Every night was the same. He couldn't sleep, so he went out on a hunt. Every night since the crystals broke free from his eyes, the ooze stopped, and the intrusive thoughts left, he needed to get some of his problems out. Better on some kind of food than a pack member he snaps at, anyway. It wore him out though and that was what he really needed. Something to help him sleep at night, even through the horrible dreams forcing him to relive every painful moment as he was held underneath the water by some unseen force. He couldn't even relish in the thought of Malachai saving him without suffering through the rest of the haunting memory.

If it was anything that helped him just simply think of anything else, it was killing. Through the infection and even now he was keeping the stores full for those that needed it most. With many infected wolves, he did what he could to help until he could no longer be of any use either. Perhaps it was the constant hunting before his infection that calmed him now after, brought him peace when he needed it most.

He was thankful to not have to even leave the Armada when he caught a trail of a passing deer. It was hovering on the edge of the border, likely assuming to be safe in the quiet of the night. How wrong it was. He trailed the deer for some time before it settled at the edge of a small creek for a drink. Grimshaw hunkered down in the tall grass, flattening his ears as he spied on the buck. This could be a quick and easy kill for him, however he wanted something more fun.

"Speech."

Kotori hadn’t been as sick as many of the wolves in the pack.  He had caught the sickness later than others and of a milder dosage before once more the sun rose and everyone was starting to heal.  It was good for his mind to once more be his own.  While everyone was better some were still needing time to heal.  With Kotori having a claim on his mind once more he expected this hunt to go far better than his miserable attempts while sick.

The fun thing was that he didn’t even need to leave the pack land.  Not ‘need’ too but technically he did stride off it a short distance.  The deer he spotted was on the borderline and he liked the idea of chasing it further into the grass instead of away from the pack.  How funny it would be if it ran straight to more members of the pack!  He could just imagine how the fear would pound in its chest when it realized it ran into a land of death for it.

He could of course smell Grimshaw but, that was kind of natural considering plenty of armada wolf scents came to him at this location.  He didn’t actually realize the other wolf had the same idea on hunting until Kotori had found a better position he liked to start a chase.  He realized the freshness of the scent and finally spotted the tips of black ears hardly visible.  

Kotori changed up his design of how to hunt.  He’d let Grimshaw get the real fun.  Kotori stepped into sight of the deer, tail down, body relaxed but watching it.  The deer of course stiffened watching him.  Kotori was exactly vertical to Grimshaw with the deer in the middle.  Kotori walked as if he had no extreme interest but moved closer towards the pack land.  As he did the deer moved further away and closer to Grimshaw.  Kotori smirked, pausing and watching how the deer walked for a few more steps then stopped uncertainly.

Kotori stared at Grimshaw’s position for a few seconds, letting him know this was a plan.  All he could see was the other wolf's ears but he’d assume Grimshaw got the idea.  There was still a bit of distance but honestly not getting any bit of sport sounded boring.  The game would continue but the two predators had an advantage.  Kotori stayed relaxed, the deer kept watching Kotori who would wait patiently for Grimshaw to start the true hunt.


Kotori Fatalis

 

Although he was mostly content with managing this hunt on his own, he would've been lying if he'd said it would be easier that way. He was a large young man, growing to rival the size of the warlord himself, but even the biggest of bucks were still a challenge. So when a familiar face came into his view across from him, on the other side of the deer, Grimshaw was at least somewhat appreciative of the help. They at least seemed to have an inkling of an idea how to hunt anyway. He could've been stuck with one of the new pups and left to make this some kind of useless (to him) teaching moment. He wasn't in the mood for that, he wanted to kill.

With Kotori positioned on the other side of the deer watching and waiting, Grimshaw slowly began to creep towards them. Careful to keep himself hidden and quiet, he sought to close some distance between them before he would decide to start the chase towards Kotori. What he really wanted was to see the actual fear in the animals eyes as he lunged for it, but he had to wait. He needed to be closer first, so as long as Kotori kept the buck's attention on him, Grimshaw would get as close as he could while still remaining hidden.

"Speech."

This wasn’t exactly the normal way Kotori hunted and in a sense it was amusing.  He was used to sneaking up on deer and then breaking from cover to give chase.  Casually standing here, just playing an entertained distraction was nowhere near as heart-pounding fun but this was about catching prey and not chasing for kicks.

The deer started to walk in a direction Kotori didn’t approve of, the horned wolf turned and walked in the same direction.  Kotori didn’t try to get closer, only to keep the deer in its current spot as much as possible.  He also had the deer confused and uncertain what to do.  Its attention was fully on Kotori.  

The deer’s hoof tapped the ground in uncertainty, it started to take another step but then stopped once more as Kotori did.  It knew the moment it ran so would the wolf.  All the while Kotori waited, letting Grimshaw get closer.

"Kotori Fatalis"

The buck moved slightly, but Kotori was good to keep it in place as Grimshaw would appear from behind, sneaking up until he was just close enough to snap wildly at the deer's unsuspecting ankles. The animal panicked, kicking briefly but Grimshaw managed to dodge. Sneaking up on the animal just to bring it down quickly wasn't any fun, Grimshaw wanted an actual hunt. Something to chase.

The cervid stomped in place many times in a confused panic on where to run, Grimshaw behind it much like a roping horse as he used pressure to keep the animal from running off in a less than ideal direction. When it finally found a break, it broke off to the left and bound off in a hurry. Grimshaw shot a glance at Kotori and tilted his chin towards the deer in hopes the packmate would run off and aim to cut the deer off ahead of them. Grimshaw bolted off after that moment in pursuit of the deer. Thankfully due to the light contact he had made with his razor sharp teeth, the animal was slightly limping and slower than it could've been, allowing Grimshaw to catch up to the animal quickly. He launched at the animals behind, teeth finding purchase on the animals rear as he held on and curled his body into it, trying to use his weight to slow the animal down while he waited for Kotori to catch up and finish the animal off.

"Speech."

Kotori didn’t stand still once the fight started. The moment Grimshaw attacked the deer Kotori came running in. The wolf had been patient and strategic all that time. It had felt like forever he’d had to stop himself from just chasing the hunk of moving meat.

Grimshaw had wounded it and there was no way a wounded deer could outrun them. Kotori gave chase, coming up alongside it. Kotori’s teeth snapped its front leg and with two legs injured it stumbled. Kotori had planned it, glad to see it work as expected, and even as the deer stumbled Kotori’s teeth latched onto its neck. Kotori stepped in to put pressure and force the deer to fall down. Its feet kicked out but there was only open space for it to strike.

Kotori put a paw on its shoulder to push against as he tore open the neck. Glancing up he nodded a well done to Grimshaw. "Good job"

"Kotori Fatalis"