Mount Apikuni cat and mouse in partnership

the press of the boy’s head against the soft fluff of his neck, broken only by the pink scarflesh, startles the tundrian; but only for the briefest of moments. he might be older than wintersbane last remembered him …but he was still just a kid. a kid that needed a watchful eye over him and needed to be told that everything was going to be ok. a kid that has suffered more than he had to; as to which wintersbane felt a unique kinship towards. his own childhood had been rife with trauma and uncertainty. wintersbane, however, had been good at faking bravado and using hostility as his armor.

he was glad that, that didn’t appear to be the case with thade ( at least, as far as wintersbane could see ).

sure. we’ll hunt you a rabbit. wintersbane agrees, smoky reticence bearing heavy relief that thade hadn’t asked him for something he couldn’t procure with just the two of them: like a deer. a rabbit, however, was doable. i think i saw a warren in the territory a little further east. wintersbane gestures in the general direction with a twitch of his muzzle.

you know what signs we look for when hunting rabbit, right? wintersbane asks, the paternal instincts in him figuring it wouldn’t hurt to sneak a lesson, or at the very least, a refresher course as he was uncertain just how much thade had been taught.