Sleeping Dragon Look what I got

It was new and different, trying to fell a rabbit without killing it. It required fine-tuned motor control and mental restraint. Anyone who knew Wildfire knew she didn't exactly excel in the former department, specialty aside. Somehow, though, she managed. She broke one of the hare's hind legs, then clamped her jaws around the struggling critter's scruff and hastily carried it toward the rendezvous site. The thing let out a few shrill cries that made her ears slick backward, not to mention a couple of well-aimed kicks to her face and neck.

She probably deserved it, though Wildfire didn't feel that bad when she arrived at her destination and unceremoniously spat the wounded pest onto the ground, then pinned it in place with a paw. She let out a short howl, calling for @Thyri, @Hvitserk, @Eske and @Freyja to come practice their hunting skills on the poor floppy-eared, fluffy-tailed victim.

The new home wasn't yet better than his first, but, in some way, he understood the reason behind their move there. He was slowly working to find a way to like it, as well as to accept it just as he'd done with the whelping den. The change in locations marked their growth, but it also opened up the door to a world far larger than what he could have ever imagined existed. It seemed all but endless, and that thought alone had him sticking close to his newest given home. There were times in which he wandered, but never was it far, uncertainty combined with his reluctance to speak keeping him from straying beyond a certain point. Though, to even his own surprise, he'd wandered past that very same point moments prior to the female's arrival.

Perhaps he would have ventured a bit further had she not loosed a call for the boy and his sisters, the voice having made him slide to an abrupt stop. Believing that trouble was on the horizon, he'd scurried right back the way he'd come, once again being made to skid to a stop when he saw a thing. Even though his eyes had been drawn up to the fiery wolf's face at first, they'd quickly relocated to a level that wouldn't force his head back, and it was in that moment that he'd seen the strange creature. Hvitserk had seen rabbits from afar, of course, but to see one beneath the precisely placed paw of an adult amazed him. An approach was carried out, eyes locked on the bunny, but he didn't want to kill it. Rather, he wanted to know how it had been caught, why it was there, what it was, and other things following a similar pattern. So, back up to Wildfire's face he'd looked, awaiting all the answers to questions that he would never ask, probably expecting for her to be a mind reader or something.

Freyja was bored. She laid within the family den, her eyes trained on the wall as time ticked by. She didn’t particularly want to do anything but still longed for company that was not Gyda. Her siblings, also, did not appeal to her in those moment. Instead, she simply wished to be on her own. Such desires soon disappeared as a call cut through the silence. Perking, she looked towards the mouth of the family den with a tilted head as she deciphered the message. When the message came through, the child quickly scrambled onto her paws and galloped towards the entrance, throwing her mother some hurriedly-spoken assurance as she made her way out the den.

She was all too consumed in getting to Wildfire to notice if any siblings were following. Once she got to the scene she realized that Hvitserk had beaten her. As she pulled up beside him and placed a kiss upon his cheek, the child turned her attention fully to Wildfire. “Wilfiwa, wassagot?” she asked, looking from the face of the mentor to that of the rabbit, wondering if this was what she and Wildfire had previously discussed.

Two of the four pups promptly raced up to her, curiosity written all over their little faces. "Hi guys," Wildfire said, still pressing the squirming rabbit against the ground. "I brought this for you," she answered the questions in their eyes and on their tongues while simultaneously releasing her weight. The rabbit instantly flipped and tried to make an escape. Its broken leg dragged but the thing was still pretty speedy, presenting a challenge to the inexperienced cubs.

Wildfire wanted to coach them but she pressed her lips together and stood back, allowing Hvitserk and Freyja a chance to act purely upon their built-in instincts.

An attempt was made to focus on the woman's face whilst he waited for answers, but every so often he'd found his attention drifting towards the rabbit. Curious of it, there gnawed at him a need to learn all that he could about it, but still was he silent. For that reason, perhaps, relief seemed to flood his system after his sister had arrived. He'd leaned towards her for a moment and gave a wag of his tail, knowing that she could speak for the both of them. Once she'd done so, though, answers hadn't followed. A greeting, which was accompanied by words of an offering, but no explanations.

