ORIGIN - Been There Before

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wake up from your reverie
a light year from reality

The canine nodded his head once given an explanation as to why they had not ate so frequently. It still bothered him for how big they were but it would not dwell on him any longer as he scratched his ear. In doing so, he got into a sloppy position but fixed himself when the dragon gave the suggestion that hunting a baby deer would be ideal for him. They were young though! Like him. He could not imagine taking down something as youthful as himself. Both would have so much to live for, it would not be for if one lived on and the other did not! For a pup that surely held the line for a canine meant for hunting, thoughts were holding themselves higher than they should. With them trailing off for the moment, he shook his head finally to tell of his disapproval of hunting down fawn.

As he pondered on what would be better for him to start on until heart was harden enough to bring down young creatures, the male lit up when company brought up rabbits. He had not a real chance to observe one so, mind would think it could not hold much objections when going after one. Nodding at that option, he already began imagining how it should go down—how incredibly stealthy and pretty much how flawless he could be at it.

Body went into a bow and tail wagging wildly when Baratheon asked if he would like his first hunting lesson. "Yes! I am ready! Let's go, let's go!" he happily exclaimed, spinning around once to show his excitement. It would be good to begin learning this for future uses, having the hidden thought that he would definitely need to support himself when older.

"Kyo Speaks"

@Baratheon

The dragon was happy to see that his young friend was ready for taking on the challenge of learning to hunt. He let out a chuckle, body lowering to the ground as he said, "Not so fast, not so fast. There are things we must work on first." With that he cast around in the darkness for something. His pink eyes searching for something in the darkness until he finally seemed satisfied with something. His long neck snaked out as he grasped a stone gingerly between his fangs and placed it several yards away. That would be their "rabbit" for now, until his first lesson was over with. "Before we go looking for real rabbits I want to see how you stalk." He looked back at the young canine, eyes on the happily moving pup.

"Now then, rabbits. They've really good hearing and will be able to hide from you if they hear you coming. You'll need to distribute your weight evenly as you sneak up on them." He knew telling could only go so far so he decided a demonstration was in order. "Like so." Here, he attempted to go into a hunter's crouch like he'd seen some of his friends doing while hunting. He hadn't actually stalked since he was a young dragon but he could do the basics.

He rose onto his massive paws, body sliding down as he spread out his paws and distributed his massive weight across all four of them. His tail he straightened out and his wings were tucked tightly at his sides while he attempted to give the best example as he could. He hoped he wasn't making a fool of himself, a massive dragon attempting to "stalk". "And when you move you have to go slow and steady and pay attention to your paws so you don't kick anything." He didn't demonstrate this part as there was hardly anything he could do to mute his massive pawsteps.

Now, he looked over to Kyorai, "Alright, let's see your stalk and crouch."

339
@Kyorai
---
6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

wake up from your reverie
a light year from reality

Rumble sounded from throat, seating himself in being a bit sadden by the wait in getting into the action. They needed to see how he stalked which self simply rubbed front across the ground before falling to side and then laying on belly completely. The pup would not tell his denial for this hold up, not wanting to defy his dragon friend. Ears stood up and made sure to keep eyes on Baratheon. First statement to come was about the rabbit itself. He snorted in not seeing their good hearing to be a big deal. With long ears like that, it was not a surprise they could hear well. Head angled when told that distributing his weight was the key, though would his own weight be a real issue? He got off of his belly into a slight crouch but before determining the correct stepping, dragon went on to show how it was done. Knowing how large they were, he took a few steps back from the demonstration, observing with a curious look.

The male could not help but chuckle at their process in getting into a stalking position. It was their size in which made it silly to watch, purposely hopping up with each step of theirs to simulate the vibration through the ground. Action ceased when they finally had the position, snorting and nodding his head to show his understanding of it. He trotted close to company again, examining how each limb was placed to gain an idea. One paw he stomped off to the side, however, the rest were carefully put in their rightful spot. Kyorai had constantly looked at the dragon to make sure his position was somewhat identical to theirs. "I think... there," he told, adjusting right hind leg in now feeling it was similar enough.

Taking note to be cautious with his steps, he took one forepaw forward, then the other; hind paw came next, then the other. However, as he went to place left hind paw down a rock was apparently awaiting to be stepped on, yelping and jumping back—bumping into one of the dragon's limbs. "Oops," he softly said, reaching over to lick and retrieve the small rock stuck between paw pads. It seemed the pup was not cautious enough, pity laughing at himself. Finishing licking paw, he peered back at the dragon, smile finding its way back onto his face. "I think a rabbit put that rock there! It wasn't there before, it surely was not! How can one notice something so small?" he went to cover up slight embarrassment for his misstep, blaming it on what they were going after. Crouching down again, he took forepaw and tested the ground in front of him, checking what was under him and proceeding with overly cautious steps.

