The Warlord wanted to spend more time with Venoms little brood. He had been seeing more of Take then any of the others. The mute wolf apprenticing to him as a warrior. The others he hadn’t seen as much, as wished to know a little better.

The Warlord rose early and completed a circuit of the Armada before finishing it at Ashen’s borders. He looked out into the familiar territory as he considered what a good day it was for a hunt. He lifted his head, and called for one of Venom’s children to join him. He knew his almost-daughter wouldn’t mind him taking one out for a lesson.


"Speech"

The tall princess had a lot on her mind recently and she’d done something that she was ashamed of. It weighed on her, but onwards she went trying not to think about it. Phoenix and Tanto were with her as she made a patrol, the smaller akita dog running ahead of her while the golden pheasant rested between her shoulders. He still remained the drab brown leaf coloration as an adolescent, but within the next year he would begin to grow in the magnificent golden feathers his species was named for.

Ike was doing her best just not to think when she heard the Warlord’s call from the border. Both the princess and her dog averted course to go and see what he needed. Tanto reached him firth, the silver and charcoal brindled dog offered a quick bow before introducing Shuriken with an esteemed gesture before taking his place behind her.

"Greetings, Warlord Sirius.” She offered him with a reverent bow of her dual toned features. Still ashamed of her lost antlers and the aftermath that led to her errant behavior.

"Speech"

He was not left waiting long before the familiar form of the dragon-like girl appeared before him. “Well met, Princess Shuriken” he said, returning the bow with a dip of his own head. “My, you’ve truly come into your height, Little Lady” he said, surprised at just how tall she had suddenly become.

“You ready to go on a hunt?” he asked, getting back to his own paws, and indicating in the direction of the Prairie - one of his favourite places to hunt. She also appeared to have lost her antlers, but he left that unsaid for the moment. Uncertain what the reason behind it was. Zee had lost hers temporarily ones, and the subjection had been a touchy one indeed.

"Speech"

What Shuriken didn’t realize was that her antlers would begging to grow anew with the change of the season. Like the deer that they came from the antlers would shed in the winter and regrow anew, and better, the next year. Her first set had been tiny and single tined, with age they would gain more tines and length.

"They’re still hard to use,” She said with a shrug as she offered her massive paws when he said how much she had grown into her height. The girl certainly didn’t feel that way. She tried not to think about her shortcomings, not after everything with Iki. "I’m ready to hunt.” the princess offered with a determined nod of her head. She lifted herself from her haunches and readied herself to follow, Tanto behind her looking similarly determined.

"Speech"

The Warlord laughed gently at that “That’ll come to you with age” he promised her, and let the way out of Ashen and Armada and towards the Prairie. Skirting through part of Ashens territory. He offered her a ride on his shoulders over the stream if she liked - he was still big enough to manage that - and whether she took the ride or not, it was only a short journey from there to the Prairie.

Entering the outskirts of this territory he turned to the younger wolf. “What do you scent?” he asked her. Wanting her to take the lead in finding prey for them to hunt. It would be a good lesson for the girl.


"Speech"

Sirius assured her that with age she would gain control of her ungangly paws, she was almost a year old now and that still wasn’t true. Everyone told her that same thing but she was beginning to not believe them. She shook the thoughts from her head as she turned to follow the Warlord, assuring him that she could cross the water on her own as they finally made it to the prairie. Their first order of business, much like her uncle Chimera had, Seer asked what she smelled.

"Pronghorn, prairie dogs, muskrat…” she took another sniff and tilted her head, a little uncertain about that last one. "And raccoon?” Ike asked with a tilt of her head in uncertainty.

"Speech"

Sirius took in a deep sniff as well, and nodded his head. “Very good” he said, taking in the scents of the first things she mentioned. “And close, but it's an opossum, they have rat-like tails that help balance them in trees” He explained.

He looked back at the younger wolf, looking her up and down a moment in thought. “Let's go after that pronghorn, do you think you can track it?’ he offered up the challenge to her. “We don’t want to get close enough for it to see it, so keep an eye on your factors in your environment, like wind and cover” he explained.

"Speech"

Sirius praised her lightly and the princess smiled softly, accepting his guidance as he corrected her. An opossum. She nodded, trying to remember the scent as he made his decision about their next step. Sirius was taking her on a hunt. Shuriken wasn’t an excellent hunter but she had been training. Young but naturally talented in at least one thing as long as she could keep her feet underneath her. She had hunted pronghorn here before, and was confident she could proudly show the Warlord what she knew.

"I can track it,” She told him confidently with a quick nod before lifting her nose first into the air and then along the ground, and without another word led the way. She sniffed the air every few feet and her dual toned eyes looked around the prairie as she slunk through the tall grass. When they finally crested a small knoll, on the other side of a mock valley were the pronghorn. "There they are.” She said quietly, thankful they were coming downwind of them.

"Speech"

It was good to see her confidence, he knew that her clumsiness with her paws was a drain on her self-esteem. Letting the younger wolf take the lead, the Warlord followed after her on silent paws as she sniffed the air. Keeping a careful eye on her so he didn’t step on her toes when she paused to check the scents on the wind.

“Very good” The Warlord whispered quietly, hunching down beside her as he surveyed the longhorn. “Now, pick your target, and keep that longhorn in your mind. Do you wish to bait or lie in wait?’ he asked, leaving it in her paws.


"Speech"

Sirius watched her, observing her skills and actions. She felt the pressure, but his gaze was not near as piercing as Hattori’s. Sirius was kind and sweet especially when she failed, but her father was a stone of a man. Gaining his approval meant everything and it was no easy feat to impress the Shogun.

The Warlord coaxed her onward, praising her quietly as he gestured towards the herds before them. He questioned her, leaving everything in her paws. "I think we can surprise them from here.” She said confidently, and let Seer follow her through the scarce brush. Moving only when they were mostly looking down and away. Her splattered form blended well with the dappled shadow of foliage.

Over confident Ike continued forward, just about ready to burst forth and grab the small antilope before her. Then the wind shifted. Ike watched all of her hard work go down the drain as the animals scented them and bolted, and she didn’t know when they stopped because she couldn’t even see them anymore. Ike fell back onto her rump and the waterworks began. The young princess began to cry in her failure.


"Speech"