Morningside Cuesta here be dragons

she was only a few days shy of adulthood, now, and any evidence of the plump cub she had once been had vanished. she was not stocky and well-built, like her brother, but instead streamlined and outfitted with lean muscles benefitting travel and the hunt. truly, she had grown accomplished at the latter and provided readily for the pack often. it seemed to her that summer was ageing as she was, the day's heat seemed tiring more than pleasant, and the days seemed to shorten as they had once lengthened. winter was coming, and though it was long ways off, she thought often of the move that must happen before then. 

soon, she decided, she would head west, search for the home her father hoped that they would find there. the prospect of adventure tugged at her eagerly, and yet something seemed to hold her here, for a couple more days from now, at least. between now and then, she might as well get something done, and hunting seemed the most benefiting at the moment. adopting a loose trot, she began to search for another of the hunting party she could make her partner.

Kieran was maturing fast, he was rather large even now. Already he was 8 months old, and it seemed as though his life had sped by, which wasn't something he could say he particularly liked. However, he was looking forward to reaching adulthood. It seemed exciting. With the arrival of adulthood, he wondered whether more opportunities would be available to him. It made sense, but perhaps it wasn't as exciting as he thought it to be. Who knew? He could only wait.

The days had become tiring, the heat was not something he enjoyed. But then again, he believed it was better than the cold. The cold had taken too many things from him, and he hated its icy chill. Even if he had been born in those frosty months. His sister, perhaps his mother too. Lost to the cold. Yes, he much prefered Summer. Even so, neither were his favourite season. To be honest? He didn't yet know which was his favourite season.

He was out in the territory, aimlessly wandering, when he came across Dawn. She was almost an adult now, wasn't she? The hunter would have to ask her sometime whether it felt any different. It probably didn't, but he was curious. "Hey, Dawn." He smiled, giving a wag of his tail as he approached.

she spotted the boy quickly enough, the only one her age in the pack, now. the others had vanished over the course of a few months, her brother included. Dawn fell into step beside the boy, who, she noted with slight contempt, rose a couple of inches taller than she. the girl seemed to have fallen on the tall end of average, Kieren having beaten her in that respect. "Kieren", she greeted, "Hey". 

she offered a quick grin, asking after a moment, "I'm looking for a hunting partner. There's a herd of deer in the southern part of the territory...interested?" she didn't waste time before voicing her request, burning bronze gaze turned to him, waiting for a reply. she hardly thought he'd turn down the prospect, they were both in the hunting party, after all.

At the mention of hunting, Kieran's ears perked up and he nodded with enthusiasm. "Yeah! Of course!" He hadn't been hunting today, though he had planned to, so this was a great opportunity, and one that he certainly wouldn't pass up. 

The boy was in a much better mood thanks to the return of his father, and today had been a decent day already, so a hunt would be great fun, and would only add to his good mood! But what made it even more exciting was that it was deer they'd be hunting. Large hunts were the most fun.

so sorry for the wait! I'll make this a priority

Her grin widened, and her tail lashed in gladness at his reply. With a quick motion of her muzzle that meant follow me, she turned on her heel and led the boy south. She adopted a quick trot, and soon enough they came in view of the sparse herd. Her gaze was drawn to the young fawn in the rear of the herd, a yearling stag with a hind limb snapped at the tibia. It danged grotesquely, and the stag was listless and struggling to keep up. 

Her gaze turned to Kieran and her brow furrowed, asking a wordless question. She thought a few ways of bringing the deer down, but wasn't going to take control of the hunt without input from Kieran.

It's all good :)

Kieran followed Dawn with a grin of his own - hunting never got boring, and hunting deer was especially exciting. South they went, until the two came across the herd at last. The boy felt tingles of excitement creep up his spine, and he gazed out across the grazing deer until his eyes landed on the one he assumed to be their target - a very young stag with an obviously damaged hind limb. It was dangling and Kieran scruched his nose half from disgust at the poor thing's leg, and half from pity. 

Dawn turned her gaze to him, asking a silent question to which he remained silent for a moment, thinking. Surely it couldn't be too hard to bring this stag down, but he could not afford to be cocky. Hunting large prey could be dangerous, even if you were sure you could do it. "It won't be able to run well, so it shouldn't be too hard," he whispered, "But we should still be careful. How about we go one way each and cut it off from the herd, then take it down? We can't risk one of the adults attacking."

