Phoenix Maplewood Conglomerate

Maybe @Sunny? All welcome, though!

The woods were nice. Easy loved the plains that reminded her so much of her birthplace, but there was something very special about being in the woods, surrounded by strong, ageless sentinels and the sounds that came with them. It reminded her of being small enough to stand beneath her father, sheltered between his massive forelegs. She was nearly the same size as him, now. But in the woods, she still sometimes felt a similar sense of safety.

She thought back to the song he'd sung at the beach, wondering if Morningside had their own song. Slowly, an idea began to grow. Easy hummed under her breath as she passed through the forest, mapping it out in her mind's eye.

Sunny had chosen to separate from the rest of them for a while and take to the woods to see what he could grab in a hunt. He figured Cat would appreciate the food and there were probably a few others who were hungry. 

As he entered the woods he felt a strange sense of being home. Easthollow had been partially covered by trees like this and he missed the forest. The faint sound of humming made his ears prick and he curiously followed it, spotting Easy up ahead. He hadn't really ever caught her alone much or had any bonding time with her so he gave a low chuff and strode forward. "Heya Easy! You sounded really nice, do you sing?" he asked curiously, a friendly smile on his maw.

Easy offered a bright smile in greeting, gladly matching her pace to Sunny's. It was nice to be complimented, even if she was a bit embarrassed to have been caught singing of all things. "No - well, not until now," she said a bit shyly, shooting Sunny a querying look. "Does it really sound nice?" she asked cautiously. She could hold a tune, she'd found, but her voice was sort of deeper and brassier than Lavender and Pema and Catori's. It was something she had learned but newly to be self-conscious of.

He motioned for Easy to follow as he moved forward, remembering that he was out for the hunt. "Yeah, really! You sound different, but it is really nice to listen to." he hadn't really ever heard much singing in his time, but what Easy had been doing hadn't sounded unpleasant to him. He breathed in the scents and his tail began to wag quickly at something he hadn't smelled in quite some time. "Pheasants...they're out again! Maybe it's getting close enough to spring. Wanna help me get one?" he asked hopefully, excited to go after them again.

"Okay," she agreed with a bob of her head, eager to get the hang of hunting a new species. She was not as crazy about birds or hunting as Daddy was, but she understood that it was an important skill. Besides, she wanted Sunny to know that she was good at stuff. "How do you hunt pheasants?" she asked, trotting along beside him. She guessed it wasn't much different than hunting other small creatures, but you never knew when there was some special, secret rule. Like with porcupines, where the rule was, Easy, don't! Get away from that thing!

Whatever. It'd smelled pretty edible to her.

At her agreement he continued to track them down. He wondered if Easy had ever hunted pheasants and that question was answered as soon as she asked how it was done. "They're quicker than turkeys and smaller. No real wing strength, but watch the pecks and the talons. You gotta cut one or two off and pounce, grab their necks and break em real quick." he began to explain, thinking over the few times he had hunted them.


"They're super stupid too...easy to herd. Me and my friend Keoni took down two, one for each of us. Smell that really musty, old dirt type smell? Old and feathery?" he asked her as they walked, pausing so she could breathe in deep like he was doing now to pull in the scent.

Easy nodded along to Sunny's words, glad that it wasn't too different from hunting turkeys. "I know what they smell like," she offered, not wanting her brother to think she was a complete dunce. "I just haven't ever tried to kill one. Rabbits are easier."

Why work hard when you could work smart? But she knew it was smart to be able to hunt new animals as well. "Let's go toward that way," she suggested, nodding toward the distant jut of snow-dusted brush. "If they're around here, they'll probably be in the sedge and lichen."

Sunny ducked his head and gave an apologetic smile toward easy "My bad sis, didn't mean to assume"he said in apology and looked in the direction she pointed. He nodded in agreement and headed off in that direction. The pheasants seemed to like hiding any place sheltered by brush and foilage. Before they got too close Sunny paused and began to form a plan in a quiet voice."One of us circles around and scares em out while the other creeps in close and prepares to pounce and deliver the kill. Your pick of roles, I've done both several times."He said and wriggled his shoulders, eager to get to the hunt.

crap post I'm so sorry, I have spotty muse right now

Don't worry about it! You're totally fine <3

Easy volunteered for the easy role. "Well, I'm super good at making a ruckus," she said with a wink and a cheery wag of her tail. It would be helpful to see how Sunny went about snatching them up before giving it a go herself. "I'll sneak up and scare 'em. You can show me how the catching is done."

