With meat, she said. Some wolves eat it with meat. He wasn't sure if he necessarily believed her as the remaining crumbs of dirt and bits of chewed-up mushroom dribbled out of his open mouth, but perhaps one day he would risk it again at her advice.

Nen'tah did, however, like the sound of a snack to wash out the residual earthy flavor. He'd heard a squirrel chittering close by earlier, and he motioned for Goldblossom to follow him as he led her deeper into the trees and finally positioned himself at the base of a large hickory, nose pointed up as the flash of a bushy tail disappeared behind its trunk.

It was close to wolf-level. Maybe not Nen'tah-level, but Goldblossom had a few inches on him, and she was probably fast.

The squirrel slowly descended. Nen'tah remained motionless, waiting for her to strike - that's what he thought she was going to do, anyway.

If Nen'tah had possessed hands, he might have clapped in delight. While he wouldn't have thought less of Goldblossom should her pursuit have failed, the quick and seemingly effortless way in which she dispatched the squirrel only further raised her in his esteem. A wise herb-woman and a hunter!

One day he would hunt, too. Maybe he should practice.

Nen'tah crouched low to the ground, circling the squirrel where it lay from a short distance. He was Lanzadoii. He was made for such things. Real prey would undoubtedly prove far more challenging, but first he needed to master the fundamentals by getting the motions down.

With furrowed brow and little tongue poking out over his lip in studied concentration, the child paused, calculating his trajectory - then sprang into the air as tiny jaws locked onto its slender neck, mimicking Goldie's death-shake of the small carcass. Satisfied, he too then dropped it on the ground in front of her, as if to ask, 'Did I do it right?'

He was willing to take pointers.