Ravensblood Forest First Hunt

He was older now, old enough to explore the forest, so long as he did not get too near the borders. He was even old enough to learn to hunt, albeit on very small things like birds, and hares. He found his father, @Vagabond, this morning and said excitedly, "Dad, dad, mom says she's taking the girls hunting soon! Can you take me? Please?"

"Sure kiddo, what would you like to hunt first?" Vale had proven to be responsible enough to make quick decisions for himself. He wanted to give him the opportunity to choose his prey. He assumed he'd want to hunt something different from what his sisters would be hunting. Asara had been continuously getting lost chasing birds. He assumed Violante would take bird hunting to hone the skill.

Vale thought about his father's question, a frown forming on his muzzle; he knew he was too young to hunt large prey, so he thought smaller. He had grown up sleeping on hare pelts, crafted into a bedding for him and his siblings by Noir, and he thought of hares now. "Hares! Or... I guess rabbits would be good, too." He grinned at his father, tail wagging.

"We have to be quiet and make sure that your prey does not scent us. You will want to remain unseen until you are already upon them. Give them no time to react. Now, turn your nose to the wind my son, let us find one."  He no longer doubted his Vale's ability to understand him. His son had grown immensely and had shown a vast ability to understand in the time they'd spent together on patrols. He had a feeling it wouldn't take too many tries for his son to master hunting.

Vale had smelled hares out on his patrols with his father, but he had never actually seen a live one. At his father's words, the boy scented the air; he could smell many things, his packmates, for one, but also water, and some prey scents he couldn't identify. They made his mouth water.

Vale turned and set off, nose to the ground. It took him some minutes, but he eventually found a trail likely used by small game, and he looked to his father questioningly. "Smells like one's been here... now what?"

Vagabond waited patiently as his son searched for the scent, it didn't take him long to find a trail. "Now you'll have to find it without it seeing you and running off first." He smiled down at his boy, he had definitely given him an advantage by getting him out on patrol early. It took him a mere matter of a minutes to decipher the scents of the forest, his heart swelled with pride.

Decided to roll for this, he failed at sneaking up on it lol.

Vale nodded, setting off along the trail. He crept along, keeping his body close to the ground. As he went, the scent grew stronger, and then he saw, just a short distance away, a hare was busy eating. It's back was to him. Vale looked excitedly behind him at his father, and then pressed forward, ears pinned against his skull. He was close. He began to close the distance.

A twig broke beneath his paw; the hare spotted him and darted off. Vale rushed after it — he wasn't going to let it get away.

Vagabond chuckled as the twig snapped beneath Vale's paw and he darted after the hare. He made sure to keep pace with him, ready to burst forward to grab the hare himself if necessary. He was hungry too. If Vale was unsuccessful today they would try again, or another day, but he had a hunch the boy would catch up to the hare soon enough.

The rabbit was fast, but Vale was faster. He darted along the trail, paws pounding the ground as he ran. His tongue lolled and saliva dripped from his maw as he gained distance on his quarry. It darted to and fro and he followed, hot on it's heels. He was feet from it, nearly on top of it. His maw opened wide and he snatched the rabbit up, shaking it vigorously. He was not yet strong enough for his shaking to kill it, so the rabbit squealed as it flopped about in his jaws.

A low growl sounded from his muzzle and Vale dropped his catch, placing a paw on it to keep it still. He gave a quick bite to it's neck — there was a crunching sound, and the rabbit moved no more. He looked up to his father, almost in disbelief as he said, "I... I caught it, dad!"

Exit Vagabond unless Vale wants him to stay <3

It took but seconds for Vale to snatch the hare. Vagabond watched in astonishment, he had a hunch is son would excel. Watching it on the other hand, well, that was something else. His son's ability to think quickly and adapt to what was necessary to actually kill his prey would suit him well as a future guardian. He was excited to share their son's progress with Violante. He had proved to be a very quick study. 

Once Vale's prey lay dead at his feet he looked to him. "Great job kiddo, I knew you could do it. He could hear the pride in his own voice as he spoke, and he wouldn't stop it now. It's traditional to howl when you get your first kill before you settle down to enjoy it." He smiled at his son. "Would you like me to keep you company or will you meet me at home when you're done here?" A wolf's first kill was a formidable experience, he thought Vale might enjoy his alone, and he definitely couldn't bring it home where his sister's would see. But he was also excited to tell Violante of their son's progress too.

Vale released the rabbit, sides heaving as he regained his breath. That had been exhilarating. The boy looked up to his father, grinning toothily, and he said, "You can go, dad. I'm gonna enjoy this, and then I'll go back to the dens." He had definitely had enough excitement for one day. Vale pondered bragging about his kill to the girls, but that seemed silly — why would he want to impress them anyways?

Once his father had left, Vale loosed a low howl, tail thumping the ground as he did. Then, he turned back to his catch, grinning to himself. He tucked into it, relishing the taste. He'd never had fresh meat before, not like this at least. When he had finished eating, Vale hurried back home. He would clean his muzzle of blood at the spring, then enter the tunnels, ready for a well-earned nap.