Azure couldn't get the thought of Aerndis and her hides out of his head. If he focused really hard he could still remember the crack of the skull as Aerndis broke it open, and still feel the mushy brains beneath his paws. He wanted to try it again, this time without an adult doing the hard work. The colorful wolf had told him that he'd need a companion to properly use her method and thankfully now Azure had two of his own. The leopard - he'd named her Lilith - still less than helpful. A tiny, mewing thing fresh off her mother's milk. For now she was mostly useless, and Azure left her often to nap in the den. Diablo was another story. The bat was still for the most part wild, though could be helpful at times. With his mother's help Azure had crafted what was almost a leash. It tied the creature to the pup in hopes that keeping Diablo bound to him at all times of day might help to tame him. He knew he'd need something big to start out with, something with a good sized brain. Lately a new scent had been reaching him though for the life of him he could not place a name to it. It smelled like prey, he only hoped it wasn't gargantuan and impossible for a small boy to take down. If only he could let Diablo fly, perhaps the bat might be able to spot it and lead it to him. However he wasn't willing to risk an escape attempt, not when they were just starting to bond. He rode on the pup's shoulder, occasionally letting out a small screech as Azure followed the scent. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Aslatiel was being very careful. She had a friend with her now. Mom and dad had given her a tiny little white bat. The little creature was currently nestled into the thicker fur of the girl's ruff. The little bat, it's nose and ears a vibrant yellow, soon had the name of Pip, because she was so very, very small. Asla was afraid that she would break the little flying creature, and so she was being extra cautious. Having followed the scent of Azure, she was soon on his tail. The girl fought her instincts to tackle and bite him now that she'd snuck up on him. She couldn't hurt Pip. Plus it seemed as though her brother had his paws full as well. There was a bigger bat attached to him with some strange tether. There was also a little cat beside him. He'd gotten two companions and she'd only gotten one? Rude. Coming up beside Azure, Asla did at least bump shoulders with him. "What are we doing today?" He should know by now that she was up for anything. Their hobbies were fairly similar. If he wanted to kill something, he could always sign her up. "Nice bat and cat." From where Pip curled into the snow white fur at the back of her neck, the tiny mammal wasn't even visible. Asla kind of liked it that way. Inconspicuous. And she had the idea that she could teach the little bat to spy for her. Already the pair were close. The only reinforcement that Pip needed was fruit. She was a very food driven creature. "Speech"

Diablo let out a small screech of warning as Asla ran up on them, and Azure turned his head in alarm. When he saw that it was only his sister he relaxed, and grabbing a piece of fruit from his borrowed satchel he offered it over his shoulder towards him. There was no doubt in his mind that the bat did not call out to warn Az and only alarmed for his own safety... but that didn't mean Azure couldn't reward him for it and teach him that it was the proper response to the intruder. With Diablo happily munching upon the fruit piece, Azure turned back to his sister. He loved how Asla was always willing to join him in adventures and grinned at her. "Hunting something. I don't know what it is yet." The boy responded. She complimented his companions, and he gave the shy cat a glance. "Dad gave me the bat, I have until I'm a year to train it. Then mom gave me the leopard, she says I need to learn to be nicer." Cerulean eyes rolled skywards. "She's still small and useless but maybe one day she won't be." He lifted a paw to give the cat a pat on the head. Asla's own companion was hidden too well for Azure to comment on, and he only pursed his lips in thought. It wouldn't do good to ask her if she'd also recieved gifts, he didn't want to hurt her feelings or make her feel less special. Instead, he redirected the subject back towards his hunt. "I met a stranger in the woods who taught me how to use a brain to tan a hide. I didn't get to do much of the work, but I want to try to do it now. I'd love your help." His smile returned, warm and loving. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Azure smiled when she approached and the girl leaned up to kiss his cheek. She had missed him. She missed all of them. There was still a part within her that was broken simply because they couldn't all be together. She still didn't know what had happened between Az and Mort, but was confident that one of the would tell her eventually. Why wouldn't they trust her? She surely trusted them. Az went on to explain his companions and she watched as he gave the bat a piece of fruit before patting the cat. "They gave me a companion too. Same reason. I need to be more gentle." The girl then grinned. "Do you see her?" Other than a slight change in the texture of fur, the snow white bat blended in with the snow white fur at the back of Asla's neck. "Hold a little piece of fruit close to my neck." If he did so, the little white bat would raise her yellow nose and blink her sleepy black eyes. A stranger? Asla's eyes went wide at the knowledge. She was jealous that he'd met someone new and had learned something new. Then again, she had done something incredibly dangerous that he didn't know about. Perhaps she'd tell him about it later. He asked for her help and the girl nodded. "Of course. Do you think I'd just leave and let you do it by yourself?" With a snort, she shook her head. "What's the plan?" "Speech"

