Ouroboros Spine lxiv. if i promised to leave my gun at the door

random hunting thread for any interested members! (@Kukutux, @Aiolos, @Shikoba, @Inutsuk, @Sialuk, @Qadira, @Makan, @Samani, @Kausiut, @Muttn, @Dionysus, @Themis)

The botanist had been surveying the Wilds and watching the prey of the Spine closely. While the large grazers had been affected in the Taiga, it appeared that the herds here had remained healthy. It was the small creatures of the forest -- the hares, rabbits, pikas, those that burrowed -- that had fallen ill near their mountain.

They had been limited to hunting the birds that frequented Anik Lake and fishing its waters, to trapping the scavengers such as fox and coyote, and hunting the red deer and elk that shared the territories where the moonwolves prowled. But they were fortunate, the spirits had only cursed the little creatures. 

There was an older elk cow in the herd that lived amongst the conifers of the Spine. The herd-watcher had seen that she lagged behind the others, or often fell behind. Her meat would not be the most tender but the village would benefit from culling her. 

The cloudberry tracked the solitary doe, making a note of her general location, before hurrying back to the heart of the ulax. Here, she drew to a halt and called out for the others -- howling to draw out those who wished to hunt.