Walk | Talk | Think
For all appearances, it nearly looked as if she had disappointed him with her choice, even though it had been one of his suggestions. She did not follow his line of thought at first, unable to figure for herself where it was his dampening expression had come from, though as he explained himself it became considerably more clear. It was true, he was not the spry thing that he once had been, long before he had met Tahlia. But the russet and black woman was convinced he was not so old and stiff as he tried to make himself out to be, smiling as she listened to him admit his faults and fears regarding his body's capabilities in the hunt. "It has not been so long since then, has it?" she questioned with encouragement when he paused to give the woods behind him a quick glance.
He did not need much reassurance or wheedling for him to finally agree and lead them through the woods, sharing a heartening smile with her along the way. Tahlia remained close to him as he sought out their course and only fell back when he began to sniff and capture the scent it was that he was after - lemming, she supposed - and began to track in earnest. She let him go ahead, hanging back so that she be well out of his way and her own steps would not couple with his in the snow to create even more noise to give away his intent. For all his talk, it hardly seemed to take him any time at all to locate his prey and dig it out, snatching it out of the snow and killing it swiftly.
She approached him as he set the lemming upon the snow and took his seat, smiling admiringly at him for his success despite what he had earlier said. It was no deer of impressive size, but the simple fact that he had still been willing to fetch her a small meal was flattering all on its own. "Thank you, my husband," she said as she stepped over to him and placed a gentle lick against his cheek and a lingering nuzzle under his chin. Settling her eyes upon the lemming, she turned toward it and bent down to feed, placing a paw upon it as she did so. It was not quite so filling as larger game might have been, but that was a small detail to her. She had been more interested in watching him hunt than what he would catch, and for that she was satisfied.
Licking her lips, she righted herself again and took a seat within the snow, golden eyes seeking out the blue ones of her mate. "Before long the pups will be hunting. Are you ready for that?" she asked, curious to know if he had given it thought prior to that moment. They were growing so quickly, it would only be a matter of time before they were old enough to wander on their own and leave them, free to do as they wished and make all their choices on their own. But for the time being, they were still small, sweet little children, and Tahlia had every intention of spoiling them with all the knowledge and treats that she could think of. "I cannot wait until the weather warms and we can go to the lake. All of us."
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