A Boy's Gotta Learn
by tannim
Februrary 8, 2010

	Snow crunched subtly.  The breeze made a bit fall off a branch nearby at the same instant.  A soft rustle of shifting little crystals made the big ear twitch.  A large white tiger brushed the powdery snow from his catch and promptly dismissed the noises.  The skinny buck had him quite distracted.  Or so it seemed.

	A little tiger boy lept out of the snow and tackled the male's leg.  He looked up at his father with an eager smile looking for praise.  His father smiled down at him and tussled his short white head fur.

	"You got me, now what are you going to do with me?" He asked and pried the little cub from his leg.

	"I'm gonna eat ya!" The boy snarled and snapped his teeth playfully.

	The boy bit into his dad's arm but the a swat to his butt made him let go.  "No biting anybody except prey!" He thought a moment. "And even then, only while hunting them with intent to kill them for food!"

	His son looked down at the buck and instantly forgot about the swat.  He squirmed until he slipped down and crouched by the dead buck.  Several pokes of his claw made the cub decide that it was, indeed, dead  He glanced up at the older tiger.  The mature tiger sighed and made a gesture for him to go on.

	At the sight of his son running away he scratched his head.  He chuckled and shook his head a after a moment when the cub ran back toward him, mouth open arms pumping and LEPT at the buck just like he had lept at his father.  The boy's jaws narrowly missed the deer's neck and he flipped over onto his back.  His father laughed and left the boy alone while he leaned against a tree.

	His cub lay still on the snow for several seconds then got up and ran off again giggling.  Again he ran and pounced, and missed.  Again he ran and pounced, and sunk his claws into the deer but his jaws snapped and clipped fur.  Three more tries he failed.  He kept laughing and running and doing all the work over again.  His father called out encouragement after a few tries and clapped when his son finally managed to snap his jaws shut and hold onto the cold deer's neck.

	The boy panted heavily and held on firmly.  He looked up at the older tiger and snarled at him.  Seeing the look of pride on the much bigger face though he dropped the bite and ran over to hug around the big man's ankle and stare up his bare body lovingly.

	"Momma's gonna make steak tonight?" He asked hopefully.

	His father crouched down and stripped the pants and shirt off the buck.  "Yes, I think she's going to.  If we can get the steak back before dark!"

	He heaved the deer up onto his broad shoulders, the powdery snow falling around him like sand and clinging to his thick winter fur.  He crouched down to scratch the boy's chest before loping off at a run through the woods.  His son ran after him.

	It was a lovely afternoon.  Snow fell steadily, though lightly, and that soft snow underfoot had made hunting easier.  The weather wasn't too cold.  The wind had been dead and, with it being winter, there were no insects to bother the tigers at all.  Both had greatly enjoyed their afternoon together, though the boy had gotten stuck trying to climb under a fallen early on.  He'd made up for it by spotting the deer on a hike.

	The walk back was fun, for the young cub.  The boy ran around the older tiger when he caught up, only to fall behind again every time he wandered away to explore.  He found a few frozen apples at the edge of the woods and gnawed on the frozen fruit's flesh to keep himself occupied.  He tossed them away when he found a stick, but his father made him pick them back up.

	Back at their small home, built into tree lined hill, their mother praised them on their fine catch.  She did tease her mate about the buck being a little skinny when their son was out of hearing range, but it was just good natured ribbing.  She had an apron on as she took care of the carcass.  The older tiger helped but their cub just watched and learned how to prepare prey for storage and cooking.  His parents let him carry the steaks to the fire, though he still wasn't allowed to attempt cooking them.

	The boy didn't eat them, or even consider gnawing on them.  He'd learned his lesson last time he tried them raw, they were much better cooked.  After setting them down he laughed and darted back outside to play in the snow, leaving his parents to smile fondly after him and get down to their chores.