[PRP] In High Demand (Hroarr, Anwar)

[Talencia]

Perhaps he had been getting lax since his return to the pride, but recent events were resulting in him being in better shape than he had been in quite a while. Being back with the pride had brought a certain amount of relief and peace. Things had returned to normal, and he had less to do, since he wasn't running an entire campsite, just his own... small... empty... den,.... and the exploits of his warband, of course, but those were a bit less now that they had all settled in to pride life once more.

But of late, various things were coming into play that involved him training with newer, younger lions. He rather liked this role, to be perfectly honest, though he tried not to think of how these skills might be put to use. At least with Isibeal, he knew exactly what was planned for her to accomplish, and that she'd not be going out on a killing rampage.

However, this next lesson wasn't with his thrall, nor with any of his own reavers. Since he was finding some enjoyment in teaching others fighting skills, he had agreed to another student who wasn't directly involved with him already. He'd been told she was one of the young up-and-comings, and that she wouldn't be a waste of time. It really wouldn't have bothered him to train someone who fumbled and was awkward, but it would be nice to deal with someone new who at least had an idea of what they were doing.

He settled himself on his haunches at the agreed upon sparring circle and calmly waited for his student, tail tracing a slow serpentine behind him.  

[mouselet]

Anwar was cursing herself silently as she made her way to the training ground. She should have known better than to let her mother distract her with some inane chatter when she had a lesson to attend! The young Reaver was proud of her status not only as a pridemember who'd been on a number of Vikings despite her age, but also the fact that she routinely taught Reavers and Freeborn her age and younger. Mostly because the idiots rarely succeeded on their Vikings without her, but they had to fail before she would (could) help.

None of which changed the fact that she shouldn't have allowed her mother to make her even a tiny bit late. The lioness was hurrying, but not running. It wouldn't do to arrive out of breath, because that would simply encourage whomever was waiting for her to attack without warning before she'd recovered. No, the best she could do was apologize for her tardiness and hope it didn't reflect too poorly on her.

When she reached the appointed spot, the dark female nearly regretted her decision against running when she recognized the form that waited for her. Hroarr! The famous lion who'd maintained his own band for moons after being exiled from the main pride! He'd been a popular Captain then, and his return had only served to increase his reputation. She'd considered asking for lessons from him specifically, but didn't want to make others think she had an inflated idea of her own self-importance. The God of Warriors must surely have blessed her today!

Coming near, Anwar bent her head. "I apologize for my lateness, Captain." She refused to make excuses, especially as the fault was hers alone. The loss was of prestige in the eyes of this great one and, of course, in time she could have spent learning from him.  

[Talencia]

He watched her quick-step into the area of the sparring circles, catching sight of her about the same time as it seemed she caught sight of him. Something flickered in her expression, but she kept a lid on it. Good, that was a good sign of self-control. Her first words also pleased him. He wasn't fond of swaggering, bragging, arrogant fools. Even if one had the skills to back up one's boasting, it was imprudent to go about making much of one's self. It was just... distasteful, at the very least.

He nodded an acknowledgment of her apology and studied her silently for a moment. She looked to be in good condition, well-muscled and fit. She was well-groomed, also a good sign. There definitely was potential here, if she'd already made reaver. In fact... he might have seen her around before. It was hard to say, since there were so many youngsters these days, and he had had some catching up to do on who was who when he'd first returned to complicate matters.

"Tell me," he began, without rising from his relaxed sitting position, "do you prefer offense or defense, given the choice?" It wasn't an intentional thing, but this was a test of sorts. Was the patient and attentive? Would she accept this lack of immediate action as a response to her lateness? Not that she'd been particularly late. For Hroarr, she had been within an acceptable range. He was no timekeeper, and saw such nit-picking as pointless. Still, this would let him learn a little about her before they got very far. "Obviously we rarely are given the choice, but sometimes it is something that can be planned for. Which would you choose?" He tipped his head to the side and watched her intently, eyes unflinchingly fixed on her own.  

[mouselet]

The Reaver considered the question. Obviously it was a test of some kind, but she was no Lawspeaker, to try to figure out what Hroarr wanted to learn of her by her answer. Better to consider the question itself.

"Offense," the lioness replied at last. "By taking the initiative, I take the choices of the fight out of my opponent's paws. And, on a Viking, I like to plan a good ambush that will either capture my target or utterly demoralize them." A sharp smile briefly graced her lips at the thought, and lit her pale eyes for a moment.

It was true, Anwar admitted to herself, that if she did not plan her offense well enough, and if she was not aware enough or flexible enough to respond to her opponent by changing tactics on the fly, she could and would fail. But the lioness felt it better to act, rather than to react.  

[Talencia]

Hroarr nodded thoughtfully at her answer, but didn't say a word about it. It was a good answer, and was at least thought out, rather than merely a gut reaction of bloodlust. So she wasn't the headlong sort, that was good. He also privately approved of her indication of using tactics rather than brute force. Though many lioness reavers were the match for the average male out in the roguelands, generally speaking brute force was not a good way for a lioness to approach any situation involving anyone who could potentially overpower her.

However, he wanted her thinking further. Something about her made him want to press her to be the best she could be, not just to teach her a few tricks and send her on her way.

"Now, what would you have said if you'd chosen defense?" He leaned forward just slightly, expression intent and serious. "How would you best choose defense instead of offense?" Could she be mentally flexible enough to see the merits of both sides of his initial question? "Or is there a situation at all where defense is better in battle?" His tail was no longer moving slow and languidly, but beginning to twitch ins sudden bursts of energy, held still one moment and lashing once or twice the next.  

