Blacktail Deer Plateau somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond

✹☾❂

 

It was over, the hunt had failed.

Eleuthera watched as the white tails of the deer sailed down the lilting incline and eventually out of sight, disappointment writ clear upon her face. Really, Eleuthera hadn’t entertained high hopes that they would have been successful. A wolf/cougar hunting partnership was something of an abomination, really — the two couldn’t be farther apart as far as hunting styles went, so it made sense that their efforts would be disjointed, at best. Still, Eleuthera had somewhat romanticized the idea of telling her future grandchildren about the day she hunted with a mountain lion, and now she would either have to make up a new end to the story, entirely.

Umi loped towards her, and the lilac shelf realized this was the first time she had seen the cat since they initially departed onto their botched experiment. Eleuthera marveled at the body of her feline friend; amazed at how large she was, yet so silent. How adept she was at melting into her background. How her razor sharp teeth and claws could rip prey limb from limb. It must be so nice to be agile like a cat, instead of a clumsy, ineffective wolf.

Eleuthera swallowed her tongue and masked her waning disappointment. “Wow," Leu commented once they rejoined together. “Yeah, we almost had them!" she lied.