjoy a second spar with you."

he began to make his way across the red land to the sparring ring. "this time we will not employ words. i will give you the same rules i give the others: the spar ends when your neck is exposed to teeth."

he turned to face aquene with encouragement in his features. "or mine."

germanicus stood across the arena. he flexed his paws against the red sand and gave a single sharp nod to indicate that they should begin.

Aquene was almost visibly taken aback by his smile… almost. She hadn’t been aware that he was capable of smiling, for she had never seen it before, in the month and a half that she had been there. Slowly, she let a proud grin onto her features, falling into place behind him as she followed him to the sparring ring, listening intently to directions. “Understood.” She voiced as they settled into their places, her eyes narrowing as hints of humor lit her features. She could only hope to beat a master tactician at his own game, but it certainly would not stop her from trying.
 
He nodded and she launched immediately, not allowing her thoughts to get muddled as they had previously. Speed would be on her side like it had not been with Kallik, at least she presumed from the last spar she’d had with the man. She feinted left, diving right at the last  possible second she could have, similar as she had done with the auxiliary, teeth aiming for the meaty part of his shoulder near his neck, aiming to also try and slam her body into his to throw him off balance, hoping such a tactic might work.

the physician's own delight was prominent.

aquene moved with an impressive swiftness and commitment to utilizing her body as he had done during their first spar. germanicus allowed them to collide, turning himself to take her teeth upon the hardest part of his shoulder. his own muzzle swept forward, clipping the pelt high along her own neck.

here the spar might be over. but he meant for this to be freeform.

germanicus pivoted, keeping close to aquene and butting his skull toward the bridge of her nose.

Her jaw slammed into the hard part of his shoulder, teeth finding breathe to break the flesh but not in the area she had hoped for. Still, it was not something she could focus on, feeling the clip as she recoiled, releasing in that moment as she reared her head back, tensing and pulling her neck together as Germanicus had taught her after their last spar.

She reared away from him, aiming to bring her shoulder up to collide with his maw in an uppercut like fashion for her shoulder to take the brunt of his butt. The goal was to protect herself in a way she had already failed to do once, and to put up at least somewhat of a fight for him to be proud of her progress.

she was adaptable. germanicus parted from aquene with a blink. that would be a bruise.

the sensation enlivened him. the imperator did not often let himself diverge from a position of teaching to one of pleasure. but now he did so. the lines of his body slackened into something less pointed.

he came for her again, and this time he used her feinting, though the eagle lunged to the right instead of left. the silver body swung broadside once more, shoulder aimed into her ribcage as well.

it was a move meant to stun and to disorient. germanicus wondered how aquene would react.

Relief flooded her as he parted, and she took a healthy step back to put space between them before he came at her again, angling for her right side and she reacted, not catching his feint as he swung himself. She shifted to slower her weight, hoping her shoulders might take the brunt but her reaction was too late.
 
She winced as the wind knocked out of her body and she braced against the sand, sliding under the weight of the blow but managing to maintain her balance. With it, her vision went blurry for a moment, and she found herself stunned for a second. The top of her ribcage was going to bruise, and she would no doubt be sore in the coming days as a result.

germanicus did not show mercy in this moment. as aquene sought to recover herself, the imperator reared to embrace her dark shoulders with his forelegs.

he tightened them around her and twisted, hoping to overbalance the woman. the eagle was pressed against aquene again, giving her no quarter and no room for a planned counterattack. 

she would have to defend another way.

He was clever, and in that moment he showed just how ruthless he could be when given the chance, when his life depended on it… more skills she hoped to gain as time went on.
 
The disorientation did not fade quick enough, and she found herself completely overcome as his forelegs wrapped her shoulders and pulled her to the ground. She hoped to continue on that momentum, not hesitating as she hit her back, her muscles tensed and she continued to roll, aiming to use force to continue the roll to force him on the bottom with her overtop of him instead, aiming to wrap teeth with neck in order to end the spar.

aquene embraced what had happened and transitioned it into a brash experiment. he went down with the woman, thudding to his side in puffs of red sand.

the imperator stiffened his legs as aquene swung herself upward and her teeth in an arc. he kicked up almost as she was upon him, leveraging the flat of his hindpaws to thrust her as high as he was able, circling claws through the fur of her belly.

Admittedly, she was surprised that had worked. It had become second nature to second-guess herself in these situations because of the cultural gender roles that had been instilled in her at a young age. She wasn’t supposed to be good at this, and yet she found herself having breakthrough moments where she was that inevitably led to crisis down the line of wondering why her father had instilled the rules that he had.
 