With that, she trotted off toward the bushes, tail standing straight ought behind her. When she drew nearer, the scent of pheasants gave her cause to slow down. Her measured approach kept them docile in their boughs as she crept around behind, her eyes flicking up to find her elder brother's only when she was in position. Ready? her eyes seemed to ask.

Sunny chuckled and nodded turning to get into position in front of the bush, he stood silently and met Easy's gaze nodding his consent. When she startled the birds from the bushes they went in two separate directions and he went for the one closest.

Moving quickly he reared up slightly and brought his forepaws down upon the middle of the bird's back, holding it down so he could grab it's neck. When he did he yanked once at an odd angle, the sharp cracking of the bone breaking in it's neck bringing him satisfaction. The other birds were still in sight and he turned to Easy "Wanna chase on down and give it a go? They're stupid and probably won't be too much trouble"he encouraged her with a nod in the direction of the birds.

Somehow, the pheasants were startled without her doing anything - she supposed they could've caught her scent. Did birds even had noses? Either way, she abandoned her post and leapt after them, since she hadn't been needed to scare them in the first place.

Most moved quickly out of her reach, but she was able to catch one by its skinny leg as it burst into the air. The dark girl yanked it back toward the ground and gave it a few hard shakes, stopping only when Sunny spoke once more.

"Yeah!" she agreed, falling into step beside her brother. "Can we just chase 'em, though? I didn't even have to scare them last time, and I won't always have a partner to help me - seems like I should learn to do it outright."

Sorry for the wait and crap post, I've had muse issues recently.

Sunny nodded "Sure! I'll definitely be trying to take another down as well though"he said with a grin. New territory meant new caches and in his opinion getting them full soon would be a good thing with Cat being pregnant. He motioned for her to go ahead of him "Go ahead, I'll follow after you"he said and looked to see where the birds had gone off to. They'd only moved off a good ten or so feet, making him shake his head. How dumb. If he were small and vulnerable he'd run as far as possible.

Easy wasn't really built for speed, but she was young and fit and fast enough for birds as ungainly as these. The dark girl crept closer, wanting to be as near as possible before -

the birds burst out of the brush, fleeing before her almighty wrath! With a cackle of glee, she sprang after the nearest one, catching it on the wing, this time. It flapped ineffectually at her face for a moment or two before Easy gave it a hard shake, ending its struggle entirely.

"Got one!" she chirped, turning to her elder brother for praise.

He let her go and instead of jumping in he watched her, a smile on his face. Watching her he felt something grow inside him, a strange feeling half desire. Someday he wanted a daughter or a son,someone he could teach these things and watch run after birds while laughing. When Easy took the bird down he laughed and wagged his tail, moving up to her and nudging her gently. "that was great, you'll make a fine Hunter just like me and dad"He said with pride evident in his voice. He looked around to see the birds running off and sighed. "We should let them go and regroup, it wont be good to scare them too far off. You can take your catch to Cat if you want?"He suggested with a warm smile.

Easy balked at the weird expression on her brother's face. Immediately, she assumed she had done something silly and Sunny was making fun of her. "WhAt?" she blurted, her stance stifftening uncomfortable as the pheasant fell from her mouth. Whatever Sunny was thinking, though, Easy told herself it couldn't be bad. Sunny was too nice to think bad things about her.

A moment later, he'd composed himself and offered a suggestion on what to do with the meat. Although she was sure Sunny wasn't being mean to her, she was still glad to accept the suggestion and be on her way. "Okie doke," she chirped, grabbing the pheasant and darting away.

What a weirdo.

Oh. Shit. He'd been caught staring at her with affection. How to fix this....

Sunny have a awkward cough and nodded, awkwardly watching her leave with a dopey expression. "One step forward two steps back"he muttered and shook his head, cursing his own awkwardness. He headed over to the pheasant he caught and picked it up, carrying it back to the cache and dropping it before taking a lesser fresh piece for himself. 

Love their awkward af sibling relationship. Thank you!