After her brief trip to the other side of the mountain, she had eventually returned to the wetlands to pass the days there. Hunting remained fruitful enough to keep her anchored, even while she considered the few packs that she had heard of so far. But she merely survived, not thrived by any means. It was just.. adequate.
It grew colder and colder by the day. The nights were long and lonesome. She had swiftly come to miss curling up with her mother as she had done in the last cold autumn she had known. Or, late in the winter and early in the cold mountain spring, when she had been able to wrap herself protectively around her younger sister and brother with their smaller bodies radiating a comforting heat..
She remembered it all with an ugly grimace. Even as the early morning's drizzle showed a few small traces of light, scarce snowflakes, she recalled the days past -- the bonds she had shared, now severed, and the lives she had loved so absolutely that their absence was still more of a wound than she led on. Perhaps Ame had not mourned as properly as she should have or had the time to do all she needed to do to finally heal from their untimely end.
And yet this was no time for that. She had to feed herself as the burning ache in her stomach so kindly reminded her suddenly. At least the drizzle was letting up significantly by now, so that was a very welcome change but she could not yet find any delight in this day. The dark female huffed and lowered her nose, searching and hoping for a trail to reveal itself to her, and yet, all she smelled were dried, dead flowers. Even this meadow seemed cold and unfriendly to her for reasons she could not yet place. She was too hungry and distracted to focus well enough on the lands themselves, not that she had been able to devote much time to that lately anyway.
Amekaze continued trekking further south across the open expanse of land with an easy jog and still, the trail was quiet and lonely.
She headed north. After walking a mile, she looked up and noticed Mag flapping quietly overhead. Pied smiled wanly, glad for the company despite the ghostly magpie's utter silence. After watching the drifting bird a moment, she refocused her attention on the terrain ahead. The young Starbuck hadn't left Blackfoot Forest since joining ranks with Bon Dye, so her current surroundings were entirely unfamiliar.
A cool drizzle began to fall and the temperatures dropped, turning the precipitation into small, misty flakes that clung delicately to Pied's lashes. When the wind picked up, it bit into her and she shivered, yearning suddenly to turn back and curl up in her log back home. Yet why should she turn back? Except for Hawkeye, Pied hadn't seen anyone from Bon Dye in weeks. Could she really consider it her home anymore?
Suddenly, the realization that she was essentially homeless struck her and Pied froze in her tracks as small crystals of snow drifted around her. After a feeling of momentary panic at her predicament, she sucked in a steadying breath and squinted her heterochromatic eyes against the swirling gray. Her heart gave a strange little leap when, through the curtain of drizzling snowfall, she spotted something dark against the grayscale backdrop. Hawkeye was her immediate thought, though she quickly sensed that it wasn't her Ogoun companion.
Whereas Pied was headed north, the stranger was jogging southward, meaning that the two of them were heading right toward each other. Pied did not veer from her original course, glad for some social interaction, even with a stranger. She realized that she was craving company quite badly. She hadn't had much time to enjoy the social benefits of Bon Dye and her experience with the Dragonwatchers had left her feeling wretched. All the blotchy Pied wanted was a positive experience with another wolf.
"Hello," she greeted when the two of them came within earshot of each other. She kept her posture neutral, her soapstone ears flicking curiously along with her tail. She came to a halt, drawing up perpendicularly to the dark she-wolf. "I'm Pied... from Bon Dye," she added a bit reluctantly, as it felt like a misplaced title now. "What brings you out here?" she queried, eyes panning over the bleak wasteland of the meadow rimed with hoarfrost.
Already she had attempted to achieve the mindset she would need to face winter at full power, but beneath dreary skies and with her breath clouding the air, she was struggling still. The troublesome hunger of this exact moment was not helping any either. In fact, she felt it was serving as the biggest distraction of them all and it was quickly feeding a growing frustration -- the only thing being fed right now as her tracking remained fruitless.
She still had to find her path, wherever it may be, and now, winter was just going to make that all the more difficult. In remembering her sister (and mother also) so sorrowfully, she was coming to realize how lonely she was as of lately too. Interactions with other wolves were few, like with Koontz and Vehiron, yet each had served their purpose. Even still, she had yet to feel the definite pull to join a pack and have those interactions on the regular. The idea seemed overwhelming when she thought about it. She would wait. For now.
