Duskfire Glacier ground zeroes

Some assumptions here, I can adjust if necessary. <3 @Meerkat 

"CoOOooach MeeeekaAAah!" Veteran's sing-songy voice rang out across the territory, probably earlier than some of his packmates would have really liked. Dawn had broken over the glacier's eastern edge, so in Veteran's opinion, everyone should be awake. Especially Coach Meekah, because it was finally their training day! Coach Meekah was very popular with the pups, and Veteran hardly ever got to spend any time alone with her, so he was going to milk every moment of their special, scheduled day for just the two of them.

Of course, Veteran was capable of saying "Meerkat" by now, but the nickname was stuck at this point. Now where was she? 

Ooooh, maybe she was hiding on purpose! Maybe this was part of his training! Veteran stuck his nose up high, trying to pull Coach Meekah's scent from the dewy morning air.

Sometimes, she wished she wasn't only half-deaf. Groaning good-naturedly, Meerkat raised her head and kicked out her legs, flexing and stretching her toes as her mouth peeled apart in a great yawn. She shook her head, then pressed to her feet, going for a more bodily shake. She dipped into downward dog, tail flourishing upward with a flick, before she pushed her anterior upright again with a pleasant grunt, rolled her shoulders and began to walk.

"Over here, Vet!" she finally called out to the hollering child, smiling despite the early wake-up call. She really did enjoy that title: "Coach Meekah."

Veteran bounded joyfully toward Meerkat's voice. He found her near the place where she liked to sleep, which-- come to think of it-- probably should have been the place he checked first before he started doing all the shouting. 

Oh well. 

He galloped up to Meerkat, fully intending to barrel into her chest and leap up towards her mouth with adoring licks, as was his habit. However, he stopped himself at the last moment before making contact, realizing that his beloved Coach Meekah seemed shorter than usual. Or.. was Veteran taller? Either way, the realization stopped him a hair short of tackling her. 

He still did the little bounces and licks, though. She wouldn't get off that easy!

"Can we do warrior training? I wanna know everything you've taught Wayfarer and Makatza." The children were well into their fighting-for-dominance phase, and these were the two siblings that Veteran viewed as his most challenging competition. No way was he going to let them gain any edge on him!

"Or.. do you want breakfast first?" Veteran forced himself to slow down a little, recalling that Meerkat had just woken up.

It was a little bit hilarious, Meerkat mused as she patiently (and happily) endured Veteran's ministrations, how the pups were particularly eager for her to train them to be mercenaries. She was pretty much the opposite of a warrior, with no real combat skills to speak of. She did know plenty in theory because of her mother, which was her saving grace in these situations, really. Anyway, wasn't there a saying about this? "Those who can't do, teach"?

"'Course we can," she mumbled playfully in between licks, getting a smooch or two of her own in there for good measure. A light laugh tumbled out of her mouth at his suddenly considerate question. "Nah, I'll work up an appetite as we train. Wait, though, did you eat breakfast?" Meerkat asked, an affectionately demanding look on her face.

Veteran grinned in response to her faux-sternness, knowing he was already ahead of the game. "Yep, ages ago!" he reassured her. 

"C'mon!" he yipped, attempting to lead Meerkat away from the more populated center of the territory. Consumed with worry that he would lose his competitive edge, he wanted to train far away from anywhere they might be watched or eavesdropped upon. 

"Mom says you're from another pack in Teekon. The Redhawk Cald.." What was that word? "Cal..dra." He looked over his shoulder, to make sure Meerkat was still following him. "And it's far away. Why'd you come all the way here?" If Meerkat could leave her pack and go wander around, did that mean that he could, too? Dad had been pretty angry the last time Veteran had ventured outside the Duskfire border, but maybe when he was as big as Meerkat, things would be different?

She snorted a laugh at his insistence that he'd breakfasted ages ago, then motioned for him to lead the way. It proved unnecessary, since Veteran bounded ahead of his own volition, leading her away from the more central parts of the territory. It made her curious, though she didn't ask. Meerkat liked to give the children as much agency as possible when it came to their training.

She didn't expect him to bring up the caldera. The mention of her family's name made her a little homesick, though Meerkat smiled at the youngster as she teased gently, "I came here to train you, silly," which was sort of the truth. She struck out a paw as if to tickle him, which would also test his reflexes. "I wanted to expand my horizons," she added a smidgen more seriously, "and see if I fit in somewhere other than with my own family. Think I'm succeeding?"

Timeline is a little wonky, but for continuity's sake we can say this is before Veteran gets scarred.

Veteran took her answer at face value; he would grow into a more contemplative man someday, but given the age he was currently the explanation made perfect sense.

Her paw flashed out, and Veteran ducked away easily, laughing. She'd have to try harder than that if she wanted a piece of him!

"Yes! It's a perfect fit," he answered emphatically, moving in to headbutt his coach affectionately. Perhaps it was selfish, but he didn't want Meekah going back to her family any time soon. 

He watched her paw warily, waiting for it to reach for him again.

Hehe, oop! We can always nudge this toward a fade and have an up-to-date one? :)

She grinned at his response, her mind turning toward possible exercises for this training. He'd mentioned Wayfarer and Makatza but Meerkat hadn't really trained much with either of them, particularly the latter. She barely knew the bully and had to scold herself for thinking, And I'm not sure I want to... She was only a child and it had only been a single incident. It had been serious, to be sure, but Meerkat didn't think someone so young was beyond redemption...

Clearing her throat, the yearling decided aloud, "How about we spar? Would you rather start as offense—the attacker—or defense—the one being attacked? It's important to learn both sides of the fight," she added for good measure, though she assumed any young boy would instantly go for the one that sounded more exciting: offense.

We can fade!

Meerkat suggested a spar, and the boy lit up. 

"I want to be--" he nearly said "the attacker," but he stopped at the last moment and considered his decision. A thoughtful look crossed his features for an instant before he replied. 

"Could you show me what to do if I get jumped from behind?" It had not been his first impulse to choose defensive technique as his area of study; rather it was a choice of necessity. It seemed that Makatza had flipped a switch recently, morphing from merely annoying (but overall harmless) to downright tormenting. If Veteran didn't want to spend the rest of his puphood watching his back, he was going to need to learn to defend it. 

After a through training session on self-defense, Veteran would come away with a budding confidence in his ability to defend himself from a surprise attack. Unbeknownst to him, the real lesson he would need in the coming weeks was more along the lines of how to defend yourself from a viscous, head-on assault without causing permanent damage to the insane attacker who happens to be you half-sister. But that was a rather nuanced request, likely to reach beyond Meerkat's knowledge of mercenary tactics. As much as he enjoyed the time he spent with Coach Meekah, Veteran would eventually find himself in need of a true mercenary tradesman with whom he could train.

At first, it seemed like he was going to go with her assumption. But her ears pricked in surprise when Veteran changed tack mid-sentence. Meerkat felt intrigued for all of half a heartbeat before the implication of his request really sank in.

Fighting the urge to frown, Meerkat thought over the request. She hated that he'd asked and she wasn't entirely sure how to approach it. But after a few moments' consideration, she nodded. It was only a little stiff.

"Of course. I'll do my best, Vet," she said, "and if there's anything I can't teach you, I'll do my best to find somebody who can. Okay?" Meerkat reached out to pat his shoulder, brown gaze resting solemnly on his face for a moment.

She then clapped her forepaws together and they got underway. Honestly, she didn't feel very capable with this sort of thing, though she'd do exactly what she'd said: her best. Afterward, they would grab a bite to eat and then Meerkat would get to work finding someone more proficient to supplement his mercenary training.