Red Fern Forest where the red fern grows.

Open for one or two!  Set midday.  Cloudy, 34F/1C.

Heck, she was hungry.  She was so hungry.  The attempt up at the river pack had been a failure – though quite frankly, it seemed to have strengthened the bond between her and her working partner – but all the same, that didn’t fill their bellies.  It wasn’t like they were starving, because there were plenty of chipmunks and squirrels racing around trying to store energy before they start their torpor.  But it wasn’t like they were full, either, and Little Crow was starting to get tired of the constant buzz of hunger somewhere between her ribcage.  

And she had to get to Fallen Tree Cove.  Which was further south, still.  But what kind of impression would it make if she showed up and was nothing but skin and bones?  She wanted answers!  And a little starving girl was hardly in a place to demand anything, much less the answers for everything done to her and her Mama.

The dusty wolf crouched down into the ferns, blending in relatively well – her tail laid flat against the ground and she held her breath, bright eyes tracing the form of a marmot as it bumbled along.  God, it was so much bigger than a squirrel.  That could feed her for days.

Tagging @Saros so he's in the know.  <3  He's welcome, too.

Vere never passed up the opportunity to eat. So when the scent of a marmot drifted towards her on the wind, she swiftly changed her course. Vere did not stalk or skulk, and even if she had noticed the other wolf lying in wait for the opportunity to strike, she likely wouldn't have acted any differently. Boldly she strutted forth, quickly finding the dark brown shape shuffling under the dark, sickly looking ferns away from her. Vere hadn't bothered to conceal her footsteps, and it seemed the marmot had thought it could make a covert escape before she discovered it.  
Without a second thought the green-eyed female pushed her heels into the earth, launching herself towards the rotund rodent and kicking up a spray of dead leaves and loose earth as she did so. The hapless creature stiffened at the sound, not even a glance spared towards her before it started to trundle off with a terrified squeal that only incited the hunteress further. With ears turned forward and chartreuse eyes locked on her victim she raced to close the short distance between them.

Vere knew the little creature didn't stand a chance now. Too easy. Her muscular forelimbs landed on either side of the marmot. With her head reaching down and opened maw, all she had left to do now was to grab the creature by its neck and it would be over....

!!!!

All at once, the fat little rodent seemed to get a wiggle on, scurrying further through the ferns. Namir was certain she’d hidden downwind – had she set it off? The girl furrowed her brow, teeth grinding together as she scurried through the ferns. She was only lengths away from the marmot when another wolf seemingly burst out of nowhere, framing the little creature with her paws. Little Crow could have screamed.

“Who th’ fuck d’ya think y’are!?”

Okay, maybe she would scream anyways. It was only sheer luck that the marmot didn’t take a direct hit, using the loner’s brief pause to make a sudden dash for the ferns. The yearling’s tail lashed behind her, and she was off after the animal. Part of her brain still wanted to yell at the stranger, but that could wait until she got herself fed. At some level, she was basically aware of the fact that they’d probably have better luck if they worked together – but it was just a goddamn marmot, and she was a big girl. She could take care of herself. As long as this other loner knew where she wasn’t wanted, they’d be just fine.

So just lay off.

Success was so close, Vere could almost taste it. Literally, her slavering jowls could imagine sinking through course brown fur and warm blood coursing over her tongue. Alas it was a fantasy to be unfulfilled. A scream from behind caused Vere to hesitate, her head jerking towards the side to look at the dusty brown female who had suddenly materialized from the foliage. It was just enough time for the marmot to slip away unscathed, Vere watching in shock as the other wolf raced after it. Vere growled with frustration. The question, rhetorical or not, would have to wait to be answered.

She grit her teeth, not wasting any more time than she already to charge after the two, panting to catch up. Vere hadn't known she'd stolen another's quarry, and even if she had it was unlikely she'd have cared much. The marmot was hers.

Vere wasn't even sure whether she was chasing after the marmot or the wolf who'd startled her and made her lose her kill. She grit her teeth and growled as she caught up to the leggy female. "Move it, scrawny!" Vere roughly barked as she charged forward, her paws thundering beside the other before she suddenly threw her weight sideways. The marmot didn't even matter at this point, she simply wanted to knock the girl off her paws for interfering.

“I was here first, asshole!”

Yelling over her should probably wasn’t helping Little Crow run any faster. It probably wasn’t encouraging the marmot to run any slower, either, but it was a fat little thing with stumpy little legs, and it wasn’t meant to run anyways. It was meant to be eaten – and that was what she intended to do. When the little rodent took a sharp turn right, the young thief was almost caught off guard. Almost. She went about a stride as she threw her paws down into the ground, veering right even as muscle and bone screamed at the huge tension.

