is that a challenge?

Dawn cast cascading rays of pinks and oranges over the still nearly dark sky. In the middle of the herbaceous garden, a herd of deer stood half-asleep or already grazing. Their tails flick at bugs and fawns suckle at their mother's teats. Everything is calm and quiet. Not a bird stir nor a coyote or mouse. A gentle breeze rolls in from the west bringing with it a salty scent of brine and sand. The world is perfection for the time being. No danger, no sense of urgency, just the deer and the garden with its crumbling stone walls.

Until a rustling along the territory's edge catches a doe's attention. The taller green grass that has been slowly fading to yellow freezes suddenly. As if the breeze tickling by hadn't just wafted in a whiff of feline. Not just any feline either, but a big cat scent. The doe stares for a moment longer, but the grass rustles no more and she is satisfied that it truly was just the wind or mouse.

Raumr releases a steady breath through his nostrils that only flutter his whiskers. His belly is pressed to the ground, tail that normally flicks back and forth now lies still along the path he's laid out. Perfectly hidden behind the extra tall grass, he peers through it with feline precision. Barely a blink to be seen as he waits for his moment. His toes flex, claws digging gently into the dirt as he licks his lips. Already he can taste the delicious sweetness of venison...

Just as he's about to make another move, the thunder of hooves stomping directly behind him sends both does and himself startling into the air. Thick, angry snorts light the air as the large antlered buck charges him. Leaping to his paws, swiveling so that his back is facing the now running herd and his eyes are on the male deer, Raumr releases a challenging roar meant to scare off the buck. It doesn't...

Raumr Regalus, the Third