Larkcall Lowlands Waste of precious breath

Eveyrthing seemed to be going well. Piety knew Morganna was locked on and Piety had landed a blow on the shoulder that reacted more as a body slam than an actual bite to skin. It allowed her to retaliate and just barely witness the young deer landing a blow on the Archer woman's ribs. A loud bark emitted from the pale woman and she quickly rushed over to Morganna. "How bad is it? Do you think anything is broken? How close is your home?" Sniffing softly Piety could tell there was no bleeding and nothing seemed out of place. The light Santoro didn't even think if Morganna might snap at her for being so close and asking so much. But truly the last thing Pi wanted was for someone to think she, Piety Santoro Archer, had injured the one and only Morganna Archer.

"I think there's a blood trail that we could follow if you want. It shouldn't make it too far after two impacting hits. Do you think you're strong enough to stand or should I take it down solo?" Piety's mud-colored eyes kept scanning over her company before glancing back into the thick fog. The young deer could be anywhere in this area. All they had to go off of was their scent. The two women's sight were practically useless in these weather conditions.

"Speech"

Table Art by Becuffin of Ruins of Wildwood.

# C W T

you gotta fire up, you gotta let go

Morganna Archer

"I'm fine," she brushed off Piety's fussing with an adrenalin laden growl, "Might as well finish what we started..." the loaded words were accompanied by a questionable smirk meant to put her companion back on edge. Her steps gained speed at the sound of faltering hooves and frantic bellowing of the young deer crying for its herd reached her ears. The fog may have rendered them blind, but their prey would suffer from the same affliction, and Morganna was decidedly less merciful than some, once retaliation found its mark.

She considered for a moment just how horrified Piety might be if she hid in the fog and spent the next six hours slowly ripping at the live deers belly until its guts spilled all over the tundra (no doubt it would succumb to blood loss before that point, but a girl could dream). She had tasted blood now and instincts demanded more. But it could hardly be called a waste of time. "Maybe we should jus' bleed 'er out," she suggested quietly, chin lifting to scent the air, the ill-defined shape just ahead proving to be their quarry with her next panicked bellow. It would prove to be less dangerous with just the two of them, since apparently back up wasn't nearby enough to aid them at this point.

It was made clear to Piety that Morganna was fine with the not-so-direct growl. Pulling her one good ear back, the pale woman quickly nodded and followed after her company. As Morganna's pace picked up Pi obviously followed her example. She had never really hunted much before so everything she was doing was based on instinct and what the Archer did.

Her ear perked to catch the dark female's words. Cocking her head to the side, muddy eyes looked over. "Bleed it out? How're we gonna do that?" With the inexperience Piety had she was willing to follow whatever was suggested. Even if it did seem a little bit of an overkill to just drain an animal's blood out. While she could have asked why not just break its neck or even crush the lungs or chest, Piety decided that Morganna was a strong woman and knew best.

Her body had shifted into a slightly crouched position, practically just waiting for some type of direction or order to fall from Morganna's lips. Earth-toned eyes obviously fixated ahead to not lose any glimpse of the young deer they had. Things would have been much easier had this dumb fog not been here.

"Speech"

Table Art by Becuffin of Ruins of Wildwood.

# C W T

you gotta fire up, you gotta let go

Morganna Archer

She couldn't stop her scowl as the other questioned how to bleed their prey out, thinking it should be obvious for a predator to know the best way to bring down their prey. "Aim fer th' thin skin at th' backof 'er legs," she answered quietly as she begun to move forward. Not only was it likely to slow the deer down but there were some nice big arteries in there and if they hit it just right her strength would leave with her blood and they could move in with less fear of being injured. "If she bleeds enough she'll lose th' will ter fight an'then we can finish'er off." It would be a nice prize to drag home, maybe even enough to negate the need for additional gifts.

Trusting she had made herself clear enough and with their quarry in sight, Morganna moved forward once again, this time with less intent to try and drag the young animal down. Instead, she aimed sharp short bites at the animals hind legs, dropping back intermittently to allow @Piety the chance to land some blows of her own. This was quickly turning into a game of endurance and if the fog hadn't been so thick Morganna might realise they were driving the animal closer and closer to her home. As it was, she was too focused on the hunt to pay mind to the scent markers growing thicker as the hunt progressed.

While both ears could still hear fairly well, it was only the one that flicked in attention to Morganna's words. The darker woman's directions clearer than the fog around them. Piety watched at first. Seeing how the Archer would snip and snap at the younger creature's legs. So harsh and almost fragile at the same time. Morganna had already been injured so seeing her hop right back on was a motivator for Piety. She should be able to do just as well if not better mentioning she hadn't been kicked.

The pulling back was an obvious sign from her company. Like tag teaming the animal, pale Pi took her shot. Lunging forward and offering snips and harsh snaps on the gentle flesh of the prey. Trying her best to locate the sweet thin spot that would allow the deer to bleed out. A harsh death but Piety believed there was an afterlife, even for this deer. It had fulfilled some purpose in life and now was its time to go.

Blood and dirty animal settled in Piety's nose. The overpowering scent of Morganna also wasn't helpful in a distinction of luring it to borders. But was it really trespassing if you had been hunting with a member? Besides, the only reason Piety was hunting was to settle any leftover dirt with Morganna and help the dark woman feed her family. Wasn't the a selfless enough act as is?

If Morganna wants to do the last little blow of damage that's fine by me c: Pi's a little unprofessional

(This post was last modified: Dec 03, 2016, 06:39 PM by Piety.)

# C W T

you gotta fire up, you gotta let go

Morganna Archer

The doe was slowing down, staggering even, as the wolves closed in. She could feel the blood sticking to her chest, taste it on her tongue, and that was enough to keep her going. Piety moved in and Morganna surged alongside her, clamping down on the leg now the deer lacked the strength to kick, dragging the animal down, down, down. When the deer finally fell, she moved to make short work of it, teeth digging into the delicate fur on the animals belly to finish it quickly. While adrenalin still coursed through her veins she knew she wouldn't feel a thing, but a few hours from now, or even tomorrow -  well it served her right for getting in the way of the flailing hoof. She was even unforgiving of herself when it came to foolish acts like that.

She buried her head in the warm cavity that was the deers belly, teeth quickly closing around warm flesh and removing it with a tug. She stepped back, blood soaked head canting to invite Piety forward to feast. As a loner, every meal mattered and after exerting such effort, to make her go hungry could prove to be life threatening. "If yer lookin' fer a place ter stay," she began, wondering how best to phrase it, "leave five gifts fer five days at the border, on the fifth day, one o' us will come down ter greet yer." She would watch Piety eat and wait for her to leave before calling for the rest of the pack. The last thing she wanted was a misunderstanding about the loner that may or may not have stumbled across their borders while hunting in the fog.

Morgs exit unless you want to question her more :)