When Malalia felt herself jerk backwards, the breath exploding from her lungs as her chest hit the earth, she knew she'd lost. She let out a breathy chuckle, taking a moment to gain her bearings. Damn! Another match lost... though she didn't feel the usual frustration from failing. Only admiration for the warrior, and a kind of lightness. It had been fun. Bereft of the pressure of winning, or trying to get a move right, or live up to her own expectations.

Her hindlegs dug into the earth and she pushed herself up to her four paws, just beginning to around and congratulate her opponent -- but she was, yet again, dunked to the fucking ground. Cairo tackled her, and Mal let out a yelp of surprise as she tumbled right back down. She swiveled around to cast an indignant green glare at the Valhallan, but seeing his grin, her ears flattened. She scrambled for words... and found none. "Pffffffft—!"

The yearling gave a sudden push to his shoulder before hopping to her paws, dancing away. "You should really wipe that grin off your face," she chided, a joking threat. She'd seen the praise in his expression, and it rose her spirits. Not that she'd let him know that (if her wagging tail wasn't telling enough). The yearling cleared her throat and whirled back around, the picture of nonchalance. "I suppose I should congratulate you... But seriously," she chuffed, "You're a great fighter! You'll definitely make Beta at four."

She considered briefly if she should go home after this.... but she hadn't eaten for a while. She wondered if Cairo was on a strict schedule. "Still wanna see if that young deer is around?"

"Speech"

He’d won. He wasn’t certain, but he was pretty sure this was the first time he’d won anything one on one before. When she pushed his shoulder, he rolled with a great, playful flop to the ground, belly up with that big, tongue-lolling grin parting his jaws, tail wig-wagging through the grass. One paw stiffened, pointing straight up as he chuckled, “Alas! That may well be the first spar I’ve ever won in a one versus one situation. Aurielle is a master of sending my nose into the dirt.” His eyes sparkled with his amused rueful laughter as he rolled abruptly to his paws. He was thrilled to see that little boost to the girl’s spirits. Even more thrilled when she asked if he wanted to hunt. He wasn’t sure there’d ever actually been a deer, but he had little doubt they could sniff one out. “I am always up for a good hunt. If we find and catch something, we can share it out between our packs. I’ve got a long walk home, so the majority of the meat should go with you. We could piece out the hide, too. I’d take half just for something to carry my share of the kill in.” He chatted easily as his head lowered toward the ground, nose going to work as he finished his suggestion. He ranged in a circular pattern, finding and discarding various scents and traces—too stale, too old of a deer to be tender, although it would be good to weed out the elderly and leave the strong young stock to repopulate… Beaver, muskrat… Bunny… “Ah! I think this trail should have a decent young deer at the end… Maybe several. Hopefully one’s injured or ill.” He gave a light flick of his tail in a friendly invitation to follow as he began following his nose, eyes flicking and scanning ahead as his paws fell into a stealthy, graceful stride. He’d been practicing between hunts with Domari and Nolan. He wasn’t quite to the point of being able to sneak up on an experienced older deer, but a young, inexperienced yearling buck or doe? Yup. The trail grew warmer and warmer, until he dropped to his belly, creeping forward until he spotted the quarry through the willow fronds and pond grass. He carefully tipped his head to Malalia, nodding to the spot beside him as he scanned the trio of deer, looking for one that was weaker or further from the group where they browsed at the lusher undergrowth. Finally, he spotted a good target and smiled slightly. It was a young deer, one of this year’s fawns most likely. The spots were gone, and it was wandered to the far edge of the clearing the trio had chosen to browse in. Really, the scene was quite picturesque. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all contentedly nibbling on leaves in a glistening forest scene, beside a stream-fed pond, veiled by weeping willows with the sunlight dappling through in shifting, kaleidoscopic patterns on the ground. His eyes shifted from the target to the surroundings, taking note of the wind direction—toward the two wolves, luckily. Finally, he leaned his head toward Malalia, murmuring softly, but not whispering, “That young one off to himself. If I circle around to the left, the wind should still be in our favor. Wait until I bark, then charge out and scare them. Ideally, scare the young one to my location. Its attention should be on you and not what’s in the bushes ahead of it.” He tipped his head enough to lock an eye on her with one of those easy smiles as he waited for her confirmation or suggestions. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Somehow, Cairo seemed to grow even sillier at the shove, rolling dramatically onto his back, and looking very much like an overgrown puppy, despite his armor and his age. She couldn't help but giggle at his antics, and circled around to boop her paw on his forehead before he got up. The image of a small she-wolf smashing Cairo into the dirt was incredibly entertaining for the young woman. "Well, I'd definitely like to see that," she grinned. It was surprising to hear that their match was his first win... but then, she supposed he was still trying to improve, as well.

