To Train, An Ounce of Sweat for a Gallon of Blood

Any Elkshire who want to train are welcome

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The sun had just barely risen, and it was a cold morning covered in clouds; making it difficult to leave the warmth of a den. Remus was prepared to start his crusade against Elkshire's softness.  Today, would be the start of Elkshire's first legion.  First to come to mind was Flynn.   He was young and full of that youthful energy, he had yet to be refined into a proper warrior and man, Remus was determined to make it so.  

Full of determination, Remus would track him down.  One way or another, Remus would drag him to the training grounds.

In actuality, anyone lucky or unlucky enough, to cross his path would be the victim of his training.
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The sun rose and so did Remus, and Flynn for that matter. He watched the warmonger strut across the horizon, indirectly causing something to rattle in his chest. There was a strong sense of determination in every stride he took, something he, too, understood rather well. Though of course, every man had their reasons to do certain things, and the boy knew Remus likely had reasons he'd never know.

“Oi, morning to you, Remus.” Nodding his head in greeting, fur curled this way and that, he'd give a friendly wag of tail. “How fairs you?” Flynn had grown used to seeing Remus rise every morning, there was an odd comfort he took in it.

—

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 Meissa was up earlier still, woken by memories of the water. Unable to return to sleep, she had abandoned the grotto in search of something to do. That something just so happened to be roaming the interior borders, ensuring their scent was strong across the boundary. So, too, did she check whether any foreign scents attempted to pass the border. On this outing, she decided that the only scents filling the place were those of her new pack.

 So inwards she moved, stepping carefully as to not disturb the elk that surely were wandering nearby.

 In the distance, she spotted moving forms. The soldier turned her aim towards them and before long, she was near enough to see that it was the two men she had spoken with most during her time here. She recognized the determination in Remus's form and wondered what task he had, something she wondered if Flynn had picked up on. “Ho, Flynn, Remus,” she called to them, though she made no move to stop. If they had things to do, she wouldn't bother them by interrupting.

 Still... it was good to keep the fellow guard and scout up to date with the little she'd gleaned so far this morning.

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His searching didn't take that long,  Flynn wasn't far from his usual spot for the time of day.  Flynn's greeting made it to Remus' ears, with all the boyish charm it carried.  Looking the boy from head to toe,  Remus was once again struck by the sense of potential he got from him; catching an otherworldly, princely glow from the young man's form as it was struck by the morning light. 

Remus took a silent step forward, not answering his call as he slowly closed the distance between the two.  "Well met Flynn...  We have some business to attend to."  Suddenly, Remus: the old dog, had a reutilization.  Flynn, his scent, it was like that of the queen.  Remus very slightly squinted his eyes, awaiting Flynn's response to his statement of business.  He couldn't help but think about it now.  Was this the first time that the two of them had been alone?  Why was his coat so pale? This would seemingly go against the queen's ethnic preferences. Where they really related?  

The mass of swirling thoughts was broken, hearing Meissa's familiar call.   "Meissa, Join us!" Remus called, projecting his voice to her.
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As the brute approached, the paler son didn't quake, he merely stiffened his stance to that of dominance. Though it wasn't out of spite, or rashness, or any other fickle emotion, it was simply due to the fact the young boy had little interaction with his fellow male packmates... And the way that Remus was staring at him left him uneasy. It brought an almost primal energy forth in his veins; quickly adjusting his vision to glance downward at the muscled beast.

“Oh? Business? Has the Queen sent for us to do something? ” But his disposition didn't last long, melting away not only at the sound of Meissa, but because it wasn't in him to stay posied as such for extended periods of time. His testosterone didn't have any means of being here, at least he didn't think so. “Yes, join us! I don't think any of us talk all that much!” He wasn't sure what Remus wanted her for, but it didn't matter. They were in agreement, no need to fuss.

—

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 The two turned to her when she called and ushered her over so she changed course again, heading towards them with curiosity in her eyes. She stepped lightly, for her figure, around a thicket bush that decided to pop up right in her path. She had noticed the tension in their forms that seemed to settle down a little bit as she approached and she pondered what had caused them to size each other up like so.

 Ah, testosterone.

 She, despite having a good deal more of it than most women her age she assumed, still thought it was funny to see males fluffing themselves up at each other like so. Sure, women might do it too if they were soldiers, but it was kind of hilarious to see at a distance. When Flynn said the three of them hardly talked, she grinned - these two men were the two wolves that, other than Celnes, she had had the most conversations with out of her entire time here.

 Meissa reached them and she slowed to a stop, peering at them curiously. “What's up?”

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Remus definitely picked up un Flynn's discomfort.  It was to be expected. The veteran gave little reaction in return continuing about his stride, almost completely ignoring the partial aggression from the younger male. The legionary continued as professional and pointed as ever. 

