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Rudyard was working on his hunting skills daily.  If Resin was free on a day he’d go to her first, if not he’d attempt on his own.  He still hadn’t killed a rabbit without help yet but he was growing better.  Rudy found keeping up with the changing of the winds and giving himself away and he was having a hard time with choosing the best time to start the active chase against the rabbit, to determine how close he could get without the rabbit running.

Art was getting fighting lessons from Resin and if Rudy didn’t get some lessons of his own soon Art was going to pull too far ahead of him. On top of that, he realized he’d spent so much time with mama but not mom.  That needed to change! As always once Rudy came to a decision it got his full attention.  No one should of his plans, of course, this should be secret training between just him and mom.  Otherwise, someone else might butt in and ruin it.

So it was he actually came back from playing earlier than normal, making his way towards the den as he hunted for mom.  Of course, it wasn’t enough to just find her.  Once spotted the pup would do his best to sneak up on he.  He’d get close, and when she wasn’t expecting it he’d jump out and attack the nearest leg or tail or whatever he could get his mouth into.  Yes, he had it imagined up perfectly in his mind.  His tail started to wag but he stopped it.  Resin had already pointed out how letting his tail wag could destroy all his attempts at sneaky.

Walk | "Talk" | think

Tamsyn started working her way back through the forest around the falls to reach the den they lived in at the top of the falls as she finished up her last patrol of the day. It was monotonous and seemingly pointless with how peaceful their borders had been since creating the pack, but she couldn't keep herself from completing her daily routine either way. With as many pups as they currently had in their pack it also made her feel a bit better knowing that their borders were always secure. Besides the seven that she had Resin had collectively brought into their lives, there was still the five to account for from Ulric as well so there were nearly as many pups as there were adults in this pack. That certainly kept her on her toes, but she still got so much joy from being a mother so she couldn't complain.

She settled onto her stomach just outside of the den with a sigh as she stretched out to enjoy the bit of sun that was left before it sank down past the trees. The evenings were coming to them earlier and earlier now that they were getting further into the autumn season so it felt like she had to take advantage of every moment she could get to warm herself in the sun. With her head resting on her paws contently, she let her eyes close to catch a bit of rest before one of her children appeared to disrupt the peace. Of course, said pup showed up sooner rather than later as a rustling of grass alerted her to his presence just moments before she felt her pounce her tail. She blinked open her eyes and lifted her head to look at her speckled, spotted son with a grin. "Oh no! I've been caught!" she teased before reaching over to hook a paw around his middle, scooping him up and pulling him closer to her to trap him in a tight embrace. She giggled as she nuzzled and nibbled around his head and ears, keeping him held tight no matter how hard he tried to squirm away.

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Rudy’s tail had wagged high and triumphant when he had managed to get her tail, going so far as to looking as if he’d been about to use it as a good tug of war toy but, there wasn’t enough time before mom scooped him up.  Not known for one to stay still long he squirmed, but despite his striving to escape the mouth was open in silent laughter, and the tail underneath was pinwheeling in circles, " “no, no,” front paws struggled to get away, then just lifting his head up with nose to the sky trying to bite mouth at the mom that was nibbling at him.

" “Moooom, momma is giving Art fighting lessons.  I need you to give me fighting lessons so Art doesn’t get ahead of me!”  Perfectly simple logic.  Of course Resin was teaching him how to hunt so it was hardly like he was ignored, but that point had no relevance to his desire for fighting lessons so it was left aside.  Besides, he wanted time with mom now, even if she was going into ‘mom’ mode.  " “Besides, when I become alpha I’ll need to be the strongest, right?” Those big round puppy eyes looked up pleadingly at Tam, " “Pleeeease help me be a great fighter?”

Walk | "Talk" | think

Tamsyn never wanted these days to end. Playing with her squirming pup and teasing him mercilessly in return for pouncing on her tail was possibly the most fun she would have all day. Too soon they would grow up and these days would be gone and she would only have memories of these moments to enjoy. She truly hoped that even when they were grown and had turned into full adults in their own right they would still let her have fun with them - the fun she never got to experience when she was their age.

