the rise waited. the rise went on even as it waited.
augur brought meals for new snow as well as thorn caller; he did not press his presence.
in the evenings he lay down among the pups and allowed them to wrestle in that last hour before sundown.
soon they must hunt again. red woman had been a skilled killer of meat. he must continue in her stead.
evening found the man upright against the silhouette of falling night, ears upthrust and yellow eyes watchful toward the moving shapes of ruminants in the distance.
Lilia continued on with her duties as she had before, finding there to be little difference in her responsibilities while things were quiet and peaceful. Border patrols were routine, though with every pass she mourned the loss of Avicus’ markings as her scent dissipated with each passing day.
Added responsibility came from the presence of orphaned children, and having been one herself, Lilia sought to keep them fed, and train them as her role models had trained her. Small prey with some amount of life in them were brought routinely to exercise their skills and fill their bellies. The children of the Rise would not go without.
Evening came and she felt herself growing hungry. She followed Augur’s scent as it drifted away, knowing that if he was out, there was a chance he was looking for food. She approached quietly, her gaze scanning out in the fading light of golden hour, licking her lips in agreement.
caribou, on their way to the valley where they would grow summerfat.
many calves would be with them now, and more to come.
there was abundance to be had.
augur strode through the night noiselessly, scenting their number, their strength.
perhaps wolverine and he might test them.
shoulders flexed; he leapt a fallen branch, and then the huntlead was hurtling toward the center of the herd.
the air filled with startled bleating.
The herd prosented the perfect opportunity for the pack to benefit from a hunt close to home. Here, they could use their knowledge of the land against the animals, perhaps. While she was ambitious, Lilia was a realist as well, and knew it would be safer to chase and hunt down a caribou with a bit more help- but if they could split the caribou up and into smaller groups, they might have a chance. And the best way of doing that, if no one else showed up for the hunt, was possibly to herd them toward the Tangle.
She panted as she sought Augur's attention for a moment, and gestured toward the Northwest, where she knew the brambles grew in a labyrinth. Forced down a thorny chute, they might have a chance at isolating one from the rest of the group.
Perhaps, though, they might only test the herd today, and attack when they had gathered their strength. Augur was Ulfhedinn and would know best.
the herd swelled and parted and broke.
augur smoothly curved them in the direction indicated by wolverine.
their churning limbs seemed settled, and then a male broke from the ranks and charged with lowered tines.
augur snapped and leapt back, instinctively leading the ruminant away from the younger wolf.
a flash, a lowing; blood in the air from a bellowing animal warned back.
augur knew he must keep his focus here, regardless of what the herd went now with their running.
To manage the entire herd would likely be a tiresome tak for just two wolves- but when it split she felt more opportunistic about keeping them together just long enough to reach the Tangle, where they would be slowed and parted by the narrowness of the paths leading through the dense growth. As though it sensed the wolves' tactics, a male charged, and Augur dipped and lured it in his direction, and while Lilia could have moved forward to press the herd on, she hesitated- balking to make sure that she would be ready to leap to his defense should he trip and get bowled over.
He managed to keep his feet, and kept the bull's focus on him. Lilia then had a choice- and she made it quickly. With the animal's attention drawn elsewhere, she saw an opportunity worthy taking. She knew the animal's hind feet would likely be her biggest concern, attacking from the rear, but directly behind him was a blind spot- and she zipped toward the bellowing animal, closing the gap until she veered around its hip and made a grab for one of its forelegs.
Her teeth caught, but the caribou's leg was thick, and with her speed unchecked, it slipped from her grasp. Her attack caused little harm, but did cause the caribou to stumble badly, kicking up a small cloud of dust as it fell to one knee.
wolverine was an opportunist, which was why she had earned this silent title from augur. she seized dangerous opportunities, growing in skill swiftly as a result.
her teeth flashed and augur heard the pained grunt of the animal.
wolverine was left behind. augur lunged through the dust and snapped for an exposed flank just as the ruminant lunged to its feet, bleating.
The girl scrambled to re-route her course, dashing back toward the animal now held at bay by Augur. The tender flesh of its flank caused it to bellow, and Lilia took a chance in that instant to lunge for the animal’s neck, just below its open jaw.
She could feel the vibrations of its voice, and she felt them distort and cease as she clamped her jaws together. The caribou raised its forehoof to dash the brazen wolf away, but with its windpipe injured, it began to wheeze. Lilia hit the ground on her feet, but it took her a moment to regain her breath as well.
here was an excellent stroke of luck that put redtail on the high chance of lower summer hunting, at least for a time.
wolverine bore lethal alacrity. the caribou wove and billowed in fleeing masses around the wolves encircled with their prey.
he swung in to bear the animal down, clutching the heavy jaws around the torn throat where she had struck first.
She heard the crunch of the caribou’s windpipe a second time and the great beast’s head was lowered. Lilia doubted it could see little more than what Augur allowed it to see, while it’s vision filled with black- so she moved in like a viper, until she could find the soft tissue of its belly.
She would dance to avoid kicks, but she snapped and pulled with wild lashings of her neck and blood began to pour from the creature’s underside, raining down on the earth below it.
just like that, their struggle was ended.
augur's sides heaved as he settled himself near their kill. a lick of his jaws and a flick of his tail signalled that she should eat first.
in some ways, he still thought of her as one of the young, powerful in her own right but not yet matured.
and so automatically he deferred to this in her, a need for flesh that outweighed his own.
Lilia, bathed in the creature's blood, took a moment to groom some of the gore from her pelt before she felt satisfied enough to reach out to Augur and groom him momentarily as well. Ego swollen with power, she felt they had a few moments to enjoy together before they ate. Few dared to challenge the wolves of the Rise for a meal, and would have to have trespassed in order to even come near their kill.
The offer to eat first was met with some surprise, but gave her some confidence. She pushed her muzzle against his in a gesture meant to be an invitation; they should eat together, she thought. Sup on the flesh of their kill, fill their bellies, and then call in the others so they might feast too. She knew quite well that the food she ate would likely be offered within hours to the children who would need the nutrition more than she did.
eat he did.
it would not be the first hunt shared as leaders. fall was soon arriving, and winter on its heels.
the young in the rise would be tested once more.
augur was silent and welcomed the others when they were summoned.