Umi remembered how hard it had been at first to hunt. Deer were quick creatures, and had sprinting power and agility that was often far beyond her own energy. It was exceptionally rare, perhaps twice that she remembered, that she had caught a deer after giving chase. Generally, all of the venison she had ever eaten was caught with the ambush and quick-kill method that her mother had taught her. The cat wondered if the fine-framed wolf had had a mother to teach her how to hunt. How exactly did wolves survive in such great numbers?

Umi looked at herself, or at least, tried to, straining her neck to look at her backside. She had certainly grown considerably from her childhood. She could feel her shoulder muscles tense with each subtle movement. Mostly, though, she recalled her mother, and how formidable she looked. Umi wondered if she might look the same to this little wolf.

Oh, she said, rather taken aback. You don't look weak to me, she said, and it was true. You're a whole lot bigger than a fox or a coyote even. The cat gestured up and down at Eleuthera's greatness. She seemed perfectly tuned for running and leaping. We're just different, she added. Though it was an obvious statement, it was rather fitting for the situation. She sat, grinning, pleased with herself.

 

Once more, the feline beamed, quite delighted at such a positive encounter. Eleuthera was simply lovely; they were having themselves quite the odd little tea party. Umi wanted to say "yay" or some other childish-sounding thing, but she didn't want to overshow her exuberance. Instead, she nodded very quickly, her cheeks bright, struggling to keep herself looking adult-like.

The shadowy little wolf's tail raised, at which Umi's whiskers twitched. In cat world, this was a signal for "I am comfortable with you here," and so she was quite pleased. At the suggestion of a joint hunt, the cougar blinked, making a squished face, thinking. She had never tried to hunt with anyone else before, ever. Hmm, escaped from her lips, and she tried to picture what this would look like. I don't know how to do it together, but we should try! What on earth this would look like, she had no idea. She was an ambush predator and completely unpracticed in coordinating attacks with other people, to the point where she wasn't even sure what "coordination" with others was.

She rose, her own tail raising with a wiggle at this exciting new prospect. Her senses kicked in as she sniffed at the air around her, wondering if the trail of the deer she had been following was still fresh. It was hard to detect, but it was there; her ears flipped forward. Not sure if that deer is still around. We should find it if it is.. She looked to Eleuthera expectently, wondering how this experiment was going to work.

 

Eleuthera was quick to talk tactics, which was an entirely new world to young Umi. The cat, of course, strategized well, but only ever on her own. She had never needed to worry about the coordination and timing of another hunter with her. Still, she was a smart cookie at least when it came to taking down game. She was pleased that her new friend was so ready and willing to come up with a plan on her own.

Umi nodded over and over as the plan was revealed. Often, she attacked from trees, but in this case she likely only needed tall grass and sure footing to make sure the plan went smoothly. Most hunts ended in failure for most predators, but even if they didn't succeed, it would be a story certainly worth telling. Perhaps one day she could tell her cubs of the time she hunted alongside a canine. If you can get it close enough to me, that should be enough, she agreed. By close, she meant very close. For though she was a lioness, she was no African lion and was not built for running for long after prey. The ambush and positioning were everything.

Wow, impressive! She said. Cats, like their canid counterparts, had excellent senses of smell. Umi's however was poorly tuned for long distance tracking. She relied more on knowing territories well and taking advantage of areas she knew prey was likely to travel. Having no room range currently, that made her lucky indeed to have a wolf on her side.

The gesture was all that was needed for Umi, and she quickly began moving toward the thicket, stopping after only a few yards and creeping into a very slow stalk, sleuthing for sounds that might tell her a better idea of positioning. I will follow you until you think are close enough, she whispered. They would need a flanking maneuver in order for Eleuthera to drive a deer toward the cougar, but she was too inexperienced to know at what distance that would work or how they would decide what the ambush spot would be.

 

The two predators seemed to understand that there would be no talking on the approach. This process always required care in step and manner, though in this instance they were lucky to be downwind. The herd was moving as it grazed, but Umi was quick to proceed with near silent paws. The wolf was almost equally nimble, though the cat could feel the movement of the ground as Eleuthera crept behind her. Canines were an interesting sort; they did not move the same way.

Despite this difference, the pair eventually closed much of the large distance from the herd. At that point, the cat also scouted their potential targets and counted all five just the same. Their pace slowed to a halt, hidden with quite an amount of foliage between them and their quarry.

