EBC: Andro's November Assignment- Ambush Training

(+20 EP)

Well this took, like, two days. XD Enjoy it! I actually had a fun time drawing the scenery! ^^ _{But those markings are still a pain in the tail. ><}

Andromeda's assignment this month (as written here: [link]), was to show these guys some ambush tactics. I think they did rather well :3

...I also noticed that everyone in the patrol had a name starting with A. With the exception of Verscia, but V is pretty much just an upside-down A anyhow XD

Oh! And I couldn't resist writing stuffs to go with the stuffs~

---

<sub>"Well you heard him," Andromeda raised her head to the young apprentices who had bounded up to her following Soren's announcement. "Get your armor on, we'll head out now and with any luck we'll be back before moonhigh." The apprentices nodded and dashed off toward the armory at the back of the blacksmith's den. "And leave behind any sharp parts of your armor!" The snow leopard called after them. We don't need any unnecessary injuries.

***

"An ambush, for those of you who do not know, is a raid on a moving target. Because the target is always moving and the ambush depends on their arrival, patience is key. When preparing an ambush, you have to be as unnoticeable as possible. This means you should camouflage your pelt, if it stands out, as well as your scent. Mud works well to do both, in most cases, but it can be harder to find in our territory most seasons, so you have to be flexible. Good adaptability is a great trait to have, so you'll have the upper-hand no matter the terrain. However, if we are the ones setting up an ambush, we should choose our placement of that ambush carefully. It has been long said that he who chooses the battle field wins the battle." Andromeda explained, pacing back and forth past the line of apprentices and one gladiator who sat, attentively listening.

"There are five main points to any successful ambush." She went on. "One, we set the ambush in a place where we can move into and out of unobserved. We have that right here in this area. Notice how that deer on the slope didn't realize we were here until someone sneezed. Two, the site should be in an area that forces the enemy to bunch up. This makes them easier to attack, and leaves them less room to escape or counter attack. That's also why we're in the northern forest, because it's more rocky here, and rocks are great to box the enemy in. Three, if the foe has reinforcements that could reach the ambush scene quickly, then we need to have a second wave ready for them. We'll focus on number four for right now, and that is to use a daytime ambush if we believe we need that second wave. We'll get to number five, the nighttime ambush, when it's dusk." Andromeda stopped pacing and turned to face the apprentices. Some of them, she had trained before. One of them was her own apprentice. She knew a lot about each of these individuals, and she knew their strengths and weaknesses.

"As in any mission, we work together as a team. You follow the orders of whoever in charge, be it myself, Soren, or someone other. Most of the time, whoever is in charge will place you where you can best utilize your strengths. When the enemy reaches the exact point of attack previously chosen by the mission leader, the fastest felines will attack the enemy first. That would be you cheetahs, for example." Andromeda nodded, looking at Arria and Alcina. "This is to surprise them and give us a split second advantage while they recover from their confusion and decide to attack. By the time they do, the slower but stronger cats, like myself and Azarual, will have come in to attack. If we were expecting reinforcements from the enemy, we'd have a second group of felines waiting to ambush them in the same way.

Now beyond speed, we have other strengths to take advantage of. Alynnia, Anaya, both of you are great tree climbers, so any mission leader would be a fool not to have you lying in wait on a higher plain to attack from above. However, tree climbing may not be a favorable ambush tactic during winter, when the trees are stripped of what would be your camouflage." Andromeda noticed the panther cub was waiting to hear what her strengths would be. Out of all the apprentices, she was the one Andromeda knew the least. "Verescia, from what I've seen of you, you're rather neutral in both strength and speed." The young apprentice flicked her ear in disappointment, as if sad to hear she had no special skill. Not wanting to break her enthusiasm, the silver gladiator went on. "And that, my friend, can be a great advantage in battle. Being neutral in all skills mean you don't lack in any. In other words, you have great adaptability." The panther apprentice looked up with bright eyes and lashed her tail excitedly.

"Now then, let's put these skills to good use."

***

Andromeda limped at a normal pace through the forest, the other apprentices and Nia trailing not far behind. It had been great practice for the snow leopard to be target practice for the younger felines, but now she was sore from being battered around all day. Their ambush skills were becoming sharp; they'd picked up on it quickly. Andro glanced behind her to make sure everyone was keeping up. Azarual was lagging behind.

Stopping under a leaf-strewn tree, Andromeda wrapped her tail around her paws to give him time to catch up. Everyone else sat to wait. The snow leopard apprentice had worked exceptionally hard, and had proved himself as a good ambush cat, so it was no wonder he was exhausted. But in this forest full of wolves and hunters, lagging behind would not be permitted on Andromeda's sun dile. (They don't exactly have watches so...) When he had caught up, he looked at Andromeda shyly, as if sorry he'd lagged behind.

"Since you seem to be so tired, why don't you go to the stream over there and get something to drink?" She suggested, pointing towards the water source with her nose. "The rest of us will wait here." Andromeda ignored the mews of protest from the other felines; Andromeda knew they were just as tired and thirsty, and they didn't see why he got rewarded for making them wait. Oh but they will know. Azarual's ears pricked a bit and he nodded, then turned and padded away toward the stream. Andromeda looked after him, and once she was sure he was out of earshot, gathered the others closer with a sweep of her tail.

***

The sun was just barely nearing the horizon now, starting to shed orange light on anything it touched. Andromeda pricked her ears. She could hear paw steps coming from the stream. She scented the air. Azarual was coming back. She glanced causally around the empty clearing, then licked a tuft of fur that was out of place before turning back to the rustling bushes. Azarual padded out, looking a bit more refreshed then he had before.

"Where is everyone?" He asked in confusion as he padded toward Andromeda. She watched his paws, waiting for them to meet the exact spot... then suddenly the clearing exploded with yowls and hisses as felines warmed in from every direction. The unsuspecting snow leopard apprentice yowled in surprise. The cheetahs had appeared first, shooting out from their spots toward the snow leopard. Verescia appeared right after them, and Andromeda looked up just in time to see Anaya dropping from a branch to land squarely on Azarual's shoulders. Andromeda purred with satisfaction, and looked behind a tree on the other side of the small clearing where Alynnia had studied the attack from another angle. Their eyes met and they exchanged a nod. They did perfectly.</sub>

{ Word count: 1,181 }






Andromeda, art ©

Alynnia ©

Alcina © [link]

Arria ©

Azarual ©

Verscia © [link]

Anaya ©