basic things about life in the wild.  I don't want to burden him with all of that at once.  So, I was hoping that maybe you might agree to help me?"  When Amity didn't respond right away, she quickly added, "If it's not too much trouble for you of course."

Amity laughed then, and the sound was like a rush of water breaking past a dam to flow.  It gave Aleu goosebumps before she grinned herself in response.

"Of course I'll teach you.  I'd only hoped I could help you out a little more for allowing me to take shelter with you for a little while."  A wide smile spread across her lips and she nodded.  "We'll start first thing in the morning.  Be ready at dawn."

With that, the fae curled back up and went to sleep, leaving Aleu to find a place somewhere in between her and Nuk for the night.  Soon they were all dreaming, some about Nava, others about Aniu guiding them onward, and still others about chasing rabbits.  For the first time since Nava had begun talking with Aniu about moving the pack, all slept peacefully.

Right at dawn, Amity fulfilled her promise and nudged Aleu from dreamland.  It took her a good ten minutes just to get the hybrid awake, and then another two or three to get her up and moving again.  The rest of the pack looked on in amusement, except Evvie, who just scowled and walked off.

Aleu trotted over to Faelan and informed him of her decision to learn with Amity and, though he protested minorly, she told him it was an order, and that he was in charge of the pack for the time being.  He gave her a nervous look and then nodded once to show he understood, before addressing the pack and announcing they would be going on a group hunt with the usual party.  Again, the hunters set off, leaving Aleu and Amity to make their own trek in the opposite direction - toward a small grouping of trees nearby.

"Your first lesson will be on hunting small game.  Nessa told me she'd taught you to fish before, is that correct?" Amity asked.

Aleu nodded bashfully.  "Yes, but I wasn't very good at it."

Amity frowned and shook her head.  "That won't do, especially since the territory is close to the water.  Should the pack, or even just yourself, fall on hard times, you need to be at least proficient in catching seafood.  But we'll work on that later, since I take it you've had more of the basics on that."

The older female gestured to a hole in the ground, just a few inches away from her paw.  "What is this?"

"A hole?"  Aleu answered uncertainly.

Amity rolled her eyes.  "Yes, it's a hole.  But what kind?  What made it, and what is its purpose?"  When all she received in response to her questions was a blank stare, she back tracked.  "Small prey animals often make their homes under ground, that way they're safe from predators like us.  Haven't you ever been chasing a rabbit and seen it run down a hole?"

"Yes," the hybrid said slowly, "but I always thought the holes were just always there."

"No."  The wolf shook her head and sighed.  Rabbits and other small animals, like moles for instance, are very good diggers.  They actually live in these.  And if you're chasing one and it manages to get to its hole before you catch it, you've lost your meal.  You can try and dig to get to them, but usually you'll be unsuccessful, especially when the ground is frozen over with permafrost.  They burrow pretty deeply to ensure their own safety."

"Oh."  A light had clicked on in Aleu's head.  "So, how do you keep them from getting to their holes, then?"

Amity smiled.  "Unless you know where the hole is - and you usually won't until it's too late - the only way to do that is to catch them.  And for that you have to be quick and smart.  The smaller an animal is, the more quickly it will run, in general.  If you can manage to catch up with it, you'll usually be in good shape, but without being smart, you'll almost never actually get them.  You have to try and anticipate which direction they'll go in next, because they won't run in a straight line, and that tends to make them faster and your reactions slower.  Sometimes, you can even make them run in a different direction if you're good."

Aleu frowned and growned.  "This sounds hard."

Amity scowled in response and asked, "You want to eat, don't you?"

That look of disapproval was all it took to remind Aleu that she didn't have any room to complain like that anymore.  She straightened up and perked her ears forward, indicating she was ready to listen again.

"Smell the hole.  Do you recognize the scent?"

She didn't at first, but then she harkened back to a time in her puphood when she'd been chased by this creature back to her father's boat.  It had long claws, and she'd been scratched on the leg, though the wound hadn't left a scar.

"It's a badger, isn't it?"

"very good!"  Amity beamed at her.  "Usually we don't hunt badgers, unless food is very scarce.  And you'll know what you're hunting, or tracking as may be the case, by scent before you ever see it.  Just remember that if you're not carefuly, they'll smell you too.  Now, what kind of animals are near us right now?  Don't use your eyes or ears."

Aleu obligingly closed her eyes and used only her nose to absorb their surroundings.  Her nares spread widely and she inhaled, taking in the perfumes left by various animals.  There were so many; more than she'd ever smelled before, and it was glorious.  The few she could pick out, she began to name aloud.

"There's the faint scent of a bear, but it smells old.  And there's muskrat.  And us."

When she opened her eyes again, she saw Amity nodding.  "Yes.  There are others, as well.  Now, close your eyes again, and tell me what you hear."

Again, those cerulean irises vanished beneath her eyelids.  She heard the harsh cry of a raven somewhere above them and the rustling of the tree branches and what leaves they still had. There was also the wind, whistling today rather loudly in her ears.  She began to name them off as she heard them, then opened her eyes and was astonished to find that Amity was no longer in front of her.  The hybrid turned to find the wolf behind her and canted her head in confusion.

"A wolf needs to be stealthy, not just by concealing her scent, but also by staying as silent as possible.  Our ears are weaker than the ones of those we hunt, and yours are weaker still because you have not yet learned to listen as we have.  But you will.  You must hone all of your senses and allow them to work in harmony, otherwise you will not have an easy time of surviving out here, especially if you should be separated from your pack."

It was a stinging lesson on just how far behind the hybrid was, but she steeled herself with determination and nodded.

A smaller smile lifted only the corner of Amity's lips, but the sign of approval was nevertheless there.  "Now, we'll move on to hunting our prey, since I started you on tracking a little bit yesterday.  It's the same general concept.  And bear in mind, like in my lessons, in real hunting there are no do-overs.  It will be better for you if you try and apply everything at once - you'll learn faster."  She paused and scented the air, then turned to their left.  "There's a rabbit not far that way.  We're downwind right now, so go ahead and try to sneak up on him and catch him."

With a look of surprise on her face, Aleu nodded and began to step as carefully as she could toward the rabbit.  Within a few seconds, she could smell it too, and then she saw it.  The brown and white creature was munching lazily on a long piece of grass. But as she got nearer, the rabbit froze, its ears erect.  She stopped immediately, wondering what she'd done wrong, and then realized there was a leaf beneath her paw.  Though it was still fairly moist, it must have crunched a little, just below the range of where she'd been able to hear it.  After a few moments wait, the rabbit returned to munching again, though more cautiously this time.

As she got closer, it stopped again and looked around in alarm.  This time, though she'd stepped on nothing she could see, the little rabbit looked absolutely terrified, and ran off quickly.  She relaxed her muscles in dismay and paid attention to  what was going on around closely, listening.  A woosh of air that she hadn't noticed prickled some of her fur and she sighed.  The wind had changed direction on her.

"Well, that was unfortunate," Amity called as she trotted over to Aleu.  "You were doing really well up until that point.  But let's continue on.  With the Sun as my witness, you will catch something before the day is done."

Five more unsuccessful attempts later, one of them ending in Aleu's head getting stuck in the opening to a mole hill, she had finally managed to catch a gopher.  She carried the limp thing all the way back to the rest of the pack, her tail waving in the air proudly.  Sadly, only Nessa was there to congratulate her on their return, and she