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Taran prowled towards his prey. Step after careful step he stalked, his claws lifted and every movement slow, measured, to make as little noise as possible. His prey was distracted, facing the wrong way, and would never see him coming as long as he moved in perfect silence...

The prey twitched.

The blue-and-white hatchling froze, not even breathing, and waited another few seconds before daring to creep any closer. Had to maintain silence, had to be patient, he was almost in range to pounce...

"Raaaaawr!"

In one fluid motion, Taran crouched, bunched up his limbs, and pounced onto his brother's tail--unable to contain a little hatchling roar of excitement as he did, which alerted Neth to his presence at last! His brother darted away in a flash, abandoning his book so quickly that Taran could only snatch at empty air as the smaller yellow-orange dragon dashed away. Growling irritation, Taran recovered his balance, leapt over the big book and scampered after him, continuing to roar. "Gonna get youuuu! Rawr!"

Neth wanted to hide behind mother, as he always did, but Taran had planned his approach carefully, and to get away Neth had been forced to run in the opposite direction. He tried to cut him off as they dashed towards one of the walls, but Neth was nimble and turned so fast! Taran attempted to twist and leap to the side and pounce his hindquarters before he managed to get past, but missed and tripped and tumbled over the floor in a heap, and by the time he'd regained his paws and shaken himself his brother had managed to hide behind mommy's forelegs, head peeking out to watch him balefully.

Taran trotted over, trying to get around mother's paws to pounce Neth, but he kept circling to keep her between them, and eventually he looked up at Ellora's smiling face and huffed. "Moooooom! I wanna play!"

"And I wanted to keep reading," countered Neth.

Mom's big fuschia head dipped down to give him a little lick on the snout. "You should always ask if your siblings want to play first, little one..."

He blinked and tilted his head to one side, tail thumping against the floor as he thought. "But how can I sneak up if I gotta ask first?"

Mommy didn't seem to have an answer ready for that! He giggled from his own intelligence, and after a moment his mother chuckled as well and licked him again, grooming a little dust from the side of his head. "If you want to try stalking something, practice on your father or me."

Taran giggled louder; pouncing daddy's tail was fun! He couldn't wrestle with his parents though... "But you're so big! Can't play as well."

"Yes, well, you can play with us for sneaking and stalking, and your brother and sister when you want to wrestle or race."

"Yes mommy," he chirped, and then tried to circle around to find Neth again. "Wanna play Neth!"

"I don't! I want to go back to my book..." Neth pouted.

Ellora turned to give him a nuzzle, but then father walked out of the bed-chamber, his wings ruffling as he began to stretch them. "You can read this evening, Neth-- And you can wait until then to play, too, Taran. Your mother and I are taking you three out into the forest today."

"You are? Ooooh! Ooooh! Are we gonna hunt?" Taran's tail began to wag at once, and even Neth looked up with interest.

"Not we... Each of you will hunt on your own."

The little hatchling beamed with excitement and began to dash towards his father--then towards his tail, he wanted to hunt, he was ready to show how well he could run down prey, finally get to catch it himself like a real grown dragon! He demonstrated on daddy's big red tail, taking a flying roaring leap at it, coiling himself around it and gnawing, growling and roaring ferociously! Laughing, Hueroc sat up on his haunches, curled his tail around his son, and used it to lift him up and deposit him in his forepaws.

"Save it for the prey out there!" He laughed, and gave him a nuzzle; Taran squirmed and growled a little and pushed at his snout with his paws, he didn't want to sit there, he wanted to run and pounce and hunt! "Let your mother and me carry you out into the woods, then you can find yourself some prey. Okay?"

After a moment Taran settled down, and blinked. "Okay daddy."

Chuckling, Hueroc helped him climb up onto his back and get settled in between his wings. Taran had to resist the urge to scamper back and forth in his excitement or to try to climb up daddy's neck: they were finally going to go on their first hunt! The scales and muscle beneath him shifted as father started to walk, but then he stopped, and looked around, and turned--and abruptly Neth curled into a tiny little ball and started to wail as father called into the back chamber, "Loria! It's time to go hunting, come on!"