But it felt good. Good. Fuck, but did she ever love the thrill of the chase.

And she might have actually gotten the little guy, too, if the other female hadn’t thrown her shoulder into Namir just as she tried to turn. She hadn’t even seen the loner thunder up on her, so focused on the prey animal. The forest floor rose up to meet her with frightening speed, and the sandy female hit the ground in a tangle of limbs and with several angry curses. She wasn’t done for more than a few seconds, but it certainly felt like an eternity before she was upright again, practically seeing red now that the chase was good and lost.

“What the fuck!? ‘m gonna kick yer damn ass, lady – ain’t you got no manners!?”

@Vere -- Sorry for the wait!

@Namir

Vere inwardly smiled at the satisfying sound of the other female's body hitting the forest floor with a crash and a thud. Vere dug her paws in, coming to a quick stop and barely given enough time to appreciate her triumph before the dusty brown wolf was back on her paws, yelling indignantly over their lost cause. Vere grinned, her tail swaying high with elevated emotions as her body practically thrummed at the confrontation.

Distantly, the sound of the marmot scampering off forest registered in her mind, but she paid it no heed. Vere's attention still solidly settled on the other woman, she took a step forward, sharp teeth glinting in the scattered light that pulsed through the sparse canopy above. No, she didn't really have any manners, but that went without saying.

"I'd like to see you try," She laughed in challenge, chartreuse eyes scraping over the lanky female as she sized her up and down. "I think even that marmot woulda been a bit much for you to take on," She goaded.

“Fucking shit, woman, you sure run your mouth.”

Too small, too slow – tchhht! Like she hadn’t heard all of that before when she’d been the omega at Crow’s Crossing. Before that, before her mother abandoned her, she was a pup – but she was still the lowest, and her half-siblings had no lack of cruel things to say to her. Ears rolled backwards; that was the only sign Vere got before the younger loner explored forward armed with nothing but teeth and claws and the fury of someone so frequently shit upon.

Screw you too, universe.

The dusty female snapped at whatever part of the older female she could reach – face, ears, neck, it didn’t really matter. All she needed was to give the other loner a good bite or two. Size and age weren’t everything. Little Crow was certain she could hold her own.

Vere had to admit she quite liked poking the little dusty-brown beehive in front of her. It was quite amusing to watch the buzzing, angry aftermath. Fierce words coming from the wolf she'd just bowled over seconds before. Vere clacked her teeth, paws beating the ground and tail lashing with pent up energy as the younger female lunged towards her. Ivory teeth grazed over her cheek, a low, grumbling woof leaving her throat as she rocked backwards. A few tufts of creamy fur were freed with a sharp pinch, floating on the air between them. The marmot didn't even matter anymore, she liked this way too much.

"That's all ya got?!" Vere laughed roughly, chartreuse eyes narrowed to slits. Her thick limbs stiffened, paws digging into the loamy earth as she threw herself forwards. Her jaws were wide, ready to grab onto anything available though she mostly relied on her momentum to try to shove the female off balance again.

The marmot was long gone – it might have been a terrifying experience, but it was probably thanking its lucky stars the two wolves had gotten in a scuffle instead of ganging up on it.

Namir was sorry she hadn’t caught it, but was glad, at least, that the bitch trying to antagonize her hadn’t caught it either. She peeled her lips back, bobbing back and forth from one side to the other as her mind raced, and she tried to decide if it was worth actually going in for another bite. Before she had the chance to decide, Vere lunged with gaping jaws – a strangled noise escaped the yearling as she tried to twist away – but she still got caught in the chest, teeth tearing away fur and a few layers of skin. The loner snapped her teeth, twisting to bite at Vere’s face – eyes, nose, ear, she’d take any of it, but she wasn’t going to sit here and take a beating.

Vere grinned devilishly as the younger wolf cried out, her fangs hitching on the other's downy chest and earning a mouthful of fur that she pulled loose. She spat the ripped hairs from her tongue as her rival pulled away, Vere not expecting that she would strike back so quickly. Before she even had a moment to collect herself, teeth wrapped around her muzzle in a strong and painful grasp. Vere squawked in an undignified fashion, olive eyes momentarily going wide before she braced her paws against the earth, roughly pulling back and yanking her muzzle from the other female's hold. Teeth raked over the delicate skin, drawing lines of blood. She clacked her teeth in irritation, eyes watering in pain as she blindly lashed out at the other's face in return.