Moonspear looking for an avenue to simply appear

There had been a new face at the rendezvous site—he had seen her come and go and perhaps unlike himself, he had shied away. Of course, there had been plenty of other exciting things going on in the world of Altair. Like grasshoppers. Annoyingly bright green grasshoppers, or at least that what was his father had called them.

He was very much about them today, another notch on the tree of hunting.

Problem was, they were very clever, and very quick, and Altair was only partially one or the other on any given day. He was clever enough to know they were going to jump as soon as he got too close—one thing learned of them—but the deftness required to snare them between his little teeth were another.

While the rain had stopped for the moment, complete with a sliver of sun to pierce through broken clouds, he was finding frustration instead. His teeth clicked together as another one leapt away (or was it the same one? Who knew.) and an angry huff escaped him. His complaints were to follow as such: a low moan in the tall, waterlogged grasses, and a careful glance over what he was tall enough to see above if anyone had heard him.

If @Mira saw him now, she’d probably mock him. He was certain of it.

But what about that aunt of his that he hadn’t quite met? @Keres?

Mother had told him her name, but he didn’t know anything else about her.

His face set into a very Ostrega-like grimace for a moment, and then he resumed his hunt.

woooo bad post

Someone had indeed heard him, lurking at a distance, watching the small one stalk his long legged prey. Keres watched multiple attempts that were made to catch one of the grasshoppers, silently rooting for the miniature hunter as he continued on. Some of her favorite moments as a mother had been passing skills on to her young ones, and watching as they learned and honed them over time. Hunting had always been fun to teach, and strategy right along with it.

Still, Keres waited until the pup showed outward signs of exasperation before she moved to intervene and possibly coach. A soft chuff was used to grab his attention, sidling up beside the boy to hunker down next to him. There's a secret to catching them, you know. Her voice was soft, treating the hunt of grasshoppers just as seriously as she'd treat any other hunt.

It was attempt after attempt, his efforts all in vain. He had captured one once, only to have it spring away off his tongue before he could have ground it into a disgusting paste between needle-teeth. It should have been a deterrent then, but it had emboldened him to keep going. He was certain @Alya had passed by him in the grasses at one point, a dark shade glimmering with raindrops; her presence had given him pause, but she only seemed to be busy accounting for her sister’s brood rather than chiding him entirely for crawling along in the mud.

So he didn’t think much of it when someone else came sliding up alongside of him, until he realized that the figure beside him did not quite match up to what he had imagined, and she did not certainly sound like the rotating cast of faces and figures he was better acquainted with. Altair shuffled away slightly to the side as though they needed the space, but his shyness ended swiftly when her words hit home.

“A secret,” he said, more to himself. His nose quivered in wonder.

“What’s the secret?”

She did not mind the adjustment away from her; in fact she approved of the wariness as the pup did not know her at all and no exchange of names had taken place. The only way he would know that she wasn't an outsider was that she smelled like pack. A cant of her head and a small smile appeared at the sudden shift of attitude, the boy immediately having latched on to the information she had so enticingly dangled in front of his nose.

The secret to catching grasshoppers is you have to predict where they're going to land. See? Watch that one there on the log. Indicating the one she meant, Keres continued her soft, almost conspiratory tones. Try and figure out where it's going to land and then pounce.

The advice she gave was so... so... simple.

His gaze lingered on the grasshopper she had pointed out almost dumbfounded—of course they would see him coming. They had huge eyes that seemed to watch his every move; it made sense to try and figure out where they would be later rather than aiming for the now. It was perfect, and he came to a decision quick and certain.

Eager to try this, perhaps too eager, he sprang forward... and missed yet again. Too slow for the clever grasshopper, who disappeared into the grass. A frustrated huff left him—he had been so close!

The woman refrained from letting loose even the smallest, quietest chuckle. This was an important lesson for him to learn, to take to heart. Learning to anticipate would not only serve him in hunting, as he was doing now, but in all things. It was never to early to teach, either.

Ah, but he would need to learn patience as well. Keres observed as he lept forward, missing her quarry by a moment, a small smile dancing across her muzzle as she expanded the lesson. That was good. You almost had it. Now, you just have to time it properly. Be patient. There is no point in rushing a hunt. Predict where they'll land and make your move just before they make it there. It was a difficult thing to time, but if anything, it would present a challenge for the pup.

