Éldi was pleased to see the sun when he stepped out onto the prairie. He'd crossed a band of rain on his way south and was forced to hole up in a makeshift den for a few days. He didn't like being delayed. Kaler had been complaining the whole time and all of them were hungry. The first order of business for the day would be catching something to eat and he'd run across the scent of mule deer not far off. Bending his head he took in the scents around him, sorting them out in his mind until he found what he was looking for. The hunt itself would be difficult with just himself and Kaler, even though Askr could offer guidance from the skies. However, practice was honing their communication skills. Hjarrandi was divided much of the year, most of the wolves off doing their own thing and so Éldi had learned to hunt with his companion, though he did long for another pack hunt. There was something thrilling about a band of wolves all hunting together. It was primal. For all the fluff of fancy crafts the act of hunting brought a wolf right back to his roots.

It never seemed like there were enough trained bodies to get everything done that Justice thought should be done to protect Valhalla so she rarely left pack lands these days. She hated the thought of being away and the pack being vulnerable. After all, she was one of the highest trained fighters in the pack, and it wasn't conceit that she considered herself to be an expert in the art. But sometimes she just got plain bored to death, and needed to get out or she'd go completely crazy. Still, she told herself that it was just a fact-finding mission, making sure none of their farther neighbors had an itch to raid them or anything.

She wasn't really a hunter by nature, but prey had been scarce enough for long enough that when the scent of mule deer reached her, she paused to watch them with longing interest. It would be good to be able to bring meat home to the pack, but it really wasn't terribly likely she could manage to take one down alone.

But the wind shifted slightly as she crouched there, bringing to her a different scent. Wolf, and... she sniffed again, sorting it out... bobcat maybe? She turned her head to glance in the direction of the scent and was able to make out the form of another wolf, though barely. That earthy color and green eyes of the male helped him blend in, honestly probably a lot better than Justice's own dark slate colors and jewel-toned eyes ever would. Still it could be worse, she could be bright red like Regulus.

The male was showing interest in the deer scent, and Justice's eyes lit with interest. If he was going after them, maybe he wouldn't mind her tagging along? Rather than calling out to the male and risking nearby prey from hearing and fleeing, she slipped closer first, close enough to speak quietly but hopefully not so close he would take a chunk out of her if she'd startled him. "Hey, don't suppose you're in the market for a hunting partner?"

Éldi double checked the scent, yes it was fresh. He didn't want to get stuck following an old trail. As he did a voice called out and he looked up to see a dark-pelted woman. He words immediately caught his interest and he nodded swiftly. The gods must've been smiling on him today. "As a matter of fact I would be. My name is Éldi and this is Kaler." He gestured to the bobcat who nodded a polite greeting to the other wolf. "We were hoping to get a hold of one of these mule deer." Prey was still scarce thanks to the volcano and all predators were hungry. Even if Éldi and Kaler managed to bring down a mule deer there was the matter of being able to eat their fill before other predators moved in. To make matters more difficult he was in the business of gathering pelts again and was a difficult task to skin an animal and eat while fighting off scavengers.

At that moment Askr flew down and landed at Éldi's paws. He looked at Justice for a moment with his dark eyes before turning back to the wolf he knew. "Éldi, I spied a small herd of mule deer in the middle of the prairie. There is one male and four females. I didn't notice any distinct injuries though they do seem to have been having a rough time. They're a bit thin." Éldi nodded. That didn't surprise him. It would take seasons for the grasses to return to their original state. Even out this far there had been ash fall. Thankfully the spring melt had washed most of it from the plants in this region but there was still an ashy smell to the soil.

The stranger welcomed the idea of a hunting partner and quickly introduced himself and his wildcat companion. Justice nodded a friendly greeting to the cat before turning her attention back to the wolf, Eldi. "Name's Justice," she returned his greeting. "And ai would love to go after one of those deer. I smelled them before I got this far and couldn't stand the thought of them getting away. Assuming you're good with splitting it?" she added with an inquiring raised brow. She did, after all, have a pack to help feed, and she couldn't spend her energy on hunting for someone else without any benefit.

A flutter of wings announced the arrival of a raven and had Justice ducking in alarm before it settled down by Eldi. Ah, another companion. A flying companion would undoubtedly be an asset in hinting and scouting, though since she leaned more towards healing and fighting it wouldn't be much good to ger but she was frabkly surprised that no one else in Valhalla had thought to get a bird yet. Might be something to suggest at the next pack meeting.

The raven reported to Eldi quickly and concisely enough, and the words had Justice's paws kneading at the group like a cat in anticipation. "Well Eldi, you're boss for the hunt so how do you want to do this? Relays to chase until we can wear one down? Ambush?"

She introduced herself as Justice and confirmed she was interested in hunting the deer. Éldi nodded quickly. "Yea, we can split it, that's fair." He figured it would be an even split and he was grateful for the help. He pondered their strategy for a moment. "Let's get in as close as we can and then get them running. We should have a good amount of time to wear them down before they can get to cover." It was one of the advantages to hunting out in the prairie and lucky for them the deer were grazing right in the middle.

