The land of Tortuga was truly a survive or die type land.Ulrike stood at the top of the mountain, looking down upon the land that rested below him. To get to that valley of grass and prey you must endure the steep climb down the mountain side. This held the risks of loosing your footing,and getting injured, or even killed. It also held the risk of a rock slide, it consisted of all sized rocks, ranging from a small pebble, to a boulder, bigger than several grown wolves together. Ulrike's black eyes scanned for the perfect place to begin Xenios training. His eyes soon landed upon a small edge of the mountain that stuck out further from the rest,a ledge if you may call it. It was defently big enough for his daughter to stand on an make movements with ease. He did not want her to fall off of the rock ledge during the training.


Ulrike decided that he would go down, and check out the spot to make sure it would work. His paws gently placed them selves one in front of the other, and carried Ulrike's massive frame down the mountain.Loose rocks rolled down the mountain as Ulrike's steps disturbed there rest. He soon came to the ledge that he was looking at from above. He stepped on the ledge, it was indeed big enough, well over big enough for this lesson, He looked up at the top of the mountain, and saw some good sized rocks that rested peacefully. Ulrike took his paw and slammed it down on the ledge. This triggered some rocks to fall towards him. They were good sized rocks that came up to the middle of his legs. As the rocks picked up speed rolling towards him, smaller rocks soon joined in on the race.


Ulrike took a ready stance, his back right leg slid back a bit, giving him a more sturdy balance. His head was lowered for both concentration and balance. His tail was held straight out also keeping ulrike balanced. His black eyes watched as the rocks rolled faster and faster towards him. He did not brake eye contact as it drew nearer and nearer.Once the rocks were about a few inches from him, he took his huge frame and with one swift motion he slid out of the first rocks way. More and more rocks rolled in his direction, Ulrike did not once break stance, he dodged one rock after another, jumping over a few here and there until they stopped coming. Ulrike came back to a normal standing position. This was perfect for her lessons. The lessons he will be teaching here consists of Agility, training, and balance. Ulrike knew the order he was going to use. He stood there waiting for his daughter to show for her lessons.

Ulrike

Excitement filled my growing body as I rushed over the terrain of Tortuga. Thankfully I was in the valley right now so running was easy. Once I reached the sides of the mountain though I slowed. It was a treacherous journey. Kaien had chosen a great place for our home. It meant it was less likely for other wolves to come invade us. It also made pack life harder for the rest of us. It meant we had to be strong and powerful as well as careful to live in this valley. We were right by a volcano too. Not too far from one at least. I shuddered at the thought, but pushed it away and kept going.

It kind of sucked being the only pup in Tortuga. I would have had siblings, but no one told me what happened to them. There were no other pups in the pack and I was somewhat lonely having only myself to play with. I hadn't seen my mother in forever. I strove for her approval, but I couldn't help but feel she didn't like me. It was a reason to work harder. My father had been my sole provider as of late. Then again I was now a yearling. That thought made my chest puff out with pride. I could technically take care of myself. That and my father would start my training today! I was gonna grow to be a powerful adult.

My paws seemed to do all the walking for me. It was better to let my instincts do all the work when picking my way up on the mountain. I was less likely to slip and fall that way. By the time I reached the top He was cursing me telling me I went too slow and that my father would be disappointed in how I was turning out. I let out a growl yet it still sounded feminine and puppy-like near the end. I sometimes didn't appreciate His input.

He went silent as I reached my father on the ledge. I looked at him golden eyes staring at his powerful form. My tail wagged softly. I admired him. He was everything I wanted to be.

"Good morning Daddy!" I said with enthusiasm. "What will we be doing today?"

I couldn't be more excited. I was finally getting to learn to be a warrior. perhaps I could take over my father's position?! That would prove to be fun. I sat down and continued to look at him eagerly waiting to begin.

Ulrike looked up to see his daughter walking towards him. She was late but he did not scold her this time about it, he understood the climb of the mountain was difficult. Ulrike walked up to his daughter and nuzzled her on to the platform. Once she was on the plat form he looked at her once more before he begun to speak."Good morning Xenios, To day we will be working on balance and agility. So keep a close eye as to how i hold my self and move, because i will only demonstrate it one time. You understand." He said as he stood next to Xenios, his black eyes focused upon his daughter as he begun to show her a stance that will let her use her body for both power and balance. "Now first you need to take you're back right leg and slide it backward a few inches like so." He said as he moved his back leg. "Ok then take your left uper leg and slide it foreword like so" He said as he demonstrated it.


Ulrike looked at her and nodded. "Ok now lower your head, not to far down, or to high up. If it is to low you can misjudge the distance of the object and loose balance. If your head is to high the same thing happens. With that you will want to use your tail as a instrument for balance, because that is what your tail is there for." He said as his body was in the correct stance. He stood up and looked at his daughter, He walked around her and adjusted her stance a little bit to make sure that she was in the right stance. "Ok the stance is good, now i am going to climb up the mountain and you stay here. I will start a rock slide, you must dodge each rock that comes your way. Keep your balance, keep your eyes focused, and most of all, don't loose your footing. if you do happen to fall, i will catch you."