"Flynn, Meissa.  We here are tasked with defending this fledgling nation.  It is our duty, and so we must stay prepared.  We must be strong of mind, body and bond."   He proclaimed, showing a bit of glimmer to his gaze.  "I propose, we begin training together.  We make it regular starting now." 

Remus stood there amongst fellow warriors, with visions of pride; awaiting their response.
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Ears flickered in response, crown tilting slightly as if he hadn't heard what the male had said... But he certainly had, and he embraced it with perplexion. Flynn held this visage, a gentle flurry of wind frothing through his fur as he turned to meet Meissa's gaze. Perhaps it was for reassurance, maybe he had just wanted to stare at her. Though mostly, he wondered what her thoughts now lay; but he had a feeling that with her position as a Bearback, that she'd likely take it with honour. 

“I... I suppose additional training wouldn't hurt, but I'm already rather exhausted by the end of the day, anyhow. ” He'd admit, knowing they'd understand how much he traveled, but failing to mention exactly what all the Queen had him do. “I... What all does the training require of me?” Not meaning to fuss, but his concerns were still his concerns.

—

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 Ah, okay.

 She gave a nod to the proposal of training. It made sense and she had been wondering what her purpose here was besides patrolling. Having a decent training schedule at least would mean that they had some structure. Flynn on the other hand looked at her and she offered a slight tilt of her head. He seemed to have more concern and as he explained that he was exhausted, she understood it and wondered why she hadn't thought of it first.

 He'd been so tired the other day he was asleep in the rain, after all.

 Still... being tired wouldn't be an excuse if the pack or the royal family was in danger. As badly as she felt for Flynn's tiredness, she knew it was something they had to do. “How regular?” She would inquire to Remus, a genuine question that would hopefully work for everyone. Meissa, of course, was willing to train daily but she knew that Flynn's missions would interfere with his presence in the training. Not to mention, she didn't want him to overwork himself when he was already so tired.

 Nevertheless, she welcomed the formation of this toon, — short for platoon, sort of a mini army. enderverse term. knowing they needed it. “Training together would be beneficial.” Not to mention, it'd give her excuse to bond with the two wolves she'd already spent the most time talking with of the entire pack.

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Ahh yes, Flynn the errand boy of Celenes. No doubt some of his "missions" would keep him busy. It was a shame that such potential was wasted on keeping him as a messenger. No doubt the queen felt a bit threatened, deciding to stifle his career with his current position. 

Meissa gave little resistance to the idea of training; personal improvement.  She would make a fine soldier and leader. 

"We will train every day aside from the full moon, the new moon and each half phase.  We will hone our endurance and our viability in combat" He responded, knowing that this would be a lot to ask of those unaccustomed to physical training.  "We all understand if we have other duties, obviously they come first but, training cannot be overlooked."
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As the prince listened, he'd note specific words in the older man's dialect, some in which he already held up with pride. There was no doubt by looking at him that endurance was his favourite game, being that both on and off duty. His childish thoughts made him crack a smile and considering he had no reason (or want) to share that information, he simply hung back.

“I applaud your motive, the ranks do appear to be lacking these days... ” Admittedly, they were one of the strongest packs in the woods, if not the strongest... But even he couldn't turn a blind eye to the slowly fading company. Their pack, while it felt large, only carried a few faces he saw regularly, and the thought of them falling back to nothing frightened him. “I'll try my best to attend when I can, when shall we start?” What frightened him more was the fact Remus choose him, of all people, to help train. The deer-legged boy, while muscled and fit, had never been a heavy-hitter. He'd been built for speed, stamina, and agility, not for wrestling and fighting. But he did have some tricks up his sleeves. 

It was hard to hit what you couldn't see, mainly when it was running circles around you, landing quick, painful jabs. What did this make him... A Battle Scout? He didn't know, he did know that he was ready.

—

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 Every day apart from the turnings of the moon - yes, that made sense. She gave a firm nod to this and was about to ask another question on logistics when Flynn spoke up again, calling attention to the lacking in their ranks. She considered it for a moment, giving a hum of agreement. She thought back to their ranks and considered who all was what rank, from those she had met and those she hadn't. There were a fair few wolves without rank and she figured that eventually, she might as well track them down to meet them.

 To find out why they hadn't made their way into ranks yet.

 Their ranks would soon grow with the coming of the queen's pups, of course. She wondered faintly on the other women of the pack, none of which she'd actually met. A sinking feeling hit her stomach for a moment. Was... was she one of the only women? Would things be expected of her to increase their numbers? She shoved it away to focus on the thoughts at hand - and realized that indeed Flynn had provided a question she had wondered.

