Unexpected Refuge

Quote:Invitingly, Leon moved over to the downed doe and took a seat at her haunch, wasting little time in feeding himself the meal he had caught. Mouth watering, the little grey wolf followed after him, head lowered as she continued to use her nose the few steps that it took to bring her to its side. With Leon already eating, the scents of the meat were tantalizing, and unable to wait herself, unable to quiet the polite voice in her head, she picked her own spot and fed, her stomach suddenly alive with hunger now that it knew food was within its reach. Though the deer had been sickly, had been of a poorer quality than the others, her need for sustenance after the headlong race away from disaster made the meat taste simply wonderful to Ashtoreth, the best meal she could recall having in the longest time.

After the initial first bites had been taken and the needs of her stomach mostly staunched, she forced herself to slow down, unwilling to allow her hunger to get the better of her. She made herself think about every bite she took, made herself consciously aware of how much she had so far eaten, and slowly continued to eat what she felt to be necessary. Once he spoke to her while they ate, a quick statement of gratitude for her company, and then quietly Leon began to eat again. She licked her lips after he had spoken, half expecting something else to follow from the look about his face, and was almost puzzled when he said no more. She said nothing, but as she lowered her head to take another bite her thoughts answered with a quietly happy, Me too.

As Leon moved away from the doe and settled himself upon the ground, she knew she ought to follow suit. It would have been better than filling herself to bursting and then dealing with those consequences when it came time to move again, which she suspected would be sooner as opposed to later. But she allowed herself to indulge in a few more bites before forcing herself to step away, licking her lips and cleaning as best as she could in that moment.

Her two-toned eyes sought out her company, watching as his tail moved lazily with his attention settled elsewhere. She moved to join him, stepping closer though refraining from sprawling upon the grounds as he did. Instead, she merely folded her legs and sat, licking her lips another time before speaking. "Thanks," she said simply, feeling it needed to be said though she felt certain he did not expect it of her. "That was just what I needed. But let's hope my full stomach doesn't put me to sleep," she half joked with a smile, nearly laughing at the other half truth it held. It would have been so easy to just plop down onto the ground and completely enjoy the sense of fullness that she felt, but knowing the consequences, and all that they still had to do, she thought it wiser and more advantageous to stay awake and keep moving if it was what Leon wished to do.

-- ashtoreth