Spectral Woods Cutting like Knives in a Fistfight

Shade gave a nod, he understood completely that she wanted to start the chase, and he wanted to end it so it all worked. The thought that they were bringing in food for his mate, to help feed his children, it gave him far more energy than he knew what to do with, and hopefully this would help get rid of some of it. His eyes narrowed at the deer. "I don’t mind, I prefer ending the chase, so it all works." He stated happily, glad that it would all work out, his mind told him to leap right at it, but he knew better than to trust his mind at the start of the hunt. "You start the hunt when you are ready." He whispered the last words.

The more he spoke, the more of a risk that there was for the animal to hear and run off on him. He started to sneak around the dark forest, creeping through the tall shadows of the trees. It was time to get this hunt started, and so he lined himself up from the side to launch at it when he was ready, or more like when Capella chased it to where he was. He liked this tactic, and he would use it in every hunt he could, but it didn’t always work. Sometimes, when they were in more open spaces, they would have to get through at all angles to attack it and they would have to surround it, a lot of effort for an animal, but well worth it.

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Capella gave a final nod, unable to speak for fear of the deer overhearing. The two wolves had the advantage of surprise on their hands, and Capella didn't plan on losing that factor. Not to mention Shade was a strong male in his prime. He had to be skilled in the hunt to have made it this far, and she had complete faith in him. One ear twitched in the direction of the deer, while the other stayed intent on hearing Shade's movements. Her dandelion eyes followed him until he was out of sight by both herself and their potential prey. The anticipation was killing her, as she wanted to start now, but she had to wait. With bated breath she counted the seconds as she allowed Shade enough time to get into position. Once she hit twenty, she deemed it an acceptable to give chase and gave one last glance toward the animal.

Small legs crept silently across the forest floor as she began sneaking up on it. The creature couldn't know that he was being stalked until it was too late. Her paws ached with excitement, as she moved forward at an almost unbearably slow pace. It wasn't until she was within a decent distance that she let all of her pent up emotion fuel the run. She gave it everything she had, knowing she held the stamina to back it up. She ran alongside it's flanks, driving the deer in the direction she knew Shade would be waiting. The deer kicked as it ran, knowing full well what her intentions were, but it was no use. Her body was able to avoid each kick with ease, as it maneuvered behind the animal. She was doing her part, and now it would be up to Shade to finish the deed.

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Lovely table, and signature by Arla <3

Shade watched Capella creep up slowly on the animal, it was almost unbearable to wait, he wanted to leap out at it, but he knew better because it could startle the animal, no, it would startle the animal. Not to mention the hunt would be a loss with him to blame and Capella could get hurt. She started at it with full force, dodging all the kicks that the deer threw at her, it knew very well it was being hunted as food, and it running was just want they needed. As soon as it was about to pass, shade leapt out at it, meeting the side of it as Shade clawed at it, managing to get a good grip of it, the blow caused confusion and the deer fell over.

With the deer falling, he took the opportunity to get a firm grip on its neck, and he bit down as hard as he could, it was still kicking, and Shade had missed the blows it tried to deliver, and thus both of them were unharmed. The deer convulsed for a moment or two, and then it was dead, blood swelling at the neck as it took its last breathes and there was a dead silence. "Well done Capella, you take the first portion, you more than deserve it." He said, offering her the first part because the yearling had done an amazing job, and now they had the big deer for the family, Karpos, Ace, Capella, Rosealia, Adsila and himself all fed with this. He knew it.

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She watched as the plan was executed perfectly, knowing that Shade would be able to bring the animal down easily. Adrenaline was still pumping though her veins as she watched the dark male make the kill. There would now be enough to bring home for their small family. It was good that her and her superior were compatible when it came to hunting. It was only another measure that would ensure their survival as a pack. Pride swelled in her chest at his praise, and she couldn't help but grin. It was the first hunt she had been on in a long time, and it was a successful one! "Thank you, of course I couldn't have done anything without you." She spoke with a nod.

