Northstar Vale Bye don't follow me!!

@Rannoch maybe.

The vale was very big, and he very wasn't. This fact, coupled with his abrupt shift in personality, meant that secluding himself from the adults was actually pretty easy. He didn't go far though. The fear of being snatched up by a bear was much more powerful than his need for privacy.

Titmouse had found a band of trees that looked different from all the rest. They were old, and twisted, and held nothing upon their boughs despite the season. They were scary at first; he quailed in their shadow when he began his investigation, slinking along and making sure nothing was really hiding in the dark. Once among them is was clear they were just big old trees. The more he explored the more he understood: branches had fallen, split, disintegrated, or otherwise grown in a pattern that resembled a cage. A ring of safety.

But the center of the ring wasn't empty. There was a fern or something. Something new and bright and green, which totally off-set the gloom of the moment. Titmouse, feeling particularly emo in the moment, advanced upon the weak sapling without a thought and began to wrassle with it. He bat at the thing with his paws, snapped with his teeth, and even tried to bow it down by slamming his chest against it; this hurt, so he only tried a few times.

He was angry, suddenly. Frustrated that he couldn't grab a little branch for long, frustrated that the tree (although small) was more formidable than himself. He launched with more fervor, but continued to miss the mark.

Since the incident with Harold, Rannoch had done his best to keep an eye on Titmouse and Redshank whenever he possibly could. The rock-loving Ursa had done a number on his ranks, both mentally and physically, and though he cared for each of his members, Rannoch wanted to pay attention to their younger members. He was all too familiar with having something traumatic occur at a young age and didn't want any lasting effects to linger in their psyche. They needed to know that they were safe among their pack and that even with the freak run in that life continued, despite the horror that had been brought about them. As far as the Alpha knew, the Vale was safe, and there had not been any indication that there were bears. But, despite this, he would not allow a false sense of security to lessen his guard. No, the Alpha would work hard to ensure that the pack's borders and territory were carefully groomed to their liking and ensure everybody's safety. 

On this particular expedition, Rannoch had found himself following after Titmouse once he had pulled himself away from the group. He followed after for quite some time, arranging himself in a manner that positioned himself downwind from the child. A bit of travel brought them both to the area where the Rho would face off against a branch, and for a moment, Rannoch watched silently with a smile and crouched. As the Alpha watched, he noted that despite missing a good amount of his attempts, Rannoch appreciated that he wasn't giving up. This matter alone spoke volumes to the Alpha, and he felt that this proved the other's potential. 

Feeling as though it was time to make him presence known, he reached out to the golden-eyed child. "Hey, you're doing pretty good there, Titmouse," Rannoch praised as he picked himself up and cleared a majority of the distance between them, giving the Rho some room as he was still throwing hits.

The lower branches had fallen to pieces, but not because of his teeth. Rather, Titmouse had whipped himself around the tiny trunk so many times (and shaken the ground so much) that the weaker bits had fallen away. He readied one last volley of snaps just as Rannoch made himself known; and the boy stumbled, tripped by his own feet, then instinctively - and accidentally - sank his teeth across one of the remaining branches. He'd done it, he'd met the mark! But only after being spooked, so the boy's attention was abruptly cut-off from the game.

I guess so, he remarked casually, pushing against the tree to free his upper teeth. He licked his lips and then looked moodily upon the sapling. After a lazy shove with a forepaw he backed off, the tree swaying awkwardly like a training dummy.

Titmouse was informal in his response, and to this, Rannoch could not help but crack his smile a little wider in an attempt to encourage the Vale's youngest member. He wanted to know what the Rho liked to do, as he felt that he did not know that much about Titmouse. Perhaps, Rannoch ventured excitedly, he had gotten one of the first glimpses of the child's interests outside of his apparent fascination in rocks and being loud. 

Curious, Rannoch pressed on. "Do you like wrestling things like that branch?" He asked, motioning towards the sapling that had been shown little mercy.

