Redtail Rise the duc de l'omelette

the squirrel squeals and mutters in her jaws as she carries it along the path. its tiny legs thrash, bashing her occasionally upon the chin and neck, but she does not relinquish her hold.

instead, Avicus reaches the clearing in front of her den and places it upon the ground, pinning it with one inexorable forepaw. she calls for @Redd, @Relic and @Masquerade, her tone nothing more than ASAP.

today—if not already—they will learn about flesh, food and death.

they're already well on their way to weaning, but are they aware of from where their precious meat slurry comes? it's a lesson they'll have to absorb eventually, and the sooner, the better, in her view.

Relic did not need any further prompting. The tantalizing smell of prey, delivered to the doorstep by his mother, was plenty enough. He all but bolted in blur of reds, greys and white out the den. Heedless of who was in his way, shoving aside either of his sisters if need be.

He wanted to be first.

Fur unkempt and tussled, his look was increasingly wild as he grew. It could be a phase or a sign of what was yet to come. Pleased that he had been the one to reach Avicus first, he reigned in his excitement. He had learned from last time, on his first trip away from the den. He leaned in to sniff intently towards the squirrel pinned beneath her paw. Dark lips curled back, revealing rows of needles. He did not touch. Not yet, despite the give away quiver of excitement in his growing muscles.

Masquerade spent a good deal of time sniffing at the dried patch of urine a few meters from the den, attempting to analyze its source. There was so much information contained in the smell, though it was in language she hadn’t fully decoded yet. She deduced that it had been left by something other than a wolf. She was fairly certain this mysterious creature had also been female. But that was the extent of her study.

After performing her analsysis, there was only one thing left to do: she buckled her legs and dropped onto her belly, then flopped to the side and began rolling. She thoroughly coated herself in the interesting smell, though it wasn’t until Avicus approached and summoned her children that Masque righted herself and leaped to her feet.

She stood there a moment, assessing, as Relic scuttled over to their mother. There was something twitching at her feet. Masquerade blinked and prowled toward them, quickly recognizing the animal. She saw them often, bounding in the distance, often scrambling up tree trunks. She had yet to see one up close like this, at least alive and intact. Thirst for both blood and knowledge drove her even closer.

Redd came, but hung back.  Her brother desired to be first and would have no competition from her in this, at least.  She would watch and learn as much as she could before attempting so that his mistakes would not be hers.

It wasn't a calculating thought, but it was a manner that was becoming increasingly natural in her.  Redd did not run ahead, did not put undue effort where she could perhaps learn an easier path.  She lacked the enthusiasm and impulsiveness that children generally shared - and another parent might have found this unsettling.  Redd kept her gaze held intently on Avicus, waiting.

the boy, of course, wants to be first. Bone, she calls him privately, thinking of his primal nature and patchwork pelt. she'd seen the hunger in him from early on, and gives him an approving nod, shifting her gaze to the other two approaching children. 

Blood is the shifty girl with long tail and fiery mask, and Fire the ruddy one that follows, always waiting, always watching. once they're assembled, she turns her attention to the squirrel.

you kill, Avicus instructs, and grips the animal's tiny throat. it takes little effort to crush the jugular, and just a little more to snap its spine. the struggling and squealing ceases; it goes limp. 

then, she slices as meticulously as she can down the neck, the chest and belly to the groin, laying the squirrel's innards bare for all to see. you eahh', she explains. foodh.

the same meat that passes their lips in slurry. she steps back, letting them examine for themselves.

moving this <3

Redd was captivated.  Avicus opened the prey before them like it was nothing, filling the place with the fresh scent of blood and delicious death.  Redd came closer immediately and nosed at the prey, bloodying the end of her muzzle.  She looked once more for permission, then tried a taste.

It was different than the food she'd had prior.  It gave her teeth something to work satisfyingly, and the taste of it was more.  Her look turned to surprise, then pleasure, and she began to tear at it with more enthusiasm after that alongside her siblings.

I wanted to get another in here as well. Also hoping we can do another round after this so I can use this for a trade!? :)

When the Wealda had all three of her children’s attention, she resumed the lesson. “You kill,” she said, demonstrating by putting her fangs to the dying rodent’s throat and crushing it. Blood mixed into the dirt as she then snapped its spine with an audible crack that made Masque’s ears twitch.

Already excited by Avicus’s swift, deadly motions and the smell of fresh, warm blood, she began to fidget a little when her mother continued rending the carcass until the squirrel was nearly unrecognizable. Only its intact head and tail gave any indication that it had once been a live, whole animal just moments prior.

Avicus identified it as food, though Masquerade didn’t even need the verbal affirmation. Every predatory instinct was stirred awake by the display. Saliva pooled in her mouth, dripping from her chops. She could barely tear her eyes away from the glistening meat.

She pulled her gaze away to peer at their mother, wondering if they were permitted to sample this kill. Masque slunk closer to the Alpha female, bumping her nose against Avicus’s jawline, an inquisitive and hungry note leaking from her red snout.

eahh', Avicus allows them both, focusing on Blood specifically. the girl is meaker than she'd hoped; at least Fire and Bone have the boldness in them that has marked their mother, their brother, their grandparents. she nudges her red-masked daughter toward the squirrel.

then she sits back, watching them taste and pry. we all are bloodh' an' bone, she remarks, like a disinterested college lecturer in a room full of abstracted students. we muhh' kill if we wanna live.

from the very first grub she'd captured, Avicus had known this was her destiny.

now, she hopes to pass on that same base, feral wisdom to her children. god forbid they wind up anything less than masters of their world.

Never had she tasted anything quite like that first mouthful of fresh meat. Masque was too busy savoring it to register Avicus’s comments, though some part of her brain stored these tidbits for later contemplation. Her mother’s astute observation that, “We are all blood and bone…” would in particular haunt Masquerade in the coming days, following her accident with her cousin, Atreus.

But for now, she gorged on her mother’s kill alongside her siblings. It was a feast for all the senses, not just taste. The smell of blood was thick in her nose, the heat of it warming her ruddy face. Everywhere her eyes darted, she saw shades of red and pink that made her mouth water all the more.

Already, she couldn’t wait to make her own first kill.

Kill to live.  She understood it.  This had been alive when Avicus brought it, and the warmth still there was invigorating as she drenched her muzzle in it.  It was alive in a way even the grasshoppers weren't.

Redd rumbled low in agreement without pausing.  She ate her fill, then sat back on her haunches and licked blood from her maw.  All the while she stared at her mother, waiting to see if the lesson would continue.