Aslatiel had been spending a lot of time with Azure lately. The pair had a similar mindset. They were more ruthless than their siblings, in a sense. The small girl also just genuinely enjoyed being with Az. He made her feel safe. With the terror that her father had brought upon her, she needed that feeling of safety. Since that event, the girl had been a little more sullen. A little less perky. Moving at a slow walk due to Az's aching paws, Aslatiel was deep in thought. She wasn't paying much attention to where she was going. Her body was on autopilot. It was only when something caught her attention out of the corner of one purple eye that she snapped her head up. A strange, round thing was moving across the sand. "Az," she whispered, her body instantly dropping into stealth mode. "It's a walking rock!" It was one of the most amazing things she'd ever seen. Why was it walking? HOW was it walking? She had to know! The girl slunk forward a few steps, her vision still trained upon the rock. "Let's go see it!" Even if he didn't want to go, she was going. She had to go. Her curiosity would not be denied. "Speech"

They were enjoying a peaceful walk when Asla's voice broke the silence. Azure's ears perked and his head whirled to see what she claimed to be a walking rock. The ache in his paws were forgotten, and he bounded over after her towards the creature. "Wait up!" He called to the fast moving pup, coming up alongside her to observe it. The first thing that caught his notice was the smell - though it didn't smell like chicken or rabbit, it did seem to be a form of meat. His tongue swiped across his lips hungrily as his stomach rumbled. Up closer it was obvious that the creature wasn't a rock at all, or at least if it was it had a head and legs sticking out of it. Was it an animal that was stuck in a rock? Maybe he'd taken a nap and the rock grew around him, as sometimes trees grew around objects. "Look it has a face!" He announced his find, circling the creature to look closer. Azure stuck his nose in close to it's own, and suddenly the face and legs and arms disappeared. Vanished, and the rock was all that was left in it's place. "It's a ghost!!" He cried out in terror, their sister Banshee having told him of the scary creatures. The pup fled away, coming up behind his little sister and scrunching low behind her. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Intrigue thrummed through the girl. Though she was stalking the creature, Az burst ahead and went right up to the rock. A moment later, he shrieked and darted behind her. A ghost? The fear in her sibling brought Aslatiel to bristling. She would protect him from this ghost. Striding forward, the small wolf leaped upon the back of the walking rock, her claws digging into it to hold on. The rock rose and began to move with her on its back. Lavender eyes went wide and Aslatiel looked over her shoulder towards Azure while she rode the rock. "What is this thing?!" Leaping off of the rock, the small girl padded around the front, sniffing in the same place where Az had been. Again, the head pulled into the body, but she had seen the face first. Aslatiel laughed aloud. "The face looks like an old apple." She held her belly as she laughed mirthfully. "Let's get the apple out of there." Placing her paws against the rock, Asla gave it a push. The legs came out again and the rock began to stumble sideways, but continued its course. This thing was so weird! As it walked, Asla sniffed at the legs. She took a tentative bite to one of the limbs and they instantly pulled back inside. There was blood on her tongue though. Standing up straight, purple eyes glittered mischievously. "Az, we can eat this thing." "Speech"

As Az moved to hide behind his sister, she darted forward to protect him. He reached out a paw towards her as if to stop her, whispering "be careful!" However the brave pup moved on, leaping onto the ghost rock. He waited anxiously to see if it'd come out and eat her, but it only started slowly moving forward and taking her with it. Az mustered up the courage to rejoin her near the creature, wanting to be there to protect her too even if it was scary. She jumped off the rock to stare into it's face, and Azure's jaw dropped in awe. His little sister was the bravest pup he knew, staring face to face with a ghost and not afraid. Her courage inspired him, and he moved closer just as she bit upon it's leg. She looked back at him then and proclaimed that they could eat it, and Azure decided he definitely wanted to be able to say he'd eaten a ghost rock. Banshee would be so impressed, definitely. He crouched low to stare into the rock's holes and then tentatively he moved forward towards the hiding creature. He opened his jaws wide and brought them down down upon the shell. Az did not feel the familiar texture of flesh beneath his teeth. "Can't eat the rock, just the ghost inside." He clarified, nodding. "How are we gonna get it out?" "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