"Little one? What's wrong dear?" Ellora was bent down nuzzling tenderly at Neth, and Taran peered over daddy's shoulder trying to see what was wrong. Why would brother cry, surely he was excited to hunt! Wasn't he...?

The skittering of claws distracted him, and a moment later Loria darted out of the bedchamber as well, gathering herself on the run and launching herself into the air, her wings snapping out for stability, and Taran couldn't help but gasp, "wow!" when she made it all the way up onto daddy's back in one leap!

"I'm here! Can we go?" She settled herself down behind Taran and began to preen one of her wings.

"Just a minute, dear... Neth? Are you okay?" Both big dragons had their heads down over their smallest hatchling, watching him with concern as he sniffled.

"Y-yes..." He said after a moment, blinking tears from his eyes and shaking himself all over. "I... I thought I felt something, just for a moment... Dark-- and scary... Angry... I don't know what it was!"

"What do you mean?" Ellora and Hueroc glanced at each other, but both seemed uncertain what he meant, and after a moment Ellora began to nose and nuzzle closely at her son, checking for signs of some injury. "Where did you feel it?"

Neth got to his feet a little unsteadily and shook himself all over, his head and tail drooping. "It was... It seemed like it was right beneath me, like the ground was going to..." He shook his head back and forth. "I don't know..."

Ellora frowned, lips pulling back to show a little more of her teeth, and her tail lashed; Hueroc nuzzled her neck and Taran could hear him crooning to her, very quietly. For a few moments longer she stood there, staring at the floor, but then she shook herself just as vigorously as Neth had, and stepped back, bringing her wings into existence and stretching them out to get them limbered up. "Do you think you'll be able to come hunting? Or would you like us to stay in so we can help you feel better? We can always go out in a few hours, or tomorrow..."

Taran almost piped up that he wanted to hunt_now,_ but he stopped himself, barely. Mommy had just told him to be more considerate of what Neth might want!

"No... No, I can go!" Neth lashed his little tail, drawing Taran's eyes to the last dark stripe near its tip that he always aimed for when he pounced--but he had bigger things to pounce today! After a moment Neth stood up, balancing on his hind paws, and raised his forelegs towards his mother; she purred, and nuzzled him carefully before scooping him up and putting him onto her back.

"Are you sure?" She nuzzled him again.

"Yes mother." He nuzzled back, and settled down between her wings for flight.

Hueroc waited, watching Ellora and Neth, but when she tilted her head towards him the two of them walked outside; whatever had troubled Neth, it seemed to have passed. From there Hueroc took the lead, and Taran hunkered down small against his back with his wings pressed in tight to stay out of the way, as his daddy's own big red wings snapped out, and flapped hard, and then the wind picked up in his face as his father took to the sky! "Wheeee!" he chirped as the ground fell away beneath them, it always felt so much fun to soar through the air, he couldn't wait until he was big enough for his own wings to carry him!

The flight was a short one, but still it was fun to ride along, and only his dad's raised wings and Loria in front of him kept him from leaping down to the earth and dashing off into the forest the instant father had his paws back on the ground. It was time to hunt, he wanted to, he was hungry and full of energy and he wanted to right now! Mother landed gracefully next to father, and he slowly lowered his wings, revealing the forest clearing they'd landed in, the grass beneath their paws, the trees and bushes all around on the bright warm sunny day.

"Are you all ready to hunt?" Hueroc grinned, seeing how antsy Taran was.

"Yes daddy!" he piped up, his eyes bright, already looking around and sniffing at the air, wondering where the nearest prey might be and how fast he would have to be to catch it!

"Just remember, the three of you should each hunt on your own, and we want you to carry your prey back here before you eat it, so we can see what you've caught," Ellora said. "So be careful that whatever you catch isn't too big to bring back, and remember where we're waiting." Her fin flared bright for a moment, dazzling even with the sun shining down on them, and her wings vanished again.

"Off you go, get hunting!"

Taran couldn't have been told fast enough. He leapt down and dashed off into the trees with a high roar of excitement, scattering a flock of birds that had been roosting in the boughs overhead. Loria set off in the exact opposite direction, and after watching the two of them go, Neth slunk into the woods at a right angle to both of them.

