[ P ] famine

COLBURN

The little thief's ears twitched when Sorcha said please. Apparently she was quite eager to teach him, but her tone suggested otherwise. He didn't catch on that she was trying to coax the stray to conduct himself with manners and not saying please to him. He looked at her hungrily, black tongue licking his lips at the prospect of more food. Although the meat she had given him sat heavy in his stomach he wanted more.

Sorcha didn't offer a comment about his home again much to Colburn's relief. She had proven to be a kind woman, but it didn't mean he could let his guard down and reveal anything that could lead the Imps to his den. It only took one wolf to betray him and he'd be spending the rest of his days as a prisoner or as a wanted criminal. The distance he maintained from everyone kept him safe even if it was a lonely existence. He was simply too different. There was no where he fit in. His family had made that clear when they abandoned him in the woods.

She urged him to hurry and he shifted, stepping out from beneath the rotten tree stump and revealing himself to her. "Comin'" he answered. His black fur was matted with dirt and powered with a fine dusting of snow. She was small in size just like him, although she had appeared larger from a distance he was relieved to see that she was eye level with him.

"What now?" Colburn asked, fidgeting like a pup. He was eager to eat again even if it sounded like more work than stealing. Maybe he could hunt in the days when he couldn't steal.

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SORCHA "Comin'" He answered, quick to move at her command. He slipped silently from his hiding spot to stand before her, his void like eyes level with her own, bouncing on his toes with enthusiasm. "What now?" Sorcha laughed as she turned, pointing with her muzzle towards the surrounding fields before starting off at a brisk pace, looking over her shoulder to address the boy. She could instruct as they walked. “First, we have to actually find our prey. Use your nose. What can you smell?” She scented the air herself, picking up the faint scent of rabbit that was common to the fields surrounding Edinburgh. Likely, Shadow would pick up on the scent himself. It would be a perfect start, so long as they had more luck now than she had this morning. “Once you have a scent, that's when the rest of your senses come in. Your ears and nose will help to determine how far away your prey is, and how long you’ll likely be tracking it, if you haven’t spotted it already.” She paused, waiting to see if the boy had any questions. “And keep down wind. You don’t want your prey to notice you before even starting a hunt.” "someone speaking" "speaking"

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COLBURN

Her explanation was thorough yet simple enough for a simple boy like him to understand. It reminded him of the stealth required before stealing from some unwitting passersby. The small thief almost verbalised this connection, but then he caught himself. Sorcha might be a nice lady, but he doubted that she would be so kind if she knew he was a thief. She would likely report him to the Imps and then he wouldn't be able to come around here again. That's if he was lucky enough not to get caught.

Sorcha's first instruction was for Colburn to use his nose. The black nostrils twitched, his own damp earthy mildew scent blending into the background. He could still smell the rabbit they'd shared and something else, something fresher. "Mhmm.. Rabbit, right?" he asked, black eyes flashing with excitement. It was similar to the rush he got when he saw someone travelling alone through the Redwood. He skulked through the snow, ears rotating and twitching at each little sound he thought would help him locate his prey. The smell grew stronger when he neared a hole in the ground. Did it live there? He pushed his nose into the burrow, sniffing aggressively at the mouth of the den. Small teeth clamped down on his nose and he stumbled backwards with a yelp. The rabbit had bitten the over eager hunter leaving two fresh punctures on his dark nose.

"It bih muh dose," he exclaimed, obviously offended by the sudden assault, holding a dirty paw to his bloodied snout and glaring at the hole. Oh that rabbit would get it now. He would bite its face off and eat it.

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SORCHA She could see his nostrils twitching as he followed her lead. "Mhmm.. Rabbit, right?" He turned to her for confirmation, eyes alight with excitement. Sorcha grinned. “Good!” She watched as Shadow dropped to a crouch, shifting carefully through the snow. He was mindful of where he stepped, she noted with a small nod. It was clear he at least had some semblance of knowledge in hunting given that he was demonstrating a decent stalking position, despite what he had told her earlier. He came to a pause, but before she could instruct further he gave a startled yelp, landing back onto his haunches. "It bih muh dose," He whined, rubbing at his nose with a paw. Sorcha stifled a laugh, coming up beside him. “Let me see,” She instructed him to move his paw so she could check the damage done to his nose. “I think you’ll live.” She gave him a grin as she pulled away again. “It broke the skin but not too deep.” Sorcha turned back to the rabbit hole. “Good job finding the burrow. The rabbit will be long gone now, but the burrows are all connected underground, we might be able to catch it from another hole nearby.” "someone speaking" "speaking"

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COLBURN

It was Colburn’s first time hearing praise, but the positive reinforcement sent happy tingles through his body and his tail hesitantly wiggled. He didn’t really understand why it had that effect on him, all he knew was that it was a good feeling. Lips quirked up in a satisfied grin that stayed in place until the rabbit bit his nose. It stung almost as bad as the time he’d stepped on a thorn and hobbled around with it embedded in his paw. His paw remained pressed against the wound, reluctantly lowering only when Sorcha asked to see it. Growing up without anyone to treat every bump and scrape that he got meant he grew up more resilient than most youths. He didn’t fuss about injuries even when they hurt enough to cause concern. He nodded at Sorcha’s assessment, already forgetting about the sting in his nose. “Rabbit’s gonna get it,” he promised, more determined than ever to catch his new rival.