Malalia found herself shaking her head at one detail of his offer, though. "Yeah... if I'm taking most of the meat, you should go ahead and take the hide. Especially considering I don't know the first thing about skinning a deer." She was only trying to be fair, and they had plenty of hides to spare back home. It wouldn't have been a hardship.

He was certainly quick to work. By the time she'd finished her sentence, he'd already picked out a target. They made their way deeper into the willows, paws pressing into the slightly dampened earth. Her maw parted slightly as she caught the scent for herself. When Cairo dropped down, Malalia followed suit, her tail swishing out behind her as she took up the space on her companion's side. A trio of deer were grazing just ahead of them. The one that Cairo indicated had wandered farther away from the others.

She listened carefully to his instructions, and gave a quick nod, her eyes sliding to the isolated deer as she readied herself to charge. "Ready when you are."

"Speech"

Her paw to his forehead was met with a deep, easy chuckle and playful flail of forepaws. He hadn’t much chance to really play as a pup, with all the colds he’d been fighting. Sure, there were the occasional rough and tumbles with Artur when they were really small, but a lot of that was the slightly larger, older pup throwing his weight around, chewing ears and tails and essentially being that typically bratty big brother. He grinned and remarked affably, “If you happen to run by Valhalla you might just see me go sailing over the wall if she throws me hard enough.” His grin was definitely joking as he threw a cheerful wink between sniffs. At her agreement of parting out the deer, should they be lucky enough to bring one down was met with a wag of his tail. “I can show you. I’m still learning myself, but it’s pretty simple.” He nodded as she professed herself ready, scanning the clearing a last time and picking a spot. Nodding with his muzzle he murmured, “I’ll be at the base of that really gnarled willow across and to our left, there.” He grinned and added as he began slipping away, “You’ve got this.” He vanished into the shadows and willow fronds, one eye on the ground at his paws, the other watching the deer as he paid careful attention to the wind, praying to Luneil that it wouldn’t shift and give them away to the target. It seemed that the day would be in their favor, because the wind stayed steady, blowing their scents away from the deer. He reached the tree he’d pointed out, poking his black-masked brown head around the base and looking for his green-eyed hunting-partner. He waited a beat, then another as the young deer browsed along, until it was facing away from Malalia’s position, then barked and readied himself to leap as soon as the deer was in range. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

She huffed, jokingly indignant. "Of course I do." He might've had a year on her, but Malalia'd had her fair share of hunts. She knew the word of encouragement was just that, though. Rolling her eyes, her gaze returned to the grazing young buck, who hadn't moved much from his position on the edge of the clearing. Lucky, too, that they remained downwind; a sudden shift and they might've lost their target.

In the stillness of the woods, the bark came abruptly, shifting the peaceful meadow into a frenzy of movement. Malalia vaulted out from the undergrowth, dirt flying up beneath her paws as she ate up the distance between the target and herself, hurtling towards its right side. The two other deer rushed away from the sound, leaping across the meadow. The third tried to follow suit, but the she-wolf was already there, curving his path towards the left where Cairo lay in wait.

Simple plans often the best. The deer moved predictably to the left, away from Malalia and straight towards the apparent safety of the gnarled willow, and the woods surrounding it. A growl bubbled up out of her throat, and she nipped at its heels to stay the course.

