Frith would finish his first perimeter check of the day, the early morning offering him some quiet from his recently hectic life style. He'd been much too caught up in the dwindling prey animals to spend the time with his children that they deserved. He'd cleared his schedule this morning to have some time with his elder daughter. Frith was excited to see how her hunting was coming along, he'd watch her complete her first successful hunt during their last lesson. He wished to see how she fared now that prey was becoming more scarce. How much would she have grown by now with all the challenges the world was throwing her way? He knew that Varda was growing into a beautiful young woman, she was intelligent and talented. Of course he expected no less from his offspring.

He'd give his coat a quick shake before he made his way to the woods that surrounded the waterfall. The wood did well to cover much of the pounding of the waters. He'd take a deep breath as he found a nice clearing, and would softly call for his daughter. Hopefully she was close. Finding himself relaxing more than he had in a week the Author would coil his haunches and lean back to wait.
""

Still a Prologue, always a Prologue. It seemed she hadn't progressed very far since her last scholarly discussion with her father, and she had promised herself that she would pursue her hunting goals. Fortunately, she had kept some of her training going in the meantime, participating in every hunting opportunity she could grasp. A while back she had been successful bringing down large prey with the undeniable cooperation from the rest of the pack as well as hunting with unfamiliar faces at Threar's recent festival. She frowned at the thought, allowing a long sigh to escape her tight lips. Had she improved? In her mind, improvement was just rising in the ranks, not challenging her personal best. As embarrassed and guilty it made her feel, perhaps she was just confused with it all. Who was best with these issues? Ah, she knew just the wolf. They needed more time together, her and her father. It was about time he caught up with her progress; he had to be wondering about it. What perfect and coincidental timing; she was close by, instantly hearing his call. Wasting no time with her arrival, she advanced through the trees to eventually stride into a small clearing where he waited. At the sight of the chocolate male, her eyes lit as she scampered towards him with a smile, stretching her neck over his in an affectionate hug. Clearly, she hadn't outgrown her father's kisses, and so it wouldn't be long before she would be showered with his love. "Father," she greeted calmly after gently pulling away, giving a wag of an elegant tail. "How are you? It's been a while since we've conversed, unfortunately." "Speech"

He hoped wit their second birthday coming up that Aslan and Varda might be close to earning their first real rank. Varda had done well in thir last lesson, and with a bit more practice he was sure she could easily take a place next to her cousin felicien. Aslan he wasn't so sure about though, what the boy wished to do with his life was still a mystery to Frith. Maybe that was why he'd sought out Varda instead of his tall son. He knew what Varda's goals were, Aslan hadn't quite made it known to his father yet.

He was quite fortunate, th egirl seemed to have been rather near to where he had called and only a few minutes later he would see her pale form emerge from the tree line. He couldn't help the enlarged smile as he stood to greet her. Dark chocolate tail would wag behind him as he helped close the distance between them. He'd kiss her on the cheek and return her embrace, releasing her as she pulled away slightly. He couldn't believe how much she looked like her mother, both were gorgeous. "Hello, Varda." He'd greet back, "It has been too long, and for that I apologize." He'd had a lot on his plate recently, especially with the reduced prey animals. However he was not about to offer excuses. She knew what he did in his time away from her, she'd just have to trust he did it for the good of the pack. "I'm doing well, been a bit busy though." He'd tell her with a smile, happy to be in her presence once more. "I wanted to see how your hunting is going."
""

Accompanied with a greeting, he stated that had been rather busy lately, and she clearly understood what he meant. Festivals didn't happen overnight; her parents had to have put quite a bit of effort and organisation to make sure it ran smoothly. In return, it had been a wonderful experience for her and hopefully for the rest of the wolves invited. Or perhaps he was referring to his alpha plans for Threar's near future. The pack hadn't been so proactive as of recently, and she knew it wouldn't be long before her parents noticed it - maybe they already have. Knowing them oh-too-well, disorganisation and slackness were traits they would never allow to befall the pack for too long. Whatever they had in mind, she was looking forward to having more responsibilities once again. Following that, he soon got down to the subject she had been waiting for - hunting; what else? "I presumed that you would ask me about that," she brightly remarked with a wink, soon continuing with a report on her progress. The positives? Yes, of course she had to mention those. What about the negative points she was experiencing? Well, it would be dishonest of her to lie, especially to her father. If she told him something without a flaw, he was sure to notice. "I've been trying to take every hunting opportunity I can grasp," she began slowly before her expression melted into a frown. "But I feel like I'm not doing enough for the pack." "Speech"

Of course, hunting was not the only reason he wished to see his daughter, just to lay eyes on her and to spend a few minutes with her. Those times they had were far between, though he did have many responsibilities to see to. Her younger siblings, the pack's winter status, making conversation with other pack, his list was never ending. He needed to spend time with his children though, so here he sat curious about his daughter's progress in her studies. Her answer was bright, already expecting his inquiry. Frith would quirk an eyebrow as she winked and went on, telling him that she'd jumped at every hunting opportunity that presented itself to her. He'd beam proudly, but concern would show through as she told him that she was afraid she wasn't doing enough. "You sound like you're doing everything you can. Why do you feel like you're not doing enough?" He'd try to pry a little deeper as he reached over to nuzzle her cheek comfortingly.
""

