"Come on, stop fighting like babies! You can do better! Diggs, use your hind legs! Maud, straighten your spine; you're not One-eye! Speaking of which, use that overly-muscled deformed front paw of yours to your advantage instead of trying to hide it!"

One-eye panted and let Arall go, trying not to get distracted by the early-winter snow falling. They were each covered in bruises and bite marks, and their newly-grown winter coats were battered. Except for One-eye, who had a delayed shedding process, which caused his thicker coat to grow really slowly in random places and made him look even more awkward than before.

Divine nodded to Diggs. "Nice one," she said. The pale wolfdog held Maud pinned to the ground with his strong front legs, panting.

"Get off of me!" Maud whined.

Diggs removed his paws off of the smaller she-wolf.

Divine gave Maud a firm hit with her tail. "I've said it a million times and I will say it again, quit whining!"

The trainer walked over to One-eye and Arall. "Passable job, One-eye," she said, after which she sat down. "Do that again, though. Not you, Maud and Diggs."

One-eye and Arall started to circle, growling softly. Then, the two pups bolted at each other. Both jumped before they met, and, mid-air, they tried to grab one another with all four paws.

Arall managed to grab hold of One-eye's shoulders and chest, but he was swift, twisted himself free, grabbed the she-wolf by her flank, and bit her scruff.

They landed, with One-eye on the top.

"Ow!" Arall whimpered.

Divine seemed somewhat content. "Yes, yes, very good, the both of you. Arall, you would've made it if you had been just a bit stronger. I think Naar will teach you that soon enough. One-eye, remember to lock your jaws more tightly around your victim, though. You'll never be able to do some real damage if you keep using your lips instead of your teeth."

One-eye got off of the she-wolf, tail low and ears in his neck. "Ye...Yes ma'am."

Arall got up and echoed his words, a little more confident than he.

Divine nodded. "Good. Now, Diggs, Maud, show me your move one final time."

The black she-wolf and pale wolfdog circled one another and jumped. Diggs was going for Maud, but she managed to somehow avoid him, which confused him. The she-wolf took advantage of that, knowing that she'd never be able to win without it because he was bigger and stronger. She grabbed hold of him fiercely, pinning him to the ground with the landing.

She held her tail high. "See, pretty good, huh?"

"And painful, ugh," Diggs added.

Their trainer got up, and One-eye backed away, avoiding her. The stern wolfdog terrified him.

Divine looked at the four momentarily, then sighed. "Well done, Maud, all of you, even. I'll report your progress to Jera. I think that you are ready for a new mentor. You did rather well the past few weeks. I'll eventually see you again for more training sessions, but until then, you're stuck with James, Naar, and maybe Jera. You are all dismissed."

One-eye waited for any other sign of appreciation or a compliment, but she just walked away, her expression cold as always, ignoring them entirely.