Blacktail Deer Plateau Run free

Peregrine rose with the sun, stretched his long, athletic legs and then trotted into the forest in search of prey. He wanted breakfast, of course, but he also hoped to keep proving himself as one of the pack's chief providers of meat. He had been a masterful hunter and quartermaster in Flightless Falcons and he hoped to make himself into a Gamekeeper now in Blacktail Deer Plateau. Also, he rather wanted to impress Hawkeye and show her that he was more than capable of providing for her and a family.

It didn't take him long to strike a deer trail, then track the resident herd. He did not make an attempt to hunt the deer, though he spent about half an hour observing and tracking them through the woods. Only when his gnawing hunger became hard to ignore did Peregrine turn away, searching for something a bit smaller to track, hunt and kill.

Less than an hour later, his swarthy figure emerged into a clearing in the trees, a lean rabbit dangling limply from his jaws. Peregrine pricked his ears, his blue-green eyes shifting around the open space, then dropped the hare at his forepaws and began to eat. He finished in minutes, though he held off on eating the head and the delicious, meaty brains held within.

He gingerly gathered this trophy into his mouth, then trotted around the woodland until he sniffed out a cache. He deposited the small morsel there, then lifted his leg against the nearest tree to mark the spot. Naturally, his pack mates were welcome to pick through the stocks, yet the pungent scent of urine would deter lesser carnivores from scavenging through the pack's stores.

Finished with his task, Peregrine paused. He only remained still for a moment before deciding to keep hunting, now in the hopes of catching a treat for his sweetheart. He pushed himself into a trot, which evolved into a lope before turning into a steady gallop. He weaved in and out of the trees, his blood pounding in his ears even as he raced to the edge of the plateau. He ground to a halt and looked out over the sprawling vista below, then dashed back into the woods in pursuit of meat.

Rob sighed as he wandered throughout the plateau. He had been avoiding Hawkeye like a wildfire, and so far he hadn't seen any sign of her. He sighed again, mostly in relief, but his golden eyes shone as he spotted a black male nearby.

Trotting over to run beside the other wolf, he was glad for contact that wouldn't make him nervous. He bowed just in case the inky male out-ranked him. "Hel-lo, pack-mate, I hope-I am-not-interrupting. My name-is-Rob." He decided to go with a formal yet casual introduction shoved out between breaths, since he was a packmate that he had never met before.

When another wolf suddenly appeared beside him, running in tandem with him, it reminded Peregrine of his dream about Xi'nuata. Unlike in the dream, he did not become suddenly playful. Nay, he was in a dutiful mood this morning and though he wouldn't necessarily mind the company of a pack mate, he received the other male with a mere sideways glance, a chuff and a raise of his tail to indicate his superiority, of which he had no doubt, being second only to Hawkeye.

"Peregrine," he introduced in turn without slowing down, shooting his companion another sideways glance, as if measuring him up. "I'm on the hunt. Will you be joining me?" he questioned, his own breath coming in all but silent pants. Peregrine was a runner and, as such, running this way barely winded him.

Rob simply nodded at Peregrine's question, and continued to run, forcing his breath to get back to an even pace after talking. "What are we hunting? We have enough in the caches, and I assume you have been helping those fill up." His voice sounded more even now, but was still breathy with the panting that came from him.

"We are hunting whatever prey presents itself," Peregrine answered. "There's no such thing as enough when it comes to stockpiles, my friend," he added, giving Rob a pointed sideways glance even as the two of them wound around a looming oak tree.

For a few minutes, they ran in silence, then Peregrine decided to mention, "I'm actually hunting for Hawkeye right now. We're courting, so I'm hoping to surprise her with a gift of meat." Even as he said it, he realized he would have to give Rob credit if he helped and, suddenly, he wished the other male would go.

Rob felt his stomach drop. They were courting? That was quick, he thought. "Since you two are only courting, she's still fair game, right?" He let out a boisterous laugh, wondering if the other male found it to be a joke or the truth. He wondered himself what it could be.

At Rob's question, Peregrine dug his paws into the earth and stopped with incredible abruptness. "No," he snapped, "she isn't. At least, you'll have to fight me to get through to her," he warned, just barely biting back a growl at the perceived threat, though his pack mate's laughter made him uncertain it was any such thing.

Rob pranced forward a few steps, looking back at Peregrine, before stopping. "Woah, bro, I was totally kidding. Don't be so territorial." A frown formed on his face. Obviously things were serious between them. I better stay out of this, then.

"We better grab something nice for her, then. I will help scout, but you can do all the work in killing so you can take the credit. Nothing more romantic than including another dude's name on your gift." A puff of laughter filled the air picturing Hawkeye's face if Peregrine mentioned another male participating in her gift-giving.

When Rob essentially told him to chill, Peregrine bared his teeth resentfully. "Territorial happens to be my middle name," he retorted, albeit without any real malice. Whether it was the other male's laughter or his easygoing reaction to Peregrine's possessiveness, the Gamma sensed that Rob really wasn't a threat.

Peregrine grunted at Rob's joke. "Sounds like a plan," he said brusquely, then suddenly broke into a gallop again. Part of him wanted to dash off into the woods, leaving Rob behind, yet he slowed slightly to allow the other male to catch up and run alongside him again.

"If you have any ideas on how else to woo a lady, let me know. You strike me as a jokey guy," Peregrine observed wryly. "Got any good ones to tickle her funny bone?"

Rob laughed. He had used many lines to woo women, and they loved funny guys. "Tell her that you hope the pups will take after her. Chicks dig that kind of stuff -- works like a charm. Funny lines usually come when the time is right. You've got this." He disappointed himself with the inability to come up with a funny line; it was more an in-the-moment thing rather than pre-planned. He shrugged to himself, keeping pace with the male that was roughly the same size as he. What he had told him was true, though. She-wolves loved the lovey dovey crap, and usually a smug line after that would make them laugh and BAM, he was in. Literally and figuratively.