 “Where and when will our meeting points be?” She had tipped her head slightly to Flynn when she had said "when" as a nod towards his question though it did expand it. If it were to be a daily thing, they had ought to decide on other logistics otherwise they would be wondering when to gather and might be on opposite sides of the land when the time did come.

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"We meet here, its as good of a place as any.  We start now"  Remus stated bluntly, to quickly dispel any doubts or excuses that the group may have.  They didn't really know what he has in store for them, but like the truehearted beasts Remus thought them to be, they agreed anyway.  

Remus took a step back opening up his stance, implying that they should get going right this moment.  "Let us begin...", he stated while turning to walk away.  Gesturing with his head in a way that would imply the others to follow, he continued onward.
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As Meissa turned her head to gaze at him, his tail lifted in a gentle wag, quickly dropping to a neutral position as he heard the words falling from Remus' mouth. He'd really sealed his fate with this one, and all he'd done was trot by to greet the man like he'd done every other morning. “If it must be done, then done it will be.” Of course, he had a whole other monologue occurring in his head as he struggled to match the pace behind the shorter brute, though it was less due to his own speed and more to do with the smaller legs in front of him. He'd never had to follow anyone, and his legs ended up nearly buckling with every step as he tried to slow his natural stride.

“At least it's not too hot yet, I feel like my coat has started getting thicker.” He'd chuckle, trying to distract himself from the fact that his already exhausted ass was about to venture past that point.

—

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 She had caught the wag and returned it discreetly, though she could see that Flynn was already dreading it. Nevertheless, she listened to Remus and gave a nod of approval, following him at a leisurely gait while keeping her eyes on the brown man. She did not doubt he would have something up his sleeve, an ambush perhaps. Training in the woods with guerilla warfare would likely be a decent tactic for them to use in these heavily wooded lands, especially if they were somehow able to use the deer as distraction.

 Beside her, Flynn made a comment on the weather and she smiled, tapping against his hip with a wave of her tails. “Afterwards, we all might need a good swim.” Summer was still in its prime but she was certain that eventually, fall would come and hit them hard. There were mountains nearby and she didn't doubt they would bring snow.

 Despite this, her eyes remained fixed on Remus, the man who would be their commander for the time being.

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If they thought they had really started they where wrong. This was only a jog at this point; to get their asses warmed up.  Meissa was right, they would need a swim after this.  The rain from the previous days had rendered the nearby hillside a treacherous and daunting obstacle.  Climbing through knee deep mud could make the strongest buckle from exhaustion. 

In time, they made their way to the location in mind: a steep bank leading down and then back up.  The low section was practically an ice laden swamp while the bank leading up the opposite side was melting away due to the saturation from the recent storms.  

Remus looked over his shoulder at the two, and in a rare occurrence gave a small, pleased smirk.
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Flynn, while not necessarily stupid, wasn't entirely intelligent either. Most of the decisions that were made in his life came from a gut feeling rather than hours of hard thinking, and when he was forced to actually sit down and think something out, typically there was a good reason. Today, however, he felt more ignorant than anything else. Not that he'd say anything of it. He merely stood with a soft smile on his face, having returned the one given to him by Remus, and waited for further instructions.

Though, as they approached the area he could only assume was their training grounds, the gears in his head began to clunk an awful racket until eventually, it projected on his face in confusion. Still... He remained himself, sitting down to scratch behind his ear.

—

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 Meissa observed the new location, considering the swampy area. She hadn't known this part of the territory was even here and she wondered what had caused it when the surrounding area still seemed warm with the summer heat. Her mind fiddled with different theories but she eventually decided that whatever caused it didn't matter.

 Remus had smirked at the pair of them and she knew this swampland would be their training ground, at least for today.

 Lovely.

 She gave a slight nod to Remus, awaiting his commands silently, though in her peripheral she noticed Flynn sitting and scratching at an itch. “What's first?” she said, ideally drawing Remus's focus so that the scout wouldn't draw his ire.

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It appeared that they where both ready, Meissa seemed somewhat eager, and Flynn seemed calm enough.  Remus first intended to test the group's physical resilience and mental toughness.  It would be a simple march, it might not break them the first time.  If not, then they would repeat or increase the difficulty until they or himself did.  

"First, We march"  He stated before turning to walk down the bank towards the muddied embankment.  Stepping into the harder terrain, the wolf's paw sank to his ankles.  With determination, he pushed forward until the mud came higher, near to the elbows.  Trudging onward, the warrior looked back at the others, as he continued towards the uphill slope.
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No the fuck they weren't. What? What? He knew he was a chipper lad with a smile never further than an inch from his face, but either Remus was blind or he didn't care, and it was likely the latter. “Forgive me for speaking against it, but, what the hell?” The Prince, nose almost turned upward, he'd step towards the muddied lands and almost immediately did he feel his body give way. “Is... Is this really how we must start our training? I ran about 10 miles yesterday just to deliver a bloody message, I fell asleep on my ro—” The lad was bitter, letting his anger pull him ahead of Remus as he tried his best to pance like a deer through the muck.

