Northstar Vale now the pale morning sings

Zulema stirred awake rather early this frigid morning, shortly after deciding to slip away and through walk the vale. She took her usual path until her attention turned to the pond. She awed at the way the mist that settled caught the sunlight that had spilled past the willow trees.

Zulema sat down, it would only be so long until she got bored. Moments later, she was indeed thinking of finding a frog to chase her brother with. She inhaled a deep breath, the wintry air feeling sharp against her lungs.

Eventually she stood and shook the stray pieces of snow from her before walking alongside the water and sniffing through the brush. Maybe someone else was around?

After his miscarriage, Ethan was taking it easy. He had mated with that other male, not too long ago, but he wasn't sure anything had worked out yet. He had no signs but it was still early on. He knew he should take things slow and easy though, just in case he was pregnant. But he was awake early, and stepped outside, noticing one of the young girls of the pack also being out. He could not place her name in his head, but Ike had told it to him at some point.

Someone else was near, her ears tilted in the strangers direction before she picked her head up to look at them. Zulema's brows creased as she looked over the wolf, her expression was rather gaunt. It took the girl a moment to piece two and two together, this wolf looked like Ike. The fur that had raised along her back relaxed. Ike had mentioned there was another that had joined Epoch as well. His dad that was expecting pups? She didn't understand.

❝Good morning.❞ Zulema broke the silence, features shifting from their previously grim expression.❝You're Ethan right?❞

❝Ike's mo- or uh... Dad, Ike's dad?❞ The confusion was clear in her voice, she hoped Ethan would explain.

Ethan nodded, dipping his head. The girls name came to his mind. "Zuelma." He said, in greeting. "And yes, I am Ikes dad, that was, and hopefully am again, expecting pups." He said, knowing what she probably knew from Ike. "I am transgender, meaning I was born a girl, and have the body of one, but the brain of a boy, so thats how I express myself." He explained with ease, having done this before. "How are you on this fine, well, frankly quite crisp and cold, morning?" He asked

❝Oh,❞ She paused, her ears pressed forward. ❝That's cool.❞

Zulema retained most of his explanation, but it went in one ear and out the other, likely because Ethan had mentioned pups. She hoped he was expecting as well, new things always excited her. This could mean more friends for her, so there were no complaints from the girl.

❝And I'm okay, just bored.❞ Zulema gave an exaggerated sigh, before stepping closer so she could lower her voice. ❝I don't know if anyone else is awake yet either.❞

There was a moment of silence before Zulema remembered she was supposed to ask how he was. Manners didn't come naturally for the girl, it always took a conscious effort.

Ethan nodded. "Do you know how to hunt?" He asked, assuming she did, but he wasn't 100% sure. He knew Ike had done some sort of lesson-thing with her and some other youngsters though, so he hoped his son had gone over at least basic hunting skills. "If you do, we can hunt together." Ethan suggested

❝Sort of?❞ Zulema was itching to move, run.

Perhaps he could teach her what she lacked. Her ears pressed forward, eagerly awaiting an answer as she moved closer to Ethan.

Ethan nodded. "'Sort of' should work. I pride myself on being a fine hunter, so I can help you with what you may not know. Weasels and rabbits are common in these areas during this time, I've learned, so perhaps I can give you a lesson on how to hunt them with a partner. It's quite easy and fun." He suggested

Zulema's tail began to wag as she thought developing these skills further. Excitement bubbled within her at the thought of returning to her home with prizes to show from her work. Validation held much power over Zulema.

❝Okay!❞ A fine hunter to learn from had dispelled any other thoughts from her mind.

"Right, so, lets start with tracking. Do you know what rabbit or weasels smell like?" He asked. Ethan scented the air himself, catching the strong scent of rabbit so he knew they were around, and he wanted to test the girl to see if she could pick it up too.

jsyk Zuelmas profile still says shes 0 btw lmao, not sure if you meant to add her months old or are just keeping it 0 till shes 1.

she's about seven months, which is when they actively begin hunting i believe? been planning on fixing that zero however thank you for reminding me lol

❝Yeah,❞ Zulema nodded exaggeratedly, recalling her attempt to chase them.

She looked to Ethan through the silence until she had realized he was trying to pick the scent of something up. The girl blinked before turning her head to mock his actions. It was then she had picked up the aroma of rabbit, her tail swaying behind her yet again.

Ethan chuckled as she said 'yeah' and nodded with exaggeration. He figured she'd had some experiences with rabbits at times.

"What do you smell?" He asked, watching her as he saw her concentrate on the scent and pick it up.

❝Rabbit,❞ She responded with a clear tone of confidence.

Zulema turned her attention to the ground, hopefully the would be something to follow? She hoped he would take the lead, get them close, show her what to look for before the inevitable sprint that she longed for.

"Right, so lets follow the scent, it leads this way." Ethan said, bounding off in the direction the scent was coming from.

He slowed as they neared some bushes, which were emitting an extremely strong rabbit scent. Then he saw them. 2 white rabbits, chomping on some grass, right by the bushes, unaware of the hunters lurking nearby. 

"So," Ethan started, his voice a whisper, "What I want you to do is the following. I'm going to go around to the other side of them. I will nod when I'm ready, and when I nod, I want you to bark as loudly as you can and chase the rabbits towards me. I will probably only be able to catch one, so I need you to try and catch the other. Just kinda throw yourself at it while it's running. Try and pin it even if you can't kill it and I'll come over and help." Ethan instructed. "Understand?" He asked.

Zulema took in a deep breath after Ethan had instructed her. She didn't trust the volume of her voice, simply nodding to him before he began. The girl recognized the instinct as Ethan began. Her movement was not premeditated, yet she lowered herself in the proper position and made sure her footing was correct.

The girl watched with him move with narrowed eyes, before fixing her gaze back onto the unknowing creatures. She would be ready.

Ethan crept around silently and stealthily to the other side of the rabbits. He stayed unnoticed. He checked to make sure the girl was in position before nodding. He awaited her barks.

Zulema was more than ready, barking once Ethan had gotten himself into place. As her voice sounded out through the area, she leapt forward and broke into a full sprint. The rabbit was fast, too fast for the girl, but as it bolted Ethan's direction it cut to go a different way. Zulema recognized the opportunity; instinct and adrenaline took course.

Her jaws finally clamped around the creature, the pain of several kicks would register later. How had Ethan done?

Ethan was ready and when the rabbit ran at him he was able to stop it in its tracks, killing it swiftly and easily. He saw Zuelma struggling with hers but decided to let her. He wanted to see what she could do

The creature had fell limp within Zulema's teeth, her tail beginning to helicopter behind her.

❝I did it!❞ She exclaimed, voice muffled by the prey within her mouth.

The gnosis was elated at her catch; her eyes were brightened with excitement as she looked to her teacher in this moment.

Ethan smiled and nudged her encouragingly. "Excellent!" He said. He watched her tail wag with joy and chuckled a bit. He was sure he was that way when he was younger too. "Want to bring these back to the pack now?" He suggested.

thank you for the lovely thread! fade? <3

❝Yeah, lets do that.❞ She agreed before taking a few bounds forward and turning to glance towards him.

The wagging did not slow, and she surely would talk his ear off on the walk back. Zulema was happy it was Ethan who had found her company this morning.