Broken Antler Fen The Early Bird Gets The Worm

Dawn was near, and yet already movement stirred on the fen. Brandy had risen early, slipping from the wolfpile and stretching out, not bothering to look around and see if shed woken anyone and trotting off. She was hellbent on earning her hunters trade, but that wasn't possible if she didn't hunt. She made an effort wherever she could, scenting almost constantly and having no worries about having to take off in pursuit. She trotted towards the worst of the wetlands, sniffing around for duck. She was thinking, however, of asking @Sebastian to start a group hunt. She wanted to go after one of those moose, but wouldn't do so without a good amount of help. She howled for her alpha but went on tracking, hoping she hasn't scared everything off. No, there! A duck was yanking at something in the ground, distracted. This is it! Brandy fell into a crouch, flattening her ears and lowering her tail, dragging herself forward on silent paws.

Sebastian woke at hearing Brandy's howl. She clearly didn't realize by getting up so early that he might be still sleeping. The male yawned loudly and pushed himself to his feet. He hoped nothing was wrong. The male trotted towards the sound, still feeling a bit sleepy. Still as an alpha he would need to be there for his pack, right?

The male let out a softer howl to locate her, expecting her to howl back. Eventually he found her and tipped his head a bit. "You called for me?," he asked curiously.

Brandy lunged for the duck, fangs bared, and landed square on the birds back. Yes! She clamped her jaws around its neck, tail wagging. She turned and trotted back towards the closest cache, and was soon met by a sleepy Sebastian. The copper female grinned, dropping the duck, and spoke to her alpha kindly.
     "Sorry to wake you Seb, but I was wondering if we could do a group hunt today? I'd like to work more on my hunting skills and I've never hunted anything as big as a moose!"
HOW was she up, and so very awake, and only just at dawn? Crazy. Her boyfriend @Aduin was likely the next to be woken, if she didn't find something else to do to handle her time. But her massive charcoal alpha was the focus of her energy for right now, and she was focused on him.

Thee has been summoned

Aduin opened his eyes. He felt a pang of anxiety at hearing Brandy calling out. For a moment, he thought that something was wrong. Was she hurt? Was she being attacked? The sudden adrenaline was enough to wake him up, then he realized that if she were hurt her call would have been more pained. Or something along those lines.

With a long yawn, he stood up and strided over to where she was. There, he found Seb and Brandy. He stood beside Brandy, having a rather tired look. But that didn't make him too tired to give her a welcome morning greeting. "Hey Bran." He wasn't exactly sure where the sudden nickname had come from, but it felt right. He nudged her cheek with his muzzle, pushing himself against her. "Hello, bro." Once more, he had no idea where that came from, giving a brotherly nudge before returning to Brandy's side. he had come too late to hear her idea, and waited to hear what this was about.

Sebastian was instantly spoken to by Brandy. He was not sure where she heard that, maybe her mother. Alas. "Brandy, hunting a Moose is very dangerous. I get that you are excited but you will have to know that these things are huge and very, very lethal to a wolf if it kicks or tramples you. I could not heal you from that," he spoke, feeling like a scolding father a bit. "However, I have been on the look out for a moose that might be good to hunt on---" He was interrupted because Aduin came into the picture.

The large grey was surprised how calm Aduin looked and how much better he was doing. Sebastian was happy for him. They looked pretty close and Sebastian's pale eyes scanned between the two. Were they mates now? He didn't want to make them feel uncomfortable by asking, maybe they were not that serious yet, he would ask Aduin later. "Hi Aduin, good to see you. As I was saying, there will be hunt soon. It just takes a lot of team work and careful planning," he spoke.

Brandy frowned and slid her ears back, confused as to why she was being scolded. She knew they were dangerous, that was her reason for asking to hunt as a pack. It seemed he was only expanding on her idea, and the copper female shook her head. She was going to speak, but Aduin's presence made her stop and look around. When she caught sight of him, her lemon eyes lit up and she couldnt help an excited wiggle. He pressed against her after a yawn and after he'd greeted his brother, Brandy got to enjoy his warm black pelt mingled with her own copper, cream, and red one. 
           "Gmorning Aduin." 
She nuzzled his cheek, giving his face a quick lick before turning back to the alpha with a dreamy look in her eyes. Her hurt had been forgotten temporarily, but it was soon rekindled at Sebastians words.
                         "I know their dangerous, thats why I wanted to get the pack together for it. Mom said thats what her pack used to do when they found large prey."
She hoped this hunt would make her recognized as a hunter for the pack, not to mention the young female was a knowledge whore. She wanted to know how to do EVERYTHING she could, even if she wasnt good at it. Most of all, she wanted to be important. Somehow, being acknowledged as a hunter seemed like the way to do that.

