Redhawk Caldera home in the wild

the morning is quiet, the shadows of night linger and keeping away the worst of the heat of the day yet to come. kivaluk patrols the borders before dawn even breaks and once it does, his path deviates. he does not stray far from the caldera, but follows the known path of one of the deer herds he's been tracking and keeping a close eye on.

it is easy enough to find them: the trampled foliage, the tell-tale hoof prints in the dirt, and the tufts of fur that is sometimes left behind on broken twigs.

kivaluk keeps his distance, perched up on a boulder that offered as a nice watch tower to observe without spooking them. the herd paints a peaceful picture: sleepily grazing and unbothered by the world 'round them.

there is one other who is unbothered this morning — kivaluk's daughter. she trails him as he trails the herd. papa's scent is the same ghostly silver as his eyes. crane has learned to find warmth in them both despite their frigid colour.

she is as quiet and intentional in her approach as her father. not yet tall enough to climb the boulder which he perched upon, she rounded wordlessly to catch his gaze instead.

so focused on his quarry on tracking and keeping close tabs on the herd, he does not realize that he has a shadow.

until she rounds the boulder, lingering at it's foot. soft surprise dawns across kivaluk's face. crane, he greets her in soft, lowered tone: not wanting to spook the peacefully grazing herd. kivaluk can't yet tell if the herd is aware they had eyes on them, but if they were, they hadn't perceived him or crane as a threat ( yet ).

he disembarks from the boulder and joins her at its foot. it conceals the herd from his line of sight, but for the moment he is confident they will not bolt.

if you wished to come along with me, you only needed to ask. though he is careful not to chide her curiosity, he also didn't want his kids to think they needed to sneak around, either.

subconsciously, she had just been copying his actions. the way that he tracked the herd. his quiet, his consideration. she was embarrassed, ears flattened as he came down to her level, but only for a moment as she regained her confidence. yes, papa, she said in hushed tones. would you share with me? she wanted to know what he was thinking as he watched them.

there were so many scents from the herd that it was almost overwhelming to her. the scent of deer, to her eyes and nose, were all musk and earth toned. it took careful consideration to tell them apart.

to his reminder, crane agrees and kivaluk is satisfied; thus the topic change is a nice one. it stirs to life within kivaluk the hope that his daughter might follow in his footsteps as hunter. brecheliant could use more dedicated hunters.

his gaze lifts from her to the clearing where he knows the deer graze; content to mind their own business. crane wishes to know what he is thinking when he observes the herd. i am counting how many there are, to see if any new deer have joined the herd, babies or adults, he begins, settling upon his haunches beside her

i am studying each of them for any sign of isolation, to see if any look injured or sick. that was the easiest part, in kivaluk's experience: the smell gave it away but also the intentional isolation from the herd. i shadow them, to study the patterns of their movement and if they have not gone to their usual grazing grounds, he gives a small pause. if i have noticed this change, i will go and try to investigate why.

his mind is far from still.

he looks down at her then, fixing her in his gaze of moonbeam champagne. what do you think when you look at a herd? he asks, hoping for her genuine answer; truly interested in what she had to say.