To the sound of frog-song, she blinked awake from her nap. By the time she resurfaced from the cover of a dark thicket near the creek, the sun had just begun to set. It was time well spent, but she shook out her fur and stretched, urging herself to get warmed up and going before night arrived in full. By then, she hoped to have something more tangible.. especially if her suspicions of rain to come later on held true.
After a long drawn-out yawn she picked up a trot and skimmed the edge of a forested swatch leading away from here, deeper in towards their heartlands and heights. Although in no rush, her nose was wanting to wander after a vague enough trail, and it markedly made her think of her sons. She had come to appreciate the yearling Jarilo more now that he was older and far more aware of what she expected, but the younger Arcturus and
@Revui were plenty to keep her busy now that they were always looking to cover more territory than ever before. Amekaze was loathe to stifle them, and instead wanted to nurture their strengths into more constantly, but when the world was rife with the bullshit it was, she always felt that counterbalance—as miserable as it was when her little beasts deserved all and more. After her ill-fated lot last year, it was difficult.
The trees were thinning and her path remained vague, thanks to motivation that seemed to wane and wax as sleep still shook free from her. She only half-paused long enough to lift her nose up tall to tell for sure, but she scented rain, still, and on a breeze from roughly the north.
The closer every step carried her on, the easier he became to find and hone in on. She found him soon after and with a curious glint, she strode closer and investigated his slack kill: fresh, just as scent--and sound, had all suggested. Although she did not see the hunt, nor the takedown, she still felt the need to say it as she reached the growing boy, who was good distance from the hungry little blot he had been once. She was pleased to see him come this far this soon, since it seemed summer sped by in a blink. She was still relieved he was eating meats on his own, and evidently, was polishing his skills as a killer effectively enough too. Less and less she worried about them being so out and about. More than ever, they were on their way to their own niches and stories, she hoped.
Proud, she didn't hassle his space over the morsel of meat too intensely, though her eyes never left him. "Nice catch," she appraised the silvered pup's efforts. "See any more?" she asked.
Still wearing a small curve of a smirk, her eyes followed the carcass up, then down to its unceremonious splat where it eventually landed. Revui was sure to draw her attention most of all as he came closer, and she drew back proper to withhold her fierce son, reeking from the blood of his kill and their home.
Very content with such a sight, she rumbled affectionately and closed distance too. She reached to snake against him, only briefly, and nipped softly at his shoulder as she passed. When she pulled away, she started to arc her way towards a hopeful snatch of his mangled meat--or else serve to motivate him into keepaway if she didn't make the whole grab herself.
Although low-grade torment to some degree, her heart was warm and mood wily and light. These were among her favorite moments, no matter how simple. Her snatch was effective enough to get it out of his reach before the vice of his jaws clicked shut. But, she hadn't counted on it from the start and it was narrower than ever before. His reactions were getting faster, he was learning, growing, and with time--she had a good feeling her confidence in him would be rewarded before she knew it.
She gave it another thorough tug to move further away and rumbled low, taunting again since her grip was not so steadfast--inviting, even if she intended it to be a feint (but maybe her son would surprise her). She wanted to be rallied with, and prepared to dig in deeper the second he came at it again.
i COMPLETELY understand if you want to wrap this up since i let it get so dated