he realized with a jolt he had been here two nights ago at the border. it looked so different during the day. bright. sunny. beautiful. was this his pack's land too? must be, the Abaven scent was fresh and plenty. he hadn't even bothered to go back during the day. Benedict bent his head to try and pick up the scent of rabbit, blinking in thanks as he found some tracks to follow too. raising his skull, he'd motion to Shaye to follow after it with him. he wasn't going to talk in case they scared off the prey. rabbits were skittish. but they were also prone to standing helplessly still if they were frightened. the alpha said she was 'rusty' but he didn't know how rusty. for a man who had spent two years by himself, hunting had to be done. he couldn't afford to break from it, else he'd be surviving barely on carrion. whenever you could find it. but with a pack at his back now, he hopefully didn't have to worry about it. following the trail, Benedict would begin to lower himself to the ground and creep forward. a bit of a thicket ahead told him there was a warren there. skat and other tell-tail signs also. the greenery was less dense here, being nibbled away by the rabbits slowly. a few russet and brown heads bobbed along the ground, hopping idly from each place to the next. rabbits. good sized ones too. though he had some ideas about how to do this, he'd defer to the higher ranking wolf with him. Benedict turned, looking at Shaye with a raised brow as if asking what she wanted to do.

She showed him the way to the Plains, and he set to tracking immediately. The Alpha cast an amused expression in his direction, before doing the same. She put her nose to the ground, and found the track that he had, before looking up again at the vast expanse of the plains. This was always one of the best hunting grounds of Abaven, as the Thickets had been the best for herb growing, and the rapids was their water source and their heart.

It had been a while since she had found the time to hunt, she spent so much of her time looking after Abaven, learning to fight, running patrols, and chasing after her children. She had begun to rely on the hunters of her pack, but with their stores as low as they where, she knew she couldn’t continue to do so. It was just... her skills had once lay first in healing, but she had worked fighting up there, hunting had always been low, low priority and low as a skill.

Shaye followed after Benedict, trusting in his abilities, and getting low when he did. She followed him towards the warren in this manner, her large form managing to stay low, and she paused when he did, glancing over at him as he looked to her for direction. Well, then, if the hunter insisted. She smiled, a silent, toothy gesture before pointing her nose to the right and then to him. Next she pointed downwards, to herself, and to the left. They could come at the rabbits from either side and take down a different one each. If he had a better, more practised tactic, now would be the time to tell it. She mouthed ‘three’ and unless he stopped her, would begin the silent count down.

every wolf had the capacity to hunt and learn hunting. it was a normal, natural instinct after all. especially for a predator. prey foraged. predators hunted. Shaye would formulate a plan quickly, causing Benedict to nod and make his way in the direction she pointed for him to go. right it was. they could sandwich a rabbit or two between them. looking back at the alpha, she mouthed the countdown to him. when it hit one, he sprang out from the foliage and snarled, alerting the rabbits on his side. they darted in various direction, but two of them ran toward where the other wolf was. stupified at the large woman, they'd pause. Benedict rushed forward, bending down to snap one of them up. he crushed its throat instantly and it went limp. with blood in the air now, there was once again panic. the remaining rabbits went to ground and the one that was nearby Shaye would get away if she didn't grab it. to help her, the ginger man would try to block the other rabbit's escape. of course, the limp body of the first kill swung heavily from his jaws. he must cut an intimidating figure to it.

Benedict ran right at the end of her countdown, and Shaye shot out from the left. Her hunting partner made some noise, scaring the rabbits towards her. They bulked at the sudden sight of her, allowing Benedict to grab one. Shaye snatched the second one in her jaws, its moment of confusion as it turned from her to Benedict, costing it too much time.

She broke its neck swiftly, she saw no point in prolonging suffering. The rest of the rabbits where long gone now, through the scent of their fear lingered. She looked up at benedict as she placed her rabbit on the ground, and would see his proud figure, rabbit in his maw as he looked back at her in turn. ”Good hunt” she said approvingly. She would place her rabbit in the packs cache, in the cellar that Brandr had dug out.

“Have you been shown where the food cache is?” she asked Benedict, seeing this as the perfect time to show him if he had not. Besides, she would rather have company when she crossed into the burnt out land of Abaven, it would keep her from sinking too deeply into her thoughts.

a rabbit was an easy catch, but two of them in one go was something. he'd blink thanks as Shaye complimented his efforts, dipping his head shyly. Benedict was a modest man, and he shouldn't have to be thanked to do the right thing. Abaven needed food. they had taken him in and also provided shelter. it was the least he could do to repay their efforts. dropping the rabbit so he could talk, he'd make a critical note to later strip the hide from each one. the fur could be useful later. "thank ye." he'd pause though before adding in. nobody had shown him around yet. "no" he'd answer honestly, shaking his head and licking his lips free of blood. "haven't had t' time to see t' cache" he panted from the run, the adrenaline dying down and his slight accent more heavy due to exhaustion. it'd taken him years to control the heaviness. only now it was showing. "we could head there now, though?" Benedict suggested. despite the many individuals in the pack adding to their number, it could be easy for a predator to swoop in on the two wolves if they were hungry enough. his kills stolen once or twice before, it was one of the many reasons why he chose to head for a pack right away. his allies could watch while he hunted. as he waited for Shaye's answer, he'd scuff at the ground to bury the bloodied earth. with the warren so close, he was sympathetic to the fact the rabbits had been killed near their home. he knew if Abaven had blood on their border, he'd cover it quickly so not to show weakness. besides, he'd spread it around there was a warren here at the main den sites and hope that the rabbits hadn't seen sense to move on.