Blacktail Deer Plateau disney on ice

for the kiddos! @Dauntless @Lavender @Easy set to tomorrow afternoon

catfish pond was frozen, but the ice didn't dull its beauty. aditya sat and marveled at the snow-dusted gleaming expanse, ignoring the wind that cut through his pelt like claws. he resisted the urge to tuck himself away in the den, knowing that here in teekon, he'd always be cold.

movement caught the corner of his eye, and he turned his head slowly to find a hare, on the smaller side, nosing about in the bushes on the opposite side of the pond. it seemed blissfully unaware of his presence here.

delighted, he took a few steps backward and gave a low, warm call to grayday's children. he wondered how far along in their hunting lessons they were, and if he could perhaps provide them with another. the hare stopped, standing stock-still at the noise the wolf produced, but went back to its rummaging after a few tense moments.

aditya grinned. the hunt was on.

short post before work! :x

the call for him and his sisters rises through the frigid air. dauntless’s steps pause on his venture to …somewhere within the heart of the plateau, ears perking to attention as the howl from dawn’s mate, aditya fades off into an echo in the distance. there is a smooth roll of dauntless’ shoulders as he steels them against the biting wind that whips through the forest, whistling around the trees causing them to creak and groan in protest. dauntless adjusts his course and makes his way towards where aditya’s call had originated from, mildly surprised to see that he was the first to arrive as he shrugs through the underbrush, steps tampered and quiet as he picks up on the scent of a hare and hears it rustling around. so, a hunting lesson then, dauntless confidently assumes as he quietly makes his way to the brother-in-law’s side, offering him a bump of his nose to the older man’s cheek in greeting, assuming that instructions would follow once his sister's arrive.

Unlike her siblings, who moved freely through the snow-covered lands, Arushi stayed indoors for a majority of her day. Her doggish attributes had not benefitted her this Winter, and she had opted to keep warm instead of exploring the snow-covered wonderland that had become their home. 

Lavender was curled up to the sheep hide that Grayday had given her when Aditya called to the Cubs of Morningside; she lifted her head when the message had reached her and looked out of the den as she considered the distance that separated herself from Aditya's location. After a moment of consideration, where Arushi contemplated whether or not she should even venture outside, she got to her paws and hesitantly teetered towards the foyer of the den. 

With her toes just barely breaching the entryway, Lavender examined the weather to see if she'd freeze to death or not. When her body didn't immediately rattle, Arushi was genuinely surprised. Uncharacteristically, Lavender did not question her luck and instead ceased the opportunity; she bolted from the den with a bounce in her step. 

Lavender was shivering by the time that she had arrived at the catfish pond. Despite her discomfort, she considered the weather to be milder than it had been recently. Upon her arrival, she greeted her brother-in-law with a kiss to his chin before she pulled alongside Dauntless. Seeking to leech some warmth off of his Arushi pressed herself against her sibling and nudged his neck affectionately in greeting.

When both of the men had been adequately greeted, Lavender looked at Aditya curiously, but said nothing; she assumed that Adiyta would explain the reason for his call once Easy had arrived.

Easy arrived a bit late and out of breath, closely tailed by @Burr. They'd been exploring the cavern that Pema had showed her when the call went up, and it had taken them a moment to find their way back out again.

"Hi," she said brightly, greeting each wolf in turn. Aditya got equal amounts of affection as her blood siblings, but when she settled down once more, she stood nearest to Burr. What was this all about?

he smiled as the two children he'd seen less of made their way to the pond, though he felt a touch of concern as he saw lav shiver and cuddle up to dauntless. he had forgotten her fur was like his--thin and unsuited to the cold.

"dauntless, you smell that hare?" aditya asked, moving over to lavender's other side to further keep her warm. "i thought we could--"

he was cut off by easy, who came with burr in tow, the two of them looking like they had gotten themselves into some mischief. grinning, he beckoned them over with his tail, pointing his nose toward the bush where the rabbit hid.

"i thought we might have a little hunting lesson," he murmured, looking at the kids in turn. his bushy tail swept around lavender, giving her a little extra warmth. "there's a hare in that bush on the other side of the pond. who wants to give a go at catching it?"

before they could start to argue amongst themselves, aditya shot them a quelling look. "and no fighting over who goes first. we can take turns. . .that hare must have a den somewhere close, full of others." he smiled, waiting to see who would volunteer.

dauntless eyes the catfish pond, sincerely hoping that adiyta was not about to psyche them out and make them fish instead. dauntless isn’t sure if he’s ever eaten catfish — or fish in general — but he’s a growing boy with an adventurous palate but he is not keen on the idea of splashing around in frigid water for food. admittedly, he’s not as close to his brother-in-law as he could be but dauntless has his clique and he thinks couples are awkward — with the exception of his catori and grayday because they’re his parents, obviously — and he’s not into the whole heart-eyes motherfucker thing that he assumes all couples act around one another. lavender is the first of his siblings to arrive and his gaze — green today — watches his white, red and lilac merle sibling greet their brother-in-law. “hey arushi,” he greets her in a hushed murmur as she presses herself against him for warmth as she shivers against him, nudging his . it is rare to see her out and about in the cold, come to think of it, but dauntless doesn’t mind sharing his body heat with her — he has plenty of it, after all.

