Erebos was hungry.

Much of the child's life was led by this hunger. It ate when it wanted to, it slept when it was tired, and when it was bored, it hunted. While it didn't pose much of a threat in its younger days, now that it was fully grown, its teeth had gotten sharper and its claws longer, and it threatened anything that dared come close.

It didn't hurt its family, though. It wasn't out of loyalty, it swore up and down- it was hungry, and it wanted the food its family provided. It could easily just hunt on its own. It could live on its own- it had, for weeks at a time! But it still came back, and it didn't understand, and it refused to when Attikias offered to explain.

And it was hungry. It smelled food on the horizon, in the depths of the jungle, and it knew its way back to the Elenya camp. Low to the ground, Erebos moved more like a snake as it pulled itself forward with its hands, talons digging furrows into the earthy ground below it. It tumbled out of the path- its way hadn't been blocked- and it hissed softly, its quills rattling as it stared in front of itself.

Hazarding a cautious move, Erebos leaned to the side and grabbed a pot, rattling it for attention. 'Food,' it mentally begged, hard eyes plastered onto Attikias.

Attikias was having a perfectly fine day. Well- no, okay, he did get a splinter earlier, but he took care of that. His finger was still a little sore, but he'd be fine.

Right now, he was in the middle of stirring an old pot he'd cleaned a long time ago, one that he used if he didn't want to go hunting for a while. They had some meat left for a stew, and the bones added to the broth may be good- he leaned over and sniffed at the soup, avoiding the steam curling up from the contents.

It still needed a little something else, even despite the salt and herbs he'd put in. He didn't want to overflavor it, though, and hummed to himself as he thought. A bit of this? Yeah- he leaned over to sprinkle in a little bit of spicing- not too much, and maybe too little, but it would still be good.

Leaning back, Attikias settled in to let it cook some more, letting the meat loosen up and the broth simmer.

The pot rattling startled him. Turning his head to the side, Attikias's eyebrows shot up as he saw- Oh. "Erebos, hello," he hummed out, smiling softly. "The soup'll be ready in a little bit." He folded his arms as he sat back, getting comfortable on the log. After a moment, he patted next to him, looking to Erebos.

"Why don't you wait with me?"

Erebos watched Attikias move. It didn't flinch a muscle, not when Attikias patted the log, and not when Attikias frowned softly at its lack of motion.

"I want food now," it hissed, lips curling up as its quills rattled. Its front half backpedaled partially as its tail curled in closer, bristles quivering in desire.

It didn't understand why Attikias put so much effort into cooking. They could all eat the same things, couldn't they? Why didn't Attikias hunt, like he taught it to, for his food- why did he care? The others didn't feed him, as far as it saw, and yet he cooked and wasted his energy for-- what. Attention? Erebos lowered its head as it squinted, licking its lips and staring to the elf, fingers curling into the hard-packed earth.

Attikias let out a sigh. "It won't taste good if you eat it now. And you'll burn your mouth," he argued, gesturing with one hand to the pot. He could see them getting angry, now, and it frustrated Attikias- all they wanted out of him was food, and he wanted them to stay, at least for a day or two.

Even if they needed their independence, they weren't getting socialized. Frowning to himself, Attikias shoved up and grumbled, stepping away for a moment to grab a bowl. "Why don't you stay for a few days. Please, Erebos?" He asked as he retrieved a wooden spoon, getting them together for Erebos. "You can tell me about what you've been doing out there, and we can have a nice talk and hang out for a little bit?" He'd turned back, looking to Erebos as its eyes darted away.

He asked this almost every time Erebos came by, but this time his intentions were more desperate- even if they barely saw each other, even if Erebos was... Like that, he was still concerned for his child. He needed to make connections, he needed to do something for the naga, and yet... It's like they never tried. They always ran away, or snarled, or refused to do things, and it stretched Attikias thin when he saw them return.

Some part of him wished they wouldn't come back, or if they'd stay all the time. They weren't like Hunter, who'd come back with stories- it's like Erebos used Attikias, and it felt him feel so uneasy when he saw his own child again.

Breathing in hard, Attikias returned to the pot and dipped the bowl in, pulling out the warm stew and gingerly putting the spoon in the broth. "I'm gonna put it here, but let it cool before eating it, okay?" Stepping between Erebos and the pot, Attikias lowered the soup down in front of them, stepping back to give them their space. "Please, think about staying, this time? I can cook you the things you like."

Erebos's frozen eyes flicked between Attikias and the pot, squinting further as he straightened up on its arms. Wait? But it was hungry. Hissing to itself, Erebos lowered again and morphed its face into one of contempt, eyes turned away as Attikias began his typical spiel.

Erebos rolled its eyes. It didn't want to tell him what it'd been doing. It had no reason to stay, anyways- it could just as easily hunt for food off in another cave, and yet, it was in the area, so it wanted food. "Wwhhyy," it groaned out, putting a hand over its eyes before dragging it down its face. It knew it was useless to argue with its father, but it was tired of hearing this pleading, over and over.

Why can't he just give it food and let it leave?

When the bowl was presented to them, Erebos shoved forward with interest, face scrunched up with skepticism. Was it going to taste good? Attikias was wrong sometimes, and it didn't matter if it was good or not, really- it was food that it didn't have to hunt for. Sniffing at it, Erebos poked its tongue out of its lips before approaching it, feeling the steam hit its face.

It winced when Attikias told it to wait. It'd burnt its mouth before on the hot food Attikias served, and Erebos begrudgingly acknowledged that, rearing back up and sitting back on its tail with folded arms. Here, it was nearly taller than Attikias, perched on its tail- so, what now? Wait, and talk? Erebos scoffed, curling its nails over its hard carapace.