[mouselet]

Anwar took her time to consider the question. She did not like being on the defensive and with her own students tended towards being brashly offensive in order to get them to do as they needed. But she certainly wasn't perfect, and she'd lost to people before, and not just in the context of training. The Reaver wasn't proud of her losses, but she understood that they happened.

"Strategically and tactically, defense is to have the high ground, to lay out your forces in such a way that it is too costly for the aggressor to press home their attack," she offered slowly. "In individual combat, fighting defensively can fall into two categories. Firstly, to fight passively and not respond to your opponent's movements and deny them the control they seek. Secondly, to fight to not lose. It's not fighting to win, it's to prolong things until you can prevent your opponent from defeating you."

It was hard for the Reaver to elucidate the advantages of fighting defensively as it was not a strength of hers, and she admitted it. Most of what she knew she'd learned from an older Reaver named Ensis. He had a distinction for allowing a large number of new members into the pride, but to his credit they'd all done quite well once joining the Myrsky Syntynyt. The white lion himself seemed relatively unphased by victory or loss, an attitude that was not the norm, but still intriguing.  

[Talencia]

This time he did not nod acknowledgment. He took a moment to lick his muzzle ruminatively. Her answer wasn't flawed unto itself, but she clearly had a one-sided perspective about battle. He supposed it came of being raised in the pride, taught that they were powerful and able to take what they wanted if they only fought hard enough. Time to remedy that and get her thinking beyond the norm. He could tell she was capable of it, and doing so would make her a superior reaver at the very least.

"You are still thinking about it from an aggressive perspective," he told her, his voice firm but lacking judgment or censure. "What you say is entirely correct, if you assume you are always seeking victory only." He let her mull on that a few moments before he rose to his paws. Coming from Aesir's bloodline, he was built large, powerful, and broad. Though Stormborn reavers were more likely to be built strong rather than slender, Hroarr was larger than average. He stalked over to her, his movements subtly assertive, until he was standing over her.

"As female, you have to consider that you won't always be in control, no matter what you'd like to think," he rumbled, eyes half hooded to mimic potential threat, voice lowered and deepened for the same effect, his physical positioning looming over her. It wasn't an attempt to intimdate, but a means to prove his point. "You will not always be the one on the attack. You will not always be the stronger force. You will not always be with your brothers and sisters in battle." He leaned in close and whispered, "Sometime... you might be alone and facing someone bigger and stronger who doesn't want your loot... but your life."

He broke the moment by turning away and pacing back to his previous resting spot. He turned back to her with an inquiring look on his face, all nuances of intimidation gone completely. "Defense is good for many things, like staying alive. Yes, it can also be used to manipulate your opponent, but there can be more finesse to it than just not responding or buying time. It is a very useful tool, even moreso than offense is." Some might consider such words shocking from a captain, but his job was to ensure that this young reaver knew best not only how to win, but how to survive to enjoy those victories. "Are you willing to learn these things?" he asked her bluntly, hoping he already knew her answer.  

[mouselet]

The lioness sat still, watching Hroarr's every movement, listening to his words. He hadn't condemned her words, but he seemed to disapprove of the narrowness he saw in her views. Which, Anwar supposed, was fair, as she'd never really thought in terms of defense as the Captain saw it. Witness the difficulty she'd had even coming up with the strengths of defense.

Inside, she squirmed, especially as the older lion came close and emphasized that there would be times, like now, when she was outmatched and outweighed by opponents. And someone like Hroarr...she'd be an overconfident fool to believe she could outthink him, especially in the heat of battle.

"I will learn whatever you teach," she replied firmly, voice and gaze steady. She might prefer offense, but that did not mean defense was without merit. And anything Hroarr cared to teach was most certainly worth learning. Anything.  

[Talencia]

"Good," he said aloud finally, giving her an approving look. She'd done well with the intellectual lesson he'd been attempting to teach here. Sure, he could have just taught her tactics and methods for victory in single combat, but he sensed that she had so much more potential than just a brute fighter. She had the brains to be a clever, smart, sly fighter, and that kind was well worth nurturing. They tended to live longer and have better success. So he'd been pleased that she rose to this occasion and shown she had the capacity to achieve her potential.

"Now, let's go." He turned and paced away from the circle, away from the sparring area entirely. He glanced back at her, prompting her to follow him. "You are already a competent fighter, and these circles are for learning the basics or doing general training." He suddenly flashed her a grin, one that promised fun and likely pain in her future. "What you need is to fine-tune your skills, and that means training in the field." Had she been in his warband, he'd have taken her out actually viking, but as she wasn't, he would do the next best thing. "Time to work out how best to fight on differing terrains. Where shall we go first? The swamp, you think?" His smile might have been a little smug, knowing what was in store for her, but it also was full of anticipation. This was going to be interesting.  

[mouselet]

If she wasn't so strictly controlling her emotions and expressions, Anwar might've let loose a sigh of relief as Hroarr approved of her willingness to learn. Gods all knew the Captain didn't have to teach anyone he didn't want to. If she had failed to pass his personal test and, even worse, that fact was made public? The humiliation might make the young Reaver want to die of shame.

She as so focused on that relief that she almost missed Hroarr's unexpected departure from the sparring ground. The lioness sprang up quickly, following after him. She agreed with him in theory about this being a place to learn the basics, but she'd never before had an instructor who didn't even bother testing her knowledge of those basics.

He'd be the most difficult teacher she'd had yet, Anwar realized. He was assuming that she knew them, and the lioness sensed he'd be incredibly quick to round on her if she proved to know less than that. The Reaver followed after as Hroarr mentioned going to the swamp.

"I can see that fighting in a swamp would have hazards beyond the usual," Anwar observed. "I'd be happy to learn." There was value in any information Hroarr chose to impart, and the lioness was determined to learn it all.