She agreed curtly, dipping her muzzle. Even though the thing was young, it still had a rack of antlers and sharp hooves that could cause a problem, even if it was injured; desperation could drive animals to do most anything. "Those antlers could be a problem, so we'll be quick. I'll cut it off, and you stay close; when you're able, make a move." She added hackles bristling in excitement. She twisted away from him, loping nonthreateningly towards the herd, acting as if she had no interest in them in the slightest.  

They were aware of her, but her act must have good, as they didn't bolt, or attack; not yet. Gradually, she neared the target, pacing closer. Suddenly, when she was near enough, she moved, a sudden lunge at the herd that had them running. Better that they fled than fought, and she wasted no time cutting away the target from the rest of the herd. she worried him, ran him, until Kieran was in a good place to strike and the stag was, hopefully, tired. She danced and weaved, always cutting off the stag, until it realized that flight was not an option. Suddenly, it stilled, the whites of its eyes flashing and its nostrils flaring, antlers lowered at her and demeanor suddenly standoffish. She danced around him, tiring him, waiting, for Kieran to find an opening.

Kieran pushed his excitement aside and concentrated on the hunt ahead - he had to be focused for this to work. Dawn drew attention to the growing antlers of the young stag, and the boy nodded silently, thinking. They'd have to be extra careful if they wanted to avoid them, but as long as they were quick he was sure they'd manage. "Got it." He agreed quietly, comitting the plan to memory. It was a pretty solid plan, but things could still go wrong and he had to try and make sure that didn't happen.

The young hunter watched as Dawn loped toward the herd, and he could see the deer were very much aware of her, but seemed convinced by her nonthreatening attidute. This was good, so far. His hunting partner neared the target and Kieran could feel his muscles twitch with anticipation - soon he'd run, and with the target cut off from the rest of the herd he'd be able to strike. His moment came quickly - Dawn moved fast, lunging toward the herd and got them moving. She cut off the target as planned and the boy grinned. The stag had turned around to Dawn with its antlers lowered, ready to attack. Kieran wasted no time finding an opening. The target was distracted by the huntress so Kieran had a great chance - coming from the side, he lunged and managed to grab a hold of the stag's neck with his teeth, feeling blood begin to run. He bit down hard, clinging on as he knew the stag would attempt to get him off. Dawn would be able to lunge too now, and luckily for Kieran he was at such an angle that the target was unable to reach with his antlers, but he still had to hold on tight and watch out for a hoof.

A blur that could only be Kieran raced towards the stag, grabbing hold. As soon as he planted his jaws, Dawn too moved; not for the neck, but for the limbs. She darted among the hooves, fangs flashing as she worried the stag's ankles, and finally twisting her muzzle to grab hold of a forelimb and give a wild tug. It's knees buckled, and it fell, immediately, desperately trying to rise again. She flashed forward, tearing at its underbelly with ivory fangs, intestines poking through the wild gashes she created, as, added greatly by Kieran, the stag began to quickly tire.

Dawn moved quickly again, aiming for the limbs of the panicked young stag. Kieran held on, biting down harder as he tasted the blood already steadily flowing from the wound he had created. Suddenly the target's legs buckled, and for a fleeting moment the hunter felt like he was falling, until he realised that his partner had managed to tug a limb and toppled the stag. Now it was easier.

Kieran let go momentarily to reposition himself, aiming for further up the neck as he used his paws to help hold the yearling down. This was it, now. As Dawn teared at the underbelly of the target and exposed intestines, the stag began to go limp.

She did not know the precise moment when the stag passed over the line that marked the end of life, but it happened, and the beast lay still. She paused her tearing, warm meat in her stomach and satisfaction in her gaze, and let a blood-fringed grin fall onto her muzzle as she peered at Kieran, opposite herself. Satisfaction gleamed through her expression as she howled for the pack, before giving a writher of her tail and digging into the warm stomach contents before her, pleased with their success.  
fade here?

When at last the stag lay completely still, Kieran stepped back with a satisfied sigh. Hunting was tiring, but so much fun - and after a successful kill, you felt great. The boy beamed at Dawn, returning her grin before glancing back at the body that lay in front of them. As she tipped her head to howl for the others, Kieran joined in and then began to tuck in to the meal. They'd successfully brought a stag down by themselves - a young stag, yes, but still a stag. The hunter was most pleased with their catch.

Thanks for the thread!