Broken Timber Pines One Step at a Time

hmm... now that I know we need 6 posts total (not per character) we might be able to claim demonstrating/practicing a role skill points for this. I would definitely considering this teaching to hunt. and ah, sorry for the morbid lesson for your 2-month old pup

Well this was certainly a very recondite conversation, wasn't it? Hopefully @Nova wouldn't mind how thoroughly matter-of-fact she was making this lesson. She nodded assent to the young girl as they made their way to the carcass, adding: "We could be, but you would killing and eating someone just like you. There was a sobering silence and a heavy memory in her mind. "Sometimes... when wolves get very very hungry and there is no food... it happens." It wasn't meant to frighten Nalda, but it might anyways. Her turned sideways to catch the look of interest or fear that might be there. "I will never let that happen to you, to any of us."

The doe, when they reached her, was lazily stuffed under a fallen cedar. Iopah sniffed at the carcass and then pulled it out before backing away for Nalda to see. The area was kicked up, there were gouges in the earth and a tuft of lynx hair where the doe had struck a blow against her attacker. Clearly the doe hadn't put up a strong enough fight, for here she was.

Slowly methodically she padded forward and touched her nose to the doe's cloven feet. "They can kick and run just as fast as wolves." It was a recent kill, the blood was still damp when she stepped closer to the slashed throat. She bent down and indicated Nalda to come closer. "This is a female, the male's sometimes have horns and they grow right from here." With that she indicated the very top of it's head, exactly where a male's horns would have grown.

@Iopah Definitely! And my 2 month old much appreciates the facts of life xD

Nalda was not frightened, she was deeply fascinated. For as long as she could remember, she had had a deep seeded desire for learning, as any pup would, she supposed, yet the young Zamora found herself deeper enthralled than her peers in some of the more intricate mysteries of the world. Like this one! When Iopah looked back at her, the girl was watching her intently with wide eyes and a tiny smile curving her russet lips, the joy of learning filling her with electric energy. She was happy to hear that her conclusion had been right, not feeling overly mortified by the idea that wolf could also be eaten. Perhaps, when she was a bit older, the moral dilemma would strike her more, but for know she was simply pleased to see the logic. The woman's reassurance was nice enough, but truly, Nalda was more focused on the lesson at hand than any future ramifications, and as they reached the carcass, she was almost jumping on the spot with anticipation. Iopah took her time to investigate the animal, before finally dragging it into the open for the curious pup to see. She was eager to get closer, but kept back for the time being, watching as the adult took in the dead body and its surroundings, piecing together the happenings surrounding its death. Nalda tilted her head, wondering how it had ended up here, and why someone would have left all that delicious meat; As the strong tinge of blood filled her nose, the pup was beginning to feel rather hungry. Then the adult finally spoke again, and her student sucked up the information like a sponge, following her gesture to look at the does legs, tentatively padding closer to see the oddly shaped feet better. She wondered what happened to the deer's paws, but Iopah moved on too quickly for her to get to ask, and as they moved on to the head, the question was, at least momentarily, forgotten. Nalda eagerly followed the invitation and trotted up to the animal's throat, twisted in an unnatural angle, clearly exposing the gaping wound that had been the doe's end. Deeply fascinated, the girl looked at the exposed insides, now with her own eyes making the connection between meat and deer. Iopah mentioned how to differentiate between male and female deer, and the young girl followed her indication, wrinkling her brows a little; "Horns?" She uttered in a low, thoughtful voice, not sure what the adult meant; Were they like ears? But this animal, that Io had already identified as a female had ears, large and floppy, and one of them looking to have been chewed rather rigorously. Seeing the teeth marks though, made the child remember her earlier question; "How'd it end up'ere? Who killed't? Did you? Or moma?" Any shyness she might have felt interacting with the queen earlier had completely evaporated, she now saw the woman as a source of learning, and that was the best thing ever. Word count: 501 ”Speech”

Starna @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile

The low utterance made her look down. The girl was clearly puzzled, not understandably given the situation. It was impossible for a child to understand something she had never seen before - more so that her teacher was not fluent enough with words to paint a clearer picture. When Nalda's focus shifted, Iopah willingly went along with it. This was only a first lesson after all, they didn't need to go into such detail right now.

