Sun Mote Copse I will sing sing sing to the masses

Hoping to get Bronco his hunter apprenticeship before he hits 9 months.

Tracking down a rabbit had eventually brought Bronco face-to-face with a pine martin. It had made the kill before Bronco had managed to track the rabbit down, which irked him a great deal. Here was another predator, hunting in their claimed grounds- it wasn't fit. Fortunately, the creature seemed to know that it'd made a horrible mistake, and had left the rabbit as soon as it saw him, knowing there was no way he could outrun a wolf, especially while carrying a rabbit. It dropped its prize begrudgingly, and began to take off through the wilderness, leaving Bronco behind, standing over the dead rabbit. Well, that was one way to catch a meal...But pine martins were edible too, right? And if there was anything he'd ever learned from his mother- it was to eat everything that moved hunt down and kill any non-pack predators that were in the area. He couldn't imagine that a pine martin would taste good- but he'd hunt it down regardless, and either eat ir or kill it or stow it away for a day when he was starving enough that he'd eat it. 

First, he buried the rabbit hastily- in case the trickster looped around and decided to come back for its kill after leading Bronco away from it. That wasn't terribly likely, but he also liked the idea of having found something edible to stow in two different caches. The rabbit wasn't his kill, but it was his right as the one who'd tracked it down. The rabbit was hastily stowed away, and then he began to track the offending pine martin, moving at a good clip to hopefully catch up to it before it could get too far away.

hi hope it's ok if I join! do you mind if I assume they've met like maybe once so we can skip meet and greet type stuff? if not then lmk and I'll edit!

 

Lately Chanel had been taking walks among the trees. It was a calming activity- any time of day, just being in solitude in nature eased her soul. Not to mention that it was helping her to explore the territory, and she felt that she now knew her way around the place a lot better. The girl was starting to feel more like she belonged in Firebirds, and the feeling of being in a pack, the potential adventure of it- it was a feeling like no other. 

While on her walk, she heard a noise that piqued her curiousity. As she approached it, she found a kid- she vaguely recalled his name to be Bronco, after Sugar had introduced her to some people the other day. He was finishing up burying something that she couldn't see- but she could still smell a hint of. A rabbit, freshly killed.

She was curious for a moment to his intentions, before he took off after whatever scent he was chasing. She debated whether to follow or greet him; she didn't want to ruin his hunt. But she caught it too, after taking a few steps after him: a pine martin. Hoping he wouldn't be too hot-headed or irritated by her presence, she followed closely before catching up to him, just a few feet behind. She was sure he would be aware of her presence by now, but she chose not to speak up, trying to be careful in the possibility of disturbing his concentration.  

Sorry for the wait!! <3

A pine martin could present a couple troubling aspects, given the fact that they had sharp teeth, but Bronco still felt confident that as he was much larger, he'd be able to handle it. He heard and smelled another wolf approaching- vaguely familiar, just enough so that he didn't turn to fend them off as an unwelcome trespasser, but as he didn't really know the female either, he didn't make haste to strike up a conversation. She fell in line behind him, which gave him the confidence that he could simply take on the decision-making in this expedition. A quick sidelong glance told him that his companion, likely a new-ish joiner, was actually prettier than he'd thought when he'd caught sight of her before. Now he really had to impress her. 

He cleared his throat and threw up his hackles a bit, pressing forward at a quicker pace as the weaselly creature had beat off at a run, and they'd have to make up ground- but eventually, he could see it, running fof in the distance, so with a triumphant growl, he announced the  beginning of the real chase with a happy growl- and burst into a gallop.

don't worry about it! :D

 

He gave her a quick glance, but he didn't seem especially bothered by her presence, from what she could tell. The boy cleared this throat, beginning his chase again before speeding up into a full galloping sprint. 

She doubted she was really necessary here. Chanel was sure he could handle it on his own- he already seemed capable and hardworking enough- but still she followed, beginning her own race only moments after him. She maintained a distance of a few yards. She would be there to back him up in the case of an unlikely emergency, but for now her focus would simply be to watch over the slightly younger boy, and make sure not to get in his way. She was older, yes- but not especially talented. Maybe by watching she could even learn a thing or two from her peer.

Like an inexperienced buck, Bronco sprinted boldly toward the creature which, in seeing that it was now being actively pursued by two wolves, began all evasive maneuvers that it could muster. Being smaller than Bronco, it was able to veer this way and that once the boy was hot upon its heels, which frustrated him. He had to skid and reposition himself, and then speed up to gain on it again, forgetting for some time that he actually had help. Then, as he was beginning to tire out from constantly veering one way and another, he shouted out to his plush-furred companion. 

