Spring was here, and with a mild winter, the prey had been plentiful all season. It was about time that Fiori got down to business, and it was particularly important that the young learned different ways of hunting. Her last lesson, Bright felt like she could have been more thorough on, even though it had been only the young wolves of the pack that day. But the past didn't matter. She needed to teach the wolves now, the ones that were in front of her today. They all needed to be able to provide for the pack, and themselves at the very least. She knew they would all have their own experiences, and that was valuable. Today would be a day to practice that.

So, seated by the roaring falls of Fiori's newest claimed territory, Bright would lift her head to the bright blue sky and howl a summons for anyone interested in a lesson in hunting. She hoped that the youngest of the pack would come to work on their skills, but anyone was welcome in her eyes. They all needed to work together to feed the pack, regardless of their skills or knowledge. So, as the sound of her howl rang out, she dipped her head, letting silence surround her as she waited for anyone in Fiori to join her.

ooc: I posted the link for this in maintenance to be added to the news so more peeps should show up soon <3 Leo's head tipped as he listed to the howl that rang out over the Fiori lands and a pleased smile touched his muzzle. He was glad that Bright was taking the chance to do some hunting with the pack, whether it was just a pack hunt or a lesson. Either way, he was always happy to see his pack members interacting and learning together. It wasn't like he was particularly busy and he wanted to make sure he was showing his support when someone stepped up to call a meeting of some kind. He was pretty close by to where Bright had called from so he arrived fairly quickly. He gave Bright Moon a friendly smile and a small dip of his head as he trotted over to her. "Hello there, Bright! It's good to see you!" he settled on his haunches near her and looked out expectantly to see who else would join them. "Talk" "You" Think

The young man had heard the call, a summons for a hunting lesson. He felt excited before he even reached the destination; he wanted to become a better hunter! His grandmother had already showed him a good trick or two, so he was curious to see what Brightmoon might be able to teach him. He was eager too to start working more with other members of the pack. This was but one opportunity to do that, and he felt ready to learn what he could. He wasn’t a baby anymore... It was time he started to do what he could to learn skills for when he was officially an adult.

He arrived to find Bright Moon and his father presence, and eagerly the boy perked his ears forward, tail wagging back and forth. He padded over to his dad and sat down, blue gaze upon Bright. “Hello miss Bright Moon~” He glanced around, wondering if any of his littermates might show up as well. He could only hope so, right? Or maybe Diana! He wiggled in place, excited for what he might learn today.

"Speech"

Being sick had sucked. He'd hated the feeling of being confined to his den, useless, and alone while everyone else was out and about. He'd wanted to get a jump start on his training so he could help out where he could, but instead he had been left on bed rest so he wouldn't give his sickness to anyone else. It seemed the worst had passed and he finally felt better to leave his den and be around others once more. He hadn't heard any calls for anything so it seemed he'd gotten lucky. Maybe he'd make it to important training after all. Of course he hadn't expected one right now. Not that he was upset when he heard Bright Moon call to the pack for a hunting lesson. His tail waved softly behind him as he made his way towards where she'd summoned them all. He was eager to learn a few trick or two since he was sure he was a little bit behind his siblings. He wanted to learn everything he could and this was a perfect opportunity for it. He arrived not long after Alfred did. He'd pad over and plop right down next to his brother and shoulder bumped him. "Alfred." He'd greet him with a grin. "Hey Dad, hi miss Bright Moon. I hope you're doing well today." He'd say politely before glancing around to keep an eye out. Maybe if the party got big enough they could bring down something big if it turned out to be an actual hunt. Walk, "Talk" Think

OOC: Looks like it's just a few of us, but that's okay. Let's get our next round posted by August 20th!

Patiently waiting, Bright Moon wondered who would come for a lesson in hunting today. The pack had been quiet lately, and she hoped that the wolves were feeling motivated enough to learn something new. She stood as Leo appeared, offering a smile and dip of her head to greet him. It wasn't often that she saw the Alpha besides at the pack meetings that he called. "Good to see you, Leo," she said softly as he settled himself to wait for other members of the pack to arrive. And it wouldn't be long for Leo's boys to appear. They looked eager to get to work, and greeted her politely. Leo had raised them well, despite being so busy keeping up with his pack duties, and after mourning the loss of his mate, whether something had happened to her or she'd simply disappeared. Bright greeted each boy in turn, dipping her head to them. "Hello Alfred, I'm happy to see you're ready for training," she said in a cheerful tone, tail wagging. Then her attention turned to the next brother. "Hi Lionel, I'm well, thank you," she replied kindly, smiling at the boy.

