with the dawn

He was patient, and he had a feeling she’d take the meal when his ears picked up the faint growl of a complaining belly. Sure enough, soon there was a rustle of paws as she snatched the fish and retreated. Though he didn’t look directly at her, eyes on the fire, his features twitched into a slight, genuine smile, bi-chocolate tail tapping a gentle tattoo of pleasure before he shifted further away, putting the fire well between her and himself, giving her a buffer.

The fish wouldn’t be likely to last long, though if she’d had a long time since a large meal, she’d probably feel full on just those two trout alone. He wished he’d brought some cordage along to make rabbit snares, if not for the lean meat, then for the skins and slim bones that made excellent needles for finer work. Ardyn and Aoife would be thrilled if he could snatch a few rabbits and brought them some bone needles, as their dexterous, hand-like paws were far more adept as sewing and weaving than his own plain-by-comparison paws.

Enito, however, solved the problem. The monkey had initially elected to hang back, still off kilter after their adventure in the swamp, but clearly, he’d remembered what Cairo’d forgotten. Snare strings. With the coils of sinew cord hooked around his torso like a purse strap or sash, he popped out of the shadows, on Cairo’s side of the fire.

“You forgot your snare cords. You wanted to catch rabbits, right?”

Cairo gave a soft snort of mirth. “Thanks Enito. I found a few good rabbit trails if you want to help set them up.” The Mandrill huffed and nodded as Cairo rose to his paws and padded out of the firelight, leading the way to one of the trails that had the better saplings for the job. The cords were strong enough, and the saplings old enough, that he had the chance of catching a young deer.

Together, the monkey and wolf set to work. Cairo rose on his back legs and pulled down a sapling, holding it while Enito securely fastened the first cord to the tip, far enough back to avoid the tender, easily snapped top of the tree.

He held the cordage in his teeth as the monkey formed the loop, then set the toggle against a convenient rock, spreading the loop so that a deer might get caught in the snare. It was a hair trigger and the two retreated along the trail to the next location, setting this next snare at a better height for rabbits. There was a warren hold nearby, and Cairo was reasonably certain rabbits would come this way.

Eventually, they returned to the fire, snare cords depleted, trap-line set, and Cairo stretched out on the hide, in the same spot he’d been when the mandrill had arrived, wriggling onto his back, paws tucked over his sternum, hind legs ridiculously sprawled, tail flopped out over the hide as he studied the sky through the smoke and occasional sparks from the fire and let out a long sigh.

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