Larksong Grotto Mouthful of rabbits

@Tavi

Eslani looked on like a true huntress. The tall female was standing above a bunny hole full of kits. She had covered the other side with dirt and stones, smiling deviously. The little hare kits were sleeping in the den soundly, but that peace would soon be broken. She stuck her nose down the hole and breathed in the delicious scent of a mother hare and her kits. She had kept her back paws in front of the warren while blocking the other side off with her paws as she filled it. Eslani was an intelligent being and used this to her advantage. She stuck her long paw in and scraped out some dirt, earning terrified squeals from tiny bodies and a distressed snort from the rabbit mother. She took another pawful of dirt out, quickly uncovering the hole with her long legs. She pulled layer after layer off of the hole before sticking her maw in and snapping the mother by her leg. She bit Eslani's nose with force and Elani crunched down harder on the rabbits paw. The psychotic rabbit screeched once more before Eslani pinned her down and crushed her tiny skull beneath an angry maw.

She licked the blood from her lips, though they would soon be painted again. She stuck her maw once again down the hole and pulled out two crushed, fuzzy bodies. She did this again and again before concluding with 8 kits and a fully grown hare. Yes, this would be good for the cache.

With the territory officially claimed, Tavi expected things to be different. Different how, she wasn't sure - but, different. Maybe she expected a dearth of Phoenix wolves to arrive on their southern doorstep, ready to chase them all out. Or perhaps the Dragons to the east would bare down upon them, except that seemed more unlikely the more the woman thought about it. For the first day or so, nothing really happened. Life went on. She slept, she ate, she pissed, and slept some more — and then, growing restless, the new Alpha decided to wander the territory for the upteenth time.

In this venture she was rewarded. Tavi had grown accustomed to a few of the natural paths and inclines found within the rocky-strewn territory, so her travel was quicker than before; she hiked up a ridge and down another, sequestering herself for an hour or so among a stand of pines, and was settling in for a brief rest when she heard the odd sounds. They were like squeals, but... Very high pitched. Perhaps it was a new kind of bird? The grotto was full of songbirds, and even plump things like ducks, geese, and pheasant — so the woman abandoned the trees to seek out the source of the noise.

It wasn't birds, but something terrestrial. As she came out from the dense woodland, Tavi noticed the figure of a wolf with their face half-buried in the dirt. Her first instinct was Reek, because who else was that muddy and dark? Nobody she'd ever met. Upon approaching, Tavi noticed the difference in scent and halted, standing still behind the stranger. They held Reek's scent, but only as a mask. This must of been one of the wolves he had accepted while she recovered.

Clearing her throat, Tavi tried to adjust her posture to look more commanding before the stranger could notice her slight awkwardness, and did her best impersonation of a stern leader-type: Hard at work, I see. Uh -- ok, grumpy foreman works too.

Eslani whipped around, startled by the sound of a new voice. In seconds, she had her head low and closed off any purchases on her soft skin. She unfolded from her battle stance,though, when she noticed a female that smelled familiar. Ah, Reek's scent, and quite a bit of it. Eslani lowered her tail and bowed her head. Just by studying the female' stance, she knew this was her alpha. "Just a bit of digging. I'm guessing you are Reek's mate? Pleasure, my name's Eslani." 


Eslani didn't mind the unexpected visit from her alpha, it was just-well...unexpected. Her usually glossy scarlet and black coat was flecked with dirt, which bothered her majorly. She had a problem with dirtiness and always kept her coat smooth and clean. "I apologize, you have not caught me on one of my greatest moments, heh." Her muzzle was now the same color as her undertones:scarlet. Between dirty fur and a bloody maw, Eslani had to do something. She licked the blood from her maw and brushed some of the dirt from her fur, trying to be more presentable. There was no way in hell she would be known as a scruffy, bloody raven. Nuh-uh.

The woman turned upon her, ducking as if to protect herself, and briefly Tavi wondered if she'd made a mistake. But the stranger's posture quickly softened. The way the woman bowed to her was fuel for Tavi's ego, but she was caught upon the woman's words instead. Her own mouth opened as if to answer — no, to correct — and instead, she was silent.