It didn't take her brother long to get over his fear. He came up beside her and she grinned, proud of him. Asla gave her brother an amiable shoulder bump before looking back to the rock, now unmoving. Azure tried to bite the rock and declared that it wasn't able to be eaten. "Hmm," she said, thinking about the situation. As she thought, the rock began to move again. "Hey!" Hopping in front of it, she stopped its progress again. "Az, we need to stop it from moving." Then an idea struck. They couldn't eat the top. What about the bottom? "Let's try to flip it over." Still staying in front of the rock, the small girl began to push at it. She was too small, however. "I need your help." Both of them together, their powers combined, they should be able to flip the rock. "Speech"

Asla was always the one with the good ideas, and Az nodded firmly as she suggested flipping it to stop it from moving. What a good idea, much better than taking one nibble each time the thing got brave enough to show it's shriveled apple face. He took his place beside her and bent down low, jutting his shoulder out beneath the shell so he could heave it over with her help. It took a great deal of effort, but the thing managed to flip. Azure immediately looked over at his sister with a beaming smile, incredibly proud they had worked out a way to stop the rock's desperate escape. "OK, now we eat it?" He confirmed with her, staring down at it. The pup did not want another mouthful of rock, the shell he'd bitten down on the first time did not taste good and it made his teeth sore with the resistance. He didn't say it, but he wanted Asla to take the first nibble this time. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Together, they flipped the rock. Az was excited and instantly wanted to eat it, but Asla's brow furrowed, the mark over her eye scrunching with the action. The bottom of the thing looked strange and hard. She didn't think they could eat that either. Extending one paw, she clawed at the rocks belly. Claws grated against the surface and she frowned, shaking her head. This thing was getting to be more work than she planned. Maybe they could abandon it and find something easier to eat. "Can't eat it." Again, the legs and head poked out and the rock began to scramble in the air, wiggling around as it tried to right itself. Ears perked, Aslatiel took the opportunity to study the creature. As she studied, she spoke. "So when it hides from us, everything goes inside. We know we can eat the things that come out... so we just have to open it up, right?" Yes... just have to open it up, but how? Moving forward, Aslatiel put one set of claws on the bottom and one set of claws on the top. With all of her tiny might, she pulled. The shell didn't give way in the slightest. Again she frowned. "We need a plan." She looked to her brother, wondering if he had any ideas. "Speech"

Asla tested the thought of whether or not it was now edible, but she'd used her claws rather than her teeth. Again he was amazed at his sister's thoughtful intelligence, and surprised when she ran out of ideas and turned towards him. Azure wanted to seem smart too, and he tried very very hard to think of an equally good idea to all the one's she'd had. His mind wandered to how he'd learned to kill, and how Mort had nearly died when he'd tried to fly. The rock surely could not survive the fall, could it? He bit his lip, remembering the feeling deep in his chest as his brother tumbled off the cliff. "If we push it from somewhere up high, it'll break." He murmured softly, as if he was still unsure with the idea. His paw lifted and he nudged the creature, realizing that it moved easier now that it was on it's rounded back. "There's a cliff by the den." His voice had become more serious, less excited as the experience shifted from a fun hunt to the potential kill. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Az suggested that they push the rock from somewhere high. It was a solid idea and worth a shot so she nodded in approval. "Let's give it a try." Asla tried to grab the rock by the opening closest to the shrunken apple's head and it tried to bite her. She leaped back, a growl curling her lips away from small, white teeth. "It tried to bite me!" She said incredulously. How dare that rock try to bite her! Giving the rock a little shove, she grabbed it by one of the leg holes and began to pull. It slid over the sand and grass with minimal effort.

