Tarnish had never hunted pronghorn antelope before. He'd seen them on the prairie here and there but Worc warned him that they were very fast and very difficult to catch. It wasn't worth the expenditure of energy. Still, he'd seen a mountain lion catch one not too long ago and he was eager to give it a try himself. He flexed his toes, his own claws darting out then back in. He had the advantage of his claws in addition to his teeth but speed was still an issue. He wasn't going to be fast enough. That alone would have pivoted his attention elsewhere if it hadn't been for the blood he'd caught scent of. He was pretty sure it was a pronghorn and if it was injured then maybe he stood a chance to catch it. He was half tempted to howl for back up but he was leery of giving his prey to much of a heads up.

Jay didn't usually go far from home, so traveling even such a short distance away felt like she was exploring a whole new world. Not that this place was all that different from home but the skies seemed bigger somehow, the prairie dotted with few obstacles to stand in her way. The now-yearling nearly let out a pleased little bark, but what she saw up ahead gave her pause. It was a wolf - a pup, it looked like - whose posture said he was stalking something, maybe? At least he was trying to be cautious, instead of waltzing around recklessly like she was. The girl slowed her pace as she got closer, hoping to make her entrance apparent without being too loud, not wanting to spook the stranger. "Whatcha doin'?" She asked as she drew closer, tongue lolling from the side of her mouth as she greeted him with a friendly smile.

Ears twitching, Tarnish turned at the sound of rustling grass to see a pretty yearling headed his way. She seemed quite friendly and he was immediately struck with the idea of a team-up. If there were two of them then he'd have a much better chance of a successful hunt. Besides, it wasn't like he could drag the whole carcass back or eat the whole thing himself. He grinned. "Hey there, I'm trying to hunt one of those pronghorn deer things. You want to help? I'll split the kill with you 50/50. Especially if you have some idea of how to do this. My companion says they're very fast. He says I could never catch one." Well Tarnish was about to show his deer crow companion exactly what he could do with a little help. That was of course if the girl agreed, but what else would she be doing out here anyway if not to hunt?

Fortunately for her, he didn't seem put out by her arrival, and her smile grew as he regarded her.  He admitted he was out trying to hunt a type of deer, and her interest was immediately piqued. "Oh, I'd love to help! Let's do it!" Truthfully she didn't even have to get a cut of the kill to be enticed to help - she probably would've just done it for the experience and just to be helpful, but this way sounded fair. She nodded along enthusiastically. Jay listened to him express his companion's worries and she nodded.

"They are pretty fast, but I think we can do it," she mused, optimistic as always. She paused to sniff at the air, trying to pinpoint the smell of the scent of the prey he'd picked up on. "Is that blood? Maybe one of 'em's injured. That makes it even easier!" It wasn't like she was an expert hunter by any means, but she'd gotten some good pointers from her parents about a hunt like this. "If we can figure out where it is and one of us can get ahead of it, we can try to cut it off. Even if it doesn't stop it, it should at least slow it down?" Jay suggested, eyes wide with excitement as she waited for her hunting partner's feedback.

Well, at least she was optimistic about it. Part of him doubted whether or not they could actually do it but that never stopped him from trying before and it sure as heck wouldn't stop him now. Tarnish nodded. "Yea, I think it's one of the pronghorn's blood. It doesn't smell like deer or any of the smaller prey around here. He listened as she explained her thoughts and he nodded. "Yea, that sounds good to me. Since you're bigger maybe you should try and get to the other side of it and I can chase it toward you." As much as he'd like to make the kill shot he understood his limitations and was more interested in the success of the hunt than pushing his limits.

"Let's go, oh and my name is Tarnish by the way." He trotted along the trail, following the scent of the blood until he saw a small stream running through the prairie and a small group of pronghorn drinking at the stream. It took a moment but he soon spied the one that was injured. Its leg bore a long gash. Tarnish looked to the girl to make sure she noticed as well and then they could get started.

Doubt wasn't really something she tended to do. She could do anything she set her mind to, she truly believed that, and this little hunt was no exception! Maybe she was naive but she was happy to believe in herself, and others, so fiercely. "I can do that," she agreed, nodding along. Sure, Tarnish was young, but that didn't mean he wouldn't make a perfectly competent hunting partner. Once they got the prey animal into a better position they could figure out how they'd actually take it down. Maybe that would depend on what sort of injury the deer was suffering from.

