Blacktail Deer Plateau mischief managed

This will be my last post; you're welcome to post again and archive. Thanks for the great thread! :)

When the warm tongue brushed the top of her head, Osprey Jr. tilted it backward to gaze up at the Healer. The pup appeared content and relaxed, possibly even a tad sleepy. After peering up at Blue Willow for a few seconds, her blue gaze dropped back to ground level. She watched sunlight and shadows shift over the trees, the wind tousling the grass, making it ripple...

Classically, a butterfly suddenly entered her field of vision. Junior sat bolt upright and found her feet with surprising alacrity and grace. Instinctual impulses from descendants a thousand generations back raced through her and she ran toward the butterfly, teeth bared and a small, thick growl rumbling in her throat.

Peregrine had not noticed the butterfly but he did see Osprey Jr. making a beeline away from the den. Swiftly, he rose onto all fours and ran after her, planning to grab her by the scruff and take her back to the den. His teeth very nearly clipped her when he saw the butterfly and, despite his parental instincts, backed off to watch.

Little Osprey leaped at the butterfly with puppyish ferocity, her little paws swiping it out of the air and dragging it to the ground. Its wings fluttered madly, exciting the dark puppy into lashing into it with both teeth and claws. Soon, the insect was nothing but a colorful, shredded mess, its hemolymph glistening on the pup's black muzzle and toes.

Unfortunately, it did not taste very good. Osprey Jr. backpedaled away from her kill, pugged nose wrinkled and tongue flapping out of her mouth in rapid strokes. She made a noise somewhere between a whine and a grunt, then spun around to see Peregrine standing behind her. She bounded toward him, licking at his leg and leaving drool and a broken insect leg clinging to his fur.

The Alpha male reached down to lick at Osprey's face, thought about picking her up, then nudged her instead. "You're a big girl now, huh?" he quipped lightly, escorting her back to the den's mouth. "I think I'd better put her down for a nap before she gets it in her head to try running away. She gave me a minor heart attack before I realized what she was doing," he said to Blue Willow, allowing the medic a moment to say goodbye to Osprey Jr. before he ushered her into the den.

She went cooperatively, for the most part, though she kept peeking backward at the great wilderness beyond her home, a longing taking root in her chest. She'd gotten a very brief preview of what it was like to run free out there, even what it was like to kill. And, pretty soon, personal liberty and the freedom to kill at will would become the pup's greatest aspirations.