Other wolves made hunting seem so easy. Back in Bella Coola, Pip would watch the hunters go off into the woods and return later with game, both large and small. The entire process was a mystery to the yearling as no one deemed her worthy or intelligent enough to be a hunter. In fact, she was fairly certain no one would have taught her how to fish either had she not been spotted trying to catch a gar one day in the shallows by herself. She'd spotted an older packmate in the waves earlier that day and opted to try it out for herself. Only then did her mother think to introduce her to the mechanics of fishing. Sometimes she wondered if she'd wandered off into the woods if she would have been taught to hunt as well.

Well, she was going to learn now. By trial and error if she had to. @Yvly would teach her, no doubt. It was just communicating the desire that was the problem. Her friend had already somewhat introduced her to hunting when she asked for her help in scaring rabbits from their burrows. It couldn't be all that different.

But these things didn't smell like rabbits, whatever they were. They smelled bigger, though the only reason she guessed that was due to the strength of their scent. Or did that mean they were closer?

She didn't have time to figure it out on her own. Russet ears darted forward to catch the unmistakable sound of a growling wolf. Immediately, Pip's tail tucked tightly between her legs and she hunkered down where she stood, orange eyes scanning the trees for any hint of who had taken offense to her presence. Nervously, she let out a chirp as if to apologize for whatever it was she'd done that had made them upset.

Pip recognized the tone of a furious wolf. The yearling wanted very much to shrink so much that she could simply disappear from sight, especially as the gray female finally came into view. Whether from a packmate or not, the agouti female was entirely incapable of ignoring an order from a more dominant wolf. Of course, that included nearly every other wolf in existence considering Pip's meek personality.

Her paws visibly shook as she crawled with agonizing slowness towards the angry female. Upon reaching the paws of the lording woman, Pip didn't bother attempting to stand; she merely lay before her, ready to roll and expose her belly at a moment's notice. Instead, the order came for her to be silent. Unbelievably even to herself, tears pricked at the sensitive yearling's eyes. The only noise she was capable of making - hardly more than a bird's chirp - was considered even too much. Be silent. She could do that. She most certainly could do that.

Miserably, Pip rolled to her back, at a loss for any other way to appeal to the stranger's better nature. Though nerves stiffened her back, the Grizzly Hollow wolf forced herself to lay still and relaxed so as not to encourage any retribution taken out of her hide in earnest. She could only hope her tucked tail and submissive posture would be enough to prevent any unwanted bites.

This woman reminded her of Tullulah. Her Aunt was a hard woman with little love for the mute girl, often taking out her frustration on Pip's meek hide. Even if this one didn't bite her, her words stung enough to be worse than a bite. As commanded of her, the little wolf stood on shaky paws, though her back was arched and tail remained firmly tucked between her legs. With the stranger's scent now fully infiltrating her nose, Pip was certain this was no packmate. Oh, how she wished she'd not left the territory this morning. If being stooped up for weeks on end had saved her from this kind of treatment, she would willingly isolate herself again.

Though her russet ears didn't flicker forward from where they lay flat against her head, they did twitch as the wolf spoke to her more calmly. Take down one of what beasts? Confused, the girl's orange gaze managed to lift from off the floor to follow the track of the gray female's muzzle. She spotted them then, the roving herd, and understanding dawned. The female must have been hunting them before and she nearly ruined the hunt. Embarrassment left her face feeling hot beneath her fur. This was why she was best suited along the waterways. Fish were forgetful once spooked and she had more sense around them than with these land prey.

Belatedly, Pip processed the female's request. Wait, hunt them? Me? But they were huge! What if they stomped on her or gored her with those horns? She'd only just learned how to track and catch rabbit. Catching something like that seemed an impossible task, even with the older woman to help.

But even if it was phrased as a question, Pip didn't feel like she had much of a choice. Did she want to help? Well, she was honestly afraid to refuse. Was she capable of helping? Her confidence in that aspect was horribly lacking. But as an answer, Pip simply nodded. Whether she wanted to or not, she would try her best.

Nervously, Pip swallowed past the anxious lump in her throat. If the female really wanted to hurt her, surely she would have done so by now, right? All she wanted was help. Could have asked for it more nicely, she thought with a small frown. The look vanished immediately and meekness returned to the yearling as the other wolf glanced her way and signaled for her to follow. Following @Jessie's lead, the mute girl crept closer to the grazing herd.

The older woman's voice stung less when she spoke now. Pip thought she almost sounded mothering, but the thought was tainted by the wolf's previous anger. Obediently, the little female did as she was bade. Sedate orange eyes tracked over the herd carefully. How was she supposed to even tell if they were injured? If they were fish, they'd have obvious signs from another predator and be swimming in circles or maybe even floating. Did deer even swim? Regardless, there was no big bodies of water around to test that out anyway. So she'd have to find another way.

Well, when she was injured, she had a limp. A limp! She'd look for that.

And found none. Crestfallen, she sighed quietly. How did hunters even do this? It was so hard!

Just when she felt ready to give up hope, Pip's ears pricked forward while her eyes tracked a doe whose head bobbed oddly as she walked. It was a subtle difference in how the rest of the herd walked, but the longer she watched, the more she noticed how much smaller her muscles looked in one of her front legs compared to deer around her.

Without turning away from the doe, Pip's lower jaw quivered minutely, making her teeth click together softly to signal that she did see such an animal in the herd. She nodded once when she felt the woman's eyes on her, eyes still tracking the doe lest she lose her among the others. But now that they'd found her, what should they do?