Fallen Tree Cove Learning The Ropes

OOC! Out of character comments here

Being excited and impatient was a frustrating combination. She wanted to go, go and learn everything there was possibly to learn. A snort was let out of her snout urging her teacher to hurry. Her visiting we became more and more apparent as she waited. After what seemed like an eternity Kajika finally got up. A short work of excitement pushed its way past the yearlings lips before she could stop it. Realizing that everyone was still asleep her ebony ears laid flat upon her skull while mercury eyes nervously looked at the den entrance. Seeing no one emerged Moonshadow gave an apologetic smile. Her excitement over took her once more as she bounded after Kajika to the edge of the clearing.

He spoke about going to the border and to ask any questions she may have. She gave him an eager nod and sent her nose to the ground. This lesson was about markers and scents she needed to identify as many as possible. The midnight yearling would have plenty of time to learn landmarks and sites. For now she was intent on finding the border with her nose. There were so many scents on their way to the border. Prey, plants, and wolves. Some scents were much weaker than others but the girl ignored them. Only once did she find the clearly marked borders did she'd look up to see where her teacher was. She didn't see his dark form until she looked to her other side. A wide smile crossed her face as the teen wagged her tail quickly. "So whats next?" She asked finally able to rein in her excitement. She needed to focus so she could remember everything.

Kajika smiled at the excitement that Moonshadow displayed, he was glad for it. Patrolling the borders wasn't the most exciting of jobs a pack wolf but it was one of the more important ones. Something else he thought she would figure out in time was that it gave time for some important thinking as well strengthening scent markers and checking for intruders. When it was time to get the lesson started he led the way from the clearing toward the nearest border, they would start there and work their way around. He hadn't quite decided if they would walk the entire border for the lesson but he figured he would see how things went and if Moonshadow was up for it.

He kept a swift pace as they moved through the trees to where the lesson would start periodically checking to make sure Moonshadow was still with him. He took note of the different scents along the way in case someone or something had gotten past their borders. When they finally did reach the border Moonshadow wanted to know what was next, “Now that we have come to the border you have to be extra vigilant. You want to look for signs that someone may have crossed or that they may be near by. Also your looking for the packs scent markers so you can refresh them,” he explained, “What we are going to do for today is walk the borders as you would on patrol and I'm going to let you point out anything you think is amiss. Then we can discuss why it is or isn't important if that is the case.” She'd lived in a pack long he enough he felt she had a good enough idea about things to accomplish this task.

(This post was last modified: Oct 31, 2016, 05:04 PM by Kajika.)

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OOC!

Silver eyes focused on the pale amber ones of her instructors. Her tail wagged steadily at her hocks as she waited patiently for instructions on what to do next. Extra vigilant got it she thought giving him a small nod in response with a serious look. She could do that easily. Living on her own for the majority of her life left the teen able to keep track of prey and anything out the ordinary - such as someone following her. After everything was explained to her Moon gave Kajika a smile and started along the border. With her nose to the ground the ebony girl searched for the tell tale signs of a border marker. The first one was only a few wolf lengths away from where the dark pair currently stood. It smelled not only of wolves but also of Nightshade, White Fir, Pine, and damp earth. Taking a deep breath in the yearling took note of each scent storing it in the archives of her mind so that she may never forget them. Having only been in the pack for a brief time most of the scents of wolves were unfamiliar. This caused the girls brows to furrow, how could she know what was supposed to be there - or rather who - if she didnt know who was allowed to be?

"Uh..." she started unsure how to ask with out seeming like a dummy. "I dont know everyone in the pack. So are all the scents here belonging to our packmates?" She questioned. Having him confirm would allow her to make the mental note that this is how its supposed to be so that as they kept walking she would be able to determine if anything was out of place. The teen was able to recognize the scents of Vespertio and Namid from when they accepted her as well as Kajika's. The few others however were unfamiliar. One was strongly present presumably meaning a current member and others were of different variations of faded. Her coal like nose flared as she took in the scents again. It was interesting to the young girl and a bit of pride filled her as she thought it was a good thing that she could tell the different variation of the scents. Looking up to her teacher she waited expectantly for his answer. She had no intentions of letting her excitement get the  best of her again and didnt want to bombard him with too many questions at once.

