Rudy had come up with a life goal, to be a master at most everything.  How could that not work? It just meant he needed to learn everything which meant keeping his eyes on everything and everyone.  The only problem was the restrictions of how far he could roam currently.  Trying to decide important future decisions had Rudy looking about for inspiration when he spotted Resin.  Was his brilliant idea to go ask for lessons? Nope, he would spy on her and see if he learned anything.  She couldn’t just stay lying by the falls forever, right?  She was smart and a great fighter and sorts of amazing things, right? Rudy was proud of the fact he’d realized the water offered sounds that could help him hide his own sounds.  The rocks would have to act as hiding spots, walking as softly as untrained and excited puppy paws would allow he carefully tried to make his way to any brilliant hiding spot.  The tricky fuzzball knew he needed to stay out of line-of-sight.  Using the various grays of his coat he tried to blend with some of the rocks and small shadows they created.  Vibrant eyes carefully watched Resin.  Proud of himself for coming up with this brilliant idea, and dreams of brilliant secrets might learn it was rather hard to keep his traitorous tail still.   Ok, so the tail might of hit the ground a few thumps, would she really notice that? She was near the falls and they were making more noise than his tail right?  The rocks would surely hide him, right? "Rudyard"

As always Resin had been up before the sun to begin carrying out her duties. Though others patrolled borders as well, she found it very important that a leaders scent was there as well. It wouldn't be said that the Aegis of The Hallows was lazy. With the morning patrol being done, Resin had eaten a bit of venison from the kill stores then decided to take a much needed rest before the payrolls started all over again.

When you only had one eye, you'r other senses worked overtime to make up for it. Rudyard may have been moving quietly, but he was upwind. His familiar puppy scent blew right into the resting womans diary blue nares. The lone golden eye cracked just a sliver and she saw him creeping towards her through the rocks. Her eye closed again and she allowed him to come closer. His excitement was evident by the thump of his tail. Though the water was a constant babble, sounds that were added atop the babbling were noticeable.

He was close now. The fae tensed her muscles beneath her and sprang, scooping the black and grey pup towards her with thick grey forelegs. She chuckled and swiped her tongue across the top of his head. "Next time, be mindful of the direction of thre wind. It will blow your scent right into the face of the one you're stalking and your position will be lost." A wide paw gave the boys rump a pat as she released him from her grasp. "And control your tail."

He had this!  She hadn’t reacted yet.  Rudy was so excited with the only irritation being his tail.  Everything changed, remarkably fast in fact.  Resin was super fast for having one eye and being old!  She went from laying there with her eyes shut to suddenly pulling him in! How’d she do that. Being caught was worth it, both for the lick that had the tail wagging again and then the tips on what he’d done wrong.  For all he had a hard time focusing his attention at points when it came to Resin telling him how to improve his full somber focused gaze was on her.  To be the best he needed to learn everything, to soak it all in. “I didn’t think of the wind,” offered a bit sullenly, with a glare given towards his tail as she swatted the rump.  Yah, that much he knew he’d done wrong.  Stupid tail.  A second later the annoyance was forgotten and he looked back up at Resin with that light of hope and joy, “but you didn’t see me right? Did you hear me? Um, besides the tail.  I was walking pretty quiet, wasn’t I?” Hopefully he hadn’t messed up on everything! “I decided I want to master all the fun stuff,” explained somewhere between somber and excited, that attempt to look formal but that excited voice killed the look, “I need to be a great fighter, and hunter, and spy, and,” at that point Rudyard stalled, “well anything else that’s special and great!” Yup, all the pups would be impressed with how great he’d be, as soon as he learned to be great.  Oh, well now the more logical thought on learning things came to him, “hey mom? You want to help teach me? Like you can even teach  me more than the others, cause I wanna be extra good.”  He was young and arrogant and impulsive but at least he had the sense to know he’d need lessons to be able to match up to his dreams. "Rudyard"

She watched as he mulled over her words, muttering something about the wind. Rudyard seemed to perk up again as he questioned his skill. "No, I didn't hear you until your tail gave you away, but I knew you were coming, from which direction and how close you were." He'd been quiet but he needed work. She wouldn't give him false hope and would speak to him plainly.

