better than cheerios

OOC: hunting skill prompt, spring, year 14

Sunder lay huddled against the base of a black outcropping. The sky was gray and overcast, and because of this Sunder was having to do everything in his power to attract sunlight. He was a black dog laying against black rocks. Normally it was a position he would do his best to avoid, but in this instance he doubted there was much of a chance of sunburn. And he needed the warmth of the sun desperately. It was so cold here. At night he shivered so hard he struggled to sleep. Days weren't much better, but at least he could catch the occasional warm sliver of sunlight during the day.

The lack of warmth wasn't his only problem. A showering of ash had spoiled all of the freshwater puddles on the island. Once again he was without drinking water. To make matters worse, the reptilians who called this bleak rock home weren't fans of the cold either. He hadn't seen a single one all day with the exception of the massive ones who lay at the bottom of of several of the island's inner pools. Unless he was desperate - and he was getting there - he wasn't going to mess with those monsters. They'd drag him to the bottom and eat him whole before he had a chance to drown.

So what was a starving, freezing dog to do? He pursed his lips and stared up into the gray sky in search of answers. All of the reptiles were hidden away in crevices that were much too small for him. He could stick a paw in some of them, but chasing after a potential venomous snake with a vulnerable appendage struck him as a bad idea from all angles. So paws and noses were out which dropped his options for reaching into the cracks to... well, zero.

He blinked and turned his attention to his scabby forelegs, fighting the urge to pick at them as he thought. His options on that front were zero unless he got creative. So...

Sunder drug a claw through the sand as he thought. Something he'd noticed when the tides were up was that whenever a wave rushed over the back of the lower rocks levels water would pour out the front, which made him think they were all connected. This time of day any animal who took refuge in one of those cracks was safe as the water level was too low to pose a risk. Which meant that if he could find one with a reptile in it and he poured water over the top, he might be able to scare the animal out and into his waiting jaws.

One problem with this plan - yes, he was aware there were many, but this one was a chief one - was that if he was pouring water, even if he succeeded in chasing something out, it would have plenty of time to get away from him because it would take him far too long to 1) realize something was out and 1) get over to the entrance. So he would have to dig a hole in front of the crevice. That was easy enough, right? One problem down; only like thirty more to go.

The pouring vessel was oddly enough not a problem. He'd seen some sort of container floating around one of the pools earlier in the day and retrieved it. It was cylindrical with smooth sides and a metal handle; clearly made for carrying something even though he had no idea what it was made out of it or who could make such a thing. There was a crack in its bottom but it was a slow leak and he thought he could work around it as he would be pouring quickly anyway.

The next phase of the plan involved finding a good potential spot. It was easy to find crevices with reptiles in them but difficult to find one that he knew for sure had a crack over top of it. But find one he did! Giddy now, Sunder dug in front of the crevice with gusto. He tired easy and found he had to take breaks often, but his heart was light and the work was uncomplicated. Soon a deep but narrow hole was dug directly beneath the crevice. If he poured the water fast enough, whatever tried to flee the crack would get swept into the hole before it had a chance to leap over it.

Once that was done Sunder carried his bucket to the water and filled it. He then climbed back up the rocks as fast as he could and proceeded to dump the contents of the bucket into a crack that looked like it connected to the one below. Even though the bucket emptied quickly it felt like ages. Sunder was just far too excited, too hopeful, for time to pass at a normal pace. At last it was empty and he vaulted down the rocks on shaky legs.

He very nearly cried with joy as he spied a small lizard swimming circles in the hole. It was small but it was something. He had food.