ORIGIN

Round two, same plan was a go. Ein nodded to Bayo at the confirmation, and then split from him as directed; he remained pacing in front of the alley until he saw Bayo on the other side, and prepared to block the rabbit in once it came hopping toward him. He slowly advanced, head low and fur bristled, hoping to trap it successfully this time instead of letting it get through.

This time it worked! The rabbit scrambled back, but found itself trapped between Ein and Bayo. Except now, Ein had no idea what to do. A single silver eye looked up to the larger pup. He hadn't thought about what should happened if they got this far. Instinct told him they'd be eating it, but then it should be dead, right? Who was supposed to kill it?

He shuffled side to side to keep the rabbit locked between them, waiting for further instruction from Bayo, if any.

Ein listened carefully, but immediately he felt his brow lift on one side and his head cock; a quick "Wha—" began to leave his lips, but Bayo had lunged forward to kill the rabbit, and just as he had described, too!

The jackal pup could only stare, his mind churning, tucking away the information and the visual example for future use—on rabbits. Of course. But it was probably good to know that slicing or crunching the throat was the sure way to end something without it suffering. Bayo's excited voice pulled his attention away from the dead animal, and Ein couldn't help but be excited too. He felt the tiniest of twitches in his little tail, a small and secret wag that died the moment Bayo tore the carcass in half. Eugh. Oh no.

Ein stared at the offerings and chose what felt to be at random—the top half—and pulled it close to him.

"Thanks," he said, bending down to sniff, but kept his one eye on Bayo to see what the other pup was gonna do with his half.

Ah... you just, went for it then? Ein settled in to try and eat his half as neatly as possible, surprised by how much he enjoyed the taste. It wasn't as awful as it looked, actually! Bayo finished way before him, so when the other started talking, Ein looked up from his meal and licked his lips clean. For some reason, it felt like it would be impolite to talk with a messy or full mouth.

Ein felt his head tilt again. Brother? Sister? What was that? When Bayo paused, the jackal was silent, waiting to see if there was more—and indeed, there was, but it was just as confusing as the rest of the stuff.

A family hunted together? Shared toys? Mama...?

"What uh... is that? All of that stuff?" he asked quietly, ears perking at the final question. "It's pretty good!" His lips pulled into a grin before he went back to eating, ears cupped to hear Bayo's answer.