Redtail Rise libretto

new thread for us if you want, just to establish things! Since our other one is close to wrapping up <3

Avicus had been fine with Theo remaining here a while for mentorship. Ashlar didn't press to determine how okay it actually was, but he knew she would not be shy about stating otherwise. If she had wanted him to go home then Ashlar would have taken him.

There was a lot he could learn from Prophet and from Augur as well as Avicus herself. The friendly one too, maybe, though she had pups she was looking after that still weren't quite old enough to be alone long.

There were a lot of children to feed. Ashlar knew he had to work twice as hard since he'd asked to add to that number, so today he invited @Theo on a hunting lesson. Ashlar had found pheasant tracks and waited at the start of them. Theo hopefully wouldn't have too hard of a time sneaking up on the birds and they were easier to catch than a rabbit or a beaver. They didn't put up much of a fight and were a bit slower to escape - the perfect entry prey.

Theo had followed Ashlar out into the territory, with the promise of learning how to hunt. He saw Ashlar stop in front of some bird-looking tracks. "Whated are they fromed?" Theo asked, not know what kind of bird the tracks were made by, as he couldn't decipher the scent.

They're called pheasant. Ashlar answered quietly, brushing a leaf aside so that Theo could get a better view and scent. They smell a little dusty, but warm. And sometimes they'll leave feathers to find. Ashlar sank down a little, illustrating as he went on.

They hide in the brush, but will fly out if we startle them. So we have to sneak. He waited patiently, with a small smile, to see if Theo understood. Sneaking was a hard thing to master, especially when you were young and impatient. It had taken Ashlar a good many tries to even get near enough to see a pheasant, but he resolved to be every bit as patient as his own parents had been.

Theo couldn't understand how a bird like that could fly. It looked too big in his mind. "Ok, so how to we hunt it then? With the rabbits I hunted with my brother we wanted to startle them to make them run to eachother." He said.

Ashlar smiled when he spoke about hunting rabbits. They were young and had already learned this!! It had taken someone showing him to see how rabbits could be penned and cornered.

Pheasants don't fly like other birds do. Ashlar explained, his voice still hushed. When they get scared, they thrash and fly, but they aren't fast. And they can't fly for long. If you get close enough before, and jump in time, you can catch them.

There might have been other methods but this was the easiest to learn, and it was one that Ashlar used often. He didn't hunt other birds as much but the ones that didn't fly well were something he brought down often.

"So how exactly do we get close enough to them without them hearing us? With the rabbits we wanted them to hear us." Theo asked. "With all the sticks and stuff on the ground, its like impossible to be quiet." Theo said, confused.

Ashlar nodded at the question.  He wasn't the most confident hunter but he felt he could at least teach this! 

They can hear when you are close enough, but until then we are careful.  You go slowly, and keep your weight balanced. He demonstrated with a step. Try and stay where there's less to make noise, or where things are wet. It's the dry ones that are loud.

Ashlar wasn't the best at sneaking but he did well enough to hunt. Hopefully he could at least help Theo to be similar.

Theo nodded. He dropped into what he felt was a decent stalking stance and started to slowly creep up on one of the smaller birds. He was careful where he placed his feet, making sure not to tread on anything that would make noise. When he felt he was close enough, he pounced, landing his weight onto the back on the pheasant. He locked his jaws around its neck and bit down hard, trying to kill it.

It soon stopped moving and he moved away, looking at his kill. It was much cleaner than the rabbit he'd caught when he was littler, and he was really proud of it. He looked at Ashlar for praise.

wrapping this up, thanks for the thread!!!!! They’ll have to have another, maybe he will come visit ^^

Ashlar leaned forward in anticipation as he snuck forward, then leapt and caught the bird. He had to bite back an exclamation, but his features lit up with proud excitement as Theo immediately took to the lesson. He was going to make a fantastic hunter! And already showed he was one, in this instance.

That was perfect! Great catch! Ashlar came to look at the bird and congratulate him, then smiled with a wagging tail. C’mon. Let’s go see if I can do as well, then find a spot to eat? Theo deserved to enjoy his first catch himself. Ashlar would catch his own or, if he failed to, snag something from the caches they’d recently replenished.

Theo nodded. "Thank you for this Ashlar. Maybe I'l be a hunter one day!" He said happily.