She turned her eyes skyward to the silhouette of a bird while still trotting along, although slower now as she observed. Squinting, she identified it as magpie but uncharacteristically spared little time on the airborne corvid; her focus was meant to be on tracking. There was no time for admiring a bird, unless that bird was to be food. But her attention was quick to be drawn elsewhere. She spied another heading her way and Amekaze kept moving as well, bringing them steadily closer with curiosity brimming.
Ame lifted her head and narrowed her eyes, finding herself perplexed by the wolf's markings that she had first thought she had seen wrong. But no, she was.. oddly shaded, certainly, and unlike any she'd met before. However, her posture was her neutral guarded stance as she drew to a slow stop.
Hello,
Amekaze breathed in reply and noted the name and.. what she guessed was either a place or a pack or some sort of clan perhaps. Bon Dye?
she repeated in question and settled her watchful eyes on the mottled female. The unnatural words were very awkward on her tongue and she paired that with a subtle frown. I was hoping to track then hunt..
she trailed off and squared her paws. Obviously enough that had not panned out as she had planned. I am Ame.
She had yet to introduce herself in full to anyone. So far, it had never been necessary.
After giving Ame the opportunity to answer that question, Pied sighed softly in commiseration but said nothing on the plight of Bon Dye for the moment. Instead, she sympathized, "My stomach is probably nearly as empty as yours. I don't usually hunt with someone I've just met but, if you're game"—she cracked a thin smile at the joke—"I'd love to join the effort."
The delicate curtains of snow continued to swirl around them, diminishing Pied's field of vision considerably. However, she did notice a flurry of movement in an unexpected place: high up in the sky. She tilted her head, her brow furrowing as she spotted not one but two magpies in the air. One was flying in a straight line and the other was performing what could only be called loop-the-loops around its seemingly unsuspecting brethren. It took Pied a beat to realize that it was the ghostly Mag seemingly having fun with her oblivious living counterpart.
Pied's tongue pulsed and her lips parted as she prepared to point out this silly sight to Ame. Her jaws clicked shut a second later, of course, as she realized that Ame couldn't possibly see Mag. All she would see was a lone magpie flapping across the bleary sky, a black grain of pepper against a backdrop of salt pouring from an invisible shaker in the sky...
Naturally enough, she assumed the pack's forest to be nearby. She looked beyond the peculiar-looking female for a second to glance in the way which she had come. Amekaze had not been that far south yet so this was the first she heard of Blackfoot Forest, Bon Dye and their.. voodoo -- another strange aspect that drew her expression into a quizzical squint.
Straightening, she nodded curtly to the pleasantries and then to the question, she replied with a quick No I am not.
She already wondered what further inquiries this might spur, as it at times seemed that nearly everyone except for her was a pack wolf (which was probably for the best). Perhaps loners here were more rare than she had initially suspected. Then again, it was just as likely that she just never crossed paths with her fellow recluses.
She was forced to pause, finding she was caught off guard by the pack wolf's interest in hunting alongside her (also that it was strange that she hungered as well -- packs kept caches and stockpiles, correct?). However, this was not exactly an offer she would be wise to refuse. She could skirt joining packs all she liked but this was much less committal and the benefit was obvious. Amekaze nodded. Hai, it has been a long time since I have hunted with company.
Not since home and now, Pied was regarded in a new light -- hunting partner. For now.
I have not found a trail yet, matters seem.. scarcer than a few weeks prior to me.
She turned and took to motion again, looking towards the lone bird silhouette again briefly; too bad it was not a turkey vulture for she knew they were usually indicative of something to scavenge at least. Amekaze then ignored it, sniffing the winds intently. And I assume your path here was not fruitful either. Perhaps west a ways could be better?
She was mapping a strategy already and in doing so, likely appeared seemed a tad more talkative than her normal.
Eventually, Ame agreed and thoughts of Mo melted away, not unlike the snowflakes falling at their paws only to disappear upon impact with the relatively warmer ground. This snowfall would not stick easily. It was something to note, especially as the pair of them prepared to begin their tandem hunt.
"No kidding," Pied replied seriously, her cheeks puffing out with a weary breath. "No, I didn't see or smell much of anything on my way out here. West sounds good," she answered readily. "Lead the way?" she added a moment later, feeling it was more natural to follow Ame's lead.
