Redtail Rise III

augur had caught a hare almost purely by accident. blinded by the sun upon snow, it had run back his way. 

the wolf carried his kill toward the burnland. he was seeking @Avicus. the prey was for her. he cast furtive glances around for tall man and kept his tail low as he followed along red woman's scentpath.

soon enough, she feels the ghost of him on her tail, the scent wafting upwind to catch her nose. she turns and closes the distance between them, giving a friendly chuff with a gleam in her eye as she spots the prey dangling from his jaws.

goodh, Avicus remarks, undoubtedly pleased. saliva pools in her mouth at the fresh-kill smell.

this is as good a place to begin digging a cache, and she starts to scrape at a less-iced-over bit of earth, sheltered by a half-topped old tree. works her way down to the dirt, and scratches. . .

too hard, due to frost. perhaps when spring comes.

here, she says. hunhh' wi' me? she moves to take the hare from him and place it in the temporary hollow, where she'll cover it with snow and brush to conceal its odor.

augur followed as red woman carried his catch and buried it. he saw approval in her behavior. there was a command in her voice.

augur swished his tail politely, ears splaying as he lapped her chin for a moment.

wherever she led now he would follow, keeping pace as his strong body eventually attuned to the trail of prey.

she strides forward, nostrils flaring, then turns, abruptly—

where you fin' hare? she asks.

if he can lead them to an established warren, his information will be worth his gold. 

not that he's already worth that. she eyes his bulk, his frame. his youth. her eyes linger upon the rounded curves of his body before returning to his gaze, questioning.

if not, she will lead.

augur still did not understand the words spoken by the others.

but he did understand the look of her eyes. beneath red woman's stare, augur felt himself grow more masculine. he chuffed to the alpha female and pushed on into their land.

he led her to the burned place and began to dig in the snow for the underground network of small burrows. the hares had been hunted once before by a redtail wolf. they will not be so quick to show themselves. but this did not deter the hunter.

she stands back a little ways, watching his work. she had learned quickly about hares in Bearclaw Valley; there is always more than one hole. her eyes scan their nearby surroundings, watching for movement.

his digging will frighten the lot of them—

there!

a tiny body pops from the earth, not unlike a seedling in spring, and takes off, kicking snow and earth behind it.

Avicus, too, surges forward: a baying bloodhound, except absolutely quiet in her intensity.

the next sound will be a squeal as she overcomes it, finds the delicate nape and

snaps

blood in her mouth

she lunges—and lands upon empty ground, teeth clacking, the hare now well out of reach.

it was intrigue as much as instinct which kept augur close.

he wanted red woman to look favorably on him when her heat came. he wanted to be a suitor. but he understood this was the role of tall man.

still if it seemed as though their alpha female might choose another, he wanted to be this.

red woman caught a hare and then missed her second bite. augur leapt for the wounded animal. his taller legs bounded easily across the drifts. 

he brought it back to her still kicking, dropping it at her paws and corralling it with his own.

no sooner had she failed in her efforts did the behemoth surge forward, eyes trained upon the kill. she rises, shaking the dirt and ice from her pelt, and her eyes light upon the hare in his jaws. 

he's done it, and she's impressed.

you big, she says. fighh'er. her gaze traces his bulk, the great size of him. like Nyra—too much, and dwelling on it turns her ice to blood—stalwart and strong. then she looks at the hare. 

buhh' you hunhh'. 

she dips her head and gnaws at the hare's belly (it still squeals!) pulling out a stringy bit of gut. she dangles it in front of him, then flings it his way; it lands, nearly soundless, in the snow. you like fighh', more, or hunhh'?

the death-throes are a soundtrack to their conversation.

augur picked up her offering and snapped it down quickly. he crooned in her direction, ears flattened with pleasure. 

she spoke. he now knew these sounds as words. and he knew the difference of her voice from that of the others. her sounds were round and blurred.

he knew fight and hunt. augur tossed his head and pawed at the rabbit, pretending to bat it across the snow. but his true calling were the ruminants that walked redtail. and he turned his large head to look for them now.

hunter, then. she gives him the barest approximation of a smile. the squeals are dying out as he kicks the creature along the ice; she's annoyed, all of the sudden, and bends, jaws open and then shut to snap its neck and snuff it out for good.

she pulls a gut for herself and chews thoughtfully, eyes fixed upon her new Clawan.

where you from, before? she asks. she knows he cannot—does not?—speak, and points her head in each cardinal direction, starting with the north. then she goes on: moun'hain, plain, hhh—ohhhshean?

she's lived in all three, she supposes, or close to it.

she takes him for a mountain wolf. he's large and rugged like the crags that loom above the Rise.

augur studied red woman with curiosity. 

he understood in some small way what she meant. he chuffed toward the jaws of the mountain rising not far from the rise.

her speech is halting in a way that is easier for his ears.

the boy nosed closer to their kill and plucked fur from the cooling belly, spitting into into the snow. he wanted only the salty taste of blood. his yellow eyes were curious as he looked back toward his leader.

her eyes follow the jagged curve of the mountain. you know bear? she asks, thinking of her very first foray up into the peaks. wonders if he holds the same fanaticism for something, anything, that her father does. watches him spit, eyes curious, before tearing back into the hare.

it stains her entire muzzle a deep crimson, even the lighter, cream-tinged bits along the underside of her chin, her throat. she barely chews enough to swallow, pausing only to snap a delicate rib to bits between her teeth.

the wolves are still sated from their hunt in recent days, but hares will not do for long. they need real meat if they are to make it through the winter, much less take on Nyra.

she must find and follow the herd. perhaps she will take this man with her.

she was stained with blood.

augur leaned forward to clean a part of her nape but would draw back if commanded.

he cocked his head at her word. he did not know its sound. but he knew its shape. augur stepped forward in the snow, chuffing. he was still filled with adrenaline. whatever red woman wanted to hunt next he meant to help her find.

he approaches and she stiffens instinctively, rising up, although she knows his touch means no harm. still, every muscle is taut, and it is with some reluctance that she eventually lets him closer, trying to put softness into her gaze where her body fails to do so.

my fah'her—he 'hhpoke abouhh' bear godh, Avicus says briefly, running her broken tongue along her jowls. he ihh' mad.

mad king Merrick. she wishes him well, but she will never see the divinity in a creature that had nearly killed her before she had even truly lived.

or divinity in anything at all, save the simplicity of blood and bone. life and death.

she shakes her head, rolling her eyes ever so slightly. she doesn't want to linger anymore on the subject of bears.

augur was pleased to have been chosen by red woman as companion for the day. he moved eagerly through the snow. the massive wolf searched not only for prey but for anything of interest. a deer scapula. tufts of fur from another rabbit. melted snow where an elk had lain.

each of these were inspected and shown to his leader.

he did not know what she spoke. augur knew only that her mind was filled with heavier things than his own. he wanted to amuse her.

she's amused. as much as a woman like her can be, anyway.

those who find amusement in the grisly bits of nature rarely are satisfied, and she's accepted that with time. she rolls down into the snow, the ruddy color of old blood upon all that white.

her eyes flicker toward Augur, and a faint smile curves her lips. so loyal. he is hers.

come, Avicus barks at him, flipping up and onto her paws again. we hunhh'.

and canters over the rise again, her swinging tail beckoning him to follow, her nose high and keen as it seeks and quests and yearns for more.

fade here? :)