Round Stone Crest Hoppin' Through the Forest

ooc: Dated 11/2 in the morning and incorporating this period's boardwide RE: "The nearby plants sparkle with autumn frost." Dravvie wants to learn how to hunt rabbits!

---

The whole forest was glittering with frost from the night before, and it made the ground and leaves under Draven's paws crunch as he trotted through the territory. With his nose to the frigid air, his breath steamed out above him like tiny puffs of fog trapped underneath the boughs overhead. It was beautiful - except he was on very important business right now, so he couldn't stop and look around slack-jawed at everything... whatever slack-jawed meant. It was one of those words he hadn't heard often enough to really know what it meant-- The former prince shook his head with a snort. He was letting himself get distracted again, and he didn't have any time to be distracted! He needed to learn how to hunt rabbits today, so that he could start practising on his own, so that he could impress @Rose when they met up again by catching a rabbit or two for lunch for them! He knew Cal could probably teach him how to hunt rabbits - she'd told him how when she was on her own she'd hunted mostly just rabbits and squirrels, so she was probably really good at it. The only problem was that he spent more time with Cal than he did with Raela, and he was starting to feel like he was being unfair to Raela that way. So instead of tracking down Cal, the darkling boy turned his nose after Raela's scent. It didn't take him long to find the new Queen, but he hesitated a minute when he did - she was napping, and he wasn't sure if she was still asleep from last night or if she was taking a nap after having been awake for a bit before. Finally impatience won out over good manners, and the boy finally trotted up to her side and poked her gingerly in the side. "Raela." He whispered first, then gradually rose to his normal volume as he continued poking her. "Raela, wake up. Raaaaaaaelaaaaaaaa."

OOC: Apologies for the tardiness!

She was roused in a way quite different to what she'd become accustomed to. There was something nudging her in the side, but before she could even wonder at what on earth was happening in her dreams as a result; the woman's name being spoken jerked her out of her slumber. The agouti wolf's eyes flickered open quickly, and she turned only to realize that it was just Draven. The matriarch stared at him for a groggy moment; still letting the sleepiness drain away from her mind. Then a smile broke across her ivory maw at his eagerness. Even if she had been roused from deep sleep; it was good to see the boy getting excited over something. "Hmm?" she purred; stretching her forelimbs against the floor of the den. Golden eyes passed over the youngest Prince once more as if searching for answers. 

"What's up Draven?" The Queen asked casually; her voice quickly morphing into a long yawn that exposed her pearly fangs. Her autumn-colored ears tipped forward with interest; making the notch in the right one all the more visible. Air flowed from her nose in cool puffs; the world was getting colder by the day, and while it made for easier waking, it would soon also mean heavy snows and a need to lie low. There was comfort in being able to spend this winter among family and friends; but also a nagging worry that she could not prepare them adequately for the season's wrath. They all had to hunt at maximum efficiency until the snows came; and the time to do it was shrinking away with the daylight. 

            

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity