Wild Berry Meadow Steady as the morning

@Wraen <3

Nara had been stalking the rabbit for a while now. She was lying between the bushes, watching how the lagomorph carefully picked out the ripest berries, its nose and ears moving rapidly. Licking her lips, Nara crept closer, making sure that she didn't step on any of the small branches which were scattered between the berry bushes. 

She was close now. She crouched down, waited a heartbeat and then lunged at the animal, just as it turned its head, saw her and made a run for it. Nara sprinted after it, but she didn't have to run far, because the rabbit had already found safety underground. She stopped to put her muzzle into the opening of the burrow and then her paw, but alas, no rabbit. She looked around. There were at least a dozen openings in the vicinity of the one the rabbit had disappeared into. Nara sighed and plopped down. There was nothing left to do but wait.

Strenuous work and long hours spent away from Sunspire, made it easier for Wraen to swallow and digest the upcoming changes in the pack's numbers. At times, when she passed by other packmates, she almost made herself believe that everything was going to be alright, there were plenty of able-bodied wolves to provide for the puppies that were going to snow-ball the closer summer came. And yet, at the end of the day, her worries and concerns were never far away. They were heading for a trouble.

She had been hovering near a very odd forest, that was obviously claimed, but the body parts that she had found scattered along the borders, had detained her from seeking any closer contact. She had walked a way and, once she had caught the fresh scent of Nara, with whom she had formed a friendship over the common interest in hunting. Therefore, curious to find out, what the white she-wolf was up to now, Wraen followed her trail and arrived just in time to see her chase a rabbit, that disappeared in it's burrow.

"Hey," she called out to the girl. "Mind me joining you?"

Nara turned her head when she heard a familiar voice. Wraen! she called to her friend and stood up, tail wagging, delighted by her arrival. Not at all, I was just trying to catch a rabbit but it went underground, she said with a mournful look at the burrow's entrance. She turned back to Wraen, Any ideas on how to get this thing out?.

"Oooh, the fluffy buggers are out and around," Wraen was excited and skipped over to the burrow, lied down and stuck her muzzle as close as possible to get the smell of the rabbit. Had it not been for some droppings and upturned ground, and Nara saying that the creature was there, it would not be easy to tell. Lagomorphs had this interesting "no particular" smell around them, unless, of course, you weren't "particularly" looking for them or the party was sick. 

"Well, that burrow can be long and deep and convoluted - therefore digging is not really an option. Did you check for other burrows? Perhaps there is more than one critter here."

The last time that Nara had hunted a rabbit was with Theia, and that time Theia was digging while Nara was waiting at another opening for the creature to ascend to the surface (which didn't go as well as planned). But she trusted Wraen and that this tactic might not work in this situation. I saw various holes scattered between the bushes, but some of them are rather small. I'm not sure if they are all made by rabbits she said and looked around the terrain, trying to remember where she saw the burrows. 

"Well, then - I could have a look around and you can have a look at this or in the vicinity," Wraen offered, because they would have to wait regardless. And since it was hard for her to sit still and be good at doing nothing, she preferred to move around and occupy her time. It could be so that the rabbit never re-emerged. It could also happen that they were lucky and came accross another one. 

"Or - since this is your hunt - what do you suggest we do?"

My hunt.... Nara echoed. Angry goat flashbacks made her hesitate. Uh…yes, we could look around first. And if we don't find anything we'll change tactic she said, but it sounded more like a question. She shook her head, trying to rid the doubt from her mind. These were rabbits, not cougars or goats. 

Nara walked around, eyes focused on the ground. She shoveled lazily with her paw in one of the smaller burrows, it was barely bigger than her paw and she wondered what kind of animal could live there. Then a movement in the distance caught her eye.

You can decide what it is she sees, or roll for it?

Skunk!!!

"Alright then - I will go there," Wraen told her friend and took it to herself to examine an area several feet away. There were burrows here and there, some mounds created by moles. She took interest in one of them and began to dig on it, even though the smell of the inhabitant was stale and it probably had long since gone. 

With her peripheral vision she noticed that something had attracted Nara's attention, Wraen lifted her head and looked in the same direction, her eyes locking on a small, cat-like animal with a black and white fur. It was taking a stroll, unaware that he was watched by two pairs of hungry eyes.

Nara had never seen the bicolored animal before. It didn't look like a rabbit at all and it was definitely too big to be a squirrel. She cocked her head to the side, curious about this creature, and took some tentative steps in its direction. When Nara and the animal suddenly locked eyes, they both froze. She turned her head to give Wraen a look that said what now?

Wraen shrugged, because she had no idea, what the animal was, but in her experience almost anything that moved was more or less edible. In comparison to plants, some of whom could be eaten only once. "Let's draw nearer," she offered, walking slowly and carefully towards the animal and then making a wide circle around it to block it's way.

She watched Wraen walk around the creature. Intrigued by the animals bold colors, Nara took a step forward. It looked at Wraen and then back at her, but it didn't seem scared or angry, it just didn't seem te care about their presence. Weird... she muttered. When it started moving again, Nara took another step forward, stretching her neck to sniff at it from a distance. Suddenly, the animal turned to her and started making a strange hissing sound. She drew her head back quickly and cocked it to the side, distrustful of the creature.

No matter in which language you hiss - it is a universal term and means "stay away or else". Therefore Wraen, even withouth the knowledge about the creature, took it's warning seriously and took some steps away from it. Encouraged by her retreat, the little animal arched it's fluffy tail above it's back, hit his forewpaws against the ground few times and charged at the gray she-wolf. She had not expected this turn of events and padded to the side to avoid the assault. The animal, however, continued to follow her.

 

Sorry for the wait <3

It seemed like Wraen didn't trust the animal either. As she backed away, however, the peculiar creature made an unsuccessfully attempt to attack her and after that, it started to follow her around. It didn't look particularly aggressive. It simply followed her with its tail in the air. Should we...run? she asked Wraen hesitantly and wondered if the animal was even edible. It didn't look like a bird, not in the slightest, but it still made her think ugh.

"I think it would be a good idea," Wraen told Nara over her shoulder, while at the same time quickening her pace to get away from the black and white stalker. "I don't like it being so confident about himself," she added, stopping briefly to see, if her companion was on the same wave and considered leaving the striped beast alone for time being. "We could ask around at home, whether anyone knows, what this fellow is or is not and how to handle him."

With one last look at the strange creature, Nara and Wraen took off towards their home. Although the animal looked like two wolves could easily overpower it, the way it held itself made her think that it had a trick up its sleeve. Its bold colors were clearly a warning. It was better to leave it alone for now and, like Wraen said, ask the pack if anyone has ever encountered a creature like that - then next time, they would be prepared.