Leading Morgan to the wildberry grove, Clove had asked a few questions along the way- primarily to keep a conversation going, but she was also curious about him. Her questions consisted of- “So, how old are you?” and “Where do you live?” and also, “Whats your favorite food?” Simple questions that may have complex answers. But it was enough to keep a conversation going while they traveled into the neighboring territory. Approaching the grove, Clove slowed her pace until coming to a stop at the treeline. Wanting Wilder to get a good view of the border- so maybe he would be more mindful next time- she waited until he was ready before entering. "As I said earlier, we call this the Wildberry Grove.” A short pause, as she flashed him a sly smile. “Why? You guessed it- because we have lots of berries here! But also fruits and stuff.” Walking slowly, but trying to keep up with his wider steps. Clove wanted to stay at his side.  Suddenly, her belly started rumbling. Loud enough for him to hear, which lit her face up with warmth. So embarrassing! “Oh! We also have prey here, if you’re hungry?” They could have easily gone to the castle and gotten into their reserves. But why not have some fun and hunt together?   "Speech"

Wilder didn't mind spending the day with Clove. Her positive nature and bubbly conversation kept him entertained as they walked from the plains into the grove. Plus being able to walk through pack lands without being mauled made the day a lot less nerve wracking for him. Occasionally ensuring he wasn't walking with too long of a stride so the pup could keep up with him, he attentively answered her questions. He was two, he didn't have a home, and he liked rabbit a lot, but would take anything he could get. Except for shrimp, but that was a story for another time.

He pauses when she does, looking down at her sly smile before giving her a chuckle. Oh, what an obvious name! Giving his head a shake, he followed the girl through the sweet-scented grove. Indeed, there were a ton of berries here and fruit and the like all lined up neatly on the bushes that lined the paths. His own belly gave a rumble as if responding to her own as he stops with her, his tail giving a few wags. Prey, huh? Wilder looks around to take in the grove. Trees towered over them, hiding the warm sun above. Birds fluttered around, giving away that she was indeed correct that there was prey here.

"What kind of prey?" He asks, turning his attention back to the girl. A snack definitely sounded like a good idea!

"Speech"

When he asked what kind of prey lived in the Wildberry Grove, her smile grew wider. “All kinds!” Answering cryptically at first, wanting to set an aura of mystery and intrigue. She led him deeper into the grove, wanting him to explore the scenery as they walked. " There are a ton of squirrels and rabbits. I'm fast enough to catch one of those all by myself!”  Sure, catching one should be an easy feat for most wolves. But with Clove being a young girl, it felt like a huge accomplishment, and something worth boasting about. “We also have skunks and porcupines… but I stay away from those.” For obvious reasons, she wasn’t interested in hunting a skunk or a porcupine down. Smelly spray and spikes? No thank you!

“Oh, we also have some wild pigs that come through here.” She mentioned, if he was thinking of eating something bigger than a squirrel. He was certainly old enough and big enough to pursue one. But her on the other hand… “But, um," She suddenly became a bit shy, Hesitant even. “I’ve never hunted one of those before.” Looking up at him, there was a glimmer of longing in her eyes. How would she ever become a master hunter, if she didn’t start hunting down bigger prey?  

Wilder has to admit that the grove has a sense of beauty to it. The way the shadows and light filter down through the full canopy of green leaves. Berries that line bushes along the pathways, just daring to be eaten. Well worn paths ensure that no one gets lost and it seems there are plenty of diverting paths to follow in other directions. He can't scent any other predators either aside from the Hallows wolves. That made it all the better for hunting and berry eating in his mind. If there were no threats, they could eat and hunt all they wanted.

"Squirrels and rabbits are quite hard to catch," Wilder comments, nodding his head in agreement, as he looks around. He can see the squirrels hiding up in the trees, peering at them from around branches, very aware there were two wolves walking through the grove. Her next observation has him looking around again. Skunks and porcupines? Two animals he definitely didn't want to tango with either. Because while he wasn't the nicest smelling wolf, he didn't want to smell like skunk either.

As he continues to admire the safety and quiet of the grove around them, he lets an ear turn toward Clove as she mentions the wild pigs. He pauses so he can look down at her with a questioning look. The look of longing in her eyes is obvious and sends a wave of emotion through him. What exactly was that? It was hard to prevent his face from scrunching up because he hadn't ever really felt it before. Why did he suddenly feel obligated to help her? Wrinkling his nose, he reaches a paw up to nudge her shoulder.

