Walk | Talk | Think The sun beat down relentlessly from above onto the wide stretch of prairie land, but overall it felt like a mild day. Anais padded along at a leisurely trot from the direction of the shoreline, intent on a quick hunt not for her but just a little something new to add to the pack's cache of readily available meals. Hunting had always been her strong point, a point that had taken her months to finally acknowledge as she was growing up, and now that her life had been given structure again within Donostrea she was eager to once more begin honing in those skills to something more refined and precise. Here, of all places, she wanted to make a good impression, and that meant carrying her weight and proving that she was a contributing member of the pack. Her face, usually brightened by a smile, was set attentively and with a determined focus, eyes of lemon-gold scanning ahead while her ears perked atop her head and listened for the faintest rustle around her as she continued to step along quietly. At the tip of her muzzle, her dark nose twitched, drawing in the scents of the Algoma Prairie and attempting to single out which scent was closest. No large game today - without the extra support from the pack such a hunt would have been dangerously reckless - Anais sought out the smaller, lighter prey, little fleet-footed things that she could snatch up as they darted about. Hares, prairie dogs... One of them had to be around here somewhere. With a final glance above the grasses, the golden brown hunter lowered her head and slowed her pace, falling into a near-silent hunter's prowl as she scented closer to the ground in search of a trail to follow.

Algoma Prairie was their hunting ground, it was why he and Voltage had chosen it as a place to expand their territories. The beach was good only for fishing and the occasional seagull, it was here that pack hunts took place and smaller creatures made their homes. It never surprised the giant to find his little Anais here. She was their pack hunter, the one and only their pack boosted. In a way it was a lot of responsibilities to be placed on her shoulder, after all there where even two Alpha's! Yet only one hunter. He intended to bring her rank up to lead hunter and soon to give her power to call pack hunts, a way that allowed her to bring in other members of the pack to help her. He had spoken with Voltage about it, and since no one in their pack aspired to be a hunter he saw no reason why Anais couldn't take the position. It was why Glaicer moved to the Prairie this day in search of Anais. Seeing her in hunt also made it the perfect moment, here would be his chance to observe and admire – erm, judge that was, if she was good enough for the position he wanted for her. He already knew she was, this was just a formality before handing over the position. He moved slowly and quietly a good distance behind her, losing sight of her as she lowered her body into the grass and he would do the same, keeping just his eyes above to get a good view of the huntress when she next appeared. "Speech"

  

Walk | Talk | Think Entirely unaware that she was being watched, the golden brown hunter padded silently through the prairie, her nose skimming above the ground she tread in search of scents. A few that belonged to members of the pack were present above those of the prey animals that shared the territory with them, but for the most part they went ignored - they were not her quarry. Of her intended targets, she found their scents, numerous and recent, and smiled a little to herself. That was a good sign. Even if she could not yet see them, they were there, and Anais hoped that, so long as she kept up a vigilant, observant crawl, she would find them in no time at all. With the scent of her prey located and her position in the prairie confirmed as the place she needed to be, the stealthy wolf let her hearing and sight take over. Each step she made as she crept through the grasses was done carefully and slowly, minimizing the noise that she made not only so that she could hear the noises around her but so that she might not be heard in the process. A lot of good it would do her to finally spot a quick meal only to tip it off that she was there. Her caution paid off. As she prowled through the grasses, attention riveted on her surroundings, she finally heard the first telltale scratching somewhere to her right. Almost immediately she froze and shifted her bright eyes in that direction, straining to listen as something small moved about through the prairie. It hardly sounded big enough to be a hare so she had to assume it was something smaller, and after a few more slow and steady steps forward, creeping quietly forward, Anais could just make out the small but hardy form of the prairie dog busily working outside of its burrow. Perfect! The edges of her lips curved into a faint smile as she crouched just a little lower in her hunter's stance. She was going to have to be very quick about this if she was going to make it work, especially given how close the prairie dog was to its home. As quietly as she could, Anais crept a few steps closer, attempting to get as close as she could before she made any sudden movements.

