Greatwater Lake Around the Lake

Title comes from this quote, by Wallace Stevens: "Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake." All welcome!

Ellie was hungry, and she was staring with wide, glazed-over eyes at the herd of deer lounging beside or -- in some cases -- in the lake. Peregrine's words the other day had placed fear, and determination, into her heart, and she was determined to use this potent combination to force herself to hunt an animal larger than a hare. She knew that going after a full-sized deer by herself was not the greatest plan in the world, but she was getting tired of rabbit and fish for food all the time.

Ellie, it seemed, had been born a bit on the slow side when it came to things like hunting and fighting. Most wolves had these skills ingrained into them from birth, though, of course they would need honing to get them right. But the tawny she-wolf, she seemed lacking in some kinds of instincts, so that she was more helpless than most in a this world of "survival of the fittest." Before today, she had never tried to make up her lack of skill with hard work. Before today, she had always been lazy and undisciplined and was extremely good at coming up with shitty excuses for why she sucked at doing wolfish things.

Today, though... today she would shine brighter than she ever had... If only she could figure out what the fuck she was doing, as she lay down in the tall grass fifty feet back from the herd.

Osprey couldn't decide whether nobody noticed that she was spending lots of time outside the pack lands or whether they simple didn't care to stop her. "Maybe they're all too busy with Uncle Atti," she thought aloud as she strode down the towpath leading into the wilderness beyond her home. "Poor Uncle Atti." She frowned thoughtfully. She still didn't quite understand what had happened to him. He appeared to be in one piece, yet he didn't move much and never spoke. It was like he wasn't... there. Honestly, Osprey could hardly stand being around him and she definitely didn't understand how or why her sister spent so much time hanging out at the Healer's den.

Her thoughts carried her far away from the plateau. Abruptly, Junior blinked into awareness and stopped, glancing over her shoulder. Should she turn back? Pursing her lips, she faced forward again and squinted as something... glittered in the distance. Her head cocked and she began walking slowly again, intrigued by this strange sight. Eventually, she broke into a light trot, then began galloping when she realized it was sun glinting off water. Was it the sea?

When she arrived at the lakeshore, she realized she could see all the way around it, which differentiated it from the ocean. It also didn't smell salty. Nonetheless, she found herself gaping at the enormous, glassy lake. Then she noticed the herd of deer on the other side and she crouched instinctively, trying to make herself inconspicuous. Her two-toned eyes followed them as they milled along the shore, alternately drinking, grazing and even wading into the cool water.

... You just had to join, didn't you? Lol. :P Also, Osprey is like... pretty much full-grown now, right? I wanna know in case I describe her. I'm also PPing the herd.

Ellie, who was lying in the tallish grass on the opposite shore from Osprey Jr., didn't even notice when the other female arrived. Her stomach rumbled angrily at her, and she sighed quietly. She was salivating now, and some sort of instinct was driving her, so that she crouched and moved toward the herd, one step at a time. Her eyes scanned the group, trying to pick out a suitable deer to try and take down. She was looking for a small one, as she wouldn't have the strength to take on a buck...

There! Towards the back of the herd, and therefore closer to her, she found a doe grazing by itself. She took a second to wonder why no one in the herd was trying to protect the baby, but became too impatient to go down that trail of thought. She didn't think that maybe it was sick, which meant it would also be a shitty source of food, and she probably shouldn't eat it. All she knew was hunger and a relatively easy kill, as long as she didn't screw up.

In another moment, she had bunched up her back legs, and was now running like a maniac straight for the doe. The rest of the herd bolted, but the baby, whose back leg was broken -- and infected -- only stumbled, fell, and cried out weakly. Ellie was on her in a second.

Yes, she's nearly the size of an adult. :)

Osprey was still intently studying the herd when a tawny wolf appeared from the long grass beyond them, heading directly toward the cluster of deer. The pup swallowed and sat up a little straighter, watching the solo hunt unfold. The stranger directed her attention to a smaller doe that fell behind even as the rest of the herd bolted away from the shore. From across the lake, Osprey could hear the animal's strangled cry. Her over-sized ears twitched.

With the deer scattered to the wind, Osprey pushed herself upright. She stood still, tail twitching and muzzle tipping into the air to pick up the scent of fresh blood. She made no attempt to lope around the lake or otherwise approach the stranger. She simply watched, wondering if the solitary wolf would eat where she stood or attempt to drag the carcass to cover somewhere.

