So walking was a more difficult endeavor than expected and the Behrdwolf was better at... well. Most things. In the end they both came to an interesting conclusion. Or rather, Aza'zel did. He had wings. And he could use them. The wolf pup that had come across was not like most of his type: as large as he was (height-wise) he was still quite light. While most pups would have been thicker and plumper Saudade lacked the weight and was the perfect size for being carted around...

And for the first and likely last time in his life... Saudade was flying. Sort of. Picked up by the lammergeier as he was, the wolf pup was limp. Staring at the floor (which was closer than imaginable) he watched as they 'sped' along - so fast! Cooing as they passed through various corridors and paths, he kicked his gangly legs and cried for the Behrdwolf to go faster, a word he picked up quickly: “Go! Go! Gogogogo!” He begged, laughing and giggling until they reached their destination at last.

Walking simply was not working for the pup, so Aza'zel and Wolf had resolved to something a little less conventional. Holding the pup carefully in his teeth by the scruff, the bird flapped his wings hard to keep afloat. The gangly boy wasn't exactly... aerodynamic persay. He was more of a weight than some cargo, where the bird could adjust to it easily. The pup constantly shifted, but the Bone King managed to survive flying through the rest of the tunnels toward it. He barely scraped the roof of the entrance to Canis once, grazing his head feathers on the ugly beast that reared over it. Down below, he could hear the pup squeal with delight. Going faster seemed like a bad idea, and for now, Aza'zel didn't really want to.

Carefully slowing to a idle hover, the bird flapped his wings slowly that the two descended at a comfortable pace. Gravity tugged on the two, and finally, the bird was sure that the pup's feet touched the ground, and he released his talons from the boy's scruff, relief surging through his body. Never had he carried something so heavy, even if the pup weighed little more than five pounds. He'd have to build up some muscle in his legs if he was going to... adopt... more young Gembound. Was Aza'zel a bonedaddy now? That's what he was? A bonedaddy? That sounded odd. Making a mental note to consult Krakarak later, the ave landed next to his new companion, smiling. "Want me to get food for you?" He whispered, trying not to stir the prey around that may be scurrying amongst the bones. He had seen a few mice and rats about, but never did he pay mind to them. The bird perferred much more to feed upon the delicious bones that surrounded him, and he was very sure that wolf pups didn't eat bones.

"Speech"

The Woofbehrd could do something absolutely phenomenal. He could fly! Was this what it was like to be him all the time? Did he always get this sort of view? Why did he ever land when he could be up so high instead? A rush of thoughts jumbled around in the wolf's brain as he frantically gazed and floundered about, excited at this grand new sensation and the grandness of the one who had found him.

... If the pup wished, could he have wings, too? Because those things the Woofbehrd flapped were wings, and wings were what the Woofbehrd used to fly with... weren't they? Distracted from the ground and the sensation of flight long enough to gaze at the musculature that made it all happen, he thought carefully.

Would the Wolfbehrd let him borrow his wings, at lest to test out flying on his own with them?

Settling onto the ground, Saudade attempted to adjust himself to the feeling of terra firma beneath his paws once more. The cold rock floor on his paws was strange at best, at least compared to the air that had rushed between his toes when he had flown so high above. With eyes wide he gazed for a long moment at where they had come from...

Before the Woofbehrd spoke and drew him back to the ground. What a quiet sound the Woofbehrd could make! Why was he being so quiet? The pup's ear twitched at the whisper before he began nodding his head.

Food, yes, he wanted to know this 'food'! Especially since it was apparently something he couldn't wish for. With big, eager eyes he examined the Woofbehrd carefully. He was ready to learn!

The pup twitched an ear as Azazel spoke, but he made no sound back. Good. He didn't want to scare off what little prey there was. "You watch, okay?" Small glowing mushrooms illuminated the bird just enough so that hopefully Wolf could see, but Azazel continued his demonstration anyways. Bowing down low, the bird lowered a wing so he almost looked like a wyvern. He had done so to attempt to show Wolf with 'four' legs. Creeping slowly and low to the ground, the bird flared his tail feathers upwards and made no sound. Carmine eyes flashed as he leapt, pretending to pounce on some imaginary prey and bite it swiftly to the neck... or perhaps rip off it's gem. Whichever came first! "You want to try? You could find food easier than me."

The Bone King nodded, whispering his other sentence. Sadly, he raised a wing and used the 'hand' of it to rub his beak slowly. Why couldn't he smell that nice? Was his nose clogged up? Could nostrils get clogged up? Hm.

