Spectral Woods Master of the House

October 17th; 41 ° F, 5 ° C ; Patchy rain nearby @Cernan
Starts at den, will travel to Spectral Woods then proceed to hunt :)

Les Miserables Score tracker: 16 points
+1 Les Mis. title ; +5 WOTD ; +10 reference/use song lyrics(in italics)

A small twitch here, another twitch there. It was the subtle warmth adorning Vespertio's cheek, the first rays of light to begin illuminating the darkened cave through gaps in the foliage shielding the communal den that awoke the agouti patriarch. Golden irises slowly revealing their presence as sleep riddled lids slowly rose, tarnished teeth flashing in the brief yellow hued beams. A tiresome yawn echoing off the cavernous walls surrounding him as salmon tongue curled, a hint of rain evident on the fresh smelling air. Rising on tired limbs, a grunt of discomfort soon passed over his lips as stiff muscles began to stir and pump the blood needed to get them truly moving.

It was in the afternoon hours the day prior the tawny father had promised a one on one hunting trip with his youngest son. A look of pure glee had settled on the growing Vuesain's features that warranted a smile of his own to grace his leathery lips. Surely to shirk for one day couldn't hurt, right? Now, the king of the lake found himself nudging the coal black coolness of his nose into the side of the mousy pelted boy, an attempt to stir him from whatever dreams currently claimed his imagination. 'I dreamed a dream..' he could imagine his son slurring in his first waking moments. "Cernan, c'mon boy. The elk don't hunt themselves." Vespertio roused knowing very well that an elk was way beyond his skill set for the time being despite how drastically his trio of children had grown since the day they first graced the world.

Offering a playful nip to his son's ear to silently translate the haste his boy needed, he wasted no time in venturing past the entrance while skirting around the bodies of those still sleeping. A kiss delicately planted to his wife's forehead before the sunlight engulfed his silhouette. Today he would take Cernan towards the Spectral Woods, for now rabbits would be their quarry of interest.

(This post was last modified: Oct 17, 2015, 01:58 AM by Vespertio.)

OOC: Sorry this is so late! We're pumped tho! :D

He'd had quite the hard time falling asleep the night before. Promising to be taken on a hunt was quite the mind-blowingly exciting proposal for a pup his age. Even being the timid boy he was, Cernan had enjoyed chasing the smaller critters, and even if he never laid a tooth on a single one for all his zealous perseverance. Father would show him how to do it right! Papa was like mom; he knew everything, so surely the Cove King could show his youngest how to catch a few little mice, right? Anticipation had rendered him restless late into the night; a fact that hadn't sat so well with either of his parents or siblings. Cernan was usually the mellow one. His brain was kind enough to fabricate hunting practice once he finally slept; and the prodding from his sire's wet nose was too strange for the illusion to continue on.

His name drifted off a pink tongue in soft tones; and the child blinked his golden eyes open slowly. When the Prince at last realized it was his father that had beckoned, and that they were to set off on this glorious hunt together; right now; the life sprang back into his body. Cernan rolled up onto his paws with a grin; wagging feverishly as the man's words ran through his mind. He turned; opening his jaws and offering a playful little growl to Vespertio's nip. It then struck him that he ought to keep it down; since the others seemed to still be sleeping. The youth tossed an unsure glance back into the darkness of their shelter before whirling and dancing to his paws. As the sun bathed their coats in warmth at last; a warmth that had seemed to fade with each passing day; the joking suggestion of elk wriggled its way into his thoughts.

Elk were things he had rarely ever seen; and rarer still in one piece and breathing. They were big though, and the thought of hunting one; even if he knew it was in jest; was daunting. Giant creatures like that made him nervous. A question pushed past the youth's lips all of a sudden as they paced along. "So Dad?" He asked; pacing forward faster and turning his sunshine eyes up to meet the original hue of his father's. "What are we gonna hunt? An' wherer we going?" Earnest curiosity brimmed in his gaze as they traipsed along toward the border. It was a special thing to be taken out and away from the safety of the Cove. He was safe with Papa though; at least he was pretty sure of that.

(This post was last modified: Nov 13, 2015, 09:09 PM by Cernan.)

Rust tinged audits flicked hearing his son break the silence that had settled comfortably between them during the casual loping past Cove barricades and into the lesser traveled area of Spectral Woods. A location the tawny wolf considered ideal for today's hunting lesson knowing that the rabbit population was larger here. The abundance of prime burrow locations the main reasoning for such, besides Cernan would surely enjoy a chance of scenery from that of the lapping lakeside estate. Continuing onward, dark masked skull angled downward to settle golden irises upon the mirrored tone of his son, lips twitching back into a bemused smile at the earnest curiosity etched upon his growing features. It was astonishing how swiftly the cubs had grown. Just yesterday it seemed they murmured their first words and now here his youngest son was standing near equal in height. A simple stranger easily capable of confusing the lakeside boy for a full grown adult should they give his pelt a quick observation. Where had the time gone?