Birds, they were prey! Taran leapt up into the air, but they were already flying so much higher than he was. He chased after them for a little ways, watching through the trees to see if any of them might come back down within his reach... but after he'd gone a little ways he gave up with a huff. He'd have to find something on the ground!

He sniffed the air, then the dirt beneath his paws. There were so many little animals in the forest, surely there was one nearby! He turned in a circle and breathed in and out rapidly through his nostrils, smelling earth, smelling plants... Ooh! That musty scent, that was prey! He nearly dashed off that instant, but growled softly--he couldn't hunt like daddy, just diving on things from the sky, he would have to stalk it, slow and quiet and careful, like he did with Neth. But first he would have to find it... So off he went, snout held low, trying to combine being both fast and quiet--but was probably mostly just fast, not really looking where he was going, squirming through bushes, jumping over logs, and trying not to let himself be distracted by all the fun things one could find and climb in the forest!

The smell was getting stronger, so that meant he was getting closer. Good! He wanted to find it and pounce it--and then kill it! That was something he had barely any practice doing, but father had told him how, the way one could grab the prey on the head or the neck and wrench to the side to snap its neck. Daddy made it seem so easy, surely he could do it too! He began to hear something up ahead, the noise of something rustling, some slow heavy footsteps. His own stride slowing for quiet and caution, he crept around another thick bush, and froze when he saw the animal: it was a furry creature, colored brown on the body with black and white striping on its head. It had long sharp-looking front claws and a long muzzle, looking to have fairly large teeth, but it was smaller than him, and lacked scales. Prey!

It didn't seem to be facing him, so he came closer, closer, closer still... then scampered the last few steps and leapt for it with a roar! The animal flinched, twisted around and backed several steps away, faster than he'd expected, and Taran landed in front of it, roaring again. "Gonna get you prey! Gonna eat you!"

The animal seemed nonplussed by this, and growled at him again and bared his teeth, trying to slink farther and farther back, towards a nearby bush. He couldn't let it get away! So he pounced and reached for its body, snatching it in his forepaws and holding it against him. The creature thrashed furiously, its claws digging into his hatchling scales, but then he got his jaws around its neck, biting down a little, and then he wrenched it--

The animal screamed. He'd done it wrong! So he tried again, and again, tossing the body of the animal back and forth until he felt it shudder and go limp. His first kill!

"Rrrrrroooaaaaaar!" He called up into the air, announcing his success to the world. He was a real dragon now!

He noticed a little blood on his leg; the badger had managed to bite him, but it wasn't deep, and he was able to lick the little cut clean after a few moments. He sniffed it critically, only now noticing that it stung a little, but it wasn't enough to bother him much. Only now that he looked at his kill lying there did he realize just how big it was... It was going to be heavy to bring back! But it was worth it. He'd finished his first hunt!

---

Her blue-scaled brother was so loud and clumsy, Loria huffed to herself. If her parents hadn't scared all the prey in the area into hiding with the sound of their giant wings, surely the racket he'd made roaring and scampering through the trees would have warned the rest. Who knew how long it would take her to find something now!

Oh well. She was a proper young dragoness, slim and quick and intelligent, surely she could hunt well! The first step was to find the scent of something for her to hunt, so she prowled along through the woods a little ways, sniffing the breeze, listening for the sounds of rustling, or perhaps the trickle of a stream, she would be sure to find signs of life there to begin tracking. She came across a scent first, faint but enough for her to trace, and she picked her head up high, swinging it back and forth to see where the wind--and the trail--was coming from... Left, she decided after a moment. Moving with practiced stealth, she wove between trees, around bushes, across a narrow stream, all the while the scent getting stronger in her nostrils. She came across other smells as well, but none were as fresh as the trail she'd chosen to follow, so she stayed true to the path she'd chosen.

At last as she entered another small clearing she found her quarry. It was a small, almost fluffy sort of thing, with long narrow ears that swiveled side to side above its head. A hare! It had good hearing and was very fast... She would have to get close without being noticed, or it might be able to outrun her, and from there it could easily slip somewhere too small for her to fit! She crept more slowly still, holding herself low to the ground, her claws out for traction against the dirt. Her whole body grew tense as she readied herself to leap, trying both to keep her eyes locked on the hare and scan the ground in front of her to make sure she didn't step on anything that would make noise. Closer she came, closer, closer, but still her prey did not notice her. She got into pouncing range, then took one, two more steps, to be sure if it leapt away from her it would still be in her range, if it noticed! Taking in a deep slow breath, she judged the distance, wiggled her hips, and then lunged forward.