Her gaze briefly looked up to politely keep eye contact whilst he spoke. There was pride in his beam; was he satisfied with her progress? All this time she had considered the fact that she hadn't done enough, just as she had admitted to her father. Rather concerned and anxious, he sought a reason supporting her opinion. A part of her didn't want him to pry so deeply in her bothering issues, yet the other part of her insisted that he was here to share advice and to help her overcome her negative experiences. Besides, he had taken time away from his busy happenings to spend time with her and so it would be rudely ungrateful for her to turn down his inquiry. "To be honest, I've only participated in two major hunts," a depressed sigh slipped from her lips with her former enthusiasm now drained from her system. Why did it feel like that she had lied to him? "Taking every opportunity" seemed like she was contributing an overwhelming amount of effort and time, when really, there hadn't been that many opportunities for her to take on. Still, whenever she could hunt, she did. Perhaps she was being too harsh on herself, as usual. However, she needed someone else to convince her otherwise. "Two isn't an awful lot." "Speech"

He didn't know her fears, she didn't really show much sign of any kind of distress. Though she did seem somewhat hesitant in her words. He'd try to pick up on the little differences in her demeanor, she was getting so big. Almost a real adult now.. he could hardly believe it. He had all the faith in the world in her though. Her mother had suffered the same humble opinions of herself when she was younger. Frith had never lost faith in her though, he saw the great potential in both of his ladies and he didn't have any intention of letting either of them forget that.

She seemed obviously disheartened as she elaborated though, 'only two major hunts.' Though maybe it didn't seem very impressive they had been the only big opportunities presented to her and Frith could hardly find fault in her actions. Varda went on to say that even, two just wasn't enough. "Yeah but it's not zero either." He'd smile softly and kiss her forehead. "You know you can always grab one of your siblings and drag them on a hunt. Especially the younger two." Both of them needed some more practice in hunting, and he didn't see why Varda wouldn't be a good wolf to help teach them. "I think they'd like that a lot."
""

In all honesty, she quite admired her father's optimism. It wasn't a pretty subject - her schooling, and it was a relief knowing that she could confront the truth without losing her motivation. However, she still wasn't convinced that she had been greatly contributed to the pack, and if two major hunts were all it took, she would have been cruising along from the start. Instead of criticising, which she would have certainly taken too personally, he exchanged useful advice of how she could practice her hunting whilst sharing her skills with those less experienced, but then again, when did she ever take suggestions not harshly? "Really?" Impulsively, she squeaked a rather blunt inquiry, slowly recoiling her head in embarrassment, not daring to meet his fatherly gaze. Her siblings! How could have those souls slipped from her mind? Oh, she felt quite foolish; it wasn't like her to be forgetful, especially when it involved her education. She hadn't thought of it, but as a matter of fact, she had. The entire reason behind her excitement for her younger siblings' birth was to teach them as they grew older. When had she got down to doing that? Her anticipated plan just flew out of her mind, simply forgotten. They were growing at an alarming rate, and before she knew it, they would be the same age as she was when they were brought into the world. She too was developing into more mature adulthood, however, it wasn't as noticeable as theirs. "Speech"

Varda had deflated quite a bit after she'd admitted how much she really had been learning or practicing. There was always another way though, he had no intention of scolding her, only offering ideas of how to be more pro-active about her learning. Sometimes the best lessons were those in which you were the teacher. He'd smile as she squeaked at him in a bit of disbelief as he gave her permission to drag her younger siblings around with her. "Of course! I encourage it! Though if you decide to leave Threar make sure you tell your mother or I first." That was really the only stipulation. He'd smile and move closer to nuzzle her again. "I'm really proud of you, Varda. Keep up the good work." He'd smile again, "Why don't you go grab Fate right now, he's been rather restless today."
""

She tried to see the positive aspects of his words; she had to. It would do her no good if she continued to linger upon her cringing memories. He was here to help and exchange advice - that was what she needed. Perhaps she had seen it all differently. Really, she could still learn from teaching just as if she was the one being taught. Forgetting was a mistake, and she couldn't live her entire life without errors. A part of her mind still dwelled on the past whilst the other part urged the rest of her to start her future. If she hadn't made that mistake, how else would she improve? "I'll go do that," she softly promised him, nuzzling her snout into his cheek. There was simply no other father she wanted. How could she thank him? It was more than an ordinary thank you; should she thank him for not scolding her? "Thank you, Father. Without you, I don't know how else I would have regained my motivation." After hearing his encouragement, a new confidence fuelled her thoughts. She was determined to bring him pride, not that she hadn't already. His words would fall into action, never to be ignored and left floating within the air. Great changes were coming, and already, her paws were tingling with eager excitement. -exit unless stopped- "Speech"