ThunderClan Territory

[Midnight Rain]

@ninetailsnetwork

[Ivyshade]

Tigerblaze stopped just outside the training cave and turned to his apprentice. "The thing that sets dogs apart from badgers or foxes is their stupidity. A fox usually won't just attack the guard; they'll try to break through the barrier. A badger will sneak up on you and then attack. But a dog will just barrel into you as soon as he sees you, no questions asked. So if you were guarding the camp and a dog came into view, what do you think you should do?"
Tigerblaze waited for her to respond, not really sure if he should have continued explaining or not.

[doghouse]

Originally Posted by Ivyshade

Tigerblaze stopped just outside the training cave and turned to his apprentice. "The thing that sets dogs apart from badgers or foxes is their stupidity. A fox usually won't just attack the guard; they'll try to break through the barrier. A badger will sneak up on you and then attack. But a dog will just barrel into you as soon as he sees you, no questions asked. So if you were guarding the camp and a dog came into view, what do you think you should do?"
Tigerblaze waited for her to respond, not really sure if he should have continued explaining or not.

Tatteredpaw listened intently, think carefully about what Tigerblaze had just said. "You'd yowl that it was coming first, right...?" She asked, shifting her paws,her eyes thoughtful. "That way others know.... Then you'd....." She trailed off uncertainly, not sure what you'd do next. She tried to think, but couldn't figure it out. For a moment, she was slightly frustrated, but she blinked and calmed herself down. It was always easier to think if she was calm.

[Ivyshade]

Calm down, mousebrain, Tigerblaze berated himself. You're going too fast.
He flicked his tail encouragingly as Tatteredpaw faltered. "Well, I can see where you're coming from. You're right that if there ever is a threat to the clan then one of the first things you need to do is warn them. But in the case of a dog...or anything really...if it's within eye and earshot then unless it's heading straight toward you yowling for the clan is the last thing you want to do. If you sense one approaching the best thing to do is to hide yourself somehow. If the dog leaves then you can discreetly warn a passing classmate and at the end of the day you can inform the leader, who will tell the rest of the clan. But if it just stays outside the camp then you need to either sneak away as soon as possible to warn someone or, if you're an experienced warrior, you can lead the dog away to one of the farther corners of the territory and then escape by climbing a tree." Tigerblaze paused, suddenly unsure of himself. "Does that make sense? A whole clan could drive away a dog, but there are very few times where the whole clan is in the camp. So the first priority is making sure the camp stays undetected."

[doghouse]

Originally Posted by Ivyshade

Calm down, mousebrain, Tigerblaze berated himself. You're going too fast.
He flicked his tail encouragingly as Tatteredpaw faltered. "Well, I can see where you're coming from. You're right that if there ever is a threat to the clan then one of the first things you need to do is warn them. But in the case of a dog...or anything really...if it's within eye and earshot then unless it's heading straight toward you yowling for the clan is the last thing you want to do. If you sense one approaching the best thing to do is to hide yourself somehow. If the dog leaves then you can discreetly warn a passing classmate and at the end of the day you can inform the leader, who will tell the rest of the clan. But if it just stays outside the camp then you need to either sneak away as soon as possible to warn someone or, if you're an experienced warrior, you can lead the dog away to one of the farther corners of the territory and then escape by climbing a tree." Tigerblaze paused, suddenly unsure of himself. "Does that make sense? A whole clan could drive away a dog, but there are very few times where the whole clan is in the camp. So the first priority is making sure the camp stays undetected."

Tatteredpaw looked at him. "That's a lot!" She breathed. How could anyone remember all this? It was a lot to take in. She went over what he'd just said a few times in her head. "Yeah.... It makes sense." She said at last, looking up. Her copper eyes were wide with amazement at how every warrior knew most of this. How will I ever remember? she wondered. "So, I would hide and hope it just passes by, and then tell my Clanmates?" She asked slowly.

[Ivyshade]

Originally Posted by Spirited Darkness

Tatteredpaw looked at him. "That's a lot!" She breathed. How could anyone remember all this? It was a lot to take in. She went over what he'd just said a few times in her head. "Yeah.... It makes sense." She said at last, looking up. Her copper eyes were wide with amazement at how every warrior knew most of this. How will I ever remember? she wondered. "So, I would hide and hope it just passes by, and then tell my Clanmates?" She asked slowly.

