Pasos al Cielo Broken Hearts

Word count: 149

Kuru squinted when the other wolf asked to help, but he dropped the issue at her last admission. I didn't want to be a burden, either. A mouth to feed, but no paws to help? The shame was unbearable.

"Okay. You flush, and I'll chase it down," he conceded. "I'll meet you here once I've caught it, okay?" he confirmed, pointing his nose at the tree shelter.

He walked toward the rabbit scent trail before waiting for an answer, though he angled one ear back. Kuru flexed his claws. They were slightly sore from gripping loose river soil, but he'd had worse. Tough claws, he commanded himself. Quest claws. You're going to catch the juiciest prey in the forest for this little wolf.

He half-turned to the not-so-stranger. "If you can track the rabbit, I'll follow your lead," Kuru whispered with a nod.

"Speech" Thought

OOC! 

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Word Count: 147

Relief flooded Anaia as the boy acquiesced to her request and began leading the way.  She nodded as he said to meet back up, then took the lead in tracking the rabbit.  It wasn’t far; its burrow was just up the hill a ways. The rabbit sat outside of it, munching on some sort of green plant. Anaia paused and gestured to her new hunting partner.

“I’ll go around to the other side and try to keep it from going inside.” She whispered, since they were now far enough away from the river to actually be able to hear. The pale girl then crept around and jumped down on top of the rabbit, allowing it to slip through her paws but not into its hole.  She hunkered down in front of its home, snarling as fiercely as she could to scare it back towards the ashy boy.

"Speech"  Thought

OOC

Bless you. Bless you.


Word count: 256

Kuru hid in the shadow of some nearby foliage and waited for the rabbit to run. Two quick flashes of movement, and the creature zipped off to one side. Kuru launched himself after the rabbit.

The animal zagged right, but the hunter was expecting it. He slammed his back paws onto the packed soil. He changed direction with practiced ease, and caught up to his prey in a few strides. He bunched his muscles and fixed his gaze on the rabbit's haunches.

Don't mess this up! he warned himself. Fierce determination gave him a thrill of extra energy. Kuru leaped with a snarl and landed squarely on the rabbit's spine.

The creature squealed. Kuru quickly cut the sound off with a bite to the neck. His prey jerked once before falling still. Warm blood dribbled into his mouth, and Kuru was tempted to tear into it right there. This isn't for me, he reminded himself. He left the prey at his paws as he stood, licking his bloodied mouth.

This should take the edge off her hunger, he mused, but it isn't enough to fill her. I should find more prey. But that squeal probably scared it all off. He looked regretfully at his kill, angry he didn't make it more cleanly.

"At least I got it," he sighed. It was a start. Kuru picked up the still-warm rabbit and headed for their meeting-place.

"I got it," he barked softly near the tree. "Did you make it back okay?"

"Speech" Thought

OOC!  Thank you sneeze creep

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Word Count: 

Anaia watched as the rabbit fled het fury,  paws itching to give chase. Instead she waited,  blocking the burrow entrance until she heard the creature squeal. Then she stood with a sigh and headed back to the meeting place. She still felt so useless. The hunt wold have been the same had she not participated.

She didn't have to wait for her new friend long; she'd just arrived when she heard his footsteps. He dropped the prey before her. "Yeah, " She said softly in reply to his question. Her eyes were glued to the rabbit. The scent made her stomach rumble. Sure cold remember deli b This hungry; everything had been a blue the last few days, and maybe even weeks. Greet 6 somehow here,  she was able to forget all that.

"Speech"  Thought

Word count: 227

"Go ahead," Kuru laughed, pushing the rabbit closer to his companion. "It won't eat itself, so somebody has to do it." He gave her a gentle but firm glare; he wasn't going to accept any of the rabbit for himself.

He padded to the back of the shelter and gathered pine needles into a soft pile. The young wolf settled onto the makeshift nest and yawned. He still tasted blood on his mouth. While he worked on licking it off, he watched the white wolf through half-closed eyes.

Muzzle clean, Kuru began nibbling the mud out of his claws. The rhythmic work soothed him, and he found himself resting his heavy head. Near sleep, he jerked up. "I'm fine!" he yelped. He went back to work on his claws with renewed focus.

Keep doing that and she'll leave before she's ready, just to get away from you, Kuru's mind taunted him. The gray canine curled his upper lip, as if confronting a hostile animal. Shut up! he howled inwardly. I'm no danger. I'm helpful.

He stood, determined to silence his hateful mind. "I'm going to, uh, look for more prey," he announced, more to the tree shelter than the other wolf. "I'll be back before sunset. You should rest," he finished, and padded to the shelter's exit.

