eye of the tiger - or newt, or whatever we can find

Luce nodded sagely at his response. That certainly made the most sense. If they were rooting around for herbs, they risked chancing upon the perfect prey and inevitably spooking it away. Better to kill anything they could find while they could. Lucretia inhaled deeply and lowered her nose to the ground, swishing her tail thoughtfully. Scents flooded in, most of them stale. Larger prey had gone elsewhere. Wide open spaces had been mostly deserted since the eruption; they sought shelter elsewhere, in dense forests or across the narrow strait that separated the continents. Boreas had suffered greatly. The affection she felt for the land surprised her. No longer did she feel like a stranger here - this was her home, just as much if not more than the former Klein Empire had ever been.

She offered Bourbon a small smile, trying to banish her sour mood. Her emotions were rotten, fickle things. He was so stalwart and easygoing that Luce found herself sometimes envious. She didn't know what she'd do without his calming presence. It was better than any chamomile and lavender brew she'd ever put together. Just as she was making a mental note to thank her sister again for the gift of her companion, she caught the scent of a nearby boar. Unfortunately it was the only recent smell she could pick up.

Just as the smell registered, the pig itself seemed to pick up on their presence. Luce could hear its snuffling and then suddenly it was quiet. With a great squeal, the grass a dozen yards away began to part as the creature made a beeline towards them. This wasn't the kind of "prey" she had been prepared for, but if they worked together, hopefully they could down it. "Watch out!" she gasped, darting to the right as the creature came crashing through the brush and narrowing missed careening into the pair of them. Luce turned on the pig and lowered her head, growling fiercely. The boar was brave and undeterred, swinging around to face her and blowing hard. The fight was on!