He twitched his whiskers, slightly amused by her wonder. "Exactly. Unless it's seen you. Then you would have to lead it from the camp or call for help, depending on if you are a warrior or apprentice. So in other words, if the dog doesn't see you, hide and tell another cat when you can safely do so. If it sees you, either run if you're a warrior, yowling so the clan knows you're in trouble, or call for help and run back inside the camp. The entrance barrier should be enough to keep it occupied for a little while at least. Does that make more sense?" He sat down in the mouth of the cave and wrapped his tail around his paws. "Don't worry about remembering everything perfectly. If it ever happens, you'll know what to do. The extra stuff will become instinct soon enough."

[doghouse]

Originally Posted by Ivyshade

He twitched his whiskers, slightly amused by her wonder. "Exactly. Unless it's seen you. Then you would have to lead it from the camp or call for help, depending on if you are a warrior or apprentice. So in other words, if the dog doesn't see you, hide and tell another cat when you can safely do so. If it sees you, either run if you're a warrior, yowling so the clan knows you're in trouble, or call for help and run back inside the camp. The entrance barrier should be enough to keep it occupied for a little while at least. Does that make more sense?" He sat down in the mouth of the cave and wrapped his tail around his paws. "Don't worry about remembering everything perfectly. If it ever happens, you'll know what to do. The extra stuff will become instinct soon enough."

Tatteredpaw nodded. That made sense. She sat down and shifted her weight from paw to paw. "I'm almost a warrior." She said proudly, puffing out her chest slightly. Her ears were pricked with interest. "Okay." That sounded easier than trying to remember every little detail all the time. Much easier. She looked around, her eyes narrow for a moment. "Can we practice some of the moves that would help?" She asked hesitantly, not looking at Tigerblaze for some reason. Then she looked up and tilted her head curiously.

[MaskedBandits]

Originally Posted by MaskedBandits

Burstpaw was concentrating so hard he almost forgot his fear, as he prepared his body to swipe. Ok. My back paws must be planted firmly on the ground more than ever now, and my tail needs to be very secure. He pushed his tail even harder against the ground, and narrowed his amber eyes. The Orange tabby moved his forepaw across his body, staying pretty well balanced, but when he tried to swipe he wobbled. Burstpaw felt his legs starting to give, so he stopped moving his forepaws and stayed still. "Kimda like that?" He timidly asked, looking down at Flammingarrow.

(Boop for Nighty!)

[Ivyshade]

Originally Posted by Spirited Darkness

Tatteredpaw nodded. That made sense. She sat down and shifted her weight from paw to paw. "I'm almost a warrior." She said proudly, puffing out her chest slightly. Her ears were pricked with interest. "Okay." That sounded easier than trying to remember every little detail all the time. Much easier. She looked around, her eyes narrow for a moment. "Can we practice some of the moves that would help?" She asked hesitantly, not looking at Tigerblaze for some reason. Then she looked up and tilted her head curiously.

"Yes, that's true," Tigerblaze admitted. He jumped to his paws once she had finished speaking. "Sure, that's exactly where I was going with this. Sometimes there is absolutely nothing you can do except attack a dog head on, like if the diversion backfires or if despite all efforts it actually gets into the camp." He gestured with his tail for Tatteredpaw to remain in the cave entrance while he walked a few tail-lengths out before turning to face her again. "Dogs are so large that usually the safest way to confront them is by leaping on their backs and attacking their heads. More risky moves include running between their legs or darting in to scratch their face then darting away again. But for now...let's just practice the leap." He planted himself firmly on the ground and braced himself. "Act like I'm a dog who you've decided to engage. Show me how you would go about leaping on top of me."

[FOXXRR]

Originally Posted by Midnight Rain

Fernpaw, not expecting her mentor, yowled at the attack, and rolled over. She aimed a few blows, breathing her claws just in time as she realized who it was. "What was that for?" She growled, then hoped off.

"Just testing your defense" Foxclaw said playfully, "What were you doing in a fern bush? Eavesdropping?" Foxclaw tried to wrinkle his face to shape it like a frown to look menacing but the only thing he achieved in was not being able to see and slamming into the rough bark. Scowling, he licked his face of splinters.