@Dawn warning: mobile post ahead
It wasn't too common to see large game so close to home, but Khoe supposed that it made sense for a runt to get lost every now and then. She was still far away enough to move comfortably and plan out her next moves, but she knew that she would need to be quick before someone (or something) else came and stole her catch.
There was also a looming anxiety over her head, as Khoe had always worked behind the scenes. This was the first time in which she would be actively hunting something larger than herself, and with the added pressure of keeping herself healthy during such a key stage, she wasn't sure she could do it.
The young buck called out a few times in search of his herd, though it was obvious that they were much too far to hear his cries. Khoe took the opportunity to search around for someone who could help take down the young fawn.
Dawn too, had been watching the herd. It had become a game of hers to plot in her head the best ways to take down deer, most of which would probably end in failure were she to try them. Today, her tail lashed as she stared at the herd, and the young within it, and her mind was filled with fantasies of single-handedly taking down one of them and claiming her prize. However, she knew very well she lacked the experience to do that, not yet.
And thus, when she spotted Akuti, she beelined towards the woman, wondering if she could be persuaded to attempt a hunt. "Hey!' she called out, hoping to attract the attention of the woman before moving to her side. " Hey, Akuti- do you think that herd is very...hunt-able?" she questioned, watching the woman with a grin and an excited lashing of her tail. Akuti was part of the hunting party, wasn;t she? Perhaps she coule teach Dawn something.
Soon enough, Dawn appeared from the shadows with a focused grin wrapped across her maw. Khoe smiled back and lifted her ears on end to properly hear what was being said before huffing and deciding on a response. Well, I guess we won't know until someone tries, huh?
Grayday still called her Akuti, so it didn't seem as strange coming from his daughter's mouth as it might have from one of the others who she hadn't known quite as well. Thus, the small faux pas was ignored and the conversation continued.
You see that one over there
, she said, then using her snout to gesture to the weak straggler who had been seperated from its mother, That one seems like a reasonable goal.
at the woman's comment, Dawn dipped her head, grin alighting on her muzzle. Akuti hadn't refused, which was great, and she seemed to be agreeing to Dawn's proposal, which was even better. she continued to gesture to a specific goal, a little fawn who's gaze Dawn had fallen on once or twice while she had been plotting. "okay," she agreed with a nod, asking a moment later, " how do we get it?" for she had little experience, and her plans were not quite as good as those of an accomplished hunter, and this she knew.
Khoe sucked in a deep breath and exhaled with great show. That's just what I was thinking.
She laughed and turned to face Dawn before focusing her eyes back in on the small creature, trying to find his most apparent weaknesses. It seemed that he had a lag in his walk, but Khoe couldn't be sure if this was a genuine defect or if he was just tired, though either of them could work to her benefit.
Okay
, she began, one of us is going to need to sneak up from behind and encourage a chase, leading the fawn to the other who is gonna have to make the final blow.
Because they were roughly the same size, positions were up in the air. If Dawn was uncomfortable with the latter position (which Khoe doubted) then she would do it herself. Besides, it was much safer than running behind the prey.
Akuti launched into the plan, and Dawn approved with an over-excited toss of her head. she did not hesitate before blurting, "I can kill it!" voice confident and gaze sparking. looking to Akuti with sudden realization, she spoke again, now asking, feeling that she should ask for approval as was polite. "Can I?"
Khoe flashed a smirk in Dawn's direction before nodding her head once to approve the request. You wait here
, she told her, taking a few steps to the side where the grass was just high enough to cover their heads, and I'll run him over. You have to be aware, otherwise this could become dangerous.
It was a moment of concern and slight anxiety paired with a furrowed brow and concentrated stare as Khoe waited for Dawn to give a sign of reassurance.
Then, with one final nod, she began to snake her way around behind the buck. The wind breezed through her fur as she began her chase, barking to both startle the fawn and to alert Dawn that they were swiftly approaching.
words of consent to the plan and a swift nod to demonstrate her understanding where given, the girl practically trembling with anticipation. Akuti snaked away from her, to where the fawn grazed. Dawn watched with intense focus, watching the woman expertly cut off the fawn and herd it toward her. she almost burst into action early, but withheld, until the fawn was in range and she was off like a buckshot.
a ground-eating lope took her toward the fawn, a short distance to meet it. it let out a cry of alarm, but she was already launching herself at it, jaws searching for a hold. they clamped down on a forelimb, narrowly avoiding a kick by the creature, before she wrenched the leg out from under it, shaking her head in a frenzy.
something cracked, snapped, and she released and charged wildly for the neck of the creature, where some instinct bade her to seek its lifeblood. unable to move, and trashing, she clenched her jaws around the neck of the creature, finding her grip to be wrong and readjusting quickly, and again, until she found the perfect spot, and the fawn began to fade. a wild kick by the frantic fawn caught her unawares, and she retreated quickly at the burning in her shoulder, but hardly daring to look at that for the fawn had captured her attention so.
a messy, far from perfect kill, but decent for her first try at a fawn.
Dawn was vigilant and on her toes just as Khoe had asked, resulting in a perfect sync between the two of them. The fawn went down quickly, albeit no without putting up a fight. While she was turned and attempting to bring him down from behind, she managed to take a powerful kick to the chest. Khoe heaved and fought back the urge to vomit in the moment, as it was more important to keep the prey from inflicting that same injury onto Dawn.
When the task came to an end, she sat back and tried to position herself in a way that relieved some of the pressure on her ribs without alarming her hunting mate who had also seemed to have taken a hit. Good job
, she praised her, You're a lovely huntress. Your dad is gonna be estatic when he finds out.
Khoe winked at Dawn and stood to give her a friendly nudge.
she stilled, standing proudly over the rapidly fading fawn, only when it died noticing the blooming pain in her shoulder. yet it did not matter, for she, Dawn, had taken down her first big kill. an ecstatic grin lit up her muzzle, her features made of pure joy when she looked to Akuti, tail lurching side to side as if it wished to rip free of her body. she praise had her grin further, if that was possible, and she panted heavily, the sudden burst of movement and adrenaline-powered attack taking quite a bit out of her.
"thank you, Akuti!" she cried, grateful for the woman's part in her first hunt, and successful kill, of a deer. a moment later, she asked, "do ya think I should bring him some?" she grinned at the thought, at supplying a meal to her father for a change.
I think he would like that
, she said so as to encourage Dawn. Khoe had, in a sense, replaced her own whelps with the children of the pack, and thus loved nothing more than watching them grow and develop into the young men and women they were soon to become. Such a simple task as bringing her father a piece of her kill was something that would surely develop into an attribute much less mundane, Khoe was sure.
I'll let you go ahead while I move the rest of this. Deal?
Wrap up?
at her consent and instruction, she nodded swiftly and sized up the prey, choosing a haunch that looked especially juicy and tearing it from the corpse. when she had carefully picked up the chunk of flesh, and offered a lashing of her tail and a grin around the meal she carried, she set off in the general direction of where she had last seen
@Grayday, determined to find her Da and offer him the meal.