Chasing in the storm

The other wolf agrees and that is enough for Kichi.  He looks back, measuring how close he can get to the elk before the chase itself starts.  His eyes try to follow Tove to keep up with where she is in this damned storm but its practically impossible.  Well, he knows where she should be setting herself up, assuming she knows how to hunt well.  How long does she need?

Kichi watches and when a bolt of lightning strikes he finally see’s her.  She’s almost in a good position so Kichi waits but then the darkness is back.  The grey wolf lowers his head, waiting and watching the elk.  Little did he know that moving his head down would be seen as a possible nod.

Kichi didn’t need a great picture to know that the form of the wolf was chasing a form that would be an elk.  Kichi runs to catch up and run along the opposite side of the elk.  The water is pelting his eyes, causing him to make them small slits and straining his mind to focus only on their food and not the storm.  The grass is slippier than what he normally would be on when hunting.

The wolf he was hunting with suddenly seems to be gone.  Was it kicked? Had she tumbled? Jumped clear?  Who knew and who cared?  Kichi followed the elk as it twisted right, snapping at a leg and nearly getting kicked just for biting the air near it.  Maybe hunting in this weather was madness.  His feet splashed through a thin layer of water but that was ignored as unimportant.  

Kichi tried again and this time connected a bite to the animal's leg.  It kicked and while it didn’t hit Kichi the wolf did have to jump back to avoid being hit.  The grey wolf almost lost his own footing and had to catch his balance the elk already farther ahead.  Had the stranger just yelled something?  Kichi hadn’t been paying attention.  As the grey wolf mulled over trying to find the elk again, trying to think back what the other wolf had said Kichi finally glanced down.  His ears straightened up as he saw how he was standing in a stream of water where it should have just been grass.

Kichi glanced to where the river was and found that the line where land joined water was now no longer in sight.  Flood! That’s what she’d hollered at him!  Damn, he’d be going back with nothing to show for it.  Squinting through the storm he tried to spot the stranger but a gust of wind came and it was like the rain and the wind was a thick curtain cutting everything else out of sight.  Kichi was wetter than the dang fish.

The wolf sighed as he fully admitted his loss.  Tove wasn’t in sight and nothing special to him so there was no point in searching her out to see if she’d be alright.  With a sigh, Kichi turned around and at first started walking away but with another glance at the water actually rising the wolf took off at a run.  How high could the water get?  It was one of those things it's best to not learn most likely.  Good luck to Tove as Kichi left without a glance behind.

Word Count: 554
Word Count Total: 1523
"Kichi"