Glacier remained where he was, he didn't move forward or change position, instead he had found a comfortable one that he could hold and watched from his somewhat crappy vantage point. He didn't want to interfere with her hunt nor distract her, and the patient man kept his silence as he saw the subtle shifts in the grass that indicated her position – if you knew where to look, and what you where looking for. He had to applaud her silent movements, she certainly could be stealthy when she wished it. Ears strained, he couldn't pick up a single sound to indicate where the Huntress was or what she was doing. Her feet where feathers across the ground, her movements skilled, subtle, and sure. He was definitely admiring her, openly if judged by the happy smile on his maw. The soft sound of digging did reach his ears as he strained and listened, and his eyes moved in its direction. Through the tall grass he couldn't see the creature making it, but by the very soft and subtle movements of the grass he could see that Anais had found her target. He did nothing but wait, watching for the moment she would strike her prey. "Speech"

  

Walk | Talk | Think Anais was painfully cautious with each movement that she made, ensuring that each step would only bring her closer to her prey and would not alert the busy little critter to her approach. It was a slow process but an effective one, and with slow precision she inched closer and closer to where she could see it scuffling around amid the grasses. Thankfully her silent observer was also taking a quiet approach, and after a few steps she was able to get close enough to feel confident that a quick leap and short chase would result in a successful catch. She took a second to ensure that she felt comfortable with her position and watched her prey as it moved, another half-smile curving her lips as her quarry ventured a little more adventurously from its burrow. Even better. The golden brown hunter drew in a quiet breath, and then another, before she resigned herself to action. With a purposeful, powerful spring, she leaped forward through the grass of the prairie, landing close to her prey as she at last gave her position away. The frightened prairie dog started and began scrambling away, turning hastily to retreat back to its burrow, but Anais had positioned herself too close for it to get away easily. It hardly got more than a couple feet away from where it had been scratching around before she pounced on it, slamming down on the creature with her paws before ensuring its end with a swift, succinct bite. Success! The hunter released her hold on the little creature after feeling it go limp in her jaws and grinned as she licked her lips while admiring her prize. It might have been a simple, easy hunt, but her excitement was high, filling her with a need to make another hunt - ten more - twenty! Gathering too much was a wasteful move, however, and before she allowed herself to collect too much she knew it would be smarter to check the pack's cache one more time before she attempted to gather more food. Reaching down, Anais grabbed the pump prairie dog gently within her jaws and righted herself to look above the grass as she turned to exit back toward the shoreline. Only, as she turned, she realized she was not alone. Her heart skipped when she saw the large, smiling figure in blue seated amid the prairie grasses and looking her way, delighted as always to see him but surprised nonetheless. Was he there the whole time? With her mouth full, Anais wagged her tail in greeting, smiling around the catch she carried to the point the distorted gesture was still visible within her lemon-gold eyes.

Glacier rose with the movement, lifting his head clear of the grass to see Anais's well planned strike. She flew from her place of hiding and landed beside her prey. Glacier's towering body, lifted for a clear view easily saw the events unravel as she grabbed the creature in its attempt to flee. She was much smaller then Glacier, but he could see that she was still powerful, her movements sure and sharp in a hunt and she easily took down her prey. He couldn't help but grin at the sight, pride burning happily in his chest. As Anais leaned down to grab her kill, she would also turn, ready to move back to the beach perhaps and add her prey to their cache. In the instant before she caught sight of him he would see the intense pride on her face, the thrill of the chase evident there. She would see him then, and her expression would change to surprise. He caught the grin in her eyes, if not her mouth full of prairie dog. He laughed as he made his way over to her, stopping in front of her lean forward and nuzzle at her neck. “Your an excellent hunter Anais, and this pack needs someone in the lead role. I want that someone to be you, if your up for it?” he said, perhaps a little forward but it got the point across and his expression was supportive, loving. "Speech"

  