The clearing exploded into action as the three deer bolted, two heading off into safety, and the target being driven toward his spot. He watched, muscles tensing in preparation, until he spotted the young buck starting to look for a way out and veer off course. Malalia was on point, though, and the buck was forced to alter its course, right into Cairo’s position. Cai pushed off with a huff, and the deer startled at the larger wolf exploding from the foliage right in front of it. His bite landed a bit low and he hung on tight, letting his weight drag on the buck. It wasn’t quite enough to drop the deer, but its neck was open for Malalia if she could get there before Cai readjusted. As it was, he snagged a kick on one lower hip from the flailing front hooves, sharp enough that he felt the sting of parted flesh. He winced slightly, but held on, eyes flicking around for Malalia as he sought to grapple a foreleg with his own. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Cairo's sudden lunge from the bushes caused the deer to skitter frantically, but he was already on him, sinking his teeth somewhere along the front of the deer. From that moment, the Malalia carted around on its right side, leaping up to snag a bite in the buck's throat. Her first try landed lower than she wanted, between the junction of its shoulder and neck. With her weight and Cairo's, the buck buckled to his knees, and was suddenly lurching backwards in an effort to escape.

The moment she let go seemed almost weightless; but Malalia dug her forepaw into the buck's side to push up and up and up, until her jaws bit successfully into the deer's throat. Her fangs cut easily through the skin and found its carotid artery underneath. She felt the blood rushing warmly down her chest, and in the same instant the buck suddenly jerked in pain. But the fight was doing out of him as fast as his blood, and its head became heavier and heavier in her grip as the life pulsed out of him. Soon, he was still.

Malalia was quick to add her weight to the struggle, and as she got her first bite, Cairo was able to adjust his hold as the deer buckled. He gained his own paws and dug in, jerking hard to keep the buck from regaining his feet. Malalia released and captured the buck’s throat with her next bite, and Cairo threw his weight across the buck’s shoulders, holding it down as their prey struggled with steadily weakening vigor. He kept his grip until he heard the heart stop beating and saw the eyes dull over Malalia’s head. When he saw the glazing eyes, he released the deer and worked his tongue in his jaws to evict the fur from his teeth and grinning at the girl. “Well hunted, Lia.” The nickname fell easily from his tongue – a bit easier than her actual name – and was heavy with approval as he rose and shook out his coat, armor rattling slightly before he twisted to study the cut on his hip. It was a decent gash, but he would be just fine. Stretching out his neck he grinned down at her and announced cheerfully, “Deer skinning one oh one begins now.” He grabbed hold of one front leg and dragged the buck onto its back and smiled at her, tail wagging. “Ready?” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

When its heart finally stopped, Malalia pried her jaws from the buck's throat, licking idly at the red that stained her lower jaw and part of her chest. Par for the course. A messy hunt was a good one, though she'd be wanting a thorough washing, later. Her tail waved happily at the smiling wolf, with an easily returned "You too," as she stepped away from the neck. Malalia didn't think she'd frowned at all in her entire interaction with Cairo. Maybe once, she remembered, but it certainly wasn't his doing. The man was overflowing with cheer and words of encouragement, and the yearling ate it up.

Perhaps a little more tasty, though, was the tantalizing scent of deer before her, and as Cairo was checking his wounds, she padded around to the buck's rump and looking for a good place to tear into her lunch. She stopped almost comically when Cairo announced the lesson, mouth wide open above her mark; Mal licked her lips and sat upright with a click of her jaws. Because no, she hadn't forgotten about skinning the deer in her hunger, and yes, she was ready to learn. Malalia tossed a simple, "Of course," and came around to Cairo's side to get a better view.

