Don't Eat The Cake

Evening was falling faster than Stjarna would like. The days were growing shorter, the light dimming sooner and sooner and Star wished more than anything that the light wouldn't be so quick to go. At least the evening was calm. The wind was barely stirring and the sky was clear with only a few tendrils of clouds lacing through it. When night finally fell it would make a lovely stage for the glittering stars and rising moon as they made their autumnal debut. Padding through the valley, Star took in the lovely fields of green grass and did their best to ignore their growling stomach.

Hunger pushed Stjarna to keep searching for potential prey. Many animals had moved on, journeying on their migrations toward warmer climates. Many others were getting ready for hibernation. There were some that would remain though. Stjarna fully expected to be able to find deer and elk throughout the year but they were difficult prey to take down solo. Rabbits were certainly a good solo prey but when the winter snows came Stjarna would be at a disadvantage in the snow. Deer sank through the snow much like the wolf did. A rabbit, however, could glide across the snow and put more distance between itself and a predator like a wolf.

Stjarna scened the air, pausing at the unmistakable smell of deer blood. Well, Star wasn't above scavenging a kill. Maybe they could get a nice snack and a bit more energy to hunt down something fresh. Star followed the scent to find a half eaten deer carcass and it was not alone. This wasn't terribly surprising. With winter on its way all predators were taking advantage of what they could, especially during the deer rutting season. Gorging itself on the kill was a large black bear. Around it were a number of crows and ravens, all vying for a piece of the meat. At least the coyotes hadn't picked up on the scent yet.

Star cautiously started to approach the kill. They were hungry, but the real question was were they hungry enough to attack a bear for a few bites to eat. If it was a grizzly bear the easy answer would be no, but a black bear? Star felt they could pester and annoy the bear enough to at least get some good bite's of food. An all out fight would also be an option depending on how stubborn the bear intended to be, but again, with winter on its way the bear wasn't likely to back down from a fight. Well, that was fine. Stjarna had fought a lot of predators lately and was feeling brazen enough to take on this challenge.

Star crept closer, slinking down low. The bear was feeding on the deer's belly so the wolf approached the deers back where a few ravens were picking at the flesh behind the shoulder blades. The bear was so occupied that it didn't notice as Star nipped at the flesh of the deer just in front of the hips. Feeling emboldened by the lack of response, Stjarna ripped into the flesh and started to eat. The wolf got two solid bites before the bear noticed something amiss. It lifted its head, locked eyes on the wolf. A bloody mouth opened in a wide roar as the bear lunged over he kill toward Stjarna.

Stjarna leapt to the side and retreated for a moment as the bear slowed, clearly not wishing to be lured too far from the kill. Star turned around to face the bear and grinned. Ok, so it was going to be that kind of game. Stjarna circled around the bear, heading toward the kill again. The bear charged and Stjarna dove underneath the bear's left side as it lifted a paw to swipe at the wolf. Star pushed off with powerful hind legs right into the bear's back left leg. Twisting head to the side, Star bit viciously into the bear's knee then sprinted away. The bear was furious. It rounded around to face the wolf once more only to find the canine eating more of its kill.

Star grinned and wolfed down a few tender chunks of belly meat before the bear attacked once more. The ravens and crows scattered into the sky as the bear bounded over its bounty and tried to murder Stjarna. However, the young wolf was far too quick. They managed to stay just ahead of the bear and for a moment they had a merry chase going before the bear gave up and trudged back to the kill. It bent its head to continue eating but before it could start again Stjarna approached the kill. The bear stared at the wolf and the wolf stared back in a show down to see who might make the first move.

Well, Star still wanted a few more bites so they slowly approached. The bear bellowed in protest then leapt once more. Stjarna rolled nimbly out of the way of the charging creature, twisting around in an arc with jaws wide open the wolf bit the bear squarely on the rear, snapping fangs over it's little tail. The bear roared and turned to swipe at them but by then Stjarna was already making a beeline for the kill. They wolfed down a couple more bites, eyeing the bear who was panting and didn't seem sure what to do. Eventually, it decided it was full enough for now and the wolf was just not worth the headache. It lumbered off and left Stjarna to their meal. Grinning at their victory, Star tucked into the meal, eating as much as possible before more predators found the kill and decided to have a fight over it. They didn't mind sharing with the crows and the ravens. Well, for the most part. Every so often a particularly brazen bird would come up behind them and try and pull out a few hairs. Stjarna tucked their tail close to try and discourage such harassment.

It didn't take long to fill their gut and once that was done Stjarna went on their way, licking blood from stained fur and fangs.