Az was glad to hear that Asla had received a gift as well, and instantly began looking around her to spy a stealthy companion. Whatever it was he couldn't find it. She suggested he take a piece of his fruit and hold it by her neck, and his brows raised. Mom had a viper that sometimes wrapped around her neck and hid in her fur, but Asla's neck fur wasn't fluffy enough to hide a full grown snake yet. Regardless he did what he was told, skewering the fruit with his elongated claw and lifting his paw to hold the piece out in offering to her white fur. Eyes appeared from nowhere and he gasped, and as the bat took the fruit Azure offered it a smile. "It's like Diablo, but so tiny." He observed with a soft laugh. "I'm so happy for you." The pride in his siblings' accomplishments would likely never leave Azure, and he spent a beat watching Asla and her new friend before turning his head back the other way. The scent was getting stale and Azure was not the most adept tracker. He frowned, sniffing hard. "Well, the plan is to find it first." The boy responded, slowly walking in the direction he thought the strange smell originated from. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Az lured Pip out with a little bit of fruit and Asla smiled, proud of her tiny bat. "Her name is Pip, because she's just a little pipsqueak." As the bat nibbled the little piece of fruit, Asla continued. "I'm going to teach her to spy for me. No one will notice her if she hides. And her hearing is much better than ours." From the moment that she'd been given the little bat, the girl had been bonding with her. She fed the bat fruit, cleaned her fluffy white fur, and even made her a little bed, though the bat would prefer to just sleep on Asla. Already she was developing a love for Pip and hadn't even thought about eating her once. Finding the creature in question was first on the list. "Ooh, fun. My favorite part." Almost. She loved to stalk and hunt, but she also really loved to kill. Raising her little brownish pink nose, she tested the air, searching out the scent that Az had obviously been following. There were many scents in the air, but she sifted through them until she found something that smelled like meat. Canting her head in a rightly direction, she spoke. "That way, y'think?" "Speech"

When Asla suggested a direction, Azure nodded. That was where he thought it was coming from too, and it made him feel better that she agreed. "Yeah that way." As they walked and stalked - he wasn't very good at stalking - Azure continued the conversation. Asla's idea was very smart, and suddenly he wished his bat was smaller so that it could spy for him too. "Diablo will fight with me one day." He said, giving the bat on his back a glance. "Lilith too, when she's big. I'll train them to be as fierce as Marshal and Bast in battle."[/b] The boy nodded to himself, confident in his words. His father was the biggest role model he had in life, and Azure had every intention to one day rival him in strength. "Do you know if Indy got anything?" He'd not ask about Mortis, unwilling to even say the boy's name for the moment. The scent was getting stronger, easier to follow. Azure thought he could hear steps just past them in the grass and crouched low to make his own paws movements quieter. "I think it's there." He whispered lowly. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

She listened as Az spoke of training his companions for hunting. The girl nodded. Pip would never be able to hunt, but at least Aslatiel would never be alone. And the tiny bat could feed her information. Valuable information. That was enough for her. Azure asked if she knew if Indy got anything and the girls ears tucked back against her skull. "No. I haven't talked to him. I haven't talked to either of them." Not since they had all ruined her night. Shaking off the former conversation, Asla listened as Azure indicated the way it might be. The girl stopped and moved to one of the few trees that stuck up out of the grass. "I won't let Pip get hurt. She's too small." With a little prompting, the tiny bat climbed onto the tree, squeezing herself in a little nook in the bark. "I'll be back for you soon." Once the bat had been deposited, the little wolf dropped into predator mode. She stalked forward through the grass, her nose working to steer her in the right direction. Asla worried that Azure's companions might ruin their hunt. They were new to each other and the bat in particular seemed loud. Perhaps they would surprise her though. She peered through the long grass and a big, fluffy thing came into view. Eyes blinked and she pulled back, shooting Azure a wide eyed look. What in the heck... was that thing? "Speech"

