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RainbowMagicMarker Vice Captain
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 Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 10:15 am
Clyde did not like this idea. He had not liked this idea when he had applied for it and he certainly did not like this idea now that he was actually having to live up to that application. But it was his duty to the fort to apply and accept what was given to him. Especially with so few riders and the aching need for new ones.
But did they have to assign him a girl? At some point in the future he'd have to suggest gender be a factor when assigning Patrons, woman did not want to learn from men and often put up a fuss over it, and it was the same for men. A man did not wish to be taught by a woman. Gender should certainly be factored into this sort of thing. Clyde tucked his notebook away in it's satchel with the rest of his portable art supplies and tossed the satchel over his shoulder. Wrapping his coat around him tightly he scanned his Barracks briefly, making sure everything was put away as it was supposed to and he had everything he needed for the day. His rifle was strapped across his back and his satchel rested on his hip. His coat was snug and zipped and the Barracks were in order as they should be. With a sigh he blew out the only candle he had burning and stepped off into Spiritfeather's den.
'Lets get this over with shall we?' He sighed again as he situated himself on Spiritfeather's back. Spiritfeather had never grown to be a large as the other wolves, in fact when she was younger it was wondered whether or not she would ever grow large enough for him to ride. In the end she had grown just barely large enough and his form was thin and light and not so much trouble for her.
You're far to pessimistic about this Love. Clyde squinted against the bright sun as Spirit moved out of the den and wove between the Barracks. Today would be his first meeting with the woman who had been assigned as his Apprentice, Emmilyn Ravenheart. The two had not been in the fort long, a surprise considering the rider shortage versus the income of new pairs that made assigning Patron's difficult. Brushing the red bangs from his face as the two came to settle at the edge of the training field, scanning for the young woman who met the description on the papers Clyde had received yesterday.
Spiritfeather watched her Bonded's compulsive cleaning knowing that he was just putting off in the inevitable. By the time he blew out his candle his Barracks were the cleanest she'd ever seen them, other than the first day they had moved in. Other than the paint stains on the walls and floor everything was organized as it could get. She mocked him gently as he finally ran out of things to put this off with and carried him purposefully out into the cold air. Her blood red eyes looked out over the fort, still mostly quiet this morning which wasn't a surprise considering the erratic and inhuman times her rider was up at, her gaze was contemplative. Though Spiritfeather kept herself at a distance from the rest of the pack she found herself drawn to pups, and had no qualms about this whole Patroning thing, unlike her rider. Had she not suggested it the odds were good that Clyde wouldn't have even applied for such a thing. But Spirit had over-ruled him, she would be more than happy to take a pup under her paw and help him grow to a skilled and productive wolf. Coming to a stop beneath the tree she and Clyde had claimed she scanned the fields, searching for the young male Clyde had informed her of.
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 10:46 am
Emmilyn took a deep breath as she inspected her appearance in the mirror. This was the first time she had been given an opportunity to ‘properly’ wear the New Eve uniform; and to add to the excitement of new beginnings, this was the day when she would meet her patron for the first time. Admittedly, she didn’t know much about him - other than his name and face, - but did she really need to? Adjusting her uniform and sliding a coat on over the top, she picked up her rifle and strapped it to her back. Satisfied she had everything covered on her part, she inhaled deeply again, and headed out the door and towards her bonded’s den.
Emmilyn mulled over how quickly the pieces had fallen into place. Just a month or two after meeting the requirements to bond, she had been lead to the den - and on that first visit, she had bonded. She was expecting something to go horribly wrong, but it didn’t - initially she had been worried that none of the wolves were intended for her… until Shadowbane made his presence known.
Truth be told, the apprentice was apprehensive about meeting her recruit because of her wolf’s attitude. They had not had a chance to meet other apprentices yet, so Emmilyn was unsure of how he would react to his superiors… she hoped, for both of their sakes, he was respectful. As she reached the entrance to his den, she bent down, peering inside.
Shadowbane was casually spread out across the floor of his den, his head resting on his paws. Hearing his bonded’s footsteps, he reluctantly opened an eye and gazed at her. His grasp on human language wasn’t as strong as that of the other wolves, but judging by the way Emmilyn was bouncing, he guessed they were wanted for something.
‘What is it?’ he enquired, his voice even sounding drowsy.
“Get up! We have to meet our patron.”
If wolves had the ability to sigh, you could bet Shadowbane would’ve sighed at this nugget of information. Pulling himself from the floor and padding outside, he brushed his head against her leg before nudging her knee from behind.
‘Alright.’
“I want you on your best behaviour, okay?”
