Blacktail Deer Plateau A-Hunting We Will Go

[size=x-small]@Kesuk this thread takes place immediately after Let Me Make it Up to You[/size]

Koda followed at Kesuk's heels as she led him into the woods. He kept his yellow eyes peeled for any signs of deer nearby. Maybe they would get to hunt the plateau's namesake, the blacktail deer. Koda briefly wondered if there was any difference in taste between the deer species. It would be interesting to find out.

"Do you see or smell anything up there?" He called quietly to the black wolf in front of him.

Kesuk lifted her nose and stopped abruptly when a fresh scent caught her attention. It was a fawn, almost old enough to be on its own but not quite. It was not often that Kesuk got to have such a delicious treat. It had passed by less then ten minutes ago and it was definitely alone. "Follow my lead" Kesuk whispered lowly and padded as lightly as she could after the scent.

She could tell she was very close when she turned around a bush and she saw it. A male blacktail deer fawn stood, devouring the lush grass, completely oblivious to the predators just a couple yards away. Kesuk motioned with her soot colored ears for Koda to go around behind the fawn and flush it towards her, where she would deliver the killing blow.

"Gladly," he said with a grin. He snuck a peek at Kesuk's cute little rear end as she led him through the woods. He wasn't paying attention, so he almost bumped into her when she suddenly stopped. Koda looked past her and saw their quarry just ahead, nibbling on the last grass of the season. The deer was rather small, probably still under a year old, but he'd make a perfect dinner for two. Once they caught him.

He caught Kesuk's signal, and quietly went into action. Koda hugged the ground, using the foliage to hide himself from view, as he crept around to cut off the fawn's escape route. Suddenly the deer jerked it's head up, as if it had heard something. Koda froze. Was the prey onto him? The gray wolf held his breath as he waited to see what the deer would do next. The fawn licked a fresh bug bite on it's shoulder, then returned to grazing. Koda inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, then silently prowled into position.

Koda popped out of the bushes right in front of the grazing deer. Instead of running away the young deer froze in place and stared at the wolf, it's eyes wide and glazed over with fear. The hunter stared back for a moment, puzzled. He'd never seen a deer react this way before. Did the dumb beast not realize he was supposed to run away? "RAWR!!" Koda shouted at the top of his lungs. The fawn broke out of it's trance and bolted. Koda stayed on it's heels, snapping at it's legs to keep it moving in Kesuk's direction.

"Get ready Kesuk!" Koda yelled as they got closer to where the she-wolf lay in ambush.

The deer froze and looked at Koda oddly before Koda growled loudly and it bolted, in the perfect direction too. Koda and the fawn stampeded towards her at a fast pace as she crouched in the bushes, ready to spring. The fawn was getting closer, almost close enough for the kill and Kesuk could feel the adrenaline pumping through her.

The fawn came within reach and Kesuk sprang from her hiding spot, her long legs and sleek body catapulting her through the air to land gracefully on the creatures back. It stumbled under her weight and fell to the ground. She quickly leaned in and delivered the killing bite. Its blood was warm on her tongue and its meat tasted delicious in her jaws. It was hard for her to resist from eating a big chunk right there. She retracted her teath from its flesh and stepped off the now dead animal to face Koda. She gave a solemn, disappointed look. She help it for about 5 seconds before she let out a squeal of joy and tackled Koda. She licked his cheek and grinned.

"That was the most fun I think I've ever had!" she giggled before starting to climb off of him.

Right on cue, Kesuk busted out of her hiding place and dispatched the prey with one fatal bite. It was a flawless finish, Koda couldn't have done any better himself. He'd been expecting to do most of the work, but Kesuk had surprised him. "Nice!" Koda exclaimed, grinning at Kesuk. His smile faded when she turned to face him and he saw a dark expression on her face. "What's wrong?" He asked, puzzled. The hunt had been a terrific success, why did she look so disappointed?

Kesuk's playful tackle caught him completely off guard. "Oof," Koda grunted as he fell to the ground with Kesuk on top of him. Rolling onto his back, he looked up at her not knowing if he should be surprised or impressed. He couldn't deny that she was a lot tougher than he'd given her credit for. He smiled when she licked his cheek. "Good, I'm glad you had fun," he said. "You've got a serious killer instinct, I'm a little bit scared now."

