Blacktail Deer Plateau Mad Hatter's Entrance [IC Joining]

Madigan's answer surprised a small smile out of Peregrine. "I like the way you think," he replied, appreciating the male's respectful approach to the matter. "Now, show me what you've got, Madigan."

Silently now, he began to weave along the trail. He picked up a scent fairly quickly, his lope slowing to a jog, then eventually transforming into a stealthy creep. When the scent grew strongest, he veered off the main path, following a much narrower and partly overgrown deer trail. It led to a clearing, he knew, where the herd must be grazing presently.

When they came close, he signaled for Madigan to swing left while he veered slightly to the right. Let's meet on the other side, his cool eyes said as he arched around the herd. As he crept around them, he ascertained their numbers. By the time he reached the other side and hunkered down behind a screen of shrubbery beside Madigan, he knew their exact dynamic and had chosen their quarry.

"See the two fawns with the doe on the far right? I'm going to go after the larger one, spook it and the mother. You're going to go after the smaller fawn; that will be our prey. We're going to make a direct approach. I'll jump out first to scatter the herd and then chase my target. When the timing's right, you go after yours. Got it?"

When he obtained Madigan's assent, Peregrine waited a few more minutes, silently observing the herd and its patterns of movement. When the mother shifted even further to the outskirts of the group, he decided to make his move. Like a panther springing from jungle greenery, he appeared with a jarring volley of barks. The deer bolted immediately and the Alpha male slipped after the mother and her fawns, dogging the heels of the elder and thusly forcing its smaller sibling to dodge to the side with a bleat of terror.

So far, so good; it was all going perfectly according to plan.