Az had spent much of his time wandering the Tall Grass Plains - barely being able to see over the towering blades - to try and perfect his routes throughout the territories. In the places where the grass engulfed him it was difficult to navigate, and the driven pup was determined to be able to find himself out of any situation without the guidance of an adult. He needed to use every sense he could to find his way, and as the boy sniffed and listened carefully to the world around him, he encountered something exceptionally new. The scent was one he couldn't place, and he could hear and feel cautious thumping on the ground. His ears perked, oversized paws creeping him closer until his nose poked out into a clearing. Before him were half a dozen small creatures - some of them ate, while some of them stood at alert with their massive ears and noses moving to identify threats. Azure instinctively knew them to be food, and crawled closer. Suddenly his paw crunched upon a fallen twig, and all at once the creatures scattered. They were incredibly swift, and before Az could even come close to catching them they'd disappeared into the ground. Brows furrowed in frustrated confusion and he stomped towards one of the hole, pushing his head down into it. These creatures had dens similar to what he and his family lived in, though they were much too tiny for him to enter. And why did they need a hundred of the things? He growled into the cavernous hole, hearing the echo travel deep within it and liking the way it made his voice sound lower and more deadly. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Sirius found the shape of the pup through the grasses with some difficulty, and followed him quietly, keeping his body low. He would have easily lost sight of Azure if it wasn’t for the strong familiar scent of the pup in the air to lead him around. He was stalking the young boy, and had every intention of pouncing on him, which would have been a great lesson on spacial-awareness and fighting, as well as simply bonding time with the boy.

Before he could do so, he sensed Azure pausing, then heard the twig, and the sound of the rabbits as they ran aground. He moved closer to find his young, thick-footed son with his head in a rabbit hole, growling. Sirius chuckled softly, amused at the sight. “Azure, my Tundra, would you like to learn how to catch a rabbit?” the titan asked, his mind already moving to a different lesson he could have with the boy.

His father's voice sounded behind him and Azure startled. The tips of his elongated fangs caught upon the dirt hole as he forced his head from the burrow, and when he turned to face his father his teeth and fluffy face were lined with dirt. "Rabbit?" He queried excitedly, looking back towards the den. "I wanna catch it, but it hid. I'm too big." The boy returned to the hole, pushing his wide paws into it's mouth and scraping hard against the dirt to try and extend the opening. He dug hard and fast, but when he tried once more to fit down into the tunnel he still hit too much resistance to follow the creatures. Another pitchy growl, and he lay down before the hole with his muzzle aiming down into it. "I was too slow to catch them." Azure admitted after a moment, his voice growing sad. "Is that bad?" The boy's oversized paws gave him trouble when he ran, and he banged them hard against the dirt in frustration. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He looked fondly at the small clumsy wolf. Sirius had no doubt that he was going to be a mountain of a wolf when he was bigger. If his paws were any indication. Sirius almost could not believe how thick and sturdy his forpaws where, and the heavy pads seemed strange. It was like he had developed something stronger, different, to the feline paws Sirius boosted.

He laughed gently, a gruff, but happy sound as Azure’s persistence. “If you can't do something one way, think of another. Fight smarter, Azure, always look at things from different angles” he instructed gently, crouching down to his sons level. He ruffled the boys coat with his nose, a pleased thrum in his voice. “Let’s make traps Azure, come on, help me assemble what we need” he instructed, expecting to be obeyed instantly as he moved away from the rabbits, and began to assemble the vines, bait, and pieces that they needed. Most of these items came from the storage near the communal area, and he laid them out before himself and Azure. “Alright, grab the vines, and attach the bait to it here, and form the cage around it like this” he instructed “Do you see what this is going to do?’ he asked as they worked.

His father didn't seem upset that Azure had failed in his hunt, and instead directed him to find a different way of catching the slippery creatures. Azure obeyed the command to follow him, bounding after his father clumsily until they'd reached the communal area. Sirius pulled out many objects, and Az looked over at them with confusion. "But they're over there." He said sadly, looking back towards where the rabbits were. "Now I gotta run so much further to catch 'em, I'll never make it." The objects his father were wrestling with had mostly gone past his notice, his attention span firmly upon the rabbits and not understanding how they could be caught without paws or fangs. Regardless of his desire to hunt, Sirius worked on the crafting. Azure huffed his frustration, then sat beside his father. Why was he changing subjects all of a sudden? He didn't want to make traps, he wanted to catch rabbits. Crafts were for girls. Obediently he grabbed the vines in his teeth and tried to pull them towards where his father had gestured. "No, I don't see. When we're done this can we please go get the rabbit?" The persistent boy whined. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He frowned at the small pup, almost surprised realisation had not come to the boy. Sometimes, Sirius forgot that they were children, and not tiny warriors and pupils. Of course Azure did not know what a trap was, but still, somehow, Sirius had expected him to know it. Having puppies was definitely going to be a learning experience for the Warlord.

