Wapun Meadow Mouth full of gum

She watched the squirrel scurry up the cottonwood tree with hungry eyes, panting to catch her breath. It was a familiar sight. She'd gotten better at catching the bushy-tailed bastards over the months, but they were still tricky catches, especially when their escape route was every tree in the vicinity. With a huff, Dianne lowered her nose to the ground to search for something else to eat. Maybe she could find something more filling than a measly squirrel. Her sensitive nose informed her that there were a few hares around. Perfect, She thought. Now, it was a matter of snagging one.

It was difficult to make out against the snow backdrop, but her keen eyes managed to pick out a snow-white hare snacking on the branches of a bush. Dianne lowered to a crouch, stalking towards it on silent feet. Her icy gaze was intense and unwavering. Every time it stopped its chewing to glance around, she froze. Only when it resumed in eating would she continue forth. Dianne was a few feet away now, directly behind the delectable thing. Coiling her muscles, she leapt forth, pushing off of the cold ground to bound for it. She caught it by the back in her merciless jaws just as it was starting to dash off and crushed its spine to paralyze it. Then, she moved to its throat to end its life.

Pride swelled within her at her accomplishment, though it wasn't apparent on her unamused face. Dianne knew the next coming months would be difficult and that she'd need to join a pack soon to survive. Shoving that abhorrent thought aside for the moment, though, she began to tear into her meal and absorb herself in consuming.

The chill swept across the lands once more for the second time in his life. Born in this chill, Rosencrantz was numb to its bitter bite and welcomed it as a new year for him. The battle born prince had finally grown into his awkwardly large paws, giving him a grace as he walked that Rose had never had before. His tall stance kept an eye on the horizon, grasses that were visibly once lush and bore plenty of life were now withering with old man winter's touch - soon prey would be scarce again, and this time he would be alone to feed himself. 

Thankfully there was plenty of small prey to go around, so long as he kept the coyotes at bay. But if he was going to be honest with himself, a rabbit a few times a day was going to be much more trouble than to find companions to hunt with again to keep their bellies fuller, longer. Never the less, he was confident that this winter he would not starve, simply the amount of work would differ depending on the circumstances.

As the breeze blew over the hills, the smell of a kill filled his nostrils. Hunger did not strike him at the moment, but with no job to do, curiosity had taken him over and decided to approach where the smell had come from. Cautiously, his body was not imposing despite his stature. Rosencrantz was careful to not be overbearing with pride and gusto as to start a fight, but allow himself to carry with a sense of power as to not seem like the next prey in this one's view. 

The female came into view before her meal did, it was small and held none of his interest. He simply waited for her to notice him first, if she wanted to finish, he wouldn't stop her from doing so before entertaining him. A rabbit is such a small meal for one as physically capable as yourself. Are you unable to find hunting partners in these lands of loners? His silken voice rolled off his tongue, smooth and curious as to not disturb her too much, but loud enough to ensure she knew he was there.

@Dianne

She'd been fully engrossed in scarfing down her meal until hear ears caught the sound of heavy foosteps approaching. She whipped her head upright, turning in its direction to find a giant glacier of a man headed right for her. Her body instinctively tensed, leaning over her catch. However, she was also ready to bolt in case he tried forcing her off of it. There was no way in hell she'd win a fight against him. However, the bearish man simply stopped before her, appearing utterly relaxed. He could still be plotting something, so Dianne didn't let her guard down in the slightest.

"A rabbit is such a small meal for one as physically capable as yourself. Are you unable to find hunting partners in these lands of loners?" He said, not even bothering for an introduction or a greeting of any kind. She was immediately suspicious — but nothing he did would've made him completely clear of suspicion in her mind. From how the stranger spoke, it sounded like he wanted something out of her, and Dianne was having none of it.

I'm not looking for hunting partners, She answered, cold eyes piercing his despite how she forced her expression to remain neutral. Though she blatantly shut him down, Dianne was positive he'd keep talking to her. The thought caused irritation to prick at her like ice.

Understandably she was tense, he didn't budge or react to her defensive stance over her kill. It was hard as a loner, he understood. There was always that fear that someone or something bigger would come along for a free meal and chase away the hard working smaller beasts. If he was hungry enough that may have been a possibility if her kill was bigger and worth the work of fighting off another starved soul, but that was not the case today.

Sun enriched eyes searched the female over quickly, washing over her with little care to take in much detail other than a shallow understanding of who she was. He stood a near head above hers, she was a small threat if anything at all. Never the less, even a small beast can be quite fearsome in his understanding. 

If that's the case, I'll excuse myself. With a dip of his head, he turned and wandered off. What was the point of trying to convince her otherwise? With a smooth motion that seemed almost unnatural for a beast his size and weight, he went off on his own, leaving the woman to eat alone.

sorry! this is who he is TAT I didn't mean to make your beautiful opener a two reply thread.... if you want them to meet again im willing to start it for you! i doubt she's the type to, but shes obvsly welcome to follow him to make this a longer thread too

@Dianne

It's alright! I mainly made this thread to work towards her hunter trade. I was just looking forward to him annoying her further, LOL. Maybe they'll cross paths sometime in the future. ♥

To her utter surprise, the man did not press her any further, nor did he lash out. He dipped his head and turned to leave. Dianne blinked in disbelief but was grateful he wouldn't waste her time. She went back to eating her meal as if the interaction never happened, content to be left at peace.