The illness left her slowly. March had felt it ebbing away for a long time now, which only made it even more painful waiting. Her mother had enforced a patient reintroduction, giving her body ample time to adapt to a more active lifestyle. It had been necessary, but by the fallen god had it been annoying. She bit back her frustration though, she would not let it taint this ultimate victory, the conquering of an illness, a curse that had swept through the litter and taken two of her siblings. March was alive and she was here to stay.

Her legs had grown long, almost too long for her body as she neared her first year. She had practiced her first steps within Proserpina's den, but still she felt awkward on her feet. Her mobility would improve with practice, at least she hoped so. She walked out of the den, wobbling a bit as she went but quickly regaining stability with each new step. She breathed deeply, wide green eyes soaking in as much she could. She was out. She was free. She had won.

She made no noise, no call to her pack. She looked back to her mother, standing behind her, and the pup gave her a little wobbly smile, still reeling from this new change. There was so much out there to explore, so much to do, so much to learn. Even if it was impossible, March wanted to see it all.

His mother had informed them that March would be ready to come out of the den soon. Finally! She and her mother had been sick practically since they were born, and although his mother had recovered sooner than March had, he was secretly eager to see his sister take her first steps out of the den for the first time in...well...ever! Whenever he left the den for the day, he always came back around quietly and mostly waited and watched for an hour or two for the day he would see his sister's earthen pelt emerge. And it just so happened that today, was that day. He had a young ptarmigan in his mouth. The white bird was near death, but he made sure it still had enough strength to try to get away when he put it down. He knew March had never had the chance to hunt yet, so he was eager to see if she was interested in wanting to try. And if she wasn't up to it, he understood. They could dispatch it quickly enough so she had a meal at least.

Approaching the den, he spotted his mother's bigger form before he spotted March. But when he saw her, his tail wagged and he felt his fur bristle with excitement. They had lost two siblings the moment they had been born. And their mother had almost lost her own life that day, and in the weeks following when she was sick with whatever she had. Although he wasn't the most social of creatures, he had been afraid they would lose March. He offered a muffled yip through the mouthful of bird he had as he approached, "Hey M'rch! Brought you a present!" It was hard talking with a bird in his mouth, that was for sure.

March waddled forward to see the bright scarlets and teals of her brother's coat, standing loud and proud amidst the white snow. She tottered forward as her tail began to wag, eager to greet her bigger sibling outside the den for the first time. She quickened her pace as much as she could without toppling over. "Hey, Morax." Addressing her brother by name felt formal, more formal than either of them could really muster, but it felt like an occasion to go the extra mile. Treat it like something to remember, and not like every other day. Regardless, March felt that this day would take its residence in her mind and never leave. She willed it to.

Her eyes fell down to the ptarmigan. "You shouldn't have," She said warmly, before taking a closer look. "Wait. It's still alive." She caught the panicked rising and falling of the young birds chest, its eyes staring blankly at her, in shock but clearly still living. "Why is that?" She asked, unsure of what Morax was planning and frankly, feeling a little bad for the bird.

His sister approached and greeted him, and the young boy couldn't help but wag his tail. It was good to finally see her out and about and exploring the world. There was too much that she had been missing, and he was eager to explore it with her! One ear cocked forward when she realized the bird he held was still alive. He started to grin around the bird, and then she questioned why. He put the bird down on the ground, placing a paw on it to hold it there so it couldn't run away, though it did protest with a panicked cry as it tried to struggle. He spat a feather or two from his mouth before answering her. "You haven't gotten the chance to hunt yet. So I figured this could be your first hunt maybe? Ain't nothin' better than makin' your first real prey kill!" He beamed. If she didn't want to, he'd kill it then and there and she could eat it if she wanted.

"Uhhhh."

She watched as her brother set the bird down, holding it in place as it screeched and wriggled. She couldn't quite match his enthusiasm, her smile nervous and unconvincing. Why did she feel so awful for it? She hoped that this feeling wouldn't linger, prayed that this wasn't an omen for her days to come. Squeamishness was not a quality a wolf could hold, certainly not an Aerie wolf. Hell, not even a mortal would be unable to take the kill. She tried not go far down this rabbit hole, she'd just gotten out of the den after all. Best not sully the moment.

"Sure." She moved to take the bird from his hold, a cinnamon paw reaching to pull the bird towards her, and if he allowed, she'd set it under her head before setting her teeth around it's upper neck, making sure that it was dead even after the crack of bone resonated in her jaws. She drew no pleasure from an animal in pain, but the kill didn't bring anything out in her either. Just another necessity.