Phantom Hollow Here, birdy, birdy

Hunter thread. Help and observation are welcome.

Most of Mitanni's time had been spent applying herself toward scouting as she patrolled. While her efforts succeeded in keeping a heavy pack scent along the border, she was beginning to feel her contribution to the pack overall was lacking. Nothing exciting had happened along their borders to date, and with their neighbors openly accepting their claim the need for such heavy patrols was lessening. Which meant she needed something else to do.

She thought she knew what. Hunting might have been a commonly known craft, but the little wolf had hopes of excelling in it. She was small, and quick when she wanted to be. She'd already proven her skill at stealth, and now she wanted to apply that skill to a new trade.

Her gait was just slightly bouncy as she headed across the Hollow toward the river that cut through the forest. Her ears and eyes were alert even before she got there, and she needed to be if she intended to do what she'd set her mind toward. As she drew closer, Mitanni slowed and moved more carefully, giving herself enough time to scent the trees and bushes alongside the river. She hoped to find some waterfowl, and hoped even more to try her hand at catching some.

*flings self at*

It occurred to the winter-pelted girl that she was still in need of knowing everyone. It was quite pathetic that she was't sure of everyone's identity, and she was bound to meet them, one way or another. Silver had contributed to protecting the borders and learning her spars more with the help of Sage and Issun, but she wanted to expand even more.

Like Fawn, she was hungry for knowledge. So, her craving had taken her upon a path to find an unknown wolf, one with a much darker pelt than what Silver wore upon her back. Her head was tilted, but a gentle look was upon her face. She had to be nice, yes? Although being nice wasn't a skill, she was able to at least try and somewhat succeed.

A scent lurked around the trees and the bushes, she must've really went to town with her scenting. She decided to approach calmly with a long stride walk. "Hello there" she greeted out towards the darker female.

The little wolf's ears perked when a voice spoke nearby, and her paws stopped to hold her still. Her attention torn from her task, Mitanni turned her head to glance in the direction of the voice, and was only a little surprised to see someone standing there looking her way. Oh. So they had been addressing her after all. It would've been exceedingly rude to ignore the pale-colored female and continue going about her business, but Mitanni didn't feel like doing that anyway. Who was she to turn down a bit of casual conversation, especially with a fellow pack wolf?

Her lips curved into a small half-smile, and her tail wagged in friendly greeting against her hind legs. "Hey," she greeted aloud, mildly concerned that their voices would carry and potentially scare off any nearby game. Ah, but there was plenty of riverside to check from here to either side of the border it ran through. They could talk a little bit here and it would be okay.

Mitanni's eyes narrowed slightly and her head began to lean just a bit to the left, her expression puzzled and thoughtful. "I don't think we've met yet," she remarked, realizing she had seen the wolf before at the last meetings but the wolf's name completely evaded her. "I'm Mitanni Anath."

Sure enough, the winter one was greeted warmly with a half smile and a tail wag. Happily Silver returned the actions and walked a bit closer, though her ears perked up more to catch the darker woman's words. It was true, the two hadn't met before and were in need of exchanging names and having a nice conversation.

"I bet we haven't, I'm Silver Metris" she replied to her, looking around the water to see a few fowls floating about freely. Her attention turned back towards Mitanni. "You trying to catch some ducks?" She asked, her tone quiet to avoid scaring off the birds. If she was, Silver was totally up for a hunt to fill her belly and the caste.

Silver, the mottled black and brown wolf thought with amusement, that's appropriate. With a coat like hers, she couldn't think of a more appropriate name. Mitanni couldn't help thinking also of how the Moonlit Hills tended mostly to draw in wolves who sported a darker fur color, at least in the overall scheme of things, and how up until Esteban and Judas she hadn't seen anyone who didn't match that description. Maybe we're changing, or brightening, she considered, though surely it was all just a funny coincidence. "Nice to meet you," she answered honestly.

As her company's attention shifted past her and back to the river, the little female turned slightly and looked back too. A bit of excited instinct kicked in upon seeing the birds floating into view, and guiltily she turned back to Silver with a brighter smile. "Key word being "trying." I haven't actually attempted it before." Again her attention returned to the ducks in the river. How hard could it be?

