Two Rivers Isle What if the Storm Ends

Ady smiled through the rabbit at Ully, and snorted at him. But she followed behind him, brown eyes on the sweeping area. She was quite proud of herself. She was getting pretty good at this hunting thing. yes she lost the trail, okay. Yes it took her a while, but goodness for someone who had never hunted before she was learning quicker than she thought she would.

Ully took her to the weasel's lair and she met his gaze and then looked down. She lay the rabbit at her feet. And sniffed around the den entrance. 

Do i put the whole thing or just pieces? And do we leave and come back or?

She looked up at him with brown eyes alight. Curious and excited.

set directly after this thread

Ulrich's ears flicked at her questions and he stared down at the rabbit in thought. If we leave the entire thing right here, next to hole, it'll just dive right back in again the second it senses our presence. We should tear it into pieces and lead it away from the den, and then wait. One of us should be somewhere ahead, and one of us should wait for the creature to leave and then come up from behind so that it can't go back. He nodded. Help me tear this up. And he bent down and took hold of one of the rabbit's limbs, then gestured to Adylaide for her to grab its other end, like a game of tug-of-war.

Ady stared at the hole again and then the rabbit. What Ulrich said had clear sense. But she also wondered would the creature just take the pieces nearest the den or should they move it a little further away.

Should we not put pieces so near the edges? Though he had grasped the rabbit before she could get the question out. So she'd wait for that answer.

She grasped the other end a gentle tug and though it was grisly and they were doing something to better their territory. She also found it a little macabre game and she tugged.

They tugged and pulled and tore the rabbit to pieces between them, and Ulrich had to ignore the scent of blood and meat in his nose or risk gobbling up the bait. You're right, he said, at length. We should leave the pieces farther away from the hole, so it has to come out farther to get at them. Come on. He led her farther and farther away from the weasel's den, dropping pieces of rabbit here and there once he got a certain distance away. When they were done, he turned to look at Adylaide.

All right. Who wants to stay here and who wants to go back and circle it from behind? Be warned that this may take hours. With our scent so close, the stoat may not come out of its hole for a long time. This will be a waiting game, and we'll be waiting alone, as we have to wait in different locations.

Ady felt her mouth salivating at the smell, the taste, but she didn't even sneak a piece. She tilted an ear as Ully began to speak.

She followed his lead. Dropping pieces here and there, scattering it all about. Though she wondered if the creature would smell them on the meat. They hadn't perhaps thought of that. She wrinkled her nose in wonder, but continued.

I'll watch here. You can circle around.

She smiled at him

Ulrich nodded at her words. All right. I'll go back and hide somewhere in the brush. He wondered how well he would remain hidden, however. It was winter, and all the brush was leafless. Still, if he settled down behind one and held still, perhaps he could get away with it.

Just... be careful. As I said, weasels are vicious creatures, and once it knows it can't escape, it will attempt to attack us. We must kill it quickly or risk its claws and fangs. The waiting will be the worst part. It could take hours. Just sit tight and try not to let your thoughts wander too much. We'll only get one chance.

Ulrich came forward and kissed the top of Adylaide's head, and then spun around and went off to hide. Had the kiss been too much or not enough? He did not know. He found a spot near the den but hopefully far enough away and settled behind the bare branches of a bush. Leafless as it was, he could see well through it to watch the den opening.

Ears thrust forward as he spoke, and though she had made the suggestion. Now she wished he would be nearer. But that was selfish and they needed to eat. She couldn't have him to herself all the time, that was unfair to him and her.

I will be careful, I promise. She briefly wondered how a creature smaller than them could attack them. Was it a brave or foolish creature? Or was it desperation that drove it's ways.

THe kiss left her reeling, and warm. She had to stifle a small squeal of delight. He was becoming more affectionate and she was all for it.

Though so much time had passed. Ady was feeling restless, her body was growing aching, and she wanted to make noise or move, but she sat still. How long had it been?

Winter wind howled across the landscape, whipping Ulrich's fur, but he did not move. He had settled once more into the role of a soldier, whose job it was was to do whatever needed doing. And the more he shifted and moved around, the less likely it was that the stoat would leave its den. It must think itself safe before it ventured out. So he did not move, even as the cold and the stillness stiffened his joints and seeped into his bones.