Peering down at the fresh meat, which would be a nice change from the usual hare, she stepped forward. Jaws that were made for this kind of thing had no trouble tearing through the flesh and pulling with them a decent portion of meat. She backed away from the kill to allow Shade access to the carcass, while she ate what she could. It wasn't until she sat down to finish off the meat that she even realized how hungry she was. The pale girl chewed happily as she allowed herself a little rest. After all they would have to regain a little bit of strength before they had to haul the mule deer back into their little camp.

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Lovely table, and signature by Arla <3

{Strange and emotionally awkward Shade}

Shade watched as the female took a portion of meat, a portion that she deserved after the hunt. He then stepped forward digging into a thigh on the deer, personally one of his more favorite parts of the animal. His tail wagged as he ate, the remaining parts of the deer would easily be enough to feed Rosealia and Ace when they hauled it back. Rosealia was so busy making sure that the pups were safe and healthy that she barely gave herself time to eat and sleep, she was constantly exhausted. Ace was always patrolling, making sure that no wolf that was a stranger got too close to the den and they both deserved a decent meal which Capella and Shade caught and had yet to haul back.

His eyes locked on the rest of the deer when he finished his portion. "Now we need to haul the prey back to the den and give some to Rose and Ace." He said, he knew that they could haul it back, probably best by hauling it over by dragging it using the mule deer’s legs. It reminded him a lot of when Shadowstorm and he use to hunt and children, or siblings that were a lot younger then he was now. But now his sister was gone, died of a whatever, he couldn’t quite remember what it was. But whatever it was, when he died, he would ask her and she would no doubt answer his questions when he did see her soul in the afterlife.

There is only one god and his name is Death...

TEMPLATE © NDA OF RCR & RPG-D

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Full and happy, she nodded toward Shade. He was right, they did have to move the creature through the woods, but she wasn't exited for the trip. Dragging the thing over fallen logs and over the small hills that riddled the forest was not going to be an easy task. Looking off onto the horizon, she tried to deduce the best path as possible without going too far out of their way or running into too many obstacles. Capella moved to grab the carcass by one of the legs sinking her teeth in only enough to get a good grip. She waited for Shade to latch on as well so the pair could begin pulling the body through the undergrowth.

Briefly she wished Ace had been here, as the male was much stronger than she was. He would have been able to do this no problem, but then again she felt the need to prove herself to her superior. He had given her a home, and she wanted to show him that he didn't make a wrong choice in bringing her back home with him. One strong tug had the carcass moving a little bit, and she knew it was probably going to be a slow trip home. Especially with the fact that the scent of a fresh kill was bound t attract unwanted attention from bird of prey or coyotes. Damned little things, they looked like smaller wolves, but they smelled disgusting. Always hooting and calling, intentionally trying to provoke those around them. At least that was Capella's only experience with them.

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Lovely table, and signature by Arla <3

Capella had firmly grasped one of the legs and was starting to drag it, and so Shade did the same, but with one of the legs that was cleared up. Dragging it through the murky woods with the wind and everything was no doubt a challenge, but that was the way that they all liked it. A challenge was never a bad thing, though it wasn’t always the best thing. His eyes had a bit of a fire in them, he wanted to be angry that they had to put so much effort into bringing it back, but at the same time he knew that the others were too busy to help them with the conquest, and no doubt didn’t even know that they were hunting in the first place.

Rosealia was always busy with the pups, making sure that they grew up healthy and strong like their mother and father. He had to admit that Karpos looked so much like him, and Adsila too. Both of them were like him, though Karpos had a bit of his late sister’s complexion. A bit darker then Shade was, around Shadowstorm’s posture and knack for getting into trouble too. It would be like raising his sister again, of the fun of it all. They hauled it, managing to get it over everything before arriving back at the den, his eyes filled with pride when he saw them all. "Anyone up for a good meal?" He asked, knowing that the obvious answer was yes. All was well, and all would be well, or so he thought.

{Fade out}