Rudy had found himself at his limit of energy after a botched hunting attempt on a rabbit.  He had already spent the morning with mom on a hunting lesson and battled with Arty.  Hunting had sounded like a great idea afterward but his body was now warning him it was at his limit.  The forest area offered a variety of hiding spots to be tucked away, some better than others.  A tree had become tilted with its roots partially sticking out of the ground and offering a nice hidey-hole just the right size for a pup.  Making his way to it he lay down and fell asleep almost instantly. Rudy woke up in stages of just soaking in sounds, realizing he was awake and finally his mind trying to determine where he was and what he was hearing.  The sun had shifted in the sky and was starting on its downward descent but there was still some daylight left.  Peering out the pup saw what he had been listening to was the sound of a heard of elk.   They were giants this close!  The pup wouldn’t have to walk but a few strides to touch a hoof in front of his hide-a-way.  Rudy waited and the elk eventually walked a few strides off before stopping for another bit of grass it liked.  Rudy crawled out and sat down, noticing the elk either hadn’t noticed him or just didn’t consider a pup his size worthy of being a threat.  Kind of irritating to think prey didn’t even care he was there.  Maybe they didn’t notice him?  Someday he could hunt one of these, perhaps leading several wolves into the hunt.  Rudy took a moment to imagine his siblings with him, and Tika as they all chased down the biggest elk in the bunch for some family bonding. How fast did they run anyway?  How good were they at truly staying together in a group?  The pup who felt himself perfectly clever looked at each individual elk, ears pricking up higher when he noticed one that seemed weaker than the others.  It was clearly older and had scars along a back shoulder that seemed to suggest it had once barely managed to survive another wolf attack.  Rudy looked from it then the other elk than the scenery around them.  How would it look if he found a way to take one down?  Was there any way he could cause it to trip and go down?  Would the other elk stay to help or keep running?  If nothing else chasing them should be fun and let him learn for later. Some back part of his mind whispered asking what his mom would think.  The whisper was soft and forgotten a heartbeat later as he was focusing on figuring out how to take on this quest.  The tree’s got thicker to the west and that might slow it down?  Even failing it would be fun and a great story right? Rudy focused on the older elk and walked around so when he chased it he would be in what the grey pup felt was the best position.  The change in his body motion caused several elk to stop eating to turn their head and watch him with more caution though certainly no fear.  He’d show them soon enough. Rudy wanted them to be scared at least and run!  He couldn’t take one down just by biting its leg.  It was important to get one either somewhere Rudy was higher up to get a chance at a higher body part or where it might trip and slow itself.  Rudy gave a howl and bark before charging, trying to startle them.  Finally, a few startled and started to run and the others seemed to decide they should copy what the others were doing.  Rudy’s eyes struggled to keep only on his target as the elk were suddenly everywhere as they ran.  For being injured the giant deer certainly seemed to move fast enough. The herd started to slow as if starting to come to their senses of the size of the little thing actually chasing them.  Rudy’s heart surged as they did what he wanted!  There was a spot of ground a bit higher up near one of them.  Ok, admittedly it wasn’t the old one he had wanted.  It was another female but she seemed better muscled and free of heavy scarring.  However, she also stood near a tree with a branch down low that slowly angled up.  Rudy leaped up the branch and then leaped up to try and got on the elk’s back so he could dig into its neck.  That had been the plan, but somehow that wasn’t what happened.  The pup jumped but not high enough and that didn’t matter either since the elk easily stepped out of the way.  There he was, their irritating mixed among them.  Two of the elk had turned their attention towards him and his tail that had been up high started to sink down as he acknowledged this was a pretty bad spot to be in. Rudy howled for help right before he took off running, dodging hooves as a few of the elk decided it might be better to just stomp the pup flat instead of letting the irritation run free to try again another day.  Kotori was running faster than he ever had before and trusting those instincts of his to help him avoid hooves that seemed to appear everywhere.  Rudy saw a hiding spot in a log and charged for it but found hooves in his way and peeled off Peeling away from that spot his eyes darted around for the next.  Hooves landed directly in front of him, then to the side.  It felt like he’d been running forever and it hadn’t been a full minute.  Fear was not something the pup was used to.  Finally, the pup saw a thorny bush and dove in it.  The thorns were sharp and prickly but his coat at least helped for some protection.  They hadn’t left but they also hadn’t slammed their hooves into the bush.  Kotori panted, waiting and inwardly begging the prey to leave. "Rudyard"

Did he think that someone wasn't going to notice him sneaking off? Resin tried to be lenient with her children. They could do what they wished in the territory but they had to let her or Tam know if they were going to be doing anything reckless. Anything where they could potentially get hurt. The spotted boy had meandered away from the rest of the group. When Resin came back from her patrols and he still wasn't there, she went looking for him.

Big paws picked their way over the chilly ground as she followed the boys scent. It was easy to stay on his trail as he'd made no effort to hide it. She moved along at an easy pace knowing that she would find the boy eventually. When his urgent cry for help sounded though, she instantly surged into action. The ashen faes long strides ate up the distance as she rushed to the aid of the boy. As she ran, the wind shifted, slamming the scent of elk straight into her face. Dammit.

The giant wolf skidded to a halt when she could see the herd through the trees. From her place, she'd could hear their snorts of irritation and the stamping of hooves. Skirting forward, Resins lone eye scanned the area for her boy. As the group of elk shifted and moved, she could just see his form huddled in the center off a thorn bush. The elk knew that he was there. Eventually they'd ignore the thorns so that they could crush him beneath their hooves. Dammit!

