Regulus

Regulus fumed silently in his mind as he trotted alongside his sister into Emerald Valley. Leaving his mother alone, when the whole family seemed to have up and disappeared felt like sacrilege. Okay, so their father was there, too, but according to Zuriel, their father refused to leave the den, and was hardly eating; which meant he’d be useless if their mother were attacked. His reasonable side argued that it was highly unlikely that they would be attacked. His stubborn male side snapped back that bad things happened when least expected. He paused slightly in his stride, before continuing on. It was so short a while ago that he was a carefree puppy; a master adventurer. The recent events had whittled that puppish bravado down to a cold, hard fact: he was nothing. Yet. He needed to grow up; for his mother and sister, and his father, now, too. Grandmother wouldn’t be there anymore to guide them and give advice. So he had to shape up, get strong, and make it so that he could face anything that came to pass. The scents of elk and bison brought him out of his reverie and he slowed, sapphires scanning the valley. Mother Night they were huge. Some of the bull elk had huge racks tipped with sharp points. He glanced around, looking at Zuriel. No way were they going after an elk. No yet, at least. So he gazed around the valley, trying to get a fix on something they could bring down that could feed four wolves. ”Anything jumping out at you, sis?” He saw mostly big, strong elk, and even bigger, stronger bison. Their kind seriously hunted those things? How many got out alive?

Zuriel trotted along beside her brother, her slender legs having to move a fair bit faster than his to keep up. He had always been bigger than her, but he looked like a mountain now! She was slender and delicate, but about as tall as their mother. She knew they could all do for a good meal though so as they moved on she kept her mismatched blue gaze open for any prey they might be able to take home. The whole time she stayed as close to her brother as she could without actually bumping into him. Part of her feared that if she didn't she might lose him again. Leaving their mother behind had been hard for her for the same reason, but it just gave her all the more motivation to hurry up and hunt so they could get back. She slowed to a stop beside her brother as they looked around at the huge prey up ahead of them. Her ears flicked back against her skull. One misplaced hoof and one of those bull elk could snap her slender frame in half. At Regulus's question she scanned over them again before finally landing on an elk calf that was on the very edge of the herd. It was a little more slender than the other calves, some sort of runt perhaps. It wasn't an ideal meal for four hungry wolves, but it would do for now. She motioned toward it with her muzzle. "What about that one? I can sneak closer and then run in and cut it off from the herd and drive it toward you. I'm not quite as... eye catching as you so they won't notice me as quickly." She grinned up at him and playfully nudged his shoulder. "I'm fast too. I'll be in and out." "Talk" "You" Think

Regulus

Zuriels eyes scanned the herds, and he followed his sisters gaze, trying to pick out an animal he might have missed from the herds. At her motion, he gazed toward the youngster. ”Maybe…” Her plan made some sense, however much his protective instincts might stubbornly announce ‘no, she might get trampled.’ He was brightly colored; sticking out like a sore thumb in the lush green grasses. His eyes swept the herd again, then the surrounding area. They fell upon the river, and the big boulder a ways away from the herd. Slowly, a plan formulated. ”Alright… You see that big boulder? I’ll-- hrm!” His voice cracked, squeaking out of the beginning baritone before dropping back as he cleared his throat. His ears flicked back against his skull as he glanced at his sisters two-toned blues, daring her to tease him about it. ”I’ll wait out of sight behind that boulder while you drive the animal toward it. If we’re lucky, maybe I can jump it as it passes. When it’s distracted by me, get its tendons. Mother says the best point to bite is above the point of the hock. I’ll try for the neck.” He managed to get through the rest of the plan without puberty squeaks and cracks. He kept one eye on the weedy target as he turned his head toward Zuriel. ”Does that sound good?”