Hvit moved back, ready to find someone that would offer him answers, but was brought to a stop as the creature was released. It tried to flee, but the boy did not bolt after it—not right away, anyways. He'd watched it for a good while prior to moving forward, assessing the thing to figure out all that he wanted to know about it. Having found only a few answers, his legs had started moving towards it, but chase was not given. Rather, he'd only followed it at a slowed pace, little ears perked up whilst his stare seemed to be almost never-ending.

Their answer was dropped onto the ground before there. Crouching, the child looked on with interest. The figure struggled and yet found its escape. Loping off, with a broken limb in tow, the rabbit made a run for it. Looking from the fleeing prey to Wildfire, Freyja waited for any sort of indication to get going.

She did not receive such instructions.

Rather, she took the lead as her brother took off. Jumping into action, Freyja kept a steady pace. Yips spilled from her mouth as she gained on the prey and the child paid no mind to her brother. Instead, her attention was devoted to the prey. Thundering pawsteps gained ground but it was not enough to strike… yet.

When both children looked to her for guidance, Wildfire quelled the maternal instinct to give them instructions. She just smiled encouragingly, then glanced pointedly at the fleeing rabbit as if to convey, It's gonna get away if you don't go after it!

Both of them seemed to get the message, at least in part, and began to trail the wounded prey. Neither one was going very swiftly at first, though Freyja's instincts apparently kicked into gear. The hunter's black tail arched into the air as a pleased grin split her face. Go, go! she coached inwardly, still remaining mum as she trailed after the miniature hunters.

A steady pace was maintained as he pursued the rabbit, eyes following it quicker than his body did. Eventually, his line of sight had experienced a brief interruption when his sister had been kicked into gear, propelling herself forward whilst he hung back. Hvit moved more with the desire to study the creature than with a need to catch it, as he didn't yet see a point in doing so. The only reason he had for wanting to reach it would be to see if that might give him the answers that he wanted, but since there was no confirmation that that would be the case, he'd held back. To watch and to listen had, in the past, proved beneficial when there arose within him a desire to learn. That experience was applied to the current, too, as it was the only one he had to go off of.

At some point, his pace had increased slightly, an attempt at getting closer to the creature being made. Even with a broken leg, though, it was capable of moving faster than he was willing to go, and so for him to catch up entirely was unlikely.

Rolled a 3 which caused her jump to be unsuccessful.

She was quickly gaining on the creature that she could almost taste it! Not letting her hopes get the better of her, Freyja focused on the rabbit and nothing else. Everything else around her blurred-- the sound of encouragement, the pawsteps behind her. The scenery melted around but she didn’t look around, she couldn’t at this point.

She was close enough at this point to catch the rabbit. Taking this opportunity, the child sprung in pursuit, quickly realizing that she had been a bit too impatient in her leaping. Falling just should of it’s cottontail, Freyja landed awkwardly onto her stomach, splaying onto the ground. Her ears flattened immediately and she looked over to Wildfire, whimpering with a frown.

Hvitserk seemed reluctant to gain ground on the rabbit, though Freyja's hesitation faded away entirely as she made a leap for the bleeding rodent. It was a good effort if not a successful one. Wildfire couldn't help but dig in her heels and hasten to the child's side to make sure she wasn't injured. She looked all right, her pride perhaps hurt more than anything else.

Glancing upward, Wildfire saw the rabbit scrambling for a nearby thicket. She sprang after it, giving it a solid thwack to its ribs and causing it to roll over several times back in the pups' direction. It bleated miserably but the she-wolf didn't pity it. The sound only drove her predatory instincts. Hopefully it had the same effect on the younger wolves.

Success at snagging the lil bunny.

Rather than speeding up in order to assist, the boy had slowed upon seeing his sister leap forward. Without realizing it, he'd held in a breath, only to release it once she'd fallen flat on her stomach. Eyes trailed after the hare for no more than a millisecond before he'd hurried over to Freyja, checking to see if she was okay. The rabbit interested him, but his sisters always came first, and so she easily became his top priority. He'd not noticed that the thing was knocked back in their direction until it'd cried out, which had then encouraged him to draw nearer to it.

Hvit crept closer, then launched himself forward in order to trap the rabbit beneath his weight. Uncertain of what to do after he'd felt it under him, he'd sniffed at it, then looked back and forth between the girls. What now?

