Spectral Woods Stay High

It didn’t take Vera long to smell out the deer, her tail waving behind her rapidly as she yapped wildly about using their skills together to bring down the deer and Florence couldn’t agree more as he went with her towards where the deer was hanging around. Though both were fairly healthy, it had been quite some time since either of them had hunted deer, having been living off small animals like rabbits or already dead carcasses that had been half eaten by other predators. And Florence never complained about the amount of food they found to Vera, even though he was bigger than her and thus required a larger amount of food. There was always enough for her and that’s all that mattered, even when she stubbornly refused to eat anything until Florence had eaten a few mouthfuls of whatever it was they had caught or found.

Seeing it on its own gave him hope that they could be getting a good feed out of it today. Yet hanging back as they approached their would be meal, nodding as Vera spoke of what she was going to do, Florence watched and stayed enough in the shadows that it would be hard to pinpoint his body mass by the deer until it was right on top of him hopefully. As long as it didn’t scent on him, their plan to have Vera chase the deer towards him was one that generally worked, as his speed matched his size-he was a lumbering mass of muscle and thus couldn’t think to keep up long enough with a deer in the short run. However, when it came to outpace the deer and keep nipping at its heels to keep it moving and tire it out, it went well. Vera had always been the faster one of the two, being smaller and light on her feet and Florence didn’t mind at all. She was the Snowflake to his Bear and he was happy to simply have her around.

Lifting his head as he heard the deer let out a noise of surprise when Vera finally made it to the spot where she would leap out from and watched it keenly as spun around to flee from the sharp teeth digging into its legs.
And it was heading straight for Florence. Crouching down lightly, he waited for it to be close enough, close enough to leap forward and knock it over with his weight as he went for its throat with his teeth. The deer wasn’t full grown yet but it would be a good meal.

Slinking through the foliage, the diminutive ivory she-wolf watched her feet to make sure she didn’t step on anything that might announce her presence, but also kept the deer in her sight. Only when she was at her desired location did Vera glance in her larger companion’s direction, and upon seeing that he was also in place and ready for did, she looked back at the deer, who was now standing rigidly as if it knew what was about to happen. Without a second though she sprang forth like a bullet shot from a gun. The deer let out a squeal of surprise when it saw her spun around to run away from her, and unknowingly toward where Florence was waiting in the guise of a shadow.

Vera snapped at the deer’s heels, urging it on, but not actually grabbing it with her muzzle. She was too light and not strong enough to hold on or cause serious damage, so she just nipped it here and there to keep it moving in the right direction, herding it to Florence’s hiding spot. They made a good hunting team, even though some may not think so. She was a good chaser; her quick reflexes and small build made it much harder for the animal in question to step on her, and she could quickly dart this way and that way if it strayed from the path she wished it to take. Florence however was the one that delivered the final blow with his immense strength and size that brought the deer down, and maybe just a little bit of help from her.

Briefly meeting his orange eyes with her own caramel brown eyes, she nodded to signal him that it was his time to bring down the deer. She would help of course, but without him it would be useless for her to even try. Panting heavily, Vera herded the deer down the final stretch and readied herself for Florence’s attack where hopefully they’d be able to bring it down and feast for the day. It had been a long time since they had eaten a fresh carcass as they usually only caught rabbits or scavenged half-eaten carcasses. She had waited long enough.

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As his eyes followed the deer, they caught with Vera’s warm caramel ones, the message showing clearly as they met. Just as the deer drew near, Florence lunged from his hiding place with his large jaws wide open that were ready to clamp onto the deer’s throat. His shoulder hit the deer as his teeth sank into the deer, sending its balance to off kilter as they went to the ground. Florence kept his grip on the struggling deer as they fell; only adjusting as it tried to kick at him to get him to loosen his grip but failing as its blood and air was slowly stolen from its body. He wouldn’t let go, even as a sharp hoof managed to graze his shoulder as the deer managed to land one weak hit on him. It would leave a cut and a sore bruise to boot but with food in their bellies, it was a small compromise.

This was the first time in a long time they would eat fresh, warm meat that wasn’t a rabbit or other small animal. Flicking his eyes upwards to find Vera, they soon found her trotting up to him and the dying animal. After a few moments more, the deer lay still under him, its eyes going glazed and its limbs going limp while Florence took away his mouth from its throat once its struggles ceased.

Shaking his fur out, he ignored the hint of pain from his shoulder and turned his head to study the wound on his shoulder. It was a shallow cut. Nothing to worry over, so he turned to Vera and studied her. ”You are not hurt?” He questioned her with a tilt of gentleness to it, both knowing she would be fine for he saw no blood or limp from her but it was more for his peace of mind, to know his dear friend wasn’t hurt from their traditional hunting plan. It was who he was and a question he always asked after their hunts. Just like how he would wait till she had taken the first bite before devouring the meat himself.

As the deer neared Florence, she saw his large bulk leap out from his hidden position and came to a sudden halt, paws digging into the dirt. She knew from previous experiences that it was easier and safer for her to stay out of his way as he brought down their prey, unless if she was needed, as one time she had very nearly been squished. Now that hadn’t been pleasant at all. Though she hadn’t actually been hurt, it was still frightening to see the huge bodies fly above her with the intention to make her as flat as a pancake.

