Neverwinter Forest Underneath the bridges where the tainted kiss

@Caerus
also being vague about where they are staying!

The good thing about being Beta was that she had plenty to distract herself with, which meant it was easy to ignore the current source of her anxiety: her trip home. But, she felt like even though she was trying her hardest not to think about it, the thoughts still weaseled their way into her mind randomly throughout the day anyway, which meant she would have to address it soon. But not today. Today, she had other things to take care of. 

She paid close attention to the cache closest to where Cupid and Caerus were staying. It was their most readily available food source whenever there wasn't something fresh dropped off, and so she liked to make sure it was regularly cleared of anything too old. She also deposited things in this cache more often. 

She had pushed aside the logs and rocks to expose the variety of carcasses and was diligently inspecting each item. She was focused completely on her task, enough at ease within the safety of the pack's borders to feel as though she didn't need to keep a watchful eye out for danger. Her keen ears still listened, though. A passerby would probably see just her snowy back half bobbing up and down as she worked and the occasional wave of her fluffy white tail.

Food came all the time to the place Dad had shown him nearby. It wasn't a miracle of nature, he knew- there was somebody in the pack bringing them their meals. How did he know? Because he never hunted anything, and Cupid was typically in the den. But Caerus was so removed from the idea that the food was provided, and had sort of become accustomed to magical service- so when he exited the den and caught sight of "Simmig" sniffing around the cache, he decided to investigate. simmig? whachu doin'? He questioned as he slid up beside the pretty pale girl, staring down at the carcasses that had his mouth drooling.

The small voice made her pause, and she backed up and looked at the pup. She shook out her coat and smiled a little. I was making sure everything in the cache was okay to eat, she told Caerus. She moved to stand in front of the spotty child How are you? she asked. Did you come here for something to eat? She assumed that was what drew him out of the den, that or he was curious. Either way, she would offer him whatever he needed, even if it was just answers to whatever curious questions he might have. Maybe she could teach him something new and useful while he was here.

looks o-kay to ead to me! He crowed dumbly with a grin as a drop of spittle fell from the corner of his mouth down to his paw, and he licked at his lips again. To her questions, he shrugged like Mr. Cool Guy. i'm alrighd. i jus' came ova' here cuz' i saw you, and i wuz' wonderin' what yer doin, He explained, and then redundantly, bud now i know. maybe i'll ead somedin, tho. He decided, inching closer, though an ear tilted to the woman if she had knowledge to impart.

Hmm, she started, smiling at his first comment and how cute he was. Well, most of it is fine, but this rabbit— she pointed her nose at the carcass to the other side of her. If you inspect its scent thoroughly, you'll probably pick up a hint of something that doesn't smell very good; its like a sort of sour smell, she explained as best she could. She shifted so that he could see it better. Check for yourself, she suggested. That way he would know what to avoid. You don't want to eat that; I'll find you something better, she added. Once he was done inspecting the spoiled food, she would get him something else to eat.

When she pointed her nose to the carcass, speaking, he began to sniff the air curiously, neck stretching out as she moved aside. For a moment it seemed fine, and then the stench hit him. ewwww, He whined, immediately drawing back into himself. yeah, das gross. A moment of hesitance. um, simmig- if we gonna ged somedin' bedder, you wanna teach me how? He questioned shyly, shuffling his paws as his gaze fell awkwardly.

Simmik nodded at his description of the rotting carcass. Yeah, definitely, she agreed. If you eat that, you could get sick, so I usually pull stuff like this from the cache and bury it somewhere outside the borders, she explained. 

His shy question made her smile. Yeah of course, she answered quickly. I'll teach you whatever you want to know. she was honestly honored that he wanted to learn stuff from her. Do you want to learn about hunting? Or just about what in the cache is still good to eat and how I know? she asked. She would love to teach him about hunting, but she wanted to gauge his interest first.

He stared at the corpse for a moment longer, as if expecting her to grab it and drag it away then and there. But it seemed she was more concerned about teaching him- which made Cae's tail beat slightly against his hind legs. When he asked her to pick what he was more interested, of course it was huntin'!!! Caerus wasn't the most physically ambitious, but running around and getting the food himself sounded a lot more fun than studying stinky food that wasn't good anymore. Besides, if he knew how to hunt, he wouldn't have to ever visit the cache! At least that's what Caerus thought.

Alright, she answered, dipping her head a little. I'll teach you about hunting. That would probably be more exciting anyway, although both were equally important. She would have to teach him about the caches another time. She would also have to return here after their lesson to take this bad meat out of the forest.

Have you learned anything about hunting so far? she asked. She needed to know where to start; it would be a waste of both their time to go over things he already knew.

mmm, he hummed, nod really. caerus dipped his chin bashfully to his chest as if embarrassed by this fact. i remember where we pud food, but... he trailed off awkwardly. how do we find food before dat? a tilt of his little head.

Well, we use our senses, she explained. I start with inspecting the scents around me until I find something interesting like a rabbit or a large bird, Simmik continued. Like this. She lowered her nose to the ground and began drawing in the scents, taking a few steps forward each time she found nothing of interest. She looked to Caerus to see if he was watching or following her lead. You try too, she instructed as she returned her nose to the ground. Sometimes she found nothing, but she hoped she would get lucky this time and be able to give him a good lesson.

Senses, she said, and showed him how she used her nose to pick out scents. He watched with a sort of childlike awe as she moved forward a couple times across the ground, and then directed him to participate. And so he eagerly leaned down and began sniffing at the earth too, and though he didn't find anything yet, it still excited him, and he glanced up to her a few times to see if she was looking while his tail wagged.

She watched him do as she had done, smiling and wagging her tail a little anytime he looked to her for reassurance. She let him inspect the area for a few minutes and when it had been long enough, she moved closer. Do you smell anything familiar? she asked. It was important that he learn to distinguish between all the scents that would filter into his nose as he took in the air; it was how he would learn to hunt or search out a particular wolf. It was how he would know when to mark the borders when he was older and started patrolling. She was teaching him one of the most important things a wolf should know.