Ulrike made his way up the mountain and soon he stood directly in front of his daughter about three feet away from here. Ulrike took his paw and slammed it on the mountain. Rocks of all sizes begun to fall down towards his daughter. Ulrike stood there and watched as his daughter attempted to dodge the rocks that rolled down in her direction. He was ready to take off in a sprint just encase she loose her footing and begins to fall down the mountain.

Ulrike

I knew I was terribly late. I didn't need him to tell me that yet he insisted on tormenting me and reminding me of my wrongdoings. He was so pessimistic and mean at times. Half the time I wished he would go away. Alas I couldn't figure out how. I'd already grown used to him being there so I wasn't going to think about it too much. I scrambled up on to the platform as my father helped nuzzle me up on it. Standing there I looked at him expectantly. I was ready to get down to business. I wanted to be the best damn warrior Tortuga ever had. I listened to him carefully. Ears were forward to catch every word he spoke. I copied him motion for motion. Sliding my right hind leg backwards I looked at him to see if I was doing it right. I then moved my front left leg forward like he did and checked again to see if I was doing it right. Seeing that I'd done so correctly my tail wagged before I listened to his next set of instructions. Determination began to write upon my visage as I lowered my head once again copying his stance. Lastly I forced my tail to stay still and stick straight out behind me for balance. It was an odd position, yet it was oddly comfortable. It felt right. My eyes followed Ulrike and I let him adjust my body as he saw fit until I was where he wanted me. He began to speak again and I nodded politely showing that I was ready. I could do this, right? I could take on a tiny rock slide. It couldn't be too hard. If he could do it then so could I! My brow furrowed with concentration as I watched him intently as he took his foot and slammed it against the loose shale. Rocks of all sizes began to fall towards me and for a moment I began to panic. I couldn't do this! There were far too many and I'd never done anything like this in my life. What happened to the normal training methods that other parents used? I should be out in the valley sparring with him and having him throw me to the ground as he taught me useful maneuvers. I shouldn't be on a freaking mountain about to get impaled by sharp rocks! Or worse, fall down the stupid slopes themselves. "FOCUS CHILD! He roared in my head causing me to flatten pearly white audits against my skull. A soft and inaudible whine slipped from my throat before I got a hold of myself. I danced to the side as a rock landed where I had once been and bounced down the mountain. My father was right, this stance made it easier to move. Light-footed, I danced back and forth shifting my weight from foot to foot as I waited for more rocks to come my way. Like always I would make mistakes. I would be a little to slow and a small rock would hit me. It was painful enough to cause a tiny bruise, but it was never anything serious. Thankfully I never got hit by the larger rocks. It seemed as though my depth perception was up to par. I even managed to avoid slipping off the mountain. I was almost done but a larger rock tumbled towards me. Misjudging the distance I had to the right of me I slipped over the side and let out a terrified yelp as I grabbed onto the edge with my front paws. I let out a soft cry for help as my hind paws scraped the sides of the ledge in an attempt to pull myself back up to the platform. I hoped that my father would come help. I had yet to fully develop enough muscle to pull myself up on my own. "Speech" "He speaks"

Ulrike stood there and watched his daughter begin to dodge the rocks. Her movement was smooth, and very good for her first try. He glanced down at her to see she was dodging most of the rocks, but a few tiny ones were hitting her paws, and legs. That was to be expected, all over she kept her stance, and moved in flowing motions. Ulrike's eye caught a larger rock coming towards his daughter."She is moving to late." He said to himself. His eyes caught the sight of his daughter get knocked over by the rock, and slid off the platform. Ulrike took off in a full sprint. The decline of the mountain and rocks were not that big of a challenge for him. His muscles rippled under his pelt.

He came to a sliding halt in front of his daughter who was hanging on to the platform. His jaws opened up wide as he leaned down, and clamped his jaws on the scruff of her neck. He slid his legs to give him some more balance, then he pulled with all his streangth. You could see the muscles under his skin bulge out a bit. "Xenios, climb!" He shouted at her, still holding on her scruff. With one big yank he stepped back, and Xenios was being pulled up onto the platform. Once she was at a good spot to finish getting her self up. His black eyes looked at his daughter, He was pleased with her performance, but she could have some improvement.

His tail swayed gently as he looked at his daughter."Xenios, that was good for you first try. Your stance was indeed well also. There is one thing, it looked like you were getting tired, and that most likely interfered with your depth perception. So we are going to have a run, To strengthen your stamina."He said as he nudged her daughter to walk down to the bottom of the mountain. "we will walk to the other side of that mountain over there, and then we will sprint all the way to the other side of the mountain we are on." He said as he continued to walk to the other side of the mountain in front of him.

