Adeline had not left the den area since Steady had brought her back after the attack. Her shoulder hurt like nothing she had ever felt before, and it put her in a rather sour mood, which was openly displayed on her facial features. This morning, she laid half in the den, with her front legs and head out in the open. Her ears were pinned back on her head, instead of their usual forward position.

Her eyes opened at the sound of pawsteps, and her gaze settled on Grayday, who huffed for her. She had not been in the mood for company, but she didn't bother to retreat inside the den, either. She watched him, seeing the little critter that he had in his jaws. It wasn't something she had ever seen before, and usually she would have walked right up to ask about it. Now, however, she remained motionless except for her eyes, which followed him.

Her ears perked as he dropped the critter and began to hold it down with a paw. Generally, she would have gone over to investigate, but Dad had told her to take it easy. It was an easy enough instruction to follow, since her shoulder was stiff and sore. 

Her gaze lifted to his when he asked what happened. I got attacked by a fox, she said simply. Memories replayed in her head over and over since the incident. But, Adeline was a tough little pup, and it didn't keep her up at night. No, had the fox still been alive, she swore she would have sought vengeance. Tired of laying, Adeline propped herself up into a sitting position, though was careful not to put too much weight on her injured shoulder.

To be honest, the whole thing was quite a blur to Adeline. The fox had seemed to come out of nowhere, then there was pain, and the others came to her rescue before she even realized it. I tried, she admitted, though if Valette, Niita, and Polaris hadn't been there, Adeline wasn't sure if she would have won that fight. Well, technically she didn't, they had. But, what mattered is that the fox was dead and couldn't steal any more of their food. And, Adeline was still happy Steady had let her participate.

It was true that Adeline didn't feel up for playing with the creature, but that didn't mean she didn't still want it. I'm always up for eating, she confessed, raising into a sitting position as she eyed the potential meal. It wasn't anything she had ever seen before, and it looked prickly. How do you eat that? she asked, bringing her nose down to sniff at it.

Her ears perked as she placed a paw on the creature to keep it on its back and listened as he explained the easiest way to kill it. She thought for a moment as it squirmed under her paw, and then lifted it as her muzzle lowered and her jaws opened. When she attempted to close them, it was on the quills of the hedgehog.

Instantly, she reared her head back at the first feeling of sharpness in her mouth, and looked down to see the tiny thing had curled itself into a ball. Her ears flattened on her head as her accusing eyes looked up at Grayday. You didn't tell me it does that! she said, her gaze looking pointedly at what she should have been eating right now. 

Her expression turned irritated when he simply chuckled at her, as if he had a secret she didn't know about. She didn't like that feeling. But, she watched with interested as he rolled the prickly thing toward him and carefully opened the ball up enough to get his bottom jaw into it. Her ears perked at the sound of the snaps, instinctually knowing that it was the sound of bones breaking. 

Her tail wagged as he pushed it towards her again, and she lowered her muzzle toward it. She could see a little bit of the skin of the creature, though it was still mostly balled up. Gingerly, she nosed it, but quickly withdrew. She realized it would still take some finesse to eat it, but her determination would see her successful eventually. I appreciate it, whichever way you meant, she said. If she wasn't recovering, she would have surely attempted to play with it. But, she simply wasn't up for it right now.

Her gaze turned up to him as he told her about Niita. She looked thoughtful for a moment, imagining the rock coming down on the hedgehog. That's a pretty good idea, she commented, her gaze scanning the immediate area. Of course, she probably wouldn't be able to move a rock big enough to crush the little creature, but she stored the information anyways, for future use. But, Grayday did have a point. Like now, a rock would not always been readily available. 

She pawed at the creature lightly, so as to not stick herself with its spines. Her brain was working to try and figure out a way to open it so she could eat it. It wasn't trying to curl itself any tighter, so maybe the bones that were broken were what was preventing that.  But, it seemed maybe the muscles were not so cooperative as to let it uncurl any more than it already was. She pawed at it a few times, and the creature rolled in the dirt this way and that, but it was stubborn. 

Her eyes lifted from the creature as Grayday offered his help, winking at her. Her tail thumped the ground and she gave him a soft smile. She certainly would not turn him away if it meant getting to eat the hedgehog faster. While she could be stubborn, especially when she wanted something, she didn't have so much pride that she thought she couldn't learn from others. No, she wanted to learn as much as she could.

Gently, she nosed the meal towards Grayday, and it rolled in his direction, albeit clumsily since it wasn't a perfect circle. She watched as it did so, waiting to pounce on it case it miraculously tried to run off. She shuffled forward a little, just as clumsy as the hedgehog with her injured shoulder, and got closer to watch what her pack mate would do.

Her tail continued to thump the ground as she watched him bite into the softness of the hedgehog. At least, she thought it was soft. He gave no indication that what he was doing was hurting, and therefore she didn't think it was. This could come to bite her later on, should she try the same thing later. 

He nudged it towards her, and she almost lunged for it before remembering her shoulder injury. Instead, she crept forward slowly and began to munch on the softness of the creature. It wasn't something she had tasted before, and while it wasn't necessarily a delicacy, she didn't hate it, either. By the time she looked up, Grayday was gone from her sight. She looked this way and that, but he had effectively disappeared. She wondered if she had been rude-- maybe she should have thanked him before digging in-- but there was nothing she could do about it now. So, after finishing the small meal, she laid back down at the den entrance, dozing off.