Sleepy Fox Hollow beschwichtigen

the hollow was quiet. the invasions seemed to have stopped. each day mahler and wylla marked their borders, and each day the man took one or more of his growing children with him on patrol.
this evening it was @Emmerich. the man strode along the far eastern border, pausing with a low chuff of annoyance. he indicated a heap of dung and several pawmarks. 
"kojoten," he said grimly. it would be better for emmerich to go home now.
he only had four months, after all. the man stared down at the spoor, thinking.

The boy followed his father with a stern expression. He paused to sniff at the same items, noting the ways that Mahler moved and shifted as he patrolled their home. Emmerich was pleased to be joining him on these trips. They made him feel like he had purpose in his young life, that he was vital to the monitoring of their borders.

At the place where they found the coyote dung, Emmerich’s nose scrunched with disgust.

Was machen wir? the boy asked of his father with a slightly tilting head. He did not wish to return home and leave the rest of the work to the gargoyle.

"wir müssen sie abschrecken," mahler answered, straightening with a grunt. "Ein hungriger kojote frisst alles." he looked seriously at emmerich.
"even a volf cub."
his children were a bit large for an average coyote to carry away, not to mention the stalwart guardianship of the adults around them. but mahler would not suffer the beasts to think of the hollow as theirs, lest they attempt to set up their own den in wintertime.
he trotted out, heavy steps and rippling strength carrying him easily along their path. he expected emmerich to stay close.
he stopped again. here were fresher pawmarks. they had killed a pheasant. he sniffed at the scattered feathers.

The hairs along the boy’s neck prickled at the thought of being eaten by a coyote. He gazed at his dad with an uncertain expression. It would not have been an easy task to drag the young pup. He’d grown stout since birth and had started to form youthful muscle beneath the gangliness. The months to come would grant him more coordination and skill with his strength.

Emmerich did not need to be told to remain close to Mahler. The young one trotted at his father’s side, watching keenly as the gargoyle inspected what had been wronged in their land. The boy mimicked the actions that he could. He stopped near the feathers and frowned.

Sie jagten.

Emmerich didn’t enjoy this. It felt like they had been robbed. He looked to his dad with a thoughtful frown.

"es ist wilderei." emmerich's expression made up mahler's own mind: they would go to find these beasts together. ageing though he was, the gargoyle still knew his size and scars gave him a formidable air.
he stalked after the coyotes with a tread that belied his large body. he did not break stems as he walked; he kept to the thinnest places, sometimes lengthening his stride to accommodate this.
twelve hundred yards away they found the bird's remains, reduced to little more than beak, bones, and baggage.
now he was incensed. the man bristled, his hackles raising sharp and tall. "hören."
they stood before the faewood, the splendid oak forest. and just faintly one might hear the notching of tooth upon bone, illicit chewing in the jeweled wolf country.

Emmerich frowned again upon hearing the word his father used to describe what they had done. Poaching did not sound good, and it had transformed Mahler into something fiercer than he had ever appeared before. The young pup understood that it was a serious matter, and it required a sense of dedicated attention to tend to.

Following his dad, Emmerich stopped once or twice to sniff at the ground. He peered from the corner of his eyes toward Mahler, analyzing his movements and his behavior. Though he was smaller and had less experience in his life, the white-hooded child mimicked the gargoyle’s movements well.

When he was instructed to listen, Emmerich’s ears were pointed tall upon his head.

Chewing… he stated softly, a voice only above a whisper.

emmerich was already a fine hunter. mahler's peripherals were in observation of the boy. his son was a swift study and quiet as well. wylla's lineage showed through. the shadowpriest tilted his head with a single nod. the time for words was fast coming to an end; he knew emmerich sensed it.
mahler drew away from the sound. he drew a wide arc back through the trees, shouldering down to his belly and creeping to where a thicket of berrythorns now divided the wolves and the coyote.
it was just one, but where there were single beasts there were many. mahler's amethyst eyes hunted through the shadows.

The young boy was not a serious child unless the moment called for him to be that way. Hunting alongside his father was a moment that felt somber. There were creatures who were hunting the prey on their land. This was not a matter to scoff at, this was clear in the purple of Mahler’s eyes.

Emmerich hunkered down beside the gargoyle. He crept as quietly as his young body would allow. When the pair had found a spot to view the coyote from, the boy looked from the beast to his father with concern on his face. He did not know why his dad was waiting. He did not know why they were not rushing forward to take the thief’s life!