After the brief introduction, Tavi let a small smile drift across her face. You're fine, because really, dirt wasn't a bother at all. I'm Octavia, she finally stated, but found that her full name felt strange upon her own tongue. It didn't fit, even if Tavi wanted to forge some kind of new persona for herself here — Tavi the Alpha didn't have a very good ring to it. Her full name, on the other hand, was more imposing. In the end, she went with what she was most comfortable with -- but you can call me Tavi. Everyone else does.

Swallowing her words, she took a step or two around Eslani's dark figure and craned her neck. It looked like she had been doing more than just digging. Did you find something in there? A quick sniff identified blood, and her drifting eyes noticed a red sheen to the woman's pelt. Had she found a pit of blood or something, and bathed in it?

"Yes,actually. A nest of rabbits!" She pushed one rabbit in front of her, on display. Eslani wagged her tail. Maybe her alpha would want one..? "Feel free to have one, I'm gonna add the rest to our caches. There's nine of em' after all." She smiled, not just being polite but truly wanting the woman to have one if she desired. She moved out of the way so her alphess had a clean view of what she had discovered, she had been trying to look, after all. Though a bit of a gruesome sight, the little rabbit kits would be good snacks. Eslani had been spending her entire past few days hunting and storing, hunting and storing again. Eslani took the time while her alpha was looking to groom herself, smoothing down her coat and licking the last traces of blood from her face.

A warren? Tavi's eyes widened slightly, and she inched closer to the burrow's opening — but Eslani was quick to move aside, giving her enough space to dip her snout in and investigate. The burrow looked as if it was pretty shallow, probably cut off by the bedrock of the grotto. It was an unsuitable place for the rabbits to make their home, however, that meant the small pack would benefit.

As interested as she was, the mere smell of meat made her belly gurgle and flip-flop, so she was quick to withdraw her snout from the small pit. A brief wave of nausea passed through her next. It felt as if it had crawled through her sinuses and hooked in to the back of her throat, and so Tavi hastily swallowed, and averted her gaze, hoping Eslani did not notice. When she was a bit more composed, the woman muttered, That's alright... We should stash as much as we can. Thankfully, Eslani appeared to be more interested in her hygiene than in Tavi for the time being.

So - she swallowed again, and took a step or two away from the burrow as nonchalantly as possible, - are you the one that's been ah, filling all the caches? They seemed to have sprung up overnight, but maybe Tavi had just been too preoccupied to notice Eslani's efficient work.

fade your next post..?

Eslani was perceptive, and quickly realized that Tavi was uneasy around gore. She flicked her tail as if to dismiss it and returned to the woman's next question. "I believe that would be me, yes, but I'm not sure  who else has been hunting around here." She nodded to Tavi but quickly felt like it was awkward, as Tavi seemed like something in her vharacter had been upset because of the dead rabbits. "I better take these to he cache then. It was nice to meet you." She dipped her head to Tavi and picked up several of the kits in her jaws, just leaving one more and the mother. Her brow furrowed, she would find a way to bring them. She laid the dead rabbits back in their hole and covered it with dirt, she would come back to get them, for now, she had to think of what type of impression she had made on Tavi, hopefully a good one...

Brief but fun thread! :o I'll archive!

It wasn't the gore that bothered her. No animal on this earth could survive without dealing in blood, and in tearing apart their food - at least not the carnivores. Tavi had no issue with it, it was as dull to her as... A pile of ingredients to a chef, or something. Her issue wasn't something she could identify; the smell was mainly what made her stomach churn, but that wasn't commonly the case. Lately, she'd had a lack of appetite. Seeing these rabbits didn't make her hungry or opportunistic, but avoidant.

The other woman spoke, and Tavi focused on that in order to avoid throwing up. She could feel the bile at the back of her throat, and swallowed again, giving a quick nod to the dark woman as she got to work. Same to you, she called out, watching as Eslani grabbed up some of the rabbits and carried them off. Tavi did not stick around for much longer -- choosing instead to saunter off among the trees, seeking solace in the dark they provided, where she promptly threw up a belly-worth of bile.