Sawtooth Spire What do you call an alligator in a vest?...

The caretaker ate first, as prompted. Iqniq diverted his gaze, allowing the wolf to eat undisturbed until Aariak offered him a bite in return. With a nod, he shifted to approach the fell badger and got in a few good noms. It was tasty, that badger. The flavor was something he didn't savor often so this was a quite a treat. The badger was delicious and their home was all the safer with it dead. Doubly good.

He finished. There was still a significant portion of it left for Aariak to enjoy or to fill the caches or to fill another wolf's belly, whichever. It didn't matter what. He stepped away from the body and licked the lingering blood from his muzzle as he first seated himself, yawned, then lowered himself to the ground. An afternoon nap sounded wonderful on a stated stomach, but he was not about to succumb to slumber.

Fortunately, he didn't have to. Aariak was amusing enough. His comments were flattering. Iqniq tried very much to be what he needed to be for this pack, or at least, his own version of what he thought he needed to be. As for Tonravik? The white wolf's comment on her brought a chuckle to his maw. "There's no handling of that swamp monster." She was a grizzly wolf as instinctual as she was ugly. "She can call the shots on them while they're in the den, but once they're free?" He shrugged and grinned. "I hope to round them out a bit." There were things he could teach them Tonravik could not.

Speaking of... if any wolf here could give him any insight as to what to expect out of the pups, that would be the caretaker. "How old until they're on solid food completely?" he asked. Soon their hunts would be crucial, and with the winter rolling in and more mouths to feed, their stockpiles and reserves would be more and more important. Similarly, his outrider blood was crawling with the desire to show them the world beyond that den and when they were old enough, the neighboring lands. "And after that? When's a good time to show them outside of the packlands?"