Sun Mote Copse He said I'm fabulously rich

As the days went on, Bronco found it fairly easy to fall into a sort of routine. Hunting, for him as a solo hunter, was easiest not long before the sun came up, as some creatures were just beginning to wake up- but not completely alert yet. He liked being able to catch something early on in the day for his mother, and the earlier he caught it, the better his chances were at simply being able to leave it at her den's entranbce and not have to have a big conversation with her. Not that he was jealous or angry at her for getting another pate and getting pregnant- but it simply weirded him out, seeing her belly grow. Somewhere in there were tiny wolves. Little tiny wolves, floating in his mother's belly. Even just the thought of it made him queasy, so he avoided her. 

He caught the scent of partridges, and began following it, investigating the different shrubs and groups of bushes the birds had recently visited. A partridge wasn't much- but it'd do for a breakfast meal, so he continued to search, hoping to find better signs of birds nearby for him to hunt.

Remedy: stealth-edit to fix the threadlog. ;)
Jess: not-so-stealth-edit LOVES YOU <3

Here there were wolves. He could hear them down below as he soared over the wood. Sinaht knew the dangers- fangs and claws, ready to dice him up into a delicious meal worthy of a five-star chef. But his gaze caught onto a golden wolf between the trees, could not let it go, and soon he was gliding down between branches. Until he settled on a branch in the trees just up ahead in the wolf's path. Sinaht watched curiously as the boy followed some invisible trail- vision, not smell, was the owl's strength, and so he could not tell what was being tracked, especially from this distance. Still, wide eyes watched on with some veiled amusement, wondering if the canine would take notice of his presence. After all, he wasn't hard to miss- with that luminous white color he stood out quite finely.

Bornco did not hear the owl as it swooped by overhead, its wingbeats as silent as falling snow. He looked up when he saw its shadow sprint past him, rising up into the air to meet with the creature, both bright and pale, as it landed upon a branch and watched him with a gaze that was hard to read. Its beak was hooked, and there was a quietness about the bird that made Bronco know, in an instant, that this was a predator- likely a top one, in the world of birds. He huffed quietly, impressed. He'd only seen owls on occasion- it felt odd to see one that seemed to come and watch him. 

He dipped into a play bow, and huffed a quiet bark at the owl, still craning up as he looked at it. He'd been told stories about X, the red-tailed hawk that Towhee had helped heal and gentle, who had helped her on numerous occasions in return. He adored the idea of having somewhat of an avian familiar- though he had no idea how to go about taming one. He waved his tail to show that he was friendly, though he hardly expected the creature might come any closer to him that it was now.

He eyes the wolf closely and unreadably as it barks, dipping into something of a downward dog pose, tail wagging. He was not an unintelligent creature; this was a signal for play. Quite atypical for a wolf confronted with a bird. But Sinaht would not complain- even with his talons, when it came down to it, it would always be his life on the line. So a oddly playful wolf was much preferable to a violent one. 

He's amused by the boy, but hides it behind his poker face. Black talons shift on the branch, not bothering to come down any lower. Instead he opens his beak to offer a solemn greetings. to the creature. They were predator and prey, but there was no rule against a light-hearted conversation.

Bronco admired the snowy owl's dark talons with glittering eyes as the owl shifted slightly on its perch. He didn't want to disturb it, or scare it away as he admired it so. Having grown up with stories about Towhee's red-tailed hawk companion, he'd dreamt of having an avian companion of his own. He sincerely doubted that an owl would deign to associate with him- not when it needed absolutely nothing from him. He couldn't beg its fealty as it owed him absolutely nothing, and it certainly didn't look as though it needed either his mercy or his help. 

He tilted his head to the side when the bird spoke, finding its tone pleasant, soft and deep. He lifted himself from his play-bow, just as the bird took off. For a few moments, he had been distracted from his search for partridges- and of the dreary mood he was in. But as the bird soared off, he watched it go and the curiosity in his features dimmed. It was just another dream that had gone to chase the horizon. 

