Skeletal Hill i won't let them break me down to dust

hunting post 2/4

He was glad that the petite female was quick to act. Caelean followed suit, watching as she claimed the first burrow entrance. Awkwardly he moved to find another entrance because there were usually multiple, right? Wasn't that how the rabbits always managed to get away at the last minute. The small child could recall being one snap away from catching one when it disappeared into the earth. Granted that hadn't been a one-time thing. It had occurred multiple times and he could only hope it wouldn't happen this round.

His small form hovered over an open hole in the earth. Yellow eyes looked over towards the petite female, waiting for her to make a move or to signal him to make a move.

hunting post 2/4

He was a smart boy, she observed, and picked up on her intentions quick. And not once had he questioned her lack of words for him. Pip offered him a shy, pleased smile. It brightened the mute's face in a way that it hadn't shone in quite some time. Her tail wagged quickly before she turned to her plan.

Furiously, Pip scratched and scrambled at the frozen earth. Ice cut at her paw pads, but she continued on, spurred on by the panicked sounds from within the burrow. She shoved her snout in and felt the slip of fur at the tip of her tongue. Back to digging.

She didn't bother peeking up to see if her accomplice had caught on to the same she knew and could only hope he would either start running if it fled through an additional escape route or if it jumped right into his jaws. Pip's silent snarl did little to encourage her prey one way or the other, so she stretched in one thin limb to get it moving. She felt the way it flinched and took off through its tunnels in fear. The boy was up.

hunting post 3/4

He tried to keep his gaze on the opening by him but every now and then he looked at the small female digging away the cold earth. In an attempt to look and feel useful, he stuck his nose towards the earth. Perhaps he would hear or smell the small creatures before they tried to escape. Oh. But what if they smacked into his face or went out another exit because he had his big face in this one? Hesitantly he pulled away from the earth and went back to just watching.

Sooner than he had been expecting two small rabbits shot out of the earth and took off. This was his time to shine! Not a moment was wasted before the young Balik speedily took off, half expecting his company to follow but also understanding if she waited. His focus was returned back to the task at hand. He needed to get closer before he dared snap his jaws.

Hunting Post 3/4; @Caelean

Pip's ears flew back against her skull when she heard the pup tearing off. He missed? He'd been right there, hadn't he?! The mute shook her head with a sharp exhale. He was only a pup, she reminded herself. And he was helping freely. She shouldn't think poorly of him, she knew. He was the first in a while who had even bothered to be moderately friendly without accusation.

The agouti female leaped into action and raced after the boy and their prey. Despite her exhaustion, Pip had always been fast. His legs may have been longer, but she knew how to use every aspect of her own to practically fly when the need arose. In three bounds, she was shoulder to shoulder with her hunting partner. Then, one rabbit turned left and the other veered right. She spared a quick nod to the boy before changing course to chase the one that twisted left, leaving him with the one that had gone right.

It was lucky that there were two rabbits! She'd only been expecting one. At least they would both have a chance to catch one.

hunting post 4/4

He took his chances on a sharp turn right as his partner took a turn left. Caelean knew he wouldn't last much longer, a tiredness pulling at his lungs and legs. Would a mere rabbit be worth all this energy he was spending? Not likely. But he would feel a bit better at the end of the day for helping someone like himself find something to keep them going. A rabbit wasn't much to a pack wolf but to loners, it was a gift from above.

It was now or never. The boy launched himself forward with a snap of his joys. He had never enjoyed the actual end of the hunt. The sounds that usually came from prey made the boy inwardly cringe. It was a meal, though. He couldn't afford to be the pretty boy on the sidelines without his mother around.

As the creature hung limp, he turned back around with the intention to find the lady he had been hunting with. If she hadn't beaten her own prey, Caelean was rather ready to share his own.

Hunting Post 4/4, @Caelean

For all the frailty of her thin form, Pip could move when motivated. The tiny female surged after the fleeing rabbit in the age-old war of survival of the fittest. Luckily for her, desperation and starvation could be counted on her side this time. She snagged her prey by a back leg mid-leap and wasted no time in skidding to a stop to violently thrash the rabbit back and forth. Its spine was broken with the first slam against her ribs, but she did it a few times just to ensure there was no way it could so much as crawl away from her.

Having heard the squeals of her hunting partner's prey, Pip turned to find him, though she had no real reason to do so. She had her meal, and any other loner likely would have cut ties as soon as possible. However, the mute missed interacting with others and the self-inflicted solitude was far from healthy. Even just to share a meal would be a welcome change to the loneliness.

The thin female's sides heaved as she huffed around her kill, but she smiled around it and wagged her tail when she saw him. He'd come for her as well on the chance she hadn't caught anything. Touched by the gesture, she strode forward to boop his nose gently with her own before settling down right where they met to dig in.

He couldn't help the wide smile when she bumped his nose with her own. His tail even gave a few eagers wags. How nice of her. She was a rather nice lady and the Balik boy was pleased to see she had gotten the meal she had deserved. The boy followed her lead and settled down to restore his energy with the rabbit. Caelean didn't mind that his eating partner might not be very talkative - in fact, she didn't seem to talk at all. He wondered why but didn't voice his reasons. It would be best to simply eat, give thanks and part ways.

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