Written collaboratively
As the pup sits down, drawing out an object from somewhere that the King neither knew nor really cared, he continued to absentmindedly scan the forest. It was a strangely quiet place, especially in comparison to the forest he knew. Not many creatures would bother him or the Pack unless they were sitting on a fresh kill, but there was always something happening or moving in the forest, and it never did to be unaware. But here the most dangerous thing that ever moved was a bird or small rodent, things so harmless that the ward wouldn't even affect them. The King could get lazy here, if it was in his nature.
The smell of the meat drew his attention briefly, and he wondered for a moment how long it had been since he had ate. Whatever magic had caused his body to grow, it had seemed to finally break whatever had kept the hunger from affecting him. But he was not a whiner, to steal food from a pup. Especially not a wounded pup.
It took him a couple of minutes to realize that the pup had been holding an odd position for quite a while. The King didn't think much of his tendency to walk on two legs, but the pup had been holding a piece of meat tout towards his nose for a long time, not looking at it and hardly moving. Why was he doing this? Was it some sort of protection from things on the ground? But the King's feelers told him that there wasn't anything dangerous in the ground except a couple of small bugs. What did the pup want?
Gradually, however, it began to occur to him that the pup was trying to share. What he had brought was the “kill”, and he was doing as was proper, submitting the best portion for the alpha's consumption. Briefly the King considered refusing, pups always got to eat as much as they wanted, but perhaps, unable to properly communicate, this was the pup's way of trying to join the pack. The bite was hardly more than a scrap to him, but one of his feelers reached out, splitting open into the feathered tendrils, and wrapped around the piece, lifting it gently from the pup's paw.
For a long while the beast doesn't seem to pay the meat any attention, and Kir-Kon develops a few theories as to why. The top one he says aloud. “I guess it doesn't smell much like the meat you are use to eating, all raw and bloody. Maybe it doesn't smell good to you, hmmm? Well, I don't think cooking does anything bad, though I does removes some of the fat. You should try it.” He uses one hand to eat, keeping still for the most part between bites, and he is almost finished when at last he feels something. Turning his head ever so slightly he looks towards his hand and watches as those delicate little feathery bits from inside the tendrils help him scoop up the piece of meat. He smiles at this, slowly retracting his hand and licking it clean. He watches the beast, wondering what he'll make of the cooked hunk of flesh.
The King doesn't even bother to examine the food, once he had ensured that it is, in fact, meat. Satisfied, he moves it towards his mouth and swallows the morsel without even bothering to chew. He had tasted charred meat before, fire while hunting could prove an admirable technique against those creatures not used to the manipulation of flame, but this was far more delicate than any sort of charring. He caught a subtle pallet of other flavors before the chunk was gone down his jaw, lost forever. Only briefly did it occur to him to wonder if one of the not-meat somethings might hurt him, he had seen some plants do bad things to pups before they knew what to chew and what not to chew, but none of those plants had ever had a lasting effect on the King, and once he was briefly ill once, the plant never bothered him again. There was no sense in wondering about it.
“You just gulp it on down without a care. Either you're silly, you've had cooked meat before, or you're smarter than you should be. Being a beast and all. Not that beasts aren't smart, but. . .” He rambles on for a bit, downing the rest of his meal and emptying his juice jug. Licking his lips he puts the jug in the sack and tucks it back away into his tunic. Turning ever so slightly he reaches back to touch the side of the creature, slipping his fingers beneath the fur to feel the skin. “You're a tough guy. I can tell.” He pets the King's side a few more times before looking around. “At your size, you're going to need something more to eat than that. . .” He pauses for a moment, wondering if he should even bother, but as he has nothing better to do he decides to give it a try.
Standing up he brushes the grass and dirt off hi leggings and begins looking around for anything that might lead him towards some prey big enough to actually satisfy the large creature. He crouches ever once in a while, running his fingers over patches of ground that look like they may have tracks. He himself can't hunt the deer in the area, but he suspects that he may be able to coax the beast to follow, if he sends the right signals, and show him the best places to find food. 'After all, if he can keep fed around here, he's more likely to stick around, and he does break of the monotony of the day. . . .'
The King panted slightly as the pup touched his side, but other than that ignored his probings. He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the pup, having only ten short feelers to sense the world. Then again, maybe he made up for the lack of them with strength in some other sense, or a sense that he did not understand, like how some of his prey animals were able to detect him at different times than others, for reasons that he could not understand. Either way, the pup seemed to make do. His pack all looked the same as him, and many of them survived into adulthood. Then again, protected by the ward as they were, perhaps that wasn't as much of an accomplishment as it might be.
When the pup got up the King nearly grabbed him. The pup had paid obeisance, and was a part of the pack, small pack though it was. Why was he wandering away now? He didn't go far fast, but it was clear from the pup's attitude that he wasn't intending to stretch his legs and then come back for a lazy afternoon nap. Shaking himself slightly in frustration, the King got to his feet. As a pack of two, there was no reason for them to stay in one place. It wasn't as though they had a territory. All the same, the King didn't like being subject to the pup's whims. He was a pup. His job was to watch his elders and learn from their actions, not wander away on his own and force the adults to follow.