He had done the unthinkable: he had caught the rabbit. Freyja looked from Hvitserk to the struggling animal. Pushing herself onto her paws, the Goufa made her way to her brother’s side to get a better look at what had been done. Pushing aside her own disappointment to examine the creature, she crouched down to it’s level and marveled at the sight. She had only successfully caught bugs at this point-- never a rodent-- and was both amazed and jealous by her brother’s accomplishment. Pushing the latter aside for the moment, Freyja sought her mentor.

“Wilfiwa!” She asked urgently, her attention shifting back to the rabbit as she spoke. “Now… what?”

She felt a flash of pride when the pups both responded to the animal's cry. Not two seconds later, Hvitserk had fallen upon the poor rabbit, pinning it to the earth. Wildfire's heart swelled even further. This was their first hunt, their first kill, and she felt lucky to participate in and bear witness to such an important milestone.

But then four eyes were looking at her imploringly as the rabbit squirmed beneath Hvitserk. Maybe their instincts weren't as fully developed as she'd hoped. Her lips parted at Freyja's innocent question. Finally, she relented enough to give one simple and enthusiastic instruction: "Finish her!"

The rabbit struggled beneath him, squirming around as attempts to get away were made. Hvit was too interested to let it go, though, and so every time it tried to weasel itself out from under him, he'd applied more weight to it. Ears were kept upright atop his head, waiting for instructions—which had only confused him once it'd been given. Finish her? What did she mean by that? He could recall times in which he'd been told to finish his food, but the wiggling thing couldn't be food since it was still moving.

Towards Freyja he'd looked, then, waiting to see if she knew what the words had meant.

Let me know if any of you have a problem with this!

Finish her! The command rang through the air and it was then that the grey-scaled dragon’s attention fell back to the prey. She lingered there, waiting for any movement on Hversik’s part, before making her own movement. Though she wasn’t totally sure in that moment of what Wildfire meant there was an inkling from within that told her what had to be done. She had never seen Wildfire finish off a piece of prey-- only the result, but as Hversik hesitated her confidence grew.

After a moment of silence and confliction her intuition suddenly kicked in.

Without much of a warning she lunged forward towards the rabbit’s throat. As contact was made she bit down on the throat of the rabbit. Though she was gentle at first instinct urged her to bite harder to end it. Doing just that, the Goufa’s hold on the throat strengthened and a stream of blood trickled into her mouth. She kept her hold on the prey as it trashed, but soon the tashing weakened. It was only once it laid still that Freyja unlatched.

Pride overcame her as she looked at just what she had done and quickly he turned to her mentor with a bloody grin. “Feenish!” Her proclamation was proud as she stood tall, waiting for Wildfire’s reaction.

The young boy continued peering at her, uncomprehending, but his sister seemed to clue in eventually. She moved toward the rabbit trapped beneath Hvitserk and latched onto the prey's throat. Wildfire felt a little thrill go through her. Freyja was a little tentative—prolonging the poor animal's suffering—but eventually she successfully killed the rabbit.

"Atta girl!" Wildfire praised, moving in closer, beaming at Freyja. She also grinned at Hvitserk and added, "Great teamwork, guys! I always enjoy hunting in pairs myself." Sure, she was a solo trapper by trade and could definitely assist in pack hunts of larger game, yet her favorite way to hunt was with a partner. "You know what to do next, right?" she prompted, a predatory glint in her eye as she licked her chops.

His body had remained pressed up against the rabbit's, trying to make it stop squirming, which he had failed at doing. It'd continued to move whilst he'd looked between it and the other two wolves. An explanation on what they were supposed to do hadn't been given, but his sister seemed to know what had been insinuated anyways. When she'd lunged forward, he'd shifted back, his entire weight no longer having been used to hold the creature down—which didn't matter too much at that point, anyways. Hvitserk watched as the other child clamped her jaws around the thing's neck, eyes having widened as he'd witnessed the eventual discontinuation of its movements. Then, as if to test the waters, he'd lifted himself up and stepped back, gaze never leaving the hare. Never again had it moved, and so slowly had his mind shifted from viewing it as a subject of interest to just another meal.