The childish enthusiasm continued as the boy spoke of wanting to master everything. "You decided, did you?" 'Everything' was a tall order. She didn't remember ever being so ambitious. Mastering one or two things was doable, but everything? Resin didn't want to curb his desire to learn, so she had to go about this the right way. Giving her head a slight tilt, the big woman spoke in her gruff, rumbling tones. "It would be wise to master one skill before moving on to the next. Then your attention won't be divided and you'll retain more. That's not to say that you can't still learn many things."

Rudyard wanted to be special and great and learn things that were equally as special and great. The giantess scooped him to her once more, settling him between her forelegs. "Anything that you choose to learn, you'll do well. It will take hard work, but if you commit yourself, you'll be able to do anything you wish." A little bit of greed and a lot of pride showed through as the boy asked her to teach him. Not only teach him, but teach him more than the others. "I won't teach you any less or any more than I'd teach your brother and sisters," she informed the boy. "I can't teach you about healing or reading stars, but I can teach you how to hunt and how to fight. I can teach you how to lead if you wish." There were countless things that one could learn, but Rudyard had to start somewhere. "So, Rudyard. Where will you start?"

Rudy had mixed feelings about Resin’s advice on his sneaking about.  He had work to do on areas he hadn’t imagined.  The young pup hadn’t imagined the way the wind blew to be a problem so that was a whole new area he would need to figure in but, at least she hadn’t heard him coming.  So it wasn’t a complete fail?  Still, getting caught always killed a perfectly good game. Mom-Resin sure seemed to have all the answers on getting stronger.  Of course, he was talking to one of his mom’s so it made sense.  “Oh,” So what did he want to master first? Rudy got reeled into Resin, that fuzzy-pup tail wagging merrily at the attention.  When he was listening and focused he could appear cute and innocent, with these big eyes trying to soak in everything said.  “Um,” where to start was a really big question, “I don’t know.  Fighting sounds fun and I don’t wanna let Art ever beat me in a fight, or my sisters…” losing wasn’t an option in the small pup’s mind, “but I bet learning to hunt would also help me learn to sneak up on others better so that would be like learning two things at once!” [/align] So if he focused on learning to hunt he could just tussle more with Arty to make sure he didn’t get too rusty, and if he started to lose then Rudy would need to, well be amazing enough to learn it at the same time as hunting anyway?  Just enough to not let any other pup beat him. “oh and later leading!” Why? It sounded like something the best should aim for, right?  Rudy intended to be the best so it made common sense. "Rudyard"

As Resin listened to Rudyard speak, she inwardly sighed. He was going to be a handful. There was no doubt about that. The way that he thought, well... it was going to make him rather high maintenance. It would be her job and Tamsyn's job to keep the young boy in line and to steer him in the proper direction. The one-eyed woman could begin doing this now. "Let's start with hunting then." They could focus on other things later. It was good to work on one thing at a time and, fortunately for the boy, hunting was one of Resin's specialties. It wasn't her true specialty, but she was definitely good at it. Rudy piped up about leading and Resin chuckled. What would he do when he found out that to lead meant to put the needs of others before your own needs? Rising from her resting place, the woman shook out her thick pelt. "You stay here. I'll be back soon." If he wasn't there when she got back, then she'd offer the training to one of his siblings. He had to learn not only skills, but patience and common sense. With her orders given, the woman moved off. Out into the forest she went, obsidian ears on alert for and rustling in the brush. It took her about thirty or forty minutes to locate her quarry. Would the boy be there when she returned? "Speech"

“Ok!” It was a cheery response to waiting as of course Rudy had no idea how long this ‘wait’ would become.  His rump quickly sat down, tail wagging eagerly ready to charge off after hall.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Eternity had passed, perhaps a good 3 minutes.  The tail slowed and muscles started to lose their tension and another entire 3 minutes passed.  Had she forgotten him already? Had something stopped her from returning? Was she just waiting to catch him in the act of leaving?  Ho wlong was he supposed to wait? Rudyard got up, twisted about in a circle, sat down, a few seconds passed and he got up searching for something to entertain himself with.  Making his way to the waters edge mom had been near he peered down and imagined the fun of splashing into it.  With a regrettable sigh he left it alone.  Then he padded over to where he’d hid watching Resin quietly, biting onto a stick and backing up shaking the thing viciously.  A few other sticks were pulled on, some broke some just bent until he let go.   An entire 15 minutes had past now! Rudy paced all around the region then went over, laying down near the edge of the water dipping one paw into it just to feel the water running over it.  He didn’t dare go in, not when mom might come back if she hadn’t forgotten him.  The notion of running off to find Art entered his mind.  He stood up and walked to a determined edge of the spot, an area he could still see Res if she came back from where she’d left.  Another minute passed as he considered the fun idea of running off, a morose look back at the spot mom had left. Finally with a long groan he went back to the spot mom had left from, and laid down looking like the most tortured thing in the world – he had to be lay and wait and it was sheer torture.  That desire to run off was killing him.  Those lamenting pup eyes kept up, watching and waiting praying to be saved from this horrible torment.  How long would he stay there?  Well he at least managed the forty minutes. When he could tell she was approaching whether by sight or hearing he'd jump up as if it was the most excited thing in the world, tail wagging, rump practically following along as all that loaded spring of energy was ready to be released.  She hadn't forgotten him! "Rudyard"

