Post by Balto on Jul 26, 2019 3:21:25 GMT
(ooc: January 15th, in the forest. Closed to Scamp and Balto.)
One task there likely wasn't much escape from among the Gilded Wings was the idea of being a mentor to one of the fledglings. Usually, when the thought crossed Balto's mind, he envisioned himself being paired with someone younger than him who needed guidance in finding where they belonged. Well, he finally had gotten wind of who he was meant to be looking after and apparently didn't need to worry about one particular thing. The main thing Balto knew about his fledgling was that he was also of the canine variety. That was already a step in the right direction. Meeting said fledgling had been... not quite what Balto had expected, of course.
That morning, Balto had arranged for the two of them to begin work on the whole mentorship thing. Scamp was to meet Balto at the edge of the Enchanted Forest so they could get started. When he finally got a good look at Scamp. Suffice it to say, he was more than a little surprised to see what was essentially the spitting image of Tramp. Of course, Scamp had no idea that several days prior to their meeting Balto had rescued both Lady and Tramp back in Arendelle. More to the point, the fact that Scamp looked like he could have been close to Balto's own age was more the surprising factor in the situation. In the end, though, Balto decided not to worry. As long as he could get a handle on teaching Scamp a few things, then there really was nothing to dread.
He just needed to get a hang of how to teach the dog before him.
"All right," Balto began. "We'll begin today's lessons with something I think every canine ought to have a good sense of. And that's navigation." He turned to a tree nearest to the two of them and started to pad toward it. Of course, Balto was not unaware of any excitement coming from Scamp in waves. The scruffy dog probably had worked out as plainly as anyone else that his mentor was no ordinary dog. Balto wouldn't indulge such things right then, though. Instead, he stood up with his forepaws touching the tree trunk and started to look for any bits of loose bark.
"I know it might sound like something that's not that practical, but trust me. Knowing how to read the environment and navigate based on what you see can be crucial. Especially if you've been separated from someone with a compass," Balto explained. Of course, it wasn't just about marking a trail. That was the easiest way to find one's way, and he would explain that in time. There were other ways, though.
"For instance, moss. We won't find any this close to where the Snuggly Duckling is, but there's bound to be some growing on trees deeper in. And it's usually a good indicator of which way north is. Handy if you ever get yourself lost. Of course..." Balto took a moment to scrape a bit of loose bark away with his large paws and dug his claws into the trunk beneath it. Fine scratch marks were left in its place.
"Marking a path can help, too. Do you... have any questions so far?"
One task there likely wasn't much escape from among the Gilded Wings was the idea of being a mentor to one of the fledglings. Usually, when the thought crossed Balto's mind, he envisioned himself being paired with someone younger than him who needed guidance in finding where they belonged. Well, he finally had gotten wind of who he was meant to be looking after and apparently didn't need to worry about one particular thing. The main thing Balto knew about his fledgling was that he was also of the canine variety. That was already a step in the right direction. Meeting said fledgling had been... not quite what Balto had expected, of course.
That morning, Balto had arranged for the two of them to begin work on the whole mentorship thing. Scamp was to meet Balto at the edge of the Enchanted Forest so they could get started. When he finally got a good look at Scamp. Suffice it to say, he was more than a little surprised to see what was essentially the spitting image of Tramp. Of course, Scamp had no idea that several days prior to their meeting Balto had rescued both Lady and Tramp back in Arendelle. More to the point, the fact that Scamp looked like he could have been close to Balto's own age was more the surprising factor in the situation. In the end, though, Balto decided not to worry. As long as he could get a handle on teaching Scamp a few things, then there really was nothing to dread.
He just needed to get a hang of how to teach the dog before him.
"All right," Balto began. "We'll begin today's lessons with something I think every canine ought to have a good sense of. And that's navigation." He turned to a tree nearest to the two of them and started to pad toward it. Of course, Balto was not unaware of any excitement coming from Scamp in waves. The scruffy dog probably had worked out as plainly as anyone else that his mentor was no ordinary dog. Balto wouldn't indulge such things right then, though. Instead, he stood up with his forepaws touching the tree trunk and started to look for any bits of loose bark.
"I know it might sound like something that's not that practical, but trust me. Knowing how to read the environment and navigate based on what you see can be crucial. Especially if you've been separated from someone with a compass," Balto explained. Of course, it wasn't just about marking a trail. That was the easiest way to find one's way, and he would explain that in time. There were other ways, though.
"For instance, moss. We won't find any this close to where the Snuggly Duckling is, but there's bound to be some growing on trees deeper in. And it's usually a good indicator of which way north is. Handy if you ever get yourself lost. Of course..." Balto took a moment to scrape a bit of loose bark away with his large paws and dug his claws into the trunk beneath it. Fine scratch marks were left in its place.
"Marking a path can help, too. Do you... have any questions so far?"
