castles of ice

Though locked in rather treacherous combat with the goat, he was faintly aware of the sounds and sights around him, if only from his peripheral. He heard the woman moving across the snow. It was somewhat frozen at this point, and made the most unpleasant crunching sound. Unpleasant because it only made catching prey that much harder when every step you made was like breaking a twig. But thankfully he'd already come upon the goat, so whatever sounds were made now didn't matter at all. For a moment, she seemed to be going after the second goat, if only based on the time it seemed to take for her to get to him. But since it had long retreated towards the mountain, she eventually reached him. Perhaps two goats would have been better than one, but he could only admit that he was glad to have an additional body to help him take down this goat.

He could feel the goat failing beneath him and he knew then that she'd gotten to him. Inspired, he hauled himself forward, risking injury, to finally sever the animal's spine, nearly at the time she came upon its throat. They made its death relatively simple, though it had put up quite a fight. As it collapsed, his paws met the ground quickly to avoid any awkward falls, and eyed the carcass before looking up to his partner. Though there was quite a bit of blood upon the snow around her and upon her muzzle, there was also some upon her visage, and his eyes narrowed for a moment, before widening slightly. <b style="color:#a51919">"You're hurt." He commented, almost nonchalantly. Nostrils flared, he stepped around the goat, moving to her to clean the small wound beneath her eye, if she allowed him. Injury of any kind could not be afforded and the faster it was cleaned, the better she would survive.

Retreating then, he nosed about the goat, tipping his muzzle beneath its middle, trying to guess its weight. As a plant eater, he could only presume that it had struggled as much as the wolves were, though perhaps a bit less. Even dead and frozen grass was more than nothing. Pushing forward, he slid beneath the goat, trying not to hesitate in his attempt or else he would falter. The carcass was heavy. Matted fur, bone, muscle. He felt his knees shake. Though his own muscles were quite developed and pronounced, he was still somewhat struggling with the winter at hand, and hunger could easily weaken anyone. But he reminded himself that this catch would feed his family and would feed this stranger as well. He was well aware of the deal he'd made with this woman and respected her resistance to diving right in, but Chulyin would not be able to eat until his sister did, until Mapplethorpe did, until the children were fed. If necessary, he would wrench off a leg for this woman when they reached the borders, but based on the help she had provided him, despite her condition, he would not let her back out alone into the cold so easily.

<b style="color:#a51919">"Come. You'll eat when we get there." Not only was he not willing to let her get away and suffer the winter, he was also not keen on eating such a fruitful catch in the middle of nowhere, where other wolves and predators alike might be looking for an easy meal. Fighting off an angry feline was not on his life of things to do today. If she wished to put up a fight, then she was more than welcome to make carrying this goat an issue. He would not take this woman hostage, but he hoped she understood what he was offering her without truly saying anything. <b style="color:#a51919">

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention

Kind of short but I wanted to post this before I have to get back to the dorms and do homework (ew). Fade to black and then I can start a new thread in Ghastly Woods?

The thump of blood in her ears began to vanish. The heaves of her chest with each deep breath grew less and less severe. She retracted her salmon-colored tongue, which had begun to loll in the wake of the hunt and presence of a fresh kill, but it was his voice that returned her attention to reality. Hurt? As if at once she began to feel the burn beneath her eye, just realizing that the goat had exacted a small revenge upon its assailant. "Nothing serious," she responded to his observation as he advanced. Quick held her position for a moment, following his movements with her watchful silver gaze. She was not threatened, nor fearful of his approach. Adrenaline, though waning as the hunt had closed, still poured through her veins. He could see the injury better than she could feel it through her epinephrine-fueled state. So she allowed his care, the up-turned corners of her black lips giving a silent thanks as he retreated.

He nosed their downed prey and she hesitated. He didn't seem to be preparing to feed, so what was he doing? Slowly he lodged the kill upon his back, rearranging his weight to suit the goat's own. Perhaps it was not safe to eat here? As the ivory wolf stepped forward to relieve his shoulders of the strain he said something which caught her off guard again. Come. You'll eat when we get there. Quick paused a moment at his command, once again neither threatened nor frightened by it. She accepted it almost immediately, returning her attention to their current task with a quiet huff of air expelled between her teeth as her nonverbal agreement to follow. She lowered her body to the ground, getting beneath the carcass before standing her full height to shoulder part of the animal, reaching with her teeth to grasp at the flesh to prevent any icy mishaps on the way down. It would be a close walk, but she didn't feel any sense of impending doom in following this shadowy wolf. All she could hope was that there a place of safety - but any where was probably better than here.