Aslatiel had begun early in the morning before Basilisk even rose. She'd collected a large pile of vines and was currently braiding them together like her aunt Io had shown her. Today she was hunting. A curious thought had struck the girl while she slept and she needed to know the answer. So the aim today was to catch a deer or two and find out.

The first set of vines had taken a long time to braid. By the time she reached the third set, her paws were flying. Right over middle, left over middle. Right over middle, left over middle. She was crafting thick, sturdy snares. All the better to catch her hoofy prey with.

He had heard Asla slip out in the early hours of the morning. He had cracked one eye to watch her departing form, and assumed she left to make water. When she had not returned, he rose. Shaking out his coat and storing away the bedding he had used for the night. He still felt like he was camping out in the den of his Master, instead of sharing with his… friend? The young slave ducked out the door, and followed in the direction that Asla had gone. His tracking abilities were passable at best, but luckily she hadn’t been trying to hide her trail. It led him away from the pack, further then he had expected to go. Essentially, it took him by Ashen, and he was able to follow the creek, before losing her to the other side. He found her scent again in the forest, and he found her using her paws in an officiant, nimble fashion. “Would you like a hand, Mistress?” he asked, he was a little sleepy and baffled. The words that slipped out were ones stored in his default speech, and weren’t censored for Asla’s preference of titles. "Aslatiel""Basilisk"

Asla looked up as Basilisks smooth tones pulled her from her task. She spared him a smile before looking back to the vines that she was currently braiding. He called her by that stupid title that he loved so much and she wrinkled her nose. "Calling me Mistress makes me sound and feel old. I'm not old am I, Bas?" She didn't look at him as she spoke, rather focused on the vines. Once she'd had a significant amount of them ready to go, she rose to her paws. "I'm making a field of snares. I want to catch some deer. Some very specific deer." It was going to be difficult, but she knew that there were some pregnant does nearby. She'd tailed them this morning. "If you want to help, drag this pile of vines to those trees." "Aslatiel""Basilisk"

That woke him, and brought him out of the distraction wrought by her cleverly-moving paws. His eyes glanced up, brushing against her face, but found her smiling despite her words. He dipped his head in an apologetic bow. “Of course not, My Lady. you are both young and wise. “ He hid a smile behind his bow, and when he raised his head again, his expression was clear. Her attention was fully on her task, and he found himself stepping closer, curious at what had caught her attention so completely. He didn’t have to remain in confusion for long - as she launched into an explanation. She was creating a snare to catch a very specific deer. He obediently grabbed the pile and began dragging them at her behest. “What type of deer were you catching, Lady Aslatiel?” He asked. The more he knew, the more helpful he could make himself. "Aslatiel""Basilisk"

She pulled a pile of the vines beneath the overhanging trees and let Basilisk bring the rest. Aslatiel had learned to make snares at a very early age. She and her brother had tried to trap and murder their grandmother, after all. They'd been so small back then. So different from the way they both were now. Bas questioned her and Asla's brow knit together as she was deep in thought. "The pregnant kind." Simple answer. Then, without warning, she began to climb the boy's back until she sat on his shoulders. Reaching up, she grabbed one of the branches and brought it back down. The girl affixed one of the braided vines to the branch tightly, then dropped to the ground and set it up with a pin. Once the loop for the trap was set, she moved on to the next snare. All together, she set six, clambering onto Bas's back each time to grab a new branch. When that was finished, the next task would be to locate the pregnant does and run them through this little pathway. "We need to find the deer and run them through here. There should only be two of them together last I saw, so hopefully we catch at least one of them." She tilted her head slightly. "Are you sure you want to see this? It's going to be a little messy." Understatement. "Aslatiel""Basilisk"

His eyebrows climbed at that statement. Most hunters avoided the pregnant or young - culling them ensured slimmer pickings the next year. He assumed Aslatiel must have her reasons, and had no reason to protest - not that he would have, even if he did. He sorted the nets she had instructed him to move, and the next thing he knew there was a weight on his lower back. He turned his head around, and found Aslatiel’s front paws resting there, before she hoisted herself up. She walked along his back, and made her way to his shoulders. Even in his surprise, Bas found himself spreading his paws and evening his weight. He would not tip this precious cargo. Using her newfound height, she grabbed a branch and pulled it towards them. As she tied a vine to it, he gently grabbed further along the branch with his muzzle. That way, if she lost her grip well tying, it wouldn’t mess up her work. Then she was off him again, and he couldn’t help but chuckle softly. She liked to use every advantage around her for her benefit. including , apparently, the funny wolf-shaped stand below the vines. Understanding what she was doing, he ensured he was close enough for each branch she grabbed, and helped to steady them. “Are you wishing for one, or both, Lady Aslatiel? And no hunt is without mess.” silly goose, of course he wouldn’t walk away from her if a little blood was spilled. "Aslatiel""Basilisk"