easy is the last to arrive with burr in tow and dauntless offers the pair a small dip of his head, noting that easy chooses to sit nearest to burr; but before dauntless can think too much about it aditya begins to speak and draws the boy’s ears to attention, his gaze following soon after, confirming what dauntless had initially assumed: it was a hunting lesson — followed shortly by relief that they would not be fishing. it was presented to them who wanted to go first followed quickly by the condition that they were not allowed to fight over who went first. dauntless is about to rise to his paws to volunteer but tempers the desire at the last second, abruptly deciding to let one of his sisters or burr go first.

Lavender was grateful when her brother-in-law moved to aid her, and her nub of a tail wagged as she looked at him with appreciation. Sandwiched between Dauntless and Aditya's warmth, her shivering soon dwindled and left her with a feeling of content; it had been long since she had felt this way outside of the den, and she was excited to be socializing with others again. 

Soon enough, Easy joined the gathering with Burr in tow, and Lavender looked to both of them with a smile. It was curious that Easy was with their guest from Easthollow, but Lavender kept her comments to herself.  She kept her eyes on them, observing silently until Aditya spoke. 

When her brother-in-law explained his reason for calling them, Lavender felt a spark of uncertainty. Unlike her siblings, Lavender hadn't had the opportunities that they had to practice, and Lavender knew she'd embarrass herself in front of them. Quickly, her gaze dropped, and she kept mum as Aditya asked who wanted to participate first. She hoped that somebody else would rise to the occasion.

When none of the other stepped forward, Easy straightened up with a bright grin on her face. "I'll do it," she volunteered, hopping to her paws and shooting her siblings (and friend) a cheery look before slip-sliding across the ice and crashing into the brush, where she quickly lost track of the rabbit she was supposed to be hunting. After a moment, she saw something white and fuzzy dart out of her bush and into another.

This time, she followed more carefully, picking up her gangly paws so that they didn't make too much noise in the snow. When she got to the bush, she took her time sniffing around, peering into the low boughs for the glitter of dark eyes.

Finally, she saw her mark. Easy drew in a sharp breath, causing the rabbit to twitch - but before it could move, Easy was lunging for it small, warm body, eager to tear into its tender flesh. She dove it, jaws slamming around something firm that quickly snapped in two between her teeth. Triumphantly, she backed out of the bush, flaunting her freshly-caught stick. Stick?!

Easy dropped it. "Hey!" she complained, glancing around. Unbeknownst to the dark girl, her quarry had fled back to its original bush while her siblings (and friend) looked on.

he was not surprised at lavender's silence, but found it a bit odd that the aptly-named dauntless held back, as well. naturally, easy stepped up, and his mouth quirked in amusement, quickly fading into a neutral expression as she slipped across the ice and crashed into the brush.

she recovered well, though, and crept silently toward the creature, her sleek body moving smoothly and quietly as she eyed her quarry. a sharp inhalation gave her away, though, and the hare bounded away. despite her best efforts, easy came away with a stick, dropping it in disappointment soon after.

aditya looked firmly down at the trio of children still surrounding him, hoping to silence any laughter they might have, even involuntarily, at easy's expense. hunting was a skill everyone had to learn, and a productive learning environment did not blossom from derision, even in its most playful form.

"very close, easy," he said to her, smiling. his eyes swept over the pups. "see how quietly she snuck up on the hare? that's the way. with bigger animals, we can afford to be a bit louder, but small prey can better feel the vibrations in the ground. even just a small breath gave you away," aditya added, giving easy a kind look.

gazing around, he said, "the hare's still at large. who wants to have a go, next?"

i did a dice roll for this.

dauntless didn't miss the firm look that adiyta threw the three of them as easy brought back her stick. her failure to catch the rabbit wasn't anything that dauntless would dream of laughing at her about — after all, they'd all been there. not every hunt was going to be successful. that was just the way that the dice rolled it worked. his ears swivel in contemplation as aditya speaks that they should try to be quiet like easy'd been. "i'll go." dauntless steps forward, away from lavender's side as he volunteers. he knows he's thinking too much, the pressure and audience making him surprisingly nervous. he doesn't want to fail in front of his brother-in-law and peers but he reminds himself that even if the hare eludes him it's all apart of the gamble, it builds character and all that jazz. he stalks it as quietly as he can manage and as he sees it's white pelage amidst the green and white dusted bush that it'd taken refuge in. he is patient and waits until it feels safe to come out once more. it ventures out and sniffs and dauntless's ears pin back to his head as his muscles pull taunt in anticipations.

