no sneakier than a cartoon character

The Finnvi was getting himself into position, crouched down, his large paws making no sound. Ysmir was well adjusted to being silent, in voice as much as physically. He disturbed no leaf, and was gentle in the crunching snow. He weighed far too much to walk along the tops of the hardened crust, but he had learned to break through with little to no sound. So much so that he startled the young Maelstrom he was focusing on his prey so hard. Perhaps that would be a little lesson to him, to pay attention to his whole surroundings and not just the subject of his hunt. Good thing he hadn’t been a bear.

The boy seemed to know well enough what Ysmir desired without having to say a word, as he had assumed. The pair of them had quickly made headway towards the herd of deer. Spring time meant that it was majorly the does and their newly born fawns. Not that it was easy to tell the difference between them and the bucks now that they had lost their antlers. As always there were a couple of look outs while the rest of the herd grazed, though even they had yet to spy the two wolves stalking them.

Had there been more than just the two of them Ysmir would have gone full out, wolves were meant to outpace their prey. They pounced when the animal was exhausted, but with just the two of them stealth would be the superior option. Much like a pair of large cats. Dual toned gaze met Maelstrom’s as they both glanced at the fawns that were frolicking a bit away from the rest of the herd. Ysmir felt slightly morose for taking the young ones, but more were born than could survive. They had young to feed as well.

Ysmir gave a soft nod of knowing and the hunt was fully initiated. Their target was picked, they were gaining ground, and the small creature was all but theirs already. Their approach was careful, and most of all quiet, but their cover would not last forever. Ysmir’s big paws carried him around with Mael, closer to the excited fawns. However, of no fault of their own, a shift in the wind blew across the pair of them and alerted the herd to their presence. With a single warning call from an older doe.

Maelstrom’s voice followed quickly after, asserting their need to run now. Ysmir figured their hunt was over with now, but maybe the boy was right. Perhaps there was still a chance. Ysmir threw caution to the wind and pushed himself off with a strong leap into a dead run towards their prey. If they ran for long enough one of the deer was bound to slow enough they could catch it. However, it seemed like the two of them were fast enough that they could catch one of the smaller fawns.

Ysmir put on a burst of speed, using a big cat tactic he leaped ahead and with one paw aimed to swipe at the back hooves, tripping the young creature and ensuring its doom. The fawn bleated in horror before Ysmir quickly ended its life.

wc: 535
total: 1536