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Red almost jumped straight down from his perch, but thought better of it. It was a dangerous thing to do and even someone as experienced as he could hurt himself in the fall. The hybrid moved down the tree by climbing down feet first. No matter how squirrel like he may act, he wasn’t a squirrel, and couldn’t pull off going down head first without falling. When he got to the lower branches he jumped off from the tree and landed near the base, not far from Skoll.
Red thought about what the larger wolf had said. ”Yo only one knife.” Though it might be slightly confusing, Red avoided using any Spanish words. They might just jumble up his sentences, making his few English words harder to understand. ”No find more knife.”
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Is a little bit of powerplay okay? I had them walk to the border so we could get started with the lessonage.
"I'll give it back to you once we're out of Shadowed Sun, c'mon." Skoll beckoned for Red to follow him out of the territory. They could continue their discussion there. It took a few minutes, but when they finally passed that line that Skoll recognized as the end of the 'gray zone', he held the knife out handle-first to its owner.
"Do you know how to use that without throwing it?" he asked speculatively. A throwing knife was a weapon to be wary of: though it lacked the range and power of a bow, it was easy to conceal and often the opponent did not know what they were facing until they were too close to take cover. He was glad he'd had the shield made for him, as it was his best defense against such weapons. It wouldn't stop all arrows, and axes and heavy swords would make short work of it, but knives and claws and fangs couldn't hope to get past it. Around it, of course, was another matter.
"You're a little guy; if that knife is to be your only defense, it's best to know how to use it in every way possible." His tone wasn't lecturing, but matter-of-fact. He didn't know how well Red Sol could use his knife in-hand, but his statement was an explanation for his concern. A knife could stop even a big wolf, if it hit them in the right place, and could deter them even without hitting them if they weren't enraged.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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[html] sry this is so late, I had a drop out
The hybrid followed the larger male, keeping at a respectful distance. Still, Skoll could have killed him the moment he came down, so it was unlikely that he would kill him now. So, Red trailed behind the other wolf like an obedient pet dog. However, he smiled as they reached the border and his dagger was offered back to him. He couldn’t help expressing his joy and stroked the edge carefully.
Red looked at Skoll and thought about the question. The hybrid fiddled with the knife in his hands in an embarrassed way. ”No.” He understood very little about how to use his knife other than throwing simply because he had taught himself all he knew. Red didn’t have the luxury of having a teacher.
And suddenly, it was possible that he just might have a teacher. Sol looked up at Skoll, considering. He raised an eyebrow and pointed. ”Usted me teach? Skoll teach Red?”
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This is a total 180 from how Skoll used to be regarding weapons. I'm sure Ahren would be more than a little irritated to see Skoll teaching someone how to use a knife =P
It would be a long time before Skoll understood every word that came out of Red, and the reverse was likely true, as well. Nevertheless, he articulated himself well enough in English for Skoll to follow, and at the smaller wolf's words, the big scarred male nodded. Unstrapping the shield from around his arm and securing it to his waist again, Skoll looked at the knife which Red held so happily, before withdrawing his own from his human pack.
The two were of different make. Red's looked rather functional, whereas Skoll's was clearly a killing tool. Skoll held the long and narrow stiletto blade in his left hand, swiveling to and fro, making sure that his wrist wasn't stiff. His left wrist had taken a lot of punishment, having been mended from a sledge hammer blow just a year ago. It wasn't perfect, but two very talented wolves had tended to it, and so it had healed correctly, though it would always be easier to break than it had been before. Looking to Red, he moved his left hand, intending to get the younger wolf's attention.
"Hold it like this," he said, holding the knife with the blade pointed outward from his body, his thumb resting at the very base of the metal. "The blade always points at your opponent, no where else." He studied Red's grip and posture. He would correct either. The key to knife-fighting, in his experience, was keeping the point directly interposed between the wielder and the enemy, as the knife was better suited to stabbing than slashing. As long as the knife was held so, frontal assault was potentially fatal for the enemy. The point could be brought around into someone once the foe was already on top of you, brought in sideways into the torso as many times as was necessary, but that was for once the fight had broken down. Most altercations with knives would begin with both fighters on their feet, and it was preferable to end the fight without having gotten that close to the enemy anyway.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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[html] 8D Father figure! And Skoll is the only one that's been nice to him, (besides Cer, who was really nice) ;P
Red watched Skoll very closely as the other re positioned his shield. Not so much because he felt that Skoll had a schadenfreude, more because he wanted to be sure to do everything right. Right about then Red really looked up to Skoll, like a son to a father might or a loyal pack member to his alpha after a successful hunt. His hazel and half blue eyes shinned up at the larger male full of amazement and respect.