Walk | Talk | Think Unsurprising, the moment Glacier realized that she had finally noticed him, he walked her way. Anais felt only slightly self-conscious - how much of her hunt had he seen? - but at the same time was glad that it had turned out to be a success. It would have been so incredibly embarrassing to mess up such a simple hunt as the one she had just attempted, and even worse given how confident she was in her hunting skills. With a renewed sense of happiness and pride in her catch, she angled her chin just slightly higher as her Ferax approached her, hoping that the smile on his face meant he was as happy with her prize as she was. In her own eagerness to see him again, she stepped forward a couple paces to meet him as he stopped in front of her, and turned her head slightly to maneuver the prairie dog she carried out of the way as he leaned in to nuzzle her. Her golden eyes closed briefly and her cheek pressed into his neck in her own silent greeting, and her smile was perhaps brighter as she drew back to stare upward into his silvery gaze. Praise. She should have expected it - did in a sense - and yet it still made her beam up at him like a child. They might have been open about their feelings for one another, but it still did not stop her from wanting to do things to impress him, anything to make him think more of her. Though it became obvious that he already thought more of her than she had realized. Very directly, wasting no time in getting to the point she assumed he had been contemplating while he watched her, he offered her a promotion. The smiling look on her face blanked into one of surprise, and as her eyes widened she reached down to set her quarry on the ground at her paws. She licked her lips as she raised her gaze to meet Glacier's again, and feeling somewhat blindsided she tried to answer. "Me?" It was somewhat hard for her to believe. Most of the ranking positions, as far as she knew, went to family. This was an honor she never had expected to receive. "You really want me to have it?" As the initial shock wore off, her smile returned, as did the wag of her tail. A lead hunter... Oh, how exciting!

Her bright eyes and easy joy at his compliment always reminded him of a puppy. It seemed to highlight the innocence he loved about her. He grinned easily, pulling himself back from his nuzzle to look into her sunny eyes. She had moved the kill away from him so he came away without a trace of its blood on his cost but the thought it couldn't be comfortable with her holding it indefinitely, perhaps they should make their way over to the packs cache as they talked. Instead, she would place the kill on the ground, her look of surprises completely genuine he couldn't help but laugh softly. She was the only hunter in the pack, they needed a lead in the position and she was clearly skilled and capable. In truth, there was no one be would rather have in the position then her and certainly no one more capable. "Well actually i was talking to the Prairie dog, but now that you mention it... you might actually be a better fit." He said seriously, before giving way to his trademark cheeky grin, where he quirked up one half of his lips and tilted his head mischievously at her. It was true that dono was about family, ranked position went to their siblings, hell the entire pack was made of their siblings or loved ones. Yet, even through in an odd way dono was all about favoritism to family he wanted her to know he wasn't doing this just because he loved her, but also because she was the perfect fit. "You deserve it, I've seen you hunt for the pack on numerous occasions you've added to our cache, now I want you to take it on as a bigger responsibility. Honestly, i have no idea why this pack hasn't starved, we need you as a lead, but only if you want it" he said softly, leaning forward to kiss her cheek again. "Speech"

Walk | Talk | Think Her Ferax had an odd but amusing sense of humor when he wanted to tap into it, and now appeared to be one of those times. He teased her, in his kind and gentle way, when she openly second guessed his decision to offer the position of lead hunter to her, and with a soft chuckle Anais took it in stride, only dropping her gaze for a second with a sheepish sort of gesture to quickly glance at the prairie dog at her paws. Silly. The prairie dog would have made a horrible instructor - it had not even been able to evade her! Layering on further compliments, Glacier listed off the reasons he thought she was qualified and capable enough to handle the position, and the golden brown wolf stared upward into his honest expression with a look that was somewhere between pride and humility. She knew she was good at hunting. She knew, should she accept, that she had a lot to offer the position, and hoped desperately to do it and her pack justice in how she filled the role. But she also understood the honor behind it, and the bigger compliment to her prowess that Glacier was extending to her as he offered the position. Without a word, she listened to his argument and turned her face into him when he leaned in to kiss her cheek. Her tail began to wag, at first slow and then gradually gaining speed as she reached out and offered his cheek an answering kiss. "I'd be honored to be the pack's lead hunter," she answered, her excitement clear within her expression as she smiled up into his face, though a ghosting expression of worry could be seen below the visible joy. "Will...the rest of the pack be okay with it?" They were his family, and, by rights she supposed, should have been considered for such a position before her. Did they know already? And would they accept her in this way?