There was nothing else to be done. Reinforcements wouldn't come in time. Rudy couldn't wait that long. Even as age thought it, one of the cows pushed forward, snapping off some of the dried thorns. Inhaling deeply, Resin raised her muzzle and released a long, low howl. It echoed between the trees and pulled the elks attention away from the boy. Herd or no, elk felt fear in the presence of wolves.

The manned woman ripped from the trees, jaws wide in a guttural snarl. She rushed thre herd and oh how the scattered. One young, stupid cow tried to stand her ground and Resin juked, shin king her teeth into the beasts hind knee. The elk squealed and fled. Her terror was contagious and the others quickly followed suit. The grey woman continued to rush the herd, snapping at their heels until they were out of sight.

Turning, she rushed back towards the picker bush where Rudyard was hiding. Mindless of the thorns, she pulled him out, giving him a thorough inspection. "Are you alright?" Jett words were a growl, adrenaline still in her system. He didn't appear to be injured, but she wouldn't calm until she heard it from his mouth.

If Rudy had been confused about understanding true fear before he was getting a good lesson in it now.  Every moment his heart beat was another moment the elk fidged around with the desire to squash him.  Funny, he never imagined the prey chasing the predator, even the small version. His heart sounded loud enough it was dampening the other sounds around him.  A hoof slammed into his hidey-hole but not on him thankfully.  Rudy clenched his eyes shut for a second but then forced them open.  Closing eyes was stupid.  The pup pushed himself back deeper, feeling the thorns pinch and poke but they certainly didn’t matter right now. The best sound ever caught his ears.  Mom! Relief washed over him with more force than those of the falls where they lived.  She’d fix it, mom could fix anything.  His tense muscles shivered as they relaxed some.  His nerves couldn’t fully relax, for some reason not all of the fear was gone as he’d imagined.  Mom would make everything all right so why didn’t the fear stop right away either?  The boy had no intention of leaving until all of the elk were gone.  Those hooves were more dangerous than he had realized! Then there was mom, pulling him out past all the pricklies.  Rudy moved to shove himself up against the inside of her leg, feeling the reality of it.  The tail slowly starting to wag as it was even more true.  All the danger was gone and mom was there.  “I’m ok.”  He was going to get a tongue lashing for sure but he didn’t care.  He’d take that over dying for sure.  Though right now he’d just take leaning up against his mom’s strong leg.  Rudy would have some irritated skin spots later from where the thorns had managed to get past the coat, but certainly nothing of true damage. “I’m sorry.” The words were quiet and humble, he’d screwed up and he knew it.  The reality of death sank into him even more as the adrenaline was slowly fading.  He could only think clearly to a degree when the terror had been hitting him. "Rudyard"

Rudyard affirmed that he was okay before offering a soft apology. Resin wanted to yell at him. To shake him and ask why he'd done something so foolish. Ask him why he'd risked his life in a situation that was way beyond his size and skill. In the end though the scarred woman scooped the boy up against her chest in a firm embrace. The woman lowered her nose, ruffling the top of his head with her warm breath. She was just glad that he was alright.

"Don't ever do that again, " she warned, still holding him close. "A hunter knows his limits." If he hadn't known before, he would definitely know now. She hoped that the event had scared some sense into him and that he wouldn't run healing into the next batch of trouble.

Resin released her grip on the boy and stood tall once more. "Come. Let's go home." With one big paw, she turned the monochrome boy in the direction of home. She would be right beside him all the way there.

Rudy was happy to be a pup wanting the protection of a mom for once versus the confident and independent-minded trouble maker.  It was questionable how long the cuddy close pup stage would last but right now as his beating heart leaned up into mom’s chest he seemed such an innocent little thing. “I won’t mom,” the pup assured, at least not until he was much bigger and more of a menace.  Rudy was foolish in his actions but he did tend to learn from them.  He made reckless mistakes but didn’t tend to make the same one twice.  Not only did all prey not run but some were actually dangerous and would fight back.  He would also remember how they had both fled and attacked as a herd and weren’t so easy to separate.  Would it be easier when he was older? Rudy followed his mom as they headed towards home, and before they got back his tail had already found enough joy to pick up a slow wag again.  This was both proof his mom could take on absolutely anything and even if he had learned a limit of abilities he still remembered what it had felt like those few seconds the elk had run and how his heart had soared the whole time. “Mom?  When I get bigger you’ll help me learn to hunt them also though right?”  Just for added emphasis, he knew not to take them lightly or too early, “You know, when you say it's safe to do so.” He didn’t want to die, after all, he could wait for mom’s ok.  He was small now, he wouldn’t be small forever.  Apparently, while they had scared him for now it wouldn’t scar him for the future. "Rudyard"

Fear had filled her when she saw the elk attempting to kill the boy and adrenaline had taken hold. Now that adrenaline was slowly fading away and she was just left with the fear and anger. Rudyard could have died. He could have been trampled beneath the hooves of the herd. "I need you to take better care. Be more cautious. Do you know how upset your mother and I would be if something happened to you?" She needed him to understand. His family would be lost without him. He was getting old enough to really understand and learn from his mistakes. She hoped that he learned from this one. There was a possibility that she wouldn't be there to save him next time.

After a period of walking, Rudy asked her if she would teach him to hunt the things that had tried to kill him. The big woman snorted softly. "Of course. You're going to learn to hunt everything." There would be nothing that he couldn't kill with the proper skills and tools. What kind of mother and mentor would she be if she left out something as important as elk?