Medea had not seen her brother in some time, not since the fateful slide that had reunited them, but now that she'd found him she had found herself eager to explore, to discover for herself if the stories her father had shared would prove to be true. As the turn of spring crept up upon them the princess found herself in a scene straight out of a fairytale. Blooms of pale pink surrounded her and she had found herself taken by the area, so she'd settled there for a few days. Now the edge of hunger lingered in the back of her mind and Medea had taken to observing a herd of white tailed deer, it was a healthy herd, she'd pegged a few yearlings, two elderly members of the herd and three new fawns among the many healthy adults. She spent a few days sizing up her potential prizes, while the yearlings would make for an impressive catch she was alone and the danger possesed by a young fit deer was to great to tackle by herself, the last thing she needed was a nice kick to the head. So a fawn or elderly deer then. Now that was a quandry... In both cases her prey likely wouldn't sustain her as long, but with an older deer there was always the risk of sickness. Their weakers bodies were more prone to illness and it would be possible she'd end up eating contaminated meat. On the other hand there likely wouldn't be an unguarded fawn, at the very least an angry protective mother would be around and worst case a buck could be guarding their young. There was also the balance of making sure the herd wouldn't be put in danger by her picking off one of their young. As she'd followed them she'd witnessed at least two ruttings so she supposed that wasn't too big of a worry. This morning as she tracked the herd she caught a sight that made her decision for her. Separated from the main body of the herd was an older doe, one she'd already separated as a potential target, but what really settled it for her was when the doe moved to a new grazing spot, she was visually favoring her right hind limb, occasionally fully limping. Medea knew she wouldn't get another chance like this and moved as quietly as she could around the side of the herd so that she was crouched in the space between the elderly doe and the rest of her herd. Medea burst from the bushes, racing through that open space. The sounds of panic and startled deer came from her right, the main body of the herd and she saw the elderly doe's head shoot up. On her right the herd broke into a run, a few of the closer deer lashing out with their hooves but Medea knew she was far enough away to ignore them for now, instead her gaze locked on the injured doe. The elderly doe was just working herself into a run when Medea made a sharp turn towards her. For a moment it was a full out race, the doe had at least a hundred feet on her but she had the advantage of being uninjured. The doe's sprint was hindered by her limp, which was more pronounced now as she raced for her life; rounding a tree sharply and Medea hissed under her breath as she dug in to try and make the same turn, skidding clumsily but managing to stay upright. The woman put on a burst of speed, trying to close the distance between them. The deer had wobbled precariously on her turn and seemed to understand that her best chance of survival was a straight break and so Medea was sneaking up on her. She was getting close to the danger territory though, if the doe decided to lash out there was a decent chance she'd take a hoof right to the face, something that would likely prove debilitating if not fatal. With a final burst of power, Medea stretched her neck, jaw opening wide and successfully managed to grab onto the doe's injured hindleg. Growling she dug in suddenly and the doe brayed in panic, kicking with her free leg, Medea sidestepped as quickly as she could, the whoosh of the hoof just missing her head made it clear just how close she'd been. Things weren't over yet though, the doe was still upright and Medea was behind her, out of reach of the best way to end this. She twisted her head, yanking as hard as she could as she backed up, angling herself towards her right. The doe struggled, braying again but ultimately unable to keep her footing. Instantly Medea released her hold, clambering as quickly as she could over the prone form of the doe to reach near the deer's head, jaws stretching to grab hold of the doe's throat. She bit as hard as she could, feeling the flood of blood from the carotid artery flow into her mouth, dripping from her chops and down her chin. The doe's struggles slowed until finally she stopped. Medea finally dropped the deer's neck, licking at her lips and observing her catch. Word count: 878 speech think action

