Stone Circle i be blacking out with the purest

it was about time for blondine to search out @Valette. beyond being greyback's mate, she was the other leader of these lands, which made her a face that the huntress ought to know. of course, they'd crossed paths during the hunt, but not for long enough to have a proper introduction.

she strolled absent-mindedly through the territory, hoping that the matriarch would eventually appear.

Valette was often busy with work in the territory instead of at the borders. She was lucky that her mate took patrols very serious, as she disliked doing them. She rather wanted to be busy with gamekeeping. Especially now as they prey was returning to them. However, there was also a matter of the bison carcass that she wanted to cover up. She didn't want any loners trespassing in their lands because they had enticing scents. She was tearing left over meat from the bison. There wasn't much left as everyone was hungry but she was not going to leave it out in the open.

Valette had flipped the carcass and was tearing off the big fluffy skin that had been against the ground before. Perhaps someone would want this piece of nice warm fur in their den. She was almost done when she heard someone approach. Ah, the new female. "Hi Blondine," she spoke in greeting. Greyback had told about her and Val had seen her briefly with the hunt.

valette called out to blondine. her gaze was met with a beaming smile as the young huntress sped up to the carcass's opposite flank. she took note of how beautiful the matriarch truly was, and thought that greyback had done a decent job at picking. i see you've got yer, uh, mouth full. she laughed then, motioning toward the mutilated remains.

she wanted to help, but didn't want to offend valette by doing so without being prompted. instead, she said, thought i'd come by for a proper howdy-do. ain't everyday you get to make a first impression.

Valette smiled at her and nodded. "Honestly, it feels great to be able to do this again," she admitted to the female. "We had a big famine for awhile." She felt the need to excuse herself as Valette didn't feel pretty. She had winters were she had been in far better condition than this. The famine had left her thin. Then again, she had been giving most of her food to the ones that needed it more, like her children.

"How nice of you," she spoke. "Well, you made good first impressions with my mate which is usually a good impression with me as well," she admitted. "Was this your first bison hunt?," she asked curiously.

blondine knew that valette's rough exterior would come to pass. she nodded along to her mention of a famine, knowing how hard it'd been on everyone. i see it didn't phase y'all much, she said, you've got a nice little group here. while she didn't know for sure, the huntress assumed that most packs hadn't been so lucky.

greyback is a nice man! then, lowering her voice to a whisper, reminds a bit of my pa, if i'm being honest. it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but blondine wasn't sure how he would take to such a comparison. might think she was calling him old (which she sorta was).

she nodded her head. i've gone after deer and such, she said with a thoughtful furrow of her brow. and once, with an old friend of mine, i tried to take down a mountain goat. indra and blondine hadn't had much luck that day. she smiled at the memory, finding it to be a pleasant reminder of the not-so-bad past. hopefully i'll be huntin' more bison soon. it was one helluva good time.

Valette smiled at the compliment and nodded. She had to agree that they had a nice group here. She was very fond of the wolves that lived in her pack. Valette's grin widened when Blondine spoke about Greyback being nice, though to then admit he reminded her of her dad. He was a handsome dad in her opinion. 'He is the patriarch for a reason," she stated. It was also why she was the Matriarch, it suited her better than just being alpha.

Valette ripped the piece of skin off and then placed it by Blondine's feet. "Then take this as a welcome gift, and a reminder of your first bison hunt," she smiled. "It is wonderful for in your den and to stay warm," she offered. She already had one and if she could make Blondine happy with it then she was happy to give it to her. "We will definitely."

well, i don't know what to say! blondine gave valette a bashful glance, ears falling back in partial submission. it was rude to deny a gift, even one that might not have been earned. she reached down to nose at the skin. do we get prizes for every hunt? 'cause i reckon that means i need to make room. it was a joke, as was made clear by the playful wink that followed.

the carcass still sat between them. blondine could see what valette had been doing before being interrupted. d'you need help cleaning this up? she asked. whether on the field or at the cache, a hunter's work was never truly finished.

Valette offered her a smile and laughed. "The most valuable usually gets something," she joked back to the female. She knew that it might be weird for a new member to receive gifts but most had already a piece to lie on and perhaps it would make Blondine feel more welcome.

"Oh, that would be helpful. I wanted to create a new cache with this left over meet," she explained and pointed her muzzle to the pieces she had already torn off. She had been snacking as well now they had the overflow of meat. She needed it. "However I'd like to move it to the forest as the ground is probably softer there."

short :(

blondine nodded along to valette's words. another cache would do them well, so long as they had someone to maintain it. alright, let's move 'er then. she waited for the matriarch to grab on before doing the same, assuming val would guide them.

no worries

Valette nodded and then grabbed the pieces of meat that she wanted to preserve. She couldn't carry all of it so she was glad for Blondine's help. The female eagerly trotted towards the forest. She felt much better after the hunt. She had more energy today than she had in weeks.

Once in the forest, Valette felt with her paws to see where the ground wasn't too frozen. She went to one of the bigger birch trees in the area and started digging at the roots after she placed the meat down. She expected Blondine would help her digging.

carrying the bison was easy when compared to digging the cache. it was fairly early in the season; once they broke through the first few layers, blondine was confident that the task would become less daunting. 

there was a small soft spot a few feet away. she chirped to get the matriarch's attention and began to dig. i'ain't never been too good at this part, she laughed between breaths, apologies if i'm a lil' slow.

Valette smiled at the other when she said she was terrible at it. She shook her heads. "Even if you are slow it will be faster if I would have to do this all by myself," she admitted. She would have made two caches since she couldn't carry everything at once and she wouldn't leave a cache open as then foxes would find out where it was. "I've done this many times as the main gamekeeper," she explained. She was used to doing the dirty work of cleaning the caches as well.

they were eventually able to break through the topsoil, finding the sweet spot to be about a half-leg down. once finished burying the catch, blondine sat back and allowed herself to catch her breath. yer the gamekeeper? she asked, i'm lookin' to do some work there, too!

would valette be willing to act as mentor? well, there was no harm in asking. would you teach me some things? i'd be mighty grateful. blondine gave the matriarch her best pleading gaze while she awaited a response.

Valette nodded in reply to the female. She had been the main gamekeeper as she liked the task the most. "Oh I am glad, I could use some help," she smiled. "I can help with big game tactics, I love to hunt the bison and other big game. But I can also help with tracking as well," she explained enthusiastically. She loved to teach others about hunting and she had the feeling she was close to mastering the skill. It had almost been four years of continuous success and failures.

"Of course I can. It would be good to have more help especially since we need everyone back on their normal weight after the famine," Valette admitted.

i'd appreciate it. blondine nodded to valette, a sign of her respect. she wished that she could go back home to abernathy hill and tell them about the folks she'd found up north, but knew it'd never happen. not without a travel partner, anyway.

she stood and began to walk away. i'll find you a little later! she called to the matriarch before trotting off toward the border.

Valette began to cover up the ground again once the meat was inside the hole. "Alright, I will see you around, thanks for helping!," Valette called out after her. She realized she would love a hunting buddy or someone to help her with the caches it made the work a little less hard and more fun to have a friend helping. She was always eager for new students to teach.