Slogging along

His call to Asahi had alerted the turtles for a moment, but not enough to send it careening into the water. Instead, the reptile sucked itself within its shell, intent on waiting out the much larger predator. As he patiently waits for his sister to duck beneath his chin, Jiro holds himself as still as a statue. Pale silver gaze upon the shell that practically blends into the leaf litter and rocks around it. He steadies his breathing, tensing his muscles, waiting for her to give him the go ahead. Plus, if there was one turtle, surely there would be more for them to catch as well.

After a few steady moments of harmonious breathing, they see the tiny turtle head poke out from its shell. Confident that the canines were no longer in the vicinity, the beady eyed reptile slides back and continues to mosey around the shallow stream's muddy bank. Jiro smiles down at Asahi for a second, watching as she begins to stalk toward the turtle. His paw lifts, ready to move ahead when he notices her trajectory turn toward the other bank. Another turtle! Perfect! If they both caught their own, they could harvest and have a bowl of their own.

Refocusing on the first turtle that was closer, but positioned mostly in the water now, Jiro lowers himself toward the ground. His elbow nearly touch, but he hovers just enough that his body won't rustle too loudly against the leaf litter. Closer and closer his massive paws draw him until he is only a few feet away. So far, the turtle hasn't noticed, but it is about to slide into the water! It would have to be now or never!

In one swift leap, Jiro sails toward the turtle with jaws open and paws extended. It is too late when the turtle sees him, in a desperate move to save itself, it sucks itself back into the shell instead of slipping fully into the water. His paws crash into the muddy bank, sliding forward as his jaws grasp around the hard shell. Picking it up so that the turtle can't escape, Jiro looks to see if Asahi is also successful. Hoping that his crash land into the stream didn't cause her own hunt to go astray, he washes his paws of mud and returns back to the little clearing they had started in. Dropping the turtle to the ground and placing a firm paw over its soft belly so that the turtle lay upside down, he waits for his smaller sister.

Once she's back, he gives her a proud smile and quick wag of his tail. "If we dispatch and clean them here, we can leave any parts we don't want for the other critters," Jiro starts, taking a seat and pulling his turtle closer to him. In an act of defiance, the reptile pops its head out and snaps at one of his toes. The sharp piercing pain forces a yowl from Jiro, but he doesn't let go. "Pesky thing," he mutters under his breath, using the grasped toe to pull its head out farther so that he can twist it, break the spine, and cleanly pull its head off without much resistance.

"Show me how you clean turtles," Jiro offers another smile to Asahi, looking over to his sister.