A small growl bubbled from the back of his throat.

mahler sought to hush the sound with a warning look and a low chuff of his own. this could not be rushed. his son had a warrior's impatience, but even the greatest fighters first learned to be silent.
the coyote was fixed upon its thieved food. mahler's haunches rippled like that of a lion as he crept slowly forward.
"now!" he growled to emmerich, waiting a moment for the order to register before he burst from cover and attacked the hapless animal.

The silencing noise made by the gargoyle was swift in stopping Emmerich’s growl. The boy blinked at his father with a curious tilt of his head. He did not understand why they didn’t rush from their hiding place and attack the thieves who had hunted in their hollow. Mahler had a better grasp of the situation and he understood that there were precautionary steps that must be made before they could act. Emmerich was still too young for this, but he was obedient to his dad’s command.

When Mahler spoke to initiate their move, the boy did not hesitate. He felt the hairs along his back stand rigid. His eyes shone bright on the coyote and the meal it had pilfered from their land. The young pup was ready for the attack. He raced from the hiding place and dove toward the thief with razor-like puppy teeth.

his broad muzzle seized the beast before it had time to scrabble away. mahler bit down hard until the coyote yelped, then slammed it down against the ground with the easy movements of a small bear.
it wrenched his neck, rather, but he did not show this pain to emmerich. he kept himself between the jaws of the coyote and his son, though he allowed the boy close enough to draw blood of his own.
"now, wretch. "du hast aus der falschen packung geklaut."
the gargoyle started the mauling. the coyote fought as best as it was able, yelping and snarling.

Emmerich could not take control of the coyote in the same way that his father had. He watched the gargoyle move with the power of a bear. Pride filled him to the brim. The boy did not want to disappoint his valiant parent.

Snapping his sharp teeth, Emmerich gripped tight on the coyote’s leg. He shook and twisted his head until he could taste the familiar tang of blood on his tongue. The coyote had stopped yipping and squirming. When the boy released his hold on the trespasser, his sides heaved from heavy panting. He looked up to his father with a glowing gaze. The threat on their land was limp in the gargoyle’s teeth.

Emmerich snorted at the dirt and drew himself to stand tall, proud.

"sehr gut." mahler's bloodstained jaws spread in a grin. "ve vill take it to the borders now, and leave it there for the others to find." the sight of their own dead might be a deterrent, even if the stench of a rotting coyote was rancid indeed.
mahler was pleased. emmerich had done very well. the amethyst eyes pinned to a piece of white upon the ground. "look." a perfect canine tooth.

Their work had been done. The threat had been eliminated from their home. Emmerich felt himself grow stronger with pride at having accomplished such a thing. Isa could never compare to that show of strength, he believed.

Mahler said that they would take the body to the borders to leave it as a show for the others. The boy looked to his father curiously. He wondered why they wouldn’t save the meat and eat it. It bled like their other prey, so he believed it would taste roughly the same. The coyote might have been gangly, but it still had sinew beneath its coat and meat that would go to waste on the edges of the hollow. Emmerich did not ask his father, though. He wanted to show that he agreed with their plans.

At the gargoyle’s sighting of the tooth, Emmerich pointed his snout toward it with interest. He stepped to where it was and plucked it from the ground in his mouth. That was his trophy that he would take back to show Anselm and Isa. He looked to Mahler, ready to take the body to the border.

last for me! <3

coyote meat was to be eaten only in times of extreme starvation. the blood that dripped from the animal already disgusted mahler. he slung it over his strong shoulder and looked warmly at emmerich.
later, when the family had gathered, he would tell @Wylla of their son's tracking abilities, leaving to the boy to describe how he had struck his own blows.
if there had been numbered more than one, he would not have allowed it. but his lavender eyes were filled with pride, seeing their son grow into so strong a guardian already.

I'm going to make another. <3

Fang in mouth, Emmerich trotted proudly after his father.

The boy had started to grow into himself. He enjoyed these excursions to protect their family’s homeland. He had found himself swelling proudly at the accomplishments that had been made. At Mahler’s side, the young boy had found interest in a future path. He wished to be a guardian, just the same as the gargoyle.

As they made their way, the young pup thought on his future and how he might prove himself to his family.