Finally he finds a set that looks rather fresh, probably from the night or early morning. “Lining this up with my mental map of the woods, it looks like these three were headed for the stream a little ways from here. The grass in the area is lush, so they may still be around there. . .” Standing up he looks back towards the beast, stilling as he sees it on it's feet. “Sorry, didn't mean to get you up so quick.” Rolling his tongue around a bit he recalls the sound from before. After a moment if trying to work it out, he tries to imitate the “Come hither” sound. It sounds almost the same to his ears, though a higher pitch as he is a smaller creature, but it is good enough for him. He kneels beside the prints again, moving his hands around the area in hopes that the beast will be able to pick up the scent and get what he's trying to do.
Perhaps he had underestimated the sensitivity of the feelers on the pup's paws. The King watched with some curiosity as he grew slowly closer to the scent trail of a small group of prey that had passed through several hours ago, but it wasn't until he paused at the trail for longer than he had paused in the other places that the King realized this was what the pup had been looking for. Obviously scent wasn't this creature's strong suit, but he was able to track, if somewhat inefficiently. Was he still hungry? Had his pack not fed him enough? But, if he was hungry, why had he given the piece to the King? Although pups were rarely brought along on the hunt until they were old enough to not get in the way, pups were fed until they were full, as long as there was enough meat in general. But if the pup was hungry, he would hunt for him.
However, before the King could move towards the trail and start looking for his prey, the pup whined at him. It was slightly odd sounding and distorted, but it was clear enough for the King to know exactly what the pup was trying to say. The pup was summoning him, ordering him over. He was moving a split second later, one large paw hitting the pup's back and sending him tumbling onto his stomach. It was not an unnecessarily harsh blow, just enough to serve its purpose and knock him over. Then the King was on top of him, one large paw on either side of Kir-Kon's body. Obviously he had been to lenient with the pup, and a simple reminder would do it good. A growl rumbled in the King's chest, low and strong, before he snapped down towards the back of Kir-Kon's neck, fangs closing just close enough to flesh that the air brushed against him, without actually touching him.
Kir-Kon lets out a yelp at being knocked to the ground. For a split second he wonders if this is like the dogs of town, just getting over excited about something. Given the beast's size knocking him over could be an accident. However the second is over quickly and the youth can feel his heartbeat jump to full speed. The sounds coming from the creature easily Identify as angry and his teeth sink into his lip as he fights the urge to call out. 'After all, when has that ever done any good since the elder's death. No one bothers to even look any more when they hear my cries, except to laugh. And that aside, there's no one to hear me. I would just die here, alone. . .'
He does his best to keep breathing, his lungs freezing when he feels the snap, bare centimeters from the back of his neck. Automatically his hands snap around to the back of his neck and he curls into a fetal position, trying to hide as much of himself as he can. Despite the terror racing through him, a feeling that would have most people trying, hey does not shed a tear. He's been unable to cry for a while now, after having spent so many years doing so so often. Instead his eyes simply snap shut as he curls into a ball, and waits, praying he'll at least be able to walk after this.
The pup curls up tight between the King's legs, and although it is silent it also doesn't make any move to continue trying to dominate him. Satisfied that the pup has been reminded of its place in this odd pack the growls immediately cut off, and the King carefully steps away from him, moving over towards the scent trail. They are not of a variety with which the King is familiar, but they smell unmistakably of prey, a soft, leafy smell, mixed in with sweat, piss, and warm blood.
The King hesitates just before he would have bounded off after the creatures, wanting to bring back food for the pup, looking towards the creature.
It takes a moment for him to realize the beast is no longer above him. What at last he does figure it out though he slowly begins to uncoil. 'It didn't attack me. It didn't. . .Why then did it?' His mind flashes over everything he knows about pack animals, and after a moment he strike on a notion. Rolling carefully on his back he looks over at the beast. “Was I? Did you? Did I do something naughty?” His brows furrow at the notion, unable to come up with a better explanation. He looks at the King, watching him sniff around before turning his tendrils towards the youth, “Looking” at him. Kir-Kon slowly stands, keeping himself low.
The tumble had aggravated some of his wounds and he has to suppress a whine least the creature take it the wrong way. “All these little sounds we humans just take for granted, never know what it'll mean, hmm? Well, you don't seem to mind my talking, so I guess, ow ow ow ow ow, is the best I'm gonna get for expressing the burning sensation along my back and the stabbing pain shooting up my leg, hmm?” He looks off towards where the tracks lead, wondering vaguely if it was the scent of prey that distracted the large creature. He can feel the faint urge to flee, his heart still racing, but as the beast doesn't seem to be acting aggressive any more, he's gone back to being predominately curious.