"Nice to meet you, Tarnish. I'm Jay Destruction." She beamed, her tail waving in a wide arc behind her as Tarnish led the way. Before long they came across the blood, as well as the group of pronghorns. Jay nodded diligently before she set off, making a wide circle around the animals. Far enough that they didn't notice her, though she worried they were beginning to smell the two of them, noting the way they nervously kept shifting positions. Oh well - she hunkered down and waited for Tarnish to set off, readying herself to cut off the one that they were after once they were driven this direction.

She introduced herself as Jay Destruction and he was pleased to see she was as eager to hunt as he was! This was great, he really liked the idea of having a hunting partner. He settled down into the grass, limbs coiling beneath him in excited preparation. Tarnish had to mentally focus on keeping his tail so it didn't start wagging before he was ready to attack. That would spoil the whole hunt. Tarnish kept an eye on the girl as she moved through the grass, it parting ever so slightly. When the shift of the grass had ceased he waited a few moments more before springing into action.

He darted forward like a shot and the pronghorn immediately scattered. Tarnish kept his focus on the wounded one that was lagging behind, quickly leaping to its right to startle it toward where Jay lay in wait. The antelope's limp made it far easier to keep up with but even so Tarnish felt himself having to push his body harder than he ever had before.

She was beyond happy with the prospect of hunting with a new friend, and she made no effort to hide her joy, from the way her tongue lolled freely from her mouth to her tail waving high above her back. Nothing could make her mood brighter, not really - and already she was looking forward to their hunt being successful and being able to head back home and tell her parents all about what she'd accomplished. She tried keeping her energy a little lower as she made a wide circle around the prey, not wanting to startle them. It was admittedly a hard feat, given her excitement, but she did her best. And the next thing she knew, Tarnish was running at the group of pronghorn and they were headed her way.

Nice! She lifted her head to see over the tall grasses, trying to seek out the injured one and lock her attention onto it. It was no easy task, given the panicked group that had begun to scatter, but she managed to as it headed toward her. She had to shift her position slightly to get a better angle, but once the injured pronghorn was within distance of her she kicked off hard with her back legs, springing forward with all her might. All at once she felt her heart beating hard in her chest, the thrill of a real hunt suddenly flooding her - and boy, was it intoxicating! It took her a few long strides to catch up with the ungulate, and once she was able to reach it she lunged with parted jaws, sinking her teeth down into its leg.

It fumbled, though with it went Jay. She tried desperately to keep herself upright but failed to do so, hitting the ground hard as the pronghorn did too. It began to scramble back up, clearly panicked, and so did Jay as she hoped hard that Tarnish was catching up to help her take it down more permanently.

Tarnish focused on nipping at the antelope's heels, veering left and right to try and keep it going in the right direction. As they neared Jay came flying out of the brush toward the antelope, her jaws latching onto one of its front legs. The sudden weight caused it to stumble and crash toward the ground, taking Jay with it. Oh shit! The pronghorn started to get back up. Tarnish dug for his last bit of energy as he leapt onto the pronghorns back, fangs digging into the nape of the creatures neck, up near the back of its skull. The sudden weight pushed it back down but Tarnish knew he did not have a good hold for dealing a fatal blow. Instead he thrashed his head, trying to do damage while pulling the head back. With a little luck he'd be able to reveal the pronghorn's throat for Jay to make the final kill.

She'd done some light hunting before, of small prey animals, but nothing quite as serious as this. Jay seemed to realize all at once what a delicate dance hunting could be - she couldn't be too loud, too fast, too much of anything. It felt like a balancing act, as she chased down the pronghorn and tried to keep Tarnish in her sights as well. Her attack on its heels landed and though she had to scramble to keep herself upright, she did, chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath and press on.

Tarnish leapt forward next, leaping onto the ungulate's back. His angle was a solid one and he managed to grab hold of its nape, leaving its neck open for the killing blow. It wasn't something that either of them were able to communicate but it seemed intuitive, and Jay struck then, kicking her weight forward to push ahead of the pronghorn and swing her body around at the last second. Parted jaws aimed for the prey's throat and landed solidly there. She was met with the reward of a mouth full of warm blood, and the pronghorn hitting the ground hard as all its strength left its body.

Jay let out a groan as she held on strong for a moment longer, giving her head a hard shake to ensure they'd finished the job properly. After a few moments she relinquished her hold and turned to face Tarnish as she moved a few steps off the pronghorn, looking quite pleased with their victory. She was grinning from ear to ear, licking the blood from her mouth as she looked from Tarnish to their kill and back again. "Nice job," she applauded him easily, tail giving a little wag to accompany her words.