Kingsfall dreams bring back memories

For real, Jet thought he’d heard the younger wolf ask. A subtle nod and smile were all the dark one offered in response to that as he turned to head out. Though not too quickly, to ensure he didn’t leave Caspian behind, in case for some reason, the kid decided he did not want to go.

And at first, Jethro worried that Caspian might’ve decided to do exactly that until he heard the sounds of pursuit from behind. A glance back revealed the lighter figure trailing him, prompting Jet to slow down a little more to allow his company an easier time to catch up. And then he continued on for a solid distance, further from their home and where the two of them had been conversing.

When he finally paused again, it was upon crossing a relatively fresh area of churned-up snow. It looked as if a group of ungulates, perhaps four or five, had been through within the last few hours. ”Whenever ya go out, it doesn’t have to be for just one reason,” the dark one spoke upon ensuring the youth was close enough to hear. ”Y’can explore, patrol, and help with the huntin’ all at once,” he continued, gesturing with his nose to the tracks that meandered about through the snowfall before them.

”Take a look at these tracks - we know something’s been through here recently. Now, imagine you were out here alone, explorin’, and you found this. What would you do next?” Jet inquired, canting his head to one side curiously.

He did his best to keep up, but the boy was still short of breath when they finally came to a pause, and lagging behind several paces. He panted as he came to a halt in the freshly-stirred snow. Cas listened as he caught his breath, tipping his ears up and trying to catch every word.

Looking down, the pale youth bent his nose to the snow sparkling beneath the starlight, thinking about the question. "Try'n figure out what was here an which way it went," he decided, turning to inspect the tracks further. If he knew those things then he could decide better what to do. The tracks seemed pretty fresh, though Cas was still learning his scents he thought he recognized it as something he'd encountered before and even been brought to eat once or twice. He began to salivate a little, thinking of it. He could even smell it better, now. "Mule deer!" he ventured an excited guess.

But the snow was very powdery, and churned up, it was hard to tell which way the tracks lead. "I dunno which way, though," his tail drooped a bit as he looked to Jet.

Caspian had fallen behind just a bit, though it didn’t seem to have affected his energy any, for he was still quick to investigate the tracks. The young man determined that he would try to figure out which way they’d gone, which was an exceptional start. His recognition of the specific animal elicited a wry smile and nod from Jet, although the youth’s mood quickly took a turn away from excitement and towards disappointment as he announced he didn’t know which way they’d gone.

”That’s alright. Hard to tell from tracks alone, sometimes,” the dark one announced in an effort to offer encouragement. ”Durin’ the warmer months, y’won’t have tracks like this, either. Gotta look for other clues, like where scents get stronger, or the plants an’ forest foliage are disturbed. If ya see bent or broken branches, the way they’re bent can tell ya which way somethin’ was going as it passed by.”

There was a lot to know, and Jet was sure even he didn’t know it all. There were far, far better hunters out there than he, and probably better mentors for this sort of thing, too. Even if there were, it wouldn’t stop him trying. ”Supposin’ you did figure out which way they were goin’, though, then what would ya do?”

Eager to catch every word, snowy ears remained attentive as Cas took a step back to chew over the question. A new sort of exhilaration began to fill him as their jaunt took on a purpose. He was learning so much!

What would he do? It might be best to report back. Except, some deer tracks in the snow wasn't very big news. It would be much better to be able to say where they were, how many. And anyway, while he knew he was supposed to pretend he was alone for this... game did not seem the right word, it had become more of a training session. But either way, Jet was here, and so Caspian was willing to set caution aside a little more than usual. He knew he was growing up, and would need to know how to survive himself and contribute to their pack and family sooner, rather than later. And he was always eager to catch up with (or even surpass) his big brother, to get to do things that felt really grown-up and not so much like kid's games.

"I'd try'n track 'em," he finally answered, though there was confidence rather than hesitation in his voice. With a wag of his tail, he set about following the dark man's advice about looking for other signs.

Withered stalks of grass, dried with the summer sun, spotted with autumn's mildew and then frosted to skeletal remnants with winter, had finally ended their cycle by being trampled over in the snow. Raising his head, the pale boy pointed his charcoal-grey nose in the direction the stalks had fallen. "This way," this time it was him that set off first through the snow.

Caspian took a few more moments to listen and contemplate the next question. When he provided his answer it was spoken with much more certainty than the previous. As he had with the first inquiry Jet offered a nod, observing as the kid declared he’d try to track them and then determined which direction their prey had gone - correctly.

”Good work. You catch on quick,” so quick that Jet was both genuinely surprised and impressed. Considering his.. abnormal childhood he had no idea what a kid was or wasn’t supposed to know at this stage, nor what could be considered normal. Though.. maybe there wasn’t a normal, just a.. normal for each wolf, adult, or child. Everyone learned and developed at their own pace.

It was a process seemingly without end. ”Now that you got an idea what you’re lookin’ for, you can always be lookin' around, any time you’re out alone,” the dark one commented whilst beginning to trail the younger wolf. ”Keepin’ track of prey’s an important job. If we got an idea where they are, that makes when we all get together to go huntin’ a whole lot easier.”

Just having another wolf keeping tabs on things would be a big help. And eventually, an extra set of paws would be, too.

-will leave it up to you if you wanna fade here or have Caspian respond one more time ^^

At Jethro's affirmation, Caspian beamed with pride.

The boy felt as if he were always chasing after his older brother, never quite catching up. He had little inkling that he was truly younger than Ryder in a way that wasn't typical for 'siblings' like them. It didn't always help that otherwise the boys looked and were treated as littermates, even twins, though in other ways it had definitely been a blessing. But tonight, he was really learning a lot and doing his best without feeling like a second fiddle.

Learning skills, learning what he was good at and liked to do and how to go his own way, it was exhilarating. It helped him put the dark dreams further behind too, as he loped through the snow, letting Jet catch up to walk by him. "Okay, I'll do my best. Do ya think we can hunt 'em tonight with just the two of us?" he'd ask, eager as always.

The answer to such an eager question of course, was ultimately, no. And though the two wolves would return to the falls that night with little to show as far as prey, as he succumbed to exhaustion in the wee hours of the morning Cas felt as if he had gained much more.

FADE