Sunbeam Lair To the Roots

Maybe @Asterr or @Noctura could hop in? Set before this

Enough messing around. If he ever wanted to learn more about hunting, he had to at least make an effort. With knowledge with the old watch-and-learn, he was confident this time. Right after the pack hunt, he tried and tried again with hunting, but never succeeded. This time, he came at the problem with determination.

While stalking low to the ground, he had to rely greatly on his sense of smell and sight. With the commotion of voices in his head, he knew to give up on trying to hear. His eyes brightened with a sort of triumph when he caught he scent of something small.

He traveled more, body low, belly not even daring to brush against the earth. He came to a stop when he saw a small, brown creature on the forest floor. A vole; oblivious to the fact that a predator stood right behind it.

The vole had his full attention now. He crawled closer and his crawl turned to a full on sprint as the rodent went running. Not today, he told himself as he gave chase. He wouldn't give in to failure this time. Keep moving.

Leo would certainly not give failure a chance this time. After a long chase, he was able to gain close enough distance to grab the rodent by the skull. His teeth crushed the bones and a rush of blood ran over his tongue. The poor creature was surely dead by now.

The boy dropped his kill. At first he stared in disbelief, then a swell of pride washed over him. "I-I did it," he whispered, then saying more loudly. "Haha! I did it!" A broad smile spread across his maw and he picked up the kill. Leo walked frantically, wanting to show Asterr what he did.

Ah, how she loved the increasing temperatures and delightful rays of sunlight that slipped through the cavern's ceiling. More and more plants were starting to come into season, filling her with a sense of euphoria as she began taking note of each and every one. Whichever species could be used for medicinal purposes were examined and their location stored away within her memory, deciding that she would harvest and store some only when they had truly begun to flourish. Until then, they were not to be touched—not by her, at least. It had become apparent that Ryūjin acted as a sort of beacon for others interested in the medic trade, attracting those interested in the art of healing into their ranks. She did not detest the fact, and was by no means against it, but knew that she would have to set up some rules and the like if they were to keep their home healthy.

The yearling had been loitering around a copse of trees, inspecting the leaves and roots for any signs of pest-related damage, when the sound of approaching steps had caught her attention. When she had looked around to see who was coming her way, she was met with the familiar face of her previous traveling companion. There was something clamped between his jaws—she couldn't quite make out what it was, not seeing enough of the body to tell—and his movements seemed frantic. She wondered what it was that he had, and was also reminded of their last encounter. The cause behind his sudden departure at the borders was something she wished to learn, but did not ask about immediately for fear of causing him to close himself off from her. Instead, she'd offered a smile and a slow sway of her tail, meeting him halfway and asking, "What have you found?"

Perhap both? :3

The large black wolf was tracking a vole. But he was doing so in quite a peculiar way. Noctura was finally starting to seize his own fate and train himself away from violent tendencies, channelling non-violent thoughts so that physical instincts were realised in a manner that was almost abstract. In this case, he was following the vole by using the weather. The breeze sped east, so Noctura moved downwind and the vole remained unsuspecting. He predicted that, in its little venture for nibbles, it would continue east due to its diminutive size and the comparative strength of the breeze. He proved correct, watching its little form scuttle its way from the undergrowth. Then, when he gazed skywards and smelled the possibility of drizzle in the near future, Noctura wagered that the vole had smelled likewise and would shortly bring its travels to a pause. So he had to move fast.

The problem with this weather-based style of tracking was that it took a while. And it was possible a younger, quicker wolf was also on the rodent's trail...

As Noctura began to prowl slowly towards the vole, planning a kill, his great shadowy form hidden in the undergrowth, the blond figure of Leo darted out from elsewhere and snatched it up. It gave its final squeak, a final crack of its little skull, the boy exclaimed in delight... and then he was off before Noctura could reveal himself. He recovered quickly from the surprise, but was rather charmed by how proud Leo had been of himself, so decided to follow him to congratulate him. That was quite impressive, said the deep-voiced Brit as he caught up to the excitable youth, though his eyes swiftly moved to the figure of Asterr, who to Noctura was as warm and bright as sunlight, and he gave her a faint but genuine smile.

