Peaking out behind tall mountain slopes, the summer sun began to warm the valley around it. Up earlier than she usually was, her petite prints tracked quietly. Clipping along at a lazy pace, she enjoyed listening to the way her paws drummed into the dirt beneath her. Birds sang from the sparse tree limbs in a rhythm that let others know a wolf was in their presence. Her aquamarine eyes caught sight of rabbits and other small rodents scurrying up trees or behind the brush to avoid her. Not that it bothered her, she was on the hunt for something larger. Something she could bring back to a certain someone. Probably useless anyway, not like he'd really show he cared, but what strong, masculine male wouldn't be impressed by someone like her bringing back game? It was unusual for the smooth-coated girl to want to impress anyone, but she figured she might as well try. Off she set toward the wider spread areas of the trees where pine needles littered the ground. Not a cloud was to be seen on this fine morning as she felt her speckled horns warm beneath the morning rays. Lowering her ivory face closer to the ground, her nose began sniffing out the closest scent she could find. Faint at first, she finally picked up on a trail of Pronghorn. Decent in size and easy enough for her to take down a young one if she was fast enough. Having left her companion farther south to keep her certain someone company during her "alone" time, Celeste was glad the cat wouldn't be a distraction. Turning her course to track closer to the animals, she could feel the anticipation begin to rise up in her. SPEECH

1/3 hunting

With the amount of food her cousins all ate it felt as if she was spending most of her free time out hunting. It wasn't the worst thing in the world; the number of pelts she had was growing to a sizeable amount that would work well as insulation for their beds. Not to mention the collection of animal skulls she was steadily accumulating brought her a great measure of happiness. But yet once again, here she was beyond the wall, nose lifted to the air to see if she could catch the scent of any prey upon the wind. At first it had just been the musk of another wolf that drew her forward, but it didn't take much time after she began to follow the trail that the delicious aroma of some type of ungulate mixed in with it. Ah, it seemed she might have to contend for a meal this day... or perhaps they could come to some form of agreement. It didn't take her long to catch up, the much smaller and dark form of a wolf clearly visible against the snowy ground up ahead, and most interestingly with a pair of horns upon their head. She stalked closer, letting out a deep huff of air to announce her presence to the smaller wolf, not wanting to scare them. Not that she particularly cared about scaring them, but if there was a chance to work together then she figured she shouldn't go around terrifying the wolf. "We work together... to catch the prey?" Iðunn said, putting extra emphasis on her accent to make it seem as if she could speak even less of the common tongue than she actually could. She wanted to get this over more quickly than not, and didn't feel like talking much today, but pretending she couldn't communicate at all would just hinder any ability to successfully catch the prey.

Lost in thought as she focused in on the prey, the petite girl almost didn't notice the larger female creep up on her. When the quiet huff made the hair along her scruff stand up, the horned girl turned her head to look. Pausing momentarily with a curious expression, her ears flicked back at the thick accent. Was this other one just playing stupid? Celeste's eyes crinkled in scrutiny before she shrugged. "No stupid moves," she responded in her own thickened Japanese accent before setting off again. Picking up her pace so that she could feel the drum of her paws on the packed ground. Moving up toward the small herd of Pronghorns, her aquamarine eyes zoned in on a decent-sized one they could share. Flicking an ear in the direction of the other girl, Celeste paid attention to her movements. Sticking to the darker shadows near the trees, she traveled through the brush as quietly as possible until the stench of the prey was too much to ignore. For the time being, the small herd grazed lazily with their tails flicking and completely unaware of who was hunting them. Waiting until the right moment, Celeste made the decision to pop out from their hidden area to start running quickly up to the Pronghorn chosen. In an instant, they noticed the two wolves as she neared and began taking off. Their screeching alarms would scare off any other critters in the vicinity, but she only had one target. Lashing out with her jaws to nip at the Pronghorn's legs, she made sure to dance out of the way or use her own horns as a shield. It was time to wear it down until they could make their kill.

