Kindle had been traveling this land much too long without any success. Fleeting scents of familiarity did little to bring her anywhere of use to her, and as soon as she thought she'd found a member of the Ademre the scent would mysteriously fade. It was like she was chasing ghosts, and for all Kindle knew she might have been. Hunger had brought her to this particular gulley - the Ademre woman was a seasoned hunter and knew she'd find something good in such a fertile plain. Her head lifted with careful precision, nostrils flaring as she tried to scent something worth the hunt. Pronghorn. She realized. Her face remained impassive, but onto the ground her dainty paw tapped anticipation. Small form crouched low, skirting skillfully towards a nearby thicket of grasses that the shorter-then-average woman could easily hide herself within. It was twilight - the perfect time for Kindle to attempt a hunt. Her brightly colored pelt proved hard to hide within even the thickest of foliage during the day, but with the low-light of the moon and stars upon her back the colors dimmed towards a tone much more suited for stalking. "Speech" "Ademre Sign" "Thinking" "You."

Corvus had decided to take a little detour away from home. It wasn't as if anyone would really miss him for a day or so - and that wasn't pity talking, he just knew Abaven was fine even in his brief absence, and some time away might help him clear his mind. Today, as he veered along the southernmost coast, his mind was on his recently-appointed mentee and what sort of training he could offer her in the future. The youth of Abaven were important, and making sure they were well-prepared - perhaps even more prepared than he and his siblings had ever been - was super important. His somewhat aimless wandering led him to a fertile valley.. at least, it certainly seemed fertile based on the scents that touched his nose, and what little he could discern from the rapidly fading daylight. His movements were cautious as he neared the gulley, sniffing tentatively at the air. It was an opportune time for a hunt, Corvus knew that, though he was in the mood for something sizable; often on his solo trips he'd find a hare or a squirrel to briefly satiate his hunger, but something more appetizing caught his attention now. The scent of a pronghorn suddenly hit him. Unsure if he could taken one down on his own, unless it was a young one, he decided to scope it out, moving even more cautiously through the grasses as he pushed on. The faint sun that still peeked over the horizon, coupled with the brilliant glow of the moon overhead, gave just enough room for Corvus to keep his eye on the prey... but not enough to see who was nearby. apparently. He very nearly collided with someone, distracted by the possibility of an impending hunt, and as he pulled himself backwards he decided he wished he could disappear on the spot. He hadn't hit them, but he nearly had, and he felt stupid for being so careless. "I.. sorry," he breathed, his voice extremely soft, but audible over the gentle hum of life all around them. "Were you...?" He gestured toward the pronghorn, wondering if he was interrupting something, but hoping she needed (or at least wanted) a helping hand.

Kindle was so absorbed in the potential hunt that she was not focusing properly on her surroundings. All her attention was on the pronghorns before her and she was carefully considering a plan of action as she crouched silently in the foliage. These creatures were larger then the prey Kindle usually attempted on her own, and she was beginning to doubt whether she'd find a calf small enough to safely take down. As she looked on at them, a motion to her side shocked her. She backpedaled quickly and a pronghorn lifted it's head at the sound. The Ademre hunkered down lower, gaze moving from the stranger then back to the nearly-spooked prey. After a long moment, the pronghorn relaxed once more and began to graze. "It's okay." She whispered to him finally, looking over the stranger. "I could use the assistance." It was a good thing this man showed up, perhaps he could help her take down one of the beasts. Any of them could feed them both easily. "We need to pick one, and then I will-" Gaze moved over his frame, sizing him up. He was huge, much larger then her. "-I suppose it's best if you flush one out, they'll have a better chance of scattering if they see you. They might just try to fight me off." A sigh tore from the woman's mouth, and she shared a glance with the man before crawling forward so her nose and eyes might peek out of the grass. There was one smaller one at the back of the herd, still fat enough to feed them while being less of a hazard. She gestured towards it, looking back at the male for confirmation or a new suggestion. "Speech" "Ademre Sign" "Thinking" "You."