Right, right, he knew all of that—she just explained that. Sort of.

His frustration came to a boil then only to pass with the same amount of effort. What an exhausting feat, but one that set his young mind to turning gears that had seemed half-rusted and roughhewn to begin with. Learn to predict, he was certain he had heard that before in different words and tone, surely from his mother.

“Does it work with everything?” Would it work on Mira and her feisty, bullheaded face?

He couldn’t account for the other two siblings; Mintaka was sweet and gentle, hardly an equal.

And Caelum, well, Caelum was really just Caelum.

And almost in the same breath: "What was your name again?"

Keres was, perhaps, a bit surprised at such an intelligent question coming from the babe's mouth. Then again, having raised her own, she knew that kids could ask questions out of the blue that spoke of a perception sometimes out of reach for adults. Well, She started, crossing her front paws as they diverted from the hunting lesson, ironing out her thoughts before she spoke them. It depends on the situation. Patience is almost never a bad thing, though. Almost.

Keres, She responded with a smile. And yours? Hydra had told her all of the children's names, but she figured that it couldn't hurt to let them all introduce themselves, either.

Ugh, patience. He had some but the folly of youth was simply to rush ahead and through all headlong until some end was met. Perhaps not the justified one, or the one that he wanted, but certainly it would be an end of some sort. A certain line of indignation wanted to show itself in the splay of his ears, but the best he could muster was the flick of one as though a fly had buzzed by annoyingly. It was there and gone in an instant for the exchange of her name—Keres.

Cool. He could remember that.

“I’m Altair,” he said. “You know my mom and dad, yeah?” Nevermind that he had this vague concept of who she was supposed to be, but the familial connection was a bit lost on him still. Just like how Alya and Lyra could be mistaken for his mother, he simply presumed this was the case; Keres probably had some twin or triplet wandering around that vaguely looked like someone else he knew.

But rattling that young brain about did not turn up anything.

Settling into where she had been crouching, Keres stretched her legs out behind her and regarded the boy with a growing smile. So it seemed he had a vague idea of who she was without knowing exactly who she was. It was easy enough to clear up, especially given his question. I do. I've known your dad since the day we were born, She was, of course, proud of this because she was proud of her brother for becoming what their grandfather had always said he'd never be. And I just met your mother the other day when she allowed me to become part of Moonspear.

I hear you have siblings, too.

Since he was born? That seemed like a really long time ago already to him; all the adults were so old seeming, all wise and regal or however they were supposed to be. Prim and proper; something he should have been aspiring to be like so many other stoic, stone-faced points a mountain had.

His older siblings didn't come across that way to him yet at least, they were generally still down for whatever shenanigans Altair and his siblings could come up with. His mother and father tolerated them too, at least to some extent. His aunts and uncles to varying degrees too... which now would include Keres.

Still, he was satisfied with her answer, even if he found he had more questions. They would wait—she wanted to know about his siblings.

"I have a lot of those," he told her, "and I have cousins too. And other aunts. Uncles too," he went on thoughtfully. "Why'd you leave home and Mama had to let you back?"

Expressionable as ever, Keres laughed softly at Altair's question, though not in any sort of dismissive way. He was yet a child and did not understand comings and goings just yet, which was perfectly reasonable.

My home is actually far away from here. I'm your father's sister, and he made his way here long before I did. Pausing a moment, Keres sought to clarify, flicking a fly away from her ear. I am new to these lands, you see, so your mother let me join because she knows I am loyal to the family.

“Oh,” was all he could muster at first, his brow knitting together as he tried to figure all that nonsense out. Right, okay, so she wasn’t from here but apparently neither was his father even though he was pretty sure his father had been there like f o r e v e r just like his mother. Altair, however, also knew that forever was a very long time so it seemed plausible to consider that forever was just outside of his grasp on the concept of time. It would come to him eventually as many things would, but for now he would settle on this… and perhaps annoy his father later as to how long forever was and how exactly he got there from wherever it was that he came from.

And if his father wouldn’t explain it, his mother would. Probably.

