Dagrún bounded through the range dragging a rabbit skin that contained some clay for her to play with. She'd gotten the clay from uncle Álarr so she could try and make some bowls like his. He said that if she made some good ones he'd show her what happened when you put them in fire and she couldn't wait to see that! Dag plopped down near the barn and unfolded the rabbit skin to reveal the lump of clay. Ok, she could totally do this. First she patted at the clay lump, then she put more of her weight onto it, squishing it down a little. Maybe she could make a bowl and then make a disc with a pretty design on it that someone could help her hang inside the den. That would be so cool!

Dagrún worked to separate a chunk of the clay off for the decorative disk before she went back to kneading the larger chunk to get air bubbles out. Álarr said too much air would make it explode in the fire. Which would still be really cool.

Since being allowed to roam free of the den Ysmir found himself stalking more often than not. Being quiet, stealthy, and hidden were talents of the young puppy and even if their desired paths might not be fully visible Ysmir found himself drawn to the art of the hunt. An ancient skill honed through generations for survival, what could be more noble than providing sustenance in this way? To earn that title though, Ysmir had to actually be successful. Thus far in his short life he was not.

His favorite times were when his parents brought back some half dead animal that he or his siblings were to practice their kill on. With his slightly longer canines he was learning a rather effective method of suffocation. He could hold more firmly to his prey with his cat like paws and the long fangs in his head. He had the technique’s down, but he’d yet to be successful from start to finish.

The dark star marked boy was exploring the barn area, his nose to the ground as he sought out the trail of a rat. Huge puppy paws carried him inside, tail waving lightly at his hips and his focus on the earth as he wandered the wall, following and stalking his victim. Ysmir flicked an ear in acknowledgement of Dag, but beyond that his attention was otherwise preoccupied.

Dagrún continued to play with the clay. She really liked this. She'd have to get more from her uncle at some point though he was kind of hard to track down. Dag rolled the larger clay chunk into a ball then started to mash her paw down into the middle of it to make a puppy paw shaped bowl. She then started squishing and moving the clay to try and flatten it out. I was much easier with her claws retracted. She didn't have to worry about them getting in the way.

She looked up to see her brother Ysmir sneaking about the barn. "Hey Ysmir! Whatcha doing?" It wouldn't surprise her if he was doing hunt things. She liked hunting things ok but she liked playing with clay more. She picked out the smaller piece of clay and started mashing it with her paw, trying to get it into an evenly flat piece so she could start drawing designs in it with her claws or maybe a stick or something.

The barn had always been a good place to explore, its shelter was home to many small animals that Ysmir could track. So far he’d only gotten as far as the tracking part. His prey would always find a hole or brush to escape to that he couldn’t follow. It was all quite frustrating, but with each failed attempt he was graced more experience. Each time brought him closer to mastering skills and finally taking his first kill.

The boy visibly jumped as his sister called out to him, but not because she’d scared him. He was afraid her voice would throw off any kind of progress he’d made in catching his rat. Ears slicked to his head as he looked up to her with wide eyes. He motioned with a dark paw for her to be quiet as he gestured towards the trail that he was on. Ysmir hoped that was all he’d get out of her until he managed to catch his prey or deemed the hunt failed.

He didn’t realize she was going to help him. Suddenly the large norway rat burst from some ancient straw in the corner of the barn, its huge body suddenly scurrying down the wall. Ysmir could see its intended exit and with all the swiftness he could muster raced after it.

Ysmir jumped and she giggled at first til he gestured for her to be quiet. She was about to protest but as he pointed toward something in the barn she realized he was hunting. Dag was curious what he'd found but she needed to finish her clay things while the clay was still wet. If they dried too much before she was done they'd be ruined and that wouldn't do! Dagrún finished shaping her bowl, using her paws to push the walls up to make the bowl shape. She then ran one of her paw pads across the top rim to try and smooth it out a bit more. It was small and kind of lumpy but she was very proud of it.

She peeked over at her brother to see how he was doing. Suddenly a large rat burst from some straw and her brother went after it. "Yea, get 'im Mirry!" She felt confident her brother would catch the rat. She unsheathed her claws and started drawing some designs in her dial. Mostly squiggles and random diagonal lines. She didn't really know how to make symbols yet.

His sister looked like she was about to defy his request but as understanding overtook her features Ysmir offered her a thankful glance as he continued his hunt. He wasn’t going to be feeding much of anybody besides a small companion, but Ysmir was determined no matter what. He was going to finally prove himself with this barn rat.

Dag was quiet and Ysmir focused, he stretched his limbs as the massive rodent scurried along the dirt floor. The boy was right on its naked tail. As the creature raced forward he heard the words of encouragement from Dagrun and he grinned. Not only to open his mouth and prepare his attack but also because she believed in him.

