With casual hunting aside, Tallulah was ever more determined to improve herself. As a yearling going on to adult age, she needed to work on her skills. She needed to prove to Pa she had the guts to make it out here. Most of all; she needed to prove it to herself. Working on the strong leather cord, she began to attach it to a stick. A snare would be useful to catch a rabbit or two. Gods willing, they were peeking out from the holes they had dug. The Thicket was flush with prey even in the spring. Soon, the summer would come and the overpopulation with it. She needed more experience and what better time than now? With winter travelling behind her, Tallulah had taken some small steps into the location known as Boreas. A few rustles in the foliage caused her to calmly pause, duo eyes focusing on the thicket before her. She didn't call anyone out, but she waited to see if they'd come out on their own merit. She was a bit busy herself. "speech here" 1/3 - make trap 0/3 - use trap

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn stepped carefully around the rabbit trail, eyeing the brush piles and dense thicket on either side as she debated where best to set her trap. A few sticks and strands of leather hung from her jaws. Her companions were out doing hunting of their own but Jynn had decided to try setting a snare so she could save some of her energy. Traveling between Auster and Boreas was taxing, often leaving her stores low. Setting a snare and then resting while waiting for dinner was often the best course of action for her.

She stepped through the brush and froze when she spied another wolf, her eyes quickly darting to what the woman was working on. Her large ears perked up before she set her own items down. She spoke softly. "Excuse me, are you working on rabbit snares to?"

"Howdy" Tallulah began, looking up again from her work. She lifted a paw to wipe at her brow, smiling politely at the stranger "reckon I am" Why? Did they want to help? She could not know unless it was offered but she could also prompt the lady a bit "ya have experience wit' traps, ma'am?" The girl looked back down, looping a generous amount of cord around a second stick. She needed to get these varmints up and gone before they did a bit of damage. Spring made them all breed like, well, rabbits. She was looking to downplay the situation and also made a buck trading skins. Also! That meat was mighty tasty if she says so! "Yer welcome to join me." Tallulah adds. "speech here" 2/3 - make a trap 0/3 - use trap

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn's ears twitched at the unusual accent but the woman seemed friendly enough. That was a good sign. She didn't want to be chased away from these hunting grounds or have her catch stolen if she actually managed to snare anything.

"ya have experience wit' traps, ma'am?"

"Some. I'm tried my paw at rabbit and fish snares. Once with a deer snare, but all to varying levels of success." The only one she'd ever caught anything with was her rabbit snare but practice made perfect so she was inclined to working at it. The woman invited her to join in and she settled down. "My name is Jynn." She picked up the strand of leather she had and using her teeth and her claws carefully working to craft it into a loop that would decrease in circumfrance when pulled. She then turned to the sticks and started breaking and sharpening them with her teeth.

"Izzat right?" Tallulah eyed the woman with interest, having never seen a deer snare. Wolves hunted in groups and very rarely put effort into laying a trap that wasn't chasing and biting. She understood that as nature, but sometimes when alone... Well, she did not want to starve. She worked on her own snare until it was finished, setting it down and reaching for another cord and stick. Might as well make more, in case. She could trade for more materials. "Tallulah Colt, ma'am" she began after the woman introduced herself as Jynn "nice ta make ya acquaintance" She was happy that the other wolf decided to join her. Tallulah had been along for a few days now, since arriving in Boreas. She knew the name of the land due to trading and partaking in socializing with strangers. All had positive and knowledgeable experiences to share with her. "Right, I think this one is done. I'll be back after settin' it." She moved to a more dense location. "speech here" 3/3 - make a trap 0/3 - use trap

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn finished up her loop and sticks as the woman introduced herself as tallulah. She nodded as the other woman finished her trap and went to go set it. Now that she was done it was time to set hers up as well. Jynn examined the little paths and the brush piles, trying to get a sense for where the rabbits might go. She picked an entrance into the nearest brush pile and carefully set a loop of leather up at about the height of a rabbit's head. Once that was done she then broke off fine twigs with her teeth and carefully went about setting them up around the loop, trying to do what she could to encourage a rabbit to go through the loop and not around it. They were more clever than a lot of wolves gave them credit for.

