Not a Young Buck Anymore

Greed

He had taken a return trip back to Boreas. He and Claire had just joined the Hallows pack only a few days prior, but already the older male was finding himself overwhelmed with all the hustle and bustle of pack life. He had been a loner for about a year now, and despite the fact that he'd been a pack wolf nearly his entire life, it just felt...different, now that he was following a pack that wasn't led by Avalon or her kin. He had even had some trouble following the Praetors...but at least then, Avalon had still been alive and he had her kids to look after. Even with an Ancora not leading the pack at that time, he was able to deal with it for the most part. He supposed it would take him some getting used to...but as long as Claire was faring well, he had no issues remaining in this new pack.

He ended up in the fern gulley. A place he had passed through many times. During the warmer months, this place was home to tons of flora and fauna, but with winter here? The plants were dormant as well as most of the animals, it seemed. Walking further in, he spotted a fresh trail. While the Hallows was a bit far to drag anything big back, he could at least find it and butcher it. Maybe bring some of it back if he were successful. Though it depended on what he ended up finding at the end of the trail. It was a deer for certain, but asides from the obvious drag in the trail that indicated it was injured, he didn't know if it was too thin or not to be worth his while.

He supposed he'd just have to track it down and find out, right? Slinking closer to the ground, the Armada male quietly moved forward. He made sure his steps were careful. Doing his best to not make a sound so as not to alert his intended target. The trail seemed to stop in a few places. Probably the deer just stopping to nip up whatever it could from the ground before moving on to find more food. Plants and decent prey were scarce in some parts during this season, though he supposed it could be worse. Last Winter had been terrible...so this one was mild in comparison.

Cold blue gaze carefully watched his surroundings. Making sure the deer hadn't gone up ahead and doubled back somewhere. He didn't want to lose his chance at catching this, nor did he want to accidentally come face to face if it ended up being a buck. While he could take one down on his own, he preferred to not get caught by surprise and get skewered. He was alone out here...and while he did tell Claire where he had gone, he was known to leave for a day or two before coming back when it came to hunting trips.

Snow began to lightly fall. He was getting closer to his target. He could hear the shuffling of snow in the near distance, as well as the gentle snorting as it foraged for anything it could eat. Along the trail, Greed noticed some of the snow got a little deeper, thus slowing down the deer he was tracking, but also him. Not only that, but the coldness was starting to make his bones ache. Gods...he hated getting old...it made his joints ache, and sometimes they throbbed with a bit of pain. Any other time he was fine. But when it was too cold? Well, it was safe to say it definitely made him feel like his age.

His ears cocked forward as he heard the shuffling getting closer. No doubt the deer was just on the other side of the snow bank. He stopped where he was. Waiting. Listening. He moved a little closer, making his way around the snow bank. As he peered around it, he spotted the deer. It was a young buck, the tips of its antlers barely peeking through its skull. Unfortunately for the creature, his hind leg was twisted and lame. As if it had stepped into something and broken it, and it ended up healing wrong.

Good. Easy prey for him. He could take this one solo. No problem. Though it was a little on the thin side, it would still provide some meat, and he could use the skin as bedding or something when he got back home. His eyes widened at the thought. That was...weird to think about. That he had a home now...still something he had to get used to...

Shaking off the thought, this young buck was definitely lean, but he was sure he could make some good stuff out of it regardless. He waited and watched for another minute or two. Waiting until the buck turned its back. But instead of it doing that, it wandered closer to him. Unaware of the danger that hid just behind the snowbank.

Greed suddenly burst from his position, unwilling to wait any longer. If he did, he was sure the (obviously) dumb creature would have finally noticed him. A snarl erupted from his jaws as the buck wailed in surprise. It tried to turn around and run the other way, but thanks to its lame leg, it stumbled into the snow and Greed used the opportunity to seize its neck. He lunged forward, jaws closing around the side of its neck. It kicked and flailed, eyes going wild with fear and desperation, but Greed didn't let go. The buck couldn't get up with its leg the way it was, nor with Greed's weight on top of it. Had it noticed him a lot sooner, he was sure it would have had its chance to get away. Well...sort of. It still wouldn't have been able to outrun him, but he also couldn't have been sure about that, either. His joints were hurting thanks to the cold, so at some point, he probably would have given up the chase if the pain had gotten worse.

Finally, the buck had stopped breathing, and Greed released with a sigh of satisfaction. Now to cut this up and take it back to the pack...

WC: 1,044

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Not a Young Buck Anymore

Hunt seasonal [winter, Y17]

Greed