He gave himself a moment to adjust to this realization, and put down what he was holding to regard Azure. “Jumping head first isn't the only way to achieve something - like hunting rabbits. What we are going to do is trick them, and catch them in a way that's sneaky that they won't expect. These here are the parts I need to make what is called a trap ” he explained to the boy, steadying the little ones paws on the vine, and helping him pull it around the wood, with a careful, wordless gesture. “If your prey is too small and quick, then find a different way to catch them. That’s what we are doing, so help me finish this, and then i’ll show you how it works, deal?” he said, as he tied another knot, and held two pieces together patiently, giving Azure a chance to tie a knot of his own.

Azure blinked wordlessly at his father's explanation, and then it clicked and he let out a long drawling "Ohhhhh, okay." His paws were clumsy, and so Sirius helped steady them. They worked together to tie the knot, and then he was offered the chance to tie his own. It was difficult, but he managed it. He leaned forward to grab it the vine's end with his back teeth to pull the knot tight. "There." He announced his success and - tail wagging - turned to see what the next step was. "How are we going to make the rabbits go inside it when they run so fast and hide in the ground?" He asked as they worked, his head tilting slightly. There was some logic to what his father was telling him, though it still upset the boy a bit to think that because he was too slow and fat and clumsy to catch a rabbit, that his father had to show him a better way. Some part of him told him it was the wrong way, that proper wolves caught their prey with their fangs and claws and not with odd contraptions. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Now that Azure understood this contraption would help him hunt the bunnies he sought to kill, he seemed more patient with dealing with it. Less anxious - but still somewhat so - to return to the hunt. He managed to tie a knot on his own, and was clearly pleased, tail wagging and all. Sirius could hand out compliments when they were due, and nodded briskly at the boy. “Good job” he agreed, pulling back to examine the trap for a moment.

“We are going to trick the bunny, first make it pleasing to them, by baiting it with something they like, second by placing it near the entrance of their den, and third by chasing them towards the den entrance we have trapped.” he explained carefully to the boy. “Here, put the bait to it now” he gave the boy space to work, and would add. “The bait is more for long-term, to encourage them when we are not there to chase them, but I still wish to show you how to attach it.” he was careful to fully explain himself to the boy.

His father's praise flooded through him and although it was brisk and relaxed Azure still felt exceptionally proud he'd done good enough to elicit the response. The boy gobbled up the attention greedily, his tail wagging harder behind him. Once his father was done examining the trap, he spoke further on their next move. Azure nodded happily, grasping the leafy bait in his mouth to place it into the trap. His teeth pierced the vegetable, and bits of it fell off onto his tongue. Suddenly he spat, the lettuce rolling onto the ground. "This is gross." He announced. "Rabbits are stupid." With his tongue slapping against the roof of his mouth to rid himself of the taste, he used his paw instead to push the bait into the trap. "Can't we feed them something better, so that when we eat them we're eating double the good stuff?" He didn't like the idea of a rabbit getting fat on the green stuff, and then that green stuff going in to Az's growing body. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Sirius snorted in amusement at the boys antics, but he mostly kept a straight face. Teaching them was essential, and he would ensure Azure knew the ins and outs of hunting and fighting well before he was one. “The better food they eat that they like the richer they will taste.” He promised his son, so he didn’t try to get any ideas about feeding the rabbits meat. That would only kill them in a new and unusual way.

“Right, now that's set up, let's hunt down a rabbit. Always remember the end goal is to chase it back here, to don’t get in the way of its path” he warned, as they finished constructing the trap over the burrow. If they chased it this way, it would think its burrow would be a place of safety.

He let Azure back a small ways from it, and began setting him to the job of hunting and tracking their prey.

The boy still didn't quite understand but he was determined to show his dad that although he'd been too slow to catch the swift rabbit, that he could be cunning like the others of his family and win it's blood in the end."You're gonna let me do it, right?" He asked his father, looking up at him as he struggled to keep pace with Sirius' huge stride. "I wanna be the one to bite it." His tiny teeth bared at the air and he snapped his jaws at an unseen prey, tail wiggling behind him. While he still didn't know exactly what they were going to do with the trap they were now abandoning to go hunt, Azure had faith in the warlord that he'd not steer him wrong. "How are we gonna find 'em anyway? They all ran away." He continued distractedly, squinting into the distance as if he might see a massive flock of rabbits in the distance. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

“Of course” Sirius agreed absently. That was all part of the lesson. The boy would learn to craft, chase, snare, and kill the rabbit today. It was just one small thing on the large list of skills to be teaching to his sons. He was already proud of Azure tenacity, and his willingness to do as he was told. So far, his son had not shown fear easily. Unlike Mortis.

“Quiet now Azure, we need to track and sneak up on our prey” he warned, his own voice a quiet whisper above his boy's head. The crept through the long grace, and when Sirius found the scent of their prey, he pointed it out to the boy. “Get that into your nostrils, remember the scent” he ordered, voice even softer. “Track it. Quietly.”

