sit, stay, roll over

Pachou was biting the end of her tail, but at least he was following her. The trek to the river would build up the young animal's endurance, hopefully. And if Malalia could breathe a little easier out here, away from the packlands, well, that was welcome, too.

She was absolutely, positively certain she'd never have kids. Ever. Ever. Azure had been an unpleasant surprise, nothing short of infuriating. But if the wolverine kit was any indication of parenting even a well-meaning child, well... she didn't want any part of it. Sure, the little devil had been sweet enough when Sirius was there, opening up to her with a little bit of coaxing. Now? The little hellion was happy to skip away when told to sit still, and plant his ass on the ground when directed elsewhere.

But then, her words had been soft-spoken, almost requests rather than what they should have been: a master's command to her charge. She sighed, darkness clouding once again at the corners of her mind, stirring in her belly. What the hell was she doing with such a precious gift? She didn't know the first thing about companions, outside of Sirius' advice.

Briefly, she wondered what it must've cost the Warlord to acquire him. Probably a lot. Probably more than she'd produce in her entire lifetime. The feeling sunk into her bones, sucking like mud at her limbs. It was only when Pachou delivered a particularly sharp bite to her tail that she realized she'd stopped in an open field, the river rushing dozens of yards ahead.

Malalia gave a whole body shake, the clouds drifting away for a bolt of anger. Ungrateful. Sirius had entrusted the animal to her. No matter how she felt about it, she couldn't let him down.

"Pachou," she called. A word for "chubby," since the only thing that bastard seemed to respond to was food. Even now, the little wolverine continued to play with her tail, giving her no notice. "Pachou," she called again, her tone firmer and ever so final. The kit squeaked and rushed over to her front side, the picture of attention. That's better... She placed the rabbit she'd been carrying far out into the field. It'd been tricky, but she'd managed to break its leg while keeping the thing alive. Mal then looked back at her companion. "Follow me. When I say so, I want you to leap on its back legs, and I'll leap onto it's front."

Pachou seemed to understand, with his wordless chitters. Maybe I can start teaching him sign language, she noted. Meanwhile, she positioned herself at the rabbit's front as it limped away, her torso lowering to the earth. "Go!" She paused briefly to watch, ensuring her companion made his move. And he certainly did, tearing across the grass to sink its little claws into the squealing prey. Malalia smiled and followed suit, quickly ending the rabbit's life with a bite to the neck.

"Excellent work," she praised, nudging the kill over to the kit, who commenced eating happily. Giving him seemingly random, useless commands had been a struggle, and the kit had a hard time paying attention... but perhaps playing to his natural instincts to attack would work better. It seemed to serve her well here. She hoped it would serve as a good foundation for fighting together. They still had much more training to do... but it was a good first step.