After waiting some time, it appeared that this would be it for the day. No matter, she knew she could put even a small group of wolves to work - she figured the yearlings knew their basics by now, so she wouldn't spend time on hunting stances today. "Since it's just a small group of us today, I thought we could work on accuracy in hunting," she spoke to the small group, "And we'll do that by hunting porcupines. So let's head into the forest to look for them - if you've never hunted them before, let me explain a little bit about them..." Her silver eyes scanned across the faces of Leo and his boys, wondering what they would think of that. Hunting porcupine could be dangerous if you weren't careful, but it was good practice, and the fat little animals had a lot of tender meat if you could get one without ending up with a face full of quills. She knew there were a lot of them in the forest surrounding the falls, as it was a very abundant place for both predators and prey. They spent a lot of time in the trees, nibbling on their bark, but they also spent time on the forest floor moving to and from their burrows.

She flicked her silver, dark tipped tail as she beckoned the wolves to follow her into the wooded area away from the water. As she did so, she would explain about the dangers of porcupine. "They're good sized rodents, like beavers," she began, with a cautionary tone, "But they are covered in both fine and coarse quills, and it really hurts to get struck by their tail. Never try to ambush them from behind, it won't go well for you. Instead, it is best to stalk them carefully and wait for an opportunity to get to their face. You have a few options to dispatch them. First, if your jaws are big and strong, you can grab the entire skull and crush it - nasty business, but we need to eat. Your other option is to try to flip them onto their back, as there are no quills on their soft underbelly. You'll have to grab the head or neck, and move quickly to toss them over - don't allow it the chance to turn its quills on you, and once it's on its back, make your kill shot quickly." She looked over her shoulder, making sure they were taking everything in. It might have seemed an odd thing to learn about, hunting an animal that could cause them so much trouble, but learning patience, good stalking practices and quick, accurate hunting techniques would help them with larger, more dangerous prey, and it would also help in catching faster, more slippery prey.

Alfie grinned as his brother sat next to him, giving a friendly bump of his shoulder. He was feeling better seeing not many showed up, though a bit sad for Bright Moon that not many cared to make an appearance. He thought for sure Roza was going to come... Maybe she wasn’t feeling well? He shook his head, trying to focus instead on the matter at hand as Bright went on to explain what they were going to do today. Hunting... And hunting porcupines no less. The young one felt worry prickle him... He hadn’t hunted porcupines for worry about their quills. He’d watched a fox go after one once and boy did it regret it!

Despite having seen a porcupine in action before Alfred followed along behind Bright, listening to what she had to say. He knew well enough the first warning. But he wasn’t so confident about what might happen if they tried to get a porcupine from the front either. He felt his stomach churn at the thought of screwing up, but tried to quiet his doubts quickly. If he worried about that things would be over before they even started! He tried to force a small smile, to be polite, as he spoke up. “Why hunt such a small, dangerous prey animal miss Bright Moon?” He wasn’t sure what the lesson exactly was yet, but that’s why he was here; to learn.

"Speech"

Alfred grinned at him and Lionel's tail waved happily behind him from where he sat. Bright Moon greeted him and he was pleased that she was doing well. His eyes closed for a moment with joy, tail now waving in the dirt, before he opened them and waited for others to come. He was surprised that none of his other siblings came and when no one else from the pack showed up either he grew a little disappointed. Didn't they wanna come hunt? Oh well. Bright Moon seemed to have decided that they didn't need to wait any longer so his head snapped up towards the gray coated woman. He listened intently as she spoke and was happy to hear they were going to work on accuracy. He could only wonder what they'd be hunting today that would help improve their skills. He didn't suck at hunting but he was certainly no master at it and he was going to soak up this training like a dry sponge took to water. But the minute she mentioned porcupines his face dropped. He found himself beginning to gnaw on the inside of his cheek a little. He knew what porcupines were and what they were capable of. He didn't need Bright Moon to explain how dangerous they could be and all he could picture was the nice giant back of quills they carried to defend themselves. Worry had set in and more than anything he wondered if he'd be good enough to kill one. What if he messed up? What if he got a face full of spines? Regardless he followed after Bright and his brother as he mulled over what he was going to do. She explained what they looked like and how to properly take one down. He couldn't imagine wanting to try and flip one over. If that failed then that certainly wouldn't bode well for him. It'd probably only make it angry. Alfred seemed to share his same concerns and he glanced between Bright and Alfie and waited for her response. Walk, "Talk" Think

