Kieran woke with a start and with green eyes gleaming he stood quickly to his feet and shook off the small snowfall that had landed across his back. He slept in the open more often than not and didn't even wish to find a den. The only way he would find a den was if he were to have children and since that wasn't going to happen he didn't need one.
Lifting his legs each at a time he shook them bringing the life back into his limbs from the cold. Laying nose to the ground he went in search of some sort of game for the caches. Whatever he could find he wanted to make sure there was food for those growing in the womb of Paar and for the others of the pack. He would feed all of them first.
It was nearly dawn, the perfect time for a wolf to hunt. The birds were still asleep, holding back their song for the new day, but the hares and deer should be awake like Falwasi, except they would be socialising. The wolfess would be killing.
As she neared closer to the Emberwood after having strolled alongside of the creek, Falwasi caught a whiff of her travel companion to the Glacier, Kieran. Abandoning her mission for pleasantries, the lissome she-wolf moved towards the figure that shook the snow off his back. Falwasi herself could not help but ignore the delicate and intricate droplets of frozen ice that sat atop her back, and she did not mind the snow joining her on her journey.
"Kieran," she greeted as she approached him, giving the swarthy male's cheek a gentle nudge. He seemed to have just woken up, but like Falwasi, he was prepared to hunt. And with the growing success of the Creek's hunts, they could actually have fun.
Kieran enjoyed the silence in the early mornings. It filled him with a sense of peace and also awe. For soon enough the very forest would come alive and it would break the silence as it always did.
He looked up as his name left another's lips and returned the nudge to his traveling companion.
Falwasi He shifted so he was facing her rather than keeping his face to the ground in search of game. He tilted his head and debated what to say. He hoped he hadn't hurt her feelings any at the pack meeting. He had merely been giving his own opinion as she had.
"'owaya, waaat is it dat yer are up ter the-day? oi wus gonna 'unt."
The male seemingly hesitated as he thought of what to say, leading Falwasi to recall the pack meeting. It seemed that the wolves of Swiftcurrent Creek, in fact, did not agree with her opinion. She had no trouble accepting it, however she religiously hoped that they would not judge her by it. Everyone had personal thoughts, but only some chose to voice them. It seems as if the only time the young girl did so with hers, it was not entirely contributing.
Falwasi shuffled her paws, acting awkward until Kieran spoke up. His words caused her to relax because one, she could actually understand him and two, her perception of what he had been doing before she had arrived was correct. He was about to commence his hunt, and the wolfess had joined in at the right time to perform her dance.
"I suppose we are on the same track of mind," she started, eyes lighting up of a subtle manner. "Mind if I join you?," she then asked, aware that some wolves preferred to dance alone. Falwasi herself preferred to do so, but she couldn't now, it would be too apparent. However, hunting wasn't so bad with company; she'd done it before.
"Oi don't mind at al' me lady. wud yer loike ter lead?"
In his case the she wolf did not have to worry about him judging anyone. He lived by the rule that you were your own worst enemy and you were critic enough upon yourself. He refused to do that to others, or at least he tried not too. He respected that others had their own opinions and he tried to understand them. He however also had a hair trigger temper and sometimes some opinions just didn't sit well, though this one was not a problem.
He returned the smile a full an ornery one taking it's place on his maw. Then again it was always an ornery smile.
"Oi don't mind at al' me lady. wud yer loike ter lead?"
To her pleasure, Kieran showed that he was completely fine with Falwasi joining his hunt. And even if to top it off, he had offered her to lead. Her gut reaction told her no, but today she would, because it was only Kieran and she didn't feel uncomfortable around him. It might even be fun, she told herself.
Falwasi looked up at him and smiled her fake-smile which was particularly convincing — the big smile that occasionally showed up on her face when something was particularly funny or provocative of passionate emotion. "Sure," she replied, and without another word, dropped her wet nose to the similarly wet ground in hope to find any prey nearby.
The damp conditions did not aid in her tracking, but it did not handicap it either. Sure, it masked the scents a bit, but a wolf's sensory systems were rather strong, and she did not have any trouble locating the animals nearby. Hmmm... There were few deer nearby, some rabbit dens, and a heavy waft of pigeon. "How about pigeon today?," she offered, thinking it was a suitable choice of kill.
Kieran would have lead, had she told him she was uncomfortable doing so. But the polite thing to do was allow her to do so, and his mother always told him allow a lady choice to lead. And he planned to have fun.
Kieran smiled back. Her smile convinced him, not expecting it to be fake at all. So he followed behind her, lending his own nose to the ground. He hoped to offer as much assistance as he could.
"Pigeon weurks for me falwasi." He hoped she was planning on getting more than one. Because a pigeon was not exactly a huge mouthful for the large wolves of their species. Granted the bigger wolves could go without food of course for those smaller than them for longer.
Falwasi smiled inwardly as the male dropped his nose, with compliance on pigeon as their choice of meal. She'd heard hunting pigeon was traditionally a southern wolf choice of prey, but that didn't stop her from doing the same. Copying was a sign of flattery, wasn't it?
Closing her almond eyes in concentration, she tried to detect the nearest flock. There. Opening her eyes, she looked at Kieran, "The nearest flock is over there," Falwasi said, following the scent in the direction of a small but full gathering of trees, surrounded by a few others sparsely distributed from each other.
She moved quickly but carefully, her steps failing to make any sound in the crunchy winter grass. These times reminded her of her father, Balen and her mother, Wastalgia. They had taught Falwasi and her brother to hunt. Both siblings had admired their parents so much; they were such friendly people, excellent at hunting, and undoubtedly astute and wise. However, they weren't perfect. No one was, and everyone had secrets they wished to hide.
