Phoenix Maplewood look around, leaves are brown

His gaze was still dead-focused on the deer, mind puzzling out a way to take it down solo, when pawsteps reached his ears, close by. Wondering how he could have let someone--or something--get so close without his noticing earlier, he sprang into a defensive crouch, lips curled in a snarl, fur bristling along his spine.

His snarl faded, fur relaxed, as alertness was replaced with incredulity. For here, standing before him, was his elder brother.

Murdock?! he mouthed, eyes wide. In his search for Grayday and Sunspot, he had completely forgotten his other siblings, both older and younger. But here was Murdock, a year his senior, who had wandered far south. Shale had not seen him in many moons.

The brown male nodded at him, indicating that they should take up the hunt together. Still utterly bewildered, he nodded back, sidling quietly up to the male so as not to attract the deer's attention from across the pond.

"One of us should sneak up and startle him; the other should lie in ambush," Shale muttered strategically, keeping all secondary conversations for later. There would be time to talk, once their bellies were full. "I'm content with either role. Your pelt might blend better in the forest," he added, eyes raking over the autumn surroundings.

"What do you think?" he asked, wanting his input. He was, after all, a year his senior. His elder, even though Shale had never overly thought of him as such.