Fern has dragged Rudyard out to the nearby God’s Garden to hunt a whitetail buck. The day is sunny and memories hang in the air. They had made their first snare here, hunted together for the first time… here. A smile rests on her light lips as she tracks the deer’s path. It winds around the stones and the pair stay downwind of the prey. The grass is tall and they are able to hide easily in the long strands. The buck comes into view and Fern hunkers down, turning her ocean-hued eyes to Rudy. Softly she asks, “I chase, you ambush?” Eyes dance with happiness, ready to do whatever the motley boy suggests. This hunt rests squarely in his paws.

"Fern Lark"

Fern had learned a good basic hunting style Rudy enjoyed using when he had the chance of a companion.  That was great.  Now it was time to hunt another way solely because it wasn’t the way he’d shown her up until now.  “Nope, today we hunt differently.  We are going to both run it down.  You take left, I’ll take the right.”

Rudy watched the buck with a small grin on his features, “Your plan is good mind you and it would work but good to have more than one trick up your paw when hunting.  One of us is going to focus on tripping it, the other goes for the neck when it gets off balance.” For all Rudy seemed to be a giant kid at times the motley wolf could surprisingly take on a teacher's roll well enough when needed.  Of course, it was even easier when it was Fern he was instructing.

Rudy continued to carefully watch the buck as he spoke, “Hunting this way takes a lot more focus on what your partner is doing.  It isn’t as simple as trusting your partner to bring you the prey or you running the prey to a point knowing your partner has the final blow.  This means step by step being in contact of knowing what the other wolf is doing and how to react.”  

Rudy offered a grin to Fern, “Think you can keep up with me?”  

"Speech"

Fern looks to Rudyard, eyebrows lifting in silent surprise as he changes the game plan. Run it down? Oh, this sounds fun. She listens to the instructions, looking to the motley boy as he takes on the teacher mantle. Finally, he cracks a grin and teases her, earning him a roll of her ocean-hued eyes and the beginnings of a smile. Quietly, she pipes up, “You get the kill, I’ll take it down. Just don’t trip over your paws Hotshot.” A soft giggle escapes as the smile grows and Fern hunkers down in the long grass. Looking to Rudy, she softly adds, “Let’s get a little closer before we start the chase.” Turning her eyes back to the buck, Fern begins to slowly inch forward.

Once they are in position, Fern looks over to Rudy and waits until he is ready. Once they are ready, the gray girl starts the chase, bursting from the grass to run toward the buck. It startles and turns to flee, the gray girl moving toward the right side of the prey. She watches Rudy out of the corner of her eye, adjusting speed and distance to match his rhythm. They chase the buck, Fern carefully watching Rudy, working with him to bring this buck down.


"Fern Lark"

Rudy nods agreeably to Fern’s plan for the hunt.  She’d get in the first strike, making the deer go down and it would his job to kill it at that moment.  Rudyard expected the hunt would go well even if it was a new way for Fern to try at.  This was how things would likely be done in larger group hunts against tougher prey so it was good to get started on such things now.  It would also be fun.

The motley wolf lets Fern take the lead, nodding and moving with Fern until they are both about even distance from the target.  Noticing Fern’s glance the young wolf winks at her to show his readiness for the hunt.  

Fern breaks cover and Rudy matches her as best as possible on strides.  When the buck turns Rudy deftly follows it, keeping to the left and trusting Fern to do her part on the right.  The two wolves form a sort of barrier, not allowing the buck to turn to far to the right or left without meeting snapping jaws.  Now it’s just waiting for Fern to get a good chance to get the initial bite and Rudy would follow up.

"Rudyard Carpathius"

Fern and Rudy work together, their ability to read each other helping to keep the deer between them. The course is fixed, the prey is running to the beat of the wolves’ drum and all that is left to do is bring it down. She scans the deer, watching its rhythm and pace, watching for an opening. The whitetail buck is heathy and there are no lapses in in its leaps. Turning her eyes to the path, Fern spies a large tree not far ahead.

Darting her eyes to Rudyard, hoping he will understand what she is doing, the gray girl starts to make subtle adjustments to the deer’s course until they are driving it straight for the tree. As they near, the buck slows in a moment of hesitation and that is when Fern strikes. Darting in, the gray girl grabs hold of its front leg and puts on the brakes, causing the deer to slam into the ground… hard. With the buck dazed, she moves to pin it down, waiting for Rudy to do his part of the hunt and end its life. She shoots him a smile when he approaches, her heart thrumming with happiness at being with him. Oh right, they are killing a deer. Eyes turn to watch the final struggle for life and keep the buck from moving.


"Fern Lark"

Rudy’s main focus was on the deer, so he really wasn’t noticing the subtle eye movement from Fern.  That said the motley wolf was focused on her body’s motions overall so that the moment she started turning the deer Rudy moved along with her, keeping their path aligned with Fern’s objective.  The deer tried to stray too far toward Rudy and earned itself a nip on the leg to keep it between them evenly.

When the buck starts to fall Rudy rushes in, teeth latching onto its throat, crunching down and twisting his neck sharply, letting the vital spot in the neck rip open.  The blood is pumping out fast, the dazed animal would die soon enough.  Rudy looked at the dying animal, remembering the deer in his vision then shaking away the thought to look at Fern.  “Well done, looks like we have food to take home.  You're becoming quite the hunter."

Rudyard Carpathius