Shadow merely grunted at this comment. The pair made their way towards the fields, where they hoped Clyde and his bonded -- Emmilyn was unsure of her name; wasn’t it Spirit-something? -- would be waiting.
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RainbowMagicMarker Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 12:24 pm
After only a few moments waiting the sketchbook had reemerged from the satchel and opened. Clyde doodled absently, not working on anything in particular, simply a page of artistic chaos to fill the time between now and the inevitable meeting of his Apprentice. Infact had Spiritfeather not been paying attention the Apprentice and her Bonded could probably have strode right past and Clyde wouldn't have noticed. But Spiritfeather did call his attention to the pair just as they were about to walk past. "Private Ravenheart." His voice was quiet, so there was certainly a chance they wouldn't hear him which was what Clyde hoped for, but he had to acknowledge them in some way lest they simply go wandering past and get themselves into trouble. And of course that would reflect poorly on him, a Patron who had let his Apprentice run wild and get herself into trouble. No, he couldn't have that, not after the escapade with the gun in his face. She had good form, he would give her that, and a quick examination of the Shadowbane told him the wolf was well groomed and cared-for. Maybe she would turn out to be more intelligent than he had anticipated. So many recruits came through here for the first time and forgot to care for their wolves making for a rag-tag pair.
With a sigh Clyde called out stronger this time, certain she hadn't heard him last time, "Private Ravenheart." There was no sense in trying to avoid this madness, he had been assigned an Apprentice and all he could do was accept the position and the duties that came with it.
Spiritfeather watched as a young pair meeting the descriptions Clyde had given to her exited their barracks and came towards the training field. She expected her rider to call out to them but as they drew closer she realized he didn't even notice them. They're here love. You should say something. She reminded him gently before turning her attention to the pup that approached her. His coat was a brown-black with brown markings and his stride was bold. He would have to be taught how to address his superiors of that she was certain, but his form was strong and he had an intelligent gleam in his eye. She could already tell he would prove to be stubborn, but if he chose to cooperate she was certain he would also learn quickly. She had done the right thing forcing Clyde into this.
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 12:39 pm
Emmilyn stopped abruptly upon hearing her name; turning to see who had called her, she saw her patron. Immediately, her cheeks were flushed with colour as she mentally reprimanded herself for not noticing the pair. Her eyes were drawn towards Clyde’s wolf, Spiritfeather - she seemed rather majestic, and much bigger than Emmilyn had dared to expect. Was Shadowbane destined to grow to that size? The apprentice didn’t dare to think of how she would handle her bonded if he was any bigger… shaking her head to rid herself of distracting thoughts, she turned her attention to Clyde. Fixating her gaze upon him, she performed a curt salute.
“My apologies, Sir,” she began. “I must have been daydreaming.”
As Emmilyn greeted her superior, Shadowbane simply hung back, his tail swishing from side to side as he watched his human. Quickly realizing that the other human’s bonded would be expecting some form of greeting, he altered his posture entirely. Shadowbane brought himself as low to the ground as he could, held his ears flat against his head and kept his tail low; and with his muzzle pointed towards the grass, slowly stepped closer to Spiritfeather. When he ceased his movement, he was still a small distance away from the white wolf. He maintained his posture, awaiting some kind of reaction from the other wolf.
Sensing that his bonded would feel obliged to comment on his apparent change of character, he was quick to issue a quick warning.
‘Don’t even go there, Emmilyn.’
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RainbowMagicMarker Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 10:58 am
A quick examination told him she was indeed competent, her uniform was immaculate, though part of that was probably due to the fact that it was brand new, and her salute was sharp and quick. The Drill Sergeant had taught her well, though this didn't surprise Clyde in the least, based on his memories of the Academy. Putting his sketchbook away Clyde nodded at her apology, he hadn't expected her to salute him but he wasn't going to protest that she did. After all, as often as he was lost in his own thoughts it wasn't like he could begrudge her a bit of daydreaming, that would have been far to hypocritical for his tastes. Patting Spiritfeather gently on the shoulder he smiled at the girl.
"It's fine Private Ravenheart." He said, his voice held no drop of anger or irritation or even minor annoyance at the girl, he knew better than to get angry at a woman, even if that woman was younger than him. "According to our Captain, I'm to be your Patron for the next year or so, so you might as well drop that salute or you'll lose that hand to blood loss." It was an attempt at a joke, but Clyde feared it had come out far to stern. That was the last thing he needed, for the girl to think he was attempting boss her around or some such and make an enemy out of her.
Can you? he addressed Spiritfeather quietly, without ever once taking his eyes off of the apprentice in front of him. He had never bothered to dismount Spiritfeather considering how he had planned out their first lesson for the day.