He continued to grim at Anais as the pair of them stood there. He couldn't hear her thoughts but he would be completly in agreement with them anyway. Yes, the Prairie dog would have made a terrible lead, it was quickly caught in anais's jaws, utterly helpless to her quick and sure movements. A track his jumbled thoughts went down as he attempted to win anais over to his side. When she returned a kiss to his cheek he sighed softly and leaned into it. He and anais got along so well, there times together so right and easy and comfortable that somehow it was easy to forget that it was also exciting and new as well. She was his, and he hers, they snuggled up together and shared kisses and he did wonder if she ever wanted anything more from this life. Did she want children, there was a baby bloom happening around them, did that make her feel left out or was she content simple to enjoy the new life around her? Perhaps a conversation saved for later, between two lovers, not an alpha and his hopefully new lead hunter.

When she accepted the position of lead his tail took up a happy wag behind him. "Perfect" he said, through of course her acceptance wasn't without a healthy dose of anais - worry and he laughed gently, pulling her close to him. "they love and and accept you, Anais, your family. They will be fine with you as alpha. Just don't let the power get to your head" he joked, knowing that would never happen with his sweet anais. She was a good wolf, through and through. "Now" he said, pushing his side gently against her. "If you can put down your new crown for five minutes and honour your alpha with a walk I would be very happy" he said, teasing her came too easily to him sometimes, but he was just so happy for her, she was a lead hunter now and he hadn't given it to her, she had earned it.

Walk | Talk | Think The nervousness that she harbored did not appear to be shared in the least bit by Glacier. His only response to her obvious worry was a laugh, gentle and warm. Anais had to assume she was overthinking things, and that his apparent ease with the subject meant that what he suggested would not cause a stir as she feared. Maybe they already knew. Maybe the overall silence that seemed prevalent through the tight-knit family group was a sign of acceptance rather than avoidance, as she had been fearing. Maybe she was already a part of them without realizing it, and her worries really were founded only on her own perspective of things and not on reality. Glacier confirmed her growing assumptions while drawing her close, and the nervous hunter smiled with an open sheepishness as she let herself be pulled to his side, sidling just a little closer in the process. I'm family? She seemed to have severely misinterpreted their feelings for her, and though it was a little embarrassing to be so far off the mark Anais was still relieved. The Elementas clan were at the center of Glacier's world, and most everything he did revolved around them. She knew and understood their importance to him, and wanted desperately to gain their acceptance and trust. In her worry, however, she seemed to overlook the fact she had already gained it. She chuckled, a soft and rather embarrassed sound, and was nudged by her Ferax with a teasing request for a walk. The change in conversation as well as the company of the wolf who had so quickly and stealthily stolen her heart smoothed away her worries and allowed her smile to become more bright and comfortable, and her tail echoed the change with a quick wag. "I'd like that too," she answered enthusiastically as she took a small backward step away from Glacier's side to indicate she was ready to begin their walk. Her golden eyes momentarily shifted back down to the small catch she had dropped at her feet just minutes prior, and her brow creased just slightly. It would be wasteful to leave the prairie dog there, but...if she carried it along, she could hardly keep up her part of a conversation.

