Word Count: 175

Spring had finally arrived, and with it came all sorts of new hunting opportunities. Cloud had been promising his younger sister over and over that he'd take her out to hunt, and now that it was Springtime, he'd finally make good on that promise. The past winter had been pretty difficult, forcing Cloud to travel further and further away to track anything decent. At some point, it just wasn't worth the effort, so he stuck to trying to hunt what he could closer to the pack but everything he found was scrawny. He had struck out that morning to track down some prey, and it didn't take him very long before he came upon a good-sized herd of pronghorn. Bi-colored gaze surveyed the herd, observing and studying them. He signaled to his companion that this is where they would hunt, so the bird of prey took off to fetch Thora. Cloud crouched in the grass, keeping a good distance away so that the herd wouldn't see him and run before he even got a chance. Walk, "Talk" Think

Thora was just about ready to head out of the pack territory, to go hunting for herbs to start her stock. She had just crossed the border when Cloud's companion called out to her from the air. She looked up as it circled, then began to fallow it as it led her to where her brother was crouched down. The closer she got the quieter she moved, slinking up beside him as her eyes took in the herd. Looking over the tall and elegant looking creatures, but also looking for anyone with faults that would make them an easier target. She remained still and quiet, not wanting to spook the herd. When she was sure none of them were looking in their direction she leaned closer to her brother.

"What's the plan?" she whispered.

"Speech"

Word count: 134

Word Count: 422

His sister had arrived pretty quickly, her presence noted as his companion's shadow swept over him and onto the field where the pronghorn were gathered. Bi-colored gaze watched them as they grazed, his own ear tilting towards Thora as she asked him what the plan was. He shifted slightly, lowering his head as he watched them through the grass. "First we observe," He whispered. He watched the herd of Pronghorn thinly spread as they grazed. He could see that there were some older members among the crowd. Their grizzled muzzles or slower movement evident. Some hardly moved at all. Others looked like they were just about done with life, half-blind with cataracts or their fur patchy and unkempt. There was quite a few of them, and he wondered how those ones managed to live so long. Obviously, they knew their way around a predator...some looked like they had close calls with them before. The veteran Pronghorn...wasn't that something! He continued to scan the herd, finding young bucks and does, a fawn or two that had come of age to be able to keep up with the herd. There weren't as many fawns as he expected, though perhaps they had been left elsewhere for a while. He knew Pronghorn did that. The mothers hiding their fawns and taking off up to a mile or so away so as not to attract attention to their babies until they had come to the age where they'd be able to keep up. He leaned in towards his sister, figuring he should turn this into a teaching lesson. There was a mix of different herd members here. Young, old, sick, healthy...some looked like they were about to keel over and die on the spot. Others were in their prime. "Alright, tell me what you've observed so far. There's a lot of choices there, what do you think?" He would help guide her of course, depending on her answer. This was a learning opportunity, and Cloud would teach her everything he knew. He was self-taught, but over the few years he had been alive, he learned a lot. He didn't hunt just anything and everything, oh no. He was careful about. He was selective about what animals to hunt and which ones to leave alone. He culled those that were too sick or dying, and he either took them home to feed the pack or put them out of their misery and left them for other predators to feast on. He was curious though, what his sister thought. "Speak"

art by mochiimomo