Drooping Willows the only thing worse than not knowing

Her sassy retort made him want to burst out laughing, but that would have been strategically inadvisable. Instead, Craw had to make do with a wide grin as the woman turned around and left. She was going to be a handful. How fascinating it would be to understand what made her tick.

Let's hope you don't miss. The words bounced idly around in his skull as Craw turned and made for the narrow passageway, having to give a wider berth and take greater care than a smaller wolf might lest he prematurely announce himself - much as Celandine predicted - but, fortunately for the spider, he was quite used to creeping around these willows by now. His familiarity with this particular spot worked in his favour, for he knew that if he ducked underneath that particular branch, the rest of the underhanging tree was high enough not to brush against his spine, and then there was a little incline and tangle of tree roots and there - he stood to the side of the winding path which he had imagined the buck might take.

Evaluating his position relative to where the deer might tread, he took a few steps back, hiding his bulk in the delicate fingers of the nearest willow tree. It was enough camouflage to hide from a panicked young buck, who would hardly take the time to study the foliage for lurking dangers when there was a very obvious one on its tail. From this spot, he could barely see the deer, though he could still hear it sulking and whining - but then suddenly it grew silent.

Had it seen her? In case she needed a few more seconds to get ready, Craw growled, low and soft but unmistakable, and through the trees saw the buck's head flash in his direction, ears alert. She would only have a few moments to take full advantage of its distraction, or else risk it making its own decision on how best to keep safe and vanish in another direction.

Let's hope you don't miss. To play it straight, or to test her?

@Craw

She was nearly in position when the small clearing which held the buck grew silent. Her amber eyes flashed wildly to the last place she'd seen the whiny thing. He was still there but... but he wasn't moving. Had he spotted her? Had Craw made a noise? Whatever happened didn't matter anymore. The creature was already thoroughly spooked. Shit. Much to her delight a growl, low and raspy entered the air, and the chase began. Celandine hadn't the time to think about it, fully aware that her partner's voice was the only thing keeping the deer from fleeing the wrong way to 'safety'. Unfortunately, the timing forced the huntress to begin a little farther left than she had planned, which pushed the stag almost too far to the right.

Keeping her head low Celandine pulled back while dodging the trees in the hopes that she could get on the other side of the buck, and reign it back in. Her attempt was relatively successful as she sped back up, and her pearly white canines nipped at the fur of his hindquarters. He still might have been a little far from the ideal position, but that was in Craw's paws now. If the man was fast enough, he'd be able to knock the deer off balance and give them enough time to hold it down. If not, then plan B was already a go. Cela would do her part, regardless of what happened next.

 

Have you seen my OOC preferences?

Sorry for my slowness on this, let's get it done <33 we've got 6 posts of hunting/planning, so can wrap up as quickly as you like!

The way the buck's ears twisted and head spun behind him was the sign that Celandine was moving. Barely a heartbeat later, the spooked deer was a blur, caught now between an obvious danger and a hidden one, and Craw could see that their plan had not gone perfectly, the animal veering off to his left too much. Not that there was much time to make careful adjustments, for the bullet had left the gun - now was time to react.

Pushing off, the spider dashed to the side, trying to make up for the fact that the buck would pass by him further along than expected. It all happened very fast - as Celandine chased the beast towards the path, Craw hovered to the side of it, hearing the hooves against the hard earth and the sound of their accelerated breathing, and then he lunged out in order to be in front of it so that it would crash into him, his teeth aiming to hook into the flesh of one of the buck's upper arms, but the judgement was off, he was too far right, the deer wasn't in his path enough.

He'd missed - so to test it was! Even though Craw's position had not been perfect, the buck had still needed to swerve severely to avoid him, and without thinking Craw twisted to try and grab at one of the deer's hindlegs instead. His jaws clamped briefly on a slender hock, the deer stumbled and almost fell, and Craw lost his grip.

With Celandine on his tail, though, and a faster specimen than Craw, the spider did not rush to close the gap, wanting to see if she could. If she was able to delay the deer's recovery and speeding away, Craw could move in to keep it down.

The adrenaline was thrilling as it coursed through her veins amidst the orchestra that was a hunt. The former princess loved nothing more than the music of a hunt, as paws and hooves crashed against the soil all while the heavy breaths of both the predator and prey mingled to form a most deadly song. It was delightful to run, to listen to it all again, but too soon the song would end, and Craw would have the beast tackled. The only chorus then would be the desperate pleas from the creature before it's unfortunate demise. He should have stayed with the heard. Safety in numbers and all of that. 

Unfortunately Craw was unable to grab the stag, likely due to her over-correction. So a fight it was. Almost giddy with the prospect, the woman lurched forward, using the energy she'd been saving to close the gap between her and the deer. Craw was already on it though, swinging to bite at the deer's leg. He wasn't fast enough-favoring stamina over speed- but he was able to force the deer to stumble and sway. The delay was perfect, as she crashed into the deer with all of her mass to push the creature over and onto it's side. Pearly teeth grasped anywhere they could find purchase while she waited for Craw's backup.

Have you seen my OOC preferences?

His misjudgement did not cost them a meal; Celandine collided with the side of the stumbled deer gloriously. With a surge of confidence that they would succeed, Craw lurched forward to add his weight to the princess' own, and together they kept the abandoned beast down.

It was over soon after that. Teeth ripped into flesh and too much blood was spilt to sustain life. Together the pair feasted upon the fresh corpse, Craw quiet in his satisfaction, confident in the abilities of the woman who had been but a stranger not so long ago. Perhaps everything would work out.