Coat of arms

The wind was warm and soft, ruffling the young prince's gold and black coat as he walked along a stream while the drooping branches of willows caressed his back in a gesture that was almost loving. Even without his head held high and standing at full height, he was now tall enough that the willow's branch tips smoothe the fur along his spine where previously they'd hung inches above his shoulders. He liked the feel of their touch; it was a reminder that he was growing older and to him, it was a sort of praise from the nature which existed around him. One day he would be able to reach up and grasp the willow by the boughs, wrench them free with his powerful jaws. For now, he was content to allow them to touch his back and stroke the golden saddle he'd inherited from his absentee father.

A butterfly danced through the willows ahead of him and before he could stop himself and keep his composure he darted forward on instinct. He was still young and wanted to play- but just as he snapped at it, cleaving one of its yellow and black wings from its body, he stopped. The little thing dropped to the ground, writing and flipping from one side to the other. The slightly crumpled yellow and black wing fell from his mouth as he looked down at the butterfly which was now unable to fly or even right itself as the loss of a wing destroyed its ability to balance on its feet. He watched it topple over time and time again as it tried at least to walk. It couldn't. He'd essentially killed it.

With no remorse the boy picked up one of his heavy paws and quickly scratched at it, half-burying the butterfly as his claws dug into the earth. It was an act of curiosity and mercy both, as the butterfly became quite still once the act had been done. Gold and black, just like him, but much more fragile. Once dead, the little prince observed it for a moment before he kicked some dirt over it. Not out of respect, but out of the need to bury something which was dead and useless. It was ugly, contorted and ripped- not something he wanted to be seen in their packlands. No, only beauty had its place here. The atrocity disguised under a layer of earth, the prince moved on, a slight smile gracing his handsome features as the willows stroked his back in what he imagined was a congratulatory gesture.

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The black wolfs nose twitched, his ears swiveled searching for any danger, and his yellow gaze kept a lookout for his prey. Kasai loped along following the trail of scent left behind by one of the pups. He himself had woken up an hour earlier after a night of patrolling the borders, and now the Tainn was curious as to where one of Elettra's sons had gone. Upon waking up the burnt wolf had been thinking about catching breakfast until he stumbled over Asriel's young scent. A scent of made of the Archers own young smell along with his mothers. Kasai did not mind allowing the pup some space as long as he kept himself safely inside of their own territory.

The landscape among the willows was beautiful as always. Though the dark man often thought of summer as the most beautiful time of year for this area's willow forest. The stream only added to the quiet atmosphere allowing a wolf to achieve peace if it so wished. The warm soft wind tickled the bare spots scattered around the black wolfs coat; effectively cooling him down as he trod through the shaded undergrowth. Both rain and sun gave the dark wolf problems during summer. Rain soaking him to the core without a fully protective coat, and then sunlight which seared his pelt overheating the male in the summer. For now he padded along tongue lolling as he searched for the young prince.

Kasai finally found the young man and watched from a good distance away hidden underneath the shade of a tree, and by the very willow branches that tickled the younger wolfs back. The burnt shadow watched the pup go after a butterfly and grinned as he brought the fluttering animal down with little difficulty. Some pups might feel sadness for hurting such a fine flying creature, but it was easy to see that the young one had no problem at all killing it. Respect for prey would come later on real hunts where the adults would teach them. For now Kasai wasn't even sure if the young Archer knew what the value of life even was. He's too young to know it.

"Nice catch.." He finally growled to the youngster allowing his dark frame to slip out of the shadows and into full view of the pup. Kasai wondered what reaction he would get out of the young man.

Like one caught in a private act, Asriel's head snapped around when he heard the voice, having expected to have been alone and having had no longing for company. His eyes narrowed and lips pulled back instinctively, revealing his needle-like teeth for a bare moment; the grimace was one done in surprise, though it was very obvious that it was a look of defense. As suddenly as the prince's face was wreathed in shock, the look disappeared and his teeth were covered again by velvety black lips as he recognized the sooty figure with the bright gaze. His fur took longer to settle, though, and his eyes remained as piercingly bright, if not somewhat vindictive for a few moments. The prince of shadow and flame did not like having someone startle him.

He wasn't particularly moved by the praise, either. He looked down to the spot where the earth was scratched, dirt covering the butterfly. That's all it was- and it wasn't an accomplishment he was very proud of...Well, he'd been proud of it on his own, but didn't want someone to tell him that it was a good catch. He knew that already. So the comment which was meant to be a compliment made the prince wish he'd been caught in the act of doing something more kingly, rather than catching and killing a butterfly.

He scratched some more dirt over the butterfly, remaining mute for a few moments. After some consideration, he spoke. "I want to hunt real things." He said, without looking up.

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An amused look appeared on his face as the pup twisted around in the blink of an eye with a startled snarl upon his dark maw. Though the pups reaction disappeared after only a moment replaced by another face that told Kasai that the young man did not like the situation he was in.

Kasai watched the boy look back down at the dirt covering the final resting place of the once beautiful butterfly wondering what was going on through his head. Then the pup answered with a much more adult response than the dark man had thought he would get. Maybe he's growing up faster than I had realized it... I mean damn that was a full sentence.. How long ago when he was barely talking? Kasai smiled taking his yellow gaze off the pup and looking around the willows for anything unusual around.

"A real hunt. Well when you are about this big your mother and I and the rest of your pack mates will be able to take you on some practice hunts.." The patchwork of black fur rippled around his shoulders as the dark wolf lifted his leg gesturing to the pup the certain height Asriel would need to start learning how to hunt.

Letting his leg drop back to the ground the Tainn spotted a squirrel in the distance. With a wry smile he spoke again. " I suppose I could find you a rabbit and bring it over to try and teach you a little if you want..." Kasai remembered how he'd broken the leg of a fawn so that the younger wolves of Swift River could try out their hunting skills. Perhaps he could do the same with a rabbit?

A pang trickled through the black wolfs heart as he thought of the wolves he had previously known as family. Even if the guy hadn't been that close to them. He'd tried at least. Now he had a new family to help out. Elettra's pack and her pups. The longer he stayed in Willow Ridge the more the black wolf came to like their proud alpha and her other subordinates.

Turning his gaze back to Asriel, Kasai hummed a little hunting tune in his head while waiting for the younger wolfs reaction.

(This post was last modified: Aug 21, 2013, 02:20 AM by Hotei.)

The prince looked to the older male when he spoke of going on a hunting trip to practice hunting...And when he raised his leg to show how tall Asriel had to be, he straightened a tad and then frowned. That was much taller than he was. This displeased the Archer heir greatly- he'd wanted to go hunting now. Later was not a suitable substitute, not when he wanted to grow up as soon as possible, and the height the male had shown seemed so much taller than he was now. He was the biggest of the batch- both Skoll and Morganna were smaller than he, but that did not make him any closer to the suggested height than he was now. He looked away. He didn't like having to wait to grow.

But fortunately for Asriel- and for Kasai, whose reputation improved greatly with the new suggestion- another alternative became possible, and Asriel's mood improved tenfold. While the pup did not bound about excitedly as most others would, his heartbeat sped up considerably and his eyes flashed as he looked upon the dark male with renewed interest. "Rabbit," He blurted quickly, as soon as Kasai finished speaking, and he took two steps toward the male, finally showing a real acknowledgement of him that showed he'd won the prince's favour, at least for the time being. "Yes," He said and with the same expectant tone, he added "Now," and after a short pause, remembering that while he was the prince, he was not yet a king so he added- "Please," with a short dip of his head.

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