Redsand Canyon pario

impromptu pack hunt!

tall spires of sharpest stone reached up into the cold evening sky. it was a forest of rock whose base laid thick with pines.

and in this eerily silent space, elk moved in watchful grazing.

germanicus did not howl. he only gathered who would follow and crept through the evergreen-scented shadows. his eyes were watchful and the long years of training kept him silent. he breathed deep, centering the activity at his stomach, letting not a trickle of air escape in sound from his nostrils.

it had been a long while since he had used his muscles in this way.

and the eagle was eager for it.

Atreus splashed around in the basin a little east of the new sparring pit. He might be a former runaway turned trained soldier but, on rare occasions, he was also a little boy.

He looked up and noticed when the Imperator crept past, headed toward the sharp rocks jutting against the southeastern sky. Consider him intrigued. Atreus looked around himself, then decided to lope after Germanicus.

It didn’t take long for the young wolf to connect the dots. His heart thudded as he shadowed the leader’s step, the smell of elk strong in his nose as they tracked.

He'd been looking for Germanicus anyway, having been chewing on Tierra's explanation of ambassadorship and deciding that was something he kind of wanted to try out. So when he saw the man ahead, he wagged his tail and forged on—only to quiet his excitement as he noticed the man was very much Not in Speaking Mode.

Hunting mode, perhaps. . . Killer saw the young Atreus not far away, and he, too, made his steps as silent as possible while he caught up.

His gaffes with the mountain goats still haunted him; he had to save face somehow. What better way than to help out now?

Unless he fucked up again, lol. But, you know, he'd cross that bridge if necessary.

icarus was there and then killdeer.

germanicus chose a path for the three into the quiet pines.

a male and two females. the imperator looked over them for injury.

he gestured to the right and to the left for the young soldiers to choose a direction and move that way.

he would close when the moment was right.

Killdeer joined them and Atreus smiled a bit stupidly, glad to finally spend some time with this particular comrade. He still wanted to spar with him one day, though that would have to wait for some other time.

He returned his attention to the task at hand as the Imperator led them through some fragrant pines. Atreus expected others to melt out of the literal woodwork, yet no one else came. And then they could see the elk ahead. Atreus’s guts quivered.

Germanicus motioned for each young man to choose a direction. Atreus wanted to obey, yet he could only stand there, blinking between the elk in the distance, his leader and occasionally Killdeer as well.

I’m not, he began only to hear how loud his voice sounded and fall silent, cringing at himself.

Germanicus gave them a silent command, and Atreus answered, to the bewilderment of Killdeer, who gave him a sidelong, confused glance.

Left or right?

Left, he decided. He pointed his muzzle that way, with a glance at Germanicus, and began to pad silently in the direction indicated.

Normally, he'd be happy to hold the other's hand through what seemed like a failure to understand directions—but he was still smarting from that mountain goat, damn it, and needed to make it better.

Killdeer slipped quietly through the brush, keeping his golden eyes trained on the elk.

the imperator did not acknowledge the soldier's hesitance, ear only slashing in a flick for silence.

between the stonespire and the tablinum, there was a lake. germanicus meant to pin the small herd there against the water and take one of the cows.

icarus must learn and swiftly. he would wait another moment for the second boy to move into place, inclining his head to the right. germanicus noted that killdeer possessed no such reticence and hoped it would inspire the other.

The two older men ignored him completely. Atreus supposed he should be grateful that they intended to look past his faux pas, though the problem remained. He had never hunted large game, much less in such a small group.

Although embarrassed heat flushed through him and he felt like an abject failure, Atreus completed his thought, saying, Imperator, I don’t think I’m prepared for this. I thought we’d have more reinforcements. I don’t want one of us to get hurt if I don’t know what I’m doing and fuck up.

He ducked his head, aware that both Germanicus and Killdeer would likely not take kindly to Atreus thwarting their hunt. But he would be remiss to act like he wasn’t a complete amateur. Someone could get hurt or even killed. Atreus didn’t know how the other two felt but he didn’t feel like dying today.

Can’t we gather more comrades first? he requested, ears splayed in deference.

Killdeer was surprised by the boy's honesty—but not altogether taken aback or displeased. He stopped, golden gaze warming upon Atreus. If Germanicus didn't have the patience for the young soldier, he would.

If we call for others, we might scare it away, he cautioned, ears swiveling sideways. We have to try, at least. And I can look out for you.

He sucked in a breath and let it out, the plume of steam rising between the three of them.

Germanicus, seasoned soldier that he was, wouldn't wait much longer.

germanicus looked at icarus.

"when you are in battle, you rely on those around you, no matter their number. killdeer is correct. calling for others now will hurt our chances."

but he would not discount the boy's misgivings. "each time i take you into a trial, it is to prepare you. there is a lake beyond those trees. the herd will scatter and one can be driven into the water. we need only to keep it there until it is too exhausted to fight."

tactics.

he looked to killdeer then atreus once more.

His elders made a good point, though Atreus thought it would be more prudent to fall back and wait for another opportunity rather than take such a huge risk. But what did he know? He was scarcely more than six months old.

He felt less reassured than pressured by their words, yet what choice did he have but to fall in line? Atreus gulped. He could refuse to proceed, yet that could be a death sentence of its own kind. Left with no other choice, he accepted his fate by ducking his head and nodding acquiescence.