"Speech"

Internally, he was chuckling as she stopped herself from biting in and sat up. Outwardly, he grinned, nodding as she pronounced herself ready. He had it much easier since he had his clawed bracers. Firstly, he traced with one bear-claw around each leg, around the neck, and down the center of the whole deer from the imaginary line he’d drawn at the neck. “First, you make cuts in the skin here, here, and here, and then down the middle—be careful not to break into the abdomen.” Then he demonstrated, starting at the legs with the sharpened tip of his claw around each knee and hock. “Then you cut into the skin down to the central line from each cut on the leg.” From there, he spoke as he demonstrated, sometimes showing her a spot to cut herself, until the underside of the deer was bared of hide, pink and red flesh mottled with white fat marbling bare to the sun. “This is the fun part.” He began to pull at the edges of the hide, working the top of one bent paw between flesh and hide. The pelt parted with a soft ripping sound, almost like a paw sticky with a little honey peeling free of a stone. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Her eyes followed the imaginary line that Cairo drew along the deer, outlining the parts of it that they would cut into, circling around each leg, the neck, and then straight in the middle running from its neck. The imaginary lines became real as Cairo cut into the parts that he'd indicated. Her ears stood attentively as he allowed her to make a few cuts herself, and Malalia was careful and methodical as she did so, trying to copy the Valhallan exactly. The belly soon opened up to show the muscle and underneath, pristine and intact from the normal tearing that would occur had the wolves immediately begun to feed.

The she-wolf raised an eyebrow -- "Fun?" -- before he was suddenly pulling at the edges, peeling it away from the rest of the carcass, with one paw worked in to help free the hide. Her eyes went round, head tilting in morbid fascination. "Whoa..."

"Speech"

He grinned at her reaction to how easily the skin peeled off with just pressure of a bent paw and pulling. He nudged the half-skinned buck onto one side, the carcass landing safely on the fleshy side of the hide beneath it as Cairo demonstrated further, working the hide free on that side, occasionally bending to show her how to slice with her teeth, since she might not have anything on her to cut with a paw. He stated thoughtfully as she rolled the buck to the other side, “You know, I haven’t considered it, since I’m not a healer myself – I only know the field healing that is mandatory to learn in Valhalla – but this could be a really useful lesson for a healer. Deer and wolves are different species, but muscle works the same way…” He grabbed a naked deer foreleg and worked the limb, watching the muscle stretch and flex, head cocking. “One of our healers has companions with nimble hands. He likes practicing suturing with them on venison muscle… Now I kinda get it.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Malalia stepped up eagerly to help with the other side, tilting her head to cut around with her teeth where Cairo showed her to, satisfaction filling her as the buck rolled over for a second time. Knowing how to skin a deer would come in handy, should they ever need it. She would need to practice to get it just right, of course; a beginner slicing with her teeth was bound to produce results that were a little messier, a little uneven compared to the clean incisions made with the warrior's bear claws.

The yearling watched with fascination as Cairo flexed the muscle. "That would be pretty useful," she admitted. "Unfortunately I haven't gotten that far in my training yet," she huffed, ears flattening and a breath of laughter covering up the creeping sense of frustration. She'd only had one lesson, and it consisted of a review of what little she did know, rather than introducing her to new techniques. The Valhallan really knew a lot more than she did, didn't he? And as far as she knew, he wasn't even a healer, officially.

"Speaking of healing... I can patch up that cut if you would like? There's some horsetail growing around here, it'd only take a minute to find." The streams that trickled beneath the roots of the willows were rife with undergrowth, including the starchy, water-loving herb she'd mentioned. She couldn't suture the wound, if it needed that, but she could aid the healing process and prevent infection.

"Speech"

He worked the hide off the deer’s neck, and lastly, freed the last bit of flesh from the hide. His head cocked slightly with interest as she admitted that she hadn’t gotten far in her healer’s training. She tried to hide it, but the perceptive chocolate man spotted the frustration in her eyes. He bent and tugged the hide free of the deer, glad that some decently clean grass lay beneath the kill. At her offer of healing he smiled gently, moving from the deer and joined her. “Sure. I’m happy to be a practice patient for ya. It’s not a bad wound, but It can always be a useful injury.” His eyes scanned the area with interest, trying to pick out familiar plants. “I have a few tools in the pouches of my armor, including a mortar and pestle if you’d like to try using it.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

The earth-toned girl returned a cheerful smile. "I'd love to try them out." With a flick of her ears, she bounded away to stalk some plants.