His tail swayed slightly at the sight of Asterr. "It's a vole... or a mouse. I can't tell." Leo hadn't really eaten the two all that much in his life. It was hard to tell the difference through the similarities between the two.

The presence of Noctura surprised him a bit and the compliment surprised him even more. If wolves could blush, he would be now. Instead a wash of warmth went through him. "Oh, thank you," he replied sheepishly.

Shortly after having spotted Leo, Noctura joined the scene as well. She had caught his words, and wondered just what the boy had done to inspire such things being said. Had he caught something by himself? She attempted to keep herself from guessing, wishing not to ruin the boy's big moment. She did, however, return to the man a smile of her own upon seeing his, never being unhappy to see him. She enjoyed his company more than she'd ever admit to aloud, perhaps, which forced her to have to remind herself that he was not currently the owner of her attention. No, it was Leo that she wished to hear from, and so her gaze had been returned to him soon after, a smile never leaving her lips. It seemed to grow, too, when he'd answered her question.

"Given Noctura's compliment, is it safe to assume that you caught that all on your own?" Asterr had not yet started in teaching him how to hunt for himself, which made his catch all the more impressive. He was growing, she knew, and his instincts were making themselves known. She hoped that he might be a fine hunter someday, or at least well enough off that he could sustain himself with ease. Soon, though, she would teach him some things that did not come quite as easily as nature might intend—such as catching birds. Truthfully, she was looking forward to such lessons.

Since deciding that he pointedly needed to become less of a recluse and remove his mind from the harrows of his own instincts, or indeed the pull of his own heart towards a certain forbidden someone, Noctura had been thinking about his packmates more and more. The strong ones, the wise ones, the uncertain ones. And of course Leo, who (to Noctura's knowledge) had been with Asterr since the beginning. The blond teenager was particularly interesting because he was not yet set in his ways. Youth was a kind of magic.

A vole, he confirmed to the boy with a nod. And then, faint smile unfading, he said, don't be shy, young friend. Tell our Alpha your accomplishment. Although warm, there was not a shred of humour in Noctura's voice. The Gamma wanted to be supportive.

He took a deep breath after Noctura's encouragement. Stop being so shakey, someone had told him. He should be more prideful of his accomplishment.

He nodded, affirming that he had made the kill. "After our pack hunt, I wanted to give it a try. I thought after watching you guys I grew a bit more knowledge. It took a lot of tries but I finally did it!" A prideful smile glowed on his face. Many other wolves his age probably knew the ins and outs of hunting, but to him this was a huge accomplishment. The only other time he had tried hunting was back when he was really young and even then he wasn't skilled.

A vole, caught by the boy alone and no one else. She was proud of him, for his display of an interest in learning reminded him of herself, as did his persistence. Many times he had failed, but never had he given up. Such characteristics were ones she could appreciate, and part of the reason she saw so much potential in him. If his mind was set to it, she was certain he could achieve any goal ever set for him, and would surely pass the courses with flying colours. "It is wonderful that you managed to catch the creature, but I am far more impressed by the fact that you had not given up during your mission to do so," she'd stated, smiling all the while. Soft was her expression, kind eyes resting on the boy before glancing in Noctura's direction.

"Perhaps Noctura may be able to assist you in honing your skills as a hunter?" she'd then suggested, looking between the two of them so that she might figure out how they each felt towards the idea. As she saw it, both would benefit from the time spent together, but in different ways. For the boy, he would be learning, whereas for the man, he'd be bettering his social skills. She saw it as an opportunity for the pair, but would not force the idea upon either of them. If either wished to take a different path, she would respect their wishes.

Nudging this @Leo ^^

Noctura felt ever so slightly like an intruder in a moment between mentor and student. Asterr and Leo didn't male him feel that way, of course, not in the least, but he'd seen early on that the pair had a special bond, and he didn't need to be here to keep it special. And so while he was warmed by Leo's enthusiastic pride and Asterr's equally enthusiastic support, he was quietly surprised to be brought into the mix.

It was possible the young Alpha was too busy at the moment to train the tribe's youngest member, hence looking to her Gamma for aid, but he suspected she had other motives with her suggestion...

Motives he was grateful for.

I would be glad to, he said softly. What prey would you like to learn about, Leo?