he lunges and gives a small chase. his teeth snap around it's hind leg and he locks his jaw upon it as it's lets out a series of panicked squeals. it was a narrow catch and he feels the fragile bone snap beneath his teeth. it was a messy kill and it suffered before he pulled it to him, grabbed it's neck and clamped down, feeling it go stiff against him as he snaps it's neck with a rough shake of his head. he lets out a breath around it's scruff. "sorry dude." his apology is quiet and horribly garbled due to the to the corpse betwixt his jaws ( besides it's gone and is no longer capable of hearing him ) — he hadn't meant to make it suffer like that. dauntless returns to the group with his prize but unable to fully be proud of himself. he drops it at aditya's feet and takes his place back beside arushi, steeling his shoulders.

Lavender stuck close to Aditya's side as Easy volunteered and breathed a sigh of relief— she was safe for now. As the hunt unfurled before them, Arushi observed the action with bated breath. She was impressed with how professional Easy's advance appeared, and she couldn't help but feel pride; her sister was a natural. 

When Easy emerged from the underbrush with the fruit of her labor, Lavender's jaw hinged. Like Dauntless, she would never dream of belittling Easy's attempt. Instead, she clamped her mouth shut and offered her sister a soft smile. "I thought you did great, Easy," she said with a wag of her nub. 

Their quarry was still at large, and this allowed the group another chance to bring it down. Lavender realized this, and instantly the remnants of her breakfast crudled in the pit of her stomach as she anticipated the worst. Quickly, Lavender and shut her eyes to avoid any meeting Aditya's prompting stare; she knew all too well what would happen if she met his gaze. 

Lavender's eyes opened when Dauntless offered to hunt. Her nervousness vanished almost instantly, and she glanced at her brother with a look of appreciation. 

As Dauntless left her side, Arushi shivered at the absence of the warmth that he had provided her.  She pressed herself closer to Aditya and turned her attention to where the hunt continued. 

Lavender was just as impressed with Dauntless' ability to hunt as she had been with Easy, and she observed as he crept closer to the game. Unlike the previous attempt, when all was said and done, Dauntless emerged victoriously. Although the battle had been gut-wrenching at times to watch, Lavender was ultimately proud of her brother. 

Her eyes brightened as she looked at the kill that laid limp in his hold. "You did so good!" Lavender praised as he returned to her side, and she nudged his cheek affectionately.

Easy took up Dauntless's space beside Lavender when she returned, eager to see how their brother would do against their foe. She couldn't decide if she'd rather see him succeed and surpass her, or fail and stay on the same level as her. She supposed it was in everyone's best interest if they all excelled at hunting.

"You did it!" Easy accused when she saw that Dauntless returning victorious. The dark girl found herself standing without remembering having done so. Eventually, she wagged her tail. When Dauntless reached them, she was happy enough to cover his face in excited licks before trying to steal the rabbit away.

he wasn't surprised when dauntless volunteered and lavender curled closer to him. in fact, he was beginning to regret summoning the thin-pelted girl from her warm den in the first place. she was clearly cold--as was he, come to think of it--her fur not suited for this weather. then again, he reasoned, she didn't have to come. she had wanted to, at least in some part.

those thoughts vanished as dauntless crept closer to the hare, and adi's hawkish gaze fixed sharply on the boy in his pursuit. he was quiet and still, but most importantly, he was patient, waiting for the hare to let down its guard before pouncing. and though it was drawn-out a bit, dauntless did deal a merciful blow, and soon the animal hung limp and dead in the boy's jaws.

"very well done, dauntless!" he praised his brother-in-law, giving him an affectionate nudge to the shoulder with his muzzle before lifting his head and looking at the four young ones. "speed and stealth are good things to master, but the most important thing in a hunt is perhaps patience. whether it's running down a deer that won't quit or waiting for a small animal to appear from its den. . .if you're not patient, if you strike too soon or give up too easily, you'll go home hungry.

"dauntless waited for the hare to come out, to let down its guard after easy's pursuit, before pouncing," aditya further explained, beaming. "that's how it's done."

he looked down at lavender by his side, and gave her a warm smile, wrapping his tail round her once more. his eyes flashed back to the others. "should we keep going, then, or have a snack?" he had a feeling they'd opt for snack.

Phone post!

Lavender knew she was the last up to bat, so to speak. She felt an unmistakable apprehension as Aditya voiced the two available options. In seeking comfort she pressed herself in to the closest available warm body and continued to avoid the attention of the others. Running around might warm her up too, but Lavender was nervous all the same. She was no hunter. As her eyes dropped to the soil she stared glumly at the freshly caught carcass Dauntless had acquired, remaining silent so the others could decide what would happen next.