Apparently neither of them were paying very good attention at all to their surroundings. Her slightly startled reaction to him earned a similar one from him, and he flinched away from her, only adding to the sudden noise. Shit. In the distance he saw the movement of a pronghorn that told him they might be aware of the presence of them - or at least of something - and he fell silent, hoping silently that they hadn't startled them. Thankfully Kindle seemed more startled than them, which was a plus. He watched her for a second, noting her unusually colored pelt even in the faint moonlight, though his attention quickly drifted back to the prey they were eyeing. "Sounds like a plan," Corvus breathed, trying to keep his voice low but still maintain a level that could be heard. He nodded at her instructions, not one to take lead unless the situation called for it. His history of group hunts was much less impressive than he wished it were.. and he had no doubt it'd be fine letting her take the reigns. She admitted he'd be a better one to try to spook the herd, and hopefully draw some of the smaller ones away from the rest. Kindle stalked forward, laying low in the grass. It was much more difficult for him to remain unseen, though he was cautious as he veered away from her. He was certain he was being relatively quiet, moving with calculated pawsteps, but the prey seemed to suddenly spook at the sound of something. He watched as one of them jerked its head upright, spinning around to look at something in the distance - not in their direction. Maybe it was a good time to make their move? Hoping he was making the right choice, he peered over at Kindle in the distance, offering a slow nod before charging forward toward the group. Hopefully they'd notice him at the last second and be sent scattering, but the way they seemed so on-edge made him wonder if there was something else nearby, something he hadn't yet noticed...

The stranger took her direction easily and for that Kindle was pleased, she did not need to feud with her hunting partner before they went for their prey. The pronghorn still seemed flighty and nervous and the Ademre woman's eyes narrowed in concern as she watched them. Would such a small noise have startled them so badly? From where she stood she couldn't hear the man's movements, which meant the pronghorn shouldn't have been able to either. She caught his gaze from further on and nodded to him to confirm the plan. It seemed he was ready to spring and it was not a moment too soon - these creatures were becoming more nervous by the second. He leaped from the foliage and Kindle veered off the other direction with the hopes of cutting in front of the herd. They were sufficiently spooked and began to charge away from the man. Kindle kept her eyes upon the one deer she sought, sprinting alongside the herd until an opportunity arose that she could cut the beast off and cause him to split from the other beasts. The remnants of the herd scattered and the pair was left with the one remaining pronghorn doe. Kindle launched herself at it's exposed throat, her jaws just narrowly missing to land her bite upon the side of it's neck. She snarled in frustration, releasing and backing up to continue to pressure it. Hopefully the man could come in from the rear and accomplish more with his massive size. From behind, Kindle was aware of the faint rustling of bushes. She could not turn to look without leaving herself vulnerable to the defensive hooves, she only hoped it was a pronghorn who'd stayed to watch the show. WORD COUNT: 1494 / 2500. "Speech" "Ademre Sign" "Thinking" "You."

Corvus was a somewhat hesitant hunter overall, but the way their targeted prey seemed to be stirring had given him a good push to act quickly. He did just as she'd directed him, aiming for the group while Kindle veered around them, hoping going unnoticed for at least a short while. Even if they noticed her, they were far more concerned with his sudden charge - and with getting away from him quickly. As expected, the herd seemed to scatter at Kindle's approach, and Corvus felt a surge of pride at how fluidly their plan was working. Well.. at first. Kindle lunged at the pronghorn they'd picked off, aiming for her neck, and Corvus came in quick at its rear. Angling himself as if to leap onto its back, he reared back and... then something caught his attention. A rustling of bushes could be heard behind her, and though he was acutely aware of the sound it wasn't until the creature made itself known that he realized just how much trouble they might be in. Just as he made to lunge forward, he saw a pair of eyes gleaming from the dim light behind Kindle, and the sight was accompanied by a low growl that couldn't be mistaken for anything canine. Shit. Adrenaline, unlike what he'd been feeling before, suddenly flooded him as he tried to quickly decide what to do. "Behind you!" Corvus hissed sharply, though before trying to draw her attention away further he lunged for the pronghorn from behind, hoping to send it spinning to the side - and hoping the sudden movement might push Kindle out of the feline's way in the process. Had that creature been stalking their prey, too? Hopefully they weren't interrupting something... because if so, he had a feeling this feline was going to be mad.

