Dust was falling across Abaven. Brandr had been thinking about his new rank and the new responsibilities it entailed. He was nervous and uncertain what his first move would be. So for now he decided to go on a little hunting trip to clear his mind and see if the answer would become clear to him away from the worry and anxiety. Tipping back his head he howled for Caelestis. He had promised to take her hunting after the meeting and with the evening hush falling over the land it was the perfect time to go turkey hunting. He hoped to catch the birds as they moved to the trees at the edge of the thicket to roost for the night. Of course if they got to the trees first things would definitely get a bit more difficult. "Talk" "You" Think

Trotting through the territory at a junty bounce the girl was trying desperately to find some mischief to get into. Her parents were off talking somewhere and that left her free to do aaaanything she wanted! It took a while for her to convince her mom not to be kind of pissed about how boldly she'd interjected during the meeting, but the conversation had taken a turn after a while and Caelum and Zephyr were more focused on each other than her, so she was more than happy to take that as forgiveness and prance away quietly to continue exploring. In her excitement she almost forgot about hunting with Brandr, until she heard his howl!

Racing to meet the man, she came flying over a bush, landing awkwardly a short distance away with a wide grin, mismatched eyes shining bright as she chirped, "Hi! I'm ready to be the ultimate turkey slayer," What even was a turkey though? They sounded funny just from their names.

Brandr waited patiently, taking in the dusky haze of spring time and the warm of the weather. There was a humidity in the air that suggested the potential for rain later in the night but for now it wonderful. His ears flicked as he caught the sound of movement and he smiled as he saw Caelestis race over to him. He was pleased to see she was still so excited and he chuckled at her comment. "Is that so? Well then, we'd better get started. It won't be good for the ultimate turkey slayer to return with empty jaws." He stood and stretched for a moment before padding over a little ways and delicately picking up a turkey feather in his teeth. He trotted back over to the girl and dropped the feather at her feet. "This is a turkey feather, familiarize yourself with its scent. There's a flock not far off, feeding on the evenings bugs but we'll want to catch them before they go to roost in the trees. When you're ready go ahead and try to track them." He'd found the feather in this location so there would be a scent trail for her to follow. Even though he knew where they were in the valley he still wanted her to get used to tracking. "Talk" "You" Think

Giving him a firm nod to assert that yes, she would be the 'ultimate turkey slayer' by the end of the day, Caelestis settled herself so she could focus on what Brandr said and try to actually be a good student. Rose and turquoise eyes widened as he brought the feather over. So that came off a turkey, huh? So it was some sort of bird, okay, birds were cool she guessed.

Doing as she was told Caelestis sniffed at the feather, getting a good whiff of the scent attached to the animal and trying to memorize it, separating it from the other smells that played around the feather. Once she thought she had it the child would dutifully pad along, nose close to the ground as she sniffed, walking zig-zag patterns through the area until she found a trail. Aha, now she could go find some turkeys to slay!

Wandering through the thicket she would weave between bushes and sneak through the undergrowth, several times almost getting distracted and wandering off the trail, or taking an older trail that grew faint so she had to backtrack. When at last the scent was growing strong she made sure to walk real quiet and sneaky like. Closer still she walked and yet she didn't see anything.

Gobble gobble!

The birds chattering among themselves alerted her to their presence, off to her right and a hundred yards or so away. Glancing at Brander,s he gave him a quizzical expression. 'What now?' it seemed to ask. She wasn't sure if she should actually try to whisper to him or if the weird chubby birds might hear her from here.