"Speech" Thought

OOC! Poor baby gonna eat too fast

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Word Count: 

As the stranger invited her to eat,  Anaia's stomach rumbled. She opened her mouth to protest - She didn't want to eat what he caught by herself - but his firm glare stopped her. She nodded meekly and gave him a mumbled "Thanks."

The ashy boy returned to his little makeshift shelter, and Anaia tore into the rabbit, quickly devouring  half of it. She paused and looked up when her companion yelped, but he only seemed to be cleaning his feet. He quickly got up and went in search of more prey, leaving the white woman on her own.

Before she could continue eating, however,  Anaia's long-unused stomach spasmed. She just managed to turn away from the remaining rabbit before heaving and spewing the contents of her stomach into the ground. She wanted for a moment, staring at the chunks of meat  and bile. A disparaging wail ripped itself from her throat, opening the floodgates. She sat there and cried. How can I survive if I can't even eat?!

"Speech"  Thought

OOC: "Reflexively What the frack, Kuru slammed a paw on it. "

Word count: 219

Kuru stomped into the forest. He hoped there was something worth catching here, though any prey would be welcome at this point. A hunt should get him out of his head.

Kuru padded among the quiet trees, admiring the sunlight-dappled needles underfoot. Scratching sounds came from ahead. The wolf swiveled his ears toward the noise and crept into the shadow of several pines.

Following the sound, the hunter found a grouse rooting for pine needles. He killed the animal with a swift bite to the head. Kuru examined his catch. It wasn't fat, but it had enough meat to fill his snowy companion, at least.

He carried the grouse back toward their shelter. On the way, a squirrel skittered right in front of his paws. Kuru slammed a paw on it. The animal went limp, and Kuru collected his lucky catch.

He reached their meeting tree by a bouncy trot. Something colorful and wet appeared in the corner of his eye, but Kuru ignored it. The warm smells of fresh prey was making him hungry.

He padded inside and dropped his kills. "I found more!" he barked happily. "Are you still--" A foul-smelling wave hit the back of Kuru's throat and made him gag. "What is that?" he coughed. "Not-Spirit-Wolf! Are you okay!?"

"Speech" Thought

OOC! 

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Word Count: 173

Anaia was just getting up to get a drink and wash the taste of bile from her mouth when the scent of fresh blood washed over her again.  The ash boy returned, cheerfully carrying two more creatures.  He dropped them at his makeshift den before turning back to her. 

There was that nickname again.

She sniffed and nodded, not looking back up at him as she returned to the water to drink. She then came back to her meal, staring at the meat she needed to eat. “I just ate too fast.” She mumbled, crouching down to take a slower bite from the food even though she wasn’t sure she still wanted to.  The problem would only get worse if she didn’t eat.

Anaia forced herself to finish the rabbit, taking her time this go around.  She waited, and this time her stomach accepted the food. Exhausted, she slunk to the shelter and curled up, still trying to contain the little hiccupping sobs that were trying to make their way up her throat.

"Speech"  Thought

Word count: 153

The white wolf curled under the tree's protective branches. She looked miserable. That stuff outside must be bile, Kuru noted. He stood awkwardly, glancing to and away from his companion.

Half a rabbit couldn't be near filling. "Are you sure...?" Kuru faltered. But the other wolf didn't seem to be up for anything. She got some food, at least. Maybe sleep is the best thing for her right now.

The gray man nudged the pheasant closer to his tired companion, in case she got hungry again. He picked up his cooling squirrel. Kuru ducked out of the shelter, glancing back once before settling just outside.

The sun was beginning to dip behind the horizon. Kuru watched the sky streak with evening colors as he tucked into his prey. Keep the clouds at bay, he asked the spirit-wolves, just beginning to emerge. She can recover. She just needs time.

"Speech" Thought

OOC! 

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Word Count: 135

The white girl watched through hooded eyes as the ashy boy started gnawing on his squirrel and casting glances at the cloudy sky. Despite how tired she was, Anaia couldn’t sleep.  She was too cold, too scared. Her fur was still drying and therefore wasn’t a good buffer against the chilly air.

Her heart pounded in her chest, but even with her blood pumping she couldn’t get warm. Finally she crawled forward, cautiously inching her way towards her new friend.  She nudged up next to him, unable to contain the sigh of relief that escaped as her side pressed against his warm body. It had been so long… so long since she’d been able to sleep next to someone else and feel safe. She quickly slipped into the most peaceful sleep she’d had in months.

"Speech"  Thought