As the golden wolf gave out instructions, Red positioned himself to mimic the other as best he could. Red spread his legs out to give himself a more solid foundation, but not so far it was difficult to stand. He held the knife out, keeping his elbow bent slightly and hoping he was doing it right. He tried to hold the knife like Skoll was showing him, but he kept wanting to change it into how he held it for throwing. Most likely he was holding it wrong, though it was pointed away from him.
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Fun stuff =P Skoll's way too intent on his teaching to notice and feel awkward, lol.
"Closer to your body," the bronze wolf said, moving his arm like Red had been holding his, and drawing it in. "Your opponent will grab it if it's too far away from you, you want to keep it close but ready to thrust outward." Scrutinizing the young canine's grip, Skoll shook his head slightly. "Also, remember, you need power to go behind the knife, driving it forward, not swinging it. Your grip needs to line up the butt of the handle closer to your wrist, that way when you stab--" Skoll turned away from Red, and thrust his own dagger with his left hand, "Your power is right behind the point, where it needs to be." He helped Red with holding the knife for a few moments more until he was satisfied, before moving on to the next part of the lesson.
"Next, if you're going to use one of these, you'd better know where to hit someone with it." He moved to place two of the fingers of his right hand on one of his own ribs. "Ribs? You know the word?" Though he his musculature was developed a little more than was normal due to his exercises, the bottom of his rib cage still vaguely through his skin, which helped with his demonstration. "Between," he said, pointing his knife at his chest. "Drive the knife in flat, to go between two of them, and not to get caught." He remembered the night on the Storm border, the woman--who had originally owned the knife he was now holding--stabbing him with a spear, only to have the deadly piece of metal catch on his ribs, saving him from a deep wound. Even though a knife could still force two ribs apart, it would require power. Sending the blade in flat required next to none, and could be done much faster.
"Also, the belly," he said, pointing to his own. "Stab," he thrusted his knife at the air, "Withdraw quickly if your opponent is armed." He drew the knife back with equal speed. "Stab," he repeated the first part of the maneuver, "Twist, for pain." He torqued the knife in the air, low, as if caught in an enemy. "Drag, for death." He motioned in the air, a pantomime of bringing the knife across someone's belly, eviscerating the foe in the air. "Be careful with this, Red. It is very dangerous, and not to be flaunted or thrown around lightly. If you drag it across someone's throat or belly, they will die. If you pierce here," he pointed at the spot between his ribs where a knife would have to slip to access his heart, "Or here," he indicated the side of his neck, "They will die. I'm telling you, this is for defense only. If you use it for another purpose, I will have to stop you."
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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[html] Good thing, he notice this?
Red nodded, and moved the dagger closer to his body. He glanced at Skoll, his ears dropping slightly at his disapproving tone in Skoll’s voice and the shake of the larger wolf’s head. The young hybrid was determined to get this right. He corrected his hand to what Skoll had said was correct, placing it so his strength was behind the blade. His hazel eyes watched closely as Skoll stabbed at the air.
He nodded at the male’s question. It was good that he knew both words for most body parts, though he knew more English ones for things like fingers and toes. Red got the idea of what he was being told. He was to aim for between the ribs. Okay, that seemed easy enough for him to do seeing as his eyes already could focus and aim at small places like that.
As the male pointed to his stomach Red muttered ”Estomago,” under his breath. His eyes followed the knife that flashed through the air at some imaginary opponent. They widened slightly at the dragging motion. He didn’t know exactly what was happening to this invisible canine, but it looked painful and fatal. Red stared up at Skoll, a slightly shocked expression growing on his face as the bronze wolf listed off the death strokes. The young male shuddered slightly at the very thought of killing someone else; he could see with prey animals, he had to, just to live, but to kill another being that could think and was like you. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply as a wave of nausea hit him and he lost his footing slightly, dropping his knife. Luckily it missed his feet and stuck into the ground with a soft thud.
