Hollowheart Keep Time to really enter the world

everything that kills me makes me feel alive

Karpos held his position towards Mapplethorpe as he was encouraged to do so by the man. Karpos watched carefully for some kind of sign that he could let up and not have to snarl anymore and it felt like forever before Sir Mapplethorpe relaxed his posture and gave an eager grin. With that Karpos' tail fell and his growl cut off into a pianissimo and then fade down to nothing. His fur settled along his spine and a smile formed on the pups face. He squared shoulders lazed and went back to their normal position and his shoulders and looked up the the alpha who had already taught the boy so much. Karpos felt like a guardian, some kind of TOTEM position that was of great honor and respect.

A knight perhaps. Would that be the right term to use to describe what he felt like? A kingsguard. Perhaps a Queensguard for when Aponi took to the throne. Though he prayed that not be for quite some time as Mrs. Naira was of good health and would hopefully remain that way. Karpos desperately wanted to thank the man, but there were no words that could accurately describe his feelings toward it all. There wasn't a strong enough word to describe his gratitude towards the alpha who had taken the time out of his day to teach the Slayer boy to be a proper guardian. Karpos knew already that he would donate every waking minute he could spare to honing the skills he had picked up during their lessons. Perhaps he could get Mr. Chuylin to teach him a small portion too. Who knew? One day he could be the greatest guardian that ever lived.

When Karpos was finally situated again and Mapplethorpe was firmly certain that the lad had not played him for a fool by pretending to relax before assaulting him, the Leader reoriented himself and began to lead the way back towards territory lines. "At ease," he lastly encouraged once he felt confident enough to turn his back and pick up the moose femur he had salvaged from the kill site they had discovered. His tail came back up as he began to move forward, his ears strained to listen for Karpos to either follow or make his own way back. He briefly put the femur back down in the snow and turned to the youth, "You are dismissed." He bent back down to clasp the frozen bone in his jowls but before he could even continue onward through the snow, he placed it down again to smile back at Karpos.

"Should do this again sometime," he genially extended. "You've much to learn but it'll come to you naturally in time. Just keep practicing. I'm going back to the den if you want to tag along, but if not, be sure you're back by nightfall. There's only so much daylight left, and I want to be sure you're all right." A wag of his tail was the last gesture he wielded and once he had picked up the small meal he was determined to bring to Naira, he finally left the site without another word. At the back of his mind, he made a mental note that Karpos Slayer would be a favorable guard. The fear and the hesitance could be stamped out soon enough; with the harshness of winter and all the lessons it was bound to teach the young Slayer and his agemates, Mapplethorpe was going to make sure that Karpos understood what it took to not just survive, but roll with the punches and adhere himself to the new set of standards that made up the traditions and crux of Hollowheart Keep.