All mine! Well - could have been

His gums were sore and spurred Nico to fix this by chewing on whatever came to mind. At the moment that became a stick. His paws pressed against either side of it so that it stood up at a ninety-degree angle the black pup had his head tilted for the best placement for serious chewing.

He had grown used to living with his odd set of companions and other than a quick second glance at nugget he even ignored the rooster most of the time. It had been his favorite temptation the first few days to try and take on. It belonged to Oscar so the pup ignored his desire to test his hunting skills. What Nico wouldn’t admit was that he didn’t have much odds of beating the bird at his current size.

A storm raged about the herd but with the tall forest tree’s around them the trees helped take the edge off the worst of the storm. Still, the blowing wind sent the leaves swaying, the pelting rain slashing at an angle to cover every spot of the land. It caused a mix of light rain followed by seconds of a hard downpour with each gust. Thunder rolled and somewhere above the trees the light would change for a second here and there as lightning flashed. The boy’s head jerked up at every sound of thunder before it turned back to his chew stick.

His eyes shifted their gaze as he heard a noise. Technically there was plenty of noise with the rain hitting the trees above constantly and the forest floor and all in it every few moments along with the wind howling when it came by. This sound was grass and leaves rustling when the wind hadn’t blown. Not all of the grass but a small patch of it not overly far from him. Nico’s ears twisted watching the patch of grass. The wind blew and pellets of water hit the boy but this time he ignored it, other than squinting his eyes and blinking the water from them.

Nico stood up as the wind finished its attack. The boy's coat was a soggy mess on top but dry below where it had laid on the grass from lying on the ground, protected from the rain above. As the grass moved again the pup started stalking closer, curiosity overriding the need to chew. He was slow getting to the patch, maybe slower than necessary. The growling thunder overhead had the pup a bit more cautious even if he knew it really wasn’t a threat.

Finally, his eyes spotted movement, not in line with the blowing leaves and grass. A grouse hid inside the grass, doing its best to stay hidden but shifting about as well in the storm's rage. Food!! Nico stood there for a minute wondering about the wisdom of trying to get a meal in the storm. Well, if the rain made it harder on him it was harder on the food right? He was already about as wet as possible so there was no reason to try and stay dry.

The pup lowered his head, took another step, and froze. He had tried to hunt mice many times. Once he’d even killed one. He was proud of himself for that unaware the mouse had been close to death at the time anyway. This was a lot bigger than a mouse. He’d been able to get behind the mouse and jump on it so Nico guessed he should try the same thing here. The boy went wide, away from the herd, going past several trees and then circling around. If the grouse hadn’t turned around, he’d be approaching from behind now.

Nico was thrilled when he saw the grouse facing the other direction still! Unfortunately, the slick leaves betrayed him, a paw slipping and leaves flying and that set the grouse running. A surprise jump method would no longer work. Was he going to give up now that the ideal solution was gone? Of course not! Nico charged after the bird, all attempts at silent hunter now gone in the excitement of the hunt. The storm and rain were forgotten as he charged after the grouse, tail flagging high with gleefully barks, “food food, its mine. I’m catching you!” Everyone in the vicinity would know a pup was chasing a meal.

The bird zigzagged and Nico did his best to follow, back paws slipping under another set of leaves. The grouse was gaining distance! The coyote pup growled in irritation, a leaf someone stuck to a back paw. The boy tried shaking it off but the grouse was getting away in some brush! Nico ran straight through the brush after it! Wiggling through sticks and leaes and roots until he came out the other side. The grouse was no longer in sight and as the wind blew and everything shook the pup new he’d lost it.

With twigs in his coat he nibbled the leaf off his leg and started back towards the herd.

"Nico"