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Yeah, he noticed =P
Though he was intent on the lesson, Skoll was always very aware of his surroundings, a result of his lifestyle. When Red began to look woozy, the yellow wolf's right hand caught his shoulder, steadying him. Luckily, the knife he had dropped hadn't landed on anyone's feet, but it was still dangerous. He's got a weak stomach? It was both good and bad news. It meant that fighting with a knife was going to be difficult for him once the blood started to flow, which would make effective self-defense with such a weapon difficult. It also meant that he was unlikely to abuse it, which was conversely very good.
"Fighting does not always mean killing, Red Sol, but fighting with a human weapon makes death a much greater possibility. Humans made their metal weapons to kill, that is their purpose, and thus they are better at killing than any claw or any fang that canines possess. Are you going to be alright, knowing that?" It was definitely a good thing that Red believed in the sanctity of canine life...it was a virtue which Skoll had lost for a long time, and had only recently begun to appreciate again. Still, when in the field of battle, any appreciation for the well-being of the enemy had to come second to self-preservation. He didn't believe that Red would ever find himself in a situation like that, few wolves did. If he ever had to protect his own life, though, it was important to be able to take a life to do so. Many foes would be deterred before that point, but some wouldn't. Hopefully Red never met the latter type.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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[html] We probably need to end this soon.
Red regained his footing quickly enough, seeing as he had the supporting hand of Skoll to help him. The hybrid swallowed hard and took a deep breath. He hadn’t meant to get weak all of a sudden, but the vision of blood that had been conjured up in his mind had just been too much. The image of minatory wolves and violence had caught him off guard because of its reality. Red reached down and took the knife gingerly from the earth and turned to Skoll.
”Soy buen now.” He nodded to Skoll at the question and licked his lips. He wondered if he ever would be able to take another’s life. ’Only if it is them or me, I should think.’ Red looked back up at Skoll. "No soy tu familia, not of pack, why teach me this?"
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Yeah, seriously, we've made like a bajillion replies. It was fun!
That was a good question. He had been adamant at an earlier point that no one even carry weapons, why teach him to use one? Well...his initial concern had been realized since then, but it hadn't rolled out quite like he thought it would. Inferni was definitely filled with trouble-makers, but even though they had weapons, and they weren't the only ones, everyone seemed more comfortable with their fangs and their claws. At the very least, he hadn't seen anyone break weapons out for open war, yet.
"Because you seem like a good enough fellow," he said eventually, "And because you are a small canine in a land filled with danger, generally brought on by wolves or coyotes bigger and more vicious than you are. I have confidence that you will use what I taught you to defend yourself and your loved ones, but nothing more." With that, he turned back toward his pack land, sparing a few parting words to the shorter hybrid. "I've got to get back to my post. Take care of yourself, Red, and be responsible with what you've learned. Feel free to drop by when you have the time, I get bored patrolling these borders alone...just make sure to stop at the border first."
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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[html] I think we have concluded this thread ^^ It was fun, we should do another sometime. If you want you can make one last post.
The small male waited patiently for Skoll’s reply. He looked up to the bronze male in more ways than one. Other than the fact that the other towered over him, he also seemed very noble and wise. It had crossed Red’s mind before about how old he was, but the hybrid didn’t dwell on it. All he really knew was that Skoll was older than him by at least a twofold.
Red smiled as Skoll spoke, warmth and something like pride spreading across his features. The small male stood a bit straighter, trying to look nobler or something of that nature. He knew that others might try to hurt him, but because of even this small lesson that he had been taught by Skoll he might be able to defend himself. ’And my loved ones…’ The last part of the bronze luperci’s statement made Red think. Would he really ever have a family? A mate, offspring? ’Well, I might not know my blood parents, but I hope that my father was something like Skoll.’
The small wolf hybrid nodded as Skoll turned away. ”I will. I am grateful to you, Skoll.” And with those parting words the two went their separate ways.
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