Bramble Falls Time for a change

He followed behind her quickly, following the deer's scent as well. He could tell it was a doe and she was on her own. They moved closer until they could see the deer a little ways away in front of them. Thanatos nudged Gladius and pointed his muzzle at the ground where they stood, motioning for her to stay there. He moved around, downwind of the deer, so he could get behind her. It was already facing Glad as it grazed, looking for some form of food. He silently crept forward leaped onto its back and bit down on the back of her neck, holding on tight. Now all Gladius had to do was watch out for the legs and go for the throat.

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>She stayed put, watching the big male move around their prey and close in. She smiled and watched Than leap and grab hold of the doe's neck from behind. Instantly she rushed forward, powerful limbs carrying her quickly to the two, before she bounded up and aimed for the deer's throat. A leg shot out and grazed her shoulder, and Gladius rolled away with the impact, letting out a snarl as pain washed over her. She jumped to her feet and dived in again, this time snapping the doe's chest, latching on and not letting go even as the deer bucked and cried out under the two wolves.</font>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'>"Fall damn you!" She growled between her teeth and the deer's pulsing hide, and clawing feverishly, she released the deer just as it tripped and collapsed under Than's weight. At a much easier to reach level, Gladius jumped and bit down on the doe's neck, silencing it's last call and pulling the light from it's dark eyes. She only let go when it stopped moving, pulling back and sighing hard. Her shoulder shined bright red, and she licked at it carefully but stopped as sharp pain sliced her vision in two. The wound was shallow, but large, and bled profusely. Gladius had never had a major wound before, and the sight of it, well, made her a bit faint. She sat down and panted, a ragged smile plastered to her maw as she looked from her companion to their kill. "Seemed like a fair... fight." </font>

Thanatos ignored the doe completely once he noticed Glad was hurt. He looked at her bleeding shoulder. He whined a little with how serious it looked. It was a large wound but luckily it seemed pretty shallow. Thanatos knew she would be alright it just needed time to heal, and more than likely scar. He licked the wound, trying not to cause her pain. He looked into her eyes and smiled as the wound started to bleed less and less. "Looks like you got your first battle scar from one of your first adventures." He tried to lighten the situation and hopefully make her feel a little better.

Thanatos licked her wound again, trying to help. He stepped back. "You need to eat. Come on." He tried to nudge her forward, closer to the doe so she would eat and gain her strength back.

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>She almost whimpered when he started to clean it, but caught herself and growled instead. It was always better to take pain with anger than sadness and weakness, she thought as she watched him lick the blood away and eventually stop the bleeding. It would mend and scab, she was lucky no bone had been cracked or broken. Then she would have been as dead as the deer now was. Meat for the earth, and nothing more. Her gaze brightened at the mention of it being her first battle scar, and her tail thumped the ground twice in agreement. "You're right, hah, bards shall howl of this battle, of Gladius and the mighty doe deer." She looked back down to the feast and humor glinted in her eyes, "Might want to leave out the 'doe' part though."</font>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'>She smiled as he cleaned it again and moved to where the kill lie, licking her chops in hunger. "We both need to eat, this feast is deserving of the victor and the injured. Thank you for stopping the bleeding by the way." She looked up at him and then bent to tear at the deer's belly, the main spoil of the meat. She hadn't had venison since she left her pack, being a loner had granted her only rabbits and mice, and the rich meat of the larger prey animal filled her with warmth. Her first kill! Her parents would be proud, and although it had been taken with the help of another, she was certain this was one of many he had taken down personally.</font>

Thanatos laughed when she talked about bards howling about the battle between her and the doe. "Yes I suppose you should leave out the fact that it was a doe." He smiled at her as she moved and began to rip into the deer's belly. Thanatos came beside her and tore at its side, ripping flesh from bone. He was happy that he could help her and hoped that this could be the new life he was looking for. Maybe a new mate in the future as well. Thanatos smiled at the thought as the doe's blood dripped off his chin.

All his happiness faded when he thought he saw something watching them from the shadows. He looked closer, but nothing was there. Thanatos shook his head. It was just a figment of his imagination. Although, It looked exactly like someone Thanatos knew was dead. His father. A chill ran down his spine as his body tensed up.

