Dragomir's mother seemed to take the occasional but incredibly long break from the den. There was always someone left behind to watch him and his sister, especially now that they had eyes with which to see and strong legs with which to walk, but during such excursions, which took Aure from her babes for hours at a time, Dragomir and Isilmë were left without a source of food.
They'd been introduced to regurgitated meat, but for Dragomir, it was much too rich and a slow transition was necessary. He could have only a little of it before it began to upset his stomach, no matter how much he loved the taste, so he was limited in how much of that he could consume while his dam was away. He would happily eat more, but the result was always unpleasant. That meant in all the time between, Dragomir grew hungry. He grew so hungry that he wailed and whined and nipped at Isilmë and whoever was left to watch them. He became insufferably grouchy, and gorged himself voraciously on mother's milk when she returned.
So in the times between, Dragomir began to find other ways to sate his hunger, namely the soil that his mother worried he would choke on. When the hunger began to bother him, Drago would chew on soil and swallow it until he no longer felt the discomfort in his belly. And though this only happened a few times before Vercingetorix found Aure down in the meadow and reprimanded her for neglecting to properly tend her growing pups, it was enough that it became a habit, so that when Aure did confine herself to the thicket and make herself more readily available to her children, the damage was done. Drago would quietly eat small clumps of dirt if left unsupervised long enough, or if he grew bored enough, and before long he actually enjoyed the taste of it.
They'd been introduced to regurgitated meat, but for Dragomir, it was much too rich and a slow transition was necessary. He could have only a little of it before it began to upset his stomach, no matter how much he loved the taste, so he was limited in how much of that he could consume while his dam was away. He would happily eat more, but the result was always unpleasant. That meant in all the time between, Dragomir grew hungry. He grew so hungry that he wailed and whined and nipped at Isilmë and whoever was left to watch them. He became insufferably grouchy, and gorged himself voraciously on mother's milk when she returned.
So in the times between, Dragomir began to find other ways to sate his hunger, namely the soil that his mother worried he would choke on. When the hunger began to bother him, Drago would chew on soil and swallow it until he no longer felt the discomfort in his belly. And though this only happened a few times before Vercingetorix found Aure down in the meadow and reprimanded her for neglecting to properly tend her growing pups, it was enough that it became a habit, so that when Aure did confine herself to the thicket and make herself more readily available to her children, the damage was done. Drago would quietly eat small clumps of dirt if left unsupervised long enough, or if he grew bored enough, and before long he actually enjoyed the taste of it.
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