Ravensblood Forest get yourself a decent haircut, man

no need to match the length, marie. i got a bit carried away with this, haha!

“Yes,” Arturo affirmed with a soft chuckle when she inquired about the others. Arturo allowed her to nuzzle his shoulder as she drew nearer — the affectionate gesture something of a stranger to the Fearghal monarch whom could not, for the life of him, remember if his children were ever so affectionate. Likely, they were, but growing into their own, blossoming into the adults they were today left them scoffing at the thought of gestures. Instead of spending much time pondering the past — which was the past —Arturo instead turned his to cherishing the now. He would cherish the time he got to watch Chusi grow up and the time he had to spend in shaping the woman she would become. It was an incredibly sad thing: to watch children grow up but it also inspired pride. Arturo had learned from his first litter to never take for granted the time his children were children for it went by so fast. He would remember it for his future litters. He would apply it to Chusi, too, despite that she was likely four to five months old. He wasn't sure specifics but they did not matter, really. She was still a child and for now, she would need him.

He watched as she disappeared into the thick, massive sequoias whose looming and goliath terrain swallowed her sylph figure soon. Arturo followed after her, his pace slow as to not aid nor give the impression that he thought she would not be able to find her bone. He had not hid it too terribly far, and though he'd made some effort to hide it he had not made it so hidden that the young child would not be able to find it. The point was for her to have the bone, after all. To strengthen her jaw and gums and to suckle the nutrients from the marrow to promote the strength and growth of her own. He followed her scent easily enough, her location given away as his ears cupped forth atop his crown as she dug to unearth her prize. Yet, presumably after she'd recovered her gift she did not come careening towards him as he expected and an idea came to the gangster.

He moved, adopting a slow pace, keeping his body low to promote stealth movement away from her scent trail. He left his own, sure, but there was an opportunity to offer her a lesson and Arturo planned to seize it. “A warrior lesson,” He informed her from the shadows. Arturo didn't ask her if she was ready for it — her enemies and opposition would surely not ensure her preparedness before attacking. He did not stay still, working to make his steps as light and quiet as he could. He was not a beast made for stealth. He did not believe in ambush: his enemies would know when and where he was coming from. Yet, others did not command that level of confidence or fear and Chusi as a warrioress would have to be able to respond to both.

“Those who oppose you will not always share the confidence nor command the fear required for a fair fight,” He informed her before he moved to another cover, settling quietly onto his belly, staring at her from within the shadows for a few moments. “They could ambush you. You must train yourself to expect it, to learn how to react to it.” He spoke before he rose to his paws and moved in an effort to avoid her detection. “Come find me,” The Ceannasach challenged her the smoky reticence to his low, deep voice demanded it. He moved towards the edge of a sequoia's shadow, his fiery red-orange gaze caught in a small sliver of sunlight long enough for her to see it before he withdrew deeper into the forest. “before I find you.” He warned though it was an empty threat. Chusi was safe with him. He would not harm her and not allow harm to befall her from anyone else. He wished to inspire a serious reaction and rise to his challenge within the girl as he took shelter in a thick, hollowed sequoia's trunk, hunkering down. The idea was to allow her to find him, having left a clear scent trail behind him. He did not seek to win this lesson inspired game, after all.