Bitterroot Valley the law of tooth and claw

Silently the two males had acknowledged eachother, and with neither one of them showing signs of aggression it seemed that they were both content to work as a team for the sake of a decent meal. This was confirmed as the darker-furred male quickly advanced towards him, moving to stalk barely foot away from his side. The dark hair along Niall's back bristled and the bridge of his muzzle wrinkled, a subtle warning for the stranger to move no closer. The pair were not properly acquainted after all and Niall had no plans to rub shoulders with the other wolf. 

Honeyed ears pricked up at the stranger's question, and his silver eyes darted away from the elk herd to flash across to the male. A silent nod of agreement was given in response. 

As they stalked closer to the herd, the elk began to disperse. The prey must have caught their scent on the breeze and started to panic. The two males held back, watching as the tight-knit group spread out across the valley. Niall's attention was drawn to one elk in particular, a female, who appeared to be limping on her right hind leg. The other male quickly confirmed the target, pointing it out to him. 

Niall scanned the herd again, but his attention was drawn away towards the front of the herd, where he spotted the silhuette of another wolf in the distance, who was quickly joined by a second. The pair seemed familiar with eachother, as suggested by their close proximity to eachother. It seemed as though the other pair had spotted them. Niall let out a grunt and pointed his muzzle towards them, alerting his hunting companion to their presence. 

It seemed as though they were all after the same thing, though Niall was unsure if the other pair would be willing to co-operate or would instead attempt to steal their target. The male's fur bristled again. They had spotted the weakened female so they would need to take her down quickly, before the other two caught on.

"Let's go." Niall ordered, a slight growl in his voice before he leapt forwards into a chase, glancing back only once to his larger hunting companion to see if he was following behind.