Blackfeather Woods I don't know where the lights are taking us

No need to match the length!

She was pleased to see that they were learning; words, tone, manners. Even if Cicero didn't fully understand what she had said, he at least got the message, which is all she needed for him to know.

Meldresi sniffed the air, detecting Bane's scent around the perimeter of the den. He was absent at the moment, but it was reassuring to know that he was there.

The mother turned her head back to the den, seeing the little black pup Damien slip out, his stubby tail waggling uncoordinatedly. There was something adorable about when they did that, mainly because of how disproportionate that tail of theirs was. Meldresi waited after leaving the den, watching the entrance for a while to see if Cicero would follow his brother and mother, which he did. Potema did not come out, for she was sleeping all the while. Remarkable, but she let her be.

When both boys came out, looking at her expectedly, Meldresi mused for a bit, wondering what they would do. They were starting to be weaned, and ate the chunks of meat she brought with her, as well as drinking her milk, but Meldresi was curious. What would they do in the face of real prey?

It was a tactic that cats used to teach their kittens to hunt: catch a small bird or rodent, and bring it, alive, to the children, then let it go and see what happens. The priestess decided to use that tactic and see what her boys would do. Barking a command for them to stay, Meldresi trotted off into the undergrowth, hoping that this prey of hers would be close.

It was in the form of a squirrel, digging in the ground for its cache, that she found her victim. It nearly escaped her, since she was still chubby and slow from giving birth and laying in a den 80% of the day, but she grabbed it by the tail, holding it firmly in her jaws as she returned to her sons, dropping it in front of them, and biting hard into its hind leg to give them an advantage. She stepped back then, and watched them.