Kajika thought about how he had learned to patrol the borders, it was when he lived with his birth pack. He had spent some time with his father walking them and watching what he did while he was patrolling. It wasn't much different than when he had patrolled them with Des when he had first come to Fallen Tree Cove. This was also the method that he would teach Moonshadow as he gave her the lesson. With her learning to patrol the borders it would be most helpful to the pack. He felt the more wolves that patrolled the less chance there would be for an intruder to get through the borders and surprise the pack. After explaining the lesson and what she was to told Kajika let Moonshadow go to work. While she worked he stayed back a few paces to give her some room and he didn't want his scent mixing with the other scents in the area. She needed to work without distraction.

It pleased him when Moonshadow asked her question right away, “Well each pack has its own scent that is common amongst the members of the pack so is there a scent that you have noticed on the members of our pack that you do know?” he asked trying to help her work through the problem she was having. If she could figure out the common scent amongst the members of Fallen Tree Cove then she wouldn't have trouble discerning them from outsiders. Moonshadow was a bright girl and he was sure she would be able to figure it out. Once she did they could move on with the lesson and it might even make things a little easier for her.

(This post was last modified: Nov 14, 2016, 02:37 PM by Kajika.)

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OOC! Sorry for the shortness Dx

His response wasnt what the yearling was expecting but it would have to do. He asked what the common scents were among everyone she had met. Taking a deep breath in she identified the scents that clung to everyones coats "Nightshade, damp earth, pine and uh - white fir?" She wasnt sure if she got the name correct on the last one. Once given an answer the young girl smiled to herself happy that she was doing well. She took note of the wolves she smelt at this marker and moved on to the next one. Now that the scents were burnt into her memory there wasnt a need to keep her nose so close to the ground. She was able to follow them easily from collection site to collection site.

Her dark tail wagged behind her enthusiastically as she trailed along the borders. Going from marker to maker was easy enough since they all had been strong. The next one however wasnt as potent on the nose as the others had been. Going to investigate the marker, the ebony yearling was perplexed about why this one wasnt as strong as the others. "Why isnt this one as strong as the others?" She asked looking back towards the dark form of her teacher. Did someone miss this one perhaps?

No Worries.

In asking the question about similar smells among the pack members of Fallen Tree Cove he was hoping to get Moonshadow thinking. He wanted her to realize that she didn't necessarily need to know the scent of every wolf if she knew the scent of the pack. He was pleased when she recognized the scents that were common to the pack and he showed it with a grin. “Very good, those are the scents of our pack and as long as they are present then you know that scent belongs to a pack member. So it seems there isn't any sign of intruders here.” They moved on along the border and as Moonshadow worked Kajika did the same so he would know what she was smelling to answer her questions.

It was a little while before his pupil did have another question which he didn't have an exact answer to. It could be what she suggested or there were other reasons but whatever it was the marker was still there and all they needed to do was refresh it. “That could be the reason this one isn't so strong or the last one to refresh the markers was interrupted and didn't come back to this one. The point is there could be any number of reasons the question is do you know what needs to be done in this situation?” He asked wanting to see if she did know and if she didn't make her think about the situation. He didn't think he would be teaching her anything if he didn't get her thinking.

(This post was last modified: Nov 18, 2016, 04:08 PM by Kajika.)

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OOC! Out of character comments here

The scents that her coal nose identified were indeed correct. A smile formed across her maw and her dark tail swished back and fourth with pride from the praise. This didn't seem difficult to the yearling and actually could be fun to her. Being able to explore her new home and continue to learn excited the teen. Moon absolutely loved to learn everything about everything and she was eager too. With her tail still swaying and eyes and ears directed towards her instructor she absorbed his question. Gears turned in her head as she tried to come up with an answer. She gave a shake of her head saying no she didn't know how to refresh them. She searched her brain for something logical to explain how to refresh it but was dumbfounded. The only thing the ebony girl could come up with would be rubbing ones coat along it but that didn't make sense for the marker was on the ground not on the tree.

