Merevaika
20th Summer 515
It was silly, pointless, and a waste of money. She had been caught up with the moment and done it. The move was one she should have regretted. But whatever she told herself, Merevaika couldn’t help but think that she had done the right thing. The puppies sat fairly obediently by her feet, each staring at their new owner intently with the same large look in their eyes that had convinced her to buy them. They had been the last three skinny little lumps of fur and bone in the basket outside the old hunter’s house. His bitch had given birth to a litter not too long ago, and the other he had gifted to his friends and family. These three were left, and he had tried to sell them to every passerby. Merevaika was just the one who bought them.
He had claimed that hunting genetics ran in the family. Their mother was a Luvanor Grassland Hunter named Tamara, intelligent and fast, perfect for everything. Their father was from another line of hunting Luvanors, strong and able to take down deers. Those three showed promise, he claimed, almost shoving them at her. They would grow to be fine hunting dogs.
What he left out was the “if you train them right”.
Merevaika had so little experience training anything to a dog, let alone teaching a puppy to hunt. She had seeked a teacher, but no one was willinging to give up their knowledge for free. Eventually she had caved, deciding to try her best at it. She knew a little, she supposed, and a little was more than none. Besides, she didn’t have to train them to hunt yet. Just simple obedience, things Denviel had mastered years ago, when she had someone to help train him.
Each puppy, it seemed, was so different, and she assumed this meant that they had to be trained differently too. So would it be better to do it together or separately. She didn't want to spend too much time on it, but from the minute she had bought them, spending time seemed inevitable.
Over the last few days, Merevaika had separated them clearly, always leaving one in the tent and one tied to the outside, while the third would accompany her wherever she went. It meant hunting was a little problematic with an extra burden following her and scaring off the animals, but it got the dogs accustomed to the process, and while they did not take part, they could watch the older dog demonstrate.
By now, each puppy answered to his or her name, which was a good start. It would help her establish more control over specific dogs. Today, a group activity seemed more effective.