Asla deposited her new friend into a tree to wait, and Azure glanced over at his baby leopard. The boy pulled a chunk of seared meat from the fruit pack - one meant for him to eat later, but he could always grab a new one - and tossed it over to the tree. "Stay with Pip, Lilith." He told her, watching as the cub pounced upon the meat and lay down to nibble at it. He'd sworn to keep Diablo with him at all times, so to keep the bat calm and quiet he handed him a carrot. It was large enough that it'd likely hold his attention for the duration of the hunt. When they made it through the tall grasses, Azure could not identify the thing that stood before him. It was white and fluffy and although it's fluff made it seem huge, the feet that extended below it were tiny. He scrunched up his face in confusion, whispering to his sister. "Is.. that... a cloud?" Suddenly he wanted it, he wanted to chase the cloud and kill it and either eat it or lay on it. Wide paws shuffled in place, the pup trying to stop himself from running after it and spooking it. "Maybe we can chase it down, clouds float slow. It can't be that fast, look at it's little legs." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Asla grinned as her brother left the cat with her little bat. She nodded in approval. "Thanks, Lillith." The girl smiled at the cat before turning her attention back to the task at hand. Azure chose to keep the large bat with him and she said nothing. If he believed the bat could stay quiet, then she would believe too. Creeping forward with her brother, the girls amaranthine eyes went wide. It was a cloud with legs just as Azure said. She cast a glance to her brother, eyes blinking in confusion. There were some strange things in the world. He suggested that they give chase since clouds in the sky moved slowly. She merely nodded and flipped the switch in her brain. Predator mode activated, the tiny wolf crept along through the long grass, lining herself up on the other side of the cloud. This time, she would wait for Az to give the word since he was encumbered by his clinging companion. "Speech"

Asla dipped into her hunter's crouch and Azure took a moment to admire his sister's grace before mirroring her. The bat between his shoulders shifted as his center of gravity changed, but continued to cling to his fur and busy himself with the carrot. Sometimes Asla had better ideas then Azure did, but this time she did not give reason as to why their chase-and-catch attack might not work. She waited for his signal this time, and Azure glanced to her and nodded his head three times as she had during their beaver hunt. A countdown that worked for them. On three, he sped off after the fluffy cloud. The fluffy cloud was much faster than Azure had anticipated, and he couldn't quite overtake it in speed. As he ran behind it he tried to snap at the white fluff that made up the creature, but kept missing. His breathing was coming out as pants, and he looked over to try and see where Asla was and whether she was faring better in the chase then her wide-pawed and clumsy brother. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Azure counted down and the pair bolted from the long grass. The cloud with legs took off and was particularly fast. Amaranthine eyes went wide momentarily and she cast those eye towards her brother. Laughter struck and the girl hooted before throwing her weight into her paws. Lowering her head, she made her body as aerodynamic as possible. Her vision pinned, locking on the fleeing cloud. This was going to be fun. With the cloud outdistancing Azure, Aslatiel was forced to recalculate and think of a new plan. Mid-run, she veered from the track that they ran upon, disappearing into the long grass. If Az kept running the thing straight, this might very well work. In her mind, it worked. Throwing on as much speed as the minuscule girl could manage, she fought hard to get ahead of the fleeing cloud and her brother. The only indication of where they might be was sound, but the sound was muffled by her own paws hitting the ground. Hoping that she'd calculated correctly, Aslatiel pulled hard left and darted out of the long grass and back onto the beaten path. If she'd done it right, she would be right in the path of the cloud and it would be forced to slow its pace or fly right into the little predator and her waiting jaws. "Speech"

The pair took off after the bolting clouds. Asla's laughter brought a smile to her brother's face and he too echoed the sound. He was doing his best to catch up to the swift fluffy creature, but wasn't sure he'd ever be able to catch it. Huffing and puffing he turned to his side to where Asla was, finding she had vanished. Momentarily taken aback the boy almost slowed, arching his neck to try and catch sight of the tan and grey girl up ahead in case she sped past him. Her absence concerned him and Azure was just about to stop the chase and go back to look for her in case she'd fallen, when suddenly Asla tore out of the bushes out in front. A relieved sigh poured out of the boy, and he skidded to a stop just as the sheep did. It's path was blocked, Azure knew now that soon they'd be tasting the cloud's blood. Before the creature could turn and try and flee again, Azure jumped forward to grasp a mouthful of it's white fluff. There was no taste of metallic blood and it felt awkward in his jaws. He yanked his head back with the wool still in his mouth, trying to bring the cloud off balance so that Asla could get a hold of it's throat. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Pleased with herself, Aslatiel grinned as her plan fell into place. The cloud stumbled and Azure was on it in an instant. The young wolf wasted no time. Darting forward, she dove upwards between the clouds flailing front legs. Teeth locked around its throat and her weight brought hind paws back to the ground. Retractable claws dug into the earth and the girl thrashed her body from side to side, effectively shredding the clouds throat and spraying herself with blood in the process. It didn't take long for the creature to die, the last remnants of life playing out in little twitches and kicks. "Is there such a thing as being too good at something? Because we're too good at this, Az." With a snicker the girl padded up to her giant brother and kissed him on the cheek, leaving a smear of blood in her wake. Canting her head towards the animal that they'd killed, she continued. "It tastes pretty good. Very strange face and all of that fluff is weird, but seems very useful. Maybe Aunt Io would know what to do with it?" Tilting her head a bit she waited to see what he thought. "Speech"

