Dead Empress Backwater [m] i like girls who buy drugs

RE: Lenticular clouds are forming over Northern Eden.
@Rochus only please!

She had no name for the way the clouds formed off in the distance that day. Oddly shaped she figured they had something to do with the snow. Some part of her wanted to go venture off closer to them, find out what the weather was like out that way.

But it dawned on her she had just recently gathered a teacher. Although he had not agreed to teach her these kinds of things, she figured there was no harm in poking the bear. So she stalked off after his scent, padding along until she felt that she had found him. Then, no longer feeling the need to pretend innocence in front of him, declared her question.

Why are the clouds like that over there?

(This post was last modified: Dec 14, 2022, 03:44 AM by Isla.)

Rochus grunted, slowly opening his eyes at the sound of the young princess's voice that had disturbed his attempt at a nap. Why was she asking him about clouds, of all things? Allowing a wide yawn to escape him, he glanced at her with a mildly irritated expression, before eventually shifting his gaze up at the sky to look at said clouds.

They were an unusual shape, and he could understand why a child would be so curious in them, but to him they weren't worth the effort of thinking about. "They form from air passing over a mountain and causing strong winds on the other side." He rubbed at his cheek with a paw to try and wipe away any remnants of sleep, figuring that Isla would continue to pepper him with questions. He couldn't brush her off too easily lest he get on her bad side and ruin the deal they had going between them, and so his fate was resigned to answering whatever queries she had.

A lackluster answer. She had hoped for something...bigger. Scarier too, maybe.

Well that's lame. Disappointed, but hardly bothered by it. So it means it isn't worth going over there? A brow pitched high above one eye. What if somebody was having an awful time over there? She was expected to just miss out on it? Probably not worth the trek, but the point still stood.

She still considered if it'd be worth the energy and the trouble. Besides, maybe beneath those weird clouds lived more people to bully. More people to test the concept of power on. Wouldn't that be grand.

As expected Isla was not too happy with his answer, but what had she expected asking a question about clouds? Maybe that could be a lesson in asking boring questions, as all one would get were boring answers. He had to bite back a large sigh that wanted to desperately escape his lungs. "Not unless you want to get pushed around by the wind, and snow in your eyes." They could be interesting to look at afar, if one liked that sort of thing, but weren't nearly as fun to get close to.

Rochus pushed himself up into a seated position, stretching his neck and front legs on the way up. Now that he was awake, he might as well get to the important part of the conversation, as he hoped that she hadn't bothered him just to talk about the weather. "Have you come for your next lesson, or would you like me to tell you more about the clouds?"

I could settle for a new lesson, if the clouds really are that lame. Hadn't her first lesson been not to fully trust others? How did she know he wasn't lying? Regardless she wondered if there really was any gain in lying about clouds of all things. She figured he'd have better things to fib about.

What about a lesson outside of the territory sometime? She asked with another look that involved a raised brow as she reclined onto her rear. Far too comfy and lazy to go on an adventure now. Especially as they had been afforded a view of the odd clouds from here. Regardless she wanted to know what he'd make of the idea.

He grunted again, this time out of amusement. Lame was definitely one way to put it. But at least now she seemed happy to steer away from the topic of clouds, which give him some morsel of relief. Rochus had almost forgotten just how pesterous children could be.

His head canted to the side, a single brow raising to match Isla's expression. Was there something hidden in her question, or was it merely one of curiosity? "Away from the prying eyes of your father?" An almost smile appeared on his face, just the barest lift of his lips to revel the tips of his upper canines. "I don't see why not," he finally said with a shrug of his shoulders, not bothered where the lessons took place. If she preferred them outside the borders then that's where they would happen.

But on the topic of the next lesson, he would leave it up to Isla to decide. Somewhat. "Would you like a verbal or physical lesson this time?" Rochus knew he was getting old, but he could still hold his own, especially against a pup - even if she was almost fully grown at this point. Experience always trumped raw physical power.

Her own mischievous smile would be brief, a flicker across her face. Away from the eyes of everybody would always be better. However she found no need to state that outright, her uncle seemed to already understand.

Mmm, She really wanted to do anything but physical work. Yet she had experienced the excitement from the physical. How good it had felt to toss around Asmund and terrorize him with teeth. Physical, I guess. She huffed some. Prepared now to stand right back up. After she had just sat down.

How inconsiderate of her uncle!

He couldn't care less that Isla didn't seem too cheerful about the prospect of doing an activity involving physical effort. If she wanted to learn how to fight, she would have to get her paws dirty and put in the work. There was no time to be a spoiled princess if she wanted to effectively push around others. And he wouldn't go easy on her.

Rochus pushed himself to his feet, shaking out any last remnants of sleep and laziness as he eyed her body. She was about his height, not the largest but also not the smallest. No real size advantage, which meant no disadvantage either. He could work with that.

"First you need to know how to defend yourself." What was the point of knowing how to take someone down if she couldn't even protect her throat and stomach? Nothing, there was none. All it took was one decent strike from an opponent and the fight could be over before it even started.

His stance squared up, shoulders raising closer to his ears to hunch his neck and chin dipping to his chest to hide his throat. He pinned his ears flat against his skull, before finally tucking his tail close to his hind legs. "You want to protect your throat from any teeth or claws like this, and making it difficult to grab your ears or tail is a good secondary option. Being aware of your leg positioning will also help to protect your stomach - by keeping this in mind you limit the ability of your opponent to get a damaging strike in."

She did her best to mimic his pose as he stood. Stance squared a bit, hunched and compact in a moment. It was not nearly as skilled as Rochus' pose, but it was a start. Mainly she forgot to tuck her tail. Instead it arched over her spine. Mostly thanks to excitement and confidence issues.

A walking red flag she became.

And if I get them down? How do I protect myself then? Because they would be underneath. How on earth did her legs block that? She was reminded of the bruising at her chest from Asmund's teeth and how he had still damaged her even when she had won.

Her stance was... workable. Could be tightened up in a few places, but for first attempt it was not terrible. Except for her tail which was curved over her back. Rochus snorted, figuring it was less carelessness and more ego-based. Pride was a hell of a thing to work around, but he preferred having a tail over taking a slight hit to his own pride.

"Drop the tail unless you want to risk not having it," he said with a pointed look at her rear. It was up to her whether she listened, after all he was just here to teach her what he knew to fill his end of the deal. She could decide if his advice was worth obeying, though if she let her ego win out he wouldn't be surprised. Children were like that.

Isla raised a valid question, and he took a few moments to think it over, allowing his stance to become more relaxed. "Angle yourself diagonally to them so they can't kick out with their hind legs directly up into your stomach, and if possible step down on their chest or limbs with your paws to pin them to the ground. A wolf that can't reach up to hit you is of no danger to you." If she wasn't strong enough to keep them pinned, well that was a different problem entirely, one based largely on ones weight and size in comparison to their opponent.