"Well, then we can hunt some wild pigs! You say you're fast right? Then you can definitely catch at least one," his lips turn up in a smirk, his eyes beginning to twinkle before averting his gaze. Again there was that weird feeling in his belly he couldn't quite understand. Instead, he tried to focus on their exploration and now hunting trip. "We have to look through the grove for signs of them first," Wilder says as he lowers his muzzle closer to the ground and toward the bushes that line the sides of the path. "You'll know its a pig when you see their tracks and they have a sort of distinct mushroom-like scent," he mentions as he takes a few steps into the undergrowth.

WILDER

When he places a paw on her shoulder, Clove feels an unfamiliar warmth ignite inside of her chest. Wow, Wilder was so nice! Her tail wagging behind her, excitement sparkling in her eyes as she looks up at him. He was willing to help her hunt a wild pig- he even gave some pointers on how they could find them. “You really think so? Okay… let's try it!” Nodding her head, Clove fell into an even pace beside him. Following him into the undergrowth, heterochromatic eyes scanning the soil for the tracks he mentioned.

Sniffing around for a bit, she finally caught a whiff of that mushroom scent he mentioned- earthy and pungent, it made her snout crinkle. Then, she saw the tracks- hooved and plentiful, signifying multiple pigs had walked through here recently. “Wilder! Look here!” She said, proudly motioning towards her finding with her snout, waiting for him to acknowledge her before they moved on.

Assumably, they would start following the tracks through the grove- having veered off the beaten path, and into the shrub adorned in berries. The wild pigs must love snacking on them. As she stalked through the underbrush, she made sure to be quiet- knowing it was unwise to disturb prey while pursuing it. Here and there, she'd look up at Wilder, waiting to see if he was going to give her any more pointers.

"Speech"

Around them, the grove is alight with noise. His ears can pick up everything from squirrels running up trees, rabbits diving into holes, birds resting in the branches. From the east, a breeze presses against his face, a tinge of salt that indicates it comes as far as the ocean, which from here, wasn't far at all. So far, it seems there aren't many other wolves or predators around. Perhaps a faint scent of patrols around the border, but this deep into the grove, they have it all to themselves. Even the path they follow is one of the ones less traveled. He can tell by the grass growing in patches in the middle where paws would have worn them down. There hadn't even been much of any deer scat or larger prey signs either which made sense since the berry season was coming to a close.

He notices all of this as they walk, a smile on his lips as Clove beams up at him. Of course he thought so! He wasn't the type of guy to lie. Lying was for chumps who didn't think they could handle the truth. So he leads her into the undergrowth, his own muzzle lowers toward the ground and begins to sniff out any scent signs of wild pig. Not far back, there had been some rutting at the base of a tree to indicate they had been here recently. It wouldn't take long of rustling through the brush before he too picked up that pungent earthy scent. His ears press forward as his vermilion gaze searches around. Clove finds it first and ushers her to look at what she's found.

"Tracks! Those definitely belong to pigs. Good job," he winks at the younger girl before moving forward. Following the tracks through the underbrush, noticing how many of the berry bushes had clumps ripped off of them. "I bet you notice how some of the bushes have clumps missing. That's a good sign," Wilder continues to help lead her along the path of the pigs. "Now what we really want to find is a good muddy patch around some trees. They like to rut around in the dirt for roots and bugs too. Let me know if you can see any," he points his muzzle ahead of them where the brush begins to open up to a small clearing.

WILDER

When Wilder praises her, Cloves smile becomes so wide she’s beaming up at him. It felt good having an experienced hunter compliment her, and help guide her through this process- especially someone she considered her friend. She’d almost missed his wink too- it wasn’t meant to be flirty, or to lead her on - it was playful if anything. And so, she continued to smile up ay him, waiting for his next move. Not hesitating to follow after him, as they pursued the tracks through the underbrush. He mentions the bushes, and how some of them have clumps missing. Clove had noticed it, figuring the pigs and other animals were snacking on the berries. And it was a good sign. They also needed to find a muddy area where pigs liked to rut around for food. Easy! Nodding to him, Clove takes on a serious expression- knowing they were about to hone in on their prey, where the real challenge would begin. He’d motioned towards the brush, and Clove slinked forward on stealthy paws, moving through the foliage with ease. Just as Wilder predicted, the brush opened up into a small clearing, and in the middle of it? Mud and trees. Sniffing at the air, the scent they’d been pursuing was much stronger now- the sound of snorts catching her attention, pulling her eyes to the right. Wild pigs! Rummaging through some mud with their snouts, staying close to the trees to hide in the shade. Looking up at Wilder, she signals to him that she’s ready for whatever comes next. "Speech"