Aduin stood there, looking back and forth between the two. After being told what this was all about, he felt nervous. Taking on a moose, he knew that was dangerous. Though he didn't want to speak out against Brandy. What was he to do?

Eventually, due to his caring for Brandy's safety, he went with Sebastian. "Maybe we should plan it out more. Observe a herd, see which would be best for take down. How does that sound?" he asked Brandy, turning his gaze to face her. He didn't want her to get upset, but Seb was right. Careful planning was needed if they were to pull it off. He didn't want to see her, or himself, hurt. Let alone killed. "It's a good idea, a hunt. And I'm sure we can pull it off soon" he assured, nudging her shoulder. But not before a quick glance that said 'Right?' to Sebastian.

Sebastian turned to Aduin and shook his head. "Moose don't have a herd, they are solitary, hence why it is tough to find one and track down one that is not healthy,' he explained to the younger male. "I have my eye on one right now. I want to wait till the male fights are over and pick out an injured one," he explained. "Like you said we need to carefully plan this."

He looked at Brandy and smiled a bit. "It is good that you are excited but we can't force this, we need to go with the cycles of how the moose live. It is very different from deer or other big prey," he explained. "I think we can have a hunt very soon."

Now Aduin was joining Sebastian? What the hell. They were both telling her things she already knew. Why else would she have called for him? The tricolored females biggest worry was getting noticed as a hunter, really. The fact of them all saying that same thing in different ways was tedious, but not the true reason for her hurt.
     "I-I just want to be recognized AS a hunter. I want all the experience I can get and I want to be an official hunter. I want to be IMPORTANT."
Her tone was a little whiny, but only because she was worried she wouldn't ever get to that point in her life. Her mother told her so much of MidnightShadow, and perhaps her mothers restless paws and need to serve her pack was engraved into the young coppery female. She'd hunt a million little mice if she had to, if thats what it would take. Her ambition was shining clear through her lemon orbs, and she glanced from male to male. Did they understand her drive?

I actually thought moose travelled in herds. Silly me

Aduin smiled sheepishly. How could he get that wrong about mooses? Maybe he wasn't as smart as he always thought himself to be. The smile shifted when he looked back to Brandy, who sounded upset. Exactly what he didn't want. He looked back and forth between the two, unsure. She wanted to be important? But she was, to him at least. It wasn't until a thought later that he understood. She wanted to be important in the pack. "Brandy, I think you are a great hunter. Remember that duck you got me? And you are important. To me."

So cheesy

Sebastian's ears fell back when she raised her voice, this was not something he liked to see her do and watched her with a frown on his face. "Keep your voice even. You are important," he spoke to her. "I am sure you will be an official hunter soon," he spoke to her with a nod. She sounded a bit impatient, but as a hunter one couldn't be more patient to seek out prey and wait till it was the right time to strike.

Aduin helped too and he watched the two, they were cute together. "If you want to be a hunter Brandy, you can track the deer herd we have and report back to me with what numbers they are and if there are any with injury. Just watch and study them," he returned to her, too maybe keep her patience levels down.

Sebastian was right, getting upset wouldn't help. Aduins support earned him a grin and a lick to the muzzle in thanks. It was probably only thanks to him she was able to temper herself now, and she was very thankful. She whispered a soft thank you to the black and white male, tail wagging. Already she was seeing him as her support, and it was something much different than what Ambrosia had given her. Her mother taught her to survive, to be strong, but teaching the yearling to be loving and wise wasnt something she could've done. The massive alpha gave her another option, another duty, and she thought it over first. Tracking, huh? She couldn't help but wonder if Sebastian was trying to teach her patience in this exercise, for just sending her away to keep her busy didn't exactly seem like him. Brandy could tell he wanted her to improve, and so she accepted with a calm nod.
         "Very well Sebastian. I'll keep an eye on them, see if there are any expecting or even have babies. Injuries...."

Aduin was glad that they all managed to agree on something. His tail wagged in joy at her nuzzling and the lick made him flush warmly. Such appreciation he rarely got from others, and he rather enjoyed it. "Thank you, Seb" he dipped his head in gratitude before giving a brotherly nudge. Then, he left, waiting for Brandy to follow along. To anywhere, really. Maybe he could help observe.