Dawnlark Plains redthroat

Something had awoken her in the night. By it's screams, it sounded vulpine in nature. And yet something felt terribly wrong with the way its shriek echoed about the plains.

It was curiosity that drew her from the treeline in the end. Settling into a fast lope, the little bear trekked across the frozen ground, over boulders and between snow-sandwiched shrubs until she came upon a lone pine tree. From there she continued with her nose to the ground, following the trail of blood. 

The scent soon transitioned to streaks of red, vibrant against the pristine snow. She winced and pressed on. Reaching a large boulder, sure enough said fox lay bloodied and broken beside it. Upon closer inspection, the poor thing was still breathing, albeit its inhales shallow and uneaven. With a heavy heart, Mishka approached the body, all the while ears swivelled on high alert.

May the Great Fox take this little one swiftly before whatever attacked it returned.

i knowww we have a thread but we can make it fast! this is another educational thread lmfao <3

sadey was still recovering hard. reno was aloof but brought kills into camp. and lonesome wasn't made for the work that you needed to do out here.
his crimson eyes watched the scene below. he snorted to @Dagur. "that ain't the one what killed that fox." he could smell its dying musk from here.
at length, briggs spat, switched the birchbark to his other cheek, and jerked his head before he set off across the rolling land toward the stranger.
"evenin', ma'am," colt greeted in a friendly tone that perhaps marston hadn't ever heard. "yew kill this'un?"

He didn't care that they had left.

It hadn't mattered, really. He was there because The Big Man was. Now Big Man was here, so he was here too.

Simple math.

The Big Man greeted the woman in a tone that Marston did not understand. It wasn't angry, it wasn't a teaching voice. What did Big Man want with red fur?

Marston remained silent, the perfect image of a learning child.

the stranger looked up. perhaps the approach of interlopers was enough to make her wary.
at any rate, she retreated directly. colt spat. he eyed the dying fox, still filled with a cruel breath.
"kill it," briggs ordered marston, watching the silhouette of the woman disappear into the landscape.

The woman left, which was fine by Marston.

No need to share when it seemed there were already so many to share with. The fox seemed already upon the cusp of death. Gasping and twitching. Marston recalled the coyote. Recalled the deer.

This would be easier, he thought. No flying long legs or hooves pointed to blow his face. Of course it still had teeth and claws but...

Kill it.

All he ever needed to hear, to launch into a bloody frenzy at once. This time he wished to be quick instead of purely violent.

Teeth around an already weak windpipe.

the end was grand. colt watched in aplomb and quiet pride.
marston was becoming a killer, and briggs was proud.
"attaboy," he growled once it was over. he motioned toward the dead thing. "yew gonna take the hide or leave it here?"

His first lesson had been to not leave anything.

Why abandon that rule now? So he held onto the limp thing with pride, but...he also remembered his place. That The Big Man would always come first.

Now he held it out, for inspection or taking.

It is clear he means to offer it to The Big Man first, before he truly claims it for himself.

colt took it a little softer than he might have otherwise. "it's a fine thing, marston," he grunted, spreading it against the ground. "an' yew earned it."
handed back. a lash of his tail in the air. "come on, let's git before this'un's fellas come fer it." foxes could be sharper in a group.
colt sauntered away with a prideful step.