[ P ] i like the devil can fly

It was an early spring morning when she stepped out into the courtyard bordering the manse. She didn't expect to be the first one here, but she was, to her surprise. She wondered if her father was keeping her mother for one reason or another, so she settled in by a large tree with Lucille hanging out on a branch up above and began to let her mind run wild.

Was this the right path?

Almost all Tiamat's grew up and joined the Army, aside from her father of course, and her parents were not forcing her to do this. Nobody was. It just seemed like the next logical step, along with the desire to be able to protect herself and others. But a part of her worried that she was making the wrong choice, that this wasn't for her... that it never would be. She wasn't even a Tiamat by name, anyway...

The girl's nose twitched as a blossom from the tree settled upon it. She crossed her eyes to look at the white petal before sneezing and watching it drift away on the wind. She sighed and shook herself, feeling the nerves getting to her just like she promised herself they wouldn't. She should have expected no less, honestly. She had never fought for real a day in her life, she'd never needed to, but after what happened to Haskell she wanted to learn. She wanted to feel... safer, somehow. In her short life she had learned that there were dangerous wolves out there and she was just a sitting duck at this point.

She growled a little and stamped her paw, glancing towards the door way as she saw movement nearby. She would no longer be a duck after today. Or so she hoped.

everywhere i go i drag this coffin just in case

While quickened dark paws crossed the threshold of the manse and into the courtyard, brows would rise slightly to see her daughter there already, usually always the one getting to a destination first well before anyone else did. Maybe lecturing Sheik about punctuality had finally lodged itself into the girl’s brain or alternatively she was actually late for a change. Lifting her gaze, the sun was up after all, it truly was past dawn. The heat of the day is already starting to soak into her pelt from the lack of a blanket of shade gifted by the cycle of day and night. She could have been embarrassed or apologized but instead a smile pulled at her lips as she gazed upon the young girl, feeling a small tick of pride roll up in her. It was a first step in many paths. One she apparently had to get better at herself.

The little presence of an attitude would wipe the smile away, however, straightening herself as she tried to get out of the mindset of a doting mother that just wished to keep her children close and safe. It ached each and every day she didn’t see Aurora as it was and soon there might be a chance of the same with her other two. The idea of an empty nest had ruffled her fur a few times and admittedly part of her wish to train Sheik herself was to feel needed still by her youngest daughter before she too might flutter away into not needing her mother. The pain, though not on her face, always echoed at those words from her eldest. It felt like torture sometimes and yet, she couldn’t fault her for that view. Unfortunately, for all three, all she could see were her babies instead of those that, by the laws of nature, could fend for themselves now.

“Impatient, are we?” she mused though her voice kept a serious tone. The little stomp hadn’t gone unnoticed, her lone orb settling on those that were a softer version of her own mother’s. In some ways she wanted to see the girl succeed and live that life of a possible colonel in the future, to follow this dream she seemed so skittish in following. If Sheik was to get a proper start, she had to make her verdict soon or she would be behind in her lessons of others her own age. The only problem was that the woman had low hopes for the yearling. Yes, progress had been made but Sheik was such a soft child.

Slowing her steps to a stop, she would stand atop a stone if only so she could look down at her instead of up, any friendliness gone. “You should be standing at attention, child. Today will be your assessment, the very same one I had given your father during the draft. I do hope you impress me more than he had; should you truly wish to follow this path. The simple objective is to beat me in a spar,” she leered down, though that edge wasn’t nearly as sharp as it might have been if she was an actual cadet. All the same, it wouldn’t just be brawn she was looking at. Sheik had to prove herself in skill, wit and form as well. Though she wasn’t about to tell the girl that she didn’t have to win this challenge against her to pass. “If you fail, you will be barred from touching the barracks. Understood?”

code by claerie ▬ art by areot

Sheik started a bit when she finally heard her mothers voice. She smiled and shrugged her slender shoulders. "Just excited is all," she admitted. She tried to keep a serious tone just like her mother did but it was hard-- and while she knew the Army was strict she was not molded to such ways. At her mothers words she straightened up considerably, though the middle of her back was still slack. It was not quite the pose they used but close, of course she would not get points for 'close'.

Her ears folded at her mothers words but she knew they were coming, still it was all she could do but worry over her failure. Her mother would not let her join the Army if she failed a simple spar and who could blame her? If she were not able to beat her own mother in a less realistic setting or at least show her she had the nerve to do so then she did not deserve to be a soldier anymore than a flower did. Her ears twitched back up and she nodded her head sharply. "Understood!" she chirped.

