Red watched with an odd sense of fondness as her new friend drank thirstily from the stream. She felt almost like a mother to the wolf, though she knew this was silly. But she was teaching her to hunt, after all, and that gave her a sense that she was above Kipling on the totem pole to a degree. She did not say any of this aloud, however, and simply waited for the other to finish drinking. When the female had had her fill, Red cleared her throat and tried to think of what do next. Then she thought of rabbits.
Red had made a comment about hunting rabbits instead of pronghorn, and, now that she thought about it, she did enjoy the idea. Kipling obviously needed to start with the basics. There were plenty of rabbits here in the meadow, but they were probably all hiding, having smelled the two canids long ago. Perfect. Red could teach her friend first how to search for prey, then how to catch her prey. With another awkward clear of her throat, as she knew she’d have to speak all of this (which she hated doing), she began.
Okay. Rabbits. First things first. Use your nose. Smell for sweet grass and other plants. Rabbits eat them and sleep in them. Go on. Search for a rabbit trail. Find it, come tell me. Need help, come tell me.
So Red wasn’t the greatest speaker. She hoped she’d gotten her point across.