Bearclaw Valley oh inside, you feel like needles
i will pry his bony fingers free
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All Welcome 
AW
the redleaf girl entered the valley at a content lope, snow flung underfoot by her passing. in her jaws she carried the ruffled form of a ptarmigan, its feathers in disarray and neck flouncing limply with each stride.

she made for the small cache she had designed for laurel. already it swelled with the fruits of her efforts; since learning of her sister's pregnancy she had been fastidious with supplying every addition she could muster. once the bird was secured under folds of frozen limbs and dried carcasses she turned and made for the inner region of the valley, searching for any sign of prey to be captured.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
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Come spring, the Valley would be swarming with babies and hormones and cat-fights. One could be sure that by then, Blondine would be long gone, already on her scouting trip across the Wilds. While staying behind and earning a specialty in midwifery or sitting was always an option, it wasn't an appealing one. Part of her wondered if she might ever fall pregnant, but fear stopped the thoughts in their tracks. 

Up ahead was one of the meat caches and a lone Indra hovering over them. Immediately, Blondine's tail started at an enthusiastic wag as a loud chirp came from her maw. Indra began to turn and wander away, so Blondine followed dutifully, stopping only to ask, Where're we going?
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she trailed the snow, soft huffs of her breath upsetting the light powder in gentle gusts. she was inwardly pleased to see the arrival of her friend and she acknowledged it with a brief, warm smile. as blondine spoke, indra pulled her muzzle from the ground and snow flecked it. she passed a thin tongue along her lips, considering their options with a single ear akilt.

"we could look for some hares or birds. maybe some grouse? i got a cache for laurel over by her den.. for the puppies." she suggested and then trailed off, her expression troubled as she thought of how little the cache had -- maybe two week's worth of food, and not much at all for a nursing mother. indra's gaze roved over blondine's cheery form as she considered where they could go for the most success in their next hunting endeavor. "i think there's a warren over by the creek," she said, motioning with her muzzle in the direction of the water's edge.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
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#4
Oh, God, why did she have to mention it? Sure, okay, Laurel was gonna whelp and that was probably super exciting for her and Xan but for Blondine, it was nothing short of terrifying. Laurel was one thing, but pregnant Laurel? It was painful to even imagine imagining a motherly Laurel. Still, as a hunter and a sister herself, Blondine understood Indra's sense of obligation. That was nice of you, she complimented with a dip of her head, if only to hide the slight cringe of her features.

Anyway, a warren sounded much more enticing than the hormonal Redleaf. Let's go see, then, she said, expecting Indra to take the lead.
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indra hadn't caught the slight wince that the news evinced in blondine; in truth, even if she had, she might not have mentioned it for she likely would have interpreted it differently than its intended meaning. preoccupied by her own thoughts on the matter, the look sailed right by the redleaf -- and she acknowledged the statement with only the briefest of nods before supplying: "well, she's my sister - seems like the right thing to do."

indra was glad blondine seemed up for another hunting endeavor, and she hoped this one would be a little more successful than their last dozen attempts -- she moved into a trot towards the creek, keeping her steps conservative as they drew nearer.

she was not any better at hunting rabbits than she was at hunting deer -- but with the two of them, maybe one could get a meal between their jaws today.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
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#6
It was the right thing to do. Blondine was sure that if she were to fall pregnant, all of her aunts and uncles and cousins would have jumped at the opportunity to prepare a year's feast. But if Blondine fell pregnant, it was likely the last thing she would ever do; the pampering would have been for comfort, rather than convenience.

Nonetheless, she understood Indra's desire to care for Laurel and decided not to push further on the subject. 

My cousins and I, we used to snatch up rabbits as sport. I don't mean to brag, but you're goin' up against one of the best rabbit-catchin'-bumpkins you'll ever meet. It would be good for the two of them to have some fun with this hunt, instead of being as serious as they normally were. Blondine began to trot instead of walk; she wanted to be the first one to see the playing field.
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indra slowed to a stop as blondine's voice changed perceptively, some jest hidden in the depths of her tone. she surveyed her comrade with a seriousness in her gaze, as if sizing up an opponent. she sucked in a deep breath as if a sigh of exasperation, and stirred to speak as soon as she had blondine's attention. something in the way the russet woman spoke suggested a challenge -- and it awoke a benign streak of competition in the redleaf girl.

"well... wait..." she called, as blondine had already pulled ahead: "hold on i got a thorn in my paw --" she ducked down for a moment as if to pull out whatever prickly thing ailed her -- only, it was a trick! with a cheeky grin she suddenly bolted, delivering a playful nip at blondine's hocks before barreling down the valley... and probably giving every rabbit within five hundred miles fair warning of their approach.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
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#8
Clever girl, that Indra! Her trick had worked; Blondine stopped and turned to see what ailed her friend, only to find that she had been bamboozled once again. A playful growl was building in her throat as she watched the Redleaf sprint away in a most ungraceful manner. Y'all better slow down! she called out with a billowing laugh. 

