Northstar Vale yellowbark

hoping for @Saleem, @Sylianos, @Zulema, one, some combo, or all! <3

some weight had been lifted.

tamar put it back into her brood. she brought them things now, small pink flowers or cupped stones, feathers, and once, honey.

today she had brought a fieldmouse, weakened. there was no intrigue to kill it in her; instead, she revealed it to those at the den, and watched to see which instinct they would heed.

For Sylianos, it was curiosity first and instinct second.

He rose from where he was sprawled next to his twin the moment Tamar arrived. When she presented the fieldmouse, which tried to run despite being dazed and confused, the boy did not give chase. The urge to do so was strong in him, but stronger still was a desire for knowledge on a new subject.

Instead he was glued to the spot, quivering with the effort of not heeding his base nature, and watched closely to see what the mouse would do next. Would it continue in vain to look for an escape route? Would it fight back when cornered, was wolfkind was wont to do? Sylianos was dying to find out.

Saleem woke only moments after his brother had left his side, finding his mirror staring intently at a small mouse. "Are we supposed to hunt it?" he asked, eyes flickering to their mother only a moment before going back to the mouse.

sylianos watched.

saleem spoke. he used the words only the boys had between them. tamar did not know what he said.

she lowered her muzzle to prod the mouse. it twitched and moved forward two steps, then huddled against the ground.

she watched the boys quietly.

Sylianos watched as the mouse bounded forward and then froze in place. "But it isn't running," he reasoned with a questioning tilt of his head, side-to-side, red ears bobbing along. "Can we hunt it if it doesn't run?"

Every fiber of his being said yes, and yet he was suspended in place, waiting for the mouse to do something more. His observation of it was reminiscent of a feline lying in wait; when it moved, so would he, as instinct bid him to, but until then he watched and waited with keen focus. His boyish inexperience showed only in the twitching of his ears toward their mother, searching for confirmation or praise or instruction, and the impatient shifting of his weight from paw to paw.

she reached, nudged the mouse.

it blinked, trembling, and then blindly ran for young paws.

"catch it," tamar urged her boys, stepping back to guard their prey. but they would learn to hunt it.

Saleem shrugged his shoulders at the question, watching the mouse with rapt attention. But the moment it moved, Saleem sprang into action. It was his brother who would reach it first—for he had been paying more close attention—but Saleem was only a split second behind his mirror.

The whiskers under his nose bunched and his muzzle wrinkled the moment the mouse moved. He leaped forward, moving in tandem with his twin, but although they had a nearly telepathic bond, Sylianos still had a lot to learn about teamwork.

He reached with his muzzle at precisely the moment his brother did, at the wrong angle. At best, they would just bump jaws; at worst, Saleem's teeth would graze the top of his muzzle as he made a last second effort to adjust, one second too late, and too far away from the mouse to boot.

the boys each leapt.

tamar marveled at their connection. their jaws reached, synchronized.

for a moment, she was rapt. had any two children ever had such a bond?

Teeth clattered in an uncomfortable flash, Saleem careening backward so soon after he had leapt forward. He felt the taste of blood on his tongue, though whether it was his or the blood of Sylianos, he could not say. As far as he was concerned, they were one and the same. "You botched it!" he complained, watching as the rodent skittered off.

Just as quickly, Saleem took after it, unwilling to disappoint his mother so soon. Luckily for him, the mouse hadn't gotten too far, and Saleem snatched it up by pure chance. Now that it was in his possession, he brought it proudly back to Tamar, still twitching with life.

"Me!" Sylianos exclaimed, wincing and reeling back to lick flecks of blood from his gums. "Nuh-uh! Your big head got in the way!"

Unlike Saleem, who had the initiative to leap again for the mouse and therefore was triumphant, Sylianos gave up at once and sat back with a heavy huff. He swept his tongue over his nose twice while Saleem carried the mouse back to Tamar. There was no jealousy in him for his brother's catch, but nor was there much fanfare. His nose and lips smarted from the impact, which stole much of his focus.

Sylianos was unlikely to grow up to be an especially skilled hunter with how easily he abandoned the pursuit.

saleem struck.

sylianos held back.

tamar would retain this as an impression of their personalities in that moment.

she took the mouse; she showed her sons the neat dispatch and bit in two for them, offering each their portion.

her smile favoured them both equally.

Mother took the mouse, slicing it cleanly into two distinct pieces and doling them out to each of the twins. Saleem was quick to gulp his down, wasting no time. He was pleased with himself, but he knew that Sylianos had his own set of skills. They complimented each other well, like two halves of a whole.

Sylianos felt weird about accepting even a portion of Saleem's catch. He took it gingerly when Tamar offered it to him, but after only a moment's contemplation, he padded to his sibling and dropped his portion for Saleem. He was content to eat something older from a cache while letting his twin enjoy the spoils of his catch.

"Nice catch," he complimented in their shared tongue.

her ears flicked to hear those words.

but tamar knew it was not for her to understand, that it was something between her boys.

sylianos returned his portion. tamar noted this as she stood. "you hunted well. come, we will tell your father."

last from me!

Sylianos gave him his half, and Saleem balked for a moment before accepting the gift. "Next one will be yours," he assured his mirror before swallowing the second half a moment later. The thought of sharing his triumphant story with Father was enough to get him up and moving. He bumped shoulders with Sylianos and sped off toward the den where Father surely waited for them.

Last for me as well!

"Believe it," he agreed with a grin before hastening after his brother. Next time, he would not hesitate like he had today. Even with no desire to be a great hunter, his pride as a growing young man depended on it. Plus, he couldn't let Saleem get all the praise! Today it would be his twin who stood tall before their father, but tomorrow it might be Silly's turn!