Ranger's Apprentice [Mask]

She’d been watching the small herd of mule deer for a few days, now. Rut season was coming, now that Autumn had arrived. Hunting was part of the many things her father had been teaching her in, from how to keep a large prey animal moving with no rest or time to each or drink. How close to stay to push the animal without making it take off in a sprint.

She knew that by the end of the Rut, bucks would be worn out, many injured. But her eyes weren’t watching the bucks, currently. Instead, they were on the does. There was an old doe she’d noticed who seemed to be ill. Longer observation any chance she got, showed her that the source of the illness was an infection in the doe’s side, from a pair of claws… A failed attempt at a kill from one of the cats?

She knew for sure, though, that she’d need an experienced partner in taking her down. Her father was a possibility. But he was busy on patrol. So, she cast her mind about for who else might be helpful. Mask. The name floated up to the surface. Her father had meant to promote the male for his multiple attempts at getting a pack hunt running.

She’d never met him face to face, but she knew his scent from the various meals and bones he’d left for her and her brother. She could call him, but it would be better, she decided, to get some practice in tracking done and seek him out herself.

So, she leapt from the boulder she’d been sitting on and began casting about. By now, she knew the deer’s patterns of movement, and they’d be there for a while. She had time, if she found the male quickly.

The shimmering white yearling lowered her nose, breathing in and searching as she padded carefully through the plains, discarding old traces, pausing when she found newer ones, long enough to judge their ages and following the newer ones until she found a trace Mask had left that was fresher than any of the ones she’d found.

She fell alongside the trail, eyes casting about for tracks as well as watching her step. Why not get some practice in stalking, as well? The wind was blowing in her direction, at least, making the plains grasses sway hypnotically around her.

She picked her way carefully, avoiding stepping on old grass that had dried out, finding the softest places to set her paws, all in the interest of making as little noise as she could. Her head had lifted as the scent grew stronger, and as she caught a strong, fresh whiff on the air, she knew she was close.

She slowed to a complete stop, peering ahead for the slim male. Ah! There was a dark form ahead, visible through the grasses. She hadn’t caught any scents of prey with his trail, so, hopefully, she wasn’t about to interrupt his own hunting trip.

Aurielle took a silent breath and slipped forward, stepping out of the tall grasses and approaching the male with a soft-voiced greeting of, “Excuse me… Mask?”

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think