Bearclaw Valley i could just sink into this sea, forever

in the quieter halls of the valley, indra had spotted a small herd -- and remarkably, the blackened doe she and @Blondine had seen before. at first she had watched the cervine creatures amble through the snow -- once she felt their location was consistent, she quickly turned back on her heels and made for the den blondine often slept in.

the girl ducked under outreaching arms of douglas fir and trawled through deposits of snow-laden briar. "blondine!" she called, looking around her as she stood in the melted snow.

It wasn’t often that Blondine got to have time to herself, so when those rare moments did occur, she made sure to indulge. Had it been anyone else who had interrupted her nap, Blondine might have had some less-than-polite words to say, but because it was Indra, she let it slide. Groggily, she stood and followed after the russet nymph, mumbling and grumbling about how unsatisfactory her nap had been. 

What’s all the hullabaloo? Blondine asked, just before lifting her gaze and spotting the distant frame of the doe. It was if the Lord had given her a second chance and Blondy had no intention to waste it. We’re gonna get it this time, she said to Indra, jokingly judging her shoulder before trying to strategize their approach.

indra might have felt bad she had woken blondine -- but the prospect of good deer meat only stayed her regret for so long. she was excited as she lead the woman to the small herd, and she looked expectantly at blondine as she awaited the russet woman's recognition of what she had found.

the black doe.

a small smile worked its way on her normally solemn features and she nodded, crouching down into the snow. "definitely. let's just avoid standing on snow, right?" she joked, already stalking a few meters out to assess the herd better.

as of yet the deer were still unaware of their presence, and indra looked briefly to blondine to see if she had gotten into position.

With a firm nod toward Indra, Blondine began to mimic the huntress, snaking her way around to get a better view. That was their doe, without a doubt; everything about her looked to be identical. Still healthy and still standing, despite the winter, this doe was strong and would make for a hearty meal. The two of them had already learned the hard way that they weren't built for camoflauge in a terrain like this, so they would have to make do with the natural cover around them. 

Blondine was quick to crouch on the right side of the doe, bum wiggling excitedly in the air. Before doing anything, she looked to try and make effort with Indra in order to give her the opportunity to do the honors.

The pair fell wordlessly into position as the deer remained oblivious, their hooves scraping snow and slender heads browsing the exposed topsoil. Indra kept to the flank of a fallen timber, her gaze following the hind with hunger.

She looked to Blondine pointedly then, having almost missed her presence - as soon as their gaze briefly met she motioned for movement and was off, striding out of cover to ambush the doe.

She made for the doe's haunch, and lunged with jaws parted for bony, slender hock.

They were ready this time, or so Blondine told herself. It seemed like no matter how much training went into catching this rebellious doe, the two of them would never be able to get it right. With wide eyes, she watched Indra lunge and miss for the doe's hock, then stood motionless while their prey made a run. In that split-second of thoughtlessness, Blondine was completely separate from the hunt.

Once she'd rewelcomed herself into the world, Blondine began at an almost immediate sprint, pushing herself to the limit so that the two of them might actually win a meal.

she drove behind the doe's retreating tail, her jaws worrying nothing but air. the doe had bounced when indra had bobbed and she came up with nothing but the taste of defeat clenched between her jaws.

blondine had lagged and she slowed for a second, concerned -- and it was long enough that the doe had managed significant distance between them. the headway gained was not insurmountable, but it presented certain difficulty -- in one last effort to rally indra surged ahead, but the doe's agility was too much for the redleaf to match.

I tried

That split-second of carelessness had cost them their doe, but Blondine wouldn't let her go without a fight. Indra was already doing her best work at chasing down their femme fatale, but even that wasn't enough. The bovine sprite had been instilled with a fear for her life; no matter what they did, the hunters would never have that same edge.

It quickly became clear that they had been bamboozled. Blondine was getting ready to shut down like she had last time, but because of Indra, she was able to keep her composure. With a frustrated sigh, Blondine tried settling the pounding in her temples with a few quiet words:

That damn doe.

they tried, but success eluded them on swiftly fleeing cloven heels. indra settled her pace and drew alongside blondine with a sigh, tracking the doe's receding form with wistful hunger in her gaze. it would do no good to extend all their energy in a fruitless chase -- and it was better now to recognize defeat than to push for it and threaten their reserves.

"she really is the one that always gets away." indra offered ruefully, swinging around her russet companion with her nose trailing the ground. perhaps they would have better luck rousing smaller game, and she searched the forest floor for any tracks that might give away the presence of an easier meal.

Already, Blondine was conceptualizing a grand scheme to take down that doe. They would have her before winter was out, that was for sure. There was no reason why a deer — a deer, of all things! — should have been able to outsmart two huntresses as competent as Blondarine, but for whatever reason, it had. Maybe that doe had something to protect, and that was why she'd fought so hard.

For a moment, Blondine was able to sympathize with the doe. It was a short moment, but a moment nonetheless.

Begrudgingly following Indra's lead, Blondine planted her snout down onto the snow-dusted ground and began to sniff for any nearby vermin. There was a faint scent that trailed northward: a groundhog. It wasn't going to be as large and satisfying as their doe, but catching it would mean success. This way, she barked to Indra with a smile, I smell lunch.

the two slaved over the snow-crusted soil until a scent was detected; indra lifted her muzzle as blondine called for her, exposing a thinly-there scent that indra likely would have overlooked. she trotted over to the spot blondine had nosed and drafted a deep breath: groundhog.

"good catch," she piped up, watching as blondine already mosied down the frozen trail. maybe this time they'd be luckier. indra was never one to turn down an opportunity to show how bad she was at hunting, and she followed quickly behind blondine at a steady clip. her own muzzle was held low to the ground as she went, but the trail was rather faded and she followed blondine's lead carefully.

The scent trail was faint and unreliable, so it took a few false turns here and missteps there for the groundhog to finally come into view. It was clear then, why the scent had been so poorly maintained; their prey was already dead, though presumably not for long. Instantly, Blondine's excitement died down and her adrenaline flatlined. Lucky catch? she joked, though there was more disappointment than relief in her voice.

wanna wrap up this one so we can chalk it to our hunter trades? <3

indra followed nose to the ground after blondine, not far from her heels. the scent was nearly entirely faded -- up until they came across its corpse, rigid as a bough. indra eyed it and drew her nose across its small shoulders, inhaling deeply by its mouth. whatever had killed it, she didn't know -- she couldn't detect anything she wouldn't have eaten on its' stale breath.

"better than nothing." indra supplied dryly -- and it was true. she would wait then to see if blondine wanted to eat it; if not, indra would scoop whatever was left in her jaws and quickly bring it to the cache.

With a tired and frustrated sigh, Blondine nodded her head along to Indra's positive affirmation. You ought to take it, she said with a friendly gaze, I can't eat it. Leave it in one of the caches, maybe. Their hunt was over and Blondine could feel another episode coming on, so she thought that it would better to leave with a proper goodbye this time. 

After approaching Indra and giving a salutatory nudge to the huntress's cheek, Blondine began her slow promenade back to her den.