Blacktail Deer Plateau A Taste for Deer

After her conversation with Thistle Cloud and the male wolf at Horizon Ridge, Macawi was feeling particularly bold. The next morning, she continued on her way to the next area, a place she had heard was renowned for its deer population. Perfect, she thought. A light meal. Macawi had not had a proper meal in ages. She had forgotten the last time she had tasted deer. But, if she was just quick enough, she might be able to pick off a younger one and have the meat all to herself. With this thought in mind, she continued on her way.

Soon enough, she had climbed the mountain to the plateau, where the overwhelming stench of wolf markers filled her nose. Wonderful, she thought with glee. More friends for Macawi the Coyote-Wolf! And so, continuing on past the borders, she went on the hunt for a herd of deer to satiate her new hunger…

Fox had warned Peregrine about coyotes. When he caught wind of one while out hunting for his mate and pups, the Alpha male quickly veered toward the borders with the intent to chase it away. He didn't get as far as the borders, however, because the coyote had crossed right over them and entered the heart of his territory.

As soon as Peregrine spotted the intruder, he rushed toward the coyote with every intent to kill it. His eyes gleamed with deadly purpose as he closed the space between them, as did the fangs that unsheathed themselves from behind black lips.

Macawi smelled the big, angry, he-wolf before she saw him, and when she saw him, fear coursed through her body. But she kept smiling, even as she backed away.

"Morning!" she called to him, ignoring his bared fangs. "Macawi was just browsing your menu, so to speak," she continued in her silky, accented voice. "Plenty of deer for Wolf and Coyote alike! Especially since this coyote is part wolf!"

Even as she spoke, she continued to walk slowly backwards. "Come now, friend. There is no need to be chasing! But if this wolf insists, then Macawi must warn him: Macawi is the fastest runner of all coyotes! She wishes him good luck in catching her!"

I don't want to auto-hit but Perry's definitely not going to stop and chat. Pardon his mouth, lol.

The coyote didn't even attempt to flee. As a matter of fact, it turned toward him—he could see its feminine features now—and smiled. Even as he barreled toward her like a cannonball about to smear her on the ground, she did little more than back away a few steps, chirping out a cheerful greeting. The gall of her, to admit outright that she was hunting on his grounds!

In reply, Peregrine closed the space between them and snarled, "Get the fuck out of my lands or I will kill you, you thieving skank!" There were only a few feet left and he sprang at her, aiming directly for her throat.

Macawi immediately tucked her chin to her chest, let her body go limp, and rolled away to the side. Two feet away, the wolf next to her skidded in the grass. The coyote hopped to her paws and retreated back a few feet. Instead of running away, she said, "Perhaps in exchange for a deer, Macawi could teach this one how to move like she does? Hmm? A big, bulky male like you must learn to use his weight properly, or all prey will hear him coming long before he arrives! Wolf must learn to stay light on his feet, like Coyote! Never stop moving. Let each move flow into the next. Do not barrel at me as you were. Barreling gives you too much weight and you become easy to topple over. This time, try prancing. Keep your paws light. Besides, prancing is much more fun! Try! You will see!"

With that, Macawi began prancing around and around the snarling wolf, grinning from ear to ear and completely enjoying herself. Wolves were much more fun than she expected they would be. If only they would realize she wanted nothing but their friendship! Her quarter-wolf blood gave her an odd sort of understanding of their nature, and all she wanted was to be near them without being hated so.

All Peregrine could think was, Shut the fuck up! as the coyote spurted out nonsense. When the flow of words did not stop, he nearly verbalized the thought in a furious bellow. Instead, he refreshed his attack, intent on making her shut up.

She might have sidestepped his first rush and he could see that she was light on her feet but the quarters were simply too close now for a full evasion. Peregrine lunged again, his jaws snapping toward her slender, cream-and-cinnamon muzzle.

This time, Macawi knew that she had gotten a bit too cocky. Either that or this he-wolf had actually listened to her advice. She yanked her head away a bit too slowly and felt the stinging slice of a single fang dragging across her muzzle. She quickly backed up a few more feet, keeping wary eyes on this angry male.

"Macawi is impressed, angry one," she panted, feeling hot blood running down her maw. "Not many can say they have touched Macawi. But let Coyote ask you this: If she leaves your territory, and stands at the edge of it, will you speak with her without attacking?"

With that question, she turned her body slightly diagonal so as to walk away and keep an eye on the wolf at the same time. She padded lightly past the scent markers that bordered the territory until she was on the other side, and then promptly sat and waited.

Although it was fulfilling to feel his teeth rip into her skin, the relatively small wound it inflicted did not satisfy the furious Alpha male. He couldn't decide if the coyote was cocky or downright stupid. Why didn't she run? Did she really think he was listening to her? Sure, she was slippery but she was taking a huge risk by insisting on hanging around; her luck would run out and she would pay with her life.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET OUT," Peregrine thundered in her face even as she suddenly turned and began cantering toward the borders. The swarthy male ran after her. He wasn't going to be satisfied merely chasing her away, nor would he cease his assault until she was well beyond his borders.

When she made the mistake of popping a squat, he sprang at her again, once more aiming to kill, his fangs seeking the side of her neck in the hopes of ripping right through it. He would happily feed her carcass to his family once he laid her to waste.

Macawi sighed, even as she rolled away from the wolf's attack for the second time. This one would never learn. That she knew for sure. The wound along the side of her nose stung, and she was growing bored of this easy fight and angry at this male's insolence. "Did your mother never teach you proper manners?" she asked incredulously. "That is no way to speak to a lady!"

Macawi sighed again. "Besides, ignorant one, in case Wolf hasn't noticed, Coyote is not inside his territory anymore. So he has no right to keep attacking. She has done what he wanted, has she not. Can we not be friends now? Perhaps in exchange for teaching Wolf how to prance, Wolf will teach Coyote how to be stubborn and angry, yes?"

It aggravated him deeply when the coyote sidestepped him again, as if by some miraculous luck. Peregrine whirled, trying to cut off her agitating, chirpy voice by aiming a savage bite at her muzzle. If he couldn't grab her by the throat and throttle the words out of her, maybe he could simply eat her face. That would certainly get it to stop flapping.

OOC: Dear GOD, you have the most irritating, uncooperative character EVER. How does he even have a MATE? I would think all the females would think he was an ASSHOLE. So IMPATIENT and ANGRY. Just - JESUS.

IC: Macawi had learned from her previous mistake what to watch out for with this big male wolf, and so this time she yanked her head back just in time so that the wolf's jaws snapped down on air. With that, she aimed a swat at his face and then said, "Fine, fine. Macawi knows when she is not wanted. But she will be back to aggravate Wolf again one day. Count on that!"

Then, without a second glance, she had turned and was gone down the mountain, running as quickly as she could. "Unless, of course, Cousin Wolf would like to give chase!" she called over her shoulder, not stopping.

Yes, he's meant to be that way. He's actually meant to be very wolflike, i.e., territorial. Sorry, it's just his character. :)

Unlike the coyote, Peregrine did not possess magical dodging abilities, so her swat landed, though it didn't do any damage beyond pissing him off and wounding his pride. With that, she went skittering back to where she came from, chirping more irritating words over her shoulder.

The swarthy leader put all of his energy into giving chase, yet she definitely had the advantage of speed. He followed her for nearly a mile before finally slowing down and stopping, hurling an angry oath after her. Peregrine stalked back and forth for a few moments, then slowly loped back to the plateau.