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That night was the warmest night I had in such a long time. My pup nestled to my stomach and my head lay over Kody and onto Doom’s neck. His own head rested on my paws, his fluffy tail wrapped around my son and myself. Each other’s breath kept tight in our little pocket, keeping more warmth pressed between us.
Occasionally Kody had stirred through tonight and my slim head rose to be ready to care for him but as soon as I did so, Doom had his muzzle nuzzling Kody’s side. I licked the top of Kody’s head as my tail wagged, and soon enough between Doom’s soft nose and my brushing tongue Kody was peaceful again. I sighed in relief as Doom leaned closer to me and licked the side of my muzzle.
I murred and nudged him gently and we shuffled even closer this time, my head on his paws and his head sweetly upon mine. I slept after that, and I slept well. I did feel shifting at my stomach and a weight on my head lift off soon after at some points later, but I was in such a deep haze that was all. Doom had cared for my son as I took a well needed deep sleep.
The next morning I found myself without Doom and I whined, looking around for my son now, I noticed he was curled up in my tail that was twisted in a curve. I smiled as I felt relaxed and I leaned over and licked Kody. I turned him over with my nose and licked his stomach as he moaned, he hated baths.
“Muuum, tis early”
I laughed and wondered where my son had picked up such odd says, but it made it him and I continued licking his paws and neck. He stretched his paws up and shoved my face, and to my surprise there was more strength in my son’s legs than I had judged. He was growing up so fast.
“mum…Where is doom, mum?”
I gave a shrug and looked around again, deciding that my pup was clean enough.
“Wanna find out?”
I grinned and my tail wagged, which made Kody slip off of it. He laughed and rolled around and jumped to his feet. He squatted his front end and his tail wiggled in the air, I growled playfully which he quickly returned and leapt at my face. Kody chewed on my fur as my paws wrapped around him and wrestled with him. I pinned him to the earth with my left paw and licked him again.
“Mum! Doom?!”
He growled and tried to bite at my tongue but I quickly sucked it back within the confines of my mouth. I stood and soon so did Kody. I looked up at the entrance and took in a deep breath, I was scared to take my son out in such a dangerous world, but he needed to know the world out there. So I kept the breath tight in my lungs and walked towards the sun, my own little son dancing by my feet with excitement.
Again the sudden brightness blinded Kody for a small amount of time but his eyes adjusted as we sat and waited. My nose worked ferociously and searched for any dangers, as well as Doom’s scent. With the little one’s eyes now adjusted I started walking away from the den, Kody bounced ahead of me in the tall grass of the little field as I searched the tree line with worry.
“Kody, I’m gonna have to start teaching you...”
My worry was obvious as Kody twisted in mid jump to try and look at me, but his legs weren’t prepared for it and he tripped, rolling in the grass. I looked down at him and laughed, how could one pup be so cute.
“A’right Mum, I’m ready”
I nodded and dropped my head to the earth to get a thicker scent of what had passed this spot, Kody copied but he was confused as to what I was doing.
“Smell Kody, use your nose. It’ll be the one thing that can save you sometimes”
He wiggled his nose and sniffed; his eyes widened as many scents reached inside his nose and confused him more. Kody whined and lifted his head away from the ground and scrunched up his nose.
“Ha-ha, Son you’ll learn each sent you’re smelling now. I know it’s confusing, but you’ll learn. Your life depends on it”
I knew those were strong words to say to a pup but it applied to him more so than any wolf I had met along my travels. I needed to teach him the scent of prey, one that could pull a wolf from the brink of death to carry it to the next meal, the rabbit. I could smell one and threaded through the field, my son on my tail as I isolated the scent.
“Here!”
I pointed at the point where the smell was almost single and Kody jumped on my paw. I pulled it back and let him take in the strong smell of the little beast. As he sniffed and sniffed, I took the chance to look around again. I saw the little brown rabbit sitting not that far away, I was surprised it hadn’t spotted us and fled. This was a perfect opportunity to see how well off my son’s instincts were. I hunkered low and leaned close to my son’s ear to whisper.
“You got the scent?”
He gave a nod.
“Now follow it, it’s a rabbit and it’s not that far away. I want you to try and get it, you’ll be able to buttercup, I believe in you. Just let yourself do it.”
His body shook and his eyes widened, he didn’t know where to attack it, or how to stalk his prey. Pups his age would be pouncing bugs and being supplied meat by their parents. But my son was to be no ordinary pup; he was to be a hero. I smiled and nudged him as his body calmed and again he nodded and his tail was raised high. Good.
First, he dropped his growing body low and sniffed, occasionally lifting his head and he spotted the young rabbit with no problem. I smiled and laid on my stomach, watching over him carefully, as well as the surroundings. As he got closer and closer he stopped and wiggled on his stomach, it was a grand sign that even without expirence his instincts were very strong. He then lowered his head down and shuffled to the left, away from the rabbits head, I watched now curiously. I had never seen that before and even I would not have thought to do that. Kody got closer than I had expected and was now in lunging distance to the rabbit that still blissfully nibbled the grasses. I could see his back legs wiggling with excitement and filled with the energy to pounce. Maybe he would get his first kill now, my tail gently wagged, sharing some of the excitement my son was feeling. He took a few more tentative steps to the rabbit and its senses picked something up. Its long eared head shot up and my son flattened out. The little rabbit looked around and around, searching for the danger it felt was so close…and it was. I a burst I had not expected as the rabbits head turned away from Kody he was on its back. He bite the side of his neck but his little body didn’t have much strength to hold it still as its life was being sucked away from the punchture wounds my son had just put into his neck. I was thrilled that Kody had gotten this far, I myself hadn’t caught my first rabbit in my jaws until a was about a year, he was only a little over seven months.
The panicking rabbit at first tried to jump away and pulled itself from under my son and and jumping backwards as he pulled the other way. I dragged him a slight bit but he stuck his claws into the dirt and refused to give up. The rabbit was weakening fast as blood dripped from my son’s muzzle. I could hear him growl as the rabbit stopped pulling and he bite down on its neck a few, harder times. Its life hissed away at my son’s fangs, as it lay dead at his feet he stared down at it and I rushed to his side.
His innocent eyes looked up to me and I wagged my tail, his did too and I licked his face gently. I made sure to let him keep the blood on his chops, it was a good sign. I picked up the limp body in my jaws and nodded my head back to the den.
As we walked to the den Doom appeared from the forest, he wagged his tail seeing my little one hopping up at the rabbit I carried back to our den. I dropped it and looked to Doom as he came and sat at my side.
“I was just trying to catch one of those, good catch”
He nuzzled my side and I laughed, he looked back and scrunched up his forehead.
“Kody killed it”
Doom’s confused expression turned to shock as my son gnawed at the fur on the corpse and it ripped off in his mouth. His tongue flicked from the roof of his mouth and the side of his muzzle parted wide to try and get the fur he hadn’t expect to get in there. I laughed and nodded, Doom looked wide-eyed at him and Kody just sat there still trying to rid himself of the fur.
“He…really?”
Doom still didn’t believe it but why should I lie, I laughed again and nodded once more.
“’Coarse I did, I listened to mum and just let myself do it.”
I nodded again, that had been what I told him. It proved his instincts where still strong, but he still would need experience and as he grew, so did the prey. The larger game was harder, had sharper sense, and could pose more of a danger to his life.
 DearCervid · Tue Nov 25, 2008 @ 03:37am · 0 Comments |
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