"icelandic translation here"
Kieran didn't really know who hunted Pigeon, it was food wasn't it. So why should different areas hunt different things. So had she told him it was a southern thing, he probably would have been extremely confused.
Following behind her as she gathered the scent. He paused himself to admire the tall trees that adorned the area.
"Dees are bonny trees"
Kieran thought of his parents, his mother had taught him how to hunt small game, his father large. His mother oh she was a bonny wolfess and his father was the envy of most, and he had treated his mother so wonderfully. Oh Kieran had hoped for such happiness.
[size=x-small]Slight PP in my post, let me know if you would like me to change it.[/size]
"Dees are bonny trees," Kieran commented as they made their way through the gathering of hardwood. The wolfess did not respond, in fear of scaring off their prey. Birds were skittish, and should they fly away, the two wolves would not be able to catch them. So instead Falwasi dropped lower to the ground, her steps as silent as the space around them.
Nearing the centre of the forest, the chamoisee wolf spotted two, no, three birds taking a drink from a small pool of melted snow. Falwasi breathed quietly, turning her head in the swarthy male's direction. They would attack for one each, and hopefully Kieran would notice her aim. Trying to get all three would be greedy, and she didn't think it would be possible. The scent of the firs and spruces mingled with those of the pigeon, but the latter of them overruled the former. Falwasi moved stealthily forward towards the grey, buff-necked birds, as silently as she could, however a point would come when the birds spotted her, too. Before that could happen, she lunged at the furthest one, Kieran beside her.
The sound of flapping and a vision of ashen feathers floated around them, making the kill all the more surreal, but through the aura of struggle Falwasi managed to grab onto her prey's wing. She pinned it to the floor with her mouth, the bird using its other wing to try and escape, but it was no use. The she-wolf used her paw to pin down the creature's tail while it slowed down, clearly showing an injury caused by Falwasi's grab.
Kieran stayed quiet after his comment of the trees. He too did not wish to scare anything off, for fear of not having food. As well as upsetting a pack mate for his lack of candor so to speak. He followed her movement to the ground, sulking behind her with green eyes bright and vibrantly watching.
Kieran followed behind her, he to noticed the three. He would go for one, they were not large creatures, but they would feed the pups at least and two would make a meal for one he imagined. Following behind her he increased his movement as she did and pounced at the nearest bird to him.
Kieran grabbed at the creatures talons and pulling it down he clamped down with a paw. They were small enough that he could kill it with a well placed blow with his paw.
To finish off the kill (because she did not like to play with her food), the lithe wolf placed her mouth on its tiny head and ripped it off, its blood pooling around its limp body. It would make a sufficient meal, and should Kieran have successfully caught his too, they could tuck into their kill together.
Falwasi turned to see what her pack-mate had made of the prey whilst the third, exclusive bird flapped nervously away at a rapid speed. They would have never been able to catch it, unless they caught two at a time which would have most likely resulted in catching zero game.
She watched as Kieran gave an effective blow the bird, killing it instantly. Then, flashing a shy smile at the mahogany male, she asked: "What should we make of these?" Her question was shortly followed by the realisation that the Creek now had puppies to feed. The thought somewhat diminished Falwasi's excitement towards eating her kill, but puppies came first. However, should Kieran choose otherwise, the Creek had two weeks of hunting success to feed to budding wolves.
Falwasi's question was countered with another. Her pack-mate offered her the decision instead, and her expression shifted from serenity to pensiveness as she contemplated which of the given options to choose.
"We should eat these now, and head off to the Emberwood later for some more rewarding prey," she decided. They had the whole day ahead of them, and what better way to spend it than higher hunting? Falwasi had never thought she would grow sick of the game, nor did she plan on doing so. Hunting was life.
Without waiting for Kieran's agreement to prevent further stalling, the fallow imbued wolf bit into her bird, delicious tastes of meat, blood and success filling her mouth while feathers dropped off the animal. All that was in sight was grey plumes reddened with the blood that pooled from their dead body.
He smiled at her face change. She was a rather expressive girl, whether she realized it or not. It was a nice change of pace to most he met on his travels.
"Dat weurks for me miss."He could get behind the decision easily. Why not spend the entire day hunting, hunting was a way of life after all. A good way to fill the bellies of your family. He could spend days hunting. There was a peacefulness in it.
Keiran followed suit, he could have easily polished off the bird with a gulp. But polite manners dictated not so, especially since though the female was not small, her muzzle was. So he grasped a bit of the bird and ate it in two instead of one gulps. It was tasty for the most part.
"That's de first time Ah've ever eaten pigeon."
[size=x-small]Last post from me <3[/size]
Kieran tucked into his bird, which was relatively the same size, give or take an inch. The birds were large enough for one meal's worth, meaning perhaps a day (maybe two) without going hungry. It was a good pre-hunt meal; light enough to prevent any sluggishness during their next hunt, and heavy enough to keep their stomachs mildly full.
"There's a first time for everything," the hunter replied with an amiable smile, then proceeded to suck on the bird's bones for a while, savoring every last ounce of flavor. Pigeon was not the best tasting prey she'd hunted; the taste was rather dull, but all the same food, and food was good. She had abandoned the head — there wasn't much meat in it, and although the brain could possibly be appetizing, Falwasi was not in the right mood to eat the organ.
After having seen that Kieran himself had finished his meal, Falwasi stood up, quick to get on her feet, and said: "Let's go." She was looking forward to hunting more rewarding game; hares being the popular choice, and if they were lucky, elk. Without further dialogue, they trotted away towards the fiery forest, abandoning the bones and intestines remaining behind them, waiting for some ravenous animal to come pick them up.