How her life had changed. Here she was, padding through the woods, breathing in the morning air with no worry about where her next meal would come from, or where she would sleep for the night. Aeus had once again sought her out, giddy like a pup to be out exploring again. His enthusiasm was quite charming, and she simply couldn't say no. The weather was pleasant, and Raela decided walking alone through the territory wouldn't be nearly as fun. Her dark friend seemed to have an extra big smile on his face today as he took in the sights. Spring was here, and the sun finally felt warm. The girl chuckled to herself as she watched him practically prance down the path.

They hadn't reached anywhere special; after their recent encounter, Rae had no desire to stray too far from pack lands for a little while. They'd wandered into the treeline surrounding the fields to get away from the bulk of the thorny blackberry bushes. Rae knew how he detested them so. Astraeus halted abruptly, whipping his head around and revealing his teeth in the goofiest way. Rae paused; barely beginning to smile back at the curious expression when his haunches smacked into her side. The lighter wolf stumbled sideways with a grunt, her brilliant yellow eyes catching the last of his mad dash. His deep, ringing laugh wiped the confusion from her face and plastered on a grin instead. What a goofball.

The man's request caused her ears to flatten mischievously as her body lowered to the ground. Oh, she did love to run. His speech was deviod of his usual atticism, and instead was a childish, devious invitation to play. Time to see what her newly recovered legs could do. She picked out the movement of his form for the briefest of moments, and that was all she needed. A harsh crunch of dead leaves signaled her pursuit. The russet girl burst forward, nimbly weaving through the foliage toward her target. Aeus' hulking build had no where near the same capacity for speed, and she caught up to him in mere moments. One beside him she bucked, thrusting her shoulder into his. His sturdy frame stopped her forward momentum, and the lighter girl stumbled a step. She hesitated for a split-second, trying to find her feet, before thinking to duck away from his inevitable retaliation. Raela tried whipping away, but it might have already been too late... 

A startled half-yelp half-squeak burst from her maw as Aeus' weight rammed squarely into her. Not quite sure what he'd done, she was wrenched sideways, caught up in his legs as they tumbled. Raela teetered to her feet as they stopped, hovering over his body. His laughter urged a half smile to the surface and nearly an accompanying giggle. The russet girl stopped short though, when his pearly fangs clicked quite near her face. Instead of bolting, though, she pulled back. Still standing above him, her mouth drew closed with confusion. He wouldn't hurt her, and he had promised that, so it must have been play, right? Her internal confliction shown plainly in her eyes. She wanted to trust him, and yet the only time she'd been snapped at it was not playful. Was this a play fight now?

The question caused her to step off of him sideways, but she did not go any further. It was a quiet rejection of his invitation, but not of him. If they kept going like this, the woman would be very much out of her league. How weak she would seem to him! No, she didn't need him to think less of her. Her orange ears fell back awkwardly as she tried to speak. ”Oh, um... I'm not...” Bad start, don't sell yourself short already! She looked down, her thoughts racing to find better words for him. ”It's been a long time since I've uh, sparred with anyone.” Yeah, that sounded better, tougher. At least she didn't sound incompetent, only rusty. The last time she 'sparred' it had been for her life; and she'd lost! No, sparring is what her pack mates had done while she tried to keep out of their way. What she'd seen of 'play fighting' always seemed to end in blood. Around here people seemed to do it for fun; and therefore more gently.

Still, she'd almost never done it. The fight with her mother had been a miserable failure that got her banished, and before that... well before that she was a pup. There was no telling how awful she probably was at it for a wolf her age. Maybe Aeus would drop it, and she wouldn't have to look like an idiot in front of him.

At first, it seemed that Aeus had reacted in her favor; smiling and cordially acknowledging her position. Then, the atmosphere changed with his expression. The man was suddenly very serious, and Raela could not recall a time when his face was so stern. He spoke the truth though, and the russet woman's head began to droop with the realization. He was undoubtedly right. She would have to defend her home and her new pack, and soon. His sunset eyes shifted downward as well, bringing some comfort to the tense girl's mind. It was short lived, for as her eyes took in his gesture of concern, she suddenly felt anxiety creeping up from her toes. Aeus would have to fight too. Sure, he was a big guy but that didn't make him impervious. What if something happened to him? What if... The worry had made its way onto her face just as his silly smile returned. She offered a weak grin, ears pricking up at his inquiry. 

