A woodchuck would chuck wood

The second the little fucker lunged at his paws Gent jerked backward, a growl building up behind clenched fangs. By now he thoroughly hated the beasts, though he'd yet to decide if this meant he'd avoid them completely or be bent on the destruction of all that crossed his path. When it retreated, he plowed in once again, his pack mate now assisting him. Graciously, she seemed to also take the lead, putting her dial and paws directly in harm’s way.  Gent grew tired real quick of the back and forth, but luckily so did Raela, for just as the thought crossed his mind, she acted. Tactfully, she tricked the marmot out of its hole and directly in range of both of their jaws. Raela effectively paralyzed it, pinning the squealing, struggling groundhog to the earth. It skittered and swiped, spraying lose dirt up in fountains. A smirk played across his lips before striking; finally this hellish hunt would be over.  He ended this one’s life much the same as he had their first victim. His fangs clamped down around its head, effectively crushing its skull. Within seconds, its frantic movements diminished to harmless twitches. Finally, they were done.  ”There, the bears are dead,” he joked, now once again back in his good mood.  ”Shall we gather the feast?”

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As soon as she released their final victim, a panting smile spread over her face. Her brilliantly glinting eyes sought out his face as he spoke, her lower eyelids arching up as she laughed. With a drawn out grunt, Raela raised her cranium, now regarding the 'bear' at their feet. She'd not take on groundhogs again for a while. These three were indeed worth the trouble, but perhaps not all of the pain. It was like taking on a nest of bees. It hurt like hell but at least you could get honey out of it. A red streak in her peripherals reminded the woman of the wound most likely gracing her leg. Her coal black nose drifted downward, quivering and surveying the damage. Not too bad, just a couple cuts where its teeth sunk in. Now that the adrenaline was subsiding, the wound was beginning to throb with pain. Her tongue flicked out, gingerly cleaning off the blood and the dirt that that vermin kicked up during the struggle.  It hurt to clean, but not so much that it made her stop. She was much better off with a clean wound anyways. The larger man's words caught her ears as she continued licking. Raela's head then rose to meet his gaze, a victorious smirk lighting her features. ”We shall.” She stood beside Gent as he secured the kill, suddenly aware that she was missing a vital piece of information. Her ears fell to the side with the realization. ”Oh, I'm sorry. Who is it that I've had the pleasure of hunting with today?” Came her joking query. It was more like Who have I had the pleasure of getting maimed with today? As soon as he responded she offered her own name and a dip of her skull. ”Raela.” It was simple and casual. Now, her paws picked up a trotting pace, her nose and memory leading them back toward the others. The flesh on her leg protested against such movement, but ineffectively so. The wound on the girl's face was far more irritating, and succeeded at distracting her from the other pain. They came upon the crime scene only to discover that the crows had noticed. It wasn't a surprise really, but it was thoroughly annoying. Since she wasn't carrying anything, the girl rushed in, snapping at the scavengers until they cleared. Hurriedly she brought the other marmots together under the tree, lashing out at whatever brave crow thought it wise to tempt her. It was there in the shade she settled, looking up at Gent as he added a third to the pile. ”So, would you like some lunch before we bury these guys?” She asked, scratching behind her ear with a back paw. It felt good to rest after all that. Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

As Raela turned to leisure, Gent followed suit, reclining beside her. Also within the shade's reach, he let the heat sink off and away from his body, into the cool earth. He panted for a moment, eyes narrowed against the gleaming of the newly greening grass. His hunting partner spoke up once more, offering that they dine. He hadn't noticed until she vocally drew attention to it, but after that energy expenditure he was rather hungry. "Absolutely," he allowed, pulling from the pile the one that had been most severely maimed, the middle-deathed gladiator pig, for it would be the quickest to thoroughly rot. Gent set the carcass between them both so that they may easily share it without Raela having to move. He munched happily for a few quiet moments, pulling away the flesh strip by strip and enjoying his succulent revenge against the beast that had given him his first scar. The man took to laying prone, stretching out each limb to loosen the lactic acid from his muscles. As he reached his right front limb, the pull caused his shoulder to ache dully, and he was reminded of his tussle with Gabriel over rank. However, that was only another victory to remember and despite all of the minor pains Gent found that he was quite content where he was at for today. "So, how long have you been with Minka and the Downs?" he asked her suddenly, looking not only for conversation to pass the time but also to get to know the woman better; judging by her actions today, she was a reliable member of the pack and someone Gent wished to forge a friendship with.

The tawny girl was glad to have someone else to dine with. It would have been a tad awkward for her to chow down alone. The still-warm flesh was very much worth the effort required to get past its hairy skin. She placed a paw on its hind, tugging at the meaty muscle in its leg. It felt so good to eat a decent kill that she had actually helped with. There was no guilt this time as its blood soiled her face. They both deserved this after what they'd been through this afternoon, and it wasn't their fault the little bastard wanted to prolong its suffering instead of coming quietly. It wasn't as if they had a choice in killing it, after all. Of course prey didn't understand any of this, so she was content in knowing it would never have the opportunity to feel pain ever again.  Gent's sudden question made her pause. A salmon-colored tongue slid over her jaw, lapping up some of the excess blood as she gazed wistfully into the distance. A slight smile tugged at the edges of her mouth as she stared. ”Oh, not very long.” Her ear flicked in his direction, picking up more bone and sinew crunching sounds as he feasted. ”I joined back when there was still snow on the ground. I was in pretty bad shape, having been a nomad before then.” She didn't really want to bring up her exile, unless the man asked of course. She guessed he'd take her words at face value and leave it be. ”Part of the reason I wanted to hunt today is because I wasn't strong enough to do it before.” Her bright amber eyes found him now, moving over his body in an effort to look at him, but not straight at his eyes for too long. She was vulnerable talking about this. ”I felt bad eating the caches all this time.” The woman offered an apologetic smile, hoping Gent would understand.  Her head moved back down toward the food; black nose taking in the delicious smell of fresh meat just before she dug in again. After another mouthful had been downed, her orange ears slid backward again. ”What about you?” She had no idea of Gent's status or history, but somehow she felt like he was the type to have been here quite a while. It was something about his candor that was so rock solid and rooted, but that didn't have to mean rooted in the Downs specifically. Maybe he just had a commanding presence – but watching him try to fight the whistle-pig at their feet earlier did much to cancel out his intimidation factor.  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

(This post was last modified: Apr 28, 2015, 07:44 PM by Raela.)

