Neverwinter Forest red-shirting

@Simmik: we already have one but...

Was he hungry? He was hungry.

Matty watched the rabbits scurry from afar, wondering what the best method of attack might be. He was bored and needed something to do, so a hunt sounded pretty good.

but they need all the threads

The singing guy. That's whose scent wafted by on the breeze as she made her way to the borders. She paused, intrigued by the prospect of seeking him out and seeing what he was doing. Patrolling was important to her, though, and she had never let anything distract her from it before. She stood there for a few moments, unsure what choice to make. But finally, for some reason she couldn't figure out, she turned around and began to track him through the trees. 

It took her longer than it probably should have since she was still trying to get the hang of this tracking thing, but eventually the greys of his fur against the white of the snow caught her attention. She trotted forward, slowing when she realized what he was focused on. She closed the rest of the distance as quietly as possible, chuffing quietly when she was close enough not to alert the prey with her greeting. Need help? she whispered as she settled down at his side. Her gaze lingered on the rabbits as they went about their business but eventually rested on his face, her eyebrows raised expectantly.

Simmik's voice was easily recognizable. He'd hardly stopped thinking about her since their last conversation, and found himself frequently wondering what she might be up to. Seeing her in passing was nothing compared to settling for quality-time. Always appreciated, Matty whispered in turn. He watched the rabbits dash from corner to corner, den to den; which was the best method of attack?

He seemed to really like hunting at the warren, which was unfortunate because it was her least favorite place. That would hopefully change as she got better at hunting. But for now, it was just a source of frustration. Still, she wanted to help and she knew she needed practice. Simmik watched the rabbits intently, wondering how they would go about this today. What are you thinking? she asked quietly. She was still too inexperienced to trust in any strategies she might come up with, so she hoped that maybe there had been time for him to come up with a plan before she arrived. So far, the rabbits didn't know they were there yet, which was good; that would give the two of them more of an advantage.

Their prior conversation still ringing in his head, Matty gave a comical shoulder shrug. I'm not, he replied. If Simmik didn't have any ideas, then they would be forced to conduct this hunt in the same way as the last. He was not opposed (sounded sorta fun, actually), but thought that she might be. Matty sighed and continued, Maybe if we split up. One on each side.

It seemed he was approaching this the same way: without any planning. She sighed. That doesn't seem like the best way to hunt, she whispered, a little exasperated. But when he suggested that they each take a side, she paused and looked over the warren a few times. One of us could try and flush the rabbits toward the other maybe? she suggested. It could possibly work. Then the one doing the flushing could run over to help with the catching. But how to flush them... she considered out loud, her gaze scanning the scene in front of them. I could maybe start caving in the openings on one side? she suggested, looking to him to see what he thought.

i'm not the best hunter. mathieu looked nervously in her direction, hoping that simmik might notice his slight humor. you do that, and... — a moment's thought — i'll do it, too.

having a third wolf might have made things easier, but they simply didn't have that luxury. mathieu walked to the opposite side of the warren and settled into position, waiting for simmik to give the go-ahead before moving in.

She shrugged at his admission, noting his joking tone but knowing it was also the truth. Neither am I, she pointed out. They were both in the same boat here, trying to figure out this hunting business. 

He agreed to her plan, stating that he would do the same on the other side and moving in that direction. She moved to her side, briefly wondering who would be catching the flushed rabbits if they were both doing the flushing. She eventually just decided they would figure it out. 

She made eye contact with him and gave a curt nod before leaping forward and quickly throwing her weight onto every hole she saw, collapsing in opening after opening. She was so focused on her task that she forgot to pay attention to the side where the rabbits began escaping from.

mathieu didn't really know how simmik's plan would play out because he'd never done anything like it. he started to move with her signal but stopped, watching her make the first move. rabbits began scurrying from the warren's opposite end; rather than joining his partner, he dashed in their direction.

the ear-ringing sound of jaws snapping against air rang out through the forest. these rabbits were fast, and for every entrance closed, another was found. mathieu chased desperately after each one, hoping that their luck might change.

