Well, that had been more than a little terrifying. She could feel her heart drumming in her chest, and didn’t immediately relax, even after Lioness told her the danger was gone. She hated being blind, she hated it. It would have been one thing if it had just been her, but a pup of the pack had been on her back. What if it had snatched Wynter right off her shoulders before the blind girl had even known what was happening? She wanted to kick something, and yank at her fur and yowl. She was just so mad at it all. But she let out a shaky breath instead. She wasn’t going to fall apart in front of the little pup. “Phew, wasn’t that uhh… fun?” She said, her voice rising in a question. How was the little mite doing on her back?

A part of her wanted to race the pup back to her family den, dump her in Mort's arms and say ‘your problem now!’ but she ignored the urge. She was too stubborn for that. In fact, just to spite her adrenaline, she was going to keep hold of the pup for a little longer. :say, did you want to go hunting?’ She asked. That was something she could prove her competence on, right?

WC: 229



"Speech"

Completely unaware of Aunt Kite's anger at the whole situation that landed them running from an angry jaguar, when her aunt questioned the fun of the encounter Wynter nodded eagerly and gave Kite's neck another hug. "Yeah! That was awesome! Well, I mean, it was scary too, but scary fun!" She did mostly expect her aunt to either dip down low enough for her to hop off or for her to take her back home after all of that, but she was pleasantly surprised when she instead suddenly offered to go hunting. "Sure!" she agreed without hesitation. Wynter felt pretty similarly about hunting as she did healing–she understood why it was necessary to know and she payed attention when her mother and father were teaching her things about it, but it wasn't exciting. She would much rather be learning about some other obscure thing that was less necessary for survival, but what she was excited about was spending more time with her cool aunt. "What are we going to hunt?"

WC: 170
Total: 399

"Wynter Carpathius"

It sounded as if the whole thing had been a big adventure for Wynter. She still remembered when she had thought dangerous things couldn’t hurt. What had disabused her of the notion first. Her first fight, or Azure? SHe wasn’t actually sure. Probably the missing Tyrant, at a guess. But those lessons had been valuable in their own right, even if they had also started a great and terrible anger towards the wolf. And where was he, anyway? He couldn’t entice her into wanting his rank, and then just bugger off like that

“Hmm..” she said thoughtfully, wondering what Wynter would find exciting. “I believe I saw some wild pigs at the edge of the woods a few days ago. Let's see if they are still there?” She suggested. With Wynter on her back, she didn’t need to wait for the little pup to start moving, or keep up. But she figured she should probably keep the girl busy on her back as they walked. “I want you to start scenting the wind. See if you can tell me which way the wind is blowing, and what that means when you are hunting” She said, wondering how quick her little niece would be.


Total WC: 608

"Speech"

She eagerly listened as her aunt Kite began to think up a suggestion for what they might be able to hunt together. She had certainly expected something that her dad had mentioned before whenever he brought their food to them or whenever she'd tag along on his hunting trips–something like a deer or an elk or a rabbit or something like that. Instead, Kite suggested a wild pig! She had never heard of an animal like that and didn't know what that would look like, but that made her even more excited to go on this hunting trip with her aunt! "Yeah!" she responded without hesitation, wiggling on Kite's back a bit with her excitement. Wynter made sure to keep a good grip on Kite's neck though as she began to move so she wouldn't fall off, letting Kite carry her as she set off on their impromptu hunting trip.

She was looking out around the trees that were moving past her when her aunt began to give her some instructions to start scenting the air and figuring out which way the wind was coming from–quizzing her a bit on what that meant for them on their hunt. Luckily for her, even though she wasn't always super interested in her father's lessons about hunting, she did at least listen and absorb what she was being taught! "We gotta stay um... down wind, right?" she questioned, making sure she was remembering the right term for it. "It feels like the wind is coming from that way, to our left," she added after lifting her head a bit from the back of Kite's neck to sniff at it a bit and feel how the breeze was hitting her face. She paused for a bit as she smelled the air and tried to pick up on any scents that were interesting. She didn't know what the pigs smelled like so she mostly just tried to find any smells she wasn't familiar with. Eventually she caught the scent of something kind of smelly. "Is that what a pig smells like?!" she questioned, her little nose scrunching up a bit.

WC: 355
Total: 957 / 1500

"Wynter Carpathius"

It was odd having a weight on her back, and it left her feeling self conscious as she walked. She ensured Lioness was in front of her every step. The cat was clever enough to take a path that was not only easy for the wolf to traverse, but ensured her passenger wasn’t smacked by overhanging branches on the way. Honestly, she would probably never leave the cave in daylight if it wasn’t for her constant companion.

She winced and Wynter wiggled on her back. She was only a small pup, but she felt every bony elbow and thin little paw digging into her. “Alright then, pigs it is” She agreed. Knowing she would be doing most of the work. Pigs could be nasty creatures, but Wynter should be safe enough up there on her back, right?

“That’s exactly right. That way, we can scent our prey easily, and they can’t scent us” She added. She wasn’t sure if she was just repeating information the pup already knew, or what. She realised she didn’t really know how to treat Wynter. She was so accustomed to her and her litter being the youngest. To being someone people didn’t ask for help, or lessons from. But Wynter almost seemed to look up her. It was such a strange novelty. Perhaps that's why she kept on with Wynter. Not just her stubborn pride. She followed Wynters direction into the wind, both because she was right, and so that Wynter could see she was right. This whole thing was… growing on her. Grumpy, difficult girl that she was. Maybe it would be okay to have kids around, kids like Wynter, anyway.

“Yup, that’s the pig alright. They’re still here” She agreed as they got closer. “Now, crouch down, and be as quiet as you can, alright?” She stage-whispered to Wynter. As she spoke, her own steps slowled a little. She crouched, careful not to unbalance her burden as she did so. Not being able to see made hunting extremely difficult, but she managed. She had learned to manage, under Azure’s tender lessons. Her and Lioness were a flawless team, the cat saw everything, and she tapped the wolf's leg with a tail. Different beats and pressure told a tale with each motion. She needed to go through the woods on the right, there was a solo pig they could split from the group. Pigs at least weren't a protective lot. So long as she didn’t anger the rest, they’d let her have the runt. “Ready?” She whispered as she moved through the woods, and was ready to launch. Here was the trickiest part. Racing at the pig and not tripping, and grabbing it before it could flee. Here went nothing.

She launched herself forward, tearing through the undergrowth as she launched herself at the source of the scent. A squeal only helped direct her, as did the beating of runty pig paws. Then she felt warm beneath her paws. She felt it kick, and it hit her on the chest. She kept moving, using its motions to help guide her. She landed on the pig, and pulled it down to the earth. She dug her teeth into the back of its neck, and then lifted it off the ground. “Get it Wynter!” She said through a mouthful of pig as she held it up to Wynters reach while it kicked and screamed.

WC: 582
Total: REACHED


"Speech"