Sirius called his two competing boys to him in the brisk, early hours of the morning. He had already been up and on patrol since before the sun had risen, and contemplated how to get the two of them working both in tandem and competitively. He knew Zee would have his hide if the two boys fought like wild cats over Heir.

He would start throwing them into group activities, such as this hunt, and others, in the days to come. After letting loose his howl, he sat in the pleasant sunshine that fell across his border, and waited for their appearance.

He would be leading them directly towards the Algoma Prairie, which was rich in herd life, and would offer a good variety to have the boys track and kill. Perhaps they could camp there for the night, and take down something today and tomorrow, and come back with their trophies the next day. Yes, it was a good plan. He sent Bast off to tell Zee so she would not worry when the three of them did not come back by nightfall.

Azure heard his father's call and woke abruptly. With the news that him and Mortis were to be competing for the future throne, there was no way he was going to mess anything up again. He stampeded across the plains like a tiny brown and blue bullet, thundering with wide bear paws over towards his father and nearly collapsing at his feet upon arrival. "I'm here, dad!" The boy announced proudly, lifting his head to look into the warlord's eyes. Yep, Azure was going to be the best little kid a man could ask for, especially for as long as he deemed Mortis a threat to his inheritance. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Mortis was a little slower then Azure. It took longer to nurture his competitive spirit, and mostly he was still surprised at this new change of pace in his life. There was a chance he could be Alpha one day? He just wanted to grow, and train, and be a warrior. He wanted to support his siblings, and be a part of the things they did. He wasn’t sure what he thought of this, but he did as he was told.

He rose, and moved quickly towards Sirius, finding Azure already there, looking up at their father. Mortis joined him, rubbing sleep from his eyes and shaking his wings, wondering what the plan was for the rest of the day.

“Hey Dad” he said, looking to his father, and to Bast who raced back towards him just now, and then to Azure. He had a feeling the challenges had already begun.

He didn’t have to wait long. In fact, he felt he had barely blinked, and then Azure was before him. Panting a little, and looking up at him, alert and ready. Mortis was slower to arrive, rubbing sleep from his eyes as though he had just woken. Mortis was showing promise but he would have a lot of work ahead of him if he wanted to be serious competition to Azure. Giving Azure a gentle pat on his giant bear paws, he addressed the two of them.

As he did so, Bast returned, so his Wife knew of their plans. “We are heading out on a two day camping trip, I expect the two of you to show me how much you’ve learnt with your hunting thus far, and to impress me with taking down large prey. Consider it a learning experience also, and feel free to ask questions. [b] “Call your companions if they are coming with, we leave now” he ordered, already turning, and heading in the direction of the prairie

Ooc: feel free to have them arrive in your post.

Mortis coming along for the ride wasn't something that thrilled Azure, but he'd take it in stride nonetheless if only so he could look even better by being mature enough to put their problems past him. He turned his head and called for Diablo, though the young leopard he had no interest dragging through the neighbouring territories. "What'dya think we'll be hunting?" The boy asked his brother as they walked, already imagining how much cooler it'd be to take down a beast of an animal instead of the small things he'd previously killed. He wondered absently if his father would disapprove of the usual carnage he enjoyed, or whether or not he'd appreciate the fact that the pup liked to slice up his kills and learn about their systems while he watched them die. "Oh I hope it's a moose. I could make a whole throne for myself out of a moose's rack." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Mortis hurriedly raised his head and howled to his bird companion. His snow leopard was still very young, and he didn’t think his father would have the patience if she set a shorter pace then the rest of them. He didn’t have to wait long before the green-toned sharp beaked bird arrived. She was a crafty little thing, and he was having some trouble getting her to do as she asked. Mostly they worked together, but taking orders wasn’t her strong suit. He hadn’t even named her yet.

He looked to his father, and to Azure as they set out at a brisk pace. “Dunno” he murmured quietly back at his brother's question.

When they arrived, their father would give directions, and Mortis glared at his Kea. she better deliver his messages then! He looped off quickly to the North of the Prairie, searching for whatever his father might consider the perfect prey.

“A throne is gaudy and has no place in my pack.” The Warlord abolished, glancing towards the more talkative of the two boys. He expected Azure to win this competition he had put into place with the pack, but he would not have his heir getting full of himself. He expected Azure to look after the pack, as much as he did himself. The pride before the fall and all that… if Azure did care for the people, he would deserve to lose the pack. That was a lesson Zee had taught him.

They arrived at the prairie after a time, and his attention moved from Azure and Mortis. He wanted to know how these two could work as a team. His eyes moved over the herds and the open land, and he considered how best to go about this. “Alright, fan out, find me something juvenile, something that doesn't look like it would survive the season. Birds are our communicators.” he said, nodding to the bat, the Kea, and the vulture, as he sent the two boys on their way.