Art by Naiterion

It was time to hit the old hunting grounds now since Spring had been around for some time. Cloud had been quite busy this season, hunting and tracking the herds that had returned to the nearby lands now that the season was growing steadily warmer. The monochromatic male stalked into familiar lands, eyes and ears peeled as he tracked down the scent of a deer herd he had caught wind of. Bi-colored gaze studied the tracks in the dirt, noticing that some were heavier than others, and some were quite small and lighter. It was clearly a decent sized herd with both young fawns and full-grown members...and as he inspected more closely, he could tell there was at least one injured member of the group. Perfect. Grinning, he picked up his pace as he followed the tracks, careful not to stay on the main path that the herd had taken so that they wouldn't see his approach. What he hadn't counted on, however, was that the herd would approach him first. As he stopped to inspect the tracks again, his head was low to the ground as he tried to determine which way they went. And it would seem...they were heading his way. The ground under his feet vibrated, the small pebbles nearby lightly bouncing before he heard them. When he lifted his head, he spotted one buck bounding over the bushes, followed by another, and another, and then the rest. The first couple of bucks that led the charge lowered their heads and threatened to impale him, forcing Cloud to scramble out of the way before he got trampled or stabbed. Panting from his mini sprint to get out of the way, he watched them take off through the trees until their sounds had faded away. He watched in dismay. Clearly, something had spooked them and ruined his chances of catching anything by surprise now. Frowning, he decided to continue in the direction the herd had come from to see what had spooked them. It was more for his curiosity than anything. It didn't take him too long before he heard what sounded like a struggle up ahead, and when he peered through the foliage, he spotted a cream-colored figure standing over a downed doe. He observed her for a moment, noting the blood that stained her fur and realized that this was the culprit. He was about to turn away without a word, but just as he did so, a vague realization overcame him. Turning back to look at her, he felt like...he had seen her before. He searched his memory for several moments, and then it hit him. She was the woman that had helped him after that avalanche! He couldn't remember her name, but he never forgot her scent. He continued to watch her for a few more moments before deciding to make himself known. He stepped out of the bushes and acted like he hadn't just been watching her. "Nice catch there. Now I know why the rest of the herd almost trampled me," His tone was joking, of course. He came to a stop a few feet from her, bi-colored gaze lifting to meet hers. Now that they weren't in danger of being buried alive, maybe he could properly thank her for her aid. "I...don't know if you remember me. But you saved me when that avalanche happened. I didn't get to properly thank you, so...thank you." A shy smile followed shortly after. "Speak"

Medea was unware of her sneaky watcher, the blood still pounding in her ears and the adrenaline of the hunt just starting to wane. She was just considering how best to begin her meal when a voice and the rustling of underbrush brought her attention snapping towards the approaching male. She immediately adopted a regal stance, her tail lifting and her lips curling slightly. Instinct driving her to protect her catch from anyone who might try and take her hard won meal from her. But as the male spoke, she allowed herself to relax slightly, grey-blues narrowing as she tried to place why he seemed so familiar and despite herself she felt some heat rising to her cheeks. She had been tracking the herd for so long on her own it hadn't occurred to her that when she sent them running they might nearly run into someone else. Now that she was relaxing as well she couldn't help but be drawn into the male's curious gaze; Heterochromia wasn't totally unheard of in her world but she hadn't seen it too much and she couldn't help but feel a bit fascinated nonetheless. Then he gave her the answer as to why he seemed so familiar and her face visibly shifted to one of sudden understanding. "Oh!" She exclaimed and Medea suddenly felt even more self-conscious, the heat in her face growing warmer. "Please, you don't need to thank me. I couldn't rightly leave you there." She glanced at her catch, feeling the gnawing of hunger flaring again and when she looked back at the black and white male her expression was careful, her voice guarded. "Would you want to join me?" She gave a graceful gesture with her muzzle towards her untouched catch. "It's the least I can do after setting a very angry herd of deer on you." speech think action

