Backstory 2: Taming beasts

Their short time with a real pack had taught them to respect the one with the food. She pointed at the black one named him "Snort" and allowed him to take a fish. The brown pup she named "Rip" and gave him the other. She pulled them close to her, and stroked them until they fell asleep. Then she prepared for the cleaning process of the mother, as no part of an animal should be wasted. She finished preparing the meat, skin, and bones for travel, and sending the organs out to sea.

In the morning she started for home, Rip and Snort followed close behind yapping and nipping at each other the whole way. She didn't mind until she got to town and saw they were starting to sniff off in all directions. She picked them both up by the nape of their necks until they reached the market where she sold the meat, warning them to cook it well as the animal was sick. She took the skin to the tanner that her dad always sold his skins to (often giving him the best one for free), and asked the man to clean it up for her. The bones she brought home because her father could use them for glue, arrow heads, bow handles and compound inserts. Grynn told her father the story of the lone wolf who left her pups in the care of a human.

The next day, Grynn's father told her to gather up rip and snort because they were all going on a trip. They started on the road leading south. A couple of days, some game meat and rations later, they came to the sheep herding village of Shaarmid. In this village Grynn’s father introduced her, rip and snort to a dog-training genius named Acaer. "It’s been a while since someone found dire wolves young enough to train, they are pretty smart for animals and can be taught to understand human. This intelligence, tough hide, and strong jaws make them excellent hunters." Acaer droned on and on about hunting and training. Grynn's father paid him to take his daughter and her pups under his wing for training. Grynn did one of the few girly things she couldn't help and started bouncing with excitement, thanking her father repeatedly for the hefty sum he'd spent. "Don't be too excited, it's coming out of your inheritance, and I expect all three of you to make it worth the investment." he half-jested, "come home in a year when you and those mutts are under control."

Acaer was right, the dire wolves were smart, and they had already learned their names and in just two days they had learned to sit, stay, come and heel. Their focus was growing daily, and in a month they no longer needed to be constantly reminded to not wander off after every new smell. The rest of the year they spent on hunting tactics including the tracking, sneaking, encircling, and takedown of prey.