Ulrike

Adrenaline was a new thing for me. I hadn't even felt it this powerful when the volcano erupted and we were forced to flee. This was a whole new feeling and a whole new fear. For a minute I was worried that he wouldn't catch me. That he wouldn't reach me in time. The drug that coursed through my veins gave me power despite my tired state. He came to my rescue though. Soon I felt teeth clamp onto my scruff in a firm vice as my father struggled to pull me up. Upon his demand I obliged and with a mighty heave he and I managed to get my body back onto the platform enough for me to finished scrambling back up. As soon as I was lying safely on the ledge I relaxed just lying there for the time being as I caught my breath. That certainly was too close for comfort. "You idiot. You fumbling fool. You could have killed usssss. He hissed at me angrily. My facial expression changed to that of a very pissed off wolf. My nose wrinkled and my ears pinned back against my head. It took a lot to remember that my father would get confused if I spoke aloud like I normally did when I was upset with Him. "Shut it. I didn't ask for your commentary." Silence ensued and I finally got to my feet pleased that I'd managed to get him to shut the hell up for the time being. Upon the mention of a run my shoulders sagged in defeat. I was still recovering from the last test. How did he expect me to run against his powerful form? He was a Lead Warrior. I was just a pup in training. "Okay Daddy. But you're probably gonna beat me. I may be small, but you're stronger than I am. I'll only last for so long. I had a problem with pouting and from my words one could definitely tell I had a big attitude. I had no problem complying to what was being asked of me. I just was being a major pessimist. I nodded my head though and obliged to his command and began to pick my way down the mountain heading towards the other side. This was gonna wear me out big time. I could feel it. Either way I'd do what he wanted for now. I just knew I was gonna feel absolutely wretched tomorrow morning. "Speech" "He speaks"

Ulrike's muscles rippled under his pelt as he walked to the destination to begin the training of his daughter. One reason is to be strong and hold her own with in a pack, and possibly become alpha of a pack. The second is if she encounters her mother she would need to fight her, if her mother decides that she wants to finish the job that she started a year ago. Ulrike's ears folded back to listing to his daughter speak about how small she was, and how she was only going to last so long. A small growl bubbled up of his throat, and he turned to his daughter. His black eyes gazed into hers, he spoke in a strong authoritative voice. "Listen to me child, size has nothing to do with how long you can run. This exercise is for stamina, not speed. You go at your pace, it is to learn how to improve your stamina, so i don't want to hear this negative comments any more. Got it child" He spoke.

Ulrike turned back around and begun to walk some more. It took a few more minutes until they reached the top of the other mountain. He turned to his daughter, and nuzzled her. "Ok now we will run to the other mountain to the top of that one. " He said as he got ready, his ears pulled back to listing to his daughter. Ulrike stood there ready to take off.With in a minute he looked at his daughter and spoke once more. "Ok let's go" he said and took off running, not in his fastest pace, but one that was good for stamina, and so his daughter can have a chance to improve her skills.

Ulrike

White ears flicked forward as my father turned around and growled at me. Obviously my comment had pissed him off. Feeling bold I kept my head high and stared at him in the eyes maintaining eye contact. I wouldn't cower away this time. His commentary only proved my suspicions. He obviously wouldn't have my negativity. I didn't appreciate being called child. I had a name after all, didn't I? Lips raised back in a snarl and I let out a small growl before lowering it and complying to his wishes. "Yes father. I made sure to exaggerate on father knowing it would possibly irk him a little but. He wouldn't have time to really scold me for it now. Not unless he wanted to totally forget my training which was a bad idea. I'd probably hear it later though for being a disrespectful brat. In my defense though, I couldn't help that I was so bi-polar at times. That and it was difficult living with a voice inside my head. Who else could accomplish something like that and still be happy? She waited until he said "lets go" before she launched herself from the ground in a flurry of white and reddish brown. I would go at an easy pace down the mountain, when I reached the slope going up I had every intention of increasing my speed to get more of a work out knowing my muscles would be burning by the end of it. It would totally be worth it. "Speech" "He speaks"

One paw after another struck the earth that rested below him, his massive frame carried its self across the ground. Ulrike's ears were pinned to his head listing to his daughter who was keeping up quite nicely. Ba-dum Ba-dum Ba-dum His heart beated. The steady beat it was, keeping your heart rate at a good level was the key to running long distance.His pace was smooth, and perfect for him to make it to the other side of the valley and up to the top of the second mountain.

As they came closer to the bottom of the first mountain, his ears laid back and picked up the sound of Xenios's speed increase. 'So you want to push your self, then let's push your self' a smile arose across Ulrike's face as he kicked up his pace. His legs moved from one to another, almost seemed like he was flying instead of running. Ulrike's heart was still at a good beat, but it did increase a little due to the quick burst of speed. He could hear his daughter right behind him, he was pleased with her, very pleased. She would grow up to become a strong warrior at this rate and he knew it.

As fast as the first mountain ended the next one was upon them. This was it the incline, he was not sure if his daughter would be able to keep up as she had been. Ulrike let out a deep breath and pushed of even faster with his hind legs, Up he assented, up into the tops of the mountain. "Come on Xenios show me what you got" He said as he ran up that mountain with little resistance. This was it dose she have what it takes to match my pace. Ulrike was ready to find out if his daughter got his speed.

Ulrike