So he went back to his search for partridges, figuring there would be some with chicks this time of year, meaning that he could use what he'd learned about them to his advantage. He was fully aware that a mother partridge would try to lure a wolf away from her young with the 'injured wing' routine...So this time, he wasn't going to let himself fall for it. He didn't feel like putting much effort into his hunt- but unhappy or not, he still needed to eat, as did his family.

Phox was still reeling from Fennec's decision to leave. He would, eventually, get over it (and he had told her as much), but he let himself be angry with her for now. Playing with the three little ones—as he had taken to calling them—was a good distraction from brooding about his eldest daughter. So was checking on the caches, which is what Phox was currently doing. Much of his time was spent hunting for four very hungry children (not to mention bringing home meals for Niamh and Towhee).

He had bid farewell to his sister and Meerkat (who insisted on trailing after him for a while) a few hours earlier, and he'd spent his time since then dutifully checking on the nearby food stores. He spotted Bronco up ahead, and figuring now was as good a time as any, Phox woofed to him. He didn't have any particular agenda with his partner's son, but he did feel like he should have a regular ol' chat with him since they both happened to be out and about.

It was easy for him to brood, and get lost in his own thoughts. He asked himself question after question, but found himself finding absolutely no answers. He was just beginning to fall into a slump, then, when Phox's voice surprised him out of his mind fog, drawing him away from the questions that mulled around in his head. He gestured for Phox to join him, but didn't raise his voice to call him over. Instead, he relied on Ptero, and signed -Hunting partridges- as a silent explanation for why he didn't reply. 

He lowered his muzzle again. Like Phox, he'd been concentrating on catching food, and replacing his mother as a guardian around the borders. He'd also been thinking about approaching Wraen for more lessons on how to be a leader- but found he simply wasn't in the mood for that, right now. All he wanted was to just keep doing what he was doing- even if it was his dedication to his pack which had made him a not-so-ideal adventure partner, in Fennec's eyes.

Huh, look at that. Phox probably knew that Bronco knew ptero, but seeing him do it on his own, without Niamh or Towhee around, was like some kind of revelation. The Redhawk realized that half the pack had their own secret language, and there was something really neat about that. Nodding to indicate that he understood, Phox followed up with a bit of his own ptero, resisting the urge to speak along with it as he so often did. -Mind if I join?- he asked.

Bronco nodded silently in response, knowing better than to speak. Partridges were prone to being spooked easily, and could launch themselves into the air with surprisingly loud wingbeats that would take them out of reach within seconds. They could also blend seamlessly with the dead leaves from the previous autumn, and could be difficult to spot- but when he caught sight of a soft, brown feather on the ground and sniffed it he suspected that they might be close. 

He paused; he wanted to make sure that they had a gameplan. Using as little movement as possible, he began to sign. -If we find one that does the injured wing routine, you go for the adult...I'll look for the chicks. Cool?- He asked.

Chatting wasn't in the cards for today... at least not until they captured a meal, it seemed. It was a strange feeling to see somebody else take the lead on the hunt, giving directions and forming a plan. So much of the time, that was left up to Phox. Some might have found it a sleight against their skills, but Phox just felt relieved that he could do less thinking and more doing.

-Cool,- he replied, totally hip with the lingo. Even though Phox had barely moved during his signing, the birds must have picked up on it. They flushed, although one stuck around, doing exactly what Bronco had described: it appeared to be hurt, and Phox dove straight for it. Unfortunately, the winged creature saw his attack too quickly, and it took flight, narrowly escaping the snapping jaws of the black beast.

btw I LOVE seeing that you rolled for the moves in tabletop :D

Without a second thought, Bronco moved forward alongside his father-in-law HRRR DEE DRRRRR stepfather as they stalked through the aspen, gingerly doing their best to avoid making noise so as to avoid sending their intended prey into flight. But just as things seemed to be silent and still, the thundering sound of wingbeats caused him to crouch and grimace as the birds were flushed into the air. He, like Phox, quickly scoured the area to see if there was one, perhaps, that showed signs of being a mother- and fortunately for them, it did. When it crept off in one direction, holding its wing out and making a sad, sulking noise, Bronco went in the opposite direction assuming she was trying to lure the predators toward her. He could hear Phox lunging after the bird and tought he caught the sound of wingbeats again- when he saw them. 