“C’mon. Let’s find it,” he urged her, nose pointed towards the ground once more as he began to search for another opening where the rabbit might have escaped to. Already he was imagining the many different ways he would like to avenge his nose upon the rascally long eared fiend.

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SORCHA “Rabbit’s gonna get it,” He spoke so resolutely that Sorcha found herself stifling a laugh. “I bet, you can’t let it get away with such blatant disrespect.” He was off again before she could answer, so she padded along after with a smile on her face. She was enjoying herself, much to her own surprise and in face of the apparent urgency she had felt when she first laid her eyes on the skinny boy before her. She had never really been in a teaching position, with no younger siblings to bring into the hunting party. The rest of her family gained their experience elsewhere, and she had never really been interested in teaching strangers. But as she watched the boy run off, nose to the ground, she realised why so many wolves dedicated themselves to the art of teaching others. Maybe in the future, she could put a little more effort into bringing up the next generation of hunters. She paused a few feet behind him, wanting to see how he handled himself without too much guidance. "someone speaking" "speaking"

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COLBURN

I bet you can’t let it get away with such blatant disrespect. He let out a growl in response, flashing her a fierce grin and went to work tracking down the rabbit. The earth’s rough surface scratched against his sore nose as he scoured the ground looking for another entrance into the burrow. He paid no mind to the pain and crouched like a prowling cat when he found a suspicious opening in the ground. A pair of beady black eyes stared out of him and he lunged, clumsily grabbing hold of one of its ears and dragging the brown animal out of its hideaway. It was a sight to behold. A small wolf swinging a rabbit around by the ear that was wriggling and kicking at him wildly with strong legs.

Panicking he jerked his head towards Sorcha, black eyes wide and uncertain. The sudden motion caused him to lose his grip on the critters ear and the rabbit was launched towards Sorcha, careening through the air like a fluffy ball.

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SORCHA Her smile dropped as the rabbit careened towards her. “Oh shite.” It landed with a dull thud on the ground before her, and both were frozen for a few moments, stunned. The rabbit was first to remember where it was and struggled onto its paws, attempting to bolt away from the wolves. It wasn’t quick enough, however. Sorcha was quick after it’s tail, not about to let the hunt end in failure. Shadow, despite flinging the poor creature across the meadow, had done some good. The rabbit was clearly injured and she did not have to scramble to catch it in her jaws. She gave it a quick end with a swift bite to the neck; although she would have liked Shadow to have made the killing bite, her own moral code would not let the animal continue suffering. Thus, her jaws would end the job. But she returned to the boy, rabbit swinging in her jaws and she offered him a bright smile as she dropped it at his paws. “Good work! I wouldn’t advise throwing your prey in the future, but we got the job done.” "someone speaking" "speaking"

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COLBURN

Colburn watched in surprise and wonder as the rabbit flew like a bird through the air towards Sorcha. He hadn't meant to throw it, but the damn thing had been flailing like a manic beast and he'd held it precariously by its ears. Not the most conventional hunting technique, he supposed, yet it worked out in the end. Oh shite, Sorcha remarked as it came towards her. "Shite," he agreed, letting out a laugh as she approached him with the now dead rabbit. It felt good to hunt for himself even if he'd needed Sorcha's help. It meant that he might be able to feed himself and not have to rely on stealing as much which often meant more days hungry than not.

He accepted her praise with a grin and a wagging tail, feeling pretty good about himself at that moment. "Yeah. Take that dumb rabbit," he growled at it, content that his nose had been properly avenged. "You gonna have some?" he asked, noticing that she had given it over to him. While he would love to keep it for himself he wasn't going to stop her if she wanted half of it since she had helped him out.

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His excitement at completing the hunt had her grinning - he looked like a pup on their first hunt, after making their first successful kill. But was that not the case, anyway? He was well over the age that parents would take their children out to practice. Her expression dropped slightly as she realised just how much the boy had missed in his short life. "You gonna have some?" He asked, snapping her to attention. Sorcha shook her head and gave him a soft smile. "Nah, it's yours." It was his reward for completing the hunt, even if he hadnt been the one to kill the rabbit.

"Take it back to your family, you all deserve a warm meal." It wasn't much, and Sorcha did not know just how many wolves, if any, Shadow would be returning home to. But her intention had been to teach the boy how to hunt, and hopefully she had succeeded. If he could keep himself fed without having to turn back to rotten meat, or worse, then she had done her job.

//Will make pretty later!!