If there was one thing he was known for, it was his vocal range. Next would be the love of rocks, and after that his eagerness to sit on his brothers and sisters. There was none of that here - they weren't with him obviously - and without this outlet, Titmouse hadn't been himself. Maybe this was partly why he attacked the tree? Aside from the stress of their arrival to the vale, Titmouse just needed to wreck stuff.

So to that question he merely nodded. A second later he found his voice, showing a bit of enthusiasm was he rambled off his achievements: I used ta play with Chikadee an' Fox, but Liffey doesn't like it, an' I think Redshank is... I don't think he likes me. At this his ears fanned awkwardly from his head, and his tail thrashed behind him a couple of times, almost wrathful with his pent-up energy.

Despite Titmouse's first promising response, he followed with a statement that concerned the Alpha. He didn't want the Rho to feel unwanted amongst the rest of the pack and Rannoch would do what he could to make him feel a part of the gang of the wayward adolescents. 

"Well I like you," he confirmed, his voice honest as he spoke, "And I'd like to play with you now if you wanted to do that." His tail wagged at this as if confirming what he had said. Taking this a step further to reflect what had brought them to this conversation, he added another idea after a quick pause: "Or, if you want, I could teach you to fight?" 

Well I like you, Rannoch commended, but for the moment Titmouse wasn't so interested in if the Alpha liked him. It was an Alpha's job to do that. Otherwise he wouldn't be allowed to live here! Or something! Titmouse huffed softly and recorded the moment in his memory as "that time Rannoch catered to my needs". He would've rolled his eyes if he'd been aware of such a social cue, but did not. It would've been rude anyways.

Teach me to fight? He parroted next, jumping out of his mental calibrations at the mention of something fun (and usually taboo). He tilted his head and squinted in a suspicious manner, almost expecting a refusal from Rannoch and maybe a talking-to about its not nice to grind your butt in to your sister's face as he might've received back home. His apprehension was short lived though, and he was on his feet, prowling around the sapling while watching the older boy: But I can't fight. I can't even -- even run.

Remembering the resolute fear that had taken hold of him versus the giant of a bear, he slouched suddenly and unceremoniously sat down again.

Even before Rannoch cold confirm what Titmouse had parroted, the boy was on his paws and stalking around the sapling. Unsure of where this was going to go, the Alpha remained silent as he watched. Finally, with the words that were spoken and the slackening of the Rho's posture, Rannoch found out what he had assumed motivated the child to this point in the conversation. 

"That's all right," he replied soothingly as he took a step forward, his tail gently wagging above his hindquarters. "You can learn if you want," he suggested, testing the waters of the others psyche. "I know that it might be hard now, but, learning could help you prepare for the future and make you better." Hopefully, with the topic of preparedness, Titmouse would agree with the proposition that Rannoch had laid out for him.

He was transfixed by the idea. The boy's face - usually so bright with cheer and stupidity - held a chiseled expression of serious thought. If learning this would make him better, make him strong, and keep everyone safe... It sounded too good to be true. At the same time, Titmouse wasn't cerebral enough to think of the negatives. It was a win for Rannoch.

Okay, he aquiesced swiftly, nodding his little face. But... But what do I do? He got to his feet and planted his paws, then reconsidered, planted them again, and seemed to dance on the spot, feeling heckin' awkward.

Titmouse agreed, and Rannoch felt relief. But in this relief, a question was asked, and Rannoch quirked a brow, allowing the child to decide on his fate. "That all depends on what you want to practice first," Rannoch remarked with a smile. "Do you want to spar? Or do you want to run? Either way, I'm up to practice with you!" And with that, he fell silent, allowing the course of their day to be determined by the pack's resident screamer.

Spar? He didn't know what that meant. But he did know how to run! He liked to run. He liked the sound of his paws hitting the dirt and the wind whoooooshing by him as he got faster and faster! Maybe with some help Titmouse could become the fastest wolf to ever run? His ears perked up at the thought and his spirit seemed to lift further; with a small wag of his tail he said, Can we do both? I can already do the running - you know that, he almost added, but didn't want to bring up the bear again. an' I dunno what a spar is.