"You take that side, we'll pin it," He said with a gesture, before he veered to the pine martin's left side, hoping she would go to its right. Once they flanked it, it would be more or less forced to go forward, backward- or try to fight...Or so Bronco figured.

The thing darted here and there, making its best effort to escape the boy's reach. Seeing that made Chanel consider coming in for a more consequential role in the hunt- but just to avoid making the wrong choice, she would wait for a signal. And there it was! The boy directed her to join in and come from the other side. 

So Chanel pulled forward, taking the other direction to approach the creature as it attempted to dart away. But two wolves closing in on it were a sure sign of its approaching demise. With each moment she stole closer and closer to the thing, narrowing in on it to ensure it had less space to escape their jaws. All the while, adrenaline coursed through her veins with the excitement of the hunt.

With a wolf flanking the martin on either side, it didn't have much left in terms of options. It could veer as much as it wanted to, but it would be met with snapping teeth and paws which repeatedly lashing out, hoping to knock the feet out from under it. They harried the creature, leaving a crooked path of tracks this way and that way through the snow, occasionally kicking up dirt from the ground underneath until it made the wrong decision- and made the decision to fend the wolves off. 

It wheeled and lashed out at Chanel, but Bronco was ready for it to do something along those lines- some final bid for self preservation. So, without missing a moment, Bronco snatched the pine martin by the tail- making it impossible for the thing to get away from either him or Chanel, who was faced with the furious, albeit small creature.

It was not long before the thing decided to change its intentions, whirling around to meet them. A bad choice for the pine martin. As it lashed out at Chanel, she let out a slight yelp- without meaning to, of course- in surprise, before the boy was there. Like a knight in shining armor saving the damsel in distress, the boy wrapped his jaws around the tail of the thing. The little creature would find it impossible to escape from that trap. Even as it writhed and threw its tantrum, Chanel moved forward with confidence. It couldn't run now.

Trusting Bronco to hold onto the creature, she decided it was the right moment to lean her jaws down and bite and the neck of the thing, giving it a quick jerk to snap it. The yearling hoped she hadn't stolen his spotlight- but at least they'd caught the thing. Its head lolled lazily as the life left its body, and Chanel shot Bronco a gleaming smile with sparkling eyes.

As soon as the thing went limp, Bronco grinned, still holding onto the pine martin's tail. Chanel had proved exactly the sort of hunting partner he'd needed, and he gazed at her with shimmering whiskey eyes, pleased that they had subdued the threat- even though it was an extremely minor one. While a pine martin couldn't necessarily do serious harm to a wolf, if it was hunting in their lands- as he'd already established- then it was taking their food. And it deserved to be punished for that. 

So, with a playful, albeit somewhat morbid growl, Bronco gave a tug on the dead creature's tail, inviting his hunting partner to what would likely amount to a greusome game of tug-o-war.

The boy smiled, a sign that she'd made the right move. Tail wags slowly from side to side in response. And then- the boy growls, and seems to invite her to... pull the thing back and forth. It was a bit gruesome wasn't it? Sure, she could make a kill, but when it came to tugging a corpse back and forth, she wasn't sure if she could do it. Chanel wanted to present herself as ladylike, right? That's what would've made her parents happy. No horseplaying. 

But then she thinks back to the time she spent with Sugar. Cracking open the head of a dead squirrel, seeing its brain matter fly out. It had been nasty, but some sliver of her had enjoyed it. Had fun, even. And with that thought, she leans swanlike neck down to the creature, pearly jaws wrapping around its neck to tug playfully with all her might.

this is a wee bit old now...But I'd be happy to have a new one!

It tok Chanel a few moments to consider his proposal, and she honestly seemed a bit more leery, than anything else, of doing something foolish just for the sake of it- but eventually she gave in, grabbed the front half of the dead pine martin and began to pull. Digging his feet into the ground and growling, Bronco too pulled back, preferring short yanks to try and free the creture from her grasp, and occasionally whipping his head back and forth with a loud snarl, hoping he would wrench it from her grip. 

Eventually, though, nature had its way with things- and the creature was torn in half. Not cleanly, but Bronco felt he made off with the best part, and so- with a happy bugle, he grasped his win between his teeth and bounded off into the woods, practically begging for Chanel to chase him down.