Silverlight Terrace Then when I'm thirsty, I drink their blood.

@Atlantis

Cahira moved through the grass, her graceful strides fluid as she walked. She had no purpose today other than finding a good place to bask in whatever sun periodically peeked through the clouds. 

Eventually she came to the middle of a large, grassy field and decided this was as good a place as any. She plopped down half on her side, but keeping her front half sternal so she could still keep a watchful eye and an alert ear on her surroundings. She wasn't too worried; She didn't think many animals would approach her, even as she brazenly lounged in the middle of a field with no cover in sight.

The sun finally made an appearance not long after she had settled in the soft grass. When the light touched her face, she closed her eyes and soaked up the warmth, her tail moving up and down slowly as she relaxed.

A lone wolf’s hunger is never satiated but he can’t remember the last time he’d caught something. His waist is narrower than it has and the base of his ribs has begun to sink inward. He still moves with grace and strength, nose twitching for a fresh trail—he’ll take anything at this point—and his nose touches the ground. The open field lies out before him, without the tall grasses of the pasture, and he makes his way through.
 
However, his nose picks up something a little larger than he’s capable of catching and his head bolts up, peering across the way to a cougar facing the opposite direction. Lucky for him, the wind blows in his favor and he stands still, uncertain of the move he needs to take to get out of such a tricky situation.

She didn't scent the wolf, but her keen, feline ears picked up the sound of his footsteps in the grass. When she turned to see the light male in the distance, her ears slanted back a little, and she let out warning grumble. The relaxing swish of her tail had ceased, and it now beat furiously against the ground, indicating her irritation.

Why wouldn't these wolves leave her alone? She was still nursing a few wounds from the fight she had not started with the three wolves in the mountains, and now she was faced with another wolf that would probably idiotically throw himself into a fight with her. 

She let out an exasperated sigh. She didn't want to steal their precious territory or fight them for food; she just wanted to be left alone. A thought struck her then and she stopped her grumbling to say, "Leave me alone wolf. I don't want any trouble." Maybe her declaration would be enough to deter him from fucking with her. She had never taken the time to converse with wolves before, always too busy avoiding them or fending them off, but maybe this one was smart. Doubtful, but worth a try anyway.

His ears slick back when she turns and looks at him and he isn’t sure if he hears her grumble her warning or if he feels the vibration in his feet. Still, he does not move. Cats like chase, even an injured one. Leathery nose flares at the scent of blood and infection, bacteria eating away heathy tissue. It leaves a rotten smell in his nose and he wrinkles his snout.
 
“You’re wounded,” he observes despite her threat. He shows no sign of aggression or dominance, simply watching the feline from a distance. Hopefully, it’s apparent he has the same desires. “It’s infected,” he adds with nonchalance, lifting one leg in preparation to bolt should the cougar not like his response.

Cahira scowled and the canine, momentarily stunned. She hadn't talked to many wolves, but none had ever talked to her like that; they never really talked at all, just attacked. She glanced down at the wound on her foreleg; it had become apparent today by the bright redness and swelling that it was becoming infected. The thing fucking hurt, too, enough for her to notice, which usually wasn't a good sign. 

She looked back at the wolf with an uneasy expression, studying him for a long while before finally speaking. "What's it to you?" Did he see it as a sign of weakness on her part? She had started to become worried about it, but it wasn't infected enough to affect her mobility yet, so she could protect herself against a single wolf if needed, but she hoped it wouldn't come to that. Cahira really wasn't in the mood for fighty wolves today, and she would shut that shit down quick.

The reaction does not surprise him and his elevated foot lifts a few more centimeters, a spin of one foot; all he needs is a loaded movement to sprint away. He only banks on her injury makes his hide not so worthwhile. Still, he has entertained her for a moment longer and he focuses on the subtle movements.
 
“I figure we could help each other out,” he offers, hoping it’s enough to keep her attention off him and redirect it to her own benefit. “I help the infection, you help me out?” he suggests, ears cupped forward and a small attempt to ease some of the tension building up.

Cahira looked between the wolf and her wound a few times, the occasional sharp flick of her tail the only other movement she made. She couldn't deny that her wound needed attention she was unable to provide; it would only get more infected and painful as the days passed and would eventually be the cause of her end. 

She wondered what the wolf could possibly want enough to risk helping her out instead of just taking off. She could have attacked him already if she really wanted to, so it had to be obvious that she wouldn't chase him if he left. She thought it was obvious, anyway. She glared at the strange wolf suspiciously before finally asking, "What do you need help with?" Cahira wasn't going to agree to anything until she knew what he wanted, infected wound or not.

Atlantis dares to take a step forward. Her lack of movement makes him feel confident enough she isn’t going to spring upon him. He’s garnered enough attention she’s willing to hear him out and already considering it.
 
“I want something to eat,” he says, licking his lips. “No rabbit or bird or anything like that. Something big,” he explains. Something he needs but can’t acquire on his own and without a pack, he doesn’t have the ability to bring down a deer on her own. A cougar can. A cougar and a wolf definitely could.  Maybe the wound won’t be that big of a deal but she’s concerned enough, hesitating any further steps until he sees what else he’s managed to enlighten her with.