"That isn't funny," Peregrine complained. He rolled his eyes. "Fat lot of help you are. I do got this," he agreed cockily. "I don't know how well you know her," he continued in a voice that implied Rob must not know her well at all, "but she's not really one for the gooey crap. She strikes me as a bit of a feminist, actually. I dig it. In fact, I'm hoping that when we're mates, I'll take her surname."

Peregrine ground to another sudden halt then. "There," he hissed under his breath, motioning with his muzzle toward a clearing about a quarter of a mile ahead through the trees. "I thought I saw some movement," he added explanatorily, hoping to see it again and hoping moreover that it was the deer herd.

Rob snorted. "Well, you're a testy fellow. Maybe once you catch something for your 'feminist', the crankiness will clear up." Feminist, my ass. She sure seemed to enjoy my advances when we first met. He did not voice this aloud, for fear that Peregrine would simply kill him off and leave him to be found.

His eyes darted to the side and he hunkered down low. "I saw it, too." He whispered, searching the forest floor for tracks. Rob spotted some feet away and began tracking through the snow, slowly as to not make any noise.

Rob seemed to chafe at Peregrine's testiness, which earned a bit of a smug look from the Gamma. In some circumstances, he might have found Rob's remarks irritating, yet he didn't mind them right now. He was cantankerous and it was something he owned and embraced occasionally.

Anyway, nobody had time for disagreements when prey was on the table. Rob said he'd seen movement too, then spotted some tracks in the snow. Although vaguely annoyed that he hadn't seen them first, Peregrine followed behind Rob as he began to track, then shouldered past him to lead. He was superior in rank, after all, and this was his hunt.

Rob sighed at the dominance Peregrine showed. "You could have just asked." He mumbled snippily at Peregrine due to his movement in front of him. I already told you'd I'd let you get the kill you pompous ass. He nearly tipped his head forward and nibbled the end of Peregrine's tail, but refrained. A fight from a piss ass wasn't needed at the moment.

"There, to the left!" he whispered at Peregrine, giving him direction. He slunk low and laid himself down to watch the show.

Peregrine looked over his shoulder, quirking a brow at Rob's tone. He then faced forward again, his dusky blue-green eyes scanning the trees and his ears pricking to take in the noises of the surrounding forest. When he saw and heard nothing, his head dropped, his black nose skimming along the top of the snow. The scent was unmistakable and fresh.

Rob's hissing whisper made the black fur along his spine ripple, yet he glanced to his left and saw a flash of tawny through the trees. Like a horse bursting from the starting gate, he bounded toward it, silent despite his speed. He didn't want Rob's help but, even as he gained speed, he barked, signaling his pack mate to join him. Even if it was only a fawn, he might need Rob's help taking it down.

Rob groaned and picked himself up lazily, but burst into a run immediately to catch up to Peregrine. "Asshole said you wanted this for yourself... now you might need my help. Dickface." He mumbled this to himself as he attempted to catch up to his packmate.

He grunted as he pushed himself harder, keeping himself at a somewhat distance just in case he needed to fall back or to let Peregrine take full rein.

"I can hear you, you know," Peregrine shouted over his shoulder, though really he only thought he'd heard Rob's retorts. In any case, his voice was light, as if he was amused by the other male's coarse language.

Focusing his attention, the Gamma broke through a thicket and found himself on a deer tail, several does fleeing about a hundred yards ahead of him. When they realized he'd joined them on the path, they scattered into the trees. Peregrine selected a small one—one of last spring's fawns, surely—and gave chase.

Bit by bit, he gained on the fleeing ungulate, then launched himself at its backside. The animal stumbled and he dragged it, kicking, to the ground. He kept his jaws buried in its hindquarters. Though he badly wished to be the one to dispatch it, he knew that if he released it, it might kick him. Instead, he held on and hoped that Rob would arrive to deal the final blow.

Rob bit back a chuckle when Peregrine said he could hear his words. He thought he'd been quiet, but maybe the dark male was just lying and had only heard his mumbles and assumed from tone.

Suddenly, Peregrine shot forward and Rob followed close behind. Golden eyes watched as the swarthy male launched himself and landed his teeth on the backside of a young doe and dragged it into the snowy pillows, kicking up dust and making it hard to see. Rob went into action, bursting toward the beast and locking his jaws lower on the neck then intended, but still satisfied. He shook his head about in an attempt to snap the neck, digging his teeth deeper until a small pop and then crack followed.

Peregrine bore down and worried the deer's backside even as Rob bounded onto the scene, his jaws wrapping about the doe's throat and eventually wringing the life from her with a series of gruesome noises. Only when her body relaxed onto the snow did Peregrine release his grip, letting the carcass fall limp onto the forest floor.

Before even two seconds passed, Peregrine warned Rob away with a growl. He was superior in rank, so he had first dibs. He wanted the best cut of meat for himself. With that said, pride prevented the Gamma from taking anything besides a chunk of the doe's hindquarters, since that's where he'd sunk his own teeth.

After some maneuvering and tugging, he managed to separate one of the deer's hind legs, along with part of the hip. His ears flicked backward as he held the great shank of meat in his mouth and peered at Rob. They then lifted. Since he couldn't speak around the meat, this was his way of signaling, Okay, I've got what I want so have at it. He assumed that Rob was responsible enough to eat what he liked and store the rest, though Peregrine would surely revisit the site to make sure the meat was properly stored.

For now, though, he had a delivery to make. He exchanged a last glance with Rob, even waved his dark tail, then turned and loped away into the wood, leaving his pack mate to enjoy the spoils of their successful hunt alone.