Traveling out across the dunes was something the tall, dark beast was never really certain of doing previously- but with the light rain gracing drizzling across the sands and the sun hid behind the much-appreciated coverage of clouds, Elias decided to take advantage and familiarize himself with more of the west. He was sure not every wolf that resided out here in the west would be thrilled about him taking up residence, but.. all that really mattered to him was the approval of one in particular.

His journey here with his son Kane had been long, leaving him with a dire need for some sort of substantial meal. He was not too sure what creatures would lurk out past the dunes, but there had to be something- and perhaps for looking in such an uncommon choice for hunting grounds, he would have little to no competition for taking down something if he found it.

Along the way, he'd managed to catch a lizard hiding in the shrubbery at the base of a cactus. It was only a snack and left him wanting more, but he could already feel the nutrients doing wonders as he continued on through the light rain. He was accumulating sand around his long limbs, it clung to his short fur and embedded itself there but he paid it no mind. His toes seemed permanently splayed as he trekked through the awkward terrain of sand dunes, and he was just beginning to feel a minor yet annoying burn in his legs when the sight of trees and a green little nook at the base of the desert mountains unveiled itself.

It was so small he was surprised his luck allowed for him to find such an oasis, but something told him that if anything else was surviving out here in the serenity of the desert- it would be at this oasis. For miles, the imprint of the rain droplets from the earlier heavier rain were the only tracks he'd been able to read in the sand... but through the misting rain that showered down on him now, he was able to see the clear trail of what he knew to be the hooves of some sort of deer. A mule deer, if he remembered correctly.

He stood there with his red eyes peering down to the long trail that clearly led into the oasis, uncertain on whether or not he should spend the energy pursuing the deer. It seemed big, and although he was a behemoth of a wolf himself, he was unsure if he had the energy to take it down alone.

Czernobog thought himself a bit of a foolish liar at this point. 'I'll turn back soon' he'd told himself, and yet he had continued exploring through south, east and west. Shaking his large head, the brute chuckled ruefully at his own naiveté. Of course he would wander till his paws fell off, it was the damn nomad gene acting up again. He should have learned his lesson by now. If he didn't make himself turn around, he'd explore forever out of habit.

Before the rain came, he'd partially circled the Oasis, wondering if it was real or a mirage. It wasn't disappearing... As water fell form the heavens, his suspicions were confirmed. In all honesty he wasn't sure if he wanted to go there though. He wasn't too tired or thirsty- and just like that his stomach rumbled to crush his dreams of heading off on his merry way. Fine, then, food it was. Peering around with glittering gold eyes, the man approached. The rain was smugding his paint as usual, fading it in places as he trudged through the sand at an easy walk. No rush, right?

He was closing in on the oasis when he finally spotted the other male. Czern flicked a dark ear, debating striking up a conversation. He hadn't smelled prey yet, but if this guy had, perhaps they could work together and spit the spoils? Scraggly tail twitched thoughtfully.

The Easter Bunny hops on by!

On her way through, she drops an egg at the paws of Elias.

Ask, and ye shall receive! Only, he didn't even have to ask... so, perhaps luck was finally on his side, again? He could smell the newcomer before he could see him, his square muzzle rising to the air as his nostrils flared and scouted out the direction it was coming from.

It seemed to come from the Oasis itself, and so Elias strayed from the trail left behind by the mule deer and moved in pursuit of the other wolf. It was only ever in the spirit of a good hunt did he miss being in a pack, miss being able to rely on others. If only they could rely on him, heh. He let out an involuntary snort at the thought, trying his best to remind himself that things would get easier... he was getting better, right? It had been a year since he had done anything... really bad.

With waning faith in himself, he moved faster before his insecurities crept up on him any quicker than they were. He wanted to remain focused, and so it was at the beginning of the sparse blades of grass that surrounded the Oasis that he finally saw what he was hunting down, his partner.. and it seemed he saw him, as well.

Elias stopped with roughly six feets separating the two titans, his neck resting only slightly inclined from his shoulders as he assessed the other male. The first thing he noticed was the dark appearance of him, and his height.. and his scars... man, this guy looked like he could have been an Apollyon, a native to Elias' birth pack.

With the rain lightly dusting their backs, Elias stared at the other with inky lips pulled back in a smirk, "Hey, don't suppose you'd be interested in hunting with a guy like me, would you? My name is Elias, and I've caught the scent of a deer back there.. seems big, though it shouldn't be a problem if we work together. We can split it down the middle, quite literally- the meat on the backside is all I ever care for, anyway. Call me picky." Aw, crap. He was rambling again, wasn't he? He really needed to socialize more. He chuckled nervously, hoping he hadn't ruined things already while he cleared his throat. "I'm Elias, by the way."

