Though Hael wasn't normally the type to go against his mother's wishes, he was out wandering today perhaps farther from his siblings than he knew he should have been. Though, what was the big deal, anyway, if he wanted to explore a little on his own? Did he always have to be by Fen and Kisla's side, lazing around with them? Being alone gave him more room to do things that he actually wanted to do, like chase whatever he wanted to, or jump into whatever puddle or small pond he came across. So today he was grinning wide as he loped along, determined to head just as far away from the others as he could before a howl echoed from nearby or someone like Marsh came looking for him.

Yet a scent hit him, and he stopped. It wasn't a foreign scent; Swift River, definitely, so Rihael wasn't completely thrown off. But it wasn't any of his siblings, either, and it sort of smelled like food. That was a scent that was definitely worth following. Soon he saw that it was someone who had been at the meeting, a face he recognized, though he didn't know the name. "Hey," he called out, throwing caution to the wind as usual as he trotted right on over to her. "You were at the meeting. You're Uncle Triell's sister, aren't you?"

Hael committed the name to memory easily; meeting others was one of his self-described strong points. As a younger pup, he had always been the one to sprint up to new faces and sniff them all he wanted. Now, he had become only a touch more reserved, no longer feeling the urge to rush forward. The kid had realized that he could gain all he needed from a stranger's scent from a small distance— and though this wasn't a stranger, Rihael inwardly matched Borlla's scent with her name. He didn't find it at all strange that she was a family member whom he'd never met before; after all, he had spent the majority of his young life aware that family members could enter his life at any time. That he was part of it, that he was Indru and Corinna's son, made him feel proud to be a Tainn, and proud also that he was meeting another one.

The word "hungry" made his eyes pop nearly out of his head. When wasn't he hungry? "Duh," he responded, as to him that expression was just about the coolest thing you could possibly say to someone older than you, and of course wasn't rude at all. Grinning, he pounced on it in seconds, recently developed canines piercing the tough fur with some difficulty. Rihael's jaws weren't all that strong yet; after a few moments, he had torn through the hide and was tearing strips of meat from the kill. Through a stuffed mouth, he grinned a bloody grin up at Aunt Borlla. "Shanksh," he said, crimson dripping down his chin while his tail wagged behind him furiously. "Don'choo wan shome?" He offered next, pausing to tilt his head at her inquisitively. After all, she should be able to eat her own kill if she wanted, right?

Savoring the taste of meat, Hael chewed pretty rudely, throwing cleanliness to the wind. Blood smeared across his muzzle, chest and paws as he snapped up what would be his last bite for the moment. Swallowing, he gazed up at Aunt Borlla in sheer amazement, a bloody grin widening across his masked face. His tail began thumping against the ground rhythmically. "A— hunt?!"

The kill forgotten, as he had rushed to eat his fill anyway, Hael sprang to all fours, forepaws tearing up the soft earth beneath him as he stretched his claws, looking around him excitedly, as though the target of their hunt would be sitting nearby. When it wasn't, he returned his attention to her, attempting momentarily to shake the excessive amount of blood from his countenance. It only made his fur stick out in funny places, but he smiled toothily at her anyway, tail still practically a blur behind him. "Let's find a squirrel! Or— a rabbit! Rrrrrrr!" The next few seconds were spent growling and pouncing on an imaginary small animal, then tearing it to shreds puppy-style, with lots of tugging and head thrashing. When this proved to be unfulfilling, Hael pounced on the kill he'd just been eating, rump wiggling in the air as he tore another chunk of meat from it. This he held in his mouth briefly, pausing to stand up and see what Aunt Borlla was doing, and whether or not she was ready to go yet. He dropped the flesh then, simply smiling at her. "Ready?"

Her words made his smile slide easily into a frown, as Rihael's emotions were often short-lived, and he didn't have the strongest of attention spans. A slight huff made his little barrel chest rise and fall, and he shot her a quick glare, muttering "Sor-ry". Most adults treated him sincerely, and sarcasm was not something he had encountered much before; but he knew she had a point, and so, slightly defeated, he listened to what she had to say.

At the word "rabbits," Hael perked up again, his previous stubbornness forgotten. He'd eaten rabbit many times, but catching one?! That was a different story altogether! He knew they were fast, and he wondered if he was quick enough to catch one. Strong enough, now, that would be no problem— the kid could rip wings from even the biggest of grasshoppers, so how tough could a rabbit be, right? Fantasies of himself taking down a shifty hare clouded his mind as Aunt Borlla brushed past him. He wheeled around, watching her with a grin, watching as she stopped and got his attention.

Hael complied without so much as a whisper, silently (or as silently as he could) slinking over to her side. He mimicked her low stance, just like he'd seen others do, but was still sort of bad at it; his rump waved in the air, tail swishing like a flag to announce his presence to all nearby prey. But his orange eyes were narrowed mischievously, nodding in response to her question, hanging on her next word.

He nodded at Aunt Borlla's words, completely trusting her. It made sense: rabbits always seemed to run away from him before he could even go over and sniff them, even when they seemed to be looking away. Sneaking up on this one, he thought as he watched it, was going to be a challenge. But it was one he readily accepted, doing his best to stay quiet and keep low to the ground as she made the plan clear. "Okay!" He mouthed enthusiastically, just in case his voice would startle their target, nodding to make sure that he one hundred percent agreed.

He licked his chops, being reminded that they were still bloody from having eaten just before, and inwardly imagined just how amazing this fresh rabbit was going to be once they caught it! He narrowed his eyes, giving Aunt Borlla a big, cheesy wink. "It's go time!" he whispered, unaware that the catchphrase was in fact not very cool, but actually dorky, and waited for their hunt to begin. He attempted as best he could to conceal himself in the grass, though he wasn't quite as little as he used to be, and was clearly visible, despite trying to still his excitedly wagging tail.