Moonspear club can't handle me

grown to long limbs and a heavy coat, the once pudgy babe had begun to evenly distribute his weight to a more proportional appearance. with such growth came the bottomless pit of hunger that was only satisfied for a few moments before it begun to grumble and complain once more. 

@Elentari had continued to teach him to track and stalk small game to practice on, and while he preferred to stuff his face without the effort of catching his own food, he did value the lessons. today was such a day where said lessons went from practice to performance, and the grayscale boy found himself hot on the trail of a weasel. 

nose set low to the earth, acrux began his approach towards a hopefully fulfilling snack.

The days were long and the nights longer when he was not on moonspear. He was firm on fulfilling his bride price—but he was loathe to be away from the children, as well as their mothers.

Today, he placed a muskrat in one of the caches, disappointment that his capture had not been a finer beaver to assist his journey. Sweeping dirt over to hide from prying eyes, the wind drew his attention as it drifted to him—Acrux.

Intrigued, the new father shifted from this now completed task, icy gaze falling across the lands and watching the dark youth.

A hunt.

He watched—he waited.

She had spotted Argent's familiar figure from high up on the mountain, and Sialuk wasted no time rushing her way down the well-worn paths to share time with him. Her steps were light, and there was a giddiness in her heart. When she saw he watched their son, Sialuk slowed, and kissed her lover gently on the ear.

The starwoman was silent, joining in as a member of the audience as they watched Acrux put his skills to the test.

unbeknownst to the boy with an empty stomach, his attempt at tracking down a meal had not gone unnoticed. while he did not immediately catch the familiar scents or figures of his parents in the distance, he did catch the sight of his prey.

his nose twitched wildly as if he were a rabbit, baby blues focusing in on where the weasel stood. however the boy was still just a boy, untrained and still sloppy with his movements. he'd been spotted, and while this was a hunt for acrux, it was little more than a game for his prey.

the weasel bounded off a few paces, playing a convincing role of the oblivious prey, before it stopped and turned to see if the hungry boy would follow. and that he did.

skipping argent for now, since he's been inactive for a bit and i'd already gotten halfway through this lol.

Sialuk watched with a glimmering smile as Acrux turned his eyes on his prize: a weasel. It was a sneaky, playful creature, and Sialuk saw as it bounded away from him, pausing before it looked back to its predator. Did it know? Was it up to something more nefarious, or perhaps it was more like Sixsix than typical prey. Whatever the outcome, the Ostrega was locked on the action, prepared to watch it play out without her interference.

In the meantime, she felt the warmth of Argent next to her, a bubble of happiness creeping up at just how lovely this moment was.

It was a painfully beautiful feeling to be welcomed home with such enthusiasm. For as close as he had been to his mother and siblings, nothing could compare to this—his icy eyes drifting to the whisper of steps that revealed Sialuk—the tightening of his jaw as he took in her radiance. Mirth and awe easily painting his face as she greeted him with so much love—

—that he had found hearth and home here.

His own greeting was given with a shower of kisses to her—but in moments, they fell silent, watchful as parents.

Acrux targeted a weasel—the unveiling of the encounter pulling a small smile to the man’s lips. His own form relaxing against the warmth of his to-be bride.

the game of cat-and-mouse, or rather wolf-and-weasel, had gone on for a few silent minutes before eventually the youth sprung from his final hiding place and darted off towards the slippery mammal with wide eyes and open jaws. he gave chase, though a more apt description would be more like danced in circles. 

the game ended with acrux out of breath and the weasel in a fit of teasing laughter. the prey in this story had not once thought it would be captured, and the boy, now sprawled out in a pile of defeat, had come to finally realize this. 

the babe stood with a discouraged huff, baby blues trailing over to where his parent's sat. a mild flush of embarrassment crept it's way forward, though he shrugged it off and bounded towards the pair with carefree steps. the weasel's snickering subsided as the boy moved, yet the creature remained still as the youth joined the adults. 

it had likely known the pair of older wolves had been there the entire time, though not looking to press it's luck against more experienced hunters, bounded off in the opposite direction.

Her ears had splayed back in the affections of Argent, returning the gesture and leaning into his shoulder as she watched Acrux and the weasel go round-and-round. Many times she had to clamp her mouth shut to keep from laughing at the mirthful scene, not wishing to interrupt the young boy's lesson in hunting. Tigiak, it seemed, knew what he was doing all along, and soon Acrux was prancing over to them, the weasel slipping away.

Tigiak has winded you! she said, smiling and pulling Acrux into a motherly hug. He was large now, the first edges of becoming a man beginning to show in his face. This realization tugged at her heart, and she looked to Argent with proud, glistening eyes.

The boy did not seem displeased at their attention. If embarrassment colored him, he hid it much better than Argent himself ever could, and he found his smile to emanate the pride he felt in his chest in that moment. Sialuk teased gently—and he found himself noting the word for later—with each passing day, he hoped to further initiate himself into their culture and their ways.

“But now you have seen some of his tricks—which will make him easier for you to predict in the future,” he offered, his own voice hushed as Sialuk pulled the boy in an embrace.

These were the stolen moments in life that made it enjoyable, he realized.

he leaned into the embrace of anaa, eyes squeezing shut as she hugged him. when his vision took hold again, it landed on the figure of his father. each parent spoke their words, and he tossed each of them an appreciative smile. 

he slipped back to look between the pair of them, bright eyes beaming with radiant delight. "maybe next time, we can hunt tigiak together," he proposed with a toothy grin. 

he did not enjoy hunting, but if it was with family, he imagined it would not be so bad.

last one from me! trying to wrap some of these older ones. <3

Â! she agreed, Maggak and Elentari, too. Perhaps five would be too many, but they could split into smaller groups to make things more manageable. She laughed, nipped at Acrux's ear, and tried to lure him and Argent into a game of chase. Their son could play the slippery tigiak while Sialuk and Argent attempted to catch him.

Acrux proposed a family hunt and Argent found a grin warming his features. His muzzle would bend down to ruffle at the boys head only briefly, a rumble of approval as Sialuk responded with her own agreement with the idea before leading a chase.

“And many other things,” he offered the boy, who would be learning so many things swiftly, now.

Rounding behind his son, he made to chase after them both—lingering back—if only to watch with joy as one mother and a son made the best of a wintery day.