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>"Something troubles you?" Gladius looked up at her companion and then off into the forest where he was staring, and seeing nothing she looked back at him puzzled. "Something out there?" She huffed in the air but caught no scent other than their's and the hot meat and blood. She was certain that there was nothing out there, and that perhaps this had something to do with his earlier story of his past. It did seem to follow him around like a relentless predator. His need to look back made her think of a wound, and the predator would smell the weakness and follow him as long as his wound bled. She knew nothing of what it was like, but had an idea. She always had ideas of things, as if she had experienced them in a previous life, though she knew such things were nonsense.</font>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'>She nudged his shoulder and tore at the meat again, trying to get his attention back to the food and away from his troubles. Talking about it would only break open the pain again, and there was no use talking about something that couldn't be fixed with action. That was how she felt about most things. If action could be used, there was no need for words.</font>

Thanatos shook his head when she noticed he was staring at the woods. "It's nothing. I'm just seeing things." The last part he was saying more to himself than her. He looked back to the deer and continued to eat until he was full. He sat down and looked between the remaining doe and Glad. Unsure what to do with the remaining bits of the doe. He decided they would probably just leave it for another to scavenge off the rest.

Thanatos walked back to the falls and lowered his head as he reached the waters edge and lapped up the cool water. He looked back to see if Gladius had followed him or not.

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>She nodded her head, giving her own shoulder a rough lick as she watched him eat till he was full. Her own belly was perfectly lined with meat, both from the deer and the rabbit, though the rabbit had only been an appetizer to this great dinner. Gladius wondered too what they should do with the remain of her kill, and stood there wondering as Than wandered away back to the pool of water. Shrugging her shoulders she reached down and grabbed a leg bone that still had a decent amount of meat on it and pulled it free from the rest of the doe. She thought it might be wise to take this with. Who knew how long it would be before another kill befell her.</font>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'>She joined him by the pool again and set down the leg of venison, and looking over her bloodied and ragged form (both from this hunt and the fact that cleaning herself was not her greatest of skills) mischief glinted in her eyes and she took a few exaggerated steps back. She bunched her hindquarters and crouched, almost as if keen on pouncing on some unsuspecting rodent, then leaped forward in a rush of her leg's muscular power. She jumped past her male companion, perhaps knocking the back of his head gently with her bushy tail, before landing with a splash into the cool water. It was a shock to her skin, especially to her wound, but it both excited her and joyed her to feel such a sensation as she dipped her head under and then resurfaced, panting and shaking her crown happily.</font>

Thanatos was happy when Gladius followed him back to the falls. He was really enjoying her company, and the girl was gorgeous. She actually reminded Thanatos of his old mate, her eyes were green though. He looked her over again, admiring her. She took him by surprise when Gladius jumped into the cold water, splashing him in the process. He chuckled as he watched her.

Thanatos decided to jump in as well. His powerful legs allowed him to leap past Gladius and splash down in the water right behind her. When he resurfaced he swam up next to her and nudged the side of her head with his nose. He swam back up to the shore and shook the cold water off of his body.

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>She laughed and barked as her companion joined her in the cool water, striking out with her paws and splashing him ferociously as she swam about and got her hide nice and soaked. The late winter air would do her senses good, breaking through her thick hide and letting her know just how alive and young she was. Glad snapped her jaws as he nudged her head and gave him a curious look as she watched him venture out of the pool of water. "Feels much better now, my wound and hide will thank me for not letting them suffer another night dirty and unwashed." She chuckled to herself and bounded out of the pool as well, shaking her form and feeling the muscles stiffen and tense against the chilly air.</font>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'>His constant observing of her would make any other girl blush and shy away, but she only regarded him with more curiosity and obliviousness. She hadn't experienced adult affection, so the entire matter was completely foreign to her at this point in her life. She sat down, and twitched her tail, smiling up at him and flexing her toes on the ground, her large paws always a simple pride of hers. "Can you teach me how to fight?" The water flowed off her body like tiny rivers, and her question was cheery and respectful, like an eager student that sought knowledge even after her studies had ended. Her father and siblings had shown her most of the skill, but she knew that improvement would only come with outside sources, and what better teacher than this battle scarred giant?</font>