Turtleback Lake Shadows of a doubt

Judas ARCHER

by the light of the moon, we run

She smiled to his approach, seemingly more relaxed now that he had assured her through both word and body language that he had no intention of doing her any harm. Of course, he could have been lying. Though while Judas might not have been a particularly good wolf, he wasn't evil and didn't take pleasure out of harming someone for no reason what so ever. Besides, although she had initially annoyed him with the way she had acted, she was fine now and so Judas pushed it past him.

When she answered she said she didn't know where she was headed and that she was just running. Curiously sparked in Judas, known by the perk of those devilishly pointed ears of his. He didn't have time to ask her however now that food had been placed into their minds and instinct took hold.

"Sure thing. We could work together and share the spoils." And then we be brought it home to fill a cache it would look at though he had been doing some kind of work around the land for a change.

Moving from his placement along his new-found 'partner' he went busy at sniffing the rabbit Warren which lay nearby. It wasn't far from the lake shore, hidden in the brush protectively with a nice scenery of the lake in their little front yard. He could hear them there in the den but he could not see them. "I could work on digging and maybe you can squeeze in." His larger paws could cover more ground digging it he took on the majority of the task of she was willing to go down in there with how small she was.

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The small wolf turned her head following Judas’s actions as he scouted out the warren. Quickly she stood, grunting softly, she tilted her head at his suggestion, licking her lips in anticipation. It could work, she was small and it had been a tactic often employed in her old mountain home. A small prick of fear rose inside of her though, it involved pushing herself underground some. Things could easily go wrong, she could even end up dead...somehow, she just wasn’t sure yet.

Aeliana gave her head a sudden rough shake, she had to stop thinking like that. She’d never get anywhere in life she was free now, away from that mountain. She kept telling her self, maybe one day she’d believe it. “Yea, it’ll work.” She said aloud, stepping closer and stretching out her back by raising her rump into the air while lowering her forepaws and head toward the floor {b} “Let’s do this.”

Judas ARCHER

by the light of the moon, we run

The small female followed suit, finding herself aligning with Judas and taking her position. Her front half lowered to the ground, rump high in the air in a playful display though the actions which they would soon take was nothing of play. The prize within the warren was serious business for a lone wolf and a pack yearling learning the ropes.

Quickly Judas began digging, still-to-large-for-his-body paws working to kick up the dirt and widen the hole enough for his counterpart to fit in and snag a rabbit from the group. He would keep up with the digging, making sure she had enough room to maneuver inside. Once she took her placement into the hole he would step aside for her though he did not stop his digging. He kept at it, moving along what he presumed was the 'roof' of the rabbit's den in order to hopefully give them a start and caused them to try to exit.

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Aeliana kept to the side, our of Judas’s way while he dug, closing her eyes for a moment she breathed deeply. Her reservations about slipping into the hole were still there, at the back of her mind. Trying to clear her mind for the task ahead, she managed to block out the fear, reduced to a tingling prick of anxiety along her spine. Their meal depended on her skills, she didn’t want to let Judas down, not when he could prove to be an ally ina hare-brained scheme she had just thought of.

Impressing him was what mattered now, if she did good, maybe just maybe she could convince him to put in a good word with his pack. The idea itself was nerve-wracking, to jump from one pack right into another. Coyotes lurked around every corner though, she wouldn’t keep getting lucky, that she knew and there was safety in numbers. When the larger wolf moved to the side to give her room Aeliana darted forward so the rabbits wouldn’t be able to escape out that way. The hole came up and before long earth surrendered her on all sides as she squirmed her way in, fangs snapping wildly.

Something kicked dirt into her face just before she could feel warm blood spew into her mouth, snarling she sank her fangs into the rabbit’s flank. It squirmed and kicked wildly, smacking the small wolf in the face with a hind leg, but her grasp didn't let up. Backing up, exiting proved to be harder than getting in. Roots and twigs dug into her fur, first, her hindquarters appeared but a sharp branch snagged her fur. Her shifting became a bit more frantic before she felt the resistance end and she tumbled out backward landing with a grunt. The dying rabbit hanging from her jaws.

Judas ARCHER

by the light of the moon, we run

Judas watched as his hunting partner scrambled in the rabbit warren, blocking any from escaping the forcing them to try to push further into the confines of their home. Judas was not sure how deep the warren went, how many tunnels which it held. He just kept digging, really his only option at the moment. Once the smell of blood perked his attention further, he pranced around, watching as she worked Her way backwards with a squealing rabbit in her jaws. Reaching forward, Judas grabbed and pulled back on the thick roots that tangled her, trying to help to make sure her struggle didn't mean loosing grip of the kill.