Rannoch smiled at what Titmouse had to say and nodded slowly when the boy expressed his ambition in taking on both tasks. But before they could even begin, there was a question to be answered. "'Spar' is another word for a fight," he said, realizing the importance of his words at that moment. He would have to keep monitoring his vocabulary for the sake of the child to make sure what he was saying was making sense. Without doing this, Rannoch would find a very confused child at his paws, and their lesson would be bogged down by a constant stream of inquiries. 

"Let's start with fighting," the Alpha suggested then with a wag of his tail. "Do you know the purpose of fighting?" He asked then, quirking a brow. Though it was not something he had been taught, Rannoch had learned the lesson down the road and felt it was a good starting point for the both of them.

Okay, so a spar was a fight. But weren't the adults always trying to stop fights? When he tried to sit on Orca's face, or take food away from Phox, were those spars too? He didn't think to ask these questions; they were there, and then they popped right out of his mind. Rannoch asked his own so he focused on that.

The purpose of fightin'... is to... to... He couldn't really think of why anyone would fight, or choose to go out of their way to be a jerk. He'd done it without thinking, but that was a sibling thing. Kids always pestered their siblings. Titmouse's face scrunched with thought; then he remembered the bear, and all that the pack did to save him from it. To protect other people.

Rannoch smiled as he watched Titmouse attempt to decipher the meaning of why they fought and soon enough, the Alpha was met with an answer that he could wholeheartedly agree on. "Very good!" praised Rannoch with a wave of his tail, his eyes shining as he looked at the younger wolf. "Another reason to fight is to protect yourself from danger," he added on lightly, as he did not want to take away from the praise that he had given. 

With a subtle lift of his chin, the Alpha invited the other to stand as this part of their lesson would require moving. "Now," he began, "The first rule of fighting is to keep your eyes on whoever you're fighting," he explained, recalling the lesson that Eshe had given him so many months ago. Though his heart wrenched at the very thought of his deceased mother, he continued on, knowing that her lessons would be beneficial to Titmouse. "As long as you are watching whoever you're fighting, you'll always see what's coming for you."  Rannoch paused then, shooting the other a curious glance to gauge whether or not Titmouse was following.

Titmouse's tail raised and swayed behind him when Rannoch gave his praise. It slumped a little when he mentioned protecting yourself as well, because that was one avenue that Tit really sucked butts at. He was briefly dismayed; however, before any ill thoughts could creep in to his mind, Rannoch ploughed on to the next part of the lesson. Keep your eyes on your target!

That's why you came runnin' at the bear! Keeping a bear in-sight would always be a good idea. He could still recall the massive swinging paws, the big face and bigger teeth - But what if somethin' comes up from behind you? If another bear had showed up they'd all be dead, probably! How could Rannoch hope to avert such a disaster if he was focused on another target?

Rannoch nodded to Titmouse's realization whilst steering any thoughts of that day from the forefront of his mind, knowing that this was not the time of place to remember. He had a duty to the child before him and could not allow his former fears to drag him down. There would be time later to reflect, but, for now, Rannoch had to be focused to ensure that he taught Titmouse all that he knew. 

"That's the tricky part," replied Rannoch, happy to have the distraction of his question. "If you're alone against a foe, you have to do your best to see whether or not you're outnumbered before you start fighting. If you are, then you have multiple targets you have to focus on at one." Rannoch wasn't sure how he could demonstrate this as he was just one body, but, he would try and think of something. For now, before elaborating, he hesitated on explaining any further as he looked to Titmouse again, looking for any indication to see if the young boy was following.

It didn't sound like a whole lot of fun to be ganged-up-on like that. This put a damper on things, because tantamount to everything, Titmouse's experiences in life relied on a fun aspect. If it didn't make you laugh, or didn't make you feel good, why do it at all? But he did not dwell on the negatives for long - in fact the boy was already thinking away, and rambling off his next thought: So -- so if I was the bear and you all came at me... That'd be hard for me? Unless I was big. This thought introduced some sort of vague goal to the boy's mind. He imagined himself as big as - or bigger than - the bear they had all faced; rather than run, he could turn the tables on the monster and be the victor! Oooh, maybe it was worth it to be a warrior after all. I wanna be big! I wanna keep everyone safe and -- and I wanna fight!