Zuriel let her eyes drift from their potential prey back over to her vibrant brother as he began to explain his addition to the plan. However his changing voice interrupted him and she couldn't help the wide grin that split across her muzzle, amusement easily seen on her features. She snickered softly to herself, but his sharp glance told her not to comment on it lest she get a swipe across her muzzle for it or a quick shove against her shoulder for it. With a small smirk still on her lips she looked back to the calf as he explained what he was thinking. She glanced to the bolder in question just to get an idea of where she was driving the creature and then gave a nod. Somehow compared to everything she had been through with trying to feed herself and their father and dealing with all of their heartache this seemed like the simplest task. "Alright, lets do this!" She looked up at him with a smile before crouching down so almost all of her small frame was hidden in the grass. The random patterns that wove through her coat made it all the easier to stay hidden, the patterns blending with the shadows in the grass. She crept forward on quiet paws till the herd was maybe five or so feet ahead of her. The wind was being helpful and keeping her scent down wind, making it a little easier on her. She gave one quick glance toward the bolder to make sure Regulus had gotten to his place before the looked back to the calf in question. She took a deep, steadying breath before leaping from the grass with a loud snarl. She gave the adult elk a few barks and growls in the most fierce voice she could manage to startle them and hopefully shoo them away at least for a moment as she darted forward toward the already weakened calf. It was definitely a bit more malnourished than the rest, but it made it easy pickings. She was swift on her feet and dodged a stomping hoof from one of the frantic adult elk and the frightened, frantic hooves of the calf. She drove it forward, nipping at its heels and sides to keep it going and direct it toward Regulus's hiding place. "Reg!" she called as they got close to him to let him know his part in this play was coming up. It wasn't till then that she dared glance back over her shoulder to see if she was being chased. A male elk gave a few charges and frustrated swings of his antlers before turning back to return to his retreating herd. It suddenly dawned on her that perhaps the reason this calf was so thin was that its mother had been killed in some way and it saddened her. Although, at the same time, she felt a little relieved for it since it would not have to struggle any longer. She quickly looked back to the prey she was chasing and once Regulus had caught its attention she did as she was told and snapped her sharp teeth forward to slice through the tendons he had instructed her to cut. With her part done she jumped back out of the way to keep from getting kicked and waited to see if she would be needed again. "Talk" "You" Think

Regulus

Zuriel agreed, and he nodded, tossing at her over his shoulder as he slipped toward his position an affectionate, but thoroughly serious order: "Bí cúramach, deirfiúr; go ordú." It came in the tongue their grandmother and mother had drilled into each of their minds since they were tiny. He wondered if she had absorbed it as thoroughly as he had. He would be amazed if his intelligent silver sister hadn’t. He hunkered low behind the boulder, with his head near the edge he thought the calf would run past. From the other side, he soon heard Zuriels barks and growls, and then the thunder of hooves. A single pair of hooves, smaller than the rest, drew closer, and soon, he heard his sisters voice call out. He launched out as the calf drew level with the boulder, jaws outstretched. His strike came at the same moment the tendon was severed. Pure luck on his part, because as the calf made to bound forward, the hind leg crumpled uselessly, or Regulus’ jaws would only have found its shoulder. Instead, his jaws clamped neatly around the esophagus, and he tightened the hold. A moment later, the scared animal crashed down on top of him as it lost its balance. The impact drew a heavy grunt from the large pup. The calf wasn’t large, but it was still bigger than either sibling. Grimly, he held fast, working his jaws around until he felt his canines pop through skin and flesh, and a rush of salty-sweet and metallic warm liquid fill his mouth. He bit down harder, opening the flow, then loosened his jaws to ensure blood-flow, like their mother had taught him in theory. He didn’t relinquish his full hold, waiting until the calf stopped struggling and lay still; waiting for that frantic, fluttering drumbeat to peter out. When it finally did, he released the kill, wriggling free from under the deadweight. He shook out his coat, the fur around his face and neck spiky with spilled blood, and looked around for Zuriel. ”We did it!” Sapphires glittered with delight as he grinned at her.

Zuriel had to hold herself back from running to her brother's aid when the calf fell over on top of him. It didn't seem to hurt Reg at all, but she still hovered near by worriedly. A few moments later he finally let go of the now still calf's throat and wriggled out from under it. Zuriel beamed proudly and her tail whipped back and forth behind her. "Yeah we did!" she replied happily as her two-toned eyes met his. She honestly hadn't expected their first hunt together to go this smoothly. They had always been pretty good together as pups, but it had been quite some time since she had spent any real time with her brother so she hadn't been sure how it would go. Luckily it seemed like they were still a great team. She trotted over to him and gave his cheek a playful bump with her nose and grinned. "Dea-phost, deartháir." It had taken her a moment when he spoke in this language earlier to remember all the things that their mother and grandmother had taught them, but she remembered most of it. It had been so long since she had been given a reason to use it that she felt a little rusty doing so. Her eyes turned toward their kill then and she chuckled softly. "So how are we going to get this home?" "Talk" "You" Think