Mercury eyes found their way from wolf to snow searching for an answer. Nothing the girl came up with in her head fit properly and it started to bother her. She had always been intelligent and could come up with something but this was proving to be more difficult that she thought. Moonshadow glanced back towards Kajika briefly before settling on the ground by his feet. Her ears laid flat and her head lowered in defeat. Not being able to come up with anything was a first for the girl and wasn't a feeling she enjoyed. She gave another shake of her head to say no, being too ashamed to say the words out loud.

The question had been if she knew how to refresh the markers that needed it on the border. Kajika gave her a little time to think it over hoping that maybe she had seen another wolf do it at some point in time. However, the more time passed he start to become worried that she might not have an answer considering how quick she was to give him answers in the past. The dark male could see her trying to work it through in her mind and yet she still didn't give him an answer. It wasn't a big deal really after all this was why they were out there, for her to learn these things that she didn't know the answers to.

Kajika decided that instead of giving her the answer he would give her a few moments to think it through some more. When it seemed she had finally conceded to the fact she didn't have an answer for her he nodded, “This is why we are going over this,” he said hoping it would encourage her. “It's very simple I will demonstrate,” he stated as he moved over to where the marker was. He then demonstrated for Moonshadow what she needed to do to refresh the markers for their borders. “See not so hard at all, probably one of the easiest things we have to do to protect our territory.”

(This post was last modified: Nov 29, 2016, 06:21 PM by Kajika.)

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OOC! Out of character comments here

With her head still low she silently beat herself up over not being able to come up with an answer. Her tail had long stopped swinging behind her and now instead crept closer to her underside. Ever since the accident the young girl had learned to be quick in blaming herself and being hard on herself. The blame rang loud within her thoughts, almost drowning out her teachers words. His tone was encouraging and was able to silence the blame within her as well as draw her gaze up. Looking at him she gave a small half smile admitting that yes this was why they were going over it.

His next words came as a relief to the teen. Being able to see how it was done would be a great way to learn. As he moved towards the marker Moon's ear lifted from her skull and her tail relaxed. Silver orbs watched as he moved over and...and peed??? It was that simple?!? She yelled internally. Now the blame for not seeing the obvious replaced what came before it. Her ears flickered back once more but as she thought about it, it made sense as to why that was what had to be done. Her eyes found those of her teachers and she gave a small nod. "That made alot of sense. I couldn't figure out how one would get their scent onto the ground. Thank you for showing me." She gave the dark man a smile and gentle wag of her tail to show her appreciation because in all reality he didn't have to help her at all.

Since Kajika didn't know Moonshadow’s whole story he didn't know if someone had shown her what to do, that was how he'd learned. Before leaving his pack and coming to the Lore he'd gone on patrols with his father who had showed him what to do. It was one of those things that once you were taught you never forgot. Sometimes he did miss the patrols he had gone on with his father but he knew after spending time in Fallen Tree Cove he'd made the right decision. Here he was now passing on the lessons of his father to Moonshadow and he felt that he was finally doing good. When she didn't have a response for him he remained encouraging because it didn't matter if she did or didn't, what mattered was that she learned something.

Kajika felt a demonstration was the best way to show Moonshadow what needed to be done. It was a simple task really but still felt a little awkward, something he figured he would get over if he was to be doing anymore of these lessons. Kajika nodded at her thanks, “It's no problem, sometimes showing is the better way of teaching a lesson. Shall we continue on?” The dark male didn't remember the lessons from his father going quite that way but his father wasn't a teacher. Kajika wanted to be a teacher and part of that was explaining things to his students.

(This post was last modified: Dec 06, 2016, 08:25 AM by Kajika.)

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