Discovering Jynn had left to find food as well, Tallulah turned back to the trap's location. She approached cautiously, seeing a rabbit sniffing around the brush she had covered the wire with. The girl crouched down and circled to the back, just in case the prey darted to where they came from. It seemed a warren was nearby - a good sign for a trapper like herself. The rabbit did hop closer, nibbling the grass as it went. She could tell it was an older one, grey with developed haunches that were worn down by survival. No longer. The fat rabbit would be a boon to her growing supplies. All she had to do was wait for him to take the bait. A juicy berry had been placed in the wire's location. It could smell the food and hopped closer and closer... Until. Snap. "speech here" 3/3 - make a trap 1/3 - use trap

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Once her trap was set Jynn moved out of the area, careful not to use any of the rabbit trails. She didn't want her scent lingering there and tipping the critters off or scaring them off into the brush. Jynn settled off a ways to wait. She wanted to be close enough that she could swiftly retrieve her prey before coyotes or another predator moved in but also far enough that should the wind shift her prey wouldn't be steered away from her trap. Resting her head on her forelegs she waited.

Jynn's head snapped up at the sound of a shrieking squeal. Yes! That was a rabbit. She bounded to her feet and tore off toward her trap. The screech swiftly gave way to silence but that was the plan. Her trap was meant to strangle. The more the prey struggled, the tighter the noose. Often they were dead by the time she reached them.

The rabbit would not squeal Tallulah flickered her ear backward, hearing a distant one. Jynn must have found her mark already. Good, she wanted the Ethiopian wolf to get some materials and food too. Her prey lay still by the time she got there. Tallulah unhooked it from the trap, recalling she had placed another nearby too. A good thing it didn't cry out then, alerting the others. Swinging the dead rabbit over her back, she went to check the other trap. She hoped to catch more than one to make up for the things she had traded away for supplies. Tallulah could craft new things for more value too. She wasn't a useless lot. A shudder in the brush with the trap caused her to stop. She crouched down, waiting for an inevitable capture. "speech here" 3/3 - make a trap 2/3 - use trap

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Certain the rabbit was dead Jynn set about freeing it from the trap. She held onto the loop with her fangs then carefully used the claws of one paw to loosen the cordage enough so that she could slip it off over the rabbits head. She then took it down from the twigs and stashed it in her satchel. Pleased with her catch she scooped the rabbit up in her jaws and wandered back over to where she and Tallulah had first met. She was eager to show off her catch but also eager to eat so she started to work through the fur of the belly, devouring the guts swiftly to sate her hunger. She debated whether to skin the rabbit or not. Jynn had a set of winter hides and since she travelled with the weather and seasons she rarely needed them.

Another rabbit fell into the trap. Tallulah waited until the shriek was cut before lunging into the foliage. She saw it struggle dangerously until falling silent, breathing one last time. Eyes locked with her own. She hadn't dared to get close; a rabbit's claws and teeth could be disease-ridden sometimes. If it scratched her, she only knew basic first aid. She could have an infected cut for days. It wasted time. "Thank ya kindly for waitin'!" she added to Jynn as she approached, two rabbits in her grasp. She placed them on the ground "ya must be hungry." she remarked with a chuckle, seeing as the other wolf decided to eat before she arrived. Tallulah tucked in too, careful not to harm the precious hide of the rabbit. She slit the belly and began to drag the meat out. Only now does she realize she could have started a fire. Smoked meat sounded delicious. "speech here" 3/3 - make a trap 3/3 - use trap

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn quickly licked the blood off her chin as she heard someone, she assumed Tallulah, approach through the brush. She was proven correct as the earthen woman appeared with a nice set of rabbits. "Nice catch!" Jynn chuckled, a flash of embarassment across her face as Tallulah commented on her appetite. "Yea, I uh… tend to travel a lot and hunting as a loner limits my kills. That's why I've been getting more into traps. Still working mostly with small prey. I want to figure out how to trap larger prey but its really been hit or miss." She supposed like everything else it was a matter of practice. With that she dug into the main meat of the rabbit, using her claws and teeth to skin it as she went, peeling off the hide and eating the meat underneath.

-end? continue?-