She could not despair long about the snowflakes sticking to her dark coat, not as she narrowed her focus towards tracking. Although not exactly the scenery she wanted, all expansive and subtly snowing, it would have to do so long as it could yield her something. Hunger was such a tiresome ache and she was eager to put it aside for today, especially if snow stayed in the forecast.
Amekaze dipped her muzzle in a quick nod and as asked, she took to the lead. Despite not being overly familiar with the area, she relied on instincts and perhaps a tiny dash of luck in picking her immediate course. Finer adjustments could be made later (assuming there would be anything to scent) but for now, she aimed just west.
For a short while she was quiet, hoping that prey would reveal itself before too long. She drank in the scents, sounds and sights intently yet insofar, her senses found nothing. Amekaze felt a twist of worry deep in her being. Was this a sign of times to come? Her lips quivered in building distaste.
Glancing to Pied, she found she had to ask before the hunt deepened further. Why are you not hunting with your pack mates?
she asked with hushed tones and eventfully returned her eyes to the path ahead. Not that I am complaining any, it is not a custom I have seen much of,
she then remarked quietly. She just thought it curious still and considering that she knew so little about Bon Dye and its wolves, she wanted to know more while she could.
She kept prowling along at a steady pace, beginning to suspect a faint trail that would hopefully manifest to more. Amekaze could already feel impatience nipping at her heels and a measured exhale reminded her not to rush what could not be helped.
Finally, Ame broke the silence with a question, though she kept her voice very low. Pied made to answer when a movement near her feet caught her attention instead. A field mouse had burst across their path. As soon as it realized its mistake, it turned rapidly and tried to dart back into its hole. Yet, driven by hunger, deep and instinctual, Pied pounced like a fox and ended the rodent's life with one well-aimed swipe of a pale paw.
She removed her foot to reveal the mouse's slightly crushed remains, then looked questioningly at Ame. Normally, Pied would not object to splitting a kill with her companion, yet how on earth could they divide something so small? Her stomach wailed silently, warring with her manners. She wanted to offer the entire thing to Ame as an act of good will, yet her hunger protested, staying her tongue.
"I don't have many of those left," Pied said, offering a very delayed answer to Ame's question. Then, even as she moaned inwardly, she forced out the words. "Here, you take it," and pushed the small lump of meat toward Ame.
Most small talk did not suit her and even less so with the prospect of a hunt. It never occurred to her that others may not be as comfortable in silence as she was. Nevertheless, even now, after her question, she remained quiet and focused as Pied sprung into action upon an unfortunate mouse. It had happened swiftly, from the second the rodent appeared to its end at the paws of Pied, and Ame watched impassively as she loomed nearer to investigate the kill -- small as it was, it was still fresh food. The scent of the newly-shed blood tickled her nostrils and her stomach gave an anxious twist.
She began to step back and prepared to head on to look for more like this. Pied's words (especially when they came to be the answer to earlier's question) then slowed her down and an ear remained angled her way.
Evidently the voodoo pack was not flourishing (numbers wise). Questions arose as she learned of this, yet she swallowed them back down. Was prey to blame, or other reasons? She did know it could be nearly anything. However the offer brought her thoughts back to the here and now immediately. She shook her head in staunch refusal. No, you killed it. Perhaps there are more near,
she said even if she did not care for it all that much. If not, she would go without for now and with that said, she got to moving again which left Pied no room to object.
Now with more motivation, she put her nose to the ground and set to threading through the tall grasses. Scents were sprinkled here and there of old and new alike. She wanted to find their little mouse holes in hopes that there would be someone home.
Focused, she eventually felt like some progress was being made although it did seem like so long since she had smelled the fresh kill, which was surely warming Pied's belly by now. Then suddenly, she heard a nearby rustle. Small, faint, but not unnoticed by her ears, she zeroed in quickly and then flushed the rodent from hiding. This opened an opportunity for her and she swept in with snapping teeth.
She missed the first try and her jaws closed around air. A growl rumbled forth and her second attempt came with a greater punch -- she sprung forward with even more urgency and seized the small mammal. This time, her mouth snapped shut with a crunch.
Triumphant, the loner lifted her head to see Pied's doings so far and realized the hunt had taken her even further to the west than realized. Amekaze had been absorbed in her own hunt and subsequent kill that she had momentarily lost track of her, but rapidly sought to change this. Pied appeared to be a very good-natured wolf. However, letting her too far out of her sights did not seem quite wise. Or it was possible that she was being overly wary still. With company so infrequent, she found it hard not to be so.
