Galactic listened intently as Paige explained how to hunt. It seemed that he was rather at a disadvantage - prey could hear, see, and smell, while he could only hear. So he would have to learn how those senses work, so as to avoid them. If he was to hunt, how would he know if he could be seen? If he could be smelled? He would have to learn how to avoid those senses.

"That makes sense," he hummed thoughtfully. Something told him this would be a lot of trial and error, and he would fail more than he succeeded. But he had to learn, if he wanted to survive.

"I understand, I will try not to crash into anything. It seems that I will have to learn a lot to get by."

@Paige

"I'm sure you'll be a fast learner," Paige smiled. "Now, you said that you heard something earlier? Why don't you try to find it, and I'll tell you if you're about to bump into something, okay?" Honestly, there were probably a million things she was forgetting, but Paige could not think of anything else to do. "Good luck. Since we've been talking all this time, if it's still here my voice probably won't make a difference, but try to keep quiet so it doesn't hear you getting closer, all right?"

@Galactic

"I did." he acquiesced and then, he was sure to thank her. "Thank you."

And, yes, he had heard something. What it was, he didn't know. But there was a throbbing heart not terribly far from them, and he did as she said. Carefully, he began to sneak towards the sound, walking carefully on his talons.

He didn't yet know if he was an omnivore, or a carnivore. But hopefully, he would soon find out.

Before long, he wasn't too far from... whatever it was. He had stumbled on rocks a few times, but luckily he had managed to make it.

"Good job!" Paige smiled, careful to keep her voice at a normal level to avoid startling whatever Galactic had heard. "Now, there's a medium sized building a couple steps in front of you and to your right. I think that's the only thing that could hurt you."

She paused, tilting her head and stretching up and down to get a better look at the owlet's surroundings. "If you think what you heard is out in the open, try and get as close to where you think it is as possible. Then try to catch it with -" What did owls use to catch prey, anyway? "-your claws or your beak, whichever feels more comfortable for you. If it's hiding in the building, just stay still and I'll tell you where you might be able to get inside, okay?"

@Galactic
I forgot about this, sorry! :(

The young owl tilted his head from side to side, listening to Paige as she spoke. He moved a few steps to his left to avoid the building that she said was in his way - whatever a building was - before following the sound. He found he was able to listen both to Paige and the noise by tilting his head.

The thing moved towards him, and he went still. And then he struck, lunging forward and grabbing the cavemouse in his talons, driving his beak into the back of its skull, severing its spine.

@Paige

From what she could see, the sound was made by a cave mouse. And Galactic had just caught it! "Great job!" she cheered, bounding forward to stand beside him. "I'm so proud of you," she praised, brushing her tail along the top of the owlet's head. "You did very well! And on your first hunt, too. You should be proud when eating - not everyone succeeds on his or her first hunt!"

@Galactic

There was a pleasing give as the cave mouse's skull cracked, shattering alongside its spine. At least, he thought it was its skull. After all, he couldn't really see to make sure that was what he had struck.

However, Paige was quick to reassure that he had, indeed, caught it. He leaned into the fluff of her tail, smiling the best an owl could at her praise. "Would you like some?" he offered, after setting the corpse on the ground.

@Paige

Oh. My. Gosh.

Wasn't this owlet just the most adorable little Gembound ever? He was so polite, and even offered to share his catch! "No no, you eat it," she insisted, beaming so widely she thought her mouth might fall off her face. "It's your first hunt, and you succeeded spectacularly! The mouse is all yours."

She wasn't against getting something to eat, though. Surely spending all that time in a chrysalis couldn't have been good for her digestive system. So she looked around for food and suddenly - there was a banana. A fabulous one. There - now she had her own food! It would be like a spontaneous picnic.

@Galactic

The owl tilted his head, 'looking' at where he thought Paige might be. He was probably staring over her shoulder, but it was close enough.

"Alright," he inclined his head. He reached out with his talons until he felt the mouse, then lowered his head to grab it by the head. Instinct drove him to tilt his head back, gulping down the mouse whole.

Once he had swallowed it, he 'looked' at Paige. "Thank you for helping me."

@Paige

Paige blinked, startled. He just... swallowed it whole? With no chewing or anything? Then again, as far as she knew birds didn't have teeth. Galactic didn't seem to be choking, so it was probably all right.

"It's no trouble at all, really," she promised, then finished off her own banana. She'd stay close for now, maybe for a few cycles until the owlet grew up and could live on his own, with maybe a few short trips to other rooms or moving to another one entirely, since Orion was full of obstacles that could hurt him. "Is there anything else you'd like to learn, or shall we wrap it up for today?"
@Galactic