The long tendrils of the willows caressed her back as she moved beneath the fractured sunlight, heading north from the site of the kill. The currents that splintered off from the hot springs would be wider there, the soil damp and hopefully to the herb's liking. She was confident she would find the plant, as she'd scented it around here. She was less confident about her own abilities, muttering unintelligibly all the way there. Are you kidding me?? Cairo had beaten her in the spar, done all the work skinning the hide, and hell, with the field healing he'd mentioned? He could probably fix that wound himself. And she'd never even used a mortar and pestle!

Learning a thing or two was fine. Fun, even. This much, though? It was... a distinctly uncomfortable feeling, realizing how little she knew.

Soon enough, she found what she was looking for, a tiny uprising of fleshy green stalks. She placed her paws on the dry root that curved over the stream, and carefully nipped away the excess bristles before clipping off a rod of the herb. Quit being a baby. She could pout, or she could learn. ....Or maybe both, but she wasn't about to let Cairo think she was some whiny brat, was she? She'd already dealt with one too many of those.

Pacing back to the Valhallan, she set the horsetail on the clean grass and nodded towards the armor where he carried his tools. "Alright, let me at 'em."

"Speech"

[You get Cairo's 100th post ^^ You'd never know he went his whole puphood barely posted due to me being phonebound last year lol Btw, I have an AW on Mt Volkan with him if you want to try doing the Fighting Prompt for this season. I'm open t making it a large predator fight instead, though.]

Cairo smiled as she said she’d be willing to try them out. As she bounded off, he hung back around the kill, both to keep it from being scavenged, and to bend and unlatch his armor. It was easier to reach the pouches when the armor was on the ground, rather than wandering in circled trying to work on thing out of a pouch. He shook out his short coat, stretching and arching his back. Useful as it was, it was nice to get air through his splotchy fur and he’d been wearing the armor for over twenty-four hours by now. He unhooked the lid to the pouch that carried the mortar and pestle and pulled the smooth, medium-sized welled stone out, tugging the rounded stone that acted as the grinder out after it. Then he grinned with a light wiggle of the hips as he found a small, fired-clay bottle stoppered with beeswax with a strip of gold ribbon sticking out of the wax. Honey would be a great addition to the horsetail, helping it stick to the wound. Although, he’d actually just stuck the bottle in there with the thought of eating it, though Paladin would have bopped his nose one if he knew… Jokingly, of course. Mostly. He chuckled to himself at the thought of the Nomad-Trained man giving him a lecture on not eating the healing supplies, then grinned as Malalia returned with her horsetail find. Flopping to his uninjured side – complete with a tail slap to the ground – he nosed the mortar and pestle to her, propped on his elbows as he nosed the rounded stone into the well of the mortar stone. “Paladin does it like this when he’s making salves and pastes.” He rested one paw over the rounded stone and demonstrated the rhythmic, rocking grinding motion he’d watched the healer do often enough. He hadn’t tried it himself, but he understood now why Paladin’s eyes glazed a bit while he was doing it. It was a soothing sort of motion, and the sound was pleasantly repetitive. After a few motions, he nudged the setup to her, taking the pestle-stone out of the mortar and twisting to roll the bottle of honey to her. “And this is honey. I was originally packing it along to eat it, but it’s also really good for wounds, and if you mix the horsetail into it as a salve, it should help it stick. You can keep the bottle of honey if you like. Shouldn’t need much and a healer warrior will find more use in it than a Warrior Hunter.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

[OOC: Ayyy, I feel honored lol! I'll definitely hop over there, I'm down to do the seasonal!]

The yearling settled down in front of the tools and lay her head on her paws, eyes following the motion of the pestle as Cairo rocked it back and forth within the mortar stone. For one unused to the ways of tools, it was simpler than she thought. She'd essentially be crushing up the herb with a stone instead of her teeth... which was probably a lot cleaner. Her tail swished behind her, in time to the rhythm of its movements -- the regular grate of the pestle against the mortar was surprisingly musical, and almost trance-like.