He felt a great deal of empathy for the young man, and kept his golden gaze trained upon Atreus as Germanicus spoke. He understood what it was like to be on one's own at that age—and not really, for he'd had Caracal to guide him.

Not that the not-much-older Caracal was much of a guide, really, but even so. . .

It'll be okay, Killer reassured. Just stay away from their hooves and try to make them run into the water.

Left. He continued his silent march, watching the trio of elk with a renewed intensity. Which one would be easiest separated?

it was decided.

with a look to each of them he moved forward.

he looked for lameness, for sickness, for weakness.

one of the cows shook her head often. he thought that her left eye might carry infection. he motioned to the younger soldiers and then his shoulders cut through the undergrowth.

Killdeer offered some seemingly simple words of advice. Just stay away from their hooves, Atreus repeated to himself, and try to make them run into the water. The former sounded a lot more under his control than the latter, especially seeing as he had no idea how to herd large game.

When Killdeer went left, Atreus remembered that he was meant to go right then. Taking a deep breath, he moved into position and then looked to the Imperator, eyes boring into the side of the man’s swarthy face as he waited for a cue.

When it finally came, Atreus didn’t really know what it meant. Was he supposed to fall in behind the Imperator or stay off to the side while keeping pace with him? He tried to think back on the many training exercises they had done but none had employed this particular tactic, as far as he could remember.

He looked over to see what Killdeer was doing and decided to do his best to mirror the other young man.

He noticed Germanicus motioned toward one elk in particular and locked his gaze upon her. Yes. . .she looked kinda wonky. They could do this, possibly.

Moving as quietly as his bulk would allow, Killdeer slipped through the brush and then out in the open, moving from trot to gallop and surging toward the elk while barking for Atreus to do the same, from a different size.

Get her away from the others! he called out, and aimed snapping teeth at the flank of the elk who, with her companions, was now in full panic mode. Taking care to avoid flailing hooves, he instead focused on herding, putting his large frame between her and her nearest herdmate.

one of the eagle's enduring faults was lack of explanation.

he had been reared upon immersion and so he treated his soldiers the same.

killdeer was swift and able. germanicus wove between the others and drove them aside.

it would be for the younger men to drive the cow toward the water. he would join them in moments.

Killdeer’s words were useless to him and largely went unheard anyway. Atreus instead focused on his actions, copying his fellow soldier when he began singling out one of the elk. He felt a bit like a loose cannon as he shot across the field of play, barking and snarling at the target.

Stay away from the hooves! he reminded himself as he closed ranks. He saw Killdeer snap at the elk’s flank and his eyes rolled wildly in his head as Atreus made to do the same. He managed to snatch a lock of bristly hair in his teeth before springing away out of pure instinct.

And suddenly everything fell away. He didn’t concern himself with the Imperator’s orders or watching what Killdeer was doing. It was just Atreus and the elk. He wanted to sink his teeth into her for real this time. He charged again, darting underneath her to slash at her belly.

He forgot about the hooves, though in his defense, when Atreus became absolutely tangled in them, it threw the elk off balance and sent her crashing to the ground.

It was going pretty well! They were doing it—Atreus and him, working as a team, the elk feverishly moving away from the onslaught of teeth.

And then the boy got tangled up in legs and the two of them tumbled to the ground in a heap.

Oh, SHIT! Killdeer shouted, diverting his course and trying to assess the situation. Was Atreus hurt? Would their quarry rise again? Was Germanicus on his way?

Are you hurt?! he called out, trying to see through the cloud of dust and snow they'd kicked up in their wake.

leaving the elk's condition up to y'all!

germanicus was prepared for a rush downward when icarus misstepped.

instantly his attention was deviated. the elk pounded away.

he loped back to killdeer and icarus at once. "are you injured?" he asked gruffly, sides heaving as he sought to control his breathing.

many hunts ended in failure. he would rather this be a disappointment than a death.

By some great stroke of fortune, the elk avoided stomping Atreus to death or crushing him when she stumbled. He took a couple hard knocks, mostly from her knobby knees, but she hit the ground on his far side before quickly recovering and cantering away to rejoin the fleeing herd.

One of the blows had knocked the wind out of him. Atreus struggled to sit up, then stand, but when Germanicus rushed over to question him, he could only shake his head. I told you, he wanted to say, though he supposed he was glad he couldn’t. With great difficulty, he also kept the indignation off his face.

But he shook his head again and sulked off to safer quarters. Atreus had let down both himself and his comrades, he knew, but they’d let him down too. Miraculously, his wounds were superficial—and more to his spirit than this body—though he still wanted to be alone to lick them.

Atreus said nothing, merely getting up and moving away. It was probably both embarrassing and painful for the young man, and Killdeer watched him go, his face drawn. The elk was gone, the only remnant of their hunt a cloud of dust around them.

We'll get 'em next time, he said absently, still watching the direction Atreus had departed. He felt worse for the boy's pride than his own belly.

With a brief jerk of his head to Germanicus, he left—though not to comfort Atreus, who probably wanted to be left alone. Maybe they'd be able to talk it out once the not-so-proverbial dust had cleared and tempers had cooled.

they had almost lost icarus this day.

the boy went away. killdeer too departed.

the imperator was left in the settling dust, thoughtful, face tightening to think of the almost-fatal failure.