Hideaway Strath When we fight.

Rain fell, hard, as Towhee finished up a patrol and began wending her way back toward the rendezvous site. Once there, she shared lunch with her family beneath the shelter of some sentinel pines. In lieu of playtime afterward, she caught their attention for an announcement.

-"I'd like to start with some mercenary training."- For whatever reason, Towhee had always tended to sign silently or speak aloud, nearly never both at the same time. It felt strange to pick up the habit now but they were no longer among a group that knew ptero by default and she figured the best way for everyone to learn it would be if she followed @Phox's example for maximum exposure. -"I know the weather's not..."-

But even as she spoke, the rain seemed to taper off rather suddenly. Towhee's lips twitched, taking it as a sign, and she looked at her brother, @Fig and @Fennec to see what they made of her idea. -"We could also call some of the others here, if we want to include them, or it could just be us for now,"- she finished with a shrug.

Fig's psuedo-mastery of ptero had been a long time coming, but once it appeared, it had been like BAM! In your face. He really had been paying attention all those times to how it worked and all. It just usually was more fun for him to flail all about and try to make everyone laugh. But the joke had lost its luster eventually (indeed, it had taken quite longer for Fig to lose his sense of its humor than all the rest of them), so he had given it up, and then came the BAM!

Which is all to say, the boy watched and listened attentively as Towhee explained her intentions for the day. He didn't particularly mind the rain that was pouring down through the trees, so the sudden change went unnoticed in favor of the eagerness that was drumming up in him over the prospect of whatever this mercenary training was. -Yes yes yes yes yes!- the boy signed eagerly and repeatedly, his tail wagging as he looked between his parents, then randomly prodded Fenn in the face for good measure.

Fortunately for Fennec, Towhee was aware of the fact that she couldn't see the signs and spoke aloud while doing so.  She'd grown up knowing Weeya's odd speech patterns and to her, the differences in the way she spoke only meant she was easier to recognize.  She could feel the rain and then sensed Towhee's smile behind her words just as the rain lessened.  She smiled too, but didn't bother turning her head to look at Towhee as she spoke.  That was a habit she'd likely pick up on in time, a conscious effort she'd make for Towhee alone.

Okay, she answered for both, and her tail gave a little wag.  She had no idea that next to her, Fig was emphatically giving his own answer also.

It didn't matter to her if it was all or just them.  Either way, she felt nervous anticipation.  She'd played with Fig a lot wrestling, but this was definitely different.

The kids were on-board, which earned a grin from Towhee. She wagged her tail at them, then glanced over at her brother, only to see him signal that he thought he'd heard a strange noise nearby and intended to go check it out. Her body stilled, tensed. Towhee would've preferred to go herself, though how could she investigate a noise? She nodded and watched him go.

-"Okay, it's just gonna be the three of us!"- she announced loudly, hoping to bulldoze any impulses her young charges might have to tail their father. -"And we're gonna start with the two of you unleashing your most powerful attack on me. Okay? Bring it, bitches!"- Towhee shouted playfully as she dipped forward into a bow.

Fig listened eagerly as Towhee explained what she wanted them to do, his little tail flapping against his (and Fenn's) haunches. He felt a stab of disappointment when Phox excused himself, but mostly because he was torn over wanting to go explore the noise and wanting to learn to be a mercenary. It was short-lived, though, because his mother was soon enough telling them to attack her and he was all about that.

The boy yapped an excited "battle cry" as he barrelled forward towards Towhee. He put zero thought into what the best approach to his attack would be--instead taking the direct route and throwing himself right at his mother's face and trying to bite down on whatever he could find because that's what puppies do.

Okay!  Fennec could do that.  She heard her brother's war cry and, almost without thinking, jumped to run alongside him.  She knew that he was running towards where Towhee's voice was coming from, and by remembering the voice, she could guess about when she would reach.

Her attack, though, would be dependent on Fig's.  She listened for him, stayed alongside, and tried to tell as she ran when it would be right to brace for actual impact.

She hasn't thought yet about what she would do when she got to that point.  Probably she would attempt to push Towhee over, much like she'd done to Fig in so many wrestling matches before.

They didn't need to be told twice. A laugh escaped Towhee as they came barreling at her in tandem. She very nearly gave in to an impulse to sweep her forelegs wide and catch them in a hug, then perhaps give out some noogies. Instead, she remembered that she had a serious purpose here and easily sidestepped them.

-"Again!"- she barked with a grin, whirling to face them.

Okay, well that didn't work. Fig stumbled over himself as Towhee shocked the hell out of him by sidestepping like she was some sort of master warrior or something. He was quick to find his footing again, though, and quick to turn to face his mother again. With a determined frown, he charged once again--making no effort to change his tactics because he had no idea that it was likely necessary. He just tried again.

Fennec tried to follow Towhee's voice, but it was not something she had much practice in at this point. So, when the voice abruptly changed position, Fennec's attempt to compensate sent her crashing right into her brother.

If he was able to keep momentum and go for a second attack, Fenn definitely wasn't! She tumbled paws over tail with a sharp yip, then had to take a moment as she scrambled to try and find where Towhee was now.

As she pivoted, she caught sight of Fig weaving almost drunkenly right before Fen crashed into him. She bit back a laugh because, again, this wasn't playtime, nor a joke. They were uncoordinated and inexperienced now, though today was just the first of many where Towhee hoped to shape them into capable young warriors.

-"AGAIN!"- she barked louder, drumming her forepaws against the ground. These were standard combat preliminaries, though Towhee knew it would help Fin pinpoint her location as well.

While the shouting may have been (and was) helpful for Fenn, it was quite startling for Fig. He was barreling toward Towhee already when she barked the order at them, but he faltered when he command left her lips. He stumbled over his own paws in his alarm and nearly fell, but he caught himself on an elbow and pushed himself back up, blinking owlishly at his mother with a what did we do wrong?? look on his face.

Finishing this off for us; hit me up if I should change anything! :)

When Figment fumbled and gave her a bewildered look, Towhee gave him a wolfish smile. -"One day, you'll be able to get me. But it's going to take lots of training first."- She looked forward to that day, when her son (and maybe even daughter too) could outmaneuver and maybe even overpower her. It would be the ultimate testament to her ability to raise warriors. The thought alone gave her a deep sense of satisfaction.

Once the children had collected themselves once more, Towhee commanded them to come at her again and again and again... until they were sprawled in the dirt, flanks heaving, tongues lolling, bodies boneless. She was tired herself and flopped down to the ground beside them, letting out a surprised oof! and a huff of laughter when Fen and Fig took advantage of her prone position and finally got the drop on her.