Brandr sat patiently as Caelestis analyzed the scents coming off the feather. When she'd untangled the scents she took off following the scent trail and Brandr swiftly rose to his feet to pad along silently behind her. They wove a jagged trail, a few times she got distracted and he smiled silently to himself, remember how easily he strayed from a scent trail when he was first learning to hunt. Brandr nodded encouragement to the girl as she followed an older trail and had to backtrack. Soon the sounds of turkey's could be heard in the distance and Brandr quickly crouched. He moved stealthily next to his charge, keeping himself as low as possible. Thankfully the tall spring grass of the plains offered some shelter for a large wolf on the prowl. Caelestis glanced to him and Brandr pondered their next move. Daring to speak to her in a low whisper he said. "You wait here, I'm going to circle around between the flock and the trees to cut them off. Turkeys can fly but not to far. When I charge from the back you attack from the front. Let's go for the male turkey, it's the big one with the blueish head. Try to get it by the neck." Brandr planned to try to get the neck as well. It would take a team effort and he couldn't quite be sure what the turkey's would do. He was familiar with hunting deer and big game but this was another matter entirely. With a nod and a smile he slipped off through the grass. It was a labor of patience as he froze several times, fearful that one of the hens had spied him. The sun was starting to set now and Brandr knew he needed to move quickly. With pointed precision and a lot of luck he managed to get between the flock and the trees. His hindlegs bunched beneath him before he sprang forward toward the flock, sending them scattering and gobbling as he dived toward the tom turkey. "Talk" "You" Think

Large eyes gazed at the older man as she took in his reply. Okay, wait here, attack the tom when Brandr scared 'em. Got it. "Okie dokie," she cooed, turning back to watch the turkey things as the waddled around and did their gobble gobble sounds while Brandr departed on his part of this Turkey slaying mission.

She sat hunkered in the grass, creeping closer by a foot or two every so often as she waited for her hunting partner to get into position. So far so good, she was getting pretty close but none of them looked like they were getting suspicious or saw her. Stopping her approach, the girl looked for Brandr, waiting in a tense crouch for the fat birds in front of her to come flapping closer.

"Squawk!" It happened to suddenly! Brandr came leaping from the grass, startling all the chubby birds into gobbling their way right into Caelestis' lap. Lunging forward, she sought out the big one with the funny blue head, jaws parting as she aimed to bite the animal's neck. She caught the lowest part of the neck, where it met the animal's chest. Not exactly a lethal bite, but it gave her the chance to wrap her front legs around it's chest while the creature struggled to break free and wobble it's way away. Hey, it was way stronger than she thought it would be!

Brandr cheered inwardly as Caelestis tackled the turkey, her jaws connecting with it's lower neck. A good hold but not a killing bite and that could be dangerous. He saw the turkey's head dive as if in slow motion, the beak heading for the girl but with a burst of speed is he seized the creature's head in his jaws and with a violent thrashing of his head he snapped it's neck. Almost instantly the bird went limp. Brandr opened his jaws and let it fall to the ground as the other turkey's took off into the air and across the ground, scattering at a speed he never would've guess they were capable of. Panting he turned to the girl with a grin. "Good work Caelestis! If you hadn't blocked the turkey I might not have been fast enough to catch him before he got airborne. What do you say we take this back to show your mom?" "Talk" "You" Think

Attached to the turkey as she way, Caelestis suddenly found she was more or less at it's mercy. Her hold wasn't exactly controlling it's movement too much other than keeping it from flying away. Then the turkey got mad, and she saw it's beady eyes and pointy beak coming down at her! Eek!

The peck didn't connect, though, as suddenly the bird was shaking then limp. Opening eyes she hadn't recalled closing, she looked up to see Brandr had come to her rescue. Her tail thumped the ground wildly, a bark of joy erupting from her chest. Yes! They did it! "That was so fun!" she cried, eyes wide with excitement. The girl nodded vigorously at his suggestion, "Yeah, let's show everybody!"

She'd try to carry the Turkey on her own, but it was just a touch heavy for her to carry so it ended up more dragged than carried as she waddled several steps with the bird clutched in her jaws. Her expression was fiercely determined as she moved along at a slow walk. She was gunna show everyone she could find the great big turkey. Her parents would be super duper impressed!

Tail wagging, Brandr smiled down at Caelestis. He was glad that she had enjoyed herself and was now able to show the results of her efforts. He held back as she tried to carry it on her own knowing that it was probably a bit to big for her but she looked so determined he couldn't bring himself to assist her. He could offer though. "If you need a break Caelestis just let me know and I can carry the turkey for a bit. You definitely can have the honor of dragging it into the densites." He thought that was a fair offer and she could still be seen hauling in the kill. Setting into a patient pace he was content to follow Caelestis home. -exit- "Talk" "You" Think