Drooping Willows The Spider and the Lamps

So, the girl had just had a breakthrough. That was good. But that didn't mean she was going to lounge around Swift River all day bonding with her pack mates. They should be happy that she at least wouldn't chew their heads off anymore. But she wasn't about to reverse whatever she'd gone through by forcing herself to endure the conversation of the aging wolves that she lived with, and she definitely wasn't going to hunt down Triell and talk to him either. While he was her favored brother of the litter, she still didn't necessarily care. She needed to find other wolves her age.

Was it really this hard? She didn't want to spend the rest of her life surrounded by old wolves and puppies. That was no kind of life to lead. So, as the sun began to rise over Swift River that morning, Borlla left the territory and headed south. Why south? Well, why not? She had no wish to go to the mountains, and she didn't care much about the cherries and blackberries at the moment either. So, south she went. Her stomach rumbled slightly, and her journey turned into a hunt. Ears forward, Borlla leaned forward as she dipped her head towards the ground, nose searching for a scent trail. Something small. She'd been through the whole "large game" thing already, and, as much as she wanted to do it, she was certain that she couldn't take down an adult by herself.

The scent of deer was rather strong, and easy to follow. It was a wide trail and went in one distinct direction. Eventually, she could follow them merely by listening. There were a few of them, and they were moving steadily through the green. A stream that had been a distance away from her now closed in and was widening as well, and she realized that that was where the deer were. The trees eventually loosened their grip around her and were replaced by massive thick trees that weren't necessarily tall, but had the strangest branches. They trailed in the stream and blocked the rising sun from Borlla's eyes. The deer didn't seem to mind them either. A few does and even fewer fawns sipped cautiously at the clear water, ears twisting on their thin heads.

Borlla knew well enough not to go after the big game, but...She wondered if these fawns could make an easy meal. Pausing, she backed slowly into the shelter of one of the willows, the dangling branches hiding her and the lack of wind making mostly invisible to the nose. The girl settled into a lying position, eyes locked on the group of seven, wondering just how easy it would be to lock her teeth around one of the three fawn's legs. The decision would have to be quickly, or else they'd move on. <b style="color:#32527a">"speech."

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Because i'm not sure what Raigo's status is in GH, I'm going to set this before he meets up with them. =)

Smells, smells, glorious smells. They invaded his nostrils with an alarming frequency, calling his attention away from the task at hand. Raigo Akreon was back, after a few months of being absent. He had missed home, even if home wasn't exactly defined yet. They had stumbled upon a place, but he had gotten caught up with the thrill of the hunt before the territory borders had been completely defined. It was an understandable mistake, but not necessarily one that he was sure his family would understand. The place he was wandering about now was completely different though, from any place that they had gone before. The trees here were...strange. The branches were hanging low, their leaves brushing the grass. It was weird. Because it was just the branches, not the whole trunks. But, that was whatever, the youth decided. Trees were trees, and despite their odd shapes or tendencies, they could only be so interesting.

The deer on the other hand, they were interesting. Very interesting. His stomach rumbled, and he lowered himself into a crouch, worried that they might have heard him. Raigo was not an expert hunter by any means, but he wanted the chance to satisfy his carnivore needs. Hunching forward, he began to crawl forward on his elbows, doing his best to keep his bulk and tan and black coat out of view of the seven deer. So far so good, he hoped. They didn't seem to notice him, and they continued to browse around aimlessly under the hanging branches.

Breathing in deeply, he waited a moment, narrowing his focus, honing in on a single fawn that had wandered just a bit further from the group. Preparing himself, he exhaled, before he launched himself forward. A feral growl emerged from his throat, and he ran forward eagerly, scattering the deer. The fawn scrambled and turned, running away (towards Borlla).

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The girl had finally made up her mind to just do it. What was there to think about anyway? If she didn't go for it, then she'd have to find some other kind of food. If she did go for it and succeed, then she'd be well fed, and even if she didn't succeed, she'd still have to find something else to eat. Besides, a little practice never hurt anyone. Shifting her haunches before rising, she noted a foreign sound. At first, she though it had just been her, some shift of her tail across the grass when she'd moved, but the sound kept going...

Then the deer scattered. Borlla stood up fast, orange eyes wide, staring through the long branches that had kept her hidden. Someone had beaten her to the deer. She could hardly make out the form through the green, save for a flash of brown or white here and there. But there were other things to worry about for the moment. Perhaps the fact that the wolf was basically herding one of the fawns right at her. Snarling for a variety of reasons, Borlla burst through the branches just before the fawn ran into them, and tried to make a grab for its leg. Her teeth instead grazed the young creature's back end, and it stumbled again. It seemed intent on continuing to escape, despite the fact that its little stumble had basically cost it its life. Borlla smiled, rather happy to know that while this wolf had been hunting the deer, she'd be the one to catch it. <b style="color:#32527a">"speech."

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The thrill of the chase was overwhelming. Raigo's heart was pounding what must have been a thousand miles a minute, and he gave chase with glee. Weaving in and out of the weird branches, he ducked under their leaves, taken aback when they did not hit him as a normal tree would, but rather parted out of the way without putting up any force. If he had time, he would have stopped to examine this, but he had to do better. The fawn was running, and despite the angry cries of the mother doe, he was closing in. He could almost see himself springing towards the fawn, teeth parted as he went for the kill. But he missed, and instead tripped it up. Which was alright, he would get it.

Pulling up short, he skidded forward a few inches as he realized that what he was envisioning was not in his head, but something that he was literally seeing. Raigo's brown eyes grew wide as he realized that he was not alone, and that there was another canine creature who was hunting here too. What were the odds of that? Not very good, but at least she was there, now they could take the thing out together. Growling at the fawn, he cast his eyes around him, but it seemed that the mother doe had realized the fate of her young and had left with the others. He snorted, she could always have another. Turning his head around, he watched the young female, tongue rolling out of his mouth, saliva beginning to collect in anticipation.

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The fawn steadily slowed until Borlla was almost dragging herself along to humor the stupid thing. Finally, she nabbed its leg, and dragged it to the earth. It seemed quite desperate to keep its life, however, and went on flailing, as if it thought it could somehow harm her in doing that. Perhaps if it was five times larger. It tried to regain its feet, but hardly had the chance before Borlla locked her teeth around its neck and crushed the life from it. She held it limp for just a moment, a wave of satisfaction freezing her to the grass, before she dropped it, and glanced over her shoulder, licking the blood from her muzzle. Her honey-hued eyes found the mottled male, and she blinked, attempting to usher him towards her with her eyes.

<b style="color:#32527a">"Are you just going to stand there slobbering?" Borlla laughed, sitting down beside the carcass. <b style="color:#32527a">"You half caught this thing." Cracking a smile, she turned back around, and tore a hole into the gut of the fawn, pulling off a bit more than she needed, she gnawed on one piece for an unnecessary amount of time, savoring her kill. <b style="color:#32527a">"speech."

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It was beautiful, the way the female's teeth crushed the neck of the fawn with ease. The powerful jaws closed around the crying fawn's life, and within moments, it was over