"Okay." As they walked, she kept her nose to the ground, though she still looked rather upset with herself. Sniff, sniff, sniff. The further they went, the more she realized she could smell it. "I can smell it!" Stopping suddenly, she twisted around, trying to find a trail. She leaped past her brother, desperate to make up for her error before, but it just didn't seem to be working.
As the tiny whelp took in the small bit of information he gave her, the tawny male bent his muzzle down to give a light nudge to the top of her head in encouragement; one of the more tender embraces the stoical male offered his siblings. Slightly put off by this information, the pale pup once more began to look for the mysterious rabbit and the tawny male followed patiently behind her, his tail waving like a proud banner in the air. Every so often he would bend his own head down, his nose quivering as he picked up their scent once more to reassure them both they were on the right track.
At Borlla’s recognition, a small smile briefly smoothed Ruiko’s stern features, though it quickly disappeared. “Good,” he rumbled lightly, his eyes following the girl as she darted forward to better locate it. He fell silent, not once hinting at the direction it could be, for Borlla would need to learn these things on her own if she were to be successful in caching.
Now dangerously close to the catch, she got down as low as she could, nearly digging her way through the top soil like a very confused mole. It had to be around here somewhere. Her pale brows furrowed, and she took a moment to stop and just sniff. It was all very overwhelming, no matter what direction she turned. She thought about it for a second, nose still twitching. Ruiko caught the rabbit. So if she could smell his scent too, she could find the rabbit, right?
Disregarding the fact that he was very close to her, Borlla sniffed around again, trying her hardest to ignore the scent that turned her around back into her brother. And then she found it! Leaping ahead, she dug her little paws into the dirt, pushing it away the best she could. A small bit of white was seen among the brown and she yipped, "I found it! I found it! See Ruiko, I found it!" The girl spun around to face him, grinning widely, amazingly proud of herself.
They were close, and the moment the pale whelp caught on to the idea of using his older scent as well as the rabbits, the girl was upon the cache – the unsettled dirt a clear sign. Proud at the girl, Ruiko gave a rumbling growl of praise before bending down to press his muzzle gently to the top of her head in congratulations. “You did,” he rumbled in agreement, his golden eyes watching her as she dug at the loose dirt to find the prize beneath. Taking a small step back as the girl did a small dance, Ruiko gave a nod of approval. “A job well done, smallteeth,” he murmured, casting his tiny sister a small wink.
Leaning forward, the large male unburied the rest of the rabbit, brushing off some of the dirt that now clung to its fur. Casting another glance to the mischievous pup, he gave a nod in the direction of home. “Shall we go share your accomplishment with Indru? And then share the meal with your brothers?” He didn’t really wait for an answer from the pale she-pup before bending down, his jaws gripping the rabbit firmly before he began to lead the way home. A place where Borlla had best learn to stay until she was big enough to explore on her own.
"Home?" She whined, sitting down now, her expression shifting from one of pride and joy, now to disappointment. Home wasn't very fun. That's why she came out here. Finding the rabbit had been kind of fun though, and she did get bragging rights. He'd already moved on before she decided that it couldn't be that bad. There wasn't any arguing with him anyway. "I guess so." The girl answered, although it didn't really matter, and followed as quickly as she could after her brother.