huntress

Slowly, Vanta's schedule began to shift. As day broke she would notice the familiar tugs of tiredness upon her eyes, her paws, her mind. Sleeping soundly through the afternoon light, it was not until just before dusk that her body felt right to wake. Still the sunlight was blinding to her uniquely disabled eyes, but each time the pup rose from her bed and set off into the Col, she did it with the knowledge that it would only be a few short hours of blindness behind closed eyes.

Her new companions had quickly taken to the child, leaving her feeling only slightly guilty as her mother most assuredly felt their absence. The turquoise-tinted bush viper - who Vanta had playfully named Hissbiscus, much to the ageing snake's annoyance - now spent the majority of her time curled tightly around the pup's thin neck, the toucan - simply named Blue - would take to the skies until his charge was large enough to hold his resting weight. Together the trio was ready to conquer all of Boreas. Or, at the very least, Mile High Woods.

Vanta had found she enjoyed having a seeing eye snake, no matter how ironic and weird it may be. The viper had proven to be a very beneficial companion, capable of holding tight to Vanta's neck with her prehensile tail while outstretching her own, letting her head stretch past the pup's as a small security to the blind child. So she might feel led, but without a guide holding her back. With that same prehensile tail, Hiss could lead her. Pressing gently upon either side of Vanta's neck to encourage her this way and that, allowing the pup to retain the illusion of normalcy as best as she could while being led.

With Hiss clung tight, the trio advanced through the windy Col and into the woods adjacent to the west. While Vanta could not see the change in the territories, it was apparent in half a dozen other ways. The wind suddenly stopped as she moved into the treeline, her viper's gentle guiding becoming more frequent as she weaved the pup along past gnarled trunks and low hanging branches. The sounds changed too, the chittering of an abundance of prey animals reaching her keen ears and a wide array of scent trails tickling at her nose. This was where wolves should live, Vanta decided. If only her guide was adept enough to lead her to climb, then she could craft a home like her uncle's and live in these branches forever.

A snapping of a small, thin, distant branch drew all three of the creature's attentions, the toucan already beginning to tighten his circles as he searched for the sound. Instinctively Vanta's eyes snapped open, finding thankfully that the sun had set enough that through the heavy canopy, not much light reached them to painfully refract. Hiss sensed the change in her master instantly, coiling her neck back and retreating into the pup's scruff without a sound to relinquish her temporary control. Vanta took the lead confidently, squinting her eyes only slightly as she moved through the woods at a careful and slow pace towards where the sound had originated.

Already Blue had found the prey, lofting down to rest on a wide and high up branch above where the offender was likely resting. Vanta lifted her crystal-masked face to the sky, feeling the wind and beginning to work out from which direction she'd need to approach to not be scented. It took longer to crouch her way into position, circling wide around the noise and keeping one eye locked firmly upon the watchful toucan, but from downwind her hunt would be that much more successful.

Vanta knew there would be no second chance here, not with the trees. Any critter who made their home in these woods would be an adept climber and much more agile then Vanta herself, the first miss would announce the presence of the huntress and spook the creature back into the branches - lost forever. Crouching, she made her way at a snail's pace through the brush. Closer and closer, until her crystal-marked snout poked out from the foliage. Before her was a squirrel, lazily circling a massive tree trunk and collecting in it's small arms acorns that it must have shaken free. Vanta held her breath, muscles tensing, even her snake had seemed to cease to flick out her long tongue in anticipation.

From the bush the pup waited, a time that felt like hours. She waited while the squirrel ran up the trunk to deposit an acorn and back down to collect another, letting it's sense of safety wash over it and ensuring the creature was not at all wise to her presence. Eventually it would need to pause and when it did, Vanta would have her moment to strike. Her muscles were beginning to lock up with tiredness, but her eyes were able to widen more and more the longer that time drew on. The sun had nearly gone now, the night dark and comfortable exactly how Vanta preferred it to be. The squirrel would likely not remain much longer - or were squirrels nocturnal? She honestly couldn't say.

Another snap in the distance drew not just Vanta's ears, but her prey's as well. The squirrel's head turned sharply to the side, it's small body rising up to peer over the grass as it swept it's gaze across the horizon. It's back was to Vanta, and this was the best chance she was going to get. Exploding from the bush the pup zeroed in upon the squirrel, Blue taking the opportunity to swoop down as well but with the intention of blocking off the potential escape route on the tree trunk. The pup threw herself directly in the path of the prey, flinging her paw wildly as it skittered and fled, managing a lucky hit upon it's torso just as it latched onto the bark to escape. Stunned, the creature fell. No sooner did it hit the grass was Vanta upon it, her jaws enclosing around it's skull tightly until she could taste blood. Her first hunt had been a success! Proud and still carrying the mutilated squirrel, she held it by it's head and trotted excitedly back west toward the Col. She would find her father, show him her success, and further cement herself as the best puppy in the world.

Word Count: 1072

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