She still had her duty to the band, and maybe she was falling short on that but she was doing enough at least. They had all been so distant, maybe not from each other really. She remembered a time when they were all together, she cooked them dinner, and she felt like they were a big happy family. Sure they all needed to heal from both their physical and emotional wounds, but it seemed at least to her that that was the happiest time of their lives. Their lives. Not hers. She felt strong and sturdy as the group and family they were, she did it for Indigo. But her happiest days, her happiest moments were when it was only he and her. Even while the others were still occupying a different part of his heart. A heart that he didn't truly have for them.

Venturing to the Whistling Willows, she had a long line tied tightly along two pegs. She had more plans to dig a pit, set the line up so that the animals she would hunt would stumble over the trip wire and fall into the pit. But as her paws pressed the pegs down into the ground keeping the line tight across and marking her length of the pit, she realized just how out of shape she was. She didn't get out to hunt as often as she used to. She almost felt like she hadn't recovered from the birth of the pups, both physically and mentally. But it felt like that had been so long ago too. She occupied her time in different ways rather than her responsibilities, that or the depression had just taken over her days.

Pulling her shoulders back feeling like she had run a marathon already just from the travel here, she then moved forward and began to dig the pit starting at a corner. She did wonder what kind of prey would be nearby. Knowing this was one of the lusher areas of the west she knew it would be a stop for most. Though after The Long Night she expected prey to be scarce or at least a little smart to hide rather than wander and be vulnerable in desperate times.

Hunting Seasonal Prompt
Total Word Count: 372 words
Word Count Goal: 1500 words

"Duchess"

Her time here in the new land was proving to be more eventful than she originally thought. Now, how she'd gotten here in the first place was still hidden deep within her memories, but at least she was safe. Petite and strong-willed, Celeste knew she would make it in life, somehow. Traveling had been her first idea. To get a lay of the land and see what there was. Finding the different pack borders and realizing how big it was had come as a surprise to her. Washing up on the beach that day had made her believe it was a smaller island. Boy was she wrong. Not in a bad way; as she'd already made a friend or two and found a lonely slave and Maine coon cat to keep her company. Needing time to herself to wander and collect her thoughts, Celeste had left the boy, Seven, and her newly horned cat to their own devices. The fact that her cat had sprouted horns as his crystals had fallen off had bewildered her. This place was rightfully unusual and she needed time to think. What was she going to do here? In truth, after meeting the lazy punk at the beach who had admittedly written her a terrible poem had actually caught her attention. During her free time, she found herself thinking back to meeting him again. As girly as that sounded, she hoped it would come true. Daydreaming was her typical afternoon hobby, but it would catch her off guard today as the sound of paws scratching at dirt made her pause. Lifting her horned crown up with a few blinks of her aquamarine eyes, she glanced around the willows. Swaying in a gentle breeze, a light scent of wolf and a variety of prey made her look deeper into the shadows. Not far off, a girl swathed in blacks and purples buried into the muddy grass that spread out around the grove of weeping trees. Curious, as she normally was, Celeste couldn't help but approach. Making quick steps with her dainty paws, she only let out a quick chuff under her breath to let her presence be known. "What do we have here? Digging a pit?" She asks in her slightly thick accent. Growing accustomed to speaking more of a common tongue in these parts, Celeste lets her head tilt as her bright eyes wander around the scene. What she sees is a tired girl digging with two sticks and a piece of line drawn across. A trap? Huh, seemed smart to her and maybe if she helped, she could get a bite to eat herself. word count: 812/1500

Duchess' eyes slowly moved up to the girl as she approached her, seeming gentle enough though Duchess didn't really care that much about her own well being so she wouldn't have turned to flee either way. Looking back down to the pit she started, she shrugged her shoulders and spoke, "I was going to dig this pit and set up a trip wire for a hunt." Easy enough explanation, though maybe not an easy enough task. Or at least for only one wolf. "If you'd like to help, you can have your own share of the meat." It was a genuine offer, and a fair trade at least because Duchess was struggling to do this all by herself and she'd probably be here all day if she didn't have help.

Duchess dug down a more shallow hole, the trip wire would help with the momentum and awkward falling so they didn't need to work hard on the pit. When it was just about done being dug out, Duchess left the rest of the middle of the pit to be dug by the girl who joined her and went to set up the trip wire in line with the length of the pit. She left it just half a foot or so from the pit, placing one peg in and pulling the other end tight and then checking to make sure both pegs where stuck in the ground sturdily.

By the time she finished that, the girl was finished digging the shallow pit and so she grabbed her net to pull over top of it. Gesturing with a paw around them, she asked the girl, "Could you grab some leaves and sticks to throw over top? I'll push some of this dirt over it." Her paw kicked the dirt they had dug up over top of the net to conceal the second half of their trap. Before her companion returned, she too went to grab a few extra toppers as well.

Once their trap was all set, she looked and nodded to the girl who had helped her build it, "Are you ready for the hunt?" She was sure there was some kind of prey around, it shouldn't be hard to track while in the greener lands of the west.

Hunting Seasonal Prompt
Total Word Count: 1191 words
Word Count Goal: 1500 words

"Duchess"

The answer she received was short, simple, and to the point. Celeste couldn't blame the girl, she was busy working. But the prospect of getting a good meal out of it did sound pleasant. Listening to the girl's instructions, Celeste nodded curtly before hopping down into the pit to finish out the work that girl was doing. Using her petite paws to finish out the middle section of the hole, she made use of what she could. Dirt flung up the other side as she finished her section. Her ears tuned in to the other girl finishing the tripwire at the other end. When her first part of the job was done, Celeste hopped out and looked over. Taking a few steps back to give Duchess room to place the premade net over the top of the hole, no words left her lips as she nodded again. Turning away to find some larger leaves and some brush, she made some more quick work of hurrying along. Upon returning, the girl was waiting patiently. A soft rumble echoed in her belly as she placed the brush and leaves over the netting. Hiding the trap neatly, she was happy with her work. Turning her head up to look at the other girl, she smiled quickly before giving her shoulders a roll. This would be her favorite part. "Let's go," she chirped before setting off with Duchess to find some sort of animal to hunt. Letting her ears turn about as her nose wiggled, scenting out anything, in particular, her attention caught on something. Not far from where they were, lazing about in the shallow waters around the rivers, a small group of hogs grunted. Figuring chasing these hooved creatures would be easiest since they couldn't fly away, Celeste turned her trajectory toward them. Eyeing Duchess on her way to make sure the girl was still following, Celeste wove a path around the berth of the hogs. Taking her position behind them so they didn't see her quite yet, she waited for the other girl to be in position. Inhaling a breath to ready herself, Celeste launched out toward the herd with snapping teeth. Pushing them forward as they squealed in terror, Celeste's aquamarine eyes hardened with anticipation. Keeping toward the back and slightly to the side so the hogs wouldn't veer off, she helped the other girl drive them toward the pit. It wouldn't take long until the first hogs of the group tripped over the wire and fell into the pit. Thankfully for Duchess' clever idea of the tripwire, most of the group ended up toppling in. Skidding to a halt in front of the pit, Celeste looked over to Duchess as her tongue lolled out of her mouth. "That was fun," she commented as she caught her breath. Leaping down into the pit to help finish off the pigs, her coat quickly covered in splatters of blood. When the job was done, she hopped out and looked over to Duchess. "So what do you think? Have enough to split?" She asks straightforwardly. word count: 1700/1500