Both of his sons joined him and Bright Moon and it seemed like that would round out their hunting party for the day. He had hoped that some more would be joining them, but that was okay. It would be some good bonding time with his sons if nothing else. He was interested to see how the boys would do with hunting as well. When Bright began to explain what she had planned for them his brows raised with surprise and he couldn't help but grin at the idea of it. It was hilarious and scary all at once. He glanced at his boys to see what their reactions were and it seemed like they had a more concerned response - as they should. But it seemed like they were paying close attention so he was sure they would be fine. He focused back in on Bright as well as they walked, listening closely to her descriptions and instructions. He couldn't say that he had ever hunted a porcupine himself so he had something to learn here as well. He knew Alfred had posed his question for Bright and he certainly didn't want to take away her chance to teach, but he wanted to add his two cents as well. He realized that his children had only ever been in the pack and didn't have the experience of being a loner hunting for each meal themselves. It was a blessing for them of course and he was glad he was able to give that to them, but it was an experience they hadn't had. At least not yet. "Sometimes you have to hunt what's available, Alfred," he tossed in, looking to his son as he spoke. "If you've been traveling for days at a time and the only creature around is a porcupine sometimes you have to make the best of it." "Talk" "You" Think

OOC:Sorry for the delay, I keep holding us back!

As they padded along, Bright glanced around her, noticing some nervous glances from the youngsters. Alfred posed a very valid question, and Leo gave a quick explanation. Bright nodded in agreement - you couldn't always choose your prey based on what you wanted. Tomorrow was never a guarantee, whether it was the security of a pack, or the head count of available prey. Things went wrong, and you had to know how to make the best of any given situation. She turned to the yearling, blinking as she added her own voice. "Like your father said, you may not always have a choice," she mentioned, "And learning to be careful and precise in your hunting is a valuable lesson. Porcupines are dangerous, their quills are painful, but making a mistake with them will only leave you with a painful reminder. Hunting larger animals holds much greater danger, so it is best to learn now to be cautious and accurate while hunting. Take your time, don't rush, and look for the best opening - this applies whether you're hunting porcupine, or elk, or moose, each has their inherent risks. But don't let that discourage you. We are wolves, and hunting is what we are born to do."

She continued along, hoping she'd addressed the question appropriately. She knew the youngsters would still be anxious - even she could get nervous about hunting these animals. But it was a healthy fear to have, something that could be faced with confidence when your skills were honed. She paused in her stride for just a moment as she spotted one of the creatures, predictably waddling from its burrow to a nearby tree to nibble on the bark. Crouching down, she motioned to the hunters with her. "Watch carefully," she whispered, stalking forward, preparing to get between the prickly animal and its burrow so that she could ambush it. Quietly, carefully, Bright slipping behind the foliage, her movements smooth and practiced, an experienced predator as she weaved her way toward the porcupine's burrow.

She crept forward until she blocked the entrance, and then burst toward the animal with a sharp bark to startle it into facing her. It whipped around, grumbling angrily as it curved its body protectively, threatening with its tail. Bright danced around the animal, feigning attacks to confuse it and lure it away from the tree. She took her time, not wanting to be too hasty and end up with a snout full of quills, especially in front of her nervous students. At last, there was an opening immediately after it swung its tail as she feigned a movement to its side. She darted to the opposite side and her jaws snaked forward to its face, clamping onto its nose. Immediately, she began to thrash her head back and forth, her paws moving her backward so that the animal never got a chance to find its ground and take a swing at her. With a twist of her neck, she flipped the now dazed animal over and pounced over it, ending the struggle with a swift and powerful bite to the neck.