Azure frowned as his father chimed in shutting down his idea, sighing and pulling back his ears to look contrite. Trying to prove himself worthy of heir was hard, there was so much he didn't understand. He leaned over to Mortis to complain-whisper very quietly. "I bet Deathbelle gets a throne." Eyeing his father sidelong to ensure he could not hear. Luckily they arrived and direction was hastily given. Azure threw the weight of his shoulder forward, dislodging the bat that was so happily riding upon it. "Go on." He urged. When eventually Diablo flew off, Azure moved through the prairie in the opposite direction of Mort to search. Truthfully the boy knew he was an awful tracker, so he moved quietly through the grasses in hopes of just not spooking anything while Diablo found him something for them to hunt. "Hurry up." He'd hiss to the bat as it circled above, wanting desperately to be the one to find the perfect prey. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Mortis snorted quietly in amusement at Azure’s words. Deathbelle called her home a ‘palace’ she probably did get a throne. Certainly, if she wanted it, she would have her pick of people to make it for her. But he supposed he got the idea, the Armada was a place for warriors, and Sirius didn’t want pride to be their downfall. Mortis made his way around the prairie, searching hard for inspiration on what to take down. The unnamed Kea flitted through the sky above him, searching for anything that the wolves might consider worth taking down. His nose was to the ground, but the kea found something first. She circled in the air to get his attention and began to lead him to the right of where he was going. He followed her as quietly and quickly as he could, and would be rewarded with a juvenile buffalo, some distance from its parents, playing in the stream. Silly creature must have slipped its mother. It would pay for it. He directed the Kea to fetch his father and brother, and settled down in the bushes to watch. "Speech"

The Warlord tracked passively, but mostly he had Bast and Marshal keeping a subtle eye on the two boys, and watched them work. It wasn’t long before Mortis’s companion came to him to gather his attention, and he knew the boy had found something. He was getting the inkling that Mort was more slow and careful, but Azure was brave and quick on his feet. Both were valuable qualities. A part of him wished he could smoosh the two together and create the perfect heir. Alas.

He bounded forward, following the bird, and would arrive before Azure. As the kea went off to find him, the Warlord hunkered down beside his winged child, and took a look out across the Prairire, and found what Mort had. “Good spotting” he murmured quietly, and nodded his head to Azure when the other boy arrived. “Alright, i’m going to chase him further away from his herd, you two head to the trees on that side, and prepare to take him down.” He ordered. He didn’t want his boys close to the herd if they tried to protect their lost calf.

Azure was disappointed that Mortis' bird found something before Diablo did, but he returned to his family without so much as a noise of complaint. He'd discuss it with Diablo later, he'd need to find a way to encourage the bat to work harder on his behalf. The boy crouched low alongside his father and winged brother, peering out across the prairie to find what they'd spotted. A buffalo sounded like a very cool prize, even if it was only a young one. His father gave instruction and Azure moved towards the trees where Sirius had motioned. A bit of worry touched him on whether or not they'd have to do much running in this hunt, he wasn't sure if his father would be driving the calf towards them or if they'd need to give chase. The oversized paws he was born with made sprinting more difficult, he didn't want Sirius to see where his weaknesses lay. He waited until his father and brother got into position, ready to spring towards the calf when the time was right. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Mortis nodded his head quickly at his father's orders, and when the older man began to move away, the pup was quick to race towards the treeline their father had pointed to. He waited to see where Azure would settle, and then hunkered down opposite him. It was their first hunt as a team, the Warlord and the Heirs. He was super excited to see how it went, and to prove himself in front of their father. He knew Azure must be feeling similar.

The two boys didn’t have to wait long, before they heard the thundering of the Warlords paws, and would see the small buffalo charging towards them. He got up a little, crouching, coiling his back leg muscles, and would pounce on the side closest to him as it approached.

The Warlord would move away from the two smaller wolves, watching from the corner of his eye as he waited for them to get into position. He himself crept closer to the herd, sneaking between the calf and the adults. At least there was a decent space between them. He crouched low in the grass, pulling himself forward by his forpaws, butt scrapping earth.

Once he was sufficiently near them, he burst free from the grass, charging down on the calf, which lurched forward in surprise and fear. Sirius kept quiet, making no noise to further its alarm. The herd would know by now what's happening, but he just needed them to decide that it was too late to intervene.

He herded the calf towards the two waiting boys, working hard to keep it from verying to any side in its mad dash to escape him.

Sirius expertly cut the calf from it's herd and drove it down towards the boys. Azure waited patiently, shooting the occasional glance out across to where Mortis hid just to ensure his brother was prepared for their attack. The calf came through fast, it's sprint quicker than Azure anticipated and for a moment he worried he'd be delayed in his pounce. His eyes found his brother, seeing the other boy prepare to spring and mirroring his posture. His haunches coiled to pounce, and before he knew it he was flying out of the bushes and onto the surprised calf. A gasp of air bellowed from the small beast, understandably winded as both direwolf boys hit it from either side. Azure used his long curved claws to rake across it's throat, keeping himself held firm in case it's momentum continued forward. While his intention was to allow his brother the killing blow, Azure's eyes were drawn to the spurting blood beneath his claws. He'd cut an artery without thinking, and swiftly he leaned into the calf to crunch his fangs into the base of it's skull. He found it was the easiest way to kill a creature, as the placement of his elongated canines allowed him to sever spinal cords with ease. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."