Todays Lesson: Hunting

The crunch of twigs and leaves was soft and intentionally quiet as the large Utahraptor snuck through the forest. Pausing momentarily every couple of steps to listen and look around along the ground. Gwyar looked to the sides of himself, two younger Utahs with him. They were quieter due to their size, but much less careful. Dragoon and Rustic; Gwyars two children. Gwyar had believed it was finally time to begin teaching them to hunt, to fend for themselves. 

The trio continued to prowl around the forest before pausing at the sound of light rustling of nearby foliage. Gwyar stopped and put out a wing on both sides of himself to stop the other two. He moved down and nudged Dragoon to go to the left side up ahead, and for Rustic to do the same on the right.

“Go up ahead and stay there, you two can catch it off guard as it runs ahead.”

Gwyar spoke quietly to the two, both of them nodding their heads. Dragoon couldn't help but giggle like a giddy child as she went off to the left side of the trail. Rustic simply let out a huff as he walked away. He seemed grouchy today, though it just led to a roll of Gwyars eyes. 

The older Utah let out a small sigh before clearing his throat as quietly as he could. He kept his eyes trained on the rustling and how it was moving. He slowly shifted where he was standing around the bush. He took in a breath before letting out a light roar before using his feet to poke and prod at the bush. After barely a second a large brown rabbit pushed through the foliage, quickly trying its best to hop away from the large Utahraptor. Gwyar watched as it hopped away, giving it five seconds before letting out a small, but louder call to signal to his children. 

Rustic was the first one to respond. Gywar could see him up ahead, waiting for the rabbit to run right at him. It caused the older Utah to sigh in disappointment. Rustic knelt closer to the ground, waiting almost took long before lunging at the rabbit as it hopped past him. With a grunt and growl Rustic hit against the ground as the rabbit went barely past him. 

By the time Rustic pushed himself back onto his feet the rabbit had already made a decent amount of distance, and by the time Rustic tried to give chase Dragoon rushed from the bushes and pounced onto the rabbit. With a loud squeak followed by silence. Dragoon slowly pulled up from the ground with the now dead rabbit in her mouth. She turned around and looked between Rustic and the approaching Gwyar with an accomplished smile. 

Gwyar slowly walked over to the seemingly happy Dragoon with a proud look on his face. He gave a light nod to Dragoon before she dropped the rabbit on the ground. He looked over to the awkwardly standing Rustic and motioned for him to come over, which the darker colored dino did.

“First things first. Good job on catching the rabbit Dragoon. You did good. And second…” 

He looked from Dragoon to Rustic with a stern expression. 

“Do you know what you did wrong, Rustic?”

Gwyar's expression stayed stern for a time, waiting patiently for a response. He let out a sigh at his son's silence, unsure whether it was because he truly didn't know, or just didn't want to admit anything. Rustic just looked between Gwyar and the rabbit on the ground as he stayed silent. Dragoon let out a small hum of happiness as she began picking small bits and pieces off the nicely sized rabbit.

Gwyar walked closer to his son and paused at his side with a small huff. He bent down a bit closer to Rustic's level before speaking. “Listen…Rustic, you didn't do bad. You did almost get it. You were too visible though. It could see you, so it moved. You’re darker than Dragoon is, but you still need to put in the effort. She can afford to not be fully hidden since she’s faster.”

Rustic looked down and away from Gwyar with a soft whine. He stayed quiet for a moment before lightly shaking himself and clearing his throat. 

“Okay.” 

Short and simple with a light waver in his voice. It saddened the older Utah. He saw a lot of potential in Rustic, but he kept squandering the opportunities given to him for one reason or another. It hurt the poor dinos heart to hear that little waver. 

Gwyar held his breath for a moment before slowly pushing himself back to full height. He looked over to Dragoon who was still happily snacking on the rabbit with a soft hum. She took a moment to swallow before looking up to Gwyar.

“Could we try again? Maybe something that isn't a rabbit!”

The giddy dino hopped around a little, strangely excited by the idea of hunting something that could rival her own size. Gwyar stayed silent for a moment before letting out a small chuckle with a light smile.

“I think that would be a great idea. It lets you two get out your energy, and…Rustic, please listen to what I said.”

Rustic nodded his head with another whine as Gwyar began moving away from the rabbit corpse. The two children followed their fathers side yet again. The sun had already begun hanging low by the time they started moving, and it had only gotten lower as they searched.

By the time they found a small group of whitetailed deer, the sky was painted with oranges and reds. Gwyar quickly and quietly stopped the two the same way he did before with one wing in front of each.

“The small one there near the center. It won't be as fast as the others. Same as before. Run ahead, get to the sides and hide.”

Gwyar looked between the two, seeing them both nod before moving his wings out of the way. He kept his eyes trained on Rustic as he quietly ran off to the sides. The older Utah made a small whine as he witnessed Rustic almost spook the deer by stepping on a branch. As he went the long way around.

Gwyar gave time for them to get into positions, trying his best to spot his two children in the growing darkness. He found Dragoon quick enough, as expected from the bright colors. Gwyar was surprised as he couldn't actually find his son in the distance. He took in a breath, praying that Rustic had managed to get into position.

He took in a breath before letting out a loud roar, intentionally and loudly stopping towards the deer to grab their attention and get them to run. Once they started, Gwyar himself paused and watched as they made distance. It didn't take long before Dragoon broke from her spot and tried chasing one, with moderate success. It wasn't the targeted small one though.

That one didn't get far enough to catch Dragoon's attention before Rustic lunged from a shadowed bush, latching onto the deer's neck with a loud crack.