Feeling hopeful, and perhaps a little overeager to give bird catching a shot, Mitanni asked over her shoulder at Silver, "You familiar with hunting them?"

The two women were quite peaceful with each other, something Silver greatly appreciated. She didn't like fighting all the time, sometimes peace was good. Mitanni seemed new to hunting fowl, her key word of 'trying' made Silver smile more. Her own skills were questioned lightly, Silver shook her head as an answer.

"I'm more adapt to catching running game than flying" she said, looking towards the weird floating birds. Her eyes returned to Mitanni with a full grin. "Doesn't mean we can't do it though".

With her eyes still on the water fowl in the river, Mitanni didn't see Silver shake her head, but she heard the negative answer as it was spoken. Darn. She was hoping for another unexpected teacher, but she couldn't always be lucky that way. And in no way did it diminish her desire to try and eventually succeed at bird catching, whether here and now or later on down the road.

As Silver mirrored her thoughts, the lithe little wolf turned her full attention back around to the silver-hued female and grinned outright with an excited tail wag. "My thoughts exactly," Mitanni agreed, and turning her head back to the river she let instinct set in and lowered herself into a cautious crouch, beginning to inch closer toward the river while sticking close to any cover that could be taken from the nearby bushes and trees.

She wanted very much to go darting forward to snatch one of the birds out of the water, but it seemed too forward of an approach. Could it possibly work? "Do you think if I just dived in at one of those things," she whispered over her shoulder, assuming Silver had followed and was close by, "that I could grab it before it got away?" It felt like a really daring plan, more likely to fail than succeed, but it was the best Mitanni could come up with at the current moment.

Mitanni seemed to agree with Silver, winging it wouldn't be that bad at least. They would have another chance of catching them even if they failed. Ducks tasted good, Silver remembered her mother bringing a few back. She wished she was there to observe.

The darker female questioned about her own tactics, was running in a good idea? If she was fast enough at swimming or at least a good jumper in length, then yes. But it would just depend on all honesty.

"If we stay silent and sneak a bit closer, we would have a better chance" she said, looking towards a minor path that led closer to the water fowl. "I bet we could if we are quick."

Hmm, that did sound better. She was hoping for the best possible shot before she went charging out to catch one of the ducks, and if there was even a slight chance they could get closer without alerting the birds then she was willing to take it. "Yeah, that sounds good," she agreed, nodding her head without looking to see if Silver was even looking her way. With the birds right there in sight, Mitanni couldn't bring herself to look away, as if afraid they'd disappear.

Quick. I can do that. Mitanni was quick. Or at least she liked to think she was. She hadn't actually tested her speed against anyone yet, but she'd managed to fend for herself before joining Moonlit Hollows, which required quick feet and an equally quick mind. They're just birds. How hard can this be?

Despite her confidence, she was feeling nervous, a little bit anxious. Were her chances good? Was this plan she and Silver had concocted silly and likely to fail? So what,  she argued with herself, at least you can learn from it. Mitanni drew in a breath and released it quietly, whispering, "Okay, closer," before she fell silent and began to move slowly forward again, stalking nearer to the river using the cover of the plant growth and taking up a better position for a potential charge and leap. Her amber eyes sought Silver's, offering a silent question: was she ready?

Kind of want to roll a dice to see whether they can do this or not lol

Ooc: a dice roll sounds good!

Mitanni seemed to understand what Silver was getting at. She moved closer in silence, her light eyes locked onto the birds. Silver looked after her, wondering if she was to follow or not. It seemed she was though, Mitanni looked towards Silver with the silent question.

Nodding on her to Mitanni, she snuck and followed Mitanni's path. She couldn't wait to taste the water fowl meat. She looked towards Mitanni and waited for the signal.

Sorry for the delay--busy week. But, on the plus side, the roll was a success!

The silver-hued female followed after her and as they met eyes Mitanni grinned outright and flicked her tail in the vaguest suggestion of a tail wag that she could manage without completely ruining their stealth. This was better, much better, than her first attempt would have been. They were close enough to make the dash before the birds realized what was on them, and she felt the certainty of their success multiply because of Silver's suggestion.

