Dawnlark Plains i can feel it on the back of my tongue

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trade thread - tracker
perhaps it is the northern's words that haunt her, the lingering feeling that she ought to have done better; protected their hunting grounds without making an unsavory first impression. yet whatever the reason, she's stayed mainly within the maplewood and plains; the itch in her paws strangely lacking. 

instead, she'd found herself watching carefully the herd they'd picked the aging buck off from, gaze drifting from creature to creature, lingering here and there on the aging, the one who seemed young and bold; and therefore likely to make mistakes that could make it either a good target, or a fearless adversary. she huffed, finding some shelter under the sparse canopy that spread out from the maplewood, rain driving into the flat earth all around.

Soaking wet, Shale looked even more ghastly than he did with his pelt fluffed out. The skin clung tight to his bones, and there was an angularity to his face that wasn't there before; it made him a creature both fearsome and fragile. He saw Dawn hunkered under a group of trees and grinned, trotting her way and shaking out his pelt once he'd taken refuge himself. Fat raindrops still fell upon his head, but it was drier here, and the rain gave a peaceful soundtrack to the scene.

"The herd is strong," Shale remarked, eyes raking over the deer. "Too bad we're not strong enough to take full advantage of it. How are you?" he asked, concern in his gaze for his niece as he turned in her direction, blinking the water out of his eyes as he stared at her. She had been working hard, too, and it showed. The situation with Aditya hadn't helped, either.

she dipped her head in agreement, brow furrowing the slightest it thought.  "with time, we'll be strong again - even if we have to wait until the pups grow." it is more than a hope, it is a need and something that must happen. if not, they'll simply fade away. the herd shifts, her gaze bounces from animal to animal. "as well as I can be." 

he's thinned out, sharpened, the most out of all of them. she is silent only a moment before she offers, "and you?" he should be eating more. thin hunters catch little prey, and besides, he's old, as old as her father had been.

This'll be my last post in here, I know you need it for trade so I wanted to make sure you got your 3 posts :) Sorry to bounce out so soon but I'm tryna kill this guy for good

"Never been better," he responded, meaning each word. So what if he went to bed with an empty, aching stomach, or that the mere thought of fresh meat instantly had him salivating? He had a beautiful mate and four perfect, healthy children; he wasn't about to tempt fate by asking for more. They were fine, so he was fine. And the food shortage would not last forever.

Shale nodded to the cluster of youngsters in the bunch. "They have lots of young, too," he remarked. "Will be good for us, in the future. The does had a good fawning season." As did the Morningsiders. Eight pups, all of them well. They couldn't have been blessed with a more auspicious breeding season.

"Soon it'll be fall," Shale murmured. His lips lifted in a smile. "Our family has always thrived in the cooler weather."

omg no worries! my bad, I kept missing this thread - thank you <3

she dipped her head, but kept silent at the remark. it wasn't sarcasm, as she'd first suspected, but something sincere. her gaze returned to the deer and she nodded, carefully. "we ought to preserve them as best we can, but they'll fill our caches if we need them to."  she'd rather see the herd growth healthy and larger, as would only serve the pack in the long run, but desperate times called for early cullings. 

she agreed softly at her uncle's sentiment, imagining for a moment the plains cast in ivory. the spoke a few moments more before parting ways, unaware of the ash that would fall like snow only a fortnight later.