Redhawk Caldera Hunter's Furyyyy!

AW!

The morning broke quiet over the Caldera, cool air carrying the smell of leaves just beginning to turn. Hotah moved slow along the ridge, his dark frame blending into the shadow where the trees hadn’t yet let the sun in. Below, a small triad of deer picked at the grass, their heads lifting and dipping in rhythm.
He crouched low, taking his time to watch them. They were lean, but strong enough to put up a chase if he rushed it. His tail gave a single twitch before settling still. The Caldera had been good to him so far, and he meant to prove his worth with more than words.
Hotah eased forward another step, careful not to break the hush of the morning, his eyes fixed on the deer and the ground between them. One good push, the right angle, and he might have a chance.

any interest in bringing this up to date? <3

It was good to see their newest member settle in.

Trailhawk had…limited experience in being above someone, technically. Home had been family. The pecking order had been parents and then their children. Here was not so different due to the Redhawks who ruled the roost but it was not all family who lived among them.

Like Hotah.

She realized at once what was occurring. Which meant she acted accordingly, crouched low and softly winding after his own trail. Large paws treaded over now familiar ground with careful ease.

A sidelong glance offered his way.

Two was better than one, no?

Good with me!

Hotah’s focus had been locked on the distant movement of deer, the cold air clearing his head more than anything had in days. He hadn’t seen Towhee since that night, and part of him figured keeping it that way for now was best. Hunting was simpler. Cleaner.
The soft crunch of steps behind him drew his ear, and when he glanced back, Trailhawk was there— low and smooth in her approach, reading him easily. His brow lifted a fraction, intrigued despite himself.
Nice of you to join me, he murmured, shifting to give her room at his flank. His tail gave a slow sweep. If she wanted in, he wasn’t about to turn her away.

She offered him a grin at his greeting and a wide sweep of her tail. Talking would have been nice. If only to know more of this handsome hunter who had come to the Caldera. Yet she was not ready to turn her attentions away from the hunt at hand.

Lead, She instructed him in a firm but hushed voice. A gesture towards the small trio of deer.

Then after she would pester him with many questions!

Hotah gave Trailhawk a small nod, the corner of his mouth twitching like he might’ve smiled if they weren’t mid-hunt. Talking could wait— this, at least, was something he knew.
If there was one thing he could do, it was hunt.
He lowered himself into the brush, eyes fixed on the trio of deer ahead. His paws moved quiet, practiced… and for once, his head wasn’t full of the awkward mess he’d walked into with Towhee and that brown male, Rodyn. Whatever tension had hung between them, he’d blundered right through it like a fool. Social finesse had never been his strong suit, and the memory still sat rough in his chest.
Hunting was simpler. No guesswork, no misreading looks or tone. Just the land, the wind, and the work.
Hotah slipped ahead, silent and steady, leading her into the stalk.

It was easy to fall into step alongside him. Their pace an acceptable creep towards their target. Even if the silence hung over them in a way that gave way to thinking.

The children might enjoy the hoof of one of these creatures as a toy. Even if they were growing! The richest meat could be given to the Elder Redhawk and Matriarch Amalia. Then the rest might be divided up for caches.

Good to stock them now before the snow laid thick over the land.

A sidelong glance was given to their newest member. Keen to respond to any signals he gave.

Hotah moved in easy rhythm with her, dark frame gliding low through the brittle grass. The quiet suited him; hunting had never needed words. His focus tunneled down to the deer ahead— every flick of their ears, every pause in their steps. He tracked for weakness, waiting for that one mistake.
It wasn’t hard to picture how the spoils would be used: the softest cuts for Towhee and Amalia, the rest split and stashed away before the snows locked the world down. Maybe the kids would even get a hoof to bat around. It made the work feel like more than just instinct.
He caught Trailhawk’s sidelong glance and dipped his head, a subtle flick of his tail— ready.
Then he moved.
A burst of power carried him out of the brush, paws slamming the earth as he cut hard toward the flank of the herd. The deer scattered in a panic of hooves and snow-dust, and Hotah pressed forward through the chaos, singling out a smaller yearling that had stumbled wide from the others. He drove at it fast, sharp and relentless, aiming to break it off and drive it back toward Trailhawk’s waiting teeth.

It seemed he was good at more than just marmots!

She watched as he initiated the chase, yellow eyes keen as he split off a young one from the group. It would be her job to place damage upon it for a final killing blow. There could be no better bonding between pack mates than this!

She rushed on long limbs, muscled from time spent traveling before she had settled here. Her teeth aimed for the deer’s neck. It would be no killing blow at first, but it would be a hold on the prey. Bringing it down to the earth so they might finish it off.

Hotah let out a short, pleased sound—half laugh, half breath—as Trailhawk closed in. A smile tugged at his mouth; hunting felt good between them, tight and true.
He drove the flank harder, pushing the yearling where she wanted it, felt the animal falter beneath their coordinated pressure. When Trailhawk came in with her teeth, Hotah moved in to lock the shoulders, weight settling so the deer couldn’t twist free. Together they worked the animal down, practiced and clean.
When it finally stopped, he eased back and grinned at her, dark eyes warm. Good strike, he murmured, voice low. We make a decent team.

Excitement bloomed within her!

How good it felt to run, to chase, to hunt! She did not think she would become some reigning champion of hunting in the Caldera but...she liked the helping. It showed in the way her fur had become a prickly thing, standing on edge. Her tail a curving wave behind her.

His praise only heightened her emotions.

Call on me for this whenever. Half a boast but mainly genuine. We can become best team. A bit of practice would hurt neither of them, no? And it would be good to bulk their caches as much as they could in the coming weeks.

Hotah wiped his muzzle against his foreleg, still grinning faintly at the way her energy practically sparked off her fur. She looked alive in a way that made the long chase worth it.
Best team, huh?”he teased lightly, though there was no missing the sincerity in his tone. He glanced down at the half-divvied deer, then back at her.
Before you go… he shifted his weight, a little hesitant for once, would you want to do this again? Tomorrow night, maybe. Just you and me.”His smile turned wry, almost boyish. Like a second round. Call it… practice. Or— his brow lifted in humor, a date, if that sounds better.

If there was boyish unease, she sensed none of it. In her eyes he was a shining new recruit. Eager to establish himself much the way she had been — and still was in many ways.

Her ears stood tall at the length of his words though. A sheepish grin replaced the buzzing one full of energy.

Date.

You. Me. Tomorrow night. She had not declared it neither just practice or date. Yet there was unmistakable warmth to her now that had not come from the hunt. First of many! She called out as she decided to take some kind of light, teasing route to whatever this was.

A long look over her shoulder before she'd leave him to the messier work of hunting.

Hotah couldn’t help the grin that tugged wider across his face, something easy and almost boyish. Her warmth lingered like the heat of the chase itself.
I’ll hold you to that,”he called after her, voice low but colored with humor. His gaze followed the sway of her shoulders as she slipped away, the tease in her parting words sitting pleasantly in his chest.
Then he glanced back down at the half-divvied deer with a quiet huff of amusement. First of many, indeed.

I'll close this up and start a new one. What a lovely interaction, thank you!