King Elk Forest chomping right down

@Ksenia!

Oh go on then, she decided, with more than a hint of uncertainty — but a certain devil-may-care attitude brought about by the relief of seeing green grass again. It was just past dawn, and Shreya had finally decide to nip out of the Silver Creek borders and have a sniff around that big forest they'd passed through on the way here. Being old and rather frail she had never done this before, but, off she went now, trot trot trot, right over the borders until she walked among unfamiliar trees.

Shreya enjoyed the light breeze and growing plants for a while, and then almost stepped on a mouse. It was already half-dead, for whatever reason, and, while not a good hunter at all, the wild wolf seized her chance. Then there it was, the little prey, dead and loose between her teeth. She was very tempted to swallow it right down, but restrained herself — she had great grandchildren to feed. So she turned and started to make her way back through the forest, cutting her little adventure short.

She'd stayed, against better judgment, if only to find out more about her brother. Why he'd chosen these lands, she didn't know, but she hadn't exactly followed every move he made. There was some action near the coast but she never felt comfortable or safe enough to get any close and instead, Ksenia wastes away further inland than she cares to be. The sea calls to her often, as does Warsaw, and given her other sibling she'd seen, she isn't sure what's going on back home. There's a part of her that wants to give up entirely and return home and take her throne as it should be. 

With a sigh, and a sharp inhale of breath, she smells blood. It's faint and there's another scent mixed with it that sets her stomach upset down. Ksenia growls, lowly, as she migrates through the forest until she sees an older wolf. One brow arches high as she approaches, head low and teeth bared. Whatever kill hangs between the old woman's teeth, Ksenia wants.

Although she was far from youthful, Shreya still had an instinct that made the hairs on her scruff quiver with suspicion. Either she sensed someone nearby, or she was starkly aware that she was standing on neutral territory, on the way out of a famine, with a healthy little piece of meat in her jaws.

Either way, she started to get a move on pronto — only to find herself in the path of a great snowy predator. Shreya did not slow her pace, acting as if she was trotting on by and merely saying hello in passing. Ah you don't want this, she said casually out of the side of her mouth. It's a measly little mouse. Girl like you, you could probably bring down a deer. She glanced at those exposed teeth. Or an elephant...

There isn’t a lot the other wolf does except babble around the kill, trying to charm her way into getting something else. She’d been unsuccessful most of the time and the lone wolves in this area were hard to come by, especially when she prefers spending time alone. Gauntly, bony—the famine had not been any kinder to her than anyone else—so the older woman’s flirtatious sway did little.

“But do you see a deer?” she asks, teeth still flashing, drool pooling out of her mouth. She snaps her teeth together, then uses her tongue to wipe the sides of her mouth. “Or an elephant?”

Ksenia inches closer, carefully putting one foot in front of the other. A tremor runs up her limbs she struggles to mask, but she manages to keep upright. It is then she offers only one more chance for the elder to give up the kill, “you’ll likely be dead tomorrow anyway, so just give it to someone who needs it.”

She hadn't truly expected the wanderer to latch on to her point and deem it a good one. As for the elephant jest... well that was just an in-joke between Shreya and Shreya. And her way of keeping her cool while staring down the barrel of the gun.

The wolf prowled towards her like a panther on the hunt, but not with perfect elegance — it seemed almost as though she were injured. It struck Shreya there and then that she could offer medical advice in exchange for the mouse. But plantlife was still far from abundant, and she was definitely not going to nip back into Silver Creek for the pack's medical stock. Besides, it was just a mouse. Her catch had been a fluke.

So she dropped it, and stood aside. The lone wolf's words: "someone who needs it", had struck a chord with her, because Indra and Laurel were the ones who needed this food. But if she admitted that, she could put the pups themselves in danger. So fine, the wounded panther could have the mouse. Are you not going to say 'I'm your worst nightmare' or something, she grumbled with distaste as she made to walk away.

The old bitch should have dropped the mouse and kept her mouth shut. Ksenia would have waited until she was gone before seizing the kill, however a new hungry rumbled in her chest. She lunges as soon as the wolf turns to leave and overshoots the kill for the tender flesh of an older wolf. Skin delicate and easy to fray, muscles that barely have any resistance to her attack. An action that, for younger wolves, could be an easy decision to run in order to avoid any damage.

Teeth come together quickly to snap around one of her back feet in her sudden enraged frenzy.

It seemed Shreya had damaged the lone wolf's pride, and was about to be punished for it. As she walked away (quickly speeding up), the girl caught up to her with no effort at all and lunged at the nearest piece of meat — not the dead mouse, but one of Shreya's back paws. The old wolf yelped with pain as teeth sunk into her paw, and she struggled wildly to get free — to no avail.

Sorry for the wait. :x

The feeble leg kicks in her mouth as she tries to get away and her jaws only press down harder, but ultimately she lets go when she gets what she wants. The old woman has more fight than she expects, but perhaps only because she is emaciated and tired, but the taste of blood feels her mouth and her stomach rumbles in protest when nothing comes to follow. She snarls and snaps forward until the woman is far enough away from her before she turns, scoops up the tiny kill, and disappears in the way she'd come.

All good, ty for the miniplot! :)

Shreya cried out a garbled bark of pain, and struggled free — apparently because the lone wolf let go, but she didn't realise that for a while. Shreya ran until the pain got too much, then slowed right down and kept looking behind her. Then, with a sigh, she started the long hobble home, leaving a dotted trail of blood in her wake.