The way in which Titmouse was working through his thoughts inspired Rannoch to urge on the child's thoughts on with encouraging bobs of his head. "That's right! Being big like the bear would give you an advantage." Rannoch informed. This realization blossomed into motivation for Titmouse, and to this, Rannoch tail wagged. "I like the sound of that!" he replied jovially as he drew his towards breast towards the ground, sliding effortlessly into a downward dog pose. Once in position, he challenged the younger wolf: "If that's what you want, then show me what you got!" he urged, his tail whipping to and fro as he anticipated Titmouse's impending action.

Urged on by Rannoch, there was little standing in Titmouse's way when he dropped his head, revved his internal engine (growled as he thought an adult might, or perhaps a bear) and went charging at the older boy. He was quick on his feet but not graceful; and when he came close to Rannoch he reared up, mimicking the bear, and gave some swipes with his long limbs and too-big paws. Although he didn't hit Rannoch with any of his attempts, he managed to fall back on to four paws with ease, and then gave a mighty roar.

Keeping himself in position, Rannoch watched on as Titmouse plundered forward to launch his attack. Observing the way in which Titmouse threw his punches gave Rannoch an indication of what the child needed help with and what he already knew. When the PI fell onto all fours, Rannoch pulled himself to full height while offering his pupil an approving dip of his head. "Impressive," praised Rannoch. But even with everything that he had done right, Rannoch felt that there was some room for improvement. "Do you want me to give you some hints that might help you next time?" He figured that Titmouse would want to receive the feedback, but, as this was their first lesson together, Rannoch wanted to make sure that he was ready to accept what he was about to offer.

Rannoch spoke but Titmouse was having too much fun pretending to be a bear. Each time he lost balance he'd get up again, rear up, swipe, and fall. It was so much fun to bounce off the hard ground that Tit kind of... Went off in to his own little world for a bit. He didn't hear Rannoch's offer initially, and merely kept trying to stand on his hind-limbs. He didn't even target Rannoch after that first round; the boy was sort of leap-frogging in an awkward almost-circle, until he'd tired himself out enough to plop down and not get up again. Blehhh! Bear-fighting was hard work!

Rannoch had lost Titmouse's attention to the imaginative thoughts in which the child conjured. Knowing that he was no match for the reach of the other's creativity, Rannoch let the feedback go for now in favor of watching the child lumber about. Eventually, the Pi's dramatic show of his tactics ended in a Titmouse falling dramatically to the ground. Amused in the show he had been given, the aquamarine-eyed man cleared the distance between them so that he could look down to Titmouse. "I think you showed me some awesome moves," he complimented with a jovial wag of his tail.

He was panting pretty hard, and laying flat-out on his belly. The other boy was partially forgotten once Tit got in the swing of things. When Rannoch gave his compliment the younger boy grinned around his limp tongue, and gave his tail a few good fwumps to show his appreciation. Following that he couldn't stop a yawn from erupting from his long snoot; it was entirely possible Tit would pass out right there in the dirt -- and in fact, his eyes drooped considerably. He yawned again and plopped his head down, and before you could say Titmouse Redawk, he was out like a light!

Rannoch's remark appeared to be the last nail in the coffin of Titmouse's consciousness. The Alpha's expression shifted as the Pi melted before him, giving into the sweet temptations of a well-deserved nap. Satisfied with this, Rannoch settled near the dozing cub with a grin on his face as he kept watch over Titmouse. Not that the child needed such protection, but, Rannoch was entranced by the peacefulness that had settled over his youngest member. The leader would be there when Titmouse woke, much like a sentient guardian, and from there, they would continue their hanging out if the Pi desired.