Gyrfalcon's Keep fresh off the bus

from the forest, he made his way up along what he would have called more of a hill than a small mountain. the elevation change wasn't particularly noticeable to the coywolf, at least until he had cleared the treetops.
it was still, for the moment, and the world was nothing more than a blinding, bright winterscape that stung his eyes. he squinted over it and about it, but moved along through the snow carefully. it was deeper than he would have liked, but not so unmanageable that it slowed him terribly.
of course, having reserved his stamina and resting up a bit in the dark wood below had helped considerably. hunger still chewed at him but he had found enough to keep him sustained... so long as he didn't push it.
and lakhos watched out for lakhos, first and foremost.
he tested the snow pack ahead of him smartly, pushing here and there to make sure that the ground ahead of him was truly solid before he went skirting out past some stones; his nose worked in testing that air knowing better than to believe he was truly alone even up here. solitude was fleeting, just like silence, and the gray sky overhead seemed the sort to turn on him just as likely as another he was liable to come across.
the whiskers on his snout twitched passively as he passed by another outcropping, and the ground was more solid beneath him. he picked up his pace.

@Acheron

His mother, Trail, hadn’t named him Yeet. Nor had his father, Joker, despite the implications of his own name. No, he’d earned that name, through nearly two years of recklessness and sheer stupidity.

“Watch this,” he said to Yolo, the vulpine equivalent of, “Hold my beer.”

Without any other warning, he flung himself off one of the keep’s many ledges. Rather, he yeeted himself. He dropped like a stone, the January wind whistling in his ears, his heart in his throat.

He landed in a snowbank with a loud FWUMPH!!! A heartbeat of silence passed before he emerged, foxy fist pumping in the air with a loud, “FUCKIN’ A, MAN!!!”

minding his own business, all he saw descend into the snowbank ahead of him was a flash of orange. it gave him reason to pause, his expression morphing as best as it could into a sheer what the fuck!?!?
all right, okay, that was totally not expected at all. literal bodies did not just come sailing down out of the sky. this was not cyberpunk 2077 and shit didn't just spawn out of nowhere to go plummeting to their death.
except, as the flash of orange exploded from the snow beneath, he realized that the thing wasn't dead or hadn't died on impact. and it left him dumbfounded completely. he was slackjaw, confused, almost thinking for a moment that he had come across another just like him only crazier. but wait, there's more—it was a goddamn fox.
his lips could have pursed themselves into an oh, but the predator's instinct took over swiftly. whatever shape-forming they could have done was replaced with his lips curling back along his pointed muzzle, and he volleyed forward to chase.
probably shouldn't have done that either because point a: foxes would could and would outrun his stupid ass; point b: the damn thing probably had rabies given that he had come sailing out of the sky like a buzzard for carrion.
oh well.

feel free to drop acheron in whenever if you still want this thread. didn't want it to sit any longer.

Within a heartbeat of his declaration, Yeet made a dramatic choking noise as he realized he’d knocked the wind out of himself. He sprawled theatrically in the snow, waiting for the godawful sensation to pass. His eyes rolled upward to see his brother’s face peeking down at him from the cliff above– and also frantically pointing.

He rolled his head to the side to see a coyote running straight for him. “YIPES!!!” Yeet exclaimed, flipping and bouncing onto all fours. He intended to quickly scramble out of reach but his little paws couldn’t quite find purchase and he ended up running comically in place.

I’m totally cool with some power-play, ftr! (Especially since I invaded your thread, sorry!!!) :)

the fox skittered in place and lakhos thought he would have the upper hand for sure now. and then he hit the ice just beneath the powder snow. it was too perfect, his luck was simply too good, and some karmatic justice scale tipped completely out of his favor.
his feet went out from under him in an instant, dumping him face first into the snowbank directly before where he would have needed to jump—very fox-like, at that—to pounce and strike his decided prey.
the stones beneath him betrayed him and that slight change in terrain was enough to knock the him out of his sails. the fox had ample opportunity to get away now and he knew it; he couldn't get his legs back beneath him fast enough to save his life had it depended on it.

no need to apologize, all my threads are open! i got a msg that acheron won't be joining us now so it's just us unless someone else flies in at some point lmao.

“Oh fuck,” Yeet ejaculated when he realized he was going nowhere, fast. He redoubled his efforts and glanced over at the coyote to see if he was gaining on him yet.

The instant his eyes clapped on the larger canine, he face-planted into the snow. Yeet couldn’t help himself. He gave up on running and burst into laughter at the coyote’s expense.

Without instinctive panic driving him, he managed to dig his paws into the snow and leap clear of the slippery patch. But instead of running away, he moved daringly toward the downed coyote. It was risky but that’s what appealed to him. It gave him a thrill.

Skulking closer to the coyote, Yeet lowered his head near his ear and jeered, “HMEEP HMEEP!”

for any other individual on a perfectly normal day, they probably would not have found themselves in the situation where they were being mocked. especially by a pint-sized, fiery little assbutt that felt like pushing their luck for a thrill.
of course, the laughter that had proceeded it only served to anger lakhos, but the jeering was more or less like throwing a gas can in a burning house with the movie effects of it blowing out every window from bottom to top.
why you little—!!
he screamed the ending senselessly in a hellish, coyote-like way as he pulled his face out of the snow. whatever purchase here he could find he would use, and he swung his open maw right for the face of the fox that had an even smaller pea for a brain than the coywolf he was taunting.

The coyote lifted his head and screamed right in Yeet’s face. The fox’s ears fell back from the sheer force of it, though he didn’t move.

“Damn, bruh, you need to–” His voice cut off when the coyote snapped at him. Yeet flinched instinctively but sharp teeth caught the bridge of his muzzle.

He bounced out of reach and should’ve run. But he was nothing if not foolhardy, so he plopped down in the snow, nearby but out of reach. He remained ready to dart at a moment’s notice.

Touching a paw to his bloody muzzle, Yeet said indignantly, “I can’t believe you’ve done this.”

surprise met him as he struck flesh and the fox recoiled just as quickly. it was the opportunity lakhos had to right himself and find his footing fully in the snow. an acrid tinge hit his nose—he had actually drawn blood. oh shit. that was just as much of a surprise as it was that he had even struck him in the first place, and even then he thought it was a glancing blow.
but he was back at it again, launching himself forward. he didn't quite catch the words that came indignant off the fox's tongue, but it didn't matter. he was like a shark in water now. a fox would keep him fed as long as he felt like dragging it around, but there was a challenge to it as well. a fox was agile, not at all too much smaller than he was, and very capable of putting up a fight if they felt like it.
but wants and necessities certainly drove any creature mad.
and he was tired of being hungry.

The coyote came at him again, because of course. But Yeet was ready for him and yeeted himself out of reach. He was done tempting fate. Muzzle smarting, he finally ran for it.

“HAHA!!! Slower than a herd of snails traveling through peanut butter!” he jeered over his shoulder as he disappeared into the snow.

slower than what?
what an inane statement to hear, not that he had time to be confused about it. instead he found himself enraged at the grace that the fox moved through the deep snow. what a cocky turd, if he could catch him somehow… feasting on him would be so worth it.
but he would at least admit that the pockets the fox made helped him along some, so it wouldn't be that hard to track him. lakhos wasn't the greatest hunter by any means but he wasn't entirely the worst. inefficient and a bit dim, he embodied the unskilled. but he was smart enough to let a little bit of space roll out between them.
let arrogance tire him, he decided.
he could play this game all day.