Which left only one thing to do. Turning her attention back on the ducks, still moseying along in casual streamlines through the river, the black and brown wolf licked at her lips once and nodded her head with finality. Well...here goes nothing!

Without another sound of warning, she leaped forward, foregoing her hiding spot and any pretense at stealth as she singled one duck out and leaped off the bank into the water to pursue it. She saw the spooked creature rear up slightly, its wings outstretched and scrambling at the air to gain momentum and flight, but leading with her teeth she aimed to snap at its body before it could get away.

Water splashed all around her, wetting her completely, but even as she snorted on the spray of it she felt the soft body of the duck wriggling crazily between her teeth. A wing beat against the side of her face, and her cheek stung from where the feathered beast was currently trying to bite at her, but with her eye squinted protectively Mitanni turned and waded as swiftly as she could out of the water and back to the shoreline.

The duck, to its credit, fought her the entire way there, but with quick paws and an even quicker bite, she was able to still the bird once she'd pinned it on land. With water streaming off of her body in rivulets, the successful little hunter turned her head to look toward Silver expectantly, hoping she'd been just as successful.

Seeing that Mitanni was ready, she wasted no time launching into the water. The strange animals fluttered around in the water, soon unfolding their wings to take to the sky. Silver didn't act slowly either, she leapt with haste into the pond. With a splash, she quickly used her legs to swim and snatch the flapping thing.

Mitanni from the corner of her eye had grabbed one, the injured thing quickly trying to escape with its wings. Silver returned her attention towards the duck in front of her. Her teeth quickly latched onto the feathered bird, soon sinking in tightly. The loud noises it made irritated her, she shook her head a bit (though it was restricted in the water). Wings and angry calls echoed in her ear, the beak of the bird snapping at Silver's muzzle.

Out out the water, her teeth sunk in as deep as possible before the duck gave its last breath. She felt its body grow heavy with weight, she set it down softly before wringing out her silvery pelt. Droplets of water fell upon the feathers, soaking it further.

Mitanni waited for her, for she was looking at Silver with curious eyes. With a happy grin, she walked over with her prize to Mitanni. "Guess we won't be going home hungry" she said to her happily, though her words were a bit muffled.

Seeing Silver with a bird of her own, Mitanni grinned and laughed victoriously. Success! By some good luck, they'd both managed to catch a single duck each, and while the others had scattered the second both wolves appeared, the little hunter thought they'd done well enough for a first attempt. Much better than I was expecting!

Bothered by the heaviness of the water in her coat, the lean brown wolf squared her stance and shook vigorously, sending water spraying off of her body and fluffing out her slick fur into wet spikes. She stilled and wagged her tail as the silver-hued female approached, her own duck carried like a trophy between her teeth. What she said was muffled by that trophy, but Mitanni caught the gist and laughed again a little quieter. "You got that right," she answered encouragingly, dropping her amber eyes to stare at her own catch.

It looked a bit ruffled, but that was to be expected with as much as the water fowl had fought her. Even so, she couldn't help feeling proud of herself. "Think I'll see if anyone else wants this one," she stated, and wondered what the odds were of catching another if she could find out where the birds had gone hiding. Smiling at Silver, she gave another friendly wag of her tail. "Thanks for the help. It went better than I'd hoped."

GOD DAMN IT MEMORY- wanna fade? 

Silver could only smile gentle at Mitanni, happy that both had their catches. She looked at her own bird between her jaws, seeing how pretty it was even when it was dead. The colors were bright to her eyes, she couldn't help but pity the life she had taken.

"Any time Mitanni, ring me up if you wanna hunt again" she said to her, dipping her head before turning off to go and eat in peace.

lol Sure, thanks for the thread.

Mitanni grinned as the silver-hued female spoke of possibly hunting again some other time. "I'll do that," she agreed, adding a definitive nod of her head. They'd done exceptionally well this time around hunting together. The mottled brown wolf could only assume they'd do just as well during a second go around. And maybe they'd even catch something bigger!

Feeling satisfied with their success, with the water fowl that lay still at her paws, she reached down and picked up the limp, feathered creature as Silver trotted off. She paused once to shake again, feeling a little chill now that she was out of the water, and strode in the direction of the center of the pack. Maybe she'd find someone there to share her spoils with.