A giddiness of his own began to seep into the veins of Vespertio, no doubt a side effect from the mass amount of energy Cernan exuberated in his presence. "I thought you might like to try for something a little bigger than mice. How does rabbits sound?" A glint shone behind those molten golden irises, hoping the idea sounded as pleasant to his son as it had to himself. "I also figured you might like to see some of the world beyond the barricades of the pack." This time the smile upon his lips grew in size, charcoal layered tail swaying loosely at his haunches.

OOC: I took them to the rabbits to get things going! :3

His newly-turned gold eyes flickered about; picking up everything; absolutely everything. This place was so very different from home. Sure, they had forests of pine; but now there were ferns and so very many plants all clustered so close together. It was almost suffocating compared to the mountain above. There were new sounds as well; new birds mixed in with the old familiar ones. He couldn't help but let his head swivel to catch it all as they moved. Dad seemed to be in such a good mood; and it was becoming contagious between the two of them. A smile of his own reflected that of his Papa as the man spoke. "Rabbits?" He wondered aloud; unable to keep the excitement from his tone.

He knew what rabbits were. They were many times bigger than mice, but still many times smaller than him. They were tasty too; and they moved kinda funny sometimes. His gaze had drifted away momentarily; lost in the excitement and imagining of finally coming across the little things and catching one. His father spoke again; snapping the child out of his thoughts. To this statement Cernan heartily agreed. The Prince nodded quickly; again looking up at the trees as they mostly blocked out the sun. "It's really cool out here," he added wagging; ears twitching to catch the sound of a rodent on the forest floor. Silly thing; he was after a much more substantial meal today.

Thankfully it did not take long to happen upon the scent of their true quarry. He paused; slowly realizing what the smell was. A flicker of movement between the foliage caught his attention; and the boy's shining eyes snapped away. The youth stepped aside; managing to find a gap big enough to complete the animal. It was a bunny; no doubt. His tail leapt into motion as he watched. "Dad!" He blurted; hushing himself just in time to not completely scare it off. His tawny ears fell back in recognition of the fact that he ought to be as quiet as possible. Wondering eyes found Vespertio's; waiting to see what Papa would say about this.

Alright, we need 12 post to get some skill points from hunting. 6 of which actually hunting/trying to hunt. We can do it!

The grin upon Vesper's face couldn't have grown any wider at the enthused reaction his youngest son continuously offered, the excitement infesting the heavily vegetated perimeter around the duo of traveling Cove wolves. Above, multiple bird species chirped and twittered their delight in the early morning hours. An occasional bird seen swooping down to snag an unsuspecting insect, becoming their morning breakfast. A single ear flicked toward Cernan upon hearing his opinionated input about the change in landscape, the smile on swarthy lips never wavering.

The patriarch had scented the aroma of a rabbit's musk long before his son had as he guided him along the quarry's trail, a piece of information he had kept to himself to test how well his son's sense of smell functioned at this point of age. It was high time his children began learning the essential tools of survival. Molten gold optics honed in on the rustling of leafs that housed the prey in question, a single corner of Vespertio's lips curving up into a subtle smirk when @Cernan blurted out for his attention before hushing himself. A hushed sigh of relief escaping the watchful father noticing no abnormal movement from within the shrub. Good, the rabbit was dumb enough to not flee for its life yet.

Daring to risk loss of sight on their target, likened gold irises dropped to gaze down at those of his progeny while tawny frame began to hunker close to the earth, hoping his son would mimic his newly acquired stance. His voice lowered a few octaves to hover above a whisper to ensure the rabbit would not be spooked, yet his son could hear the following instructions. "Now, rabbits are just as swift as the mice you have been practicing on, if not faster and smarter." A swift glance was returned to the underbrush, seeking out the small, twitching coal nose of their quarry poking out behind a small grouping of leafs. "You've got to be smarter and faster to catch them."

OOC: Sounds good. Just drawing this out a bit~

As the king of the lake moved into a crouch, so did his youngest son. His fuzzy ears stuck tight to his neck in ongoing recognition of the mistake that had been committed. His Papa was kind enough not to reprimand the child or even look at him with disapproval, and for that Cernan was grateful. He already knew that he'd goofed up; and perhaps his Dad knew that the pup was well aware of it without being reminded. It was natural to get closer to the earth as his sire spoke; after all there was some degree of stealth warranted in catching mice too. The Prince had not the fortune or the skill to catch many, but he remembered to be quiet and hidden all the same.