"Speech"

The wolf pup examined ever detail of the ave. Everything from the placement of taloned feet to the splayed tail feathers were taken into account by the big ears and big eyes of the pup. He was observing the master at work. This was important. This was how food was made!

Except. Why didn't the woofbehrd use his wings to catch prey? Wouldn't it be faster just to swoop down and pick it up with his feet? Squinting and tilting his head, Saudade couldn't help but have a few doubts about how this entire thing was supposed to work successfully. Woofbehrd was telling him he needed to get down and crawl around and jump and shake, but...

The child couldn't help but give the vulture a pointed look. Something was wrong with this picture. Like the food! Or was the food something he couldn't see? But more than that why did he have to crawl around? And how was he supposed to catch food if he couldn't see it? And why was this all called hunting anyway?

Mimicking the bird, the pup brought a paw to his nose and rubbed it. Wiggling his nose and sneezing, he moseyed over to check out the 'food' that was caught. After all, a demonstration wasn't a demonstration with out proof the method worked... Right? Nosing about in Aza'zel's feathers he began searching for the scent or sensation of 'food' to no avail. All he found was another loud growl of his stomach, to which he simply frowned and pouted at the bird for.

'Hungry. Food? Where?' His expression asked. If Aza'zel planned on getting the pup too hunt, he'd need to prove how it worked.

The pup seemed still yet a little confused by the bird's demonstration, scurrying over to him and inspecting where his talons were. Azazel chuckled as the pup nosed about in his feathers. He was ticklish, and the bird eventually broke out into laughter. "Ahahahah, stop! P... please!" Wolf backed up and stared The Bone King dead in the eye, asking where the food was. At first, the ave was confused, then he understood. "I was showing you. I'll get some, and you can eat and be full, then I'll show you how to hunt for you own. Okay?" Azazel finally chirped after some thought, hopping off a little ways and bowing down.

Humming quietly, the bird gazed about, hoping that he could cause some hidden creature to stir. A soft pitter-patter of feet followed his hum, and he instantly whirled his head about. A small figure of a creature softly illuminated by the glowing mushrooms scattered about in the cave stared for only one second before disappearing. Azazel quickly went to work, taking to the air a bit sloppily and careening toward his prey, talons opened like deadly blades. The Gembound mouse was quick and light-footed, but Azazel was faster. Deadly and serrated artillery dropped down, the bird arching his head downward to descend. The claws met fur and flesh, and the bird shut the cage of his talons. The rat was now his prey. It would not escape.

Thick liquid pulsed between his talons, but it wasn't too major. A few cuts and scrapes on the rat. It had gone limp, pretending to be dead... yet the bird was smarter than that. He felt the pulse of its little heart. To be honest, Azazel wasn't even sorry. The small Gembound prey that scurried about in Origin Caves were useless other than as sources for food for carnivores in the caves.

Why was he thinking so darkly? Azazel shook his head free of the thoughts, tightening his grip on the rodent so that his talons punctured it a little, looping back toward Wolf. Hopefully the boy would understand where the food was. The rat's life faded away, and it truly went limp. Azazel dropped the meal in front of Wolf, landing a few feet behind him. Waddling toward the pup, he nodded. Surely Wolf would like this!

"Speech"

Laughter was an amusing sound and he stowed away the memory of it carefully. It made him warm inside to hear a laugh! But... it did not make his belly stop aching. It wasn't 'food'.

But the Woofbehrd was quickly catching on. The pup flopped to a sit, parking his tush on the rock floor as he observed his feathered friend further. Woofbehrd was going to make food appear and then... he was going to try to do the same. Feeling confident that he'd be able to walk in the footsteps of his predecessor, his hazel eyes bounced from Aza'zel to the sound that seemed to interest the ave. His ears pivoted to focus in on the scurrying of little feet, his heartbeat unintentionally beginning to race. For some reason the noise excited him even though he couldn't see what caused it, and when Woofbehrd took to the air Saudade quickly leaped to his feet.

It all went down quickly enough but the scent of blood triggered his instincts as efficiently as a key turning a lock. Yipping and yelping when he saw the rodent in Aza'rael's hands (or feet? Saudade wasn't certain.) he jumped, pawing at the air and beckoning the ave to come down. He wanted to eat! That was food! His belly told him so and his wet nose did, too. That was what wolves like him ate!

When the rat was dropped Saudade descended upon it with eagerness unmatched. He quickly learned what his clawed paws were for as he held the mouse down. And he learned what his nose was good for, too, as he smelled the blood and the fur and the death. He nosed the rat before nibbling on it with his teeth, his canines grazing the fur before finding the wounds that already opened up the small mammal.