The other man was the one to break the silence, suggesting a hunt. Well, Czernobog was not one to pass up an opportnity. If he didn't feel like eating all of his share, the desert was a fantastic place to try drying some of it. Grinning and gently flicking his wispy tail behind him, Czern chuckled, "If a man like you is a good hunter, I would be hard pressed to reject your offer." His words were thickly accented as ever, though still spoken flawlessly. He took great pride in his mastering of the common tongue.

If he were of a gentler personality Czern may have laughed and smiled amicably at the other man's nervous reaction to his own rambling. As it was, the hint of sheepishness drew out a light smile which reached his eyes and had them closing briefly as he replied, "My name is Czernobog, and I would be happy to partner up for a hunt with you. Do you have a preferred strategy?" It was best to be on the same page before they began, after all.

That grin of the man before him made him squint just briefly as he tried his best to assess it. Elias wasn't the best at reading the intentions of others in their expressions, as he was quick to assume the absolute worst. He tried his best not to see this man in any negative way, for the sake of his own sanity as he focused on the horizon instead, not wanting to stare at the man's face any longer than he had to and get the wrong idea. He was here to hunt, and.. not everyone was evil. Right?

He thought it over for a moment, thinking about the deer and their sensitive ears. They were both such large, dark wolves.. and the desert offered little to no coverage for them to sneak up on such a deer. The only thing he could think of was that their large paws could probably travel much more efficiently across the desert sands than the hooves of the deer were capable of.. but even that he was unsure on.

He smirked, "Honestly? Nope. I am a bit underprepared, I do not have any of my hunting supplies with me and this whole area... I have never hunted in a desert before, so this will be an experience. I have a feeling we will have to tire it out, and try our best to get as close as possible- though I'm not sure how well we'll be able to manage that. We could try to split up, I could do my best to get it to run in your direction and we could entrap it between us- but if it manages to outsmart us and get away, it will be a long.. hot run for all of us."

He listened to the other man with an impassive, but not unfriendly. Spooking the animal into running towards one of them was risky as the very best, and there was no guarantee that it wouldn't easily outrun them. Maybe if they were very lucky they could sneak up unnoticed for long enough to be relatively close before the deer noticed... Glancing towards the deer, he hummed thoughtfully for a moment.

"Perhaps we could try to combine the strategies... sneak in close as we can without being spotted, and one of us can startle it into running towards the other. Preferably through the water, it'll slow the deer's movements a bit and give us time to catch it." It was as good a plan as any. He waited for a moment to see what Elias thought before moving to sneak his way closer, using the shadows of the palm trees as cover to hide his dark pelt in the sea of golden sand.

To the best of his capabilities, he did the same as Czernobog and moved alongside the opposite shore of the nearly dried up pool that made up the heart of the Oasis. He stuck to the shadows of foliage and trees, trying his best to remain unseen for as long as possible. The light rain that sprinkled across the desert was on their side, masking the sound of their movements as well as their scent.

He liked this plan that Czern had come up with and decided to stick to it. He was tall, yet lean and quite enjoyed running- as was obvious when looking at the muscle tone in his legs and at his core. He was built like a runner, his fur dark but short and allowing him to remain cooler than most wolves during his runs. He took the initiative to use this skill of his to begin the chase.

The mule deer appeared to be chewing and picking at the surrounding shrubs around the oasis, possibly filling up before it would begin it's journey somewhere else in the west. Elias was inwardly thankful that they had managed to come across not only each other, but a lone doe in the midst of her travel. He was starting to pass a palm tree just fifteen feet away from the doe when her ear flicked in his direction, and he knew what was coming.

His heart raced with adrenaline, but the seasoned hunter was already beginning the process of relaxing his muscles and keeping his joints limber and fluid so that he could run. He launched himself from around the tree just as the doe began to turn her neck toward him, and by the time he was facing him the beast was already barreling forward. Damp sand was kicked out behind him, leaving a wake in his trail as he raced toward her. She started to turn to run, and Elias sucked in a breath of relief as it seemed to be toward the direction where Czern was.

Circling around the opposite side of the oasis, and keeping tabs on Elias' movements as best he could while doing so, the beast made sure to meld with the shadows as best he could, creeping closer to the water as subtly and silently as possible. The wind was minimal, if almost non existent which was lovely since he was pretty sure one of them would have had their scents carried straight to the doe if it picked up. He settled into position behind one of the smooth red rocks that littered the area, sheltered in the shadow of one of the larger palms, and waited.

His wait was short - suddenly the doe was no longer standing still munching merrily on grass but exploding towards him with the dark form of Elias hot on her heels. He tensed, muscles readying themselves for his attack. He couldn't leap out too soon without risking changing her course. Only once she hit the pool of water did the wolf fly over the rock in a single bound, racing forward as the deer tried to make sense of his sudden appearance. By the time she understood, he was in the water too.

Czernobog leapt upwards, his jaws closing over the doe's muzzle in a firm grip, front legs seeking to wrap around her neck so he could better hold onto her. He didn't quite have a suffocating hold, he needed a better position. He felt the animal begin backing up thrashing her head side to side in an attempt to shake him as she unconsciously drew closer to his newfound hunting partner. Good.

