Waterfowl

Farstep's hunger, coupled with the ducks' complacency and the stillness of the surrounding lake, spurred him into a brisk trot. He approached quietly but confidently, holding himself as low to the ground as he dared while maintaining his speed. At the water's edge he slowed to a near-crawl, creeping up on the resting ducks with fluttering heart and eagerly twitching nose.

The lone dog broke his cover and charged headlong into the fray of ducks, which scattered instantly. The clumsy fowl took flight with raucous quacks and alarmed cries, leaving a spray of feathers in their wake. Farstep flung himself into the air, pulling his legs in close and leaping as high as he could, but the sharp snap of his jaws fell closed on thin air and his opportunity passed.

Shaking his ruff, the unsuccessful male chuffed an annoyed sound, then froze in his tracks when he noticed another wolf watching him from a distance. Instantly fuelled by his failure to catch a duck and the nosiness of the other, the loner flicked up his head and ears and growled uncertainly.