As a last ditch attempt to take back her spot in first place, Blondine made her way to Indra's side and jumped,carefully kicking out her hindlegs in an effort to knock her over.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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#9
L M F A O

indra's ruse had worked -- but any gloating she devised was shortlived. blondine was hot on her tail in a roaring gallop and indra scooted as fast as her limbs could carry her, paws thundering in the snow with rapid crunches of each stride.

all of the sudden, something physical and heavy and unexpected cleaved into her side. "ooof!" indra listed suddenly, crashing to the snow in a graceless heap. she spun once, and then twice, before her splayed limbs caught her -- and wholly dusted in white snow, she quickly surged to her feet and chased after the now very-far-ahead abernathy woman.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
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Success! Immediately after hearing the Indra's oof!, Blondine sprinted ahead, putting enough distance between them for her to comfortably (and foolishly) slow back down. Really, when she had the chance to think about it, Blondine realized how stupid it was of her to have taken the lead with no clue as to where they were headed. No matter which way their little race went, Indra would have to win by default! 

It was a devastating epiphany, but it didn't do much to qualm her competitive spirit. Catch me if you can! she called back over her shoulder. With her eyes averted, Blondine managed to miss the log in front of her and trip over, smack onto her face, effectively handing the win over to Indra.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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a bevy of snow trailed behind indra's form as she lunged after blondine -- her gallop was wide and reckless, and she flung each leg out in front of her in feckless abandon up until suddenly, blondine cartwheeled before her and a log appeared in her wake.

well, fuck -- indra didn't even have time to dodge it either. she attempted to fling herself clear over the obstacle, but she lacked traction in the slippery snow and instead crashed into it with all of the grace of an elephant gallumping through the serengeti.

the impact warded her off with a resounding smack and she landed in a heap in the snow, gasping for breath. "fffffffffff." she wormed towards blondine, who seemed to have also suffered from her brief tryst with the log. "okay. you win." she rolled onto her side with a groan, her chest smarting heavily from the blow.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
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#12
They both needed a moment to recover from their blows. The two of them sat there, Indra heaving and Blondine giggling. The rabbits could wait a little while, the young huntress decided; it would give them more time to say their goodbyes. While Blondine wasn't a huge fan of vermin, she did understand that they were still alive. They might not have the intellectual ability of a wolf, but they still deserved some degree of respect.

Y'all ready? Blondine asked with a prod to Indra's shoulder, Those rabbits ain't gonna catch 'emselves.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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the redleaf wolf was still recovering when blondine rallied, prodding her russet shoulder with a thin limb. indra labored to rise, at first propping herself onto her stomach with a groan -- and then with a lurch not unlike the uncoordinated attempts of a fresh born filly, indra rose.

she grinned and motioned towards the half-snowcapped hills, where rags of exposed earth and dirty snow spanned in saturated divots of puddles and ice. "ready as i'll ever be." with that she stalked off at a careful pace, her muzzle held low to the earth as she scented for any fresh sign of rabbit.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
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Following after Indra, Blondine forced her nose down to the ground and began to sniff out any distinct rabbit-y scents. There was one trail -- weak, but present -- that managed to catch her attention, so without much hesitation, she began to follow. C'mon, girlie, she whispered to Indra as she moved toward their catch.

Short post, sorry!
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indra trailed after blondine, her muzzle on the ground as the scent of rabbit weaved in and out of the snow-studded grass. as blondine offered encouragement indra loped ahead, having found a braided trail of scents that was particularly much more fresh.

under the carapace of snow, she could hear the scratching of rabbit claws against frozen warren soil -- she pressed an ear to the ground in a hushed manner and motioned towards blondine -- look what i found, it seemed to say.

and then cautiously she stepped back and leapt into the air, both front feet thrust forward towards the earth as she intended to puncture the sheet of snow and collapse the tunnel below.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
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It all happened so quickly, and yet, Blondine's near inability to process the quick set of actions didn't take away from the glory found. The way that Indra could transform from a silent beast into a potent huntress was captivating to Blondine. She watched in awe as the Redleaf's streamlined figured was thrown into the air and back down onto the ground with remarkable force. Her eyes searched to see if Indra had been successful for a moment before Blondine realized that she too was expected to bring something back to the caches.

After snapping out of it, she moved quickly to see if she could spot any quick footed rabbits racing to get back to the safety of the tunnels, spotting only one blanched hare in the distance. Immediately, Blondine was off.
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indra was unware of the abernathy woman's studying, having dove face-first into a crust of snow. blindly she snapped around, extracting a squirming hare that gave her a positive fight of its life. with its scruff in her jaws it dangled wildly, kicking as hard as it could against her chin with a tenacity that left her scabbed and blooded.

she flung her head around to crack its spine and instead promptly dropped the rabbit, for it had sunk its teeth into her chin in the most vindictive of manner -- the pain and surprise took her entirely off guard and she watched stupefied as it bound off, cottontail bobbing in the snow.

eventually she recollected her wits, turning after blondine with her ears splayed to the side in shame. the two had fun ribbing each other over their failures -- and with two empty stomachs, made for the cache to fill their bellies and try again some other day.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.