Swiftcurrent Creek Pelagiad

Things had been weird lately, and Akatosh wasn't sure what to think of them.  His sister had basically flown off the deep end and he couldn't understand why but it was obviously something he'd missed.  His parents seemed to be at odds, and if anything it had driven the boy to spend more time on his own.  Of the bunch, he was probably the least visually reactive to the awkwardness, but he seemed to just be avoidant of the whole mess.  Hell, speaking of which, where was that sister of his?  She'd seemed a bit absent, or maybe she was just getting better at staying away from him.

Recently the growing youngster had taken to creeping around the territory, practicing stalking things that seemed edible.  At times perhaps he was seen at a distance, practicing on his fellow wolves as well, but not getting close enough to really be worth interacting with -- he'd disappear into the shadows if noticed.  He was pretty sure he was following a rabbit today, but the trail was a few hours old.  It would be a bit of a walk before he got close enough to actually practice his skills.  Well, assuming nobody ate the damn thing before he got there.

His children seemed scattered. Talos remained elusive, unlike her normal self. Akavir had grown withdrawn, and spent many of his days exploring the territory quietly. Viinturuth had not been seen by the dark wolf for days now, but his scent still remained in the creek… for now. Constantine kept a vigilant watch on them from afar, his failure at protecting them from the pains of life very clearly written on all of their faces.
 
Akatosh, too, kept to himself. The Mayfair stalked after his tawny son, keeping careful watch, concern knitted in the furrow of his brows. The boy was stalking a rabbit, and the father remained a respectful distance from him, waiting to see how it played out.

Eventually Akatosh noticed the trail was getting more recent!  Good.  He'd have a chance!  Once he was sure his target was close, he shifted to sneaky mode and followed. Pause.  There it was!  The kid took off after the brownish edible blur.

It all seemed to be going so well until the rabbit veered off to one side and the youth tried to do similarly -- at least until his paws seemed to all shoot out from under him.  The leaves that had fallen from the trees had gathered in a nice pile, and combined with the more recently damp weather, it might as well have been a slip 'n' slide.  He crashed onto his side with a whuff, legs pinwheeling into the air but not doing anything useful like he was a tipped over toy.

With the sudden tilting of his world, Akatosh had entirely lost track of what happened to the rabbit, but uh.  Was that his dad watching?  Great.  His ears tilted backward and he started to try and get his paws beneath him again.  Way too late to play things cool.

The rabbit pivoted, and Akatosh did what any youthful wolf his age would do—he flipped in an attempt to do the same. Humor would have written itself upon the shadowrunner’s face, but he didn’t want to appear amused at his son’s failed attempt—he simply recalled doing such things at that age.

He still did it now, from time to time.

It was clear the tawny boy saw him, and so the wraith moved forward, silent and commanding with his presence as his muzzle dipped down, nudging the boy and coaxing him upward before he began to trot off. It was time for more proper hunting lessons.

“There’s a herd that recently passed through here,” he noted to the boy in way of voicing a greeting. “I want you to track them and tell me more about them.”

He still wasn't exactly fond of being seen failing, but then again, would anyone?  Akatosh got to his feet and shook out his fur, quick to follow along after his father.  His ears were still slicked back slightly in embarrassment and it would probably be a few minutes before that wore off.  Then again, this was a distraction, so maybe his attitude might flip sooner rather than later.  Like what things?  Well, assuming it was the same herd, he totally knew a few things!  Not a ton.  But a couple.  Was his conversation with Mahler going to be considered cheating?  He could probably figure out more, sure, but still...   He started sniffing the air but wasn't going to start actually tracking until being given proper directions, and instead followed a step or three behind.