Osiris had asked her to perform a task, and jobs were something she was good at. Toad set off that day on a mission: find where the herds were that day and attempt to determine a pattern of movement. This would prove invaluable for the other hunters, many of whom were busy filling caches with small prey and helping to form and patrol borders. Toad was good at this.

It was chilly that morning and she could smell rain on the horizon, but she rose early from her place nestled beneath a large spruce tree. The days were growing shorter and the huntress knew that she would need to start taking advantage of every dawn and dusk to track the herds coming into the winter season. She gave a great stretch and a wide yawn, setting out just after the sun had lit the skies in sweet pinks and lavender tones.

She wasn't sure where @Bronco was staying, but knew he would be perfect for the task. So, she lifted her head and gave a short howl to let the hunters of the pack know what she was doing: tracking the deer herds. With that, she started at a trot, keeping her eyes and ears alert and heading for the last place she had seen the herds just beyond the interior of the Glen.

It wasn't long before Bronco joined her. She nodded with a quiet mmh in reply to him as he came to her side. She was in a state of focus. They would need to move quickly to catch the herds at the best time. As she moved, she briefly explained their task. I've been trying to keep up with the herd movements, she said, staring at the horizon ahead of her. The ground was soft and cold from the rain the evening before. I could use your expertise to find them this morning; we might even get a breakfast out of it, she smiled hopefully, glancing at her friend.

The last time they had gone hunting together hadn't exactly gone very well. The two holes in Bronco's side had of course healed up and were not visible, but Toad still worried that they might get unlucky.

Still, if they were to catch something, the caches would be easy to fill and the kill site would create a good secondary rendezvous for the pledged glen members. Though the air was cool, no rain fell just yet. Toad hoped it would stay that way.

Bronco said nothing. They moved forward as one then, strutting forth. They searched for the trail that Toad knew was near and nothing more or less. They were in an area toward the Heartwood. The upper east had not been heavily trafficked, and so the huntress felt comfortable leading her comrade. No others bothered them.

Following the smells was intense and beautifully silent. Occasionally, she would glance toward Bronco to confirm what she felt, and he would merely agree in the way he did. He more than once directed her closer to the trail as the pair caught on. She followed him loyally, for it was clear his skill was great.

Eventually, what they found before them was a herd of whitetail deer at a great distance. It was impossible to tell exact numbers. However, it was clear that many were present and unable to acknowledge the predators stalking them. Toad maintained a careful downwind position, ensuring that no animals to the west might be able to capture their scent. It was here that she looked to Bronco. She had found them. It was up to him what they might do with the herd.

Bronco licked his lips. Toad mirrored him. They crouched, stalking, two hunters in unison gathering information on their quarry. As they moved in closer, she started to count the numbers. There were more than ten and fewer than twenty. They were strong. The fawns had grown quickly into juveniles that were alert to danger, as they were the survivors of many attacks by wolves. The older males were several. They were large and getting ready for breeding.

Toad had hoped that any bulls might already have been in full rut and thus tired from battle, but the timing was too early. This timing would certainly be the key to a future hunt that @Osiris was counting on. Now though, Toad wasn't sure that the morning hunt would result in spoils. She searched for a distracted member, for a doe or a juvenile that was at risk.

None were obvious, and as Bronco looked to her for direction, she looked ahead, eyes focused. They would need to be careful if they were to fully pursue. She wasn't sure if the best option might be to leave the herd and simply know their placement, or to give chase and see if they could single one out.

She decided on the latter.

Toad whispered now to her partner. It felt as though they had done this dozens of times before, so easily did she relay only necessary information, we'll run them and see if we can single out a juvenile, on my signal. For once, Toad was actually glad Meerkat wasn't here to spoil things. While she didn't blame the girl for Bronco's injury last time, she wasn't exactly well-practiced in the nuances of these things from what Toad knew.

Toad crept forward, moving slightly away from Bronco to give them better herding distance. This would allow for them to become two parts of a single beast, closing in on the herd. Despite her frame, Toad moved with an almost feline grace, careful with every step not to disturb the herd. When she felt she was in the right position, she looked to Bronco very subtly with the slightest tilt of her head. Ready?

Toad knew that the call she made was unlikely to result in real results. With only the two of them and what looked like an alert herd, the chances were slim. However, Toad knew from experience that knowing the full health of a herd was impossible without running them. She figured that doing this would at least be worth it in the long run for Osiris's pack hunt, even if today it resulted in empty bellies.