He knew that the rabbits were much faster, but nodded gently all the same at his mentor's reminder. He'd seen the big-eared fluff balls once in a good while, and when they saw him they always bolted long before the young predator could even start to stalk. It made sense that those big ears made for such good hearing; and he wasn't the quietest animal in the forest. His mirrored golden eyes swept back to the rustling vermin while Vespertio voiced the first of the instructions he'd need to be successful. He was obviously smarter than a rabbit, but faster was another problem altogether. Even the mice were too fast for him sometimes. He was all to excited to try and chase this oblivious prey though; a feeling that only made him more eager as he watched it lop lazily across the dead leaves and through the ferns, looking for whatever it was rabbits looked for.

Even so, the boy recognized that his Papa might have more to tell him about running down these things. Would it fight back when he managed to bite it? That was a scary prospect. Mouse bites stung pretty bad sometimes. Swallowing once, Cernan flicked his eyes to meet the sunny color of his teacher's. A whisper of a question followed. "So what do I do?"

(This post was last modified: Dec 09, 2015, 05:16 AM by Cernan.)

His boy had followed suit in upholding a lowered crouch toward the earth to make themselves less visible to their furry hide friend as it continued to lop about lackadaisically unaware of the danger that was within close proximity. An undeniable yearning to learn twinkled deep within the molten golden irises of @Cernan each time Vespertio's mirrored pair glanced upon them. A rust tinged audit angled slightly to the side picking up on the whispered question that sought the next set of instructions, the patriarch and first time father's voice breaking past his lips in a similar tone of voice. "Right now we have the advantage of being upwind and undiscovered. When this happens you want to stalk very carefully to get closer in range. The closer you can get without making a noise to alert your target, the greater chance at catching the speedy things before they take off." Granted this information easily applied to all future hunts.

For the umpteenth time his molten irises pivoted back to the light coated rabbit, eyelids narrowing to watch the curious creature forage for a small morsel of vegetation or whatever it was the giant rodents did all day long. It mattered not what the hare did currently so much in comparison to what it would become for his son should his passed on advice prove useful in allowing Cernan a successful kill. Oh what pride would swell in his heart and chest to witness his youngest boy growing rapidly before his very eyes. Another important milestone out of many to come tucked neatly under his plush tawny coat.

OOC: Vesper can jump in mid-action and tell Ernie what the heck to do with this thing!

He drank in the Lake King's words with rapt attention. He needed lessons like these; Cernan had no desire to become an autodidact hunter. That would involve too many unnecessary and potentially costly failures. They were upwind – Is that why the others ran so quickly? Had he just been in the wrong spot every time? It would certainly explain things. His father continued to inform him that he had to get as close as possible, but how exactly to go about it seemed to be up to the lad to decide. His glowing eyes darted again to the rabbit; hoping desperately that it was still too busy to notice them. He had hassled the man with questions for long enough; it was time to act. Cernan swallowed nervously, scarcely daring to breathe too loud. Could it hear that too?

The first step was terrifying. A tawny paw drifted waveringly forward; carefully placed in the silent dirt between the noisy autumn leaves. He eased his weight ahead, remembering to look back up at the prey quickly. Every time he looked down to place his feet meant taking his gaze away from the rabbit; and that on its own was something to avoid. In time perhaps the boy would learn to use his peripherals and never take his eyes off of the prey, like dad could. Vespertio's presence actually made him all the more nervous; he had an audience – an audience he really really wanted to impress.

The last time his heart beat this hard was when that demon creature attacked him and his sister at the lake. He was sure that any second the fluffy-tailed varmint would hear it and scatter, but bit by bit his beige form closed in unnoticed. The rabbit suddenly stopped; lifting its head and sitting upright much higher than the Prince would have liked. The pup's eyes snapped ahead mid-step, and without their guidance his off-balance foot landed just a hair too far to the side with a near-silent crunch. It was enough for the rabbit though. In one fluid motion the rodent turned and sprang; kicking up leaves and other debris in its haste.