"Kyo Speaks"

@Baratheon

In the darkness he looked over at his small companion, noting that the pup mimicked him down to a T. He nodded to himself, pleased that Kyorai was such a fast learner and so good at paying attention. It made his job a heck of a lot easier. So, after he was stilled and waiting for Kyorai to begin his practice stalk his pink eyes remained locked onto the pup's paws. So far so good it seemed, as he moved stealthily over the ground towards their "rabbit". "Good, very good." He praised at how the canine seemed to be going at first, everything seemed to be going according to plan. With such a good practice run as this then perhaps they could immediately go on to a real rabbit with Lesson Two.

But... he supposed to spoke too soon.

Before they could go any further he noted that little Kyorai yelped as one of his paws stepped on something. In the darkness he couldn't see the small stone but he knew it must have been something bad. His head snaked around towards the pup resting against his forelimb, concern was in his gaze as he looked at his friend. "Are you alright?" He hoped it wasn't anything too bad, he didn't want to injure the poor guy on their first hunt. Though, it seemed that it wasn't a big deal and was just a small stone. The dragon laughed before nudging the little guy fondly and raising his head back up. "You've got to be careful, rabbits are also natural tricksters that are known to place stones in front of their enemies." A little bit of fun never hurt, it could break the monotony of a lesson and help lessen the sting of a mess-up.

Alright, back to the lesson at hand.

"Let's try once more. Mind your paws this time." He laid down, tucking his paws beneath him while watching keenly to see if there would be any more mishaps with misplaced paws. "You can do it."

338
@Kyorai
---
6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

wake up from your reverie
a light year from reality

Head nodded and brought sight to look forward. Although there stood this anxious feeling of stepping on an object once again, he paused his crouching and stood at full height. He stared forward for a second to see if anything would come into view. It was dark and eyes were fixed to perceive prominent figures, but the pup needed the full detail of what was likely an obstacle for him; especially with the chance his soon to be fluffy enemy had the objective of blocking his progression.

Front half dropped fully, chest and chin meeting the ground. In his little bow, he narrowed eyes to try and pick out more than the trees and notably large rocks. Gaze soften once things were gradually becoming clear. Forelegs pushed him slightly off the ground which brought him back into the crouch he needed to be in. Now that he was able to view the area around with little fault, steps were less directed and rough; going about stalking around smoothly. He was not sure where to go, but he crept into the shrubbery surrounding and seemingly disappeared from the spot. Though he was just rearing up to use company as a checkpoint for his action.

"Kyo Speaks"

wake up from your reverie
a light year from reality

After partially circling the dragon, he settled himself for the moment before creeping back out. Everything seemed fine so far. Apart the noise made from entering shrubbery, steps kept silent in bringing up no noise. Carefully peeking out from behind the dragon, he made sure to place ears down so it would not disturb leaves nor itself. It appeared position was continuing to hold nicely, seeing practice was helping to ensure him from what thoughts brought forth for mishaps. Holding his breath, he would figure way out of this shrub without causing too much noise, however, perhaps it was a bad idea to look out from one so heavily overrun with leaves.

One paw reached out slowly, but despite that a small rustling sound followed along. Making a displeased face, he stopped for a second before deciding to throw care out the window and bounded toward company at full speed. The pup really wanted to scream out but he knew a hunter should not announce their "attack". Once reaching Baratheon, he ended up ramming self into their thigh, shaking himself from the hard hit. Standing with head down as if he had hurt it, body was able to dumb down the consequence from such force, staggering back to where the dragon's head was. "L- Like that! Yes? Though I suppose crashing into prey isn't the best idea, huh?" he spoke while roughly sitting down with gaze on the other. He thought the entirety of action was excellent but that was for the dragon to say. Besides, self-evaluation was not exactly free of bias and the like.

"Kyo Speaks"

@Baratheon

He lay there, watching as his company began to creep forward towards a bush. It seemed as if he were going at it with more attention this time and being sure not to crash into anything that might end his hunt prematurely. Baratheon kept his mouth closed but eyes open as he watched, not wanting to disturb his tiny charge and otherwise break his concentration in these crucial moments. They might not be using real prey at the moment but it was still important that he get his technique down before they actually went to tackle something that would run away.

Kyorai seemed to be doing a splendid job this time, circling around all the while keeping his body in check. He nodded to himself as he continued to watch and then wait as the tiny pup suddenly charged but not into their fake rabbit but into him instead. Baratheon laughed as he bounced off of his leg, it might not have been an attacked aimed at the stone he'd picked up but it was perfectly fine. His stalking was good and so long as he didn't try to ram his head into the prey, that would be good as well. "That'll do, Ky, that'll do. But yes, when you happen upon a rabbit do use your teeth and not your head. I've never seen anyone take down prey by ramming it before." He chuckled but then rose slowly to his paws, it was time for Lesson Two.

"Now that you're stalking is good, it's time for lesson two. Before you can catch anything you need to learn how to find it." Prey wasn't exactly going to come out and ask to be hunted, no. He would have to track it down and find it himself all the while being stealthy enough not to scare it away. "Use your nose, test the air and see if you can find the scent of rabbit to follow." He couldn't exactly describe the smell, it would just have to be trial and error he supposed but once he did find that smell he was certain that Kyorai would have it memorized for the rest of his life. "When you do, follow it and remember to keep your steps quiet so that you don't alert it." He reclined back on his haunches, watching his companion to see what he would do. Baratheon couldn't exactly help much with this part beyond giving him pointers and explaining what to do. After all, with his own huge steps he would never be able to hunt something as small as a rabbit and would only hinder the hunt if he followed. So, he would wait until the coast was clear and after the canine had found his prey.