Of course I can. Her response was terse and her tone insulted. Clyde gave her a quick apology before holding out his hand to the young woman. "My name is Clyde." He was certain she would already know that if she had been given any information by their lovely Captain as he expected she had been, "What would you prefer to be called?" After all having to say 'Private Ravanheart' every time he addressed her would get old. His own Patron had always insisted on being on a first name basis so many years ago.
Spiritfeather grinned at the young wolf. Now Shadowbane, do tell me how you intend to keep up with your belly on the ground? It was after all quite difficult to run in such a position. Already it seemed Spirit was going to be much better at this whole thing than her rider was. After all, just because he was younger didn't change the fact that they were both Gamma's in the pack, there was no sense in him lowering himself to her. At least not in such an extreme manner. A bit of respect as his mentor was certainly demanded, but this was simply a ridiculous reaction. Though she had been surprised, she had expected Shadowbane to be much more bold than this from his stride and the look in his eyes, his entire posture had predicted something much different from the way he had addressed her. There was something about this wolf that she got the feeling she was about to find out.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 3:37 pm
Emmilyn relaxed, instead clasping both hands behind her back. Although she had picked up on Clyde’s attempt at a joke, she didn’t seem to find it funny; a hint of a smile played at her lips, but that was as far as it went for her. Thankfully, her Patron had asked her a question. She was quick to break what felt like an awkward silence with her answer.
“Most call me Lyn,” she replied with a slight inclination of her head. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Clyde.”
Emmilyn reached for Clyde’s hand with her own. Her handshake was firm and strong, almost giving off a sense of self-confidence. Noticing that he had not yet dismounted, she raised an eyebrow slightly.
“What did you have in mind for this lesson, if I may ask?”
Meanwhile, Shadowbane was mentally kicking himself. He had made a fool of himself for nothing - it was apparent that Emmilyn had either neglected to mention Spiritfeather’s rank in the pack to him, or simply didn’t bother to find out. He hauled his body into a sitting position, all signs of submission clearly gone.
‘I was showing respect. Respect which was clearly misplaced,’ he snapped.
Without shifting his gaze from the white wolf before him, he addressed his bonded.
‘Why didn’t you tell me she was a Gamma?’
“You never asked,” came Emmilyn’s swiftly thought reply. She battled to hide her smirk as she glanced down at the dark wolf beside her.
He grunted again. ‘I’ll remember that.’
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RainbowMagicMarker Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 4:09 pm
Clyde couldn't help but smirk as Lyn reached up to grasp his hands. "Well then Lyn, shall we get started with your first lesson?" It was a rhetorical question, because instead of shaking Lyn's hand as she seemed to have intended he pulled, drawing her up behind him on Spiritfeather. As soon as she was settled Clyde tapped the wolf gently and without anything else Spiritfeather was off, off of the training field, out of the fort, and thundering through the trees. Clyde saw no sense in keeping the lessons in the fort, they weren't going to be fighting centipedes in the forts, if all went as it usually did anyway, so as far as Clyde was concerned there was no point in training in the fort. If you were going to fight you wanted to be familiar with your surroundings. As cold as it was he didn't see how there might be a chance for attack, so he saw no danger in heading out into the territory they'd actually be fighting in. Clyde was lost in the wind and the blurr of the trees and the thunder of Spirit's paws against the ground. This was where he belonged, this was where he always belonged. It had been a release when he'd enrolled in the academy, a release from prison and back into life. Gently he felt Spirit nudge him out of the reverie he usually slipped into when they ran. Drawing him back to the present and back to Lyn.
"Have you ever been out of the walls?" Clyde knew he was breaking regulations here, but it was in honor of his own patron who had done the same thing. After all, who was going to notice that Clyde was gone, considering it was rare for him to leave his barracks anyway? No, he wouldn’t be caught, of that he was sure. And even if he was he was sure he could talk his way out of it with Eustace.
Spiritfeather raised her eyes at Shadowbane, drawing herself up to add emphasis to the fact that she was bigger than him. That probably wouldn't last long, but she was going to take advantage of it while she could. Oh she was certain she was going to give this pup the runaround, he'd have to learn how much respect was due to where, and she wasn't going to make it easy on him either. He'd come to realize just how deeply she intended to take this lesson. I am your Patron pup and so long as that is so you will show me the proper respect. Spiritfeather didn't put any particular emphasis there, but if the pup was intelligent he'd figure out where it was supposed to be quickly enough. But soon she felt the added weight as Clyde pulled Lyn up onto her back as well. With a smirk to Shadowbane and the simple comment. Keep up Spiritfeather was off. She already knew exactly where Clyde wanted her to go, they'd gone there so many times before, all she needed to focus on was keeping her bonded from allowing himself to get distracted.
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