His father agreed to let him finish off their hunt and Azure could not focus on anything else. He heard his father's hushed command, nodded his head to show he understood, leaned forward to inhale the fresh scent.. and broke out from the grass suddenly in his prey's direction. It did not matter to him that he was not chasing the rabbit the correct direction, nor that chasing probably did not equate to tracking. To Azure, the only thought in his mind was that today he'd get to bite a rabbit and it was going to taste good regardless of the gross diet it thrived on. The pup gave his best menacing snarl as he ran, though through his breathless huffing it somehow sounded more like a battlecry then a growl. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Sirius groaned and did the equivalent of buying his head in his paws for a moment, before he was off. He chased his pup, exasperation in his lengthening stride. He was glad he still had height on the young boy, and was upon him eventually. He grabbed for his scruff even as they ran, tossing him in the air to equate for the momentum of their strides, moving him in a circular motion through the air, and then landing him on his feet once more. “Azure you will listen or you will sit on the side lines. am I clear?” he growled at the young boy.

The rabbit was long gone by now, but then Azure had been chasing him in a random direction, and it had snuck into a burrow about the time he had caught up to Azure. His pup had had no chance of catching it. “See how it went into the borrow? And gone. thats why we have the trap, so it can’t escape us. Are you ready to listen now?”

One moment Azure had his eye on the prize and was well on his way to finally catching and chewing on a rabbit, and the next he was flying through the air and plopped back upon the ground. He sat upon his butt and weaved his upper body slightly, dizzy. Sirius was saying something, and Azure did his best to look contrite as he listened. "I'll listen." He parroted sadly, kicking at the dirt with his paw. His father just didn't understand, he needed that stupid rabbit! The boy watched the rabbits flee into their burrows and frowned. "OK dad." With a resigned huff he puffed out his chest and met his father's gaze, waiting instructions that were hopefully more clear then last time. After all, Sirius had said to track it but he hadn't said anything about what to do once he had. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He glanced at his child, a little disappointed by the thick air that seemed to be wafting through his ears. He would need to keep the boy on a shorter leash, until he proved himself capable of listening and comprehending what was going on. He was just about ready to shove Azure head first into one of the rabbit burrows until he was stuck, and leave him there.

But, Zee wouldn’t forgive him, and then he would have a shorter list of heirs in the future. Burying his sigh, he glared down at the boy, so he would feel the full weight of his disappointment. He cuffed the boy's ear, but very gently. He was only a small sprite. “Alright, listen and obey Azure.” He wanted to make sure the boy was actually listening and not just parratoring. “ track the rabbit. That's all your doing for now. Demonstrate you can find a scent, and follow it. track the rabbit Azure” he said slowly. It was clear from his words that Azure was not in his good graces right now.

Azure's head moved along with Sirius' gentle cuff and he frowned, though it was a frown displaying his own disappointment and not of sadness. He nodded again, more serious this time, and perked his ears towards the fled rabbits. Getting to his feet, he made a show of putting his head to the ground to sniff them out. A very strong part of him wanted to tell his father the rabbits were tracked - because he watched them flee into the burrow - but he decided it wasn't a good idea to get on Sirius' bad side right now. Instead he simply moved along the ground following the trail towards where they'd fled to demonstrate that he had the ability. As he came closer to the burrows one rabbit poked it's nose out. Azure crouched low instinctively, bright eyes watching it's movements. As it slowly hopped out and took a look around, the pup wordlessly looked back to his father to ask the next step. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Alright, they were back on track now, if his son could just keep his head in the game. The boy moved towards the rabbits he had chased, which Sirius thought was a mistake, but he kept silent. Let the boy learn through trial and error. They waited by the den, and to the Alpha’s surprise, a bunny hopped out. Well. It seemed this breed was exceptionally thick, considering a wolf had chased it here only moments before.

He crouched low to his son, and whispered in his ear. “Chase the bunny in that direction, herd it towards the snare.” he instructed, trying to be clear and concise so his wandering sons mind could grasp it.

Sirius gave clear instructions but still the pup resisted the urge to groan. Couldn't he do the chasing? Azure just wanted the prize at the end, what if he screwed up and they had to start all over? He took in a deep breath then let it out slowly, crouched lower and began to circle out through the grass out behind the rabbit. It was very slow going, he did his best not to shift the grasses too much or make too much noise. He was almost to where he needed to be, to pop out and scare them back towards the snare. The excitement was getting to him however and the pup had stopped being as careful with his paws out of impatience. Suddenly a twig snapped beneath his pawpad and he gasped. His head shot up from the grass and he watched as the bunny fled. Thankfully it was running away from the dens, though not directly towards the snare they'd set. "Dad help! It's going the wrong way!"He cried out, jumping forward to chase it. The boy was much to slow to get ahead of it or to the side to steer it the proper direction. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Sirius watched his son as he stalked the rabbit, and for a moment thought he would be successful - but he made a noise and startled it. Reminding himself over and over that his son was still very small and young, the Warlord shot forward after their prey. He raced over his son, thundering the earth beside him, before he was ahead. He snarled and snapped his teeth, terrifying the rabbit into going the right direction.

It was too scared to notice the strangeness about its den, and ran hard into the contraption, breaking its foot at the sudden cease of momentum. That was fine, it was trapped now regardless. “Make the killing blow, get its neck” he ordered his son.