Stone Circle We survived the Famine!

Kaito had never hunted anything as big as a bison before. In fact, the last time he remembered even standing close to something as huge as them (that wasn't Mister Greyback, anyway) was when he and his brother had accidentally set an elk herd into a rage last winter, and had almost found themselves buried beneath the ice of a frozen lake in result. These creatures seemed more docile, but Kaito had learned from that experience not to underestimate the power of their prey. The hunter was built to kill, but the hunted could kill just as well. 

Kaito settled down, but found it was hard to keep his eyes on Valette while she issued her instructions. He was distracted, rather, by his friend @Arlette, a small strand of white against the sea of giants and earth, whose laughter infected him, and whose presence made him feel strangely at home, even if he had only known her for a couple of weeks, at best.

He did his best to keep his eyes away from her -- yet when Valette broke the meeting, Kaito stole a quick step toward her -- wondering, maybe, if she might like to hunt with him -- until he saw Greyback, and he wheeled away entirely to pretend he'd always intended to go in the direction he'd actually just chosen at random now. His whole neck felt flush with an uneasy warmth, and after a second, Kaito chanced a glance behind him. Hoping that maybe, Greyback had only been stepping past her. But they were gone.

A sigh pushed through his lips, and he took in who was left, feeling a bit defeated but not beaten yet. He hardly felt capable of leading anyone, let alone a child. At times hardly felt like an adult himself, but his ears picked up a young voice, and when he turned, his heart had already moved for @Charles before his feet did.

"Hey," Kaito said with a smile, and offered a wave of his tail. He hoped he looked more certain than he felt. Was this even smart? But that look of awkward uncertainty -- this one reminded him of himself. And besides, he reasoned, your mother was a hunter, just remember what she taught you. He took a breath. "Do you guys wanna come with me?" Down below, a bison bellowed, and Greyback shouted. Kaito just tried not to think about what he was getting himself into.