With one last giant press in his back legs Ysmir lunged forward and grabbed the beast into his jaws. With a defeated squeak the rat succumbed as the boy shook his head back and forth in a final sign of his victory.

Having mostly finished her projects to the point where they could begin drawing, her attention was focused on her brother as he chased after the rat. He scrambled after it and soon seized it in his jaws, shaking it as he go it. "Woohoo! You got it! Is it dead?" She scrambled around her work surface and bounded over to Ysmir, reaching out her nose to sniff at the rat. She'd never eaten rat before but she was pretty sure they would be edible. This was an occasion where it would be good to have one of their parents to ask but either way she was betting it was fun to play with. She couldn't do any more with her clay until it fully dried. Álarr said it had to be fully dry or it would crack when they tried to fire it.

Ysmir shook his head violently until the rat stopped squeaking. He could feel the animal go limp in his jaws as he took its life. Dag’s voice reached his ears as he finished off his kill and dual toned eyes returned to her. There was a deep satisfaction in his features, he’d never killed anything on his own before and the pride that swelled in his chest was like no other he’d ever felt. His sibling raced towards him, her own project forgotten as she took in his kill.

The young boy nodded slightly before laying the carcass gently on the ground. It was dead, he had managed to kill it, and the way his tail wagged revealed just how pleased the puppy was with himself. Ysmir shifted his weight slightly and nosed the rat towards his sister in a kind gesture. He wanted her to have it, the boy wouldn't be able to provide much, but it felt so good to offer his success to Dag. The young hunter looked back up to his sibling expectantly, offering the first bite to her.

Ysmir nodded that the rat was indeed dead and Dagrún leaned forward and sniffed it cautiously before trying to decide what they should do with it. They could eat it or they could dry and play with it to. Maybe catch or something? Ysmir set the rat down and nudged it toward Dagrún. She grinned and looked at her brother. "You want to play catch with me? C'mon it'll be fun!" She leaned down and grabbed the rat then bounded away to put some distance between herself and her brother. She looked at him, tail wagging as she waited for him to get ready. This would be a great game. Of course she didn't really know what the rules should be but they could figure that out later. She felt the rat in her jaws then whipped her head to the side as she tried to toss the rat over to her brother. Hopefully he'd catch it alright. She had to admit that it wasn't the best throw.

Ysmir exposed his lengthy canines in a grin as Dag leaned down to nose at his prize. Pride wasn’t an emotion that he had much experience with but he felt it clearly now. What the boy didn’t expect was what his sister would do with his rat. Ysmir tilted his star speckled head curiously at her suggestion, he wasn’t actually very hungry yet so he was much more open to her suggestion. Ysmir was a serious pup, he didn’t play as much as his siblings did. He preferred to watch and observe, but being one on one with Dagrún opened the puppy up to her.

As though she suspected he would hesitate Dag encouraged him with the promise of fun. Catching the rat had been fun, but catching the rat, would that be fun? Ysmir wasn’t sure what to do but as Dag skittered away the boy drew himself up into a defensive stance like she was going to come at him with tooth and claw. With his joints bent and dual toned eyes sharp Ysmir wasn’t taken by surprise as the rat shaped ball was tossed into the air. It didn’t come straight at him, but Ysmir kicked off with his hind legs and lunged for the rat.

It was as though he was hunting again, and with what he felt was like a miracle his jaws came down on the rat once more. He landed with force and again shook his head like his prey still had life in it. Ysmir didn’t realize the giant grin playing on his lips through his toy. Blue and silver eyes narrowed and his mirth was obvious as he pulled his head back to do the same as Dag and tossed the rat back towards her.

"Good catch!" Dagrún called out to her brother as he managed to catch the rat. He looked to her and grinned. It was fun to get to play with her siblings and she was excited about the game she'd just invented. Well, ok, so it wasn't much of a game yet but she could always add on other rules. For now the ground was lava and they needed to catch the rat. Whoever dropped it would be the loser and… well, truth be told she didn't really feel like coming up with consequences just yet. Though maybe she could make her brother catch her a rabbit or something.

Dagrún watched intensely and then her brother whipped back his head and tossed the rat toward her. She bounded forward, her hind legs coiled like a spring as she leapt up and caught the rat. She barely had it in her jaws and as she felt it starting to slip she lifted up one of her paws to steady it. Paws were totally fair. This time, Dag stepped farther back. She added another couple feet to the distance between them. Her hind end wiggled as her tail wagged in preparation for the throw. Whipping her head back then forward she released the rat.