The sound of rabbits scurrying and Mathieu chasing pulled her attention from her task, and she only watched for a split second before she lurched forward and sprinted off after a rabbit herself. They were fast, but this time she was better prepared; she remember that last time, the rabbits had tried to lead them around obstacles to slow them down, and so she was going to try and prevent that game from playing out. As expected, her prey began to head toward a thick gathering of bushes and instead of just continuing forward, Simmik picked up speed and leaped in to the air, landing on top of the rabbit and quickly snapping her jaws around its neck as she skidded and tumbled a little; its struggle was over quickly, and she jumped up with the meal dangling from her mouth and looked to her partner to see how he had fared this time.

simmik's victory was met with an empty-mouthed smile. the rabbit which had caught mathieu's attention was too crafty. he wasn't a fast-learner, and so hadn't picked up on the rabbits' tactics as quickly as his partner had.

he didn't mind, though. mathieu trotted over to where simmik stood and offered a congratulatory nod. i thought you weren't good at hunting, he teased. matty could feel his cheeks redden behind white fur and turned, not wanting to embarrass himself.

Simmik shrugged and dropped the rabbit on the ground between them. I'm not really, she assured him. That was lucky and not very graceful, she added. Plus, I remembered that last time they seemed to lead us through things that would slow us down, so I took a risk and decided to stop this rabbit from doing the same thing. She shrugged again, feeling a little awkward for some reason. She looked down at the rabbit. Want to share? she asked. It had been a team effort, so it was only fair that he got half of the spoils.

you're really smart, mathieu said, it's cool. under different circumstances, he might have been angry about the loss, but something about simmik's response kept him grounded. 

matty plopped onto his hindquarters and smiled. we don't have to, he replied, shaking his head. of course, if simmik insisted, he wouldn't turn her down.

Um, thanks, she said, unable to keep it from sounding awkward. She had plenty of evidence that might prove the opposite, but she appreciated the compliment anyway. And it wasn't like he seemed put off by it or anything, which was also good. She guessed. 

Yes we do, Simmik stated, nosing the rabbit towards him more. We hunted it together, and so you should eat some too. She paused and examined their meal. You take one end, and I'll take the other, and then we can pull it apart. She looked back up to Mathieu. What side do you want?

i'm an ass guy, matty joked. moment's thought, then, rabbit ass, not...wolf-ass? were yves here to see this, he would have never lived it down. i mean, i don't like rabbit ass or anything because that's weird, and doesn't really make sense logically- y'know?

whatever simmik's reaction, he decided not to make eye contact as he locked his jaws around the prey's hindquarters. then, he began to pull, hoping they'd make a clean break.

She stared at him, one of her eyebrows lifted and a smirk tilting one side of her mouth. And then he continued to ramble. About rabbit ass. He was a strange one for sure, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing; it was kind of cute, actually. The thought made her instantly nervous. She had never thought of someone in those terms before, and she had no idea what to do about it. Best to just ignore it for now, which thankfully wouldn't be too difficult since he had grabbed his end of the rabbit and was waiting for her to grab hers. She lowered her head and clasped her jaws around the head and shoulders and with a quick look just to make sure he was ready, she pulled back. It didn't take much time before their meal was split in two, Simmik falling back onto her haunches from the force once her end was free. 

She slid to the ground and held her side between her paws and immediately took a bite. She chewed, swallowed, and then repeated a few times before deciding she should maybe say something. But what should she say? Anything she came up with sounded awkward and forced, so she eventually settled on nothing. She just continued to eat with the hope that he might have something less awkward to say.

awkward silence. mathieu stopped eating and looked nervously toward simmik, sucking a sharp breath between parted teeth. i'm uh — think, matty, think — i'm gonna cache this. catch- no, cache you later? he smiled at his clever wordplay.

but then he immediately took it back. i didn't mean anything by that, matty clarified. he licked his chops and turned away, picking up the hare to carry along with him. after taking a few steps, he called back to simmik, i enjoyed the hunt, before actually exiting the scene.

She laughed at his weird way of saying bye, even more when he tried to take it back. He was a strange one for sure. Yeah it was fun, she said with a smile. See you around. He left then, and with a shake of her head and some residual laughter, Simmik picked up her half of the rabbit and trotted away to eat somewhere more secluded.