Rodyn shifted and moved, in his maw a squirrel with broken footpaws. The screeches the creature had admitted while walking had been horrendous, but now it lay limp and despondent. But any glimmer of possible escape it moved.
Rodyn was in search of
@Rolayne and
@Panuk it was time to learn to hunt. Once he found a safe place he lay the creature down but claws and paw held it in place. And he howled. He was unsure if they would come
He had tried to be good father, attentive, always available even when he had traveled from spear to tide, he always came back to the spear as soon as he was able, but he felt like a failure. They were quiet and unhappy it seemed.
While parts of Rolayne were still wildly wild, he had stopped stealing from the caches. He had lost a little weight because of it, but he was by no means malnourished. He still sought out adults when he was hungry, and it seemed most gave in eventually and gave him food.
His father's discipline had done little for the rest of his antics. He still didn't sleep in the den, though most nights he was somewhere nearby, and he didn't much follow any set pack rules. His energy was still high, and he loved chasing anything that moved.
Catching the scent of his father, he made a hard right and followed it. The day that Rodyn had caught him at the cache and set about to punish him was not out of mind, but it didn't change anything about their relationship. Rolayne was still happy-go-lucky, and sought out his father whenever he felt like it. The punishment was just a fact of history in his mind, a consequence of getting caught in the act.
When his Dad came into view, he let out a yip and bounded over to him, playfully snipping at his hocks before quickly darting away in anticipation of retaliation. His nose caught a whiff of something, and his eyes searched and found what was hanging in Rodyn's jaws. At least is wasn't himself this time! Rolayne, all manners aside, made a leap for what he thought was a dead squirrel.
Rolayne was a feral child. Rodyn knew this well. There was not much he could do to curb his son yet. And honestly he spoiled thrm both at times, but he did try and teach them. Manners and kindness.
The squirrel screeched in terror and Rodyn let it go. It wouldn't go far.
You catch it. Feel the earth. Listen close to sounds watch it closely.
Suddenly the once-dead squirrel squealed in fear and Rolayne jerked back in response. Rodyn set it down on the ground, where it attempted to flee, but it was obvious something was wrong with it. Dad instructed him to feel the earth, listen to the sounds. He didn't quite understand that.
He pawed at the ground next to the struggling squirrel, reveling in its little sounds of pain and terror. He leapt towards it, jaws almost catching on the tail, but the prey still had a lot of fight left in it. Rolayne would continue the back and forth dance a few times before lifting a paw and bringing it down quickly on the squirrel, then retreating just as fast.
A bark of both frustration and excitement came from his maw as he glanced at Rodyn. He loved to chase things that ran, but this thing was just writhing in place, even as much as it attempted to get away. He just wasn't sure what to do with it if it wasn't running.
Rodyn moved to correct his sons stance with gwntle touches. A soft chuckle.
When the squirrel moves you feel the vibrstions under yhe ground? Smell the way it is fearful. Now you want to jump, place both paws on it and bite into its throat until it stops moving okay. I'm right here.
Rodyn would make the creature done himself if it was on to much longer. He didn't wiah to cause any torture, but he had faith rolayne would get it quickly.
Rolayne, the excited child that he was, didn't realize he might actually need to be still for a moment. When his Dad explained further, he finally stilled his paws long enough to feel the vibrations from the earth into them. It was a weird feeling at first, but something that excited him nonetheless.
He was instructed further about his next steps, and he looked at the small creature before him. He hadn't come across prey before that hadn't been able to run from him, so he hadn't been able to test out any hunting instincts he might have had. He did have the chasing part down pat.
After a moment of hesitation, he leapt on the squirrel, one paw landing square on its chest. It squealed, maybe in terror, maybe in pain, maybe in protest. But, it's writhing stopped. It was exhausted, and only the rise and fall of its abdomen gave any indication it was still alive. He opened his jaws and closed them around the neck of the squirrel. But, he didn't close enough to puncture the flesh and put the food out of its misery. Instead, he picked it up off the ground and playfully flung his head around while he prance over to Rodyn. I got it his antics said.
Rolayne tried qnd suceeded to stop moving. A plus in Rodyn's mind's eye. His son was pretty wild on a good day.
Rodyn chuckled. The creature was very much dead. Though probably moreso from a heart attack than swift death, but the task was done.
Rodyn smiled. Good job! Next time bite a little harder, but its yours. Eat up.
He would back off leaving the prize to his son.
At some point after picking it up, the creature had, in fact, died. He paused, ears perked at his Dad when he was instructed to bite harder next time, but the meal was all his. He clamped his jaws down harder and the breaking of tiny bones sounded off. Fresh blood pooled into his mouth and he instantly liked it.
He lowered his head to the ground and began tearing away at the carcass, swallowing chunks of meat. His tail wagged the whole time he ate, and he would occasionally glance toward his Dad at he ate.
The meal devoured, he sat back on his haunches, his tongue licking the remnants of blood from his maw and paws. He would be sated for just a little while, and might even take a nap before running off again.
Rodyn smiled as his child tucked into his meal. But a pang of heartache lit along his insides. For samani should have been here too. That was the dream, but he hoped she looked down from above in pride.
Rodyn settled to hia belly and his tail beat against the ground. Rolayne could join him if he so wished. He would be happy to nap with the boy oe more so keep an eye out while rolayne napped.
He watched as Rodyn lowered himself to his belly, and Rolayne lopped over without hesitation. While he didn't like to sleep in the den, he would gladly snuggle up with his Dad out here. He curled his body up next to Rodyn's and got comfortable. A sigh was the last noise that came from him before he fell asleep.