Filling the Larder [Hunt!]

It felt wrong, not seeing or smelling Nolan, not hunting or sparring with him. It was too soon for his friend to be gone. Barely two, and yet… gone.

His head perked up from the trace he was examining, and he turned to trot briskly toward Ardyn’s call. If anything could make him smile, it was the kids. Aurielle and Red’s children were over half a year old now, and Ardyn in particular seemed given to eliciting heart failure in his parents. Two bears in the span of two weeks.

He came upon the tall boy, and Aslaug. He nodded to the young woman with a brief, sad smile, wondering how she was handling the loss of their cousin. Nolan might not have been his cousin by blood, but in heart, there was no separation. He’d been so thrilled to find that Nolan and Caelia had struck up a friendship, too. And now that was all gone.

To Ardyn, he asked, “So, what are we hunting?” as his haunches lowered. He knew the boy was intelligent enough by now to move well away from the prey in mind before calling for hunting partners. It’d been among the first things he’d taught the boy after he’d taught him about tracking rabbits.

It was Ardyn's first hunt that he'd called, and Cairo wasn't going to steal his thunder, though he would guide him with suggestions and make it a teaching moment for all of them.

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think