Eleuthera whispered to her the strategy, and Umi looked toward the general location where she had gestured, careful to keep her head movements from knocking any nearby leaves or branches. In the distance, she could see trees to the side and behind the herd. Moving around to this spot would be difficult for her, but surely a manageable task. Umi nodded slowly, creeping off to the left to make a partial circle around the herd.

The problem, which Umi failed to realize, was that the wolf would have no way of knowing how quickly Umi moved and would be unlikely to spot her in the position they had picked. Within minutes, the cat had melted into the undergrowth soundlessly. She crept slowly, but confidently, behind a tree. Had the herd been farther, she would have crawled up it, but there was no time for that.

As she neared the chosen position, a finch in a tree behind her chirped. She stopped.
One of the does looked toward the sound, its large ears turning right at her. Umi didn't breathe. The edge of her tail wiggled, thankfully beyond the direct sightline of the ungulate. After nearly a minute, the doe resumed browsing, and Umi exhaled slowly.

She moved forward, even slower, stopping just before the position they had marked. One of the younger animals had moved during her stealthy positioning, and would have spotted her if she dared to take the spot exactly. The urge to strike was terrible, but thankfully, the animals were too far for her to chase from her spot, so she waited, like a wolf would.

 

Umi waited, watching in frustration as the herd was slowly moving away from the targeted area. The wolf and the cat were not in ideal positions at all, but the cougar watched still for signs of movement from where she had left her dark canine friend.

On paper it had seemed so basic and easy. The cat would be free to sit and wait while the wolf drove the herd to her. Easy, right? They hadn't been able to account for the movement and shifting of the herd during all this, nor Eleuthera's inability to spot Umi's camouflaged coat in the undergrowth. Nothing was going to plan.

The herd suddenly bolted. Umi was ready for this, but they were running in the wrong direction. A mother doe led the charge as they swiftly ran at a diagonal to her. She launched into action and ran at one of the young adults from an angle. Had she been an African lioness, she might have had a sister for backup on the other side of this charge. Alas, she did not. For a moment, it looked like there might be a moment where the cat's powerful legs would let her chase down the creature. This didn't last, and after mere seconds Umi was exhausted, panting open-mouthed.

Damn! She shouted between gasps for air, turning around to look at Eleuthera, who was standing unmoving. She wasn't sure what had gone wrong, but it didn't matter. She was used to failure during any hunt. She frolicked back toward the dark she-wolf and laughed breathily, snickering. Well it almost worked, she grinned, smiling rather foolishly at the fail.

 

Umi dipped her head for a moment, catching her breath. She swallowed and gave a great stretch, pulling her body to the front, then arching her back before letting loose a long and hefty sigh of relief. She let go of the tension from the hunt like a real expert, despite having only been in the game for a short time. Blegh, oh well, she smiled at the little wolf again, bright-eyed as ever.

I still had fun. Can we maybe try again one day? She sat down as she asked it, her long tail curling around her lithe body. Regardless of the outcome of the hunt, it had been a very valuable experience for Umi. She had never tried to do anything like that before. Cats as a rule were solitary hunters — she had never attempted a hunt with her siblings, even as youngsters. The lioness had hoped to see Eleuthera fully in action, wondering what the lovely wolf looked like at a full run. Perhaps there would be other chances.

How they would run into each other again, Umi was not sure.

 

Eleuthera was disappointed, but smiled at Umi anyway. It would have been nice, and quite interesting, to be able to share a meal with her canine companion. Still, this was quite the experience even without a catch. The wolf agreed that they would try again in the future. Surely, with practice, Umi might actually be able to get this whole co-operative hunting thing down. While it was true that it went against the nature of cougars, she was hardly an ordinary lion.

As the wolf looked to the mountain, the cat listened closely for where to find her. The willows.. okay! Umi had never dared to cross the mountains. She was unsure of how to get past them without going around near the sea. After her last experience along the coast, she was in no hurry to venture that way. Perhaps eventually she would be able to get back to her roots and find a territory by the sea that was not claimed by wolves. I'll see you again 'Leuthera, the cat said brightly. With these dulcet words, she moved off to the south, looking back once more to her new unlikely friend. How lucky she felt to have met such a pleasant she-wolf.