Blacktail Deer Plateau They didn't know it when they turned me loose

Just hunting to work on his trade :)

The wind combing through his fur was the most pleasant feeling as he stood atop a small rise in the earth, though it brought with it a cold chill. Winter. He had been waiting for this season for the entirety of the last, dreading the icy breeze and especially the lack of prey. His worst fear, however... was this was the same season, but a year ago, that all his troubles seem to have occured. This season was the one in which his sister was lost to him and his mother was found... dead amongst the white snow. The season in which Hawthorn had wanted to end it all, and the season in which any child-like attitude was stripped from him. The season where he'd had to grow up.

Perhaps that was why he watched the land from slightly above, eyes scanning the landscape as he searched for the prey that was difficult to find now. He didn't like Winter.

It had been a while since the huntress had seen Kieran last, and thus it was his presence on a ridge to her left that had her adjust her course, soon rising to stand beside him, demeanour easy as she offered a smile and a quick greeting to her old friend. "hunting?" She asked, willing to bet that she was right. With the winter setting in in earnest, that was what most of them spent their days doing.  He certainly seemed to be scanning the land, though whether it was in search of prey, or in contemplative thought she did not know.

His attention was drawn with the presence of another close by, and as he turned his head he gave a small smile. Dawn. It had been a while - too long, he had decided, since they last properly spoke. The boy nodded, gaze casting out at the land again for a moment before returning to his friend. "Indeed. Do you wanna join me?" He tilted his head. Having a companion in his attempts would be nice, to say the least. Besides, they were far more likely to catch something as a team rather than solo.

Besides, it would be nice to hang out with Dawn for a little while.

He reaffirmed her gues, and she nodded at the question. "of course," Glancing back out at the land he surveyed, she asked, "do you have anything in mind?"  The deer were getting difficult to find, and the herds were fairly strong; it'd take a pack to take one down. The sheep too, ought to take a pack, but turkey, rabbits and other birds ought to be fairly easy pickings The difficult, of course, would be finding them.

He was glad she agreed to hunt with him. The yearling gazed back out at the territory around them for the third time. "Well... whatever we find, I assume. But nothing too big, because there's only two of us." Though that was logic, most likely she'd already thought of that. The boy squinted his eyes against the coming darkness - it seemed not only was Winter cold, but it brought night out much sooner. 

Kieran shrugged, then. "I suppose we should get moving, right?" He smiled a little.

Snow began to fall, nothing like the flurries she'd seen in the past few weeks, but the slightest precipitation, so faint it almost seemed like dust swirling around the plateau. Nodding her head in ascent, she added,  "there might be something near the north-eastern bit - it's more sheltered there." She'd seen grouse there the other day, peppered along the ground in little divots as they waited out the storm. She'd yet to try and hunt one, however. And, they might be more than a little difficult to find in the evening that hid them from sight, and the deep snow that hindered the hunters.

The snowflakes were almost too small to be considered snowflakes, yet his head turned upward to the sky for a moment, retreating back down to glance at Dawn as one fell into his eye. He blinked, unamused, even at himself. He still strongly disliked snow. That one image... of his mother, lying still in the mound of snow, reappeared every time. He couldn't seem to shake it off.

Kieran nodded slightly at the huntress' words, "Let's head that way, then." He replied, tail trailing out behind him as he began to walk, head lowering to the ground every so often to see if he could pick up any trace of prey amongst the cold snow.

She moved alongside the boy, heading in the general direction she had seen them last. It took only a few moments to find the area she'd seen them last, but after a thorough vetting of the place, she could only discover little indent in the snow where surely the birds had rested, and bits of feather and vegetation. The birds themselves, however, were absent, leaving behind an annoyingly fresh scent. 

Looking to Kieran, she suggested, "should we split up? they can't have gone far." Likely, the birds had headed into the open areas of the territory to gather and eat, but finding the group of birds might prove to be difficult. She'd wait for his confirmation, however, before making any more to head off on her own search for the birds.

Sorry I'm taking so long on this o-o

His paws moved steadily across the ground, eyes trailing the horizon as the two walked. Soon enough they came upon the area Dawn had last seen them, but the birds did not remain here. Rather, there were bits of feathers and a scent that was undeniably theirs. 

"Alright," He agreed to split up, head nodding as his eyes sparkled a little - hunting was always fun, the thrill of the chase was one of his favourite things and the chance to do it again (despite doing it every day) would never be passed up.

They parted, and for a time the girl poked through the wood, finding not much else besides a few droppings and dead ends. She huffed at her poor luck, wishing she'd taken advantage of the nesting birds earlier; of course, without a partner, her catch would have been smaller. She'd been hoping to find her set of grouse quickly, but it seemed they'd headed into the deeper wood. Sighing, she continued her search, hoping Kieran would have found something worthwhile.

I'm so sorry about the hold up

While Dawn had not managed to find anything, Kieran had his black nose lowered to the ground. The trail was a little faded and tricky to follow, but he continued to follow it with a flicker of hope in his chest. He noticed the presence of Dawn, and he peered upward to meet her gaze, gesturing to the trail with a grin on his maw. It was still 'fresh' enough to follow, but the snow had a bad habit of masking some of the scent.

Hopefully they'd find something at the end of it.

It was after some more fruitless searching that she stumbled across a flicker of scent, and thus found herself near Keiran again. Certainly, that was a good sign; if they'd both found the trail, it ought to be fruitful. With a grin, she fell into step beside him as they moved up the trail, pausing only when a flicker of movement came through the trees up ahead. Pausing, she fell motionless, whispering a quick, "stay here- be ready," before slinking off through the trees. Circling wide around the flicker, she soon caught sight of the whole little flock. When she stood opposite of Keiran did she approach, not making any effort to go unseen. Her slow, meandering walk had the things chatter and begin to waddle towards Keiran - just what she wanted. Too fast, and they'd fly into the trees; too slow and they'd think they were being stalked. She kept up the careful balance before they looked too alarmed to allow her to herd them much longer. With a rush, she lunged towards them, sending a small, fluttering cloud to Keiran.

no worries! it happens :D

Dawn fell into step beside him and he grinned back, continuing to follow the trail. They'd both found the trail, it seemed, so hopefully that meant they were in luck. There was a flicker of movement in the trees ahead and Kieran paused just as his companion did, nodding at her words. He remained still, crouching low and readying himself. 

Dawn headed off into the trees and so the boy was left in his position, gaze trained up ahead and searching for the first sign of movement. His ears perked as the bird's chatter reached him, and he tensed his muscles, waiting to spring. There was a loud squawk and a rush before the birds came into view. Kieran wasted no time, leaping as they came close enough and feeling a rush of excitement tingle in his paws at the hunt. His jaws came into contact with one of the birds and he bit down quickly, dropping the body to the ground before attempting to spring toward another before it had the chance to flee. They were moving quickly, but he might be able to catch another if he was speedy.

She rushed out after the birds, nabbing the tail feathers of one and throwing it down to the ground with a twist of her head. She was hardly in the position to catch very many, however, and a few more half-hearted lunge was all she offered. Kieran, however, was in the optimal position, and she watched with a grin as he went after bird after bird. When the chaos had died down did she close the distance between the two of them, bumping his shoulder good-naturedly and her bird hit the ground beside his own with a dull thud.