Dinner Got Cold

Hm? He had been all over Boreas and beyond, and yet somehow, he had managed to miss this place? The earthen male gazed up towards the peak of the waterfall, looking at the half-frozen waterfall and the icicles that hung from it. He assumed the place unfroze during the other seasons, but even now he could tell how much power it held beneath the ice. "Look at this place, it's beautiful, eh Knut?" His feline companion nodded in agreement, though was more focused on observing their surroundings. "So much power beneath the ice! Look at tha' peak! I can't wait te explore such a beauty!" "Yes, Gimli. But first, we should consider what we're going to eat before another storm rolls in!" Gimli shot a look at his companion, but after a beat or two, knew he was right. Huffing, he set his sights to the ground as he thought about what options they had. It wasn't hard to spot a choice or two. The ground was covered in snow, and in that snow, were tracks. Quite a few of them, in fact. Amber gaze studied each one, noting the presence of several rabbits, weasels, foxes, what appeared to be deer or elk, and possibly even ptarmigans or some other bird.

"Looks like we have a few options...and since it's jus' the two of us, I s'pose we could each track down our own rabbits..." though honestly, one of the bigger prey sounded more appealing. Side eyeing Knut, he added " Or would ye rather try yer luck with one o' the larger ones?" The forest cat appeared thoughtful for a moment, tail swaying from side to side as he thought. "It would be nice to try and find something to fill our bellies for a few days. With these rocks and our expertise in this sort of terrain, perhaps we can use it to our advantage." Yes! Gimli was pleased with the answer, so the pair wasted no time in picking one of the deer trails and following it.

Both wolf and cat blended with the earth well enough that even if their prey were to turn around and spot them, they'd appear as nothing more than a patch of earth. Gimli was small enough, and Knut could pretty much flatten himself enough to the ground and practically turn into liquid like every other cat in the world.

With that in mind, they began to track the deers path through the snow. With Gimli's stockier and heavier build, he was having a harder time than Knut was. Sure he was small, but he was packed with muscle and the wetness of the snow quickly began to weigh down his shaggy fur. There were rocks around them...surely when they got closer they could use those to their advantage, right?

They both quietly followed the deers trail. It was easy enough following the tracks. It was lightly snowing, but there was no worry of it covering the tracks before the reached their target. It took them all of a few minutes before the found the deer on the other side of the pool among the foliage. It was resting half-hidden among what little dried shrubbery was left, and the pair would stop a few yards away as they decided how to approach it.

Both had hunted together enough to not really need to speak about their plans. Gimli would simply approach as close as he could to the prey, and Knut would likely find a vantage point where he could use his size and cannonball onto the deer. Sure enough, Knut was already making his way quietly onto the rocks. He was far more agile and limber than the dwarf could ever hope to be.

When Knut got into position, Gimli turned his attention to the deer as he circled around to its side. Hiding among the bushes, he waited until he got close enough opposite of Knut before charging out and startling it. The doe startled to its feet, though it seemed to get tangled in her own legs for a moment as the snow she had been resting on was a bit more deep than they thought. With her focus on trying to get away from Gimli, she didn't notice the slightly larger cat on the rocks above. Gimli rushed at her, driving her closer to the rocks. In a single swoop, Knut launched himself at the doe's neck, claws outstretched as he landed square on his target and used his momentum to drag her head down towards the ground.

With a startled bleat, the doe stumbled to her knees, and there Gimli was able to charge her and get his teeth around her nose. He held onto her as she tried to get back to her feet, hooves flailing. But with Knut's weight on the back of her neck and Gimli holding tightly to her muzzle, it was no contest. She tired quickly, and within moments, Gimli had been able to dispatch her.

Despite the snow making his travel a little difficult with his heavier build, they had succeeded in catching their meal and now he could prepare it so they'd have some for the next few days. "All in a day's work! Now let's go see what secrets hide behind that waterfall!" Eager to get back to the other side, he grabbed the doe in his mouth and began to drag her back towards where they had come from. He was more than eager to see what lay behind the ice.

As he dragged the doe, however, he realized it was getting increasingly more difficult. There were some patches with deeper snow, and his weight combined with the dead weight of their meal made it harder for him to get through without some extra effort. He grunted as he moved. Though he was moving at a painfully slow pace, he knew it'd be (hopefully) easier when they reached the bottom of the pool. If anything, they could stop and drop the doe there so one of them could work on preparing it, and the other could go on ahead and scout the waterfall to ensure all was safe and that there were no hidden surprises...even if there were, nothing would stop him from exploring this mountain!

Word count: 1,048