The hare never stood a chance. One paw came down on its back, claws digging into its fur and skin to hold it in place long enough for her jaws to snap forward and close around its neck, biting through its spine and killing it instantly.

Loria felt no need to roar to announce her kill; of course such a talented huntress as herself had been successful! She did feel the urge to open it up with her claws and begin to eat, but she remembered mother's words, bring the prey back first before eating her fill. It wasn't that long a walk, and a smart huntress like her would be able to find her way back with ease! So she picked up the carcass in her jaws and began to trot back to her parents.

---

Neth stared at the frog.

The frog stared back.

Neth kept staring at the frog.

"Ribbit," said the frog.

"You're not prey," Neth retorted. Something so small and slimy wasn't proper prey for a dragon! Why had his nose led him to something so useless? Grumbling, he gave a half-hearted snap at the little thing anyway, but it just croaked at him reproachfully before hopping away into a bush.

He sighed. He'd already heard Taran's roar that surely meant he'd found prey, and he doubted Loria would take much longer... Now he had to find something, he wanted to find something. Just because he preferred reading to trying to sneak up on his siblings--usually--didn't mean he didn't want to hunt for himself! Shaking himself all over and ruffling his wings, he began to walk in a large circle, taking in the scents of the forest, trying to filter out the smells of the plants, the smells of the air and the earth, and just focus on what smelled like an animal--that wasn't that stupid frog, anyway.

At first he found nothing, and he growled softly to himself. This wasn't fair, just because he'd picked the wrong direction-- But he forced himself to cut off that line of thought at once. It's okay, he said, his parents wouldn't judge him, and his siblings would hardly notice. He just had to be successful, not fast. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, relaxing, breathing in, breathing out...

What was that?

It wasn't that he smelled something, or even that he heard it; it was more than that. He could sense the presence of an animal--not far from him, but downwind. Oh, he hoped it wouldn't notice him and run off before he could find it! He turned and followed the feeling of the creature, moving as quickly and quietly as he could, head swinging side to side, alert that whatever he felt might be in a bush, in a burrow, or even up in a tree! As he grew closer the sense of it strengthened, it was something skittish and nervous and wary, it would be hard to sneak up on... No, he could do it, he was a careful dragon, he knew how to move quickly and quietly!

He hopped up atop a fallen log, and finally saw what he was chasing: it was a bird! A large one, not like that flock of little things Taran had scared off early but a proper one, with mottled brown and white plumage, a greenish head, and long tail-feathers. Definitely big enough to be good prey for him... But birds had such good hearing, it would be next to impossible to get close enough, and as soon as it realized he was there it would fly off!

Please don't fly away, he thought, creeping down off the log; it wasn't facing him, yet, but surely it would notice him soon. He crouched down low, letting a stand of tall grass conceal him, and moved closer, closer still. The bird continued to peck at the ground a little while longer, but when he was only three or four lengths of his body away it suddenly picked its head up and looked in his direction. He froze, watching it, certain it had noticed him, now if he moved at all it would flee! Please, please, please don't fly away, he thought...

The bird looked right at him, and he had to swallow a whine. Don't fly away!

The bird clucked, and did not move. Neth slowly breathed out, frozen in place, not daring to come any closer, but it wouldn't look away from where he did his best to hide in the grass! A full minute passed... two minutes... but the bird seemed as rooted to the spot as he was. Finally he couldn't take it any longer, and slowly lifted a paw, and took a step forward.

It didn't move.

He slowly came nearer, and nearer, scarcely able to believe that it wasn't flying away yet fervently hoping it would stay still, thinking it to himself over and over again as he approached, until he was close enough that he could have reached out and touched it!