She had to admit that she was surprised when she returned to the falls and found him still sitting there. Resin had imagined that he would have become bored and wandered off to do something else. Rudyards patience was in short supply. Why else would he be in such a rush to learn 'everything'? As the massive fae moved back towards the boy, the item within her jaws began to kick and thrash again. She'd brought him a rabbit. Laying down on her stomach, Resin spat the rabbit out and held it down with one paw. It had taken a lot to keep from killing the thing, especially with sheering teeth like her own. "And your lesson begins." Lifting her paw, she allowed the rabbit to race off as well as it could. She'd made sure to damage one hind limb so that the beast couldn't run too quickly or too far. "Catch the rabbit." Just as she had with the long eared creature, she placed a paw on Rudyard, holding him back until the lapine was well out of sight. No doubt it had found a hiding place and was planning to hole up until the world felt safe again. Lifting her paw, she released the monochromatic boy. Resin rose with him, intent on accompanying him on his quest. "Where does the hunt begin?" She asked him as they moved along. "It begins in your stomach. Feel the hunger drive you. Use your nose. Seek it out. Keep your ears peeled for sounds of movement. Keep your eyes open for the shifting of grass." The maned woman would allow the boy to make his mistakes, but she would steer him in the proper direction with those simple instructions. What he would do now would prove just what kind of hunter he would be. "Speech"

Not only had she come back but she had a rabbit! Rudy was quickly next to her, hopping on two legs to check it out before she had it pinned to the ground.  Just as his nose was getting next to the rabbit Resin let go and the rabbit ran off.  Rudy was about to go into a charging chase for his prey when Resin put her paw out to stop him from running off.  Rudyard was all a jitter to go and those tormented pleading eyes looked up as she spoke to him. Like a tiny rocket, he lunged forward about two steps before her voice stopped him.  It wasn’t meant to be a fierce charge.  For another second he looks tormented but then he took a slow deep exhale and seemed to calm himself.  Like he would do when attempting to spy on someone he found his calm focus.  Despite the yearning to run he put his willpower into her instructions, moving forward but sniffing the ground but then deciding the air worked better for a moment.  His ears were pulled up as high as they could go on his face.   There was his typical confident gait as he moved forward but at times stopping to sniff the ground than the air again.  The boy still wanted to charge, he felt the drive enough that his muscles were quivering at moments but still his movements were forced to be at a steady pace.  The rabbit was terrified and he had seen it run awkwardly when mom let it go meaning it was also hurt.  That meant it probably hadn’t run too far to need a charging race after. After a few minutes, the tail picked up its beat high in the air as he found a scent and turned in that direction.  He didn’t look back for help at any point, no questions for Resin.  It was all new and he couldn’t guarantee everything was right but he would trust in himself, it was his normal path.  Follow his instinct and whether wrong or right just learn from it next attempt.   Eventually, he did spot the movement, he froze keeping his body still and mindful of Resin’s earlier words the tail hardly twitched and at least this time it was high enough it wasn’t hitting anything when it did.  How close could he get before it noticed?  It was hard to focus on not wagging his tail and thinking through what to do.  Who knew controlling a tail could be so hard. "Rudyard"