She opened her mouth, rushing to find the right words. The girl wanted to protest for the sake of saving face, but Aeus was already glowing with excitement. Just seeing his tail streak through the air made her own wiggle in return. Wordlessly, her cranuim dipped toward the earth. There was no use in rejecting his offer. She needed to learn for their sake, and who better to teach her than her new closest companion? She watched as his ebony form whirled, barely taking note of her gesture before briskly padding away. Rae stood stock still a moment,  moving forward awkwardly only when he requested. She shuffled forward to catch up with the big brute, her stomach churning. What's he gonna make me do? Will he think I'm useless, like they said? Will he make fun of me? The worries were likely unfounded, but that didn't stop them from crowding up her brain.

When they reached what her teacher deemed a suitable location, Raela moved off to the side a few steps, trying to stand as straight and proper as she could manage; her head held at shoulder height. Her honeyed eyes regarded the man warily; there was no telling what he had up his sleeve. Heck, he could just launch himself at her to see what she'd do before offering any instruction. Rae hoped he didn't favor that method. The girl stood frozen, her attention pinned to the larger specimen. How were they going to start?

Astraeus' request struck the girl as odd. He very calmly asked her to get really pissed off. For a moment she stood there, thoroughly confused. She didn't like being angry, and she didn't want to get angry around him; he hadn't done anything. Nevertheless, the woman resigned herself to the dark side of her history with a sigh. Raela turned away as images from her past flooded her vision. Her stony gaze made it obvious that she was seeing something altogether different than this forest clearing. Her mind mulled about a bit on mildly irritating events, Gent's reaction to Kajika for instance. But soon she was delving into the pain at her core; the loss of Tolas. If Aeus wanted her mad, she would get mad. She remembered her awful family, their blood stained faces spitting his name out in disgust. Traitor... They called her weak, shoved her into the dirt, broke her skin, made her cry... The woman's eyes shut tight now, wrinkles forming as her face scrunched up with hidden pain.

His broken body left to rot... executed... But he was hurt! He needed help! He was pathetic like you... Only the strong... A snarl twitched onto her features. I should have killed you when you were born. Aeus' smooth voice pulled her thoughts apart, bringing her moistened eyes up to focus on him. The girl's hackles were at full height; the skin on her neck chilled and itchy from the display. She simply stared, her face betraying nothing of note except distress. He asked for her now. All of her. The thought managed to lessen the subordinate's rage as indecision plagued her once again. But he wasn't why she was upset... why, he was the best thing to come around since Tolas himself, how could she? Aeus wasn't taking no for an answer. He was turning. One... She steadied her stance, dipping her muzzle downward to glare at the back of her target. Two The girl swallowed hard, she had to have a plan. She couldn't unleash everything on him. She really didn't want to draw blood. The tawny woman licked her nose, feeling the tension building. She knew what she could do, but would it work? Would she look like a fool? Three.

Without hesitation, the girl charged. Anger was a powerful fuel source; each of her limbs felt as if they would never tire, and that felt really good. Putting her plan in motion, she raced straight at him, her muzzle wrinkled in a concentrated snarl. It wasn't aggressive, just intense. She knew charging straight at his jaws was a bad idea, whether or not the man planned on using them. Her agility and speed would be the things she needed to play on. Rae realized that much. And so, when the girl was a single stride from reaching him, she launched sideways. She didn't know if Aeus would try to turn and face her, or if he would move at all for that matter. What she was counting on was that even if he did, she'd be in a position to knock him to the ground that she couldn't have had from straight on. Once all four feet had hit the ground she spun, using the powerhouse at her hind to push her up at his shoulders. All four of her paws collected before the impact, aiming to smack full force into the dark brute's upper shoulder from the side. For good measure her teeth lashed out at his scruff, hoping to force the much larger man down with her forward momentum if nothing else. It would be a handy place to hold onto if she succeeded.