Art by Naiterion

He didn't miss her initial stance. He recognized it all too well because he often did the same thing when he felt like there was the threat of someone potentially taking away his prey. And then slowly but surely, her defensiveness began to fade as she started to relax a little. After a few moments, she seemed to recognize him and a shy 'heh' slipped past as a crooked smile showed itself. "Please, you don't need to thank me. I couldn't rightly leave you there." Well, he didn't know about that. He was, after all, a stranger. She could have very well left him to his own devices where he'd either make it out or die where he was buried. He chalked it up to her being humble, but he didn't press the matter. But when he thought about it, he was pretty sure he wouldn't have left someone to die, either. Stranger or not. "Would you want to join me?" Gaze turned to the prey she had brought down, his own belly rumbling for a moment. "It's the least I can do after setting a very angry herd of deer on you." He couldn't help but laugh at that. He couldn't count the times he had been nearly trampled on two paws. Still, he nodded his head and approached. "Thank you, I appreciate it." When he was close enough to the kill, he would wait patiently for her to start eating first. She had caught it after all, and even if she hadn't, he would still be a gentleman and let her go first regardless. "You know, I've been nearly trampled more times than I can count on two paws. I suppose at some point, my prey would want to get revenge on me." Eyes shone brightly with humor, for once, he wasn't feeling so...awkward. But that probably wouldn't last long. "Speak"

He accepted her offer and Medea watched him carefully as he moved to stand before her catch, he looked at her and she smiled slightly. Accepting her choice of part of the deer first. She tore at a haunch, digging into one of the more meaty parts on the injured elder. She still kept an eye on Cloudburst as she ate. He seemed a nice enough wolf thus far but she wasn't about to leave herself totally undefended. Though she was maybe a bit too relaxed considering this close she could see she easily dwarfed him. He spoke and Medea licked at her chops. "Maybe you just got unlucky, it's just mother nature trying to create balance for our hunting and you got the short end of the stick."   She teased, in truth she didn't know if nearly getting trampled was as uncommon as she assumed, she hadn't often hunted for herself. Only since leaving her kingdom and she'd struggled at first though now she felt she'd grown and become much more proficient at it. Maybe it was common to nearly get stampeded though? Or maybe Cloudburst really just did have bad luck. speech think action

Art by Naiterion

He waited until she chose her desired part of the deer and even waited until she started eating before he settled down on the opposite end by the shoulder. He was pretty hungry after all that excitement, so he wasted no time carefully tearing flesh away from bone. "Maybe you just got unlucky, it's just mother nature trying to create balance for our hunting and you got the short end of the stick." He lifted his head, tongue swiping the blood off his muzzle as he looked at the larger female for a moment. "Not gonna lie, sometimes I feel unlucky..." Or...maybe I just deserve it.. He thought suddenly. Maybe the voice in his head attracted misfortune to him...or maybe he was just overthinking it all. "Er, I mean...I hunt a lot, something is bound to happen sooner or later, right? All part of the occupation." He mused before returning to take another bite. He took a deep breath, ears flicking with embarrassment. Was he being awkward? He hoped he wasn't being awkward...it dawned on him suddenly that he didn't know her name, and couldn't recall if they had told each other the first time they met. "I just realized...er, my name is Cloudburst. What's yours?" "Speak"

His response caught her off guard, she lifted her head to look at him. "Oh?" It was a question, she knew she was prying, very bad form for a princess but she couldn't help the flair of curiosity inside her. It seemed he would give her a quick answer, something about the way he rushed to cover himself made her only more interested; but she wouldn't push him any further. He offered up his name and Medea finished her current mouthfull of deer, lifting herself to her full height, licking the blood from her chops. "Medea Beaufort." She said, dipping her head in the low bow she was taught to use to introduce herself. "A pleasure to properly meet you Cloudburst." She said, gracefully lowered herself back down so she could continue to eat. Medea eyed the black and white male, watching him with open curiosity. "I assume you're from around here?" She was curious about the lands she found herself in, wanted to confirm the stories her father had told her for herself maybe. speech think action

Art by Naiterion