Hvit knew what came after that, but he'd not been quick to lurch towards the kill. There'd been a moment in which he'd wondered if they should, perhaps, share with their sisters, but it'd turned into an idea that he disagreed with. Their mom and dad would make sure that the others ate, so he didn't need to concern himself with that. The distance between himself and the rabbit was eliminated, the boy having moved close enough to sink his tiny teeth into the furry-thing. While his drive to hunt hadn't yet developed fully, eating was something that he'd been born knowing how to do.

She licked her mouth clean as Wildfire mentioned what was to come next. Nodding, she turned towards the morsel and was thrown off by what she had seen. Hvitserk, after reversing as she had made the kill, had come closer to the prey.

The hair along her nape pricked uneasily as she picked herself up to stand closer to the rabbit. Something instinctual within her had stirred the moment she found somebody too close to her piece of prey. A growl gurgled within her throat and her tail stood and she took a step closer to the corpse so that she could place a paw upon it, selfishly claiming it as her own.

The pups had needed a little bit of patience and nudging to successfully make the kill but they didn't need to be told twice what to do with the carcass. Wildfire's eyes glittered with amused interest as they both went in for the kill, only for a sudden tension to stain the air. She heard a growl gurgle in Freyja's throat and peered at Hvitserk, wondering if he would reply in kind. As before, the yearling made no move to intervene. If there was bloodshed, she would step in between them, but she highly doubted it would come to that. This was a natural, instinctual dance they were doing, as they jockeyed for their station at the dinner table.

It was with the thought of sharing in mind that the boy had moved forward, inching closer to the prey only to be stopped before having had the chance to touch it. The growl had resulted in him stopping abruptly, ears upright whilst his eyes sought out his sister's gaze. At first, he'd wondered if she was only playing, tempting him into a quick game before they were to eat. Yet, upon close inspection, he'd realized that that wasn't the case. There was no playful glint in her eyes or a sudden alteration to her posture, there was simply her and the rabbit.

Hvit was not the confrontational type, especially when it came to dealing with his sisters, but his appetite trumped his disinterest in competition. Thus, he'd not ignored her, or the fact that she was trying to keep for herself a kill that he'd assisted with. It was without a clear plan in mind that he'd darted towards her, intending to bite into the hare should he be able to get close enough.

She was driven by something wild within, its fiery hot embers burning wickedly from within as she watched her brother. This wasn’t to say that she did not love him or thing that he shouldn’t eat, but, that bitter voice within told her that this was her kill and that she was the one that had ultimately taken it down.

She braced herself as her brother charged and quickly reached down to grasp the nearest limb. Biting down on a hind leg, Freyja’s growling intensified as she awaited her brother’s next move.

Hvitserk did not back down from his sister's challenge. Wildfire remained still and watchful as the pups attempted to sort out who was dominant and therefore first to eat. There were bites exchanged but she neither saw nor smelled blood, so the Bandrona just kept an eye on them as they resolved the matter between themselves.

A moment of success, teeth having found their way around a limb of the rabbit. Against his ribs his heart beat rapidly, the closeness to his sister whilst she emitted growls having been like a shot of adrenaline. She, too, had grabbed onto the hare, however, and so quick was he to regain his focus and jerk back. Though they were siblings, Hvit had not intended to back down, and so he’d continued to yank and move backwards, seemingly having created an accidental game of tug of war. His final pull had resulted in a tear—which he’d not been expecting at all—and onto his butt had he then fallen.

Temporarily confused, he’d blinked at Freyja, only to then realize what was still clasped between his jaws—as well as what hung from her own. Deciding not to wait and see how she’d react, the boy righted himself and took several more steps backwards, reluctant to release his pieces of the kill. Should she not pursue him immediately after, he’d make quick work of the meal and scarf it down without pause.

She held on with all of her might as Hvitserk took the other end of the prey and commenced their game of tug of war. She would do everything in her power to ensure that she would get all that she could from the carcass. Eventually, after a few tugs, their pulling caused a tear in the prey and sent the both of the backwards. As she also landed on her rear, Freyja could still feel a piece of the prey in her grasp and quickly, she looked to her sibling and saw that he also had a piece.

Content with the result, Freyja picked herself up and trotted away with her head held high. Taking it away from the others, she gobbled it down quickly with a smile plastered upon her lips. They had both been given a good lesson and hunting and she was happy to gain the experience.

When they had both finished their meals, Wildfire rounded the pups up and assisted them back to the den, the three of them reflecting on what they had learned that afternoon.