Luneshale Pass Sol

Relentless heat and the buzz of desert insects. It had been like this for miles. The ground was cast in various oranges and browns. More vibrant in some places but all relatively similar. There was little green, limited to the ground nearest to natural water sources. It was surprising to come upon the glittering oasis and its surrounding life. On the edge of the water sat a fat and happy lizard. It basked in the warmth of the summer sun before scurrying away to the undergrowth as the wolf drew near. 

Juárez drank at the edge of the water. Slow, drawing in his drink with a few lazy laps on the surface. His gold figure would blend well against the redstone backdrop of the desert. Once he’d had his fill, the jaguar turned to look back. @Soto would not be far. 

he plucks a fat locust from a waving strand of rhodes seed-head, crushing the juicy meat between his teeth. juarez drinks ahead, his pantherine form hunched over silvery water.

soto draws besides him. the heat of the day already so oppressive he feels it wrap around his throat.

they’d decided luneshale would be made theirs. it’s close to another pack, but the oasis is nearby, and it’s prime growing locale for the green. soto glances past the jaguar, measuring the sun and the soil for where best to make camp.

Juárez sinks his legs into the wet and feels the rush of cool water against his chest. Soto appeared nearby.

Refréscate. Tenemos mucho camino por recorrer.

The jaguar pushed deeper, feeling the water rise to his chin and flush through his exposed teeth. Snout submerged, he gazed at the rush of fish that passed with the current. Juárez pulled back, drizzling onto the surface of the water. The lizard had vanished from its sunbathing place. A few more laps to satisfy him before he stepped onto the bank and shook his coat.

soto stood at the bank while his brother slipped into the cool water, the muscles along his back outlined by the sudden heaviness of his fur. 

he did as he was bid, coming to mingle in silence alongside the pantherine form of his brother. 

he remained in the water a little longer, listening to the splatter of liquid as juárez crested the shoreline. 

the lizard was gone and the fish downstream. soto ignored the grumbling of his stomach, turning to the bank after juàrez’s rippling form.

Soto said little. Juárez eyed him.

The bronzed young man had grown into a sizeable adult. The cool hawkish gold of his eyes, burning with detached interest. It was as though everything and nothing appealed to him. Soto did as he was told and he did so quietly. Juárez could not have asked for a better brother.

The jaguar snickered, sniffing at the tracks that formed near the bank of the water. Wolves had used the trickling creek as a reprieve from the rough dry of the lowlands.

Juárez hummed low in his throat, a rumbling sound. When his voice broke free, it filled the air in a raspy song.

Sobre esa fortuna abandonada en esos cerros de México.

The jaguar was also hungry.

after Juárez crested the bank, soto followed. he bent where his brother had and drank of the rich scent deposits there, that spoke of a vibrant tapestry of life visiting these shores. 

the jaguar moved off with a snicker, the rasp of his song floating through the banks of the arroyo. while soto could often be regaled to join, this time he remained silent — for a particular scent caught his attention. 

he moved after it with a flick of his tail towards his brother; look here, it said — where the fresh track of a young hog left perfect imprints in the clay.

Juárez watched his brother, followed his body language. The jaguar lowered his head and prowled toward Soto, dropping his snout to sniff at the earth. The smell of pig was strong enough - strong enough to follow a trail.

A glint of his exposed teeth showed as Juárez lifted his head and drank on the wind.

They would hunt. He took to following the tracks with a swift pace - rippling muscle with each stride.

the pelt of his brother ripples as he bends to the earth, musculature rough and gleaming. soto’s eyes travel to the thick connective tissue along his ruff. 

Juárez has had his fill; he swings heavy paws forward in a stalk and soto springs after. 

he follows his nose through the needling dark. the path winds through fen and thicket, but it is by the causeway of stone and rubble that the pig’s scent is thickest.

That sharp tension in Soto's body was indicator enough. Juárez swooped in a wide circle to create space ahead of his dark kin. His nose sought the fragrance of the earth and the pig. The rocks beneath his hunter paws made little sound. He moved over the stone with purposeful strides and a hungry gleam in the blood color of his eyes. 

Darkness wrapped its arms around the prowling shapes. It devoured them and held them in its pitch mouth. And the brothers were comfortable in that black. 

The scent of the pig grew stronger. Juárez pricked his black-tipped ears, standing tall and pointed and searching. A fat grunt from ahead was the sign of the beast they sought.

they slip into shadows as otters slip into stream; their steps measured and silent. 

grunts of their future prey filter through the peaceful noise of the woods. soto sees his brother’s gleaming eyes, tall ears — all communicating his mark. 

he swings from the brush at a gorilla’s hulking run, the distraction — his fangs hook on the fat of the pig’s mouth while his sinewy body dances just out of reach of the tusk’s revenge. 

a squeal of anger bursts from the boar. he rounds his thick shoulders and belligerent skull, lowers his head, and charges straight for soto.

hours later, they are cleaning the blood from their pelt and moving gingerly on full bellies. juárez begins marking the perimeters.

and soto sets to work in the garden.