And finally, after nearly an hour, he saw the white head of the stoat appear. It gave a tentative sniff of the air, but did not turn in his direction. The blood of the rabbit must have been masking his scent. It darted from its den quickly, its long, sinuous body scampering towards the nearest bit of meat. He waited and let it eat, and when it moved on, he followed behind at a distance...

Ady dug her paws into the soil. She didn't move, but the wind was cold and she shivered slightly. Moving so that her fur was not ruffled from underneath, closer to the ground. SHe was able to do so slowly and without incident.

Finally, she saw a small slinky creature as it climbed from the inner. She had to fight the urge to make a soft oh sound.  She tightened her stance, and waited. Brown eyes on the creature as it moved closer and closer. Her gaze alighted upon Ully and she waited for his signal.

Ulrich got as close as he could while still maintaining enough distance not to tip off the stoat. I was so distracted by the blood and the meat that it didn't even seem suspicious. After a minute or two of following it, he could see Adylaide up ahead, hidden in place. He shifted his paws a little, getting ready to spring forward, and then found Adylaide's eyes and nodded. Without hesitation, he bounded forward, trying to be quiet, hoping he could snatch the stoat up in his jaws quickly, but it had heard his steps behind it and took off ahead of him, straight towards Adylaide.

Ady was ready, but not that ready. As soon as Ully went after the creature, it went screeching and wailing towards her face and more adeptly her eyes. Brown eyes widened a pinch, and she let out a sharp growl and feinted, then smacked down hard with a paw. She didn't want to get her face near the creature. 

Whether she hit it or not she wasn't sure, but at least she tried. Ully would get it, she was certain. Deep even breaths trying to quell the panic the creature had invoked. What a horrendous loud little creature.

Ulrich's momentum carried him forward, and he could not afford to look away from the stoat for even a second, so when Adylaide growled and moved, he did not look at her. But he saw her paw shoot out and smack into the creature, and she had done it hard enough to stun it. Good. He fell upon the creature from behind, grasping it by the back of its neck and shaking hard, several times. It struggled and screeched in his jaws, its body and limbs flailing, but he only continued to shake until, inside his mouth, he felt the snap of its spine break.

He dropped it between his paws, panting, elated and looked at Adylaide. That was good. That was excellent. Truth be told, I was not expecting this to work. He sat down, taking a deep breath as the adrenaline from the chase slowly left his body. Now all we need to do is dig a hole and bury the stoat, and what remains of the rabbit. They had torn the limbs from the creature as bait for the weasel, but its head and body remained intact. Well done. He smiled at her, and imagined what they could do with a whole pack of wolves. These smaller prey animals would have to be enough for now, without the help of numbers. Still. He was proud.

Ady wasn't sure what was happening, it was all so quick. She smacked the creature and then Ully was there with a growl and then he was atop it before she could even blink. She winced as she heard the spine snap in his maw and between teeth.

She wagged her tail at his praise. We do make a pretty good team, even if I could do better. But I'm learning.

She laughed. Ulrich! Then why'd you go along with it, if you thought it wouldn't work.

They were doing well, she had to admit. More bodies of course would be great, but as they sat. And as she learned. For a small little thing, they were doing alright. 

Where is a good place to make caches? I assume not near the dens in case of pests or bears and stuff?

You are learning, Ulrich said, with another smile. It will become easier with time, though, as I said, not all hunts end in victory. We've been lucky so far. Lucky, but still losing weight. The amount of meat they'd found so far had not been enough to sustain them at the weight they'd been when they'd first run away. Still, they had not starved to death yet. Wolves were hardy. They had to be.

"Then why'd you go along with it, if you thought it wouldn't work?"

I had hope, he replied, simply. Without a pack, everything we do is a long shot. The worst decision is no decision. There's no time, on our own, to doubt. We must act when we can, or we die of starvation or the elements. He blinked, realizing how serious he had suddenly become. Don't worry too much about that, though. We'll be all right as long as we stick together. This wasn't, strictly, true, but it was something he hoped for, and therefore it wasn't exactly a lie.

She asked where they should make the caches and he nodded at her next words. Not too near the den, no, but other than that, it doesn't really matter where they are. We only need to remember roughly where we put them; ideally we should bury them down deep enough that the smell won't attract predators. However, the ground is too hard in the winter to dig that far down, so we won't have to be as precise in remembering right now. But that also means we'll have to check the caches every day if we can, to make sure they haven't been dug up.

Come, he said, and turned around, looking at her over his shoulder. You bring the stoat, I'll get the rabbit. With a nod, he led her off, to go and make their first cache.