Elias' long limbs carried him with a growing fervor as he kept right on her, following her echo exactly and snapping his jaws at her legs if they came close enough to where he thought he could grab one. She managed to kick him on her way into the water and momentarily stun him, making him lose his footing and stumble at the water's edge while radiating pain of her kick slowly started to burn into his cheek. He growled and dove into the water after her, already noticing Czernobog holding on to her muzzle quite adamantly.

He waded through the water on her left side as she thrashed and tried to shake off Czern, careful to stay out of the way of her and distract her until he was ready to lunge. His jowls parted quite suddenly as he lunged forward, aiming his top incisors into the lower portion of her middle neck. The lack of immediately bursting blood flow told him that he missed her jugular, but his bottom jaw came upward and closed his bite so that he could latch his hold on all the same.

His right forelimb came up to hook over her shoulders and keep him latched on as she thrashed, his back legs pressing against the side of her stomach with his talons digging in to anchor him. Left limb would hold his weight up off of her shoulder as much as possible as he remained on her, half in and half out of the water- using its blessing of near weightless-ness to his advantage. He would have to readjust his bite if he couldn't find it, but he knew he had to be close. His thick neck began to pull left to right, his teeth severing through the flesh in his hold as he aimed to cut into that artery. If she struggled too much, he would have to stop momentarily or fear the loss of his hold all together.

Finally, he found it. The metallic taste of the doe's blood in his mouth became overwhelming as his bottom left canine nicked into her jugular successfully, he let out a growl as his jaw muscles tensed and he focused on that vein and waited for her strength to weaken.

He held on for dear life with his precarious, barely tight enough grip as the doe thrashed and panicked like mad in a vain effort to escape her impending death. His front limbs shifted and paws wrapped around her head just behind her neck more firmly, toes flexing to aid in his efforts to not be shaken loose, allowing him to adjust his hold some as Elias made his move. He didn't let go when the other man latched on, but rather moved his jaws until he had more of her snout in his mouth, working to suffocate the animal some.

Once Elias had punctured her jugular, the doe would renew her efforts to free herself, growing desperate. Czern held fast for a long moment, and once she was weak enough that two of them at her neck was not necessary, he'd wait for the ideal moment and let go on one forceful shake of her head, landing to her left and crashing through the water as soon as he hit it. The dying animal was so focused on Elias and the freeing of her nose that she didn't notice him moving around her side. Not until he'd grasped her hind left leg in his powerful jaws and surged forward, shoving it towards her right side and knocking her off balance. The doe was going down, it was almost done.

The shallow water of the oasis around them pinkened with her blood at first, but once the doe had been shoved into it on her side and her jugular was allowed to freely flow out into the clear waters- a deep red cloud lingered over her precious body. The taste of the blood in his mouth was driving Elias mad, he wanted to devour her right then and it took every ounce of willpower the man had not to just tear into her flesh and begin.

He had moved with her form as Czernobog flipped her, keeping his teeth latched on the killpoint for as long as possible. He was only able to hold it for a brief moment beneath the water before he had to pull up his maw and breath, releasing a growl as soon as his lungs were sated enough to do so. His lengthy legs created such noise as they splashed while he leapt over her figure and into the shallower waters by the shore. He turned around, teeth anchoring themselves into the back of the doe's neck as he began working to pull her out of the waters and on to the shore. She was going into shock, nearly dead.. and once he managed to pull her out of the water enough to tear into her, he did so.

His teeth found the wet fur on her thighs and dug in, ripping into her flesh. She kicked her leg slightly to try and push the wolf off, but the leg quickly relaxed and surrendered once Elias devoured the first bite from it. She was bleeding profusely from her neck and from this wound, and finally.. she took her last breath.

Elias hadn't realized how near starving he really was, but after a few swallows, he managed to control himself and pull away from the deer, red eyes searching for Czernobog. He could feel the food hitting his stomach already, his high metabolism quickly working to turn it into fuel and replenish what he had spent during the hunt. "I almost thought she was going to get away from us when she went through the water. She was fast." He grinned, "Thanks for your help."

Water splashed around them, the previously pristine pool colored with the dull crimson of the doe's blood as she struggled weakly in a feudal bid to escape the wolves. When Elias set to pulling the creature to shore Czern would assist, grasping a hind leg and dragging her as she struggled a little more for what would be the last time. Only then did he feel the adrenaline from the hunt he hadn't noticed before, slowly fading now that they were certain the hunt was successful and they'd be coming away with jaws full of their spoils.

Elias set straight to ripping into the animal, and while Czern wasn't keen to follow suit at present, he'd stand by unconcerned until the other man's hunger was sated. Chuckling, he nodded, "Indeed she was, but not quite fast enough it seems." He paused a moment, glancing at the slain animal and studying her form before asking, "Remind me how we agreed to divide? The adrenaline seems to have fogged my memory some."