Askr took to the sky and Éldi followed after, certain Justice would take along after the duo. In no time they arrived and just as Askr said there was a small heard of mule deer. He didn't feel the need to lay out some elaborate hunting plan and figured he'd just call out a target though in all likely hood it was going to be whichever deer fell toward the back of the herd and then they both would pounce with whoever was in the best position dealing the killing blow.

Éldi slinked down amongst the grasses and crept forward. He moved quickly and carefully but he didn't devote too much thought to stalking. Ideally he wanted to get close enough that he could keep pace with the deer and ensure they did not get to far ahead but they would want to get them running either way. When he felt he was close enough he glanced toward Justice to see if she was ready, then he sprang forward with a snarl. The deer burst into action and he tore after them, hot on their heels.

Justice nodded curtly to Eldi's plan, an excited grin curving the corners of her mouth. Ok, chase them until they got tired and they could catch one. Simple, to the point, uncomplicated by unnecessary mucking about. Stretching her way back to her paws, she padded along behind Eldi and his companions as the raven led them towards the mule deer herd.

When they came into view, Eldi stopped and took up a stalking position, and Justice copied him. She wasn't much of a hunter, but he clearly was, so she was going to just rely on his experience and do whatever he did. Together they crept closer and closer to the herd, far closer than Justice would have had the patience to wait for on her own, before Eldi glanced towards her in readiness, then took off snarling.

Whooping and yipping herself to drive them, Justice leaped after him, a good distance to the side so that they didn't trip each other up. Ahead of them, the mule deer bounded away in a panic.

Éldi kept up a grueling pace, pushing the animals as best he could. He wasn't quite sure where Kaler was at first but then he spied the cat to the left of him, excellent. Justice let out a whoop and he grinned. He loved the feeling! Flying over the prairie, prey centered in his sights. Justice kept a good distance from him which he appreciated. Between the three of them they would be able to herd more effectively. When one of the deer tried to break off to the left Kaler was quick to herd it back into place but he could tell the cat was tiring. Wolves were built for hunting through endurance, felines were not. Soon Kaler slowed and fell into a walk, panting. The cat would catch up in due time. He'd done his part to help get the animals moving.

Thankfully, they didn't have much longer before one of the does began to lag dramatically behind the others. All of them had been thin and struggling do to the lack of food but this one also seemed to be ill. Perfect. He glanced at Justice, hoping to catch her eye. Not that it was terribly necessary, the target was obvious at this point. Éldi angled in toward the deer, put on a burst of speed as he tilted his head and his fangs tore into the deer's left thigh. It tried to kick and in doing so stumbled, face planting right into the dirt. Now was Justice's chance!

He was thrilled with how effectively they'd hunted. In his mind it was going perfectly. But then, he was focused on the hunt. He hadn't noticed a hungry grizzly was watching the hunt and moving in for his share.

Though she wasn't by nature a hunter or a runner (being a rather short, burly type wolf) there was something freeing about running along with the deer herd, with others at her side even though they were strangers. Their legs flashed and blurred as they chased the herd, separating out the doe. The wildcat dropped back, not able to keep up for the endurance run a wolf was capable of. Even Justice was getting winded, her breath laboring.

And then Eldi made his move.

The deer stumbled and fell, and Justice put on one last burst of speed to slam into her, jaws locking on her throat as she tumbled over it and dragged it the rest of the way down kicking its last.

When all movement stopped and it was safe to do so, Justice let go and squirmed out from under the doe's neck to grin at Eldi. A grin that slipped quickly from her muzzle at the sight that greeted her over his shoulder, that of a big male grizzly trundling swiftly towards them.

Black fur still steaming with the doe's blood, she stepped past her hunting partner to confront the grizzly, scarred face creased in a fierce snarling roar. No way she was going to waste all that work on some asshole bear who thought he could scare them off their kill - and after the hunt that had injured Gwen and eventually led to her death, Justice found she was even less fond of the big ursine beasts than before.

Éldi held firm to the deer's hind leg as it kicked and thrashed. In a moment Justice was there and the doe was brought fully down, breathing its last. "Nice!" He released his hold with a grin, eager to dig in. However, he noticed the smile fall from the woman's face and he turned to see what she was looking at. "Ah, hell…" A grizzly was moving in on their kill. He glanced at Justice as she moved forward to confront the bear. He felt the same. There was no way he was just going to turn and walk away from this kill. Hackles raised and ears back he moved forward with a snarl, facing off against the bear who roared back. Éldi didn't move. The bear rose on its hindlegs and roared again, doing its best to intimidate the wolves but Éldi continued to hold his ground. This wasn't the first bear he fought and it wouldn't be the last. He hoped maybe the bear would think twice but he rather doubted it.