Glacier loved Anais, a love so different from the one he felt for Voltage and his family. That she had decided to come and live with him still amazed Glacier. His family had been difficult to hunt down of late, but never would he have imagined that Anais might take that to mean they did not accept her. Donostrea was more of a family then a pack, it had always been that way, the quite of Donostrea was a content one. Perhaps now that he had given Anais the rank she deserved, she might come to realize she belonged here. The Titan gently nudged her forehead as she allowed him to draw her close. His eyes cast about the Prairie as Anais drew a step away from him, this land had been specifically chosen for its hunting ground and it had been good to see Anais make the most of that. The rest of his family had had little to do with the new lands, preferring the relaxing setting of the beach. He shook his head at the thought and moved to take a step forward before he noticed Anais's eyes on the kill. He chuckled softly, he had almost forgotten about the object of Anais's skilled hunt. “We can drop that in the Cache first” he offered, raising his head to meet Anais's eyes. "Speech"

  

Walk | Talk | Think Anais continued to eye the limp form of the prairie dog lying upon the ground at her paws, uncertain and deliberating. She could not make up her mind what she ought to do, what would be the most responsible thing to do now that she was a lead hunter, but as it tended to be the case Glacier came to her rescue. He suggested they bring it to the pack's cache first, a very responsible and not wasteful plan, and as Anais lifted her golden eyes to his she smiled gratefully. She hated the idea of just leaving it behind, but she also really wanted to be able to enjoy her walk with him, and she very well could not do that without being able to answer him. "Okay. Thanks," she replied with an appreciative wag of her tail before she bent her head down and picked the plump creature up gently within her jaws. With her prize in tow, she began to walk, eager to set aside the prairie dog with the rest of the meals the pack kept in stock for those who were unable for whatever reason to hunt for themselves. She felt immensely proud with her promotion, delighted that her skills had been noticed and so very honored to be given such an important role in Glacier's family-based pack. She could not wait to prove herself to them, and hoped to see for herself that they really did welcome her among them the way Glacier promised her they did.

Glacier's grin was lightly teasing as he heard Anais's agreement, and watched as she moved to pick up her kill again. He would have offered to carry it himself, but she had already grabbed it and the duo would head off. They left the Praire and moved on to the beach and the the little cave that was kept clean for their fresh kill. He would wait a moment for her to place down her burden, giving a little howl after she had done so in case for instance Gala wanted an easy meal for herself and her young children. “Ready?” he asked gently, looking up and down the empty and quite beach. He shook his head, his family needed a wake up call before they all got so fat he had to roll them out of their beds. He hid a chuckle at the thought, shaking his head. “What would you like to do Anais? Would you like to go for a run, or just an easy walk?” he asked, either way some time together would give them a chance to catch up and he relished every moment he spent with her. "Speech"

  

Walk | Talk | Think The path down from the prairie to the beach was familiar to both of them, and the silence between them was companionable. Every once in a while Anais let her yellow-gold eyes travel up and over at her best friend and felt the edges of her lips draw upward in half-hidden smiles around the prairie dog she carried between her teeth. It was so enjoyable just to be around him, to know that no matter the duties he carried and however busy they kept him - particularly now that Voltage had a family that seemed to wholly distract him at times - he still made time for her. It was especially flattering to know that despite all that he had had time enough to notice her hunting skill and actually find it exemplary enough to promote her beyond where she had expected to stay in the ranks. The golden brown hunter was not at all sure when the surprise of that would fade, if it ever would. Eventually the grasses gave way to dark, obsidian sand, and the little, newly promoted wolf traipsed alongside Glacier as they padded to the pack's central den and the cache that was kept stocked with quick meals. Needing no prompting, she trotted forward and lowered her head to set the plump little prairie dog down with the rest, standing back for a second to admire her small contribution before she turned again and offered the midnight blue wolf an eager smile accompanied by a compulsory tail wag. "Yep," she answered, though she was not entirely sure for what. They were going to have walk, right? Along the beach, maybe, since they were here now? The offer he gave her was presented with more options than she had originally been counting on, but she still felt set on the initial suggestion. "I think a walk would be good," she answered, her tone half questioning just to be sure it would be alright with him, which she figured it would be. He never left something up to her unless he was really okay with either option. "We can talk better if we walk too," she added.