Cahira watched the wolf take a step forward but didn't make any other reaction aside from the sporadic flips of her long tail. She listened as the male talked, and she was somewhat surprised to hear that what he needed was a hunting partner. Normally, her initial reaction would be to scoff at him. Why would she hunt with a wolf? Why would she help a wolf, for that matter? Her wound pulsed with pain then as if to give her the answer to her unasked question. Right, because she also needed help, as hard as that was for her to admit. 

She scrutinized the wolf in front of her while carefully deliberating his deal. She was perfectly capable of taking down most larger prey on her own, but with her wound, it might be helpful to have a partner, even if that partner was a wolf. Finally, she reluctantly said, "Alright, wolf, you have my attention." She stopped to lick her wound a little to soothe the throbbing before asking, "What kind of prey did you have in mind?"

“Atlantis,” he corrects and bobs his nose in her direction, expecting a similar introduction. If they’re going to work together, they may as well make the exchange. The better they are personified, the less they’ll want to hurt each other especially since she’s opened up this far without turning on him. She takes the deal, too, and he offers a smile, another step, but still keeps his distance. He scents the air eagerly for the stench of infection is getting wrong the closer he gets. “Deer,” he adds with a shrug. Or something along the lines, if they can’t find anything like that nearby. All he wants is a full stomach reminisce of the days he lived at home.
 
A beat later, he turns and as an act of good faith, offers to make the first move. With a gesture to signal his return, he leaves the cougar behind. If she disappears while he’s gone, he’s scarcely done much but expend a little energy but something he should be able to trade off with another.
 
Some amount of time later, he returns with a few strips of alder bark between his teeth. With the feline much larger than a wolf and unsure how much she needs to take to feel the effects, he brings as much as he thinks is appropriate and sets it down in front of her.
 
“For pain that won’t make you sleepy. It’ll bring the swelling down,” he instructions, searching her face for a moment. “We hunt and then I treat the infection.”

Cahira merely stared at him when he offered his name, not willing to give hers just yet. He stated that he wanted to hunt Deer, and Cahira decided that was easy enough. 

The wolf soon motioned that he would be back, and Cahira remained where she was while he was gone. She was willing to see this through. A deer wouldn't be difficult to take down, assuming they could find one around here. Plus, it would be nice to have her wound tended. 

When he returned, it was with some kind of bark in his mouth. He set the substance in front of her and explained it was for pain. She sniffed it for a minute before looking back at him as he stated he would only treat the infection once the hunt was complete. Clever wolf, she thought, and eyeing him curiously, she finally said, Cahira, deciding she liked him enough to offer her name. Looking back at the bark he had provided, she asked What exactly am I supposed to do with this?

She isn’t exactly impressed and he can’t blame her. They’ve barely just become friends! But he’s got her name, at least, and she’s curious enough. 

“Chew it for a while, then swallow it,” he tells her and then decides they’ve come far enough that he can sit. And he’ll wait while she chews, and should she decide it’s not worth her time, well, there’s no much he can do about that.

She did as he instructed, picking up the tree bark and chewing it into mush before swallowing it. It...did not taste good. At all. Lip curling in disgust, she said, Okay, wait here, and I'll be back with food for you. She didn't wait for his answer before heading off to look for something substantial to hunt. 

It took her a good half hour to track down a herd of deer, but it turned out to be a good thing, because that's about how long it took the bark to ease the pain from her infected wound. She had been cursing the wolf and his lies just as the pain began to ease. Soon after, she had caught the scent of the herd and made to follow the trail.

When she spotted the deer in the distance, she slowed her pace and began to slowly slink through the tall grass, stalking closer and closer to her prey. She stopped every now and then when one of the deer raised its head and looked around as if it could feel it was being watched but continuing her slow advance once it returned to grazing. The key to being successful at this was all in the timing. The deer were fast, so she would need to get close enough to be able to close the distance between them easily without being noticed. It was a tricky dance that required a lot of practice and came with a lot of failure. Luckily, Chaira had been on her own for a long time and rarely fucked up anymore. 

It took her a while to get close enough to the herd, but she managed it without being noticed. She stayed crouched in the grass for a while, her hunter's gaze tracking every movement, round ears occasionally flicking towards some noise in the distance. The deer were completely unaware that there was a hunter so close thanks to the direction of the wind and her patient stalking. When she had picked out one of the smaller females, she silently rose from the grass and took off towards the herd, her powerful strides closing the distance with ease as the herd frantically ran in the opposite direction. She weaved between fleeing bodies as she closed in on her target. Once close enough behind the doe, Cahira reached out with one her claws, tripping the deer and making her fall the ground. She leaped onto the creature and swiftly sank her large fangs into its neck, holding her there until the creature drew her last breath. The rest of the herd had dispersed by that point, leaving Cahira alone in the grass panting heavily over her catch.

When she had cooled off a little and was breathing a little more evenly, she stood and began her trek back to the wolf. She had all but forgotten her wound during the hunt, her adrenaline a very effective pain killer on top of the tree bark she had eaten. But once she started dragging the deer carcass across the field, the pain slowly made its way back to her leg. As uncomfortable as it was, she put it out of her mind as she continued to drag the deer back to where she left Atlantis; she just wanted to get this done.

Finally, she reached her destination and dropped the deer a few yards from the wolf, unable to drag it anymore. She watched as Atlantis ate his fill and when he was done, he offered her the cure for her infection.

With a nod and a, Thanks, she turned and made her way towards the mountains in the distance, hoping to find a safe harbor stay low while she healed. 

I hope the slight PP is okay. <3