Az knew the way to the cliff, so she followed his lead. The more they worked at opening this rock, the more hungry she became. The girls stomach growled in protest and she growled back. This was putting her in a foul mood. She couldn't wait to eat.

Azure gasped audibly as his sister exclaimed. The rock bites!? The tiny pup stomped over to it, lifted his massive bear paw and aimed a solid kick at it's head-hole. The turtle retreated into it's shell just in time, and his paw smacked only the edge of it. "Stupid rock! Leave my sister alone!" He yelled, sticking his nose close to the hole and growling furiously into it's depths. Once they'd gotten it moving the pair had an easy journey, and it wasn't far to the cliff. Every time Asla's stomach rumbled, Az's responded and the pup tried not to giggle at the face that their tummies were having a conversation about the food to come. He had shifted back into a good mood on the way there, and as he shuffled the tortoise towards the cliff edge his stomach dropped. The memory of Mortis' fall, Resin's shove, Sirius' cuff, it overwhelmed the boy. His ears fell back and he turned away. "You can do it." He told her, not wanting to see over the cliff edge again. He couldn't stop thinking about Mortis at the bottom, tangled in an awkward and painful position and meeting his gaze with a judgemental and betrayed stare. Azure swallowed, gave his sister a smile and then gestured with his nose that the tortoise should be pushed the remainder of the way over. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Az's protective streak was charming and Asla genuinely appreciated that she had such strong, loving brothers. The pair jostled the rock up the incline to the top of the cliff. Az ballked and Aslatiel quirked a brow. He motioned her forward and she went without hesitation. Dozing hey nose under the edge of the rock, the little girl shoved it over the edge. No fear in her, she leaned over the precipice and watched as the rock cracked on the other rocks below.

With a whoop of triumph, Aslatiel leaped at her brother with the intent to tackle him out of sheer joy. As fast as her little legs could carry her, made her way down to the rocky bottom. One exposed leg of the rock was kicking feebly, but it soon stopped. The ghost rock was dead.

With her claws latched into the softer inside of the rock, Asla peeled the underside back to expose the warm, meaty flesh. Tail waging furiously, she pushed the rock towards her brother, offering him the first bite.

Asla did not hesitate to complete their kill, and Azure almost moved up to watch the rock fall to it's death below. Had it flailed like Mortis had? Did it scream? He didn't hear anything, but maybe it was because rocks couldn't talk as loud as wolves. He didn't watch it fall however, as much as he'd wanted to. Instead he'd turned to go down the hill, when suddenly his sister tackled him to the grass. He rolled with her, giggling madly until she'd gotten up and sprinted towards the cliff's bottom. Az followed her, a gleeful triumphant smile upon his lips. They'd done it, they'd murdered the stupid rock and now they were going to eat it. This was the best day ever, even better than hunting the bunnies. His sister reached it first, and peeled back the remnants of rock. She was right, there was flesh beneath. The ground was splattered with shards of rock and blood, and Azure stepped carefully around them to reach the corpse. Surprisingly she'd not taken a bite yet, and pushed the rock towards him so that he might be able to try it first. He grinned wider, then lowered his head to tear a portion of flesh from it. It was satisfying, and tasted of victory. "Mmm!" The pup rumbled, pleased. "We gotta do this again, it's so easy!" Why did mom raise screaming, fleeing chickens when she could have rocks instead? "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

For some reason it brought the girl great pleasure to watch the joy on her brothers face as she offered him the first bite. Once he'd tasted the rock, she began to eat as well. It had a strange, almost tangy taste to it. Slightly sweet and slightly musty. She wasn't sure how she felt about it yet, but she was ravenous so she kept eating.

Filled with rock meat, Asla threw herself on the sandy ground, her little belly distended. "Ugh," She groaned. "So full!" Their hunt had been a success. They worked well together, she thought. It was nice that they could bounce ideas off of one another. As she lay there, the girl pondered. "I wonder what other weird foods there are in the world?" She wanted to eat all of them!