2/3 hunting

The young girl responded swiftly in turn, a thick accent of her on apparent in her words, but an accent that Iðunn didn't recognise. This boded well for her desire to not talk very much, as she would play off struggling to understand the girl to avoid too much conversation. She nodded silently in response, quickly moving to keep up with the smaller girl, but sticking off to her right so she wasn't trailing directly behind. The two wolves followed the scent trail, and eventually came upon the small herd of the pronghorns. She eyed the thick coat of the herbivores, already thinking about how it would make the perfect warm coat for when winter came around. Iðunn branched off from the smaller girl, sticking to the cover of the limited undergrowth as she circled around, making sure to stay downwind but wanting to somewhat flank the herd to cut off the escape of the desired target. When the other wolf suddenly sprang free, she followed suite, leaped into the air and taking off at a running start, her long legs swiftly making up the distance between her and the herbivores, even as they began to scatter. She came around from the side, watching as the other girl nipped at the legs of the creature, and came to the conclusion that that was the chosen prey animal. Veering to the side, she kept pace with the pronghorn easily, and waited for the moment its head turned momentarily away from her as it began to turn away to take a flying leap at its shoulder, sinking her teeth into the strong muscle of the flesh with a low growl. The pronghorn was strong and managed to keep going, going as far as to try and attack her with the side of its horn, but only managing a light scrape on her shoulder. She hung on through the slight burst of pain, keeping her jaws clamped shut as she shook her head, wanting to rip and tear at the flesh so the leg went lame and its running ability would be hindered. Hunting 1/3 or 2/3?

Silently thankful the other female was as determined as herself, Celeste allowed herself to focus on the hunt ahead of them. As her teeth pricked into the skin of the Pronghorn, she easily kept pace with the larger animal. All senses were keen on the prey as she listened to her heart thrum in step with her paws. From the side, she noticed the other girl move up toward the front of the animal and latch onto its shoulder. Satisfied with that, Celeste took the opportunity while the animal was distracted. Now that those long horns were directed toward her, she stepped up to leap at the animal. Quickly latching on to the Pronghorn's thigh, she bit down deep until her teeth were lodged securely and blood was blossoming into her mouth. While it was warm and sticky to the touch, the animal insisted on trying to live. Nearly being dragged as she tried to keep up, Celeste shook her head a few times in an attempt to sever an artery or anything vital that would also lame this leg. Surely, the animal wouldn't be able to keep going with two legs being rendered unusable. Slowly, the Pronghorn began to slow until the groans emitted from its mouth were guttural and struggling for breath. The rest of its herd was long gone by this point. Releasing herself to reposition, Celeste took the chance to move farther up the side of the animal and aim for its neck. Now that it began to hobble and desperately flee, it would be easier to kill it. Her mouth soon found purchase at the base of its throat where her teeth easily punctured through the tender skin. Clamping down hard, she could feel its last breaths pulled raggedly through its lungs before it stopped and began to fall down. Satisfied, Celeste released herself once more as the Pronghorn fell to the grass below them. Standing back to survey their kill, she smirked with bloodied lips toward the other girl. "Not too bad," she murmured as her own breath recollected itself and the adrenaline began to subside.

3/3 hunting

The Pronghorn struggled beneath their combined weight, stumbling here and there though frustratingly managing to stay upright. She didn't want to dare let go lest it take the opportunity to escape, so she continued to hold on until a wet gurgling filled her ears over her own heavy breathing. Seemingly all at once it shuddered beneath her, the limbs falling limp as the creature tipped forward. Without a moment of hesitation she let go, pushing back against its side to move out of the way of the sharp horns as it fell to the ground, unmoving and bleeding heavily from its throat.

Iðunn took in a few gasping breaths, tongue swiping over her lips as she watched the creature, almost daring it to get up again, and only when she was sure it was down for good did she look up to the horned woman. Her head dipped in acknowledgement of the girl's words. "You as well," she said begrudgingly in the common tongue once more, in her exhaustion not needing to forcibly put on a thicker accent, the strangeness of her pronunciation slipping from her tongue without any extra effort.

She closed the distance to the fallen prey, icy blue gaze eyeing its limp form, figuring out how best to share the kill with the girl. They were quite close to where her family had made camp, so perhaps the girl could simply eat her fill and grab a limb for the road, leaving Iðunn to drag the remainder of the carcass back home. She wanted to make use of the horns regardless, so taking it back to camp was needed no matter how the creature was split.

"Eat what you want," she said brusquely, now stepping back again as a show of faith to the girl, her gaze resting heavily on her horned form with just a hint of admiration in her eyes. It had been a swift kill, with none of the injuries that her reckless cousins always seemed to sustain. That she could admire, just a bit.

Hunting 3/3