It took her only a moment to lick up the last drops of blood. When she lifted her head, she turned to watch Ame ranging off several dozen yards. Motionless, the piebald she-wolf watched as her companion went in search of other field mice. Pied winced slightly at Ame's initial failure, then waved her tail when she heard the sound of teeth crunching delicate bone. As if this noise were a cue, she began to trot to rejoin Ame.
Ame looked up even as Pied approached, a wary look in her eye. Pied slowed slightly and even glanced over her shoulder, then made a beeline toward Ame. "Should we keep trying for mice or do you want to move off in search of bigger game?" she asked. When they'd set off, neither one of them had had rodents in mind, surely, but beggars couldn't be choosers, could they? Pied would be satisfied with whatever sustenance she could get right now.
After watching Pied briefly, she then made quick work of the small kill and enjoyed the taste of fresh meat -- despite the smallness. She would have preferred a bigger meal of course but at this point, she would take anything and everything she could get her teeth on. At least it was not scavenging for old, picked-over frozen meats. She enjoyed the warm meal.
Does this field usually offer anything bigger?
she asked despite being somewhat uncertain if Pied would know or not. Amekaze did not usually hunt here and with scents seeming relatively sparse, it was difficult to gauge exactly what would be able to find here. She sniffed the breezes thoughtfully and her expression furrowed in concentration.
Although still potentially a tall order for just two wolves to successfully hunt without risking injury, Amekaze could always go for fresh deer. It had been much too long since she had tasted venison but she knew the likelihood to be very slim. She would likely need to think a little smaller than that, because at this point, everything was game to her.
![[Image: 5ifpFkc.png?1]](http://i.imgur.com/5ifpFkc.png?1)
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
"I'm not sure," Pied admitted. She found herself licking her chops between words, despite having already removed the last traces of gore from her muzzle. She could still taste the metallic tang of fresh blood on her lips. She paused and added, "There's only one way to find out: we have to look. I say we search for half an hour, then fall back on the mice if we don't find anything. That way, we don't waste too much energy..." It was becoming a precious resource.
With that thought in mind, Pied leaned forward as if to take a step, hovering for a moment before finally falling into motion. Her first few steps were slow, yet she began to gather momentum. She woofed to Ame to encourage the dark she-wolf to join her and fell into a gentle trot that would cover ground without sapping their strength too much.
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Considering her unfamiliarity with the area, searching was really her only option and since Pied could speak of no certainty, she dark female nodded. Works for me,
she replied with an exhale. Searching for too long for something that could not be found could cause more problems than it was worth, as much as she hated to accept the fact. With winter upon them, all her energy was precious, no matter how delicious and filling a larger kill would be.
Soon enough, she fell into step behind Pied and set to searching with her nose low and eyes and ears peeled. The minutes ticked by with every step and still, she detected no obvious trails. Hope waned and a brisk wind gusted by, strong enough to ruffle her coat uncomfortable, but she doggedly pinned her ears back for warmth and persevered in her search.
However, time ran thin..
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
The minutes ticked by with no sign of prey, large or small. Pied's stomach pinched. She wasn't tired at the moment, yet she knew that roaming around like this would eventually take a toll. When she felt that thirty minutes had elapsed, she decided to cut the hunt short and return to pouncing mice. It was better than nothing and required very little energy expenditure.
"I'm sorry our search wasn't more fruitful," she said regretfully to Ame even as she slowed to a stop. "Let's snack on as many mice as we can find," she said, trying to inject some optimism into the statement. A little food was better than no food at all.
Trading a hungry, tight-lipped smile with her partner, Pied pivoted and turned back, visions of small, crunchy mice dancing in her head.
Their search yielded nothing better, but it was not all a waste. A part of her had been prepared to accept this outcome. She could not expect all hunts to pan out as she might have preferred. Hunting mice would have to do and Amekaze shifted gears to that sort of thinking now after a quick whuff of agreement.
She let Pied lead the way back and eventually branched off, although never trekked too far away. Now and then she would glance over to see how Pied's hunts were faring between her own successes and failures. Minutes passed and with only once she was content with her spoils from the hunt did she part ways, wondering if Pied would ever be seen by her again or not. Amekaze wouldn't find it to be a bad thing if so.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」