Summer’s intensity was fading. The day’s temperature became comfortable and Saturday’s Sunset took full advantage of the fair weather. This morning she had snacked on wild blueberries until her belly was full and her lips were stained purple.
She was headed back to the rendezvous site when a feisty chipmunk crossed her path. Sunset gave chase and ran the critter back to its hole. She shoved her snout down the burrow.
Come and play, little chippy! The spirit called.
Meanwhile, Saturday salivated at the idea of a plump little snack.
New Snow prowled quietly through the Rise, on the trail of one daughter. She darted through the place of the berries with careful footfalls, tail lashing behind her as she went. And before long, she was positioned (hidden) behind some shrub or another while her daughters snout was buried in the earth!
She wanted to be sure Saturday was sufficiently distracted before “striking”. So she lingered there, golden eyes warm.
For a young child, Saturday’s Sunset possessed ample patience. She did not bark, or whine, or cry… she simply waited. Like a statue, her body was rigid as she stayed alert for the slightest indication that the chipmunk might resurface through this exit. Her bat ears orbited like satellite dishes… listening.
Then, she heard something scurry underneath the earth! Saturday’s Sunset lodges her narrow face in the hole, as far as it would go, as her rump sticks up in the air for counterbalance, tail wagging excitedly.
New Snow smiled as she watched her daughter, so young and so full of life. Other names came to mind, but none yet had stuck. As she burrows deep, New Snow does not yet emerge to strike.
Instead she watches the hunt. She does what most would do outside of the territory—wait until the hunt was finished, then go for the quarry. If there was any to be had!
Saturday’s Sunset snorted like a boar hunting for truffles as she kicked up mulch. She pushed her face further and further into the hole. Even though she couldn’t see the chipmunk she could hear it! Smell it! It was close…
Suddenly, the critter scampered through its underground tunnel and escaped via another doorway.
Hey! The spirit yelled after it.
Saturday’s Sunset yanked her head from the burrow (which she had all but destroyed) and chased after the morsel lickity split.
The skittering of claws against turf caught Lilia’s attention, and she drew nearer to see who was causing the fuss, and what they were hunting.
Before she could even spot which of New Snow’s children was on the hunt, a chipmunk popped up out of a burrow and made to bolt away. Lilia pounced to intercept its path, snapping her teeth together with a clack just a few inches above the ground.
The chipmunk scrambled away from her, and began to bound away- frantically putting distance between itself and the larger predator- forgetting all about the smaller one that had originally spooked it from its hold.
Wolverine appeared and, at first, the child believed she had caught the critter!
She yipped excitedly and dug her heels into the ground like an emergency brake to slow down.
She sniffed at Wolverine’s mouth, jaws, and nose. Did you get it? Did you get it? the spirit asked excitedly.
Lilia braced for impact, though the girl was nimble enough on her feet to stop before the two collided. Happy sniffs surprised her- thinking for a moment that this was a plea for regurgitated food- until she realized that Moon Runner thought she'd caught the squirrel. It made more sense, anyway- the girl was old enough now that she should be weaned off meal handouts, and she'd already shown her interests in hunting.
She'd seen the direction the squirrel had gone in, so she gestured with a soft woof, and picked up a trot. They might have a chance at tracking it down again- only if it hadn't found a tree first!
The rodent had evaded Wolverine!
That sly beastie! The spirit laughed.
She followed her senior and mimicked every one of Wolverine’s moves. Saturday’s Sunset’s nose hovered over the ground as they tracked it together.
The crisp leaves scattered along the ground afforded them very little in terms of stealth, but when she heard crackling leaves in the bushes ahead, Lilia knew that they weren't far off- and that even the squirrel couldn't move about in this mess silently. She issued a short bark, and bolted forward, hoping to catch sight of the squirrel as it began to flee in earnest, its reddish form only visible every now and again against the fallen leaves.
Saturday’s Sunset dashed after the squirrel with Wolverine, chasing behind her senior through the leaf litter. Every now and again, her excitement would burst from her in the form of yips and barks.
Lucky for their prey, the quick squirrel would not become wolf chow that day.
Eventually, the girl’s energy would wane. However, she would spend the night dreaming of the exciting chase… and small wuffs would yodel from her as she slept.