            

He continued to snack happily, only stopping when her voice raised to meet his ears, carrying along her answer. Respectfully, he looked upon her maw, watching each word form. It was in this pause for observation that his icy eyes were drawn once more to her most noticeable injury attained from their hunt. His thoughts returned to the minor struggle from before, his wishes to maintain a physical distance colliding with his instinct to aid his pack mate. Her words continued to grace his ears, and he remained listening, but his mind simultaneously focused on the blackened blood, the dirt mixed in, all the factors that could lead to infection. He was shaken from these thoughts when she turned his question around on him. Gent's eyes flickered to meet her's before drifting back down as her rank commanded they do. "I'm glad you've gotten your strength back," he replied, a small smirk lining his muzzle as his next words continued the joke. It was alright to jest with her, to lessen the sting of his pride, though hopefully she knew to keep it between them alone. "If not those marmots might've had me for a midday snack." He thought little of the unmentioned reasons behind all that she said, for it certainly wasn't uncommon for a wolf to become displaced from their pack. Whether by force, necessity or choice there were many reasons for someone to move from their home, and all was their own business. He certainly wouldn't freely share the tale of his own upbringings, despite the pride he felt for his name and father. He remembered too when he had come upon Nomad's Pass, how much both the trip south and the trek up the mountain side in the middle of a harsh winter had drained him. By the time Naira had declared they would leave Mount Dire, he had just regained enough of his strength to help lead the charge. "I've only been with the pack a couple of weeks, no one here is a familiar face." No one but their declared enemies. Odd that he would happen to ally himself with strangers only to be turned foe against one of the few packs outside of Naira's domain that he'd made ties with. Gent left his answer at that; he liked Raela thus far, but did not know enough of her to feel comfortable sharing the rest of history in the Lore. He still needed to be careful, considering he wasn't sure who his previous alliances might make an enemy out of. His attention once more crawled to the gash on her dial, and finally instinct won out. Unceremoniously he leaned forward, giving her cheek a few tentative but determined licks to clean away the blood and grime. The action felt awkward too him, but it was a step toward better melding with this pack. Gent needed to be comfortable with such common courtesies.

(This post was last modified: Apr 28, 2015, 08:10 PM by Gent.)

Gent's words elicited a chuckle in response, her eyes closing momentarily. When he answered she couldn't help but feel surprised; he acted nothing like a newcomer. Still, it comforted her to be the senior member for once. Questions swam through her mind. Where was he before now? Could he too be a wanderer? He looked to be in awful good shape if he was. She could have asked these things and more, but her mouth sealed shut with Gent's next action. She looked on as his pale eyes drifted to the mess on her cheek. The pain lingered, making her face much warmer than it would have been. Now it truly burned as he reached out, his muzzle coming much too far into the shy girl's space for her comfort.  She tensed. The whole of her being was uncomfortable with this. She drew back but a hair, before realizing that it would probably be less awkward if she just held still. The girl's hackles threatened to bristle with the chills running down her spine. This was not something that happened. Her pack did not care for the wounded, and she knew better than to ask this stranger for such a thing. She'd no idea it was only common courtesy. Raela's ears pinned back to her skull, hidden by the fur of her neck. Still, she made no noise, no growl or protest - visual or otherwise. He must have meant well, after all.  She closed her eyes, looking down and away when they did manage to open. He was licking her, and it stung enough to draw the woman's eyebrows in. Internally she fluttered, utterly confused as to what on earth she could possibly do about it. Of course it was beneficial; now she wouldn't have to wash out the cut by herself. It would probably get much cleaner, too. Her whole body was stiff and rigid, caught squarely between fleeing and not wanting to look silly. The moment seemed to drag on forever as she pleaded internally for him to stop.  Finally, he drew back, and her eyes flickered upward again. Her first impulse was to offer thanks, and she did so both verbally and with a nod. Uncomfortable as it had made her, it was still a valuable service. She stood quickly, trying to smile as if nothing was wrong. The longer they acknowledged it, the worse the awkwardness would be. In her panic she'd all but forgotten his wound, but even if she hadn't there's no way she'd have returned the favor. That was far too bold for her to even attempt. At her suggestion they gathered up what was left of the banquet and dragged it off to a safer location to be cached. They had done well today. The busy work of burying the critters helped diffuse the tension inside her and distract from anxious thoughts of Gent's good deed and whether or not she'd made herself look bad in front of him.  Somewhere deep inside of her, she couldn't help but feel impressed by Gent's compassion and concern for her health. She never pegged him as the type. These thoughts still swirled about with fear and confusion of course. Raela wouldn't be able to process the interaction for some time, but she knew it didn't reflect badly on him at all. This pack really was just full of wolves that cared about one another. After today, it seemed the members of their little clan were turning out to be just as she'd hoped; something of a family.  -Fade out- Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra