Kite bounced from paw to paw, excited and eager to head out of the den. It was late, of course. Her parents were accommodating of her eyes and often did any events with her after the sun had set, or in the dim lighting of the cavern. Perhaps a part of her would come to resent the kid gloves, but at the moment she was just excited to do things with her parents, and at a time she could appreciate it.

“What are we doing today, mumma?” she asked, looking up at her mum as they walked. She hoped it took all night whatever it was. She wanted to spend as much time as she could out of the den, and with her mother.

"Speech"

Zee had spent many a night wondering how she could encourage excitement and passion in her most disabled of puppies, the ones who might not excel in combat the way so many of their blood did. Crux seemed on tracks to be a capable healer, even helping Halo do the healing after the pirate raid, and from what Zee was told he did quite well with age-friendly tasks. Vanta was still doing her absolute best to learn the art of hunting, even if it was only at night that she would set out in search of prey. Kite.. well, she was training hard. Zee had a feeling she knew why, and while she would not stifle the need for the pup to prove herself, she wanted to provide and alternate outlet too. Walking alongside her daughter she led her out into the woods. "You'll see." She returned with a playful grin, giving Kite's shoulder a gentle nudge. Onward she led the pup until they were near out of the Armada's territory entirely, bordering the red woods that lie to the northeast. Once there, she drew the pup to a slow stop. "We are here on a very important mission." She confided in her daughter, meeting her crystal gaze. "A caribou calf was spotted not far from here, on it's own and far away from it's herd. Best guess is that it got separated during the herd's migration. Or maybe it was rejected for some reason or another by them. Either way, without our intervention it will surely die." She paused to let her words sink in, watching Kite for any signs of interest or even of lack of interest. "We have some pens prepared for when we inevitably began raising livestock, you see. Your task - should you choose to accept it - is to help me find the poor creature, capture it, and then bring it home to be raised as the first of our breeding stock." Yes, it would likely take all night. "Speech"

Kite felt impatient, but didn’t push the matter as her mother playfully teased that she would find out. Instead she trotted alongside the older wolf, and giggled as her mother nudged her shoulder. Her excitement levels rose even higher when she realised her mother was taking her to the very edge of the Armada, or was she leading them out of the pack entirely? Keen to see and explore anything she could, the pup picked up her pace, trotting beside her mother until Zee slowed hers, forcing Kite to do the same.

When her mother started to speak of the caribou, she realised this was a hunt. Maybe her mother would even let her make the killing blow! Wait, did she say save it? Her head whipped back to her mother in surprise. “If… that's what you want, mumma. Wouldn’t it be easier to kill it?” she had to ask, wondering why her mother wanted to go through the effort to capture it instead. How would they get it home?


"Speech"