With her snares in place, Asla was ready to begin the hunt. She knew the general area where the doe's would be, but deer didn't like staying in one place. It was going to be a lot of running. A lot of cutting off routes. When asked if she'd like one or both, the girl shrugged. "At least one." Two would be too much to carry. If she was even going to bother with the meat, that was. This whole thing was an exploratory hunt. He said no hunt was without mess... but Aslatiel was about to show him what she was all about. She'd show him why some avoided her. It was something that she had to hide these days. Why not just stop then? Because curiosity doesn't just stop, that's why. Everything was as it should be at the capture site, so the small lady set off towards where she'd last seen the deer. Small paws carried her through the forest that she knew so well. Her nose worked to tease out the scents of the ungulates and, after a few rounds of circling, she found them. Two had turned into three. Two pregnant does and a yearling buck, it looked like. She didn't need that one at all and hoped it would stay out of her snares. "Okay, we just need to herd them into the pass and hope that one steps in a snare." Enough instruction. Giving her rear a little wiggle, Aslatiel darted from the brush, startling the trio of deer. They began to spread out, but she rushed to the side, herding them back into place and setting them towards the trap point. "Aslatiel""Basilisk"

He followed her obediently as she moved out into the woods. She caught the scent of them before he did, and led them without hesitance. He stretched out his paws as they walked. He was prepared for a great deal of quick-burst running to guide them correctly. A normal Mistress would have given him all the hard work, but he had a feeling Aslatiel would go against the grain here, as well. That she would be in for the work beginning to end, strange, lovely creature that she was.

He almost got distracted by the little wiggle she gave before him, but cut those thoughts off before they could go any further. The hunt was afoot.

He ran, coming at the deer from the opposite side to Asla, so the creatures were running between them. If any tried to dart of their lead path, he would be ready to nip them back into the right direction.

Small but powerful legs pumped as the young wolf kept pace with her prey. One of the doe's balked and tried to leap off of the path and into the brush, but Asla was there. She sank her teeth and claws into the back end of the deer and the doe bellowed before shooting back down the path. The loss of momentum during the mini attack set her back a few paces, but she made the different in time.

Eyes flashed sideways towards Bas, making sure that he was okay as he ran. The boy was much bigger than she was and would likely have less stamina. Luckily they were almost upon the field of snares. As she had wished for, the young buck had cut off from the group. She let him go. Now it was just the does to focus on. Up ahead, she could see the clearing. It was almost time.

Basilisk ran heavily along beside the deer. His presence alone seemed sufficient to keep them in line. He kept a close eye on his mistress, and he noticed when one tried to break away from her. She was on them in a moment, terrifying them back into line. The one she had harassed almost ran into him in its bid to get away from her, and he snarled, moving to swipe at it, and it straightened once more.

They were almost there now, and as the buck cut away he remembered her prior instructions to let it go. There was just the pregnant females, exactly as she wanted.

As the pair ran the deer towards the clearing, Asla could see the end of their hunt in sight. With one last push, the deer ran through the gauntlet of snares. One managed to make it through but the second one did not. It bleated in surprise as the rope vines caught around one spindly leg and hefted it somewhat. It didn't fully life from the ground, but it wouldn't be going anywhere.

Quickly, Aslatiel subdued the doe, pressing her weight into it and keeping the kicking beast on the ground. "Help me hold it," the striped girl panted, still winded from the chase. Her experiment began once Bas helped to hold the creature down. This needed to be done quickly and there was no time for claws. Asla slid a small hunting knife out of a sheath clasped to her leg. Quickly and deftly, she sliced open the belly of the squirming, bleating doe. Paws moved inside to pull forth the sack holding the baby fawn. Aslatiel needed to see it. She needed to know how this sort of thing worked.

The fawn wasn't fully formed and looked like some sort of squirming mutant. I was revolting. With a sound of disgust, the girl sliced open the sack, spilling the dying fawn onto the cold ground. The mother was already dead from shock and blood loss and its fetus soon followed. Disgusting. Had she been something like that once? Were these the sort of monstrosities that were growing inside of her mother? All the more reason to hate them. With a snort, the gore soaked girl turned and began walking away from the massacre. Let the scavengers clean it up.

They lost one deer the moment they hit the snares, making it through the trap without being foiled by it. The second was not so lucky, vines catching about one leg, trapped their prey where they wished it to be. Helpless, in front of them.

He was at Asla’s side in a heartbeat, pressing his weight on its legs, unworried about the dangers of being near its kicking legs. He had been dealt far worse in his life, pain had lost much of its power over him.

It thrashed more wildly as Asla cut at its belly. Basilisk grunted, pushing harder with his weight. He heard a snap as he inadvertently broke one of its slim legs. Its eyes rolled in his head, wild and unconsolable. He ignored its pained thrashing, concentrating only on keeping it from hurting his Mistress.

As he held it, the deer finally stilled, and he leaned closer to Asla, prepared to offer her any assistance she might need as she separated fetus from mother. After it was spilled, and she had had a moment to study it, she rose, and began to walk away. The slave picked himself up from the carcass, and hurried to follow her. No more the wiser now then he had been before at what this had all been about. “Did you get what you needed, My Lady Aslatiel?’