Redtail Rise She Swam Higher

They came upon some churned snow, tinged here and there with spots of bright red blood, glistening like syrup over frosted flakes. Masquerade paused to sniff, registering the odor of a disembowelment. The smell of it stirred a memory of sinking her own fangs into a horse’s rectum. She licked her jowls.

Augur strode forward and she now flanked him, her red face even with his rolling white shoulder. It wasn’t long before they came upon quite the scene: a trio of coyotes feasting on a moose sprawled in yet more stained snow. The instant the pair of wolves arrived, they scattered.

The pale giant lunged at one, crushing its skull with startling swiftness. Masque blinked, then looked to the remaining two. Augur went after a second, leaving the final one to her. There was no time to form a proper strategy, so she dashed toward it armed with nothing but killer instincts.

The leaner, slighter carnivore gave her the slip at first, though Masquerade pumped her legs hard to chase after it. Augur, his quarry and the slain cow all fell away behind her as she bounded after the lithe Canis latrans. She couldn’t quite close the gap, though she didn’t lose any ground either. For more than half a mile, she relentlessly dogged its steps.

The coyote tried to shake her off with an occasional wild dart to one side or another, though still Masque gave pursuit. It happened enough times that the she-wolf learned to read the signs preceding this sudden movement. She could not guess which direction her quarry might turn, though when it swiveled this time, she coiled her haunches and leaped to the right, hoping to swipe out a foreleg and sweep the coyote’s legs from underneath it.

The smaller canine sprang clear with the grace of a doe, then darted back the way they had come. By the time Masque pivoted too, it was disappearing into the distance. Masquerade watched it, rumbling under her breath. Her tongue lolled from her muzzle as she panted. She did not wait to catch her breath, quickly loping back to where she’d left Augur, who’d hopefully fared better.