“Just ignore me, I'm tired, is all. Guess it'll make sleeping easier tonight, huh?” He forced a chuckle, but it was clear he was already fed-up and they'd only just begun.

—

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 Mud wasn't Meissa's forté, having grown up in a land that was very, well, the opposite of mud. Sand could get slippery at times, for certain, but it was a different kind of slippery. Sand wasn't wet, didn't suck your paws in, didn't force you to use your strength to simply not fall face first in the mud.

 Every complaint she had in her head, Flynn voiced aloud and when she knew Remus's back was turned, she looked at Flynn with a "fuck life, right?" expression.

 But training prevailed and she marched, the mud sucking her paws down as she moved. “Maybe a midday nap, eh?” she said softly to the scout even as her paws almost lost purchase in the icy muck and she steadied herself. “Not a lot of mud like this in this territory, I hope.” Surely no enemies would be swimming through basically what was a swamp to get to them, right?

 A glimmer of a memory shifted within her of being carried, mere months old, over icy swampland that was as wet as this and more. Her father's breath against her neck, death-stink still on it, while a pale shape - her mother? - moved alongside. The memory was swept away as the chill of the mud caught her and she grit her teeth, forcing away a growl.

 She would persevere, as she had through everything else.

 Besides, Remus was their elder but not their commanding officer... if he got to choose this training, undoubtedly they could choose their own down the line. In her head she began to plan, to plot... though she wasn't sure what.

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Flynn's attitude immediately broke, Remus half expected that from these kids today. At least he seemed to be fueled by his attitude putting up an impressive start.  Like most of the young kids these days; they lacked experience.  Pacing ones self is important in any endeavor of endurance. The old dog looked away from Flynn, choosing to silently ignore his pouting.  Instead he cocked his ear to listen to Meissa's musing's, which seemed to be the typical gallows humor of a hardened warrior. 

Pushing onward the mud deepened as Remus, slowly but surely found his own pace pushing out ahead to the base of the uphill segment.  Now for the hard part; a 45 degree slope of loose loam and mud that presided over the lower mudland.  Remus took a step upward inhaling as he began to drag his frame upward into the loamy berm, climbing quickly without stop.  The ground like the mud devoured a determined foot, requiring a large amount of energy to push one's way upward.
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They trudged forward, paws full of mud and grit, the prince, despite having complained earlier was fairly quick to silence. Typically he'd allow himself to complain for a moment to get out the initial upset, all to just do what he was told. Really though, it wasn't as if there was a way out of what he was currently enduring, so he might as well suck it up and deal with it.

Any other day this would be fine, he just couldn't feel his legs right now.

His eyes would turn to look at Remus, a gentle wag in his tail as he wondered exactly what had made the male turn out this way. He wondered if Remus knew how much he respected him, but he doubted the male would care. Remus was the only other male... Friend? Maybe. The only other male he knew here other than Rosemary, and Rosemary certainly wasn't as sweet as his name sounded. Neither was the war-hardened male, but Flynn had always gotten a feeling that Remus could be softer if need be.

Maybe he was wrong, but he'd always wanted a big brother. So now, suddenly, he was marching through the mud to impress.

—

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 This cold slope in the mud was no good but she continued on, claws gripping into the earth and sliding at points, forcing her to dig in further, trying to reach the harder earth beneath the mud without getting caught in the mud itself. She pushed upwards after Remus, trudging up and letting out soft, low exhales of effort every so often as she followed. There was a moment when she believed she might begin to slide but thankfully, her claws hooked on a root and she hauled herself up with a silent huff.

 Her eyes flicked back to Flynn, checking on him to see how he was doing.

 The man seemed to be doing well, seeming to be marching with something to prove. She offered him an encouraging boof, the sound escaping her lips in the slightest wuff noise. Satisfied, she turned forward again and followed in Remus's trail, wondering if he had any other surprises up his sleeve for their training or if the mud march would be all they had to do. Surely, it was a good amount of effort so perhaps they would be let off easily with it.

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Remus felt a pang of joy, he was proud of him companions. Despite the harsh conditions they had both hardened their spirits in their own way. Flynn was good hearted, with a strong approach yet a lighthearted. Meissa was tough and experienced in hardship, yet genuine and caring for her comrades. The old dog counted himself lucky.

Remus continued to trudge upward throughout the hard terrain, pushing another 50 yards or so with his comrades at his side. Then, he reached it; a half sunken log, buried in the muddy hill. He only stared at it momentarily, then motioned his head to the top of the hill. They would carry it to the top, together. They would place it there, a new symbol of the strength of elkshire: the proving hill.
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