Raven's Watch xvii siksuruk

It was not rare to find signs of deer near the Watch, but with the growing population of wolves flocking to Stjornuati's presence Kigipigak did not expect to hear the obvious click of hooves upon stone so early in the morning.

He followed the sound until the trees gave way to the sprawling lake that Kigipigak and Valmua had discovered together; it was there he saw the doe, head bowed to drink, while he lingered among the trees. It struck him as curious—but maybe the herds in the south were used to the smell of wolf and were not always quick to flee from it.

Kigipigak debated stalking closer and instead chose to hang back, looking for signs of the rest of the herd (if there was one) or an ally to help him in this trial (if anyone else was awake).

The poppy girl followed Kigipigak like a distanced shadow, slowly closing in on him. She had no purpose to doing this. Ever since they had been discovered, he seemed to be avoiding her entirely. They were both sitting in the bottom of the pile, with her much further down, stripped of any real meaning to him. The strength that he had seen in the fire woman had dimmed its light down so that she was hardly a speck on his radar. She hated it. She had seen a future with the Tartok at her side. Now, she was nothing.
As she came to the lake, she saw him within the trees. His attention was on something ahead of him, but it was too far away for her to see. She sniffed at the air, noting the vague scent of deer out ahead.
Valmúa crept up behind him, resisting the urge to tackle him. She snorted to announce her presence — it was a far cry from her affectionate mouthing of the past. She said nothing, looking instead ahead at the deer. She glanced in his direction, wondering if they could do it on their own.

Having hoped for more backup than the singular flame that licked at his heel, Kigipigak watched the ridge for signs of more activity; none such came, or at least the other men of the Watch were busy elsewhere and were perhaps on their way. The pair of them could continue to track the lone creature for now, Kigipigak reasoned. He did not know if he had the patience to hunt alongside Valmua—he barely paid her any heed as she came along, at any rate.

It would be best to keep a level head and his wits sharp. The herd could have been playing catch-up with this lost creature or perhaps they had chosen to put distance between their healthy many and sacrifice the weak; Kigipigak could appreciate the thought, wanting nothing but strength for his own tribe. He wondered as he lurked, flicking an ear every so often towards Valmua's position in an effort to include her without taking his attention away from the doe.

Kigipigak barely acknowledged her existence as she strode up to him. Though she would never have admitted it, it hurt. It was also typical of his general behaviour since her leash had been applied, so she pushed the slight quickly from her ashen mind. She focused her attention instead on the doe he stalked, eyes flicking beyond to search for the herd. Surely, they were nearby somewhere.
Even though the doe was alone, the likelihood of them tackling such a large animal on their own was slim, if not impossible. Still, she was the kind of animal that didn't give a shit if she expended a bit of energy for a chance to bite at something bloody. So she stalked with but away from him, keeping several yards of distance between them so they would have a chance at a better collective vantage point.

@Valmúa moved to a different vantage point. The wind was in their favor and so once she had slipped around to her own path she was lost to Kigipigak, and likely lost to the doe. It was better that they focus and work together anyway—Kigipigak could do that to a greater extent without her crimson fur in eye-line.

He stalked towards the doe. Given the circumstances the pair might have been able to take this particular creature down together; but Kigipigak still held out hope that there were more wolves hidden along the ridge, or within the trees, which might burst forth to aid them when the action sparked to life. He gave a cursory glance to his surroundings—eyeing where he had seen the pale yoke of Valmua's scruff vanish last—and then stared at the doe as she grazed.