Phoenix Maplewood i hear the horses' thunder

AW, though looking for Morningsiders--maybe peeps he hasn't met yet? @Loir? @Kuldip?

The time for half-measures had come and gone--but Shale had never been one for those, anyway.

He was ragged as he'd ever been, a thin pale shadow of his former self as he slipped through the trees. Had he ever felt this alive before, though? He was a father and a mate. His children were healthy, his lover well-fed. So what if his bones held little meat? They were alive and whole. That was all that mattered to him.

His nose tracked fairly low to the ground as he followed the deer trail, hot on the heels of a young buck. Something had gotten to it--there were droplets of blood, left in its wake--but what, he did not know. Cause for concern, either way, if the deer called these woods home. That meant that something else, lupine or otherwise, was hunting here. He hoped it was a Morningsider.

His cloudy fur bristled at the thought of trespassers here, and he increased his speed to a quick trot, wind whistling past his ears. Though in better times he could take down the buck by himself, in his condition he needed assistance. The realization pained him slightly, but no longer would he ignore reality for the sake of pride. He had kids to feed.

Without stopping, without slowing, he tipped his head back to let out a howl for any wolf close to hear. The hunt was on, and they would feast before today's sun descended beneath the horizon.