But the bird did nothing more than stare at him. A sense of raw terror and urge to flee overtook him as he stared into its eyes, a blanket of overwhelming fear and confusion that dulled his senses and made the world around him seem to waver-- He shook his head back and forth, and abruptly the bird stirred, turning-- No, it wouldn't get away now! He lashed out quick as a flash, seizing its narrow neck in his paw, twisting, and breaking its neck. A hollow sharp pain flashed through him--but then it was over, and he felt like himself again.

He stared at the bird for a few moments, lying crumpled on the ground where his blow had left it. What had just happened? Had he... felt its mind? Its thoughts? Had it even been staying there because... he had been telling it to? He struggled to make sense of it, and even then he could still feel a little of the raw fear in his mind, fear that had surely come from the bird now that he thought about it... But he hadn't meant to do that!

Well, he'd have to tell mother about it, he thought. He certainly hadn't liked it, and didn't want to again... There was nothing wrong with a dragon using its magic to hunt, but it had felt so strange and disorienting and frightening to feel what his prey felt!

Mother would help him figure it out. He could talk to her about what had happened and what it might mean, and then worry about what to do next... For now, he was hungry, and though killing his first prey hadn't gone quite like he'd imagined, he had still caught it, and it looked like a good meal! So he picked it up and balanced it on his back, using his wings to hold it in place, and set off for the clearing where his parents waited.

---

Hueroc draped a wing over Ellora's back. Her tail twitched restlessly; he knew how she hated to let their precious little hatchlings out of her sight when they were anywhere but safe in their home cave, and this must have been hard for her! Rumbling softly, he nuzzled her on the cheek.

"They're tough young dragons... They'll be fine out there."

"I know." She nuzzled him back, after a moment. "You and I would know if there was anything out in the forest that was a real danger to them. If they ran into a buck, perhaps, but with deer still so much larger than they are, they should be smart enough to keep away, and surely any deer fled from the sound of our wings."

Hueroc tilted his head, and let his tail rest across her own, listening to the sounds of the forest, enjoying the embrace and presence of his mate, and waiting for their young to return--hopefully successfully!

"That's not what's bothering me," Ellora said eventually, only to look up when Taran's roar carried faintly back to them, making her smile. "It sounds as if our son has caught something..." She tossed her head and went on. "It's Neth. I have been speaking to Rhean, and to Emma, about him, and from how quickly he's learning and how intuitive he seems sometimes, they suspect he's psychic."

Even Hueroc knew such abilities were rare, and he tilted his head to the other side, tip of his snout pressing gently to her cheek. "But why does that worry you? We should be proud to have such a strong, intelligent son..."

"Oh, I am!" she said quickly. "But when I saw him suddenly panic like he did earlier... that's what makes me nervous. Obviously he sensed something... But what? He felt someone's mind, but he didn't seem to know himself what it might have been."

He thought for a little while. "I had never seen him do that before, so suddenly and strongly. Have you?"

"No."

"Then maybe it was a fluke... But we should keep an eye on him, and we should probably get him some magic lessons of his own." Then he cocked his head to one side, hearing the sound of one of their progeny returning, and they both turned to see: first Loria emerging from the trees with her hare, then Taran trundling along under the weight of the badger he'd caught. "Welcome back both of you! Very well done! Feel free to dig in, here, let me show you..."

Hueroc and Ellora began to instruct the two of them in how to best open up prey to get at the meat, which parts where the best for growing young dragons and which parts were best left uneaten. Hueroc threw himself fully into the teaching, but Ellora continued to glance around, wondering where Neth might have gotten to, hoping he was up to the challenge! Then to her relief their last little one returned, and she let out a happy sigh to seem him back, with his bird.

"A pheasant! Extremely well done, and tasty, too! They're hard to catch once you get up to be my size, so enjoy it while you can," her mate said with a chuckle, and she bobbed her head in agreement.

"You should be proud... Go on, eat up."

Neth gladly set it down and began to carve it up--he'd been curious in the past, and watched how father had done it. Get the skin and feathers off like so, find the thickest meat here, avoid that bit, and be wary of any little bones! There was more meat on it than he expected, but he managed to finish it all, and felt so satisfied with himself when it was done. He'd hunted his own prey, eaten it himself, fed and provided for himself! It was a very good feeling, knowing he could survive on his own now if he had to... That all of them could.