Sorry for the wait.

With a heavy sigh, Ellie left the deer alone without taking a bite. Right after the scent of blood had gone from her nose, the scent of infection had filled it, and she knew instinctively that this animal wasn't safe to eat. She backed away from the creature, not really knowing what to do with it except to let it lay there and rot away. Afterwards, she became extremely paranoid and felt the sudden urge to bathe, in case any of the infection had gotten on her.

With a running head start, she stumbled and then swam into the lake, and began paddling around, trying to get clean. It was then, as she looked without purpose the other shore, that she saw the female watching her. Ellie let out a short bark, in an attempt to get the other to know that she saw her. After that, she ignored her. Her sole goal now was get the infection off of her.

Wasn't much of a wait. :P

The wolf didn't even eat at all. She seemed to consider the kill for a moment, then suddenly plunged toward the lake. Maybe she was really thirsty? Or maybe she wanted to wash the blood off before she ate...? Osprey continued to watch her, head tilting and an increasingly "WTF?" expression creeping onto her youthful face.

Finally, Junior couldn't take it anymore. She began to lope around the lake, though she didn't approach the fresh kill, lest the tawny stranger spring from the water and attack in defense of her food. The pup eyeballed the carcass from a hundred yards away, still utterly perplexed about the entire situation.

Ellie continued paddling around the lake, feeling her paranoia slowly slipping away as she watched the other wolf lope towards her, and then look curiously over at the deer carcass. Sighing, she began a slow swim towards the female, and called out as she did so. "I wouldn't try to eat that if I were you. It's back leg is infected, and I don't wanna find out through ingesting it how much the infection has spread to the rest of its body."

She got up out of the water now, slowly approaching the black wolf... who... now that she thought about it, reminded her of... someone. She looked the young she-wolf over, eyeing her carefully, trying to figure out whether she had maybe met her before. In the end, she couldn't pinpoint what was so clear in the very back of her mind, so she asked, "Do I know you?"

When the stranger spotted her and began to swim back to shore, Junior backed off a few dozen yards and braced herself to run. The she-wolf spoke to her in an amiable enough voice, though, warning the youngster away from the apparently infected meat. Osprey blinked at the stranger, glanced at the kill, then fixed her two-toned eyes on the wet she-wolf.

"I thought you were s'posed to pick off the old and sick," the pup said. "My dad says we have juices in our stomach that kill, uh... back, uh... back... terry... uh?" She looked questioningly at the adult, brows knit together. "I'll eat it if you don't want it," she declared perhaps a bit boldly in the next beat before shaking her head and replying, "No," to the stranger's latter question. Osprey had never seen this wolf in her life; of that, she was certain.

Here ya go! I'll get Ellie outta this thread and you can close/archive it! :D

"You mean bacteria?" Ellie automatically corrected. "And also, I didn't know that about prey. I always thought you were supposed to stay away from sick ones. Thanks for teaching me something new."

As she continued forward, getting ever-closer to the she-wolf, a sudden scent infiltrated her nose and sent her reeling. Peregrine! This young wolf smelled of the male who had tried to kill her just days before. Ellie swallowed, pupils dilating. How did she know Peregrine hadn't told his pack about her. How did she know she wasn't walking into a trap?

She laughed nervously, then turned tail and fled, leaving the wolf, and her infected prey, far behind...

Perfect, thanks!

"Yeah," Junior answered when the other female corrected her. She quirked a brow, wondering if the tawny she-wolf was messing with her. She didn't sense sarcasm in her tone, so she paused, then nodded, "You're wel—"

Her voice cut off when the scent of fear suddenly permeated the air. Junior shifted uneasily as the other wolf's eyes suddenly looked wild. Without another word, she spun on a heel and fled, leaving behind the slain deer on the lakeshore. The young pup stared after her, surprised and apprehensive.

Then the smell of fresh blood pulled her attention back to her immediate surroundings. She picked her way toward the kill, sniffed at it, then began to eat. She filled her stomach, sensing nothing wrong with the meat. She did feel an urge to defecate immediately following her meal, yet this was not particularly unusual.

Junior buried her scat, then roamed around the lake. Several game trails led to and from the shore into the surrounding lands. The scents there were rich and plentiful. She scouted them for a while, then eventually grew bored. She strode back to the dead deer, scattered the carrion-eating birds pecking at it and chewed off its right forelimb. The young Outrider then trotted away with her loot held firmly if awkwardly in her jaws.