As the boy absorbed her words and tore off in pursuit of the rabbit, his mother watched. She followed, eye peeled to watch every movement that he made. Rudyard seemed to remember that his excitement would give him away and she observed as he took small breaks to settle himself and remind himself of the task. Good. That was very good. It proved that he was aware of his faults. He was becoming aware of his surroundings and capabilities as well. The boy shifted from scenting the ground to scenting the air. Also smart. However... Moving forward, Resin pushed the boy far to the right with one huge paw. Her voice was soft, but still rasping when she spoke. "Be mindful of the wind. Don't let your scent reach your prey or all of your hard work will be for naught." She'd told him earlier and he'd made a point, but the wind didn't always move in the same direction. It danced and shifted and so too must a hunter match that dance. "You know where it is." She was sure that he had a pinpoint on the location. If he didn't, he surely should have by now. From her vantage point simply by being taller, Resin could see the rabbit in the grass. It was still breathing a little heavy, its eyes wide with panic. The long eared meal had pressed itself between two tall tussocks of grass and was waiting for the danger to pass. If the wolves didn't catch it, something else would soon after thanks to its broken leg. Resin folded her haunches and sat, her sulfur eye watching the patched boy intensely. Would he succeed or would he learn failure? The following actions would tell. "Speech"

Rudy was surprised when the paw pushed him awake, breaking some spell he’d been in of what lay ahead.  He looked up questioningly to his mom just as she was answering his internal ‘why.’  His eyes glanced around as if to try and see wind currents.  Obviously, he couldn’t, Rudy knew it, but he had never realized what a tricky thing wind could be.  His mind started to wander to different ways this could be useful to learn but then had to chase away those thoughts.  One goal at a time, and right now the rabbit was the goal. Rudy nodded silently at knowing where it was.  The shifting wind was a thing he was less confident in than the noise he made on getting towards the rabbit now.  He crouched down a bit lower as he walked back part of his mind trying to be aware of the wind but it was so incredibly distracting to the rest of the hunting! Finally, the rabbit was spied through the grass.  Well, to be more exact the patch of gray rabbit fur was seen through the shifting blades of grass.  Rudy took only one half stride closer before he decided anymore would get the rabbit to run before he was ready.  The thought then occurred the longer he waited preparing himself was the more chances he gave for himself to make a mistake.  That thought in mind Rudy lept forward running to the rabbit and spotting the moment of insight from the rabbit where it saw the threat, the panic as it set out running.  The prey fleeing seemed to burn the desire and had Rudy running all the faster that simple desire of instinct to catch what he’d worked so hard to stalk. Unfortunately for the fleeing rabbit, it was hard to flee fast enough with the broken leg.  It swerved and Rudy followed, the swerve wider than it should have been but he was quickly back on track, another swerve happened with the same problem of Rudy going wide.  The next time the rabbit tried to swerve Rudy was on it!  Sort of!  He bit towards the rabbit's back but didn’t get the neck.  He felt a pinch of the skin but mostly got fur.  The distance was once more there to give the rabbit hope and Rudy growled softly chasing after with all the more desire.  He had got his teeth in it and he wanted it again.   The rabbit was slowing and Rudy was back on it again, once more his snap was off the mark but his teeth still firmly held into the rabbit's back, shaking it with a growl.  The rabbit kicked him! Rudy let go for a second of surprise but only a few strides later he got the rabbit's neck in his mouth and get one leg over it, soaking in deep breaths of air. Rudy let go of his grip on its neck but only to bite again, crunching his teeth in more, shaking his head trying to kill it as easily as his parents would. Blood was pooling out of the wound even if not as fast as his imagination wanted, but with another thrash he did feel something crack under his jaw and the rabbit suddenly going still. "I caught it!" the words came out muffled as speaking with the rabbit's neck in his mouth. "Rudyard"

As Rudyard moved forward, scenting the rabbit, Resin hung back. She actually seated herself and simply watched the show. The woman took in the movements of the boy, gauging his level of skill by actions alone. It seemed that her words took hold in his mind. He shifted his position with the change in wind. His focus was there. He just needed to find his prey and charge. A flurry of movement indicated that Rudyard had found the rabbit. Resin watched, the corners of her scarred lips lifting in a slight grin, as he caught it and lost it more than once. He didn't give up though and for that she was proud. In time, the patchwork boy had his prey between his jaws. A few shakes and the injured, exhausted rabbit was dead. Muffled words of excitement brought a chuckle from the grey dame and she rose, making her way forward. She was proud of the boy for making his first kill. Bending her neck, she nuzzled the top of Rudy's grey toned head. "Well done. Your first kill. You should be proud." The massive fae sprawled on her side in the grass beside her son and his rabbit. "You worked for it. Eat it." He deserved to enjoy the results of his effort. "Speech"