The rat disappeared as speedily as it was caught. As if he was a starving boy (which he was! He was growing, after all!) he gobbled the rat whole, munching on flesh and bones and brittle things and even eating the little gem the rat had that gave it life. There was nothing left of the rodent when Saudade turned back to the bird except the blood about the boy's maw. Eagerly and excitedly the pup hoped for more.

"Food?" He asked. Perhaps he could find food too! But... he didn't have wings. How was he supposed to swoop down and grab a rat if he hadn't wings? Did the... crouching low, and being quiet, and shaking his head really work as well as the Woofbehrd said it did?

Almost as soon as that rat hit the floor, the hungry little pup bounded toward the meal and gobbled it up. Bones and everything. At the sudden realization that the pup may have eaten the gemstone that the rat had on its back. "Uh. Maybe you shouldn't eat the gem." Note to self: If this kid wants another rat, make sure to take the gem off. It was for the best. Azazel was pretty sure that you weren't supposed to eat gems. Rocks weren't very nutrious and pretty hard to... uh... get out once they're in your system. Little hazel eyes gaped at the bird, and The Bone King raised a brow.

The hungry gleam in the pup's eyes appeared once more, and Azazel chuckled a little. "Why don't you try? Remember how I showed you to hunt. You gotta be quiet." The ave would have happily gone to get the boy another meal to eat, but all hunters had to start somewhere. Hopefully the Gembound maned wolf could manage to use those long and elegant legs of his for something good, hunting for his own meals. Azazel wouldn't be around forever, you know?

"Speech"

The gem tasted like a smooth, cool... well. Rock. But it was alright. He barely tasted anything beyond the blood and flesh of the little critter when he consumed it.

He licked his lips.

And then he took the cue from the avian and did as he was told. Thinking back to how the Woofbehrd had acted prior to flying about and swooping down, he crouched down and slunk forward.

And then turned to look over his shoulder at the Woofbehrd. 'Like this?' his expression asked, his brows lifting upward and his tail offering a tentative flick. Turning himself over to the matter at hand, he quirked his ears forward and attempted to listen. Where was more 'food'?

Poking his nose into what seemed to be a perfectly legitimate 'food hideyhole' (a pile of bones) the pup...

Sniffed something... strange. Sticking his nose further into the bone pile he pawed and clawed at the structure. As it collapsed he felt something crawl across his nose. Snapping it up he found himself flinging a giant millipede around in his mouth. The sensation of little hairy legs crawling around in his mouth sent him spitting and sputtering the insect out, a nasty look on his face describing his displeasure with his catch in length.

He gave Woofbehrd a look. These... were edible, too? Staring at it wiggle around (chomped in half as it was) he sniffed it.

It...

Sorta smelled like food?

The bird cringed a little at the pup as he continued to gobble up the rat’s stone either way. Eugh. How could he have done that? Yes, he may have been hungry, but eating a rock? No. Just no. He looked back down at the pup and found him crouched down and slinking forth stealthily and quietly. Yes, that was good. "Yes! You’ve got it!" He chirped quietly, bowing down to observe the pup’s posture. Wolf was a great hunter in the making, he knew it.

Wolf would nose around and listen for any prey, finally creeping toward a little pile of bones for something. Instantly, the child seemed a little confused or astounded. Azazel couldn’t tell the difference. The Bone King tilted his head, watching as the lanky vulpine would paw at the bone structure, but then threw his head back as the structure collapsed. Getting a quick little glimpse, he saw that the pup had a strange brown thing hanging out of his mouth. A giant millipede? The critter’s many little legs moved in frenzy as the boy crunched down and threw his head about.

Finally, the millipede was spit out onto the floor, maybe too late for the insect, for it was already dead. Well, maybe it wasn’t dead. The nasty thing still spasmed and wiggled around, despite the fact that it had lost it’s back half. Feeling the boy’s hazel gaze bore into his skull, the bird shook his head. "I don’t really like those either. They’re gross." He chirped, shivering at the memory of Bevy’s first gift for the boy. It was a millipede, and goodness, it was disgusting. Hm, there had to be something around here again. "But that was good! Come on, try again!" You only got better when you practiced and tried again and again, right? The Bone King had learned that in his first few days of life, especially when breaking bones to eat the marrow within. Gazing at the pup hopefully, Azazel smiled. Giving a chirp of encouragement, he nudged the pup with the top of his beak.

"Speech"