Balthier had started getting used to his mother not being here. His father made up for much of the loss he felt, even though Allegro still had his everyday duties and on top of that bringing in his own resources for him and the rest of his family. Balthier couldn't say he wasn't sad that Aranea became suddenly absent. But he felt understanding to it somehow, and he still loved his mother regardless. Maybe it was the impression Allegro still gave of her, or just the fact that while she was here she showed her children deep love and comfort. Balthier was very well behaved, obeyed all the rules given to him by his parents and elders. He stayed in the pack, he didn't pick on others, and he added his own little bit of responsibility by watching around the den while his father was away as if he could protect it himself. He actually felt very safe inside Abaven and he could feel the great knowledge of those around him. But still, you couldn't be too careful. And besides, it made him feel useful thinking he could guard his den and his family. He'd become excited as he saw his father from the distance, but he would wait eagerly until he was closer to the den before springing up and forward towards him. "Dad!" He'd prance around him before easing, clearly excited to be with him again though it was a normal everyday behavior for him. "I wanna learn something today! Do you got something for me?" It wasn't really a demand, but he wanted to learn everything his father knew so he could be a good hunter and provide for his family and pack one day too. Hunting Seasonal Prompt Total Word Count: 289 words Word Count Goal: 1500 words Walk "Talk" Think

Allegro drew closer to the den he shared with his children and paused for a moment, dropping the doe he was pulling back into the pack lands with a sigh. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck a bit to work out the kinks that were forming in his muscles before going to pick up the doe again by the neck. The doe had been a lucky hunt considering how suddenly winter had come upon them and how quickly the snow was beginning to build around them.

He felt like the shift from fall to winter was usually a bit more gradual, but this year the cold had swept in chilly and bitter seemingly right off the bat. Of course he also knew that his sensitivity to the cold was perhaps a little higher than some given the ache he usually felt in his formerly broken leg and the age that was quickly creeping up on him and his joints. The joints in his feet and toes in particular were particularly achey as he trudged through the layer of snow that had built over night and it made him realize that he was going to have to cut down on some of the hunting he usually did. He couldn't afford to hurt himself doing all of this when he had pups relying on him. He had a feeling that if he did get hurt Aranea would surely come to help care for their pups while he recovered, but he didn't want to but that on her either. He had committed to caring for them and so he would.

As he reached his den and dropped his kill again, his son's voice made his ears perk and he lifted his eyes to see his little pup sized twin bouncing over to him. Balthier's energy made him smile and his tail wag gently behind him. All of his children were precious to him, but Balthier in particular had a secret soft spot in his heart. He had been the only one of his own litter to carry those distinctive golden swirls from his mother and now they had been passed on to Balthier as well. The memories of his mother grew more and more faint as the years went by, but he had always been proud of being able to carry on those unique markings - especially after visiting with his mother's family and getting to hear the history and significance behind them. As his son bounced around him, requesting a lesson of some sort, Allegro laughed lightly and grinned. "Alright, alright! I think I know just the thing."

He turned to the doe that he had brought back for them and he knew that he was going to need to make it last as long as possible. He knew they always had Abaven's store of food to fall back on as well, but he did like to provide for his pups himself as much as possible. It was a point of pride for him despite the fact that his body sorely disliked the work he put it through on a daily basis to do so. This was a fairly big kill for him and four small pups so as long as they made the most of it he could make it stretch for quite a few days at least. Plus the hide itself would be great to have as an additional fur to line their den. "I need to start breaking down and preserving this doe so we can actually enjoy it," he told Balthier, shifting his eyes from the kill at his feet over to his son. "We'll have to carefully remove all of the hide so we can use it for other things and then we'll need to pull off all the meat into pieces that are small enough to dry them into jerky. It's going to be a lot of work, but it'll be a lot more fun with your help." He smiled and went over to Balthier's side, giving his son a playful bump with his nose on the boy's gold-marked shoulder.

"But first, we need to thank nature and this doe for nourishing us and allowing us to use all of these things." It was something he had learned from his mother and had fallen back into the habit of after living with her family for a few seasons. He wouldn't push that belief, or any belief for that matter, on his children, but he thought it was a nice lesson to learn either way. They wouldn't be able to survive without these prey animals existing in the world so it only seemed fair to at least thank them for their lives and treat them with a bit of respect. He gave Balthier a little nod toward the doe for him to say his thanks before he smiled and went around to the doe's throat.

