Celeste was interested to see how good her son’s hunting instincts were. Since both she and Kuroki were decently skilled, she hoped that their offspring would pick it up naturally. And the sooner they began, the more skilled he become. Excited to get started, Cel woke the young pup up early that morning and led him out to the open field. While they were still some time off from hunting anything large, there were plenty of hares here for him to go after. Pausing to hide slightly behind a large boulder, she peered down at Hotate. “Can you pick up the scent of a hare?” She asks in a whisper as one ear turns to listen to their surroundings.

His mother waking and taking him early didn't bother him too much. He didn't love it, but he wasn't any different than any other day. He was generally pretty grumpy and rough but honestly he felt a lot more connection to his mother than he did his siblings. Maybe someday for Cy too, but for now Celeste was at the top of his love pyramid, or whatever kind of love he showed.

He got the idea pretty quickly though as he went to stalk beside his mother he felt his larger than life paws made him anything but stealthy. He didn't show any signs of irritability other than a quiet grunt or two. At least he could keep himself contained for now.

They stopped behind a boulder before Celeste mentioned the target, hare, easy enough. Easy to track at least, catching? Not so much. He'd think he could conquer it all though. At first a raised brow but he'd move quickly to bring his nose to the air, taking a couple steps around the boulder before dropping his nose into the grasses. It would take a moment before he would catch that scent, and look back to Celeste with the slightest of smiles. He supposed he could take off and chase after the trail, but he wanted to think this was more of a test than a challenge.

"Hotate"

The smile lingers on her lips as she watches her baby boy. She can tell he is as smart as he is broody. Not that it bothers her. Her own pup hood was similar. Always testing the waters, pushing boundaries, and giving her own parents a run for their money. It was a feeling she wanted to foster in her own offspring. You didn’t need to always follow the rules, just be smart about it. So as Hotate tested the air, Celeste nodded. “Good, now, I want you to look for the trail leading to its burrow,” her voice is still a hushed whisper as she peeks her head out from around the boulder. Already, she can see where it is, but she wonders if the pup can too. “Chasing it is one thing, catching it is another. If you don’t know where it is going to go, you might as well not try,” Celeste adds on as she watches her pup to see what he will do next.