lmk if the powerplay isn't good!
zoug dragged
@Talisman hunting every day. he showed the younger male how to hunt in the early mornings, when mice and birds were wakening and snakes were still sluggish. how the thick unyielding heat of midday was lethal in large doses but the best time to hunt scorpions. how evening was for gathering the flowering vines, and nightfall was theirs to rest, to yip, to dance in the sand.
he taught talisman a few paw-signs as well, sharing the guttural words of the clan with deliberate slowness.
when spring came, the tribe would have pups. it meant a temporary compromise of nursing mothers, that was why he needed talisman to be skilled and apt, as more work would fall to them both for a time.
today was no exception. longfooted hares stared back at the coyotes, their lengthy ears delicate with blood vessels. to catch one was not easy. to catch one in the heat was an achievement. for a long time, he only studied their tall forms.
In his first few days properly living among The Tribe, Talisman feared he would not fit in with them. Especially after his first encounter with Zoug, he dwelled on his shortcomings. There was
so much he didn’t understand about living in a group, not to mention this unfamiliar clime. He wondered if he’d bitten off more than he could chew and should slink away in the night.
But then Zoug took him under his wing. Not only didn’t Talis have any time to fret, every single outing knit him a little more tightly into the fabric of The Tribe. He learned how to hunt cooperatively, capturing enough prey that it entirely merited the use of caches. Zoug also taught him some of their conlang and introduced him to the many features of this arid habitat. In a matter of a few weeks, the pale young man felt like he was slowly and surely finding his place among the people of the sands.
He’d even eaten a scorpion! But truthfully Talis strongly preferred mammalian meat, so he was quite eager about Zoug’s chosen prey today. He crouched beside his elder, his body harder and trimmer after these past few weeks of effort, pale eyes fixed on the hares. Talisman licked his chops as energy coiled in his lithe muscles.
It’s all good! :D
talisman pleased zoug. he would never say it. he would not show it so often. these things did not befit men of the clan. but in small ways it was displayed, today in how he crouched and nudged the younger coyote with his shoulder.
there were briars between them. best to avoid.
the prey had lost interest in the still hunters.
he stalked forward in a slow step. talisman would follow.
the hares did not move. one blinked.
zoug took another, each stride extended and very slow. stalking these animals were best for tribekin. the coloration of the hunters made both of them stand out in different ways, but beneath the press of heat, he felt their chances were better.
another step. conserving energy was important for the short, brutal chase that would happen if chance was with them this hunt.
another, pausing always when the hares seemed to rouse or look in the direction of the wolves.
Slowly, methodically, the pair of coyotes closed in on the prey. Talisman marveled at the hares’ overconfidence. Perhaps it was simple stupidity. They probably didn’t have very big brains. They were all legs. To their credit, they would give the hunters a run for their money, even if they were able to creep up quite close.
When Zoug moved, Talis skulked after him. The earth was warm beneath his paws and low-slung belly. He could feel the winter sun on his back. But most of his attention was trained forward on the hares as he mentally corrected himself: they were all ears and legs.
hunting must be silent.
a word, a gesture, could spoil hours of a stalk.
zoug flicked his ear left, then paused to do so twice more, intending for talisman to take the directional meeting.
there was no way to demonstrate while the other watched. this would ensure that one rabbit certainly escaped.
they must move in tandem.
left. and he, right.
there was no more time to pause. zoug suddenly erupted in a burst of speed, snapping for the animal on the right.
The flicker of Zoug’s ear drew Talis’s attention. He studied the man’s face, then nodded his understanding. He shifted his weight, tensing his muscles in preparation. He drew in a breath, held it, waiting…
When Zoug burst forward, Talisman was half a heartbeat behind him. He lunged at the rabbit on the left, snapping his teeth toward the tuft of tail presented when the creature turned to flee. He caught nothing but empty air and a mouthful of dust as the lapin scrambled away. But Talisman did not hesitate or slow down, pursuing his prey in zigs and zags across the dry earth.
In the end, it outran him and disappeared into a cloud of dust. Talisman halted, panting heavily, gazing down at a small burrow as the air cleared. He sniffed at it, then made a cursory effort to dig. But he soon realized the hare was out of reach.
sand flashed. teeth slashed. one escaped, the other cried plaintively, caught by a leg in zoug's jaws.
he killed it quickly and joined talisman at the burrow. muzzle prodded for scent, and then zoug walked over the top of where he thought the tunnel ended, and began to dig, down and straight. if he was correct, the terrified hare would retreat the way it had come, right into talisman's jaws.
He sighed, though the soft sound of it cut off abruptly as Zoug approached. Talis’s ears tilted, a little self-conscious about his failure to catch the rabbit, especially in light of the success betrayed by the red gleam of Zoug’s mouth.
The older man paid him no attention, instead focusing on a spot a few dozen yards away. Talisman quickly realized what Zoug was doing and zeroed in on the hole at his feet in anticipation.
But their prey was not so foolish. The yearling could hear it thumping somewhere down below, halfway between the two coyotes. Then there was only silence. He could picture it crouching in the dark burrow, grub unwilling to be rustled up.
Biting back another sigh, Talisman stepped away from the small borehole. He glanced around and spotted the other hare’s carcass where Zoug had left it. Talis swallowed, then gazed out at the desert. His brow furrowed, acknowledging his failure as he silently swore to make up for his shortcomings.
I’ll find something else,
he said, realizing he was mumbling before clearing his throat and declaring more assertively to his elder, I won’t come back empty-handed,
and spun in preparation to depart.
But he hesitated, wondering if Zoug would have anything to say. Perhaps he might insist on joining Talisman. The younger man waited.
zoug looked up toward talisman.
he would go out into the world.
the older did not believe him ready, but he saw the broken pride. the rabbits remained below ground.
and so he grunted and pointed off with his chin.
go.
the tribe's blessing would follow.
zoug exchanged one last glance, then took up the rabbit corpse before it could begin its mouldering and trotted away in the direction of the ravine.
He took Zoug’s grunt, the jut of his chin, as approval. Talisman dipped his head and twitched the tip of his tail. He then turned to face the outskirts of the ravine, pale eyes scanning the dusty horizon.
He only planned to be gone briefly, just long enough to track down and kill something to feed his kin. He wanted to show Zoug he wasn’t totally hapless, that he could help provide for The Tribe.
Talisman followed the sun as it began to set in the sky. The wild, wild west, he mused as he trotted through the barren wilderness. Roaming stirred something in his blood, a sort of yearning. He ignored it, pausing to face backward and sending a yip to the purpling sky: a homing beacon.
The young coyote then faced forward, disappearing into the sunset like a shimmering mirage.