Stone Circle you are here

maybe @Valette? :)

the day dawns suddenly, it seems; it's dark until it isn't, the air sharp and cutting. even with her unusually thick mantle, the woman notices the voracious cold as it settles on the hollow, surely driving whatever prey might remain deep into the warmth of burrows or dens. she remains within her den a while longer than she ought to, until finally, guilt draws her out into the cold.

despite her slim chances, she is set on the hunt; the emptiness in her stomach demands it. a trepidant stretch, followed by a stiff shake of her pelt, and the woman sets out into the wood.

Whoo!

Valette trotted through the forest, she had been up early. She usually was up early. She kind of stayed in that rhythm when her pups were young. The female was doing her usual run. First she would check the bison and would watch them for a bit to see if things changed or if one was injured. Then she would head back into their forest and check for any signs of deer and other small game. Often on this crisp morning it was so easy to spot if an animal had brushed past a bush or left fresh prints in the snow.

dawn encountered Valette not half an hour after she'd set out, gaze catching the familiar outline of the woman's pelt as it moved through the trees perhaps a hundred meters away. quickening her pace, she sought to close the distance between the two of them, offering a chuff of greeting when she judged herself to be within audible range. 

should the sound have been enough to have Valette pause, or at least slow, Dawn would make quick work of the remaining distance between them. once close enough to fall into step beside the woman, she greets her with a dip of her muzzle, a flick of her auds toward the matriarch. she assumes they must have the same goal out here, and so asks, "would you hunt with me, Valette? two have better odds than one." small smile punctuates her query, hoping to catch up with the woman as well, given the chance.

Valette looked up when hearing the chuff. When she saw Dawn she dipped her head in greeting. Her ears perked up when she spoke. "I'd like that," she spoke. "Though I usually just check the populations at this hour," she admitted to the female but she could change her routine a bit. Especially now food was returning. Plus with the two of them they might be able to take down a small doe.

The female had noticed the bark being eaten from a few trees. She turned and then sniffed the air. "A few trees were eaten from a few paces back," she pointed out. "We should be able to take down a small doe, right?," Valette asked with a smile.

the matriarch's agreement earns a grin from the sterling huntress. valette offers a potential target, and dawn feels a jolt of excitment down her spine. large prey is what she's built for, but in month's past, she's had to settle for smaller prey or nothing at all. "I don't see why not," she offers, wag of her tail belaying her excitement. 

"just a matter of finding them," she states, turning back to where valette explain's she's seen the recently scraped bark. her gaze searches the surrounding trees, turning next to the ground. veering slightly to the left, she moves to investigate a partial hoofprint—fairly fresh, too. "do you know where they might be headed?" she knows this territory well, but Valette knows it better.

Valette nodded, glad that Dawn was as ambitious as her. Valette smiled at the other and dipped her head. Then it was settled, they would try and take down a small doe. It would be good for her own body to have another meal. She felt Greyback could use another meal as well. Now eager for a meal, Valette moved her nose closer to the ground to check. Dawn seemed to do the same.

"Sometimes the herd will go out on the meadow to graze along the bison, but it is far to open and since it is daylight they usually don't come out. They stay in the forest, and the undergrowth, perhaps we are lucky and can find one sleeping in the underbrush," she explained. They were extremely quiet when sleeping and hard to spot. "We should go to the forest area that is close to the bison meadow," she explained.

the huntress listens carefully, committing the information to memory. she'd committed herself to learning all she could about the herds and their patterns back at the plateau, and fully intended to do the same here. having a rough idea of where valette intended for them to go, she nodded, shifting into an easy trot. 

"perhaps we could split up? move a few dozen taillengths apart; if one of us happens upon a deer, flush it towards the other?" it's been a while since she's hunted large prey, and never here; she'll defer to valette's judgment here.

Valette thought about it and then nodded in agreement. The female saw logic in it. This would be the first time they would hunt together. So it was always difficult to work together in the beginning. She moved toward the location the deer might be. Hopefully they would be in the same page when it came to picking one out.