There was something about a good hunt that got Kindle's blood boiling with adrenaline. Pointed hooves flew out wildly infront of her as her prey did it's best to scare the small wolf off. The prey animal was wild with fear and anger, it's towering form becoming an intimidating thing to face for the blue marked woman. Faced with a creature taller then her, the Ademre woman was thankful once more for the strangers assistance. If this had been a solo hunt she would have already fled, unable to take on a beast this much larger then her on her own. She carefully dodged the flailing hooves while doing her best to get in a few bites at the creature's underside. She aimed her jaws to catch upon the soft flesh of his belly, feeling a thick tear give from the force of her bite. Blood filled her mouth and she licked her lips as she pulled away, a vicious smile upon her face. Her focus was entirely on the creature, and she barely registered the man's warning although the sound reached her He lunged in and the pronghorn rotated it's rear away - Kindle moving with it - and a deep growl came from the bushes. Her head whirled to identify the threat, catching a stray hoof against the side of her skull in the process. She was taken aback, dazed momentarily from the pronghorns blow. Her vision blurred slightly but she could make out the tan coat of the cougar as it flew from the bushes. The small wolf's hackles raised and she wheeled backwards out of it's path, casting a panicked look towards the stranger. A warm trickle of blood began to drip down her face, beginning to pool around her eyes and cloud her vision. What could they do? The cat had to be taken care of regardless, but the hunger in Kindle's stomach made it hard to accept having to abandon their hunt. She snarled at the cougar, the sound low and dangerous. Although the situation was becoming much more dire, it was hard for her to consider any sort of a hunt a failure - especially one where she was not the only one dependent on it, the stranger needed to eat too. The cat was closer to her size then the pronghorn and Kindle realized it would be a more even match. Her gaze darted from predator to prey as she held her ground before it, and then with a frustrated snarl she dashed forward. Perhaps if they showed enough strength the cat would flee, and they could finish their hunt in piece. The alternative was having to kill the cat and abandon the pronghorn, or perhaps the tall stranger could take one of their bounties while she handled the other. None of the options were particularly safe. The cat lunged forward once more, it's claws nearly catching upon the flesh of Kindle's neck as she dodged the blow. Her head was still fogged and distracting and she considered seriously for the first time that she might not want to pick this fight tonight. The cat hissed and advanced upon them, the pronghorn still bucking not far off and looking for an out. The Ademre woman snarled at both predator and prey, before slowly beginning to back away. "We can't do this." She yelled to the stranger, partly ashamed at the admittance. "Run!" He'd followed her into the hunt and she could only hope he'd follow her away as well. She barely turned to look and see if he'd gotten the hint, still hearing the scared snarls of the angry cougar as well as the frightened calls of the pronghorn as she moved further away. Her stomach growled with hunger and her ears flattened as she wondered when her next meal would be. The blow upon her head had been a hard one, and she'd known wolves to be down for the count after taking a strike to the skull from flying hooves. She knew no healers, had no pack. It was very possible that she'd take more time to recover from the ordeal then she had - unless she found a willing healer to bandage her wounds and calm her foggy mind. WORD COUNT: 2505 / 2500. "Speech" "Ademre Sign" "Thinking" "You."

Kindle had already given more than her fair share of effort toward the hunt, aiming to mar its underside while she gave him the opposite angle to work from. The smell of blood and fear from their prey filled the air, though as soon as he realized just what they were facing off with, his adrenaline soared to an entirely new level - especially when he realized Kindle had taken a blow from the startled prey as it rotated. His instinct was to protect her; he'd always been protective to a fault, but he'd never faced a stranger being in immediate danger. What would his father do? His mother? Was it worth leaving Abaven without their Blackthorn, if he became gravely injured trying to protect this stranger, or ensure she got away okay? The stranger didn't seem intent on backing down so easily from the threat, so Corvus followed suit, lowering his center of gravity and letting a low, threatening growl bubble up from deep within his chest. He felt his stomach tighten when he saw the cat lash out at her, realizing suddenly that he'd leapt forward himself, fully prepared to square off with the cougar if Kindle decided to hold her ground. Caught between leaping in front of her and trying something less dangerous to draw attention off her, he was nearly relieved when she shouted at him to run. Running from anything wasn't very brave, was it? But neither was risking his safety over a meal he could find again later. Sleeping on a hungry stomach would be better than crawling back to Abaven with serious wounds. Clenching his jaw, he backed off, slowly at first but then rapidly breaking into a full run. He hoped he might somehow keep up with the smaller female, but wasn't sure it was even possible to follow her trailer properly given how hard he was panting and how rapidly his heart was beating. He clambered over vegetation, running blindly into the night, hoping desperately that the cougar was more interested in the meal they'd nearly gotten than it was in the two of them.