Ther were feathered, but huddled in fear and they doubted themselves. Charging the small gathering, Bronco forced several of them into their first flush- and they furiously sought to beat their way into the air with soft, but feathery wings but he was upon them within seconds. One of them barely managed to leap and was snatched before it could take off. The second was a weaker fledgeling who managed to take flight initially, but sank back toward the ground just enough so that Bronco was able to  cross the distance in a few bounds and with one leap- he snatched it out of the air. 

Neither of them did he kill, as he intended to bring them back for the kids. They were just about meal-sized for them too, he thought. Neither could fly, especially not now. He brought the second catch toward where the first remained cowered against the ground, injured and frozen in fear and dread. He dropped his catch and gazed over toward where he could see Phox, in the distance- unsuccessful. "To be fair-" He called out, "-I had the easier job." He said, with a lopsided grin, intending to at least offer some reassurance in the face of failure.

Bronco arrived with two much younger birds in his jaws, dropping them—to Phox's bewilderment—alive. They were mangled and broken, but not yet dead. He figured Bronco had made a mistake, so Phox quickly put an end to their lives, not wishing for them to suffer in such a state. In his head, he thought, "If you had the easier job, why didn't you finish it?" Of course, he didn't speak this jab, figuring it was an honest mistake on Bronco's part.

This is short, but I feel like Bronco is gonna react, so I'm leaving it here...

He was pretty proud of himself- and meant in all honesty just to lightly jest and apply at least a bit of a consolation to Phox's failure, but rather than simply letting him have the win- Phox darted in and snapped at the fledgelings. Bronco was lost for words- though he opened his mouth as though to object, in surprise, but he clamped it shut. He'd learned, through having a very screechy Mom, that it was better not to yell at one of his authority figures. He waited a moment until after Phox stepped back, and finally (given the fact he'd had a little bit of time to react and then figure out exactly how to address this situation) he came to the conclusion that he could use this as an opportunity to get Phox to be in his debt. Of course, he could've made some joke about the whole situation- and that Phox had technically won the challenge now that the two birds were dead- but he coyly decided to use this to his advantage. 

"I, uh, I was gonna bring those back for the kids, y'know," He said slyly. It was the truth- but he simply wanted to see how Phox handled the fact that he'd basically just destroyed two perfectly sized hunting lessons for his own children. He was just ribbing Phox, though, and didn't have the heart to make him feel too badly about it. "Guess I can just tell them that you needed the practice," He said, with a chuckle.

-I... oh.- Phox gave Bronco a shrug. -Just didn’t seem right to let em suffer. The kids will have plenty of hunting practice, I’m sure.- Phox was a bit of a hunter himself, and he planned to pass that knowledge in to his offspring as much as possible.

-You want to deliver the goods? I think I’m gonna catch up with Figment for a little while.-

Bronco chuckled good-naturedly at Phox's response, allowing what little disappointment he had to roll off his shoulders like water off a duck's back. -I'm cool with playing target anyway,- He said, before he added -at least until their jaws get stronger.- Naturally, being the big brother, he was basically a walking chewtoy and accepted his role as such. Like Eljay, Phox had a kind heart, and was apparently opposed to the idea of using live bait to teach the kids how to hunt. He understood that sentiment but at the same time, Bronco and his mother shared a distinct lack of empathy when it came to prey animals. He'd be mindful of Phox's wishes- but he couldn't help but feel, still, that teaching them with live bait was the best method. 

He nodded, moving in toward the fledgelings as Phox made to depart. -Cool. Thanks for the help! Catch ya around later,- He said, before he collected his kills, and returned to the densite.