Their approach was extremely cautious under her guidance. Bronco moved equally expertly, careful to avoid the dried grasses and noisy leaves that would give away their position. The herd mingled slowly ahead of them, browsing casually and surely conversing among one another. Bronco signalled his readiness to her subtly. They were in full focus. Toad's eyes were heavily dilated, watching for movement carefully.

The wind urged them forth. Toad launched from her position, spooking the herd and causing them to run. Two does sounded alarm calls as their tails flew up like great flags, telling the others nearby that something was attacking. Wolves were built to do this. Toad was built for stamina. Her powerful legs brought her close beside the herd. She looked for a target. The bucks had run to the front of the herd, leaving two juveniles at the back. They attempted to stay close to does that might have been the mothers.

One of these small deer had an injury at the ankle. Toad wasted no time. She aimed to close the distance on this one, hoping that the herd would not turn to face the pair of wolves. So far, they didn't know that there were only two. If Bronco and she managed to pin this one on its own, they just might get it.

As the chased, the distance between the able-bodied protectors of the herd and the injured one grew. Where in spring and summer they may have held fast as a formidable wall of flesh and antlers, now they were distracted, stupefied with the promise of the breeding season. She shouted, Got it! while Bronco kept his pace with her.

Toad did her best to use her thick legs to spring forward, just a bit closer. She was by no means a very fast animal, but she knew exactly what Bronco needed. She needed to slow the beast down just a bit before he could use his weight to pin it. It wasn't a particularly large deer, but neither was its injury a particularly bad injury. Toad moved swiftly, but found that the terrain made her fumble a fair bit for quite a distance.

At last, after many seconds of running, she was finally able to grasp at the injured ankle at the back. Nastily, she nipped hard, literally at its heels. Though she was unable to cut it off with an agile maneuver, the good ol' wearing down started to do the trick. Another hard nip and pull. One of its hooves struck out at her in desperation, kicking her in the shoulder, but even this movement was enough that the animal lost its sure footing and slowed.

It was up to him to make his move.

While Bronco had a shot at the throat, Toad continued to pull at the animal's ankle, rendering it almost unusable after several nasty bites. Her shoulder was starting to hurt, and she lost speed from it. Thankfully by that point, the animal was pulled to the side by her partner. It fell with a light crash, its herd long gone. One of the bucks had stayed behind to observe, keep a very healthy distance from the wolves at large.

Bronco pushed his teeth into its windpipe while Toad took the opportunity to bite fiercely at its exposed flank and underbelly. She bit hard and tight, pulling at the animal ferociously. She was quickly transformed from a kind and gentle woman to a creature designed for killing.

While he suffocated, she grabbed the hindquarter of the animal, holding its leg at the base while it kicked aimlessly. It took longer than it should have for the creature to die. It choked. Gurgled on its own blood. Her own mouth was drenched in it, and the metallic taste gave her a shot of adrenaline, putting pressure on the leg, pulling, biting, ripping.

When the quarry was still, she released, licking her mouth, delighting in the flavour. Excellent job, Bronco, she said, quite pleased. She hadn't expected to actually catch anything. She thought that running the herd would at best expose something about the nature of the social ties between the deer. Such knowledge might have given them a leg up on the neck pack hunt, but this was much better. Anyone in the area who might be hungry could partake. The prize probably wouldn't last longer than a day given its small size, but she and Bronco would not be able to eat it alone.

Swallowing the blood, grinning, she raised her head, howling for her pack, announcing a fresh, morning meal. She looked to Bronco after, beaming.

Toad took Bronco's lead in not eating until at least one pack member arrived, though had he been anyone else she probably wouldn't have been so polite. She panted, pacing about the kill, eyes dilated in uncharacteristic savagery. Every so often she would sigh in anticipation and impatience, cleaning off parts of herself idly the way her hunting partner did, but finding it unsatisfying. The adrenaline in her still rushed.

When it was only Charles, she nodded silently and then abruptly dug in. While she was hardly a food aggressive beast in wolf terms, she was still very much a wolf. She ate before she would let Charles anywhere near the choice bits.

The deer was small and wouldn't last them all that long, but would become a temporary second rally point for the wolves of the Glen. A few ravens were already waiting to scavenge from the carcass.