"A lynx killed it, and brought it here." Iopah watched the young wolf's fascination with everything and remembered how overwhelming learning everything had been. Sometimes it still felt as if she were still learning stuff. "See," She prodded gently, "These are it's tracks, and I can smell it still." Luckily it was a stale odor, and the Pines' queen doubted it would dare approach it's kill with an adult wolf nearby.

"It tried to hide it under the fallen tree." She made no comment on the sloppy job the big cat had done, but did cast her gaze bemusedly on the hiding spot. Certainly Nalda was wise enough to realize her nose would lead to such a prize - regardless of how well it was concealed.

@Iopah About time we thought about wrapping this up? c:

There were so many questions in the excited pups head, she couldn't remember which she'd actually voiced. Her eyes were wide, oversized ears pricked to attention as she tried to catch every detail of the scene, clinging to every word spoken by the adult. When Iopah brought attention to the tracks in the dirt, Nalda eagerly followed along, lowering her nose to the ground, to use her newfound skill of scenting. "Lynx?" She mumbled, breathing in the bitter, unfamiliar musk, determined to commit it to memory, s she would recognize it again next time. "Lynx not wolf..?" She stated, looking back up at her teacher, her voice landing somewhere mid between a question and a definitive. She knew this was a different creature, yet it had hunted and killed like the wolves did, her first introduction to not just prey, but rivals. Still, it seemed this lynx was no big threat. Nalda tilted her head, looking back at the partially eaten carcass. Killing something and leaving it here in the open was a rather stupid move, even the pup could see that, wolves like herself and Io could just come by and take it. The child's gaze briefly grazed the fallen log before turning back to Iopah, a giggle erupting from her small form; "Not ver'good!" She announced with a smile, glancing back to the deer lying more outside than within the small shelter of the fallen tree. Nalda wrinkled her nose, again noticing the strong scent carried to her on the wind. "But we smell'd it…" She said thoughtfully, eyes glowing as she turned her head back up at the adult; "Even if't hid'it under th'tree, we'd still've found'it!" Word count: 280 ”Speech”

Starna @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile

sounds like a great idea, you are welcome to archive or tag one last post on

Not very good, indeed! Iopah could do nothing but smile down. The lynx's misfortune was a boon for the wolves, and an educational lesson to boot. "They are smaller and more... flexible." It was more crucial that Nalda have a memory of the scent. She would catch sight of a lynx eventually, and she would get her mental image then. "Because they don't live in packs, they have to hide food to keep it safe."

Iopah ushered the pup forward, taking a step forward to find any remaining meaty pieces. There was no sense in waiting for the lynx to return. "Are you hungry?" Likely she was, if her stomach was anything her own daughters' constant appetites. The remains would need to be moved to the pack's caches, but there was no reason that the two wolves couldn't eat their fill now. At any rate, it would be less that needed to be moved later.

With a sigh the Pines' alpha moved forward, carefully watching if Nalda should need any help or have further questions. The pup was bright and curious, but still vulnerable and the queen wanted nothing to happen to any of the Pines' pups. Once Nalda had settled in would Iopah start to eat herself.

A rare smile graced the russet pup's lips as she saw the praise in the adults eyes. She was full of excitement, all the new knowledge buzzing around her head, her senses overloaded with information. By this point she was too full of new ideas that she hadn't much focus left for the talk about lynxes. She simply nodded at the short explanation, eyes already drifting back to the carcass. The mention of packs did give her pause though, there were animals who didn't live in packs?  Why? Though Nalda didn't much appreciate company, she had come to know pack life as the only viable option. She knew that without the other adults, her parents wouldn't have been able to care for her as well as they did. She would be weak, and hungry. Hungry! Just as she thought it, her tiny belly rumbled loudly, and at the very same time, Iopah asked her about it. "Mmhm..!" The pup affirmed, nodding again, her tiny tongue lolling out as she looked over the exposed meat at the dead deer's chest. It took no more encouragement for her to dig in, her small, but sharp, teeth digging into the flesh and tearing to free a small strip. She was still very young and it took a lot of chewing before she was able to swallow, but the work was well worth it. And once she was full, while waiting for her aunt to finish as well, the curious pup continued to investigate the carcass with her eyes, nose and teeth, eventually settling on happily tugging and munching on an, already ragged, ear. She liked this carcass better than mere chunks of meat, she decided, it was much more interesting. Word count: 287 ”Speech”

Starna @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile