If Nen'tah had possessed hands, he might have clapped in delight. While he wouldn't have thought less of Goldblossom should her pursuit have failed, the quick and seemingly effortless way in which she dispatched the squirrel only further raised her in his esteem. A wise herb-woman and a hunter!

One day he would hunt, too. Maybe he should practice.

Nen'tah crouched low to the ground, circling the squirrel where it lay from a short distance. He was Lanzadoii. He was made for such things. Real prey would undoubtedly prove far more challenging, but first he needed to master the fundamentals by getting the motions down.

With furrowed brow and little tongue poking out over his lip in studied concentration, the child paused, calculating his trajectory - then sprang into the air as tiny jaws locked onto its slender neck, mimicking Goldie's death-shake of the small carcass. Satisfied, he too then dropped it on the ground in front of her, as if to ask, 'Did I do it right?'

He was willing to take pointers.