They were successful in their efforts and out of excitement Judas stuck his head in the den and snapped his jaws, yet unable to reach another on his own. Pulling back and flagging his tail, he grabbed at a foreleg of the rabbit, opposite end of the animal which Aela held. He tugged playfully and hoped she would follow suit.

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Aeliana groaned softly and paused to collect herself, her breath came in short gasps for the following moments. The hare swayed one last time before it's dying breath was silenced permanently. She watched Judus throw himself into the hole one last time before he came up with an empty mouth. His posture changed and he raised his tail before lunging for the front half of their dinner.

She flinched and froze, her muscles tensing and her heartbeat increasing. ANy minute now the small yearling expected to feel the wolf’s teeth in her fur. She was sure that he had just used her for her small size to dig the hare up and now he’d take it all for himself. There was a light tug, one that causes her to sway forward slightly. It definitely didn’t feel like he was trying hard. Opening her hazel brown eyes Aeliana stared at @Judus with a confused expression before she realized what he was doing.

He wanted to play.

The idea hit the girl like a tree branch and she stared at him, dumbstruck before feeling a tingle along her spine. She was free now, she could do whatever she wanted! Why not celebrate in the most defiant way she could think of? Aeliana growled softly, doing her best to look intimidating she scrunched her nose up and wagged her tail and yanking backward with all of her might.

Judas ARCHER

by the light of the moon, we run

At first as he jerked forward, grabbing the front half of the kill and pulling, the young woman in front of him tensed, eyes closing at though preparing for a sudden strike. For a moment he had forgotten how skittish she had been at first sight of him, how annoying it had been. Judas truly enjoyed the company of strong, capable and even older women - Aela was none of these. However, she did have her benefits. She was young like him, full of play where he was still a growing boy himself and she knew how to hunt, obviously. Maybe Judas was not a very nice wolf but he was smarter then just using the female and stealing the kill for himself. After all, if she was a loner struggling to hunt on her own and Judas didn't care for hunting but wanted to impress his leader, they could be useful to one another time and time again.

So Judas decided to stick around with her, have some fun before they ate. Her confused look finally turned to acknowledgement as she wrinkled her nose, growling and waving her tail and she yanked back. Judas pulled, only slightly, more or less holding his position as the smaller wolf tugged. He lifted up to full height then, jerking his head upward as he pulled, perhaps lifting her up a bit off the ground like an older brother might do a little sister when taking her toy.

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Aeliana was small, there was no way that she could ever doubt that, she might not even be that tough, easily scared of every twig snapping and freezing up when she heard something new. There was more to her though, she was also as stubborn as an old tree and she growled softly when she felt the resistance in their food as Judas tugged backward and upwards.

Her eyes narrowed when he used his hight to his advantage, literally lifting her up slightly and off the ground. Her monochrome tail lashed behind her and her forepaws fumbled in the air but she didn’t let go. She tried to yank but with only her hind legs to use, she got little purchase on the ground and instead she stumbled off balance and fell forward. She rolled and landed on her back, looking up at her fellow yearling’s chest and the hare hanging from his mouth. She huffed before getting an idea and nipping at his forepaws from her new position.

Judas ARCHER

by the light of the moon, we run

She yanked and tugged, using those neck muscles to her advantage and yet Judas did the same, lifting his head high and he does a bit of a half jump up. This, or perhaps her just loosing her balance all her own, causes Aela to loose her grip on the kill as it begins to shred in half and she falls forward. Rolling onto her back at his feet, he smiles as best one could with a mouth full of rabbit. Then she nips, going for his ankles, causing him to dance in place. As a sudden 'jerk move' he let's go if the kill, allowing it to flop down right onto her, a bloody ripped up mess. "Fine then. Here." He finds himself laughing as he bound away from her reach should there be any further retaliation.

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Watching the massive wolf dance in place and trying to avoid her snapping teeth was too much, Aeliana did something she hadn't done in a long time. She giggled at the sight, especially from her upside down view. Suddenly a sodden blood-soaked mass of rabbit landing in her face and she squealed in surprise. Her limbs flailed and twisted and she turned and stood up, glaring at the smirking wolf’s retreating form.

She growled softly, playfully while baring her fangs at him, blood dripped down her chin and she paused to lick it away. “Hm……” She said before she burst out into laughter herself. It was light and cheerful, the carefree joy of the moment. Her sides heaved and she eventually calmed down enough to charge after the large male, she wasn't sure what she was going to do but that had never stopped her before.