Corbie rarely went far from the flock on her hunts these days. Tornach's body was failing him, and while he did what he could she tried to avoid spending too long away from them. It was one of his good days, though, so she could be confident that he, Tam, and Aiden could handle things without her. Besides, they needed extra meat to dry into travel rations for this trip he wanted to take, when it would be difficult to get away from the flock to hunt enough for them and Tam. If she could get something big and smoke it that would be ideal, but with just her hunting alone these days she'd be more likely to need to spend the whole day hunting small game and still not have quite enough. Well, she'd cross that bridge if she came to it - maybe she'd get lucky and find a badly injured deer or chase coyotes off a fresh kill.

She paused and lifted her white-laced face to sample the wind currents, surprised to scent mule deer here, fairly fresh. And wolf as well - a loner, so thankfully unlikely to chase her off like she'd been contemplating chasing off coyotes. Still, she kept a weather eye out for the stranger as she crept closer to the deer scent, watching for signs of a deer a single wolf could possibly take. Well, no luck there it would seem, as the small herd seemed relatively healthy and alert. Too bad, since they were still wellfed and fatty this early in the winter. There was one doe that seemed to be slower than the rest but it would undoubtedly outrun her without another wolf or two to chase in relay with.

Mara had been trailing the herd at a distance for the better part of the day. She didn't know what she expected really, because the idea of her and Ed taking down a healthy adult mule deer alone was something she'd scoff at even if she was piss drunk, let alone hale and sober. But it was a small herd, and maybe if she stuck with them long enough some opportunity would arise, so for the time being she found herself belly-down and obscured by the tall grass. Her mouth watered at the thought of having a kill to camp on for a few days, enough to hold her over for a good long while, a long bone or two to crack open as treat. Gods, she couldn't remember the last time she'd been able to dig into a fresh, big kill. Of course, the longer her wait stretched the more 'seeking opportunities' began to feel like self-inflicted torture. A flash of movement drew her eye to a figure approaching from a few hundred yards away, catty-corner to her own watchful post. A female, and a youngling too by the looks of it, but at this distance it was hard to be sure. A quick glance back at the herd confirmed they hadn't noticed her yet, big tasty idiots that they were. Just like that, the torture was off and this was back to being a marvelous idea all over again. "Ed!" She hissed under her breath, waking the bobcat up from a doze he'd resigned himself to a while ago. "Go sneak around and see if that wolf over there is after one of these deer. See if she can chase 'em towards me." The cat craned his neck as high as he dared until he caught what Mara was gesturing at and set off. Swift and silent the cat crept behind a rise, keeping out of sight of the deer. It took a moment of sniffing to come up with the wolf's location on the far side but he got there in the end and stopped a safe distance behind her. "Psst!" He tried to catch her attention, speaking just barely over a whisper and pointing with one broad, fluffy paw. "You hunting? I've got a friend waiting on the other side of the herd, where the land slopes up a bit. A wolf and a cat aren't much of a match, but two wolves and a cat..." He trailed off, twitching his whiskers like one might waggle their eyebrows. Hopefully she was pickin' up what he was puttin' down. Better safe than sorry, he tacked on, "If you can flush them towards her, I think she's had her eye on one of the does." "TALK" "YOU" THINK

Just as Corbie had resigned herself to the inevitable and begun to turn away from the herd, intending to find small game of the sort that a solo wolf could more reasonably stand to catch, a bobcat crept up to whisper at her. Corbie's brow rose, but that was the only indication of surprise and it was more directed towards the providence of another loner and her feline companion showing up just in time than it was the cat's sudden appearance. She lowered herself into a crouch and eyed him for a beat. Gift horses and mouths and all that. She wasn't going to question her good fortune. Instead she studied the herd and the rise that he'd mentioned his wolf was hidden on. Yes, she was fairly well positioned to get them rushing off that direction in a panic. If the other wolf and the cat were skilled enough to make the ambush work, they'd have themselves a good fat doe to split and save her a good amount of time hunting. She nodded silently to the bobcat and rose again to slink off towards the herd, aiming... and there! She popped up out of the grass nearly onto one of the does and snapped at it as it flailed back from her bleating in panic, and the chase was on. Corbie kept mostly back as she drove them uphill, just close enough to keep them in a panic without getting kicked. It would be up to the other wolf to ambush the tiring doe when they got close enough...

Amaranth wasn't sure if Ed would come back and tell her what was what or if she should just expect a bunch of hooves in her face here in a minute, but she'd wager on the latter. Partially because the cat preferred to keep far away from any scenario that might mar his pretty pelt, and partially because if this other wolf was worth he salt, if she saw an opportunity she'd know to take it. Either way, she was right. Mara watched the stranger move in towards the herd, slowly and carefully creeping closer until she was positioned just so. Satisfaction rippled through her in a wave, mirroring the herd's shock as grazing became flight. She caught flashes of the girls contrasting pelt between grasses below but her attention was soon pulled away by the oncoming charge. They were running on just right, as long as she stayed low and ready she might actually have a shot at this. Mara had wondered if maybe she would have to shift one way or another depending on where the herd bolted, but as it stood they would crest the rise practically right on top of her so she just crouched and waited, listening to the way the earth rumbled faintly beneath her paws. At the last moment Amaranth stood, too late for the herd to course correct but with enough time to catch a clear look at her surroundings. Most of the deer were running up farther to her right side, but the doe charging most directly her way still had friends coming behind it too. Food for thought. The nearest wasn't the target she'd hoped for, it was younger and far more fit, but then the herd was upon her and the time to think had passed. Mara ducked to the side just in time for the doe to brush past her, but was back on it quick enough that it only had time to flash her the white of its eye. Her teeth sank deep into the muscle of its hindquarters, she felt her canines slip in behind leg tendon, so she ripped back with a savage yank. Flesh tore and gave way as momentum carried the doe onwards, pulling Mara into forward step, primed to continue her chase until an explosive force slammed her offside shoulder and sent her stumbling into the dirt. She looked up, scrambling back to her feet just in time to see the fluffy white ass of another doe putting lengths on the hobbled one she'd torn into. It must have clipped her as it went past, and she'd be sore tomorrow, but the sight of her target limping and bloodied was too sweet to sulk about it now. "TALK" "YOU" THINK