She wasn't thrilled about the prospect of sparring with her mother though she did want to show her all she had learned over these past weeks training with her.

She didn't want to hurt Sif, but then again Sif was trained and more likely to hurt her instead. Sheik did not fear that as much as she probably should. She then fell silent and waited for the go ahead, the start of the spar, to move into action.

everywhere i go i drag this coffin just in case

She wasn’t so sure that she agreed that excitement was the true tale being woven but she wasn’t keen on arguing with her daughter, whether she thought she was lying or not. Not over something like this and it showed as all she did was shake her head subtly, without a word. She would have sooner believed her if she had said nervous or uncertain. Two feelings she could more easily relate to if she was being honest with herself. Excitement had never been a strong emotion she felt on a day to day basis, it felt alien in some ways. Trepidation was far more prominent, not for herself but for her children. Their lives were always in danger and she could only do so much to keep them safe no matter how hard she tried. They all had minds of their own and wills often different from her own. Understanding them was the first step in all of this, trying so hard to be a better mother this time by being there and not immediately shutting them out.

This spar for Sheik was that step.

At the confirmation of understanding, she had expected the child to lunge and use the tactic of surprise to outdo her opponent, but the girl seemed far more obedient in waiting for the go ahead. It was a touch disappointing, feeling like the girl should know a fight is rarely fair and a tactical advantage would be the best option for her. “Well, what are you waiting for?” she huffed, not hiding her displeasure of the other’s lack of action.

Jumping off the rocky surface, she would start to circle her daughter, anticipating her movements with plans to dodge rather than attack during the entirety of this spar. She knew her own strength and she had no desire to harm her own blood if she didn’t have to. It was the prime reason she had refused to train Aurora, knowing well she could get overzealous, and she wouldn’t put it past herself to hurt her own children if she got too frenzied.


{Name of the game is impressing Mama}
{Score 30 points in 3 turns to win her favor}
{Crit fails/successes is -5/+5 points respectfully}
{Start, Round 1!}
{0/30pts}

code by claerie ▬ art by areot

Rolling combat 1d20: 5
Poor - You barely hurt your opponent

It was time, so... why was she hesitating? Sheik stood there, her limbs feeling heavy, staring at her mother until questioned about her inaction. A blush crept onto her skin, beneath her golden fur and she lowered her head, ears tilting back and eyes darting about to follow her mother as she began to circle her. She did not strike first, leaving that to Sheik. She felt a bit of shyness now even though they'd been training for what seemed like forever. It hadn't been all that long in the scope of things, though, so perhaps that was why she hesitated. The fear that she wouldn't be good enough might be getting to her.

Swallowing, she tilted her head up and decided it was best just to get on with it. Without much more thought, she run towards Sif as she came ahead of her, jaws opening and aiming to nip at her shoulder. Her paws flew threw the air, aiming to grapple her neck if she could. If she could successfully throw her mother off balance she could end this spar swiftly, or so she thought.

everywhere i go i drag this coffin just in case

Critiquing form lined her ember, noticing how open the girl was leaving herself and how easy it would have been to rip her to shreds had she wanted to prove any points to the child. It did cross her mind more than she wanted to admit, losing her patience slowly with how timid that demeanor was. It reminded her of Aurora but even her eldest would strike if commanded to, having witnessed one or two spars when Nassar was teaching the girl self-defense.

A sigh flared her nostrils, clearing the aggression from her mind, remembering this wasn't a cadet she was training but her own brood she was analyzing. A little more compassion was needed. Compassion she didn't want to afford when the word failure was at the tip of her tongue, already teasing the trigger to tell her she wasn't cut out for this. Maybe it would light a fire under her ass. There was also the chance she would turn tail and run away from it all the moment cruel words were spoken. She tried to boil it down to a tactic, knowing some women that used their coy allure to control a situation, diminish the desire to hunt by acting more submissive. However, that didn't seem likely.

Finally, some action would surface and any wish to play hard to get would vanish as the clumsy youth made her movements way too noticeable. It didn't take much to dodge, barely feeling the graze of nailed and teeth as Sif side stepped the girl and knocked Sheik's shoulder in turn to imitate an attack without actually doing one. "You'll have to do better than that if you want me to see you as worthy, or do you enjoy being a failure?" she growled, leaving herself purposely a little more open while prodding the cold coals to hopefully make them become warm.

{Mama's Rating: 5/30 do better}
{Onto Round 2!}

code by claerie ▬ art by areot