Azure felt the cloud cease it's struggles and knew it was dead. It was only further confirmed when his sister made her way over to him and kissed him upon the cheek with her bloody muzzle. He grinned at her, agreeing. "I think it's a good thing. We'll be the most fierce hunters alive." There was unmistakable pride in his voice, and he leaned over to nuzzle his sister's cheek affectionately. Her mention of it's odd coat drew his attention and the boy nodded. "I know usually fluffy stuff is made into blankets, maybe Aunt Io can find a use for it." Az agreed. "I bet she'd be so happy if we brought it to her." The gears in his mind were turning, considering how exactly they could deliver the creature. Bright eyes fell down upon his oversized paws, then to Asla's small dainty ones where she hid her sharp kitty claws. "Maybe you should do the skinning." He decided after a moment. Perhaps they could tan the hide like he'd learned, and deliver it to their aunt ready for use. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Az nuzzled into her cheek and the girl snickered, tail swishing back and forth. He agreed that they should present the pelt to their Aunt Io and she nodded. He then suggested that she be the one to skin it and she shrugged lightly before starting forward towards the cloud. She was always very careful to keep her claws as sharp as possible. Today, they were so sharp that one could barely see the tips of them. "This will take a while," she warned. Setting to work, Aslatiel cut around each ankle, making sure that her claws dug deep enough so the skin wouldn't rip. She then rolled the cloud onto its back so she could cut around the neck, then sliced from the neck, all the way down the stomach to the rear end. Once she had the edges all sliced free, the girl began to pull the skin back from the body beneath, carefully slicing it away a little bit at a time. It was tedious work, but she eventually separated the cloud from the body. As she looked down on the little creature, the bloodied child tilted her head. "It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be." At least it was still big enough to make a meal out of. "Speech"

Azure watched intently as his sister carefully detached the cloud from it's flesh. It saddened him a bit that he'd likely never have the dexterity in his paws to manage such a clean separation but knew he could always rely on Asla to help if he needed to remove something's coat. He let her work in silence, slowly circling her to watch as she worked each area of the creature. When finally she finished and pushed the fluff away, Azure too was surprised to see how small the creature actually was. "Wow." He remarked. "I wonder how it runs so fast with so much fluff weighing it down." He observed it for a bit before giving a dismissive shrug, stepping forward and tearing a chunk of meat from it's torso. The blood was still warm and ran down his chin, his tongue throwing some drops as he gave his muzzle a lick to clean it off. "Delicious though." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

When Az mused over the speed of the creature, Asla shrugged lightly. "Maybe it gets used to the weight. See these strong upper legs?" She pointed out the thick muscle in the upper thighs of the cloud. Though the lower legs were spindly, the upper legs were well muscled for a creature of that size. It made sense to her that the creature would be stronger than it appeared. When she pulled the skin away, it wasn't light by any means. Once her work was finished, she settled in beside her brother to eat the cloud. The meat was tender, but a little gamey. She didn't mind it at all. It was a nice change from deer. Ears perked as Azure spoke of its flavor and she nodded in agreement. It wasn't bad. As she ate, she wondered about the process that he'd told her about. Hopefully he remembered how to do it because she was very curious. "Speech"

Azure finished his snack, his tongue swiping across his teeth and throwing droplets of blood as he did so. He looked down at the carcass, head tilting as he regarded the mess they'd made. "Well now that it's skinned, do you want to try to tan it?" The boy sat, bright eyes roaming over the body towards the oddly small head. "I don't know if it has a big enough brain, but if you can manage it out we can try." He thought back to the stranger's lesson and what the first step was, humming thoughtfully. Once Asla had access to it's brain, he thought the next thing to do was to sever the cord and pull the brain carefully out. Whether or not she'd be able to manage that they'd know better once they saw the size of the organ and how much room there was around to work it. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Ears perked as her brother spoke of tanning the hide that she'd just removed. They needed to get the brain out. She definitely wasn't powerful enough to crack the skull with teeth or claws, but if she had a rock... The girl set about finding a nice sized rock. She looked for one with an edge on it and eventually found one. Bringing it back, she began tapping around the skull with the sharp edge of the stone. Little bits of bone chipped away and soon there was a visible groove in the skull. Then, taking the stone firmly, she slammed it into the skull on one side. It cracked wide open and, sliding her claws in, she peeled it back to expose the brain. Looking up to Azure, she blinked. "Not a very big brain, but let's see what we can do with it. What's next?" She enjoyed her times of exploration with Azure so much. He was the only one that she could truly be her bloody little self with. "Speech"