The pride that gleamed from the child’s face was more dazzling than the sun and stars themselves. Big wolf would have been proud! And so was her instructor! Nothing else in Pine’s world mattered more than those words in that single moment. She had done well! Her smile beamed and she did not notice or care that Grimoire had first dibs on her prize. When the dark woman slid the carcass over to Pine the pup gorged herself a little faster than most would have thought necessary. Perhaps it was an instinct born from her abandonment she could not quite shake. The blood stained her lips by the time she had finished eating, contenting herself with merely cracking and chewing on the bones at her paws.

Looking up her tail wagged, though not with the same enthusiasm as it had before. A loud and juicy belch shook her body. Tongue smacked against her teeth to get the taste of the aftermath out of her mouth. A deer? A thrill sparked in her again. Big Wolf would surely praise her if she managed to help bring down a fawn! Possibly even Aithne herself would...well… maybe smile. Stuffed with food she got to her feet, her stomach a bulge. I understand! Puffing herself up with a feeling of importance she lifted her nose to the sky to try to find the general direction the deer would have been. She did not even open her eyes at first. They would have been useless considering her small size and the fact that even moderately tall grass covered her by inches. The wind shifted and at last she picked up a clue. Breathing deep she set off, down wind, in the direction what she could smell. Resisting the urge to whine with excitement she padded forward. Her tail was held straight out behind her. She kept it as still as she possibly could, worried the sound of it wagging would alert the world to her plots. Slowly she made her way through the reeds of the riverside and into drier land. The terrain was marked with small pockets and dips. Perfect for fawns to hide in but still have easy access to water. The girl lowered her head to the ground, followed by her body to keep out of sight and better control over her lanky limbs.

She had succeeded in the rabbit hunt. She would succeed in this, too.