Staying just out of the deer’s reach, Vera watched intently, waiting patiently in case if she was needed to help bring the animal down, but her larger companion didn’t seem to need her assistance. His heavy weight had knocked the animal onto its side as he clamped his powerful jaws around its throat. The deer struggled, flailing its limbs, and she winced when a hoof grazed his shoulder, slowly coming forward. It didn’t look very deep from where she was, but still, there was blood, and she hated to see her Fero get hurt in any way.

The deer’s movements became slow and sluggish until finally it ceased to move at all; eyes glazing over and its body becoming limp, but she didn’t look at the deer, her gaze was focused on Florence. She shook her head at his query, raising her gaze to meet his, worry clear in her eyes. “But you are,” Vera stated as she stopped to stand in front of him. “Let me look at it,” she said firmly, with no room for argument in her voice. Upon closer inspection she saw that the cut was shallow, blood slowly oozing out of it. Running through the (short) list of herbs that Florence had taught her, she glanced at him. “I think I saw some ergot before, you stay put and don’t move until I return.”

Spinning on her heels, the diminutive ivory she-wolf put her nose to the ground, backtracking their trail until she came upon the ergot she had sighted before growing on some stalks shooting up from the ground. Selecting a rather large leaf, Vera took a paw full of the fungus and wrapped it up before carrying it in her mouth back to her larger companion, only stopping on the way for some bark from a white fir tree. Putting the bundle of herbs on the ground when she arrived at the der carcass, she nosed the white fir closer to Florence. “Lie down and eat this while I tend to your wound.”

Vera used her rough tongue to clean the wound on his shoulder, licking away dirt and dried blood before carefully chewing on the ergot, making sure that she didn’t swallow any of it. Ingesting the fungus was a big no-no, but when applied to a wound it helped to control the bleeding. When she finished she stood back and smiled, nuzzling her larger companion’s neck with her muzzle. “There, all better, now we can start eating.” Pulling back, she bounded happily over to the deer carcass and dug in, eagerly eating the fresh meat. They hadn’t eaten for just over a day and she was absolutely starving.

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Florence didn’t argue when she ordered him to stay put while she went off to search for the ergot that he had also spotted on the trail but had left alone, because neither of them had been injured then and to carry the potential dangerous herb around was calling for trouble. He had been warned many a time from actually eating the herb, knowing its deadly potential to set one’s body on figurative fire if it was swallowed. Settling down on the ground, Florence waited for his small companion to return, doubling as a guard for the now cooling deer carcass from other animals.

As always, when on his own, Florence let his mind wander from the current time. Thoughts of finding a home and if they would be safe here cropped up often, the large male complementing where he and Vera would go from here if nothing could be found after a few days. They had only just arrived after all and the land seemed teeming with life, if this deer was any indication. Surely there were many packs, scattered across the great terrain to pick and choose from. Before entering the forest, he had glimpsed a large mountain range, so large he considered what lay beyond in for a moment. Was the land split in two due to its mass? How many packs were on that side? How many on this side? Were the wolves friendly enough and would they be warmly welcomed if they tiptoed the borders, calling for acceptance into a pack or be chased away the moment they so much as looked in the pack’s direction?

He was brought back from his thoughts upon Vera’s arrival back to his side, as she began cleaning his wound after nudging some white fir bark was nudged his way. He did so willingly, knowing its healing capabilities. Yet he watched Vera carefully as she chewed on the ergot, watching her for any signs of accidental swallowing of the fungus. He didn’t wish her to be in pain because of him.

Once she was finished, she stepped away from him with a nuzzle to his neck and happily bounded over to the deer carcass, digging in hungrily as Florence rose to his feet slowly. Settling next to her, he tore off some meat and gulped it down, eating slowly, like all his actions were. Even if his stomach was empty and wanted to be filled as fast as possible. They could strip this deer of everything, or simply Florence could do it on his own if he wanted to over a few days but with the two of them, it was a meal that would ward off hunger for a few hours.

Once they finished eating, Florence would cajole Vera into having a short sleep, claiming to want to rest his shoulder a little longer before moving on. She would huff and shake her head, claiming to not be tired but he knew she couldn’t resist cuddling up to his side when he slept, looking like a white splash on his dark coat.

Compared to her practically inhaling the meat, Florence took his time to eat, slowly chewing each mouthful before swallowing and tearing off another piece of meat, repeating the process. Vera finished eating before her larger companion and took the time to groom her fur of all the dirt and blood splattering’s it had received before, during and after the hunt. Her tongue brushed over her fur, and gradually it became its usual pristine and flawless white hue, with the exception of the sparse peppering of grey on her back.

She huffed indignantly at Florence’s claim to want to rest his shoulder before moving on. “I’m not tired though, can we explore just a little more?” She whined, even though was secretly glad that he wanted to rest because she loved to cuddle up to his large, furry form – couldn’t resist the temptation of it either. Splaying her ears to the side and glancing around momentarily, she bounced over to her larger companion who was lying on his side (hurt shoulder raised in the air) and cuddling into his stomach, a content purr rumbling in her throat.

The diminutive ivory she-wolf loved to snuggle with Florence whenever possible. It made her feel all warm and happy inside, and she felt as if everything was perfect and no one was going to steal him from her. Sharing her man with others was a hard thing for her to do, as she was overly protective of him, even for the simplest things like taking an innocent walk in the woods or helping to move things from one place to another. She always imagined the worst that could happen, call her paranoid, but the thought that something horrible or life-threatening happening to her Fero was constantly in the back of her mind.

“Rest easy, Meus militis in nitidus armatus,” Vera murmured softly into his stomach as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

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