Valette stayed low, making no sound as she moved toward the edge of the forest. She was not sure what she preferred the open fields or the forest. With the forest the deer were slower, but it would also slow her down to run through the undergrowth and dodge trees. She took the lead, expecting the herd with each step.

valette takes the lead; dawn veers off to move within the first, parallel to her. occasionally, the forest comes between them and for a few moments, she loses sight of the woman. when she hones in on the matriarch's location again, she shifts nearer, until once again they drift apart. 

in this manner they comb the forest, dawn pausing briefly when some sign of the herd is noticed. and then, quite suddenly, she stares into the soft dark eyes of a doe. she realizes three things rather quickly; the deer is young, perhaps a season old. she is relatively thin, and from her comes the smell of infection. and third, she is alone, here, curled up among the undergrowth. 

with the advent of the quakes the deer and likeminded prey had fled. this group, however, had gone east; far enough so to infringe on the lands of humans. this one had been snared by a trap meant for a coyote, and escaped through some stroke of luck. but luck faded, and now she was here, surrounded once again by hunters and falling prey already to infection. 

the wolf dove, jaws aimed for the soft hide. the doe is already moving, and so dawn's jaws connect with a rear haunch. hoof strikes her chest and she relents her grip, allowing only a heartbeat to elapse before she's hard on the heels of the deer, issuing a clipped call for Valette as she cuts the doe toward the matriarch.

Valette had not expected the female to already run into a deer. Valette's attention was caught when she heard the clipped back after some commotion in the underbrush. It was rather loud as they had wanted to be silent as to not spook the deer. It turned out that Dawn had stumbled upon one. Valette was quick to turn to the commotion and help Dawn.

Valette came from another direction, and soon spotted the deer. She was on her a moment later. His jaws snapping around the neck of the small doe. It was exactly what they had wanted, a young and frail thing that wouldn't give them a tough time. With the two of them this should be manageable. The matriarch clenched down the doe's throat, holding on as much as she could with the deer fighting for its life. It had been a good find from Dawn.

the matriarch is an arrow loosed; moving smoothly to latch fangs around the delicate neck of the creature. the doe struggles, kicks, the whites of her eyes flashing ivory. the huntress comes from the rear, launching herself toward the rump of the deer and struggling to bear her down toward the earth. 

a moment and the doe's limbs crumple; first, it's rear, then front, meeting the earth. dawn concerns herself with keeping the deer down, using her body weight as an anchor as fangs grasp the column of the doe's neck, feeling the frantic breath fluttering there.

Valette was glad for the help because the fawn was still surprisingly strong. However, with the two of them Valette managed to hold her grip and the deer gave up on life. Valette could tell when the deer just stopped fighting. Then within moments, the deer's last breath was sounded. Valette still held on, just in case. Sometimes animals had these after life spasms. She looked at Dawn with a thank you.

When she was certain Valette let go. The deer dead before them. "Good work spotting this one," Valette commented and then nudged it closer to Dawn. So she could take what she wanted. Valette would take the rest and would put it in a cache or have her children and father feed from it.

grin curves her muzzle a few heartbeats after the creature still, tail wagging their victory. the famine, then, is finally coming to an end; though small, the doe is large enough to feed quite a few of Valette's number. "it was almost as much luck as skill," she admits, though suppose it hardly matters, now. 

"good takedown," she compliments in turn, making toward the doe a valette offers it. the matriarch is obviously a proficient hunter, and the sterling woman thinks she could certainly learn a lot from her. it is a flank she chooses for herself, working away until she is able to separate a large enough chunk, that familiar taste having her stomach tighten. dropping it a moment, she dips her muzzle. "thank you—I hope we can hunt again together soon." a final smile at the woman before she dips to scoop up her portion, leaving valette and whoever else wished to take a portion of their prize to do so in peace.