"I like to start here because it's a little easier to skin the animal if you make a separation around the neck and around all the legs. Could you go in the den and get the stone knife that's on the shelf across from our bed? Be very careful, it's sharp! Only hold it by the leather part." It was little more that a long shard of rock that he had taken the time to sharpen and wrap one end in leather to make it easier to hold, but it made it much easier to get the skinning process started at least and make incisions in the otherwise tough skin.

wc: 930
total wc: 1219/1500

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Balthier would show extremely anxious as he and his father made it back to the den, and Allegro agreed to share his fatherly knowledge with him. He would look down at the deer as his father moved it around to prepare for what would be taught, and when Allegro spoke, Balthier would look up to him with a glistening desire that was a hidden but open feeling about how he wanted to be just like his dad. "You bet dad!" his tail beat on the flurried surface outside their den, eagerly waiting what the steps were to start and how he could help, "I can't wait!" He'd scoot over a little as Allegro poked his shoulder, looking back down at the doe and as Allegro would speak about giving thanks to nature for providing their meal he'd turn his eager features back to his father. He'd give a strong nod in response, not questioning why they would or wouldn't give thanks to the deer, it was pretty self explanatory. But it seemed important for Allegro to teach his kids in such a way, and it definitely wasn't a bad thing to teach either. It was good for them to respect nature and what they were given, and it could probably give them life lessons on their social behavior too. He'd look back down to the doe before he spoke, "Thank you for feeding us." It was genuine, but through the voice and mind of a young learning pup, and there was plenty of room for trial and error here. He'd look back to Allegro in hopes that his thanks was up to par. To Allegro's request, Balthier would bounce his butt from his sitting position and trot towards their den, being quick to get the tool they would need. The thought of cutting up a deer didn't bother his young mind one bit, they were wolves after all. But Balthier even just as a young boy wouldn't squirm to the thought of blood and guts. He tore into the den with just a little too much energy, but when he spotted the knife Allegro asked for, he'd very carefully and very slowly grab it by the handle. Allegro had in fact made a point to be careful not to get hurt with it. He'd steadily make his way back out of the den and back to Allegro, his legs looking like he was on a balance beam with how safe he tried to be. He'd look up to his father with bright eyes, ready to pass the knife over or start if that's what he suggested. Hunting Seasonal Prompt Total Word Count: 1655 words Word Count Goal: 1500 words (met) Walk "Talk" Think

Allegro gave a wistful and amused grin when Balthier thanked the doe for feeding them and nodded his approval to the simple and effective thanks. He affectionately nosed the top of his son's head before turning the focus to the doe and the lesson at hand. He watched Balthier run full tilt toward the den and his ears flicked with worry, but he didn't want to dampen the boy's enthusiasm so he bit back a follow up warning or scolding for going too enthusiastically after the sharp knife. Luckily, his return trip with the tool and how he held the tool itself was far more careful so Allegro was able to relax again with a soft chuckle. He was always so afraid of the pups getting hurt even though he knew that to a certain extent there was only so much he could do to keep energetic fur balls from getting into trouble. However, he just knew that if Aranea found out Balthier hurt himself on his skinning knife after Allegro asked him to fetch it... he'd never get her forgiveness for that.

"Perfect, thank you, son," he commented before carefully taking the knife from him. He walked back to the doe's neck and set the knife down agai off to the side, using his paw to trace a line through the deer's fur around its neck where it would connect to its head. "A good clean cut right around here will get us a good starting point and then we can start working our way down its body. I'll show you how I do it and then you can give it a try, okay?" He picked the knife back up and turned the doe's head so that he could get to the underside of it's neck. He wanted to get the hardest parts out of the way first so he cut a line from the front of its neck and around the side that was laying on the ground and then around the back of its neck, leaving an uncut portion around the side of its neck that was facing toward the sky. The blood started spilling out over the ground, but luckily for them the cold weather and the fact that the doe had been dead for a while now kept it from being as much of a bloody mess as it could have been. He sat the knife down in front of Balthier and gave him a small nod toward the deer. "Go ahead and give it a try! Just be careful with the knife and if you have any trouble getting it to cut just pass it back to me. If you start pressing too hard the knife could slip and cut you."

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Balthier watched his father intently as he explained and showed what needed to be done. Balthier wouldn't even cringe to the amount of blood that came out of the deer, even if it wasn't as much as normally would had the deer been fresh. Luckily though his lack of interest in the blood meant that he wasn't scared to hunt his prey, and not alarming to say he actually enjoyed the blood and death. He gave Allegro an eager nod before carefully taking the knife from him and steadily placing the tip where he left off. Cutting through the skin like paper, gliding across the flesh almost like it came naturally to him. Perhaps his father's family bearings and Balthier's want to impress made him as good as his puppy self could be, but there was no doubt Allegro would feel proud in his son. And there was much more time for Balthier to make sure his father stayed feeling that way. He pulled the knife with the instruction of his father before stopping after so long to give it back to him. Balthier might have been good at it, but Allegro surely was quicker while more seasoned. He stepped back and waited for his father to pull the knife back away from the deer before bumping his head into Allegro's side, "Thank you dad." His eyes turned to look at him, a hint of sadness in the shine but much more happiness was filled through him, "I don't get to spend a lot of time with others." Sure he had Allegro and his siblings, but he hadn't met a lot of the pack wolves and with his mother gone, he had a hidden sense of loneliness inside. Poem had half way filled that hole that was left in him when he spent time with her. Walk "Talk" Think