Still, she was not perfect, a huff as his paws dug into her belly, the wind falling out of her and her jaw opening to try and compensate to draw in air, rearing back from the man with a snarl escaping out of habit as she simply reacted to what she had just experienced. Eyes narrowed and she didn't stay still for longer than a half second. It wasn’t over yet. She pushed back at him, scrunching her body to protect it as much as possible as she aimed for his neck once more, pushing through the pain that would result in bruising and a healthy amount of soreness in the morning.

she strained against his upturned hindpaws.

her speed was now compromised.

germanicus clacked his teeth against her own, grabbing around her neck with his hard forelegs even as he pushed upward with his hinds. 

he yanked down as he did this, meaning to overbalance her from one set of legs or another.

their spar had taken an amusing turn.

It appeared things were still not over, his forelegs wrapping around her neck before he yanked down, throwing her off balance to the side as she landed with a thud, belly up with her neck exposed. Perhaps it had not been the best tactic, and in that moment she let her body go limp, not sure how to get out of such a situation with her life had it been a real fight.
 
She still had much to learn, though she hoped she had put up more of a fight that time around, and that she had done the Imperator proud with how far she had progressed so far.

the spar was over. germanicus allowed aquene to rise after he pinned her neck for a moment.

"very good," he grunted. "you do not choreograph your attacks. you are using a good deal of speed without overbalancing. you have learned to utilize your body."

he felt the crush of the spar flowing through him now.

"i think you will make a fine warrior as well as tactician."

He stood back, and she pushed her way onto her paws, feeling the aching pull of the soreness in her muscles already settling in. It would be good for her to stretch before she eventually passed out for the night, but she’d have some of her own medical duties to attend to first, along with teaching Malila more about the healing arts… it was a never ending cycle, truly.
 
She offered an appreciative smile and a dip of her head to accept the compliment without having to actually accept the compliment. She still had her own doubts about her ability, unknowingly awoken by Kallik when she opened up to him about her own past as he had done with his. “Thank you.” She offered, hints of hesitance on her tongue as she debated whether or not to ask, paws lightly scraping at the ground for a moment before she went for the question. “I… do you have any advice about fighting someone larger? Like… much larger. As in about double my own size…” At least, when she had been younger she felt like that was how they had towered over her. It had been another topic on her mind since her conversation with the auxiliary.
 
What would happen if they tracked her down? Either her father or Dimitri who were both much larger in stature compared to her as she had taken after her mother in size.

"a much larger opponent will always move to crush you first. anticipate this. their blows will be heavy but due to the weight they will be slower. learn to fight downhill. if you are able to take a higher vantage against a large enemy, seize that chance. if you are not, it may serve you to stay closer to the bulk of their body rather than farther and in reach of their limbs."

"change your footing often and do not look down."

the imperator was pleased with her questions.

It was in that moment that Aquene knew she ought to seek out @Glaukos in order to get a spar from him. The man was ginormous as she had remembered her father and ex-fiancé being, and it would give her a gauge of her own skill against them. She did not broach to dive further into her past with the man in front of her. She was fairly certain he did not care, and she was not certain she wanted him to know the extent of her own demons. What if he decided it was simply too much a weight for Mereo to possibly bare?
 
She listened intently, nodding as she soaked in the information at hand. “Understood.” She offered. Fast, she could do. Everyone had mentioned it: she was fast and quick on her feet… perhaps she could get an opponent to stumble if her footwork were fancy enough. “Thank you… for the spar, and the information.” She thanked again, knowing the man was a busy one and likely had more to attend to than simply a healer’s questions.

"always, aquene. i look forward to seeing how you choose to continue your training."

he gave her a nod and turned about crisply, walking back toward the southern forest that provided a good deal of relief to him these days. he had begun to name and explore it in the brief moments he was alone.

a warrior physician. he enjoyed the idea very much.

Faded

Aquene knew that someday she’d have to reveal parts of her history to both the Imperator and Matrona, but at this moment she had no real reason to believe that they would find her… she had already been settled for nearly two months and neither her father nor Dimitri had come knocking at Mereo’s doorstep demanding her back.
 
Perhaps, she was just being paranoid… but the more she thought about it and tried to reason through it, the harder it was to believe that they were not on the warpath for what she was certain they perceived as a betrayal… perhaps not her father, but Dimitri had been very insistent. She was his. She shuddered softly after the Imperator walked away, having offered a nod of respect to him before he left and she headed back her own way. A walk would surely clear her head.