cry a little

The piglet hung limply in her grasp, swaying slightly with the give of fresh meat yet unaffected by rigor mortis. When she could confirm that she was in the clear with her own prize, she could dare to relax a little, a far away look briefly overcoming her piercing stare. The euphoric feeling of filling her belly with food she had earned was most satisfying, but it seemed that there was a hitch in her plan to immediately gorge herself. In the desolate far north, there was little to worry about when it came to other predators. She would have happily stopped in her tracks to feed herself, but it seemed the rust marked male had other plans.

As her pace slowed in anticipation of a sooner stop, she saw Oxide blow past her, the scent of competition hot on his heels. It roused her, heartbeat skipping a beat as she picked up her feet, legs pumping in order to close the gap between them. There was a hint of a spark that nearly lit her fire, but instead of pushing herself, she remained steadily behind the larger wolf, parallel to his flank. There had never been any reason to compete, not for her, so she found her motivation to win under developed. Everyone else was so focused on reaching the top, that it seemed more satisfying to help than to conquer.

Ahead of them was a little rise, where dense scrub provided an ideal cover, both shaded and private. Muses lifted her muzzle to attempt a rather muffled chuff, gently calling out to indicate that she had seen somewhere nice to settle for the time being. With a little smirk, she pulled away, veering off to take a shortcut, though her actions were teasing rather than challenging, her stride decelerating to a casual lope, and her attention temporarily preoccupied as she scanned the space for a cozy nook.