Cairo nudged it to her, then. Mal bit off a piece that would fit into the mortar and dropped it into the well. The honey was also something new... but when she thought about it, it made sense that the sticky-sweet substance would be useful in that way. She might've thought to use catchweed burrs or spiderwebs, but perhaps the honey was even better in that regard, mixing with the entire salve rather than being applied onto it like the former were.

Still... she didn't expect the gift. She reached for the bottle of honey, carefully taking out the stopper with the bottle fitted between her paws. She laid it aside, and then added a few dribbles to the mortar, checked, and added a little more before bottling up the honey.

She dropped the rounded stone into the mortar. "You sure you don't need it?" The question was muted as she began to rock the the pestle against the herb. It was a little harder at first, but eventually she found her rhythm, grinding the horsetail-and-honey mixture until it was a thick paste, slightly goopy with the honey. With her nose, she nudged the setup back over to Cairo. Malalia got to her feet and paced over to examine the gash on his hip. "May I?"

"Speech"

His smile was ever-present as he watched her find her rhythm with the tools. The fact that she was willing to rise up and learn something new, rather than sit and pout about it, and allow herself to sink into a depression over a lack of knowledge was a resonating factor to why he enjoyed her company. Sure, she might be a little less confident, but that confidence would grow with each newly learned thing. After all, no one was born just knowing things. As she completed the paste, he chuckled at her question, shaking his head. “Oh, we have more at home. There’s a hive in one of our lands I found this autumn. That was about the point in time I decided I wanted to be a hunter as well as a fighter, although when the ladies decided I might be a great swarm branch, I had to politely decline. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to have a whole swarm of honeybees crawling on your face, I can tell you. It’s bizarre. I hate spiders, and bees are two legs short of eight. They were just following their queen. Luckily, when I shook them off, I got away without a sting.” He chuckled, then angled his hip for a better examination, adding, “Go right ahead.” The gash was moderate, with some dirt and debris from the buck’s hoof left behind. Luckily the bleeding wasn’t serious, but the injury would need some cleaning. "How does it look?" Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Malalia chuckled lightly at his story, though her eyes were entirely focused on the boy's wound. Imagining his whole face covered in bees... that was funny.

The yearling frowned at the wound, and looked over at her patient, trouble clouding her gaze. "Welp, I have some bad news...." She could only hold the expression for a few more heartbeats before cracking a grin. "....Joking. You're gonna be fine." It wasn't a scratch, but it was easy to see the wound wasn't serious either, and certainly not unlike the injuries that she had dealt with before.

Malalia twisted around and pulled free a clean square of doeskin that she'd tucked behind the bracelet on her hindleg. Before, she might've used moss, but Iolaire had disabused her of that method in favor of the cleaner, and easier to use patches that she collected. She had carried them with her since... although one of these days she would need to get a proper purse to store things. The honey was just another example.

With the doeskin, she cleaned the blood and grime away, gently but thoroughly, and then discarded the patches. Malalia applied the paste generously, beginning at the bottom edge and laying the paste upward, making sure that it was completely covered. The honey worked well here, and the paste showed no signs of dripping or sloughing away.

Finished with her work, she paced back, her eyes sliding from the patched wound over to Cai. "Thanks for playing the patient. How does it feel?" she asked in turn.

"Speech"

A brow point lifted at her suddenly serious expression, and as she announced there was bad news, his hear cocked, charcoal ears perking slightly. A toothy smirk fell on his features as she relented and revealed the joke, a chuckle snorting through his nose as he shook his head. “It’s a good thing I’m not an easily startled man. You’d give a hypochondriac a heart attack.” His tail slapped the ground a few times before settling into a wiggle at the tip. He did wince slightly as she dug in with the doeskins, and to distract himself, he studied the bracelet on her hind leg, curiosity getting the better of him as he nodded at it, asking, “That’s a lovely bangle; how’d you come by it?” He wasn’t oppressive in the question; she was more than able to dance around the subject—he knew some trinkets like that could have sentimental value. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. As she finished, he smiled, working the hip and studying it. “It feels great. Thank you, Lia. You’ll be a master in no time with how hard you work.” It was a genuine compliment he offered as he rolled to sit and grin at her, tail sweeping gently over the grass. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think