Panting from her efforts and the exhilaration of making just the right movement with precise timing, she turned back to Alfred, Lionel, and Leo. "As you can see, it takes patience," she said in between breaths, her tongue lolling to the side, "Once you think you've found an opening, you have to act fast without hesitation, and you don't give it a chance to strike you. If you get a hold of the porcupine's face, you start moving right away, otherwise it will dig its claws into the ground and find a way to swipe its prickly tail at you." She hoped that she had demonstrated it well enough, with enough clarity for the hunting party to see. She wasn't sure if they would find another target nearby after the noisy struggle, but she would like to see if any of the three males could give it a try. "We'll have to move elsewhere to find another one, as I'm sure all of the prey around here will be hiding now," she said, catching her breath, "Who would like to volunteer to test out their skills?" She knew it wasn't likely that any of them would really want to, but it was an important lesson to learn, and she wouldn't want them to pass on this opportunity.

Lionel didn’t speak up on the matter, but Alfie suspected his brother might feel the same way. His father was quick to toss in some information that the young man didn’t necessarily want to hear, but he supposed it was rational. He certainly didn’t want to have to hunt something that dangerous, but when Bright Moon spoke up he realized that pretty much any prey animal held its risks. At this Alfred perked his ears again, trying to do his best to focus on the lesson that Bright Moon was attempting to teach them.

Though Alfred was worried about failure, he wasn’t so worried that he wouldn’t at least try to do what he needed to do. He was a wolf… he took a breath, doing his best to manage that anxiety within him. But it seemed that words were about to turn into action and, with baited breath, Alfie watched as miss Bright Moon began to move, closing the distance between her and the prey.

Alfred watch with amazement how Bright Moon successfully completed her hunt. He wiggled in place, his blue gaze shining. “That was awesome!” The young man said softly. Patience… right! He could be patient, couldn’t he? He glanced towards Lionel and then his father. But… did he have the courage to try next? He shifted a little, feeling his heart start to beat faster. Maybe… maybe he’d wait to see if one of them wanted to do it first instead.

"Speech"

Lionel listened as their father explained the importance of being able to hunt what was available. Her in Fiori they were lucky with a variety of prey, but he supposed if he were ever out traveling and a rabbit wasn't available he'd have to go for something like a porcupine. It didn't mean he liked the idea of hunting it but he certainly understood the necessity of it now. It hadn't occurred to him that easy prey was just available wherever. Bright Moon would elaborate and he found himself nodding. Precision sounded like a good thing to practice on. If that was going to be another focus on the lesson then he'd certainly give it his best shot. Feeling slightly better about this lesson he'd pay attention as Bright Moon made a demonstration. Wide blue eyes would study her as she found one waddling from its burrow. She was so quiet that it surprised him. Noting how she got between it and it's den, he'd observe silently as she moved slowly. He noted the way she walked in a crouched position and made sure not to make any noise with her paws. Then the next thing he knew she was rushing at it, barking as she did so, to confuse it. It seemed so angry as it took a defensive position. It seemed almost like a dance before she managed to get her jaws around its face and started thrashing it. The next thing he knew she'd flipped it over and killed it before it could react. She then padded over to them, panting, and then she addressed them. He had to shake himself to clear his head of the awe inspiring act he'd just witnessed. He took note of what she said, explaining how to take it down once an opening was available. She then asked for a volunteer and he'd glance to Alfred with a raised eyebrow to see if he was interested. Alfred didn't say anything so he looked to Bright Moon. "I'd like to give it a go." Walk, "Talk" Think

(ooc: I suck at posting -dead-) Leo nodded in agreement as Bright Moon added onto the explanation for their activity today. He was glad to have her around to teach things like this. He never claimed to be the best tutor. He just wished Heather and Roza were here to partake in the lesson as well. He followed along behind the group quietly, stopping when Bright did. He settled down out of sight as Bright moved forward toward the prey in question, watching her as intently as he hoped his sons were. He couldn't say that he hunted porcupines regularly so he was sure there were things for him to learn. Bright Moon killed it masterfully and he gave her a smile when she turned back toward them. He glanced toward Alfred when he spoke, chuckling softly under his breath. He'd look to Lionel next with mild surprise when he spoke up to volunteer to give it a go next. "Lets keep moving then, hm?" he asked as his blue gaze landed back on Bright again with a smile, letting her take the lead again. "Talk" "You" Think