Should he be this far from home, completely alone, during what seemed to be a time of ecological upheaval? No. Does he care? Also no. Davey is going to do what he wants, and today, what he wants is to cleave through the thicket with his axe in hand. It's reckless, but it's also fun. The plants grip at his sides, tear at his fur, and he doesn't give a singular shit. There's something cool about being sleeker than the average wolf, and he's not nearly as tangled as he maybe should be. That, and he has an axe.

Exploring out here is slow going, and every path he clears seems to close in nearly as soon as he makes it. Slipping through the undergrowth and hacking away... maybe it's a weird way to explore, but it works for him, okay? Joyful. Too joyful.

Also, too reckless. Davey doesn't realize he's being stalked, not until the coyotes are quite literally, upon him. One coming through the undergrowth before him, another to his side. Now that he's held in place, he can hear a third not far off. At least he has his axe, right? Excitable and swinging, there's not really another option.

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coded by NachoMumma

Navigating through the thicket to explore now is far more difficult than when her mother brought them here as a pup. While she’d been able to slink through the underbrush and avoid the thorns before, now she wasn’t able to. The spines tugged and pulled at her fur, pulling out tufts and snagged holes in her skin large enough to allow blood to push to the surface. Why was she out here anyway? To explore? Well, not much to explore in such a dense jungle of pain!

She’s about to give up when a cacophony of yowls and high-pitched howls echoed up through the thicket’s dense canopy. Mags freezes, eyes widening as she searches the shadows. Down a narrow path, she sees a familiar figure becoming surrounded by a group of coyotes. One, two, three, four… Five? Six? It’s hard to tell. The wily predators use their smaller size to their advantage to hide and poke out to try and whittle her friend down.

Anger surges through Mags as she momentarily forgets her exploration so that she can assist. Charging through the thicket without a care toward the pinpricks that scrape along her body, she lowers head and aims her antlers at the nearest coyote. Goring the mangy mutt in the stomach, she brings her head up suddenly and sends the canine soaring through the air into a tree trunk.

“Whoever kills the most is the winner!” Mags calls out to Davey with a widening grin as she reaches out to grab a coyote with her jaguar claws.

The undergrowth is thick, so thick it nearly blots out the sun. Davey shifts on his paws, trying to push deeper, though the coyotes are pretty much upon him. With his might, his axe, and really all the grit in his system, he drives forward. There's a whole lot of determination, and that's probably all he needs. How the fuck is he supposed to even describe exploring this place, with the thicket so. Uh. Thick. Why'd he pick such a dull place to explore?

Oh that's why, true. Mags didn't live far from here, and maybe he was spending a little more time a little farther north than he should. "What's my prize, huh?" Not that Davey would turn down bragging rights, now or ever. Striking out with his axe over and over again, it's too much joy for such a brutal act. One crumbles beneath the brutality of it, though another jumps for his shoulder. Feeling the fucker's needle teeth on the back of his neck, Davey rolls his shoulders forward, slamming it to the ground. It wouldn't go down without a fight though, and he can feel jaws against his face. At least Mags is here, and he's not going it alone.

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coded by NachoMumma

Mags grabs her second coyote, digging her claws through its thin, fragile skin until it was gushing blood. Smashing the mutt against a tree, she shakes her paw free and rolls her eyes at Davey. “Always with the prizes with you,” she teases, sticking out her tongue just as a third coyote comes barreling toward her.

Meeting the coyote’s snarl with a building one of her own, she grabs ahold of it with her feline paws and brings it close to her chest, slamming down onto the ground. Its teeth lashed out, grabbing and pulling at her as dull claws fought for purchase. Rolling onto her back, she pushes her paws beneath the coyote and launches it into the air with a laugh.

As the coyote comes back down, blood and gore following it, she curls her head upward and gores this one through the stomach with her antlers. Wearing it proudly in a morbidly disgusting way, Magdalene shifts up onto her paws and gives Davey a wild grin. They truly were two fucked up kids.

“I guess you can get a kiss if you win,” Mags says, breathless, still teasing him, trying to see if Davey will fall for the bait. She was supposed to be exploring the thicket too, dammit. Why did Davey and the coyotes have to be so distracting? Her eyes scan over the canines, kicking another one in the face to send it rolling away. Truly, this place was super drab and she couldn’t wait to leave it. All it was were thorns, vines, and too many nooks and crannies for smaller animals to slip through. Why hadn’t anyone burnt it down and replaced it with something else yet?

"Don't need bragging rights, I already gottem." Tossing his head wildly, the boy fields another incoming coyote. Waves of enemies, this was too much fun. All of it is good, even with the sound dampened by the briars around them. Hell, this place is so wild, it's like they're the only two in the world like this. The thicket is incredibly dense, poking and prodding at his sides. It grabs at his fur, and threatens to tangle him up. The axe is an effective weapon, but just as impactful in clearing at least some of the sticks and roots. Exploring would be slow going, coyotes nonwithstanding.

Dispatching his original target, taking teeth to his face in the meantime, ah fuck off. Bite on bite on bite. Covered in gore and enjoying himself, the boy can't help but show off. The next coyote that comes is swiftly met with the blade of his weapon, making contact with the most satisfying crunch. Catching the teasing tone in her voice, he wouldn't let that go-- not at all. "Yeah? You can have one if you win, too." Rakish, smirking, head high. Fend off the threat and then make questionable choices, what's not to like? Shh, he's totally baiting and totally not hoping Mags takes it. Nope, not at all.

Shh.

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coded by NachoMumma