460
@Kyorai
---
6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

wake up from your reverie
a light year from reality

Maw opened and closed in imagining the feel of a rabbit within it. He was not sure what to expect when handling prey, but self figured it would come to him during the situation. Listening to the things that needed to be done to find prey, he did a nudging motion to the air in already trying to catch a scent. Though there were a few he could note, some that were strong and others faint. Mind knew to cancel out company's smell and the stench of wet dog in which came from him. Trotting around the area, he neared a particular direction that gave something he had not recognized. Humming, he peered back at Baratheon as if expecting something but then shook his head in having forgotten their size. There was no sure fire way they could follow, much to his dismay so, he was unsure whether this would be the right path to trace. After looking back and forth for a bit, he snuck through the bush covering the path, steps quick and smooth in trying not to stay separated from the dragon for long.

Cutting around a tree, nose kept low to the ground in tracking down where rabbit could be. While passing a rock, he noticed a short, strong scent that made him take a few steps back from where he stopped. Sniffing the peculiar spot, it seemed the area opened up to him some more; having what he needed to find the creature he was after. Going around rock, he followed the trail he found to the area it overwhelmed. There was a feeling he was close which brought him to lower body. Heartbeat was quick which he hoped prey could not hear them as well. Slowly, he peeked around a stump, scanning what all he could see. Although there appeared to be a problem. Nose told that prey would be here but it was no where to be found. Raising a brow, despite nothing being there, he kept his crouch position and proceeded out from his hiding.

The pup was sadden to see there was not anything here to follow his efforts in tracking. Before returning to his full height, eyes noticed something not far from him. Gazing at it, he crawled over to it and examined what appeared to be a hole. The pup gave it a couple of sniffs, ears perking at what waved from it. Apparently, the rabbit was in this hole—trying to figure out how one would get something out of such a small place.

"Kyo Speaks"

wake up from your reverie
a light year from reality

The canine waited around the hole while in thought, not thinking of anything apart from going into the burrow itself. Taking in a deep breath, he gradually entered front half into the prey's abode. Without much of a warning, the fluffy rabbit inside began to flail, taking the pup by surprise. Out of instinct, Kyorai began to bark at the creature, forcing self in their home more and more; though he made sure to have rear somewhat out so he would not get fully stuck.

It amazed the male how much this rabbit fought back. Their kicks surely did pack a punch but hardiness was doing him well with this tiny battle. Maw stayed opened with each attempted kick from prey, teeth grabbing onto a leg it was fortunate enough to catch. With the creature in his grasp, he pulled them out of the hole, but perhaps that was a bad idea seeing it had more room to pull away from him. Holding onto their hind limb, there was some form of tug-of-war going on between the two. Barely did he get close enough to the hole again in which he would swing the rabbit back in it and hold it down.

Once body was fully ontop of the prey's, he immediately went for its head, then switching to its neck. Growling as they continued to move about, form relaxed once all movement ceased, huffing from the entire thing. Kyorai removed self off of prey, feeling a mixture of joy and guilt. Sitting near the body which was half way within the hole, he began baying to tell the dragon they could come to where he was. After doing so, he grabbed one of the rabbit's legs and dragged it away from the hole, placing it within plain sight and seating self again once done.

"Kyo Speaks"

@Baratheon

After giving his instructions the young canine set to work with deciphering out the different smells, or at least, that what he seemed to be doing as he sniffed the air and wandered around. Kyorai seemed to be going in one definitive direction but after a moment stopped and looked back. Baratheon noticed his hesitation and then motioned with a gentle motion of his head that it was okay and that he should keep going. Then... He was on his own.

The white dragon lowered himself to the ground, forelimbs crossing over one another and rear splaying out to the side like a cat's as he waited. He didn't know how long it would take but hopefully his young friend would find success. He fervently wished that he could go along on the hunt and found himself cursing his size for being incapable. No amount of stalking on his part would be able to disguise the sound his paws made on the earth from a rabbit. So, he remained back with his eyes closing and ears raising into the air to listen for when the canine would call him.

It was a few minutes, perhaps longer when he finally heard the baying of the hound. His eyes snapped opened and he picked himself up to his massive paws as he began to pick his way through the foliage towards the sound. No doubt he would be heard long before he arrived and then, finally, he emerged to where the canine was. On the ground he could see the evidence of the scuffle with the battered pup, the dead rabbit, and the dirt which looked scuffed up and scratched. A smile formed on Baratheon's face as he grinned down at Kyorai, pleased that he'd succeeded in his first hunt. "Well done! Very well done! Did it give you too much trouble?" He praised the pup, lowering his head down to give the puppy a congratulatory nudge with his nose. "You're a bonafide rabbit hunter now." He said with a chuckle as he lifted back up. "Surely you must be hungry after that?"

351
@Kyorai
---
6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

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