"
"Son, come here for a minute!", came a shout from his mother.

"Whaaat?" shouted back Liam, feeling a bit annoyed. The game he was playing required a lot of concentration and he nearly died when it was disrupted.

"I got a present for you!"

"Coming!", answered Liam now feeling a mix of excited and nervous. He'd never gotten presents out of the blue before, and was starting to wonder if there was a catch somewhere. But in the end, whatever was going to happen would happen, so he paused his game and went to the living room.

As he walked in, he saw that his mom holding a hare cub on a leash, and all thoughts of gaming went out of his head.

"Surprise!" said his mom, beaming with excitement. "Look what I got for you at the market! They had this one for cheap, and I thought she'd be just perfect for you".

Liam just stared. She was around his size and completely naked. He could feel his cheeks get redder by the second.

"But what am I supposed to do with it? We're not about to start eating meat, are we?"

"It's your gift, you can do anything you want. If you want to kill it, we'll donate the meat to the needy. Just do it outside, and be quick about it.", she said.

Liam looked at the hare again and saw her lightly trembling. Killing quickly? He had always zoned out through those parts at school, since it never came to his mind that one day he might actually hunt and kill a prey. What would be the fastest way he could use? He imagined his claws slicing through her neck, her trying to scream and fight for her life as blood sprayed all over the place. He shuddered. The mental image was a very unpleasant one.

"I don't think I could do that, mom"

"Then we can release it after a while, or give it to somebody in need"

Liam nodded. He was aware he might have to kill something at some point in his life, but was very much not looking forward to it.

"Ok, then what now?"

His mother smiled. "Now you get a toy to play with as you wish. You must be getting interested in girls already, right? Well, here's a female you can practice on. I'm sure you have many ideas."

Liam's cheeks flared red. "You're seriously okay with that?", he asked.

"Of course! Now we don't want you fooling around because you're not ready to have children at your age. But playing around with prey is perfectly fine, since cubs are not going to happen."

"Try to be nice, though", she added after a bit of reflection. "You don't seem to be interested in being a hunter, but knowing how to please a girl is a very useful skill to have."

"Right mom, ok mom", stammered Liam, not quite liking the subject of the conversation. Talking to parents about that was awkward.

She seemed to understand. "Ok, enjoy! And don't get it get away from you if you want it to survive, we'll have to release it at the border for that". She handed him the leash. "So keep it well secured, and the doors closed just in case".