Once she finally backed off to let him speak, she heard his pleas to be trained in fighting. She chuckled softly and nudged his side to get him up onto his paws again. ”Alright then! On your feet! She stood as well, giving herself a quick shake before standing to face her son with a smirk. ”Alright, you want to be a big, strong fighter, huh? Well, you have to get the basics down first!” She came over and nudged his feet into the proper places, reminding herself of a time when Sirius had done a similar thing to her once upon a time.

“This is your fighting stance - make sure you remember what it feels like. Keep your paws evenly spaced and stay firmly planted on the ground. You want to make sure no one can knock you over, but you’re still ready to move and jump out of the way if needed. Practice getting your stance ready a few times till you know what it feels like.”

Walk | "Talk" | think

Rudy broke free! Well, maybe mom let him free but it was the same thing.  Rudy’s tail whacked the ground happily as mom nudged him and he got up.  Like a little shadow of his mom when she shook off he did the same.  It did feel good to shake after being trapped and cuddled with for a bit.
Rudy watched mom’s nose as he let his feet relax to easily move in the right spot mom put them.  As she told him to remember what it felt like his eyes glanced around at where each paw was, dipping his neck down to look under his chest at his back paws before looking up at his mom again.  So this was how to not get knocked over?  Art had knocked him over before but he had been trying to get his front legs around Art back then.
 
"Ok, no problem!" At her instruction to practice Rudy took another glance at his feet before stepping forward then trying to reposition them properly.  First he just stood in the position he thought felt right before looking to see if it appeared the same also.  Rudy went with what ‘felt’ right on almost everything he did so this was a way he sure liked learning.  It still didn’t hurt to use his eyes also though right?

The pup stepped backwards and tried again, then one more time sideways and reset himself again.  He had to keep his legs spaced and pressed into the ground.  Rudy tried hopping straight up in the air and landing like a little springboard.  That was for making sure he leap away from the stance but it was also kind of fun.  Just to be sure he had it right he decided to do it a few more times quicker but of course it was only for practice and had nothing to do with the jumping beig fun.  Finally glancing up at his mom, with a cheery, “how’s that?”  Of course it wasn’t completely perfect after having just learned it but the feet were in the general vicinity of where she had moved them.

Walk | "Talk" | think

Tamsyn smiled while she watched her son learn, stepping back and watching with pride while he studied his own stance and stepped this way and that to practice it. She could see him getting better and better each time and it was honestly adorable to see a pup trying out these things. Even though his form was actually pretty good considering he was a beginner with a puppy's coordination, it was still too adorable to take seriously. She let him try it as many times as he wanted - including the hops and bounces - and was happy to just stand by while he did so until he looked to her with a question to confirm he was correct.

She grinned and gave him a nod. "That's very good! There's only one real way to know though..." Without much notice she leaned down to him to give his shoulder a quick, firm nudge with her forehead. It was enough that if his stance hadn't been firm enough he would have toppled right over, but since he was doing what he was taught she might make him sway or stumble a bit, but there was little chance that he would fall over this time around. She chuckled and gave him another grin while her tail wagged gently behind her. "Good job, Rudy. You're a fast learner!"

"Now you can start thinking about your defenses," She told him, rolling into the next part of her lesson as she came to stand directly in front of him again. "Being defensive basically just means that you make it as hard as possible for your opponent to hurt you. First you tuck in all of the things that they might be able to grab - like your ears and tail. It's also a good idea to scrunch up your neck so that if they do grab your scruff it won't hurt as bad. That helps guard your neck too." She demonstrated everything she listed off so he could see it in action and then looked at him expectantly to see him mirror her.

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Rudy loved praise and his tail was flying about as mom offered it to him now. The bright eyes of happy puppies faced Tamsyn as she spoke about defenses.  While the boy seemed notorious for impulsiveness and the ability to forget rules in the time it takes for an acorn to fall from a tree, he certainly capable of focusing on his mom for a lesson.

Rudy reestablished his balanced stance, flattened his ears good and tight against his skull, his tail curled up under him.  Somehow scrunching up his neck required some wiggling, rather in the same way his tail tried to wag at the wrong moments.  Loosening his head he scrunched up his neck again with less wiggling.  The boy just had too much energy until the day was at least half over.  He had already kept his ears back before but had forgone practicing with his tail nor had he ever scrunched up his neck.  “Got it!”