"I'm still gonna get you back for tackling me," he said with a playful growl as he got to his feet. He caught the end of Kesuk's tail in his mouth and gave it a gentle tug.

Even though it was meant as a joke, Kesuk turned stiff at the mention of her killer instincts. The part about him being a little bit scared made it even worse. She hid the pain from her past as quickly as she could and forced a well practiced laugh when he gently tugged at her tail. She whipped it out of his jaws and softly swiped it over his nose, with the effect of a feather. She walked back over to the fawn and motioned to it with her paw, giving an over exaggerated bow.

"Would you care to take the first bite, Sir Koda?" Kesuk offered extravagantly, her head down and her paw out. She peeked up at Koda, her ice blue eyes meeting his glowing yellow ones.

Koda felt a sneeze coming on when Kesuk tickled his nose with her feathery tail. He managed to fight it back. The last thing he wanted was to spray Kesuk's glossy black fur with germs and boogers. He'd managed not to make an ass of himself so far, he wasn't about to start before they got to have their dinner date.

Koda returned Kesuk's bow. "I would be honored, my Lady," he said, playing along. He went to work on the carcass. He sank his teeth into the fawn's soft abdomen, tearing open a hole so he could access the juicy insides. He fished out the tasty liver. It was a bit on the small side, but it was the perfect sharing size.

"Mmm," he hummed approvingly, chewing on a mouthful of meat. "This is the best liver I've had in a while." He nudged the other half toward Kesuk. "You've gotta try some," he said with an encouraging smile.

Kesuk took a bite of the delicious delicacy. Koda was right, this was the best liver. She let out a satisfied moan and nodded her head in approval.

"You are so right! Its the best I have EVER had." she giggled, pulling off a chunk of meat from the fawns shoulder.

She lay down next to the deer and began to chew on it, the warm juices running down her throat. She let another moan at the perfect flavor and the tenderness of the meat. She wanted to look dainty and lady like for Koda, but the meat was just to good and she hadn't had deer in a long time. She decided if he was going to like her, he would have to like the fact that she needed to eat normal amounts of food, not the tiny portions that seemed appropriate for a 'lady'.

"It's even better because we enjoyed it together," he said with a playful wink. He watched the girl dig into the carcass, taking a huge chunk of meat he would have never believed such a skinny girl could eat if he hadn't seen it himself. He'd never seen a girl eat with such enthusiasm. He didn't care if she was messy and unladylike. He was just happy she was happy.

'I'm glad you like it, cause from now on I'm gonna make sure you get to eat like this everyday,' he silently promised her.

"Leave some for the rest of us, piggy," Koda teased the girl. He tore himself a strip of meat from the deer's haunch and swallowed it whole. He ate quickly, not because he was in a hurry to leave but because he didn't want to have to share with any scavengers. He'd already spotted a pair of crows in the branches overhead, leering down at the carcass with hunger in their beady black eyes. Soon, the rest of the flock would show up and they'd be up to their ears in dirty, noisy birds.

Kesuk grinned at Koda, "Says the one who just swallowed half the deer in one bite!" she teased back.

When she was done eating she flopped over on her side, all her energy suddenly gone. She closed her eyes and opened her jaws in a wide yawn.

"I'm so tired that I could sleep for a whole day!" she exclaimed, her icy eyes still closed.

Koda finished gorging himself and sat back on his haunches, waiting for Kesuk to finish. He gave a satisfied sigh. Now that his belly was full, he was looking forward to a good long nap. He guessed Kesuk felt the same way when she flopped over onto her side. Koda shook his head and chuckled softly at the girl. Was she actually comfortable laying there next to a half eaten carcass?

Seeing the wolves had finished feasting, the crows began to caw loudly, calling their friends over to join them. Koda wanted to join Kesuk for a nap, but he wouldn't be able to get any rest with these noisy buzzards cawing their heads off. With a groan he rose and padded to Kesuk's side. Her eyes were closed. Had she really fallen asleep already? He gently nudged her cheek with his muzzle. "Let's look for somewhere a little quieter to take a nap," he suggested.

Fade?

Kesuk nodded in agreement and got up to trot after Koda, leaving their finished meal to the now crazy flock of birds.