"I don't care," it eventually rattled out, its voice guttural and primitive.

Attikias pulled back once he'd put the bowl down, returning to the pot to stir it a little. "Because I miss you, Erebos," he said, saying his child's name once more. It wasn't something he did intentionally- but, it did help to solidify their personhood in his mind.

They were a person, just as much as he or any of their siblings were, and they needed to learn how to act like one. Attikias wouldn't dream of forcing it, but it hurt him to go through this time and time again, and his face scrunched up as he tried not to utterly beg.

He knew there was no holding Erebos here unless he had something that interested them. Maybe- "Do you wanna practice your defenses?" He spoke idly as the pot simmered. It's not like he had much else to do, and Erebos would want more than just one meager little bowl. "Try the soup- blow on it, it's gonna still be hot- but when you're done maybe we can work a little bit on--"

He was about to say 'social skills', but he shook his head. "On your other skills. There's more to fighting than just hunting, and you need to learn how to catch things smaller than you, too." Erebos could stand to learn traps, perhaps, and if he taught them right, they wouldn't accidentally kill a Greater in the process.

Erebos grumbled to Attikias's words, taking them as empty and unfeeling as they'd be if it said them. It didn't miss Attikias. In fact, it wished Attikias would just drop the subject entirely. But, he continued on, and Erebos squinted at its father, rumbling some more.

He'd gestured to the soup, and Erebos descended on it carefully, picking it up in ginger talons and bringing it close. It hesitated- it could feel the warmth through the wood- and watched as Attikias mimed blowing on the spoon. Fine. Erebos rolled its eyes, picked up the spoon, and gently blew on it, cooling it down as it still steamed. This was going to be too hot. And, as Erebos put the spoon in its mouth, it was right, wincing with one eye to itself before blowing on another spoonful.

This would burn its tongue. It knew this. But, it was hungry, and it was food, and Erebos wasn't one to complain. After a few hungry bites, Erebos brought the bowl to its lips and tipped its head back, drinking down the rest of the soup and chewing on whatever bits came with it as it ate.

When it was done, it dropped back down, content with eating. Attikias said hunting, and that was one of the few things it enjoyed doing with him- it was exciting, and it got food out of it, and it got to learn new things. Putting the bowl back where it was, Erebos made its way closer to Attikias, eyes wide with interest for the first time in this whole interaction.

"I want to hunt." Its voice was stronger, deeper, as it thumped its thick tail on the ground, perching its hands in front of its hips.

Erebos ate, and Attikias halfway reached forward when it pulled back from the heat. But-- it continued to eat, and Attikias pulled back with half of a frown on his face. They knew to slow down when they ate, but it was useless arguing it right now.

Huffing through his nose at Erebos's excitement, Attikias stood up straighter. "We aren't hunting, but I'm going to teach you something to be a better hunter." Moving to his storage shed, Attikias crouched and retrieved some rope and wood, holding them in his hands. "Now, it's best to do this with wood- but you can do it with anything that can be dislodged by rope. C'mere." He nudged his head to the nearby forest line, looking for a smaller tree he could tie the rope around.

"This'll do. You wanna get the rope set up just right-" and he wrapped the cord about the wood a few times, tying it off and cutting it. "And then you'll bring it back and put the sticks in the ground." Making a large loop with the cord, Attikias brought it back up and tied a loose knot at the end, making sure to go slow for Erebos to see.

He let it go down easy, making sure it didn't shrink as he turned his attention to the wood. "With the sticks, you'll want to make sure the snare can rest on it and still be open, right?" One was long enough to dig into the ground there, but the other needed to be snapped- and the rest of the stick was discarded off into the surrounding jungle after the other part had been put in next to the first. "The rope itself needs to be sturdy enough to not flop over on its own, too, but the tension from the tree to the sticks'll usually let it be pretty easy."

Scooting back, he let Erebos watch closely as he put the snare's rope in place, looking back to make sure they were watching. "Now, this'll get anything that runs through it- place these along game trails, or places rabbits or the like would run, and you'll get something. If you ever get a Greater, though, let it go- no matter how hungry you are."

Erebos groaned at the fact that they weren't hunting now, but it stayed quiet as Attikias showed it how to set up the trap. Its eyes roamed over the work its father was doing, absorbing it readily- it was still a form of hunting and getting food, and Erebos leaned in close when Attikias moved to show it things.

As the snare began to droop just slightly, once Attikias was done, it picked up the cord gingerly in its claws and stretched it up. So, this was a trap... So, what happened to what was caught? In a lapse of thought, Erebos shoved its hand through the open hole and tugged up, immediately pulling the cord taut against its wrist.

It stared, emotionless. So that's how that worked. It tugged once, twice- no, its wrist was stuck. Imagine what this could do to prey. The naga's pupils were dilated as it explored, attempting to wrench its hand out of the snare. Nothing happened except for a pain against its bare skin, and it hissed lightly under its breath.

"I'm stuck."

Attikias flinched, just slightly, when Erebos tugged its hand up. "Hey--" He didn't get the chance to warn them, and he watched frozen ad Erebos tried to figure out the snare.

Well, he guessed they were a practical learner, anyways. "You are," Attikias confirmed, voice quiet as he leaned in, pulling the knife from his belt. "Stay still." He wormed his finger under Erebos as they seemed to relax, getting enough room to cut with the knife without harming his child.

"There. Do you want to try setting up one yourself?" He sat back on his knees, watching Erebos for a response as he worked on untying the rope from the tree.