[Class] Basic Hunt

"No, stop, it's like this."

 

"You're doing it wrong!"

 

"I am not, this is the way you're meant to hold it."

 

"No, you- augh! Just quit!" Ollie wrenched the leather bumper out of Rob's hands - something of a feat, considering Rob was roughly twice his size - and chucked it onto the stairs behind them.

 

Sat between them, looking curiously back and forth from Ollie to Rob and back, was Leeward, exhibiting the patience of a saint as the brothers bickered amongst themselves on the best way to begin her training as a hunter. A consensus had yet to be reached, clearly, but she didn't seem terribly affected by the way they snatched things back and forth.

 

To his credit, Rob simply raised a brow at Ollie's outburst, and shifted his gaze pointedly to the leather bumper, which now lay in a heap atop the stairs.

 

"Look," he said finally, cutting the silence. They didn't need to fight. "My way works with Leeward. She's had some success catching duskrats in the alley. If you don't want to try it, go to the training guild and get help."

 

Ollie grumbled, folding his arms angrily in front of his chest. Perhaps it was the ego talking. But somehow, it irked him to have to take advice from his younger brother in yet another area of his life. Ollie wasn't one to hold grudges, but Rob had always been the more together one out of the two of them, the one who had plans and ambitions and well-articulated thoughts as to the path he might chart in his life. Ollie was more free, less tied down to hypotheticals and more willing to flow.

 

But it also meant that Rob often seemed more poised for success, and sometimes, that stung a bit. Still, for Landfall's sake, Ollie thought Rob might be right. Yet again.

 

Perhaps Rob noticed the way Ollie's shoulders unhunched ever so slightly. Without saying another word, he walked over to the leather toy and picked it up, tossing it at Ollie. 

 

"Just once, you could be less good at something," Ollie said, catching the bumper with one hand. Where Rob was strong and sturdy, Ollie was nimble and quick, and in many ways, they complimented each other. One was slow to anger or enthusiasm and the other much more volatile, but also much more expressive. And just as quickly as his frustration had come, Ollie felt it all melting away again.

 

He tucked the bumper into his back pocket and went inside to retrieve Landfall's leash, clipping it to her collar and leading her out of their building and onto the familiar path to the training guild. Growing up with a brother who seemed naturally more inclined to succeed meant plenty of friendly competition, and Ollie was determined to teach his hound how to hunt. As happy as he was that Rob had managed to transform Leeward from an out of control wreck into quite a handy companion, Ollie wasn't about to let them get ahead and stay ahead.

 

The walk only took a quarter of an hour. Ollie followed the signs into the building and out the back, onto the piece of grass where others had gathered to teach their hounds to hunt.

 

"Ollie!" the trainer whopped, leading off the stool she had been perching on to rush over to him. By now, the training guild had become like a second home to him, and there was hardly a member who didn't recognize his face or know his name. 

 

"Kesh!" he crowed, throwing and arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry I'm late."

 

"It's okay," she said, ushering him into a corner. "We're just working on building some drive. We'll start with these little fake duskrats. The goal is to get her to focus on it and chase it."

 

Ollie took the duskrat replica and waved it in front of Landfall's face. She blinked at him patiently, as if not quite understanding that she might be expected to do anything with this thing in his hand.

 

"Okay, Landfall, I know this is a change from what we're used to." Namely, lounging at home and taking leisurely exploration strolls through the city and the countryside. "But this is a new venture! You could be quite good at it, I reckon." He didn't bother to acknowledge his bias. He thought she was the best hound in the world, so of course, he also thought she could succeed at just about anything.

 

"You and I are going to learn how to do this tonight, and tomorrow, we practice!"