“That’s cool…” He trailed off, not exactly keen on where to take their conversation next. His curiosity was sparked but at the same time there were lots of other things he thought he could bring to the table. She had shared so he knew it was his turn, and he supplied the very obvious to his newly met but apparently very loyal aunt: “Well, all my brothers and sisters are from here. We were born here and we all still live here. My mom was born here too and she knows all about the mountain. Even about the places she doesn’t want us to go to yet.”

She even knew about all the little places they thought they had found first and weren’t supposed to go to yet, which is why she or his other aunts often found him first. He even knew that his mother and father had found Mira at the borders before too. Lyra had caught and carted him back once upon a time for the same thing, though he had been much smaller and much more unruly about it. He hadn’t even gotten that far away, truth be told.

Keres could only smile at the child's statement, not alluding to its blatant obviousness as such things had a very low chance of bothering her, especially when it came from the mouths of babes. His family's history was important to know, even if it only consisted of his immediate family at the moments. Extended family would come with time. Or, perhaps it wouldn't. With Altair so young yet, only time would tell.

Wow, She commented with a genuine tone, glancing at a grasshopper that landed on the log near them. All about the mountain, you say? She would have to accompany Hydra during a patrol or something so that she, too, could learn all about it. What places does she not want you to go? Better his aunt learn too, that way if she caught him or his siblings in the act, she could take care of it.

She was definitely a better conversationalist than he was, but then again he had yet to really find an adult that wouldn’t listen to him talk and ask questions. Altair didn’t really know a mean soul out of anyone he had really come face to face with on the mountain, but he had certainly been told that there were those that would seek to harm him or his siblings. Even his parents. He had heard it from either parent at least or time or two through instruction and story—there were mean wolves outside of home.

“We’re not supposed to go near the borders,” he told her, “or way up high on the mountain. At least, we’re not supposed to go alone. It used to be we couldn’t go there at all but sometimes we can tag along with Mama or Papa. To the borders, anyway. I don’t know what’s up way, way up there,” he gestured towards the peak, “except the goats and we’re not supposed to play with the goats.” His father had imparted that one to him when he asked. “They’ll knock us off the mountain,” he reiterated, almost word for word.

His tail swished briefly.

“Actually, I’m not supposed to be here by myself but sometimes I just go,” he confessed. No point in lying because he thought that was going to be the next question. That well why are you here by yourself line he had heard at least a half dozen times that week alone. “I don’t wander far though. If I do, sometimes Aunt Alya gets mad and then she tells my mom. And sometimes my dad finds me, too. But you found me this time and we’re huntin’, right?” Point blank: you’re my alibi, right?

The information she was given, she tucked away, nodding to acknowledge what he told her. The valkyrie would certainly not encroach upon the parenting of her brother and his wife, but nor would she hinder the boy's curiosity and capacity to learn.

Of course. There was no need for an alibi as that was exactly what they had done. She would even extend further lessons to him, a pleased sweep of her tail disturbing the grass and leaves behind her. You can always come to me if you want to go somewhere or learn something too. More hunting, guarding. Whatever you like. It was something she would gladly do for all the pups of the Spear, though presently, she glanced again at the prey of his choice for today and nodded in that direction.

Why don't you give it another go? Remember, patience. If you don't think you have it, wait for the moment it feels right.

When it seemed that she was not about to cart him off to rat him out at the end of their conversation, he found himself beaming at the prospect that she was willing to drag him out and along for things. Hunting was a sure thing, but guarding? That had a note of intrigue to it—his mother had taught them all the little aspects of how to defend themselves just as much as they had learned the offensive tactics through their own wrestling and playing, but to put it to use was a premise that drew great interest. He would certainly have to find her later to take her up on that offer, and to rub it in the face of his siblings too.

Appeased and just as willing to appease her right back, he gave his aunt a sure nod and turned back to the tall grasses and their buggy quarry. He could give this another go, no problem. Sinking down into the grasses, he grasped at patience’s tail as though it were really there, something he could hold, and focused on the springing little bugs. They watched him just as he did they and gently the boy crept forward. One bug leapt one of the way and another one shuffled in preparation, but they fell right into his ploy.

He sprang—the grasshopper was seized, crushed beneath his paw as it slammed down.

Success!