Cernan gritted his teeth; instantly realizing the misstep. It was too late now to be angry though. The chubby youngster was up and running just as fast as his brain could process; ears pinned and large paws thumping over the ground as pup and prey crashed through the ferns. Golden eyes struggled to remain on target. The thing kept zig-zagging – did it even know where the heck it was going? He'd always followed their scents into-

Burrows. Hunter and hunted rocketed over and down an incline so fast that on another day either might have lost their footing and rolled. The rabbit stopped and veered around, desperately trying to reach its safe house in the side of the slope despite coming at it from above. Cernan, now propelled even faster by gravity and inertia, had just the extra millisecond he needed to thwart its plans. His back legs sprung and hurtled their owner forward; closing the distance not a breath too soon. He leapt down with his forelegs outstretched in a frantic, wide-eyed bid to smack it away. He felt the impact on his paw; and in the next second both animals were tumbling; fetching the ground on multiple sides. His claws scraped at the dirt and he righted himself just in time to see the horrified rabbit scrambling away.

A growl slipped from the boy's teeth as he lunged after it, but this time it was the prey's turn to screw up. The slope's more difficult footing caused her to stumble, and in the next second there were teeth around her leg. Adrenaline was Cernan's governing force as the creature struggled violently, shrieking in pain and panic. Its thrashing was unnerving and even scary – especially so close to his face. He forced his eyes shut as the rabbit's other hind foot delivered kick after kick; though they were largely ineffective. The only thing he felt was minor scratching from its claws. In reflex the child began to shake his head – if only to make the darn thing stop. It was an instinctive behavior that had been with him since his start in the world, but last time it had surfaced during a game of tug-of-war with his siblings. That was quite a bit different from what was happening now.

(This post was last modified: Feb 18, 2016, 09:36 AM by Cernan.)

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

Apologies for how crappy this turned out :/ Basically Vesper is just following at first to allow Cernan to do his thing and explains how to kill it by going for the throat.

Just as the tawny king had hoped his youngest son was soaking up the delivered knowledge like a sponge,  processing each precious and vital bit of key information mentally to later be applied to the task at hand. This hunt was purely to be his son's, but that didn't stop his own heart from beating rapidly against his sternum in anxiousness. Lungs ceasing to draw in another quiet breath as attentive gold irises witnessed Cernan take his first step forward, the world about them seemingly freezing in time with anticipation clinging thickly on the cool autumn air. It was the rabbit's move now.

Vespertio dared not move as he continued to watch his son's advancement, a swift glance toward the still unaware quarry allowing the tawny brute a chance to slowly exhale the breath he had been holding. The rabbit would not be aloof much longer, though, as front limbs removed themselves from the leaf littered ground to stand erect on hind quarters. A coal black nose twitched actively upon an ivory dusted face, elongated ears standing alert upon the top of its head instantaneously the moment the young pup made a noise. Without a second thought the target darted for safety, both wolves hot on its trail.

Leaf litter and twigs alike crumbled beneath the weight of the flying wolves and rabbit, salmon tongue lolling out from between slightly parted jaws as the older Vuesain male kept tallies on both his sprinting child and fleeing food while making sure to keep just enough distance between himself and them. Should things turn sour real quick he would be at just the right distance to jump in and help, but for now he opted to hang back a bit to allow Cernan to learn for himself what to do in these situations. A rough bark escaped Vesper as the path began to traverse over an incline surely steep enough to send the trio toppling over their own paws, his creamy limbs tensing to slow his momentum down to a more doable pace. The last thing any of them needed was to earn an injury, but one glance toward Cernan revealed he had other plans about slowing down.

From his location during the descent the tawny man could only watch the scene unfold before his eyes. Pup and rabbit alike tumbled and fought for stability upon the uneven landscape, debris flying up in a cloud of dust to obstruct his view of the situation. In the next moment a series of shrill shrieks erupted causing the patriarch to leap the last few inches of incline to reach the fray. Relief instantly washed over him realizing it was the rabbit and not the boy making such awful noises before a different realization set in. He had done it! Cernan had caught the rabbit! Pride swelled his frantic beating heart until his son began to perform a death shake, the elated king floating back down to reality. His son had managed to catch the prey, but now he needed to kill the thing before it turned into wasted shredded bits before their very eyes.

Lifting a charcoal dusted tail enthusiastically at his rump, a spirited laugh passed over ebony lips. "You did it son! You caught it, now hold onto it tightly. Don't let it get away, all you've got to do is kill it now." He couldn't help but release an ecstatic bark as he half circled the boy, front limbs bending to allow Vespertio to bow next to his son. "Focus yourself, you want to go for the center part of the neck, right where you can feel the pulse thumping harshly against your tongue." A creamy paw lifted from the ground to jab a paw toward the location he had described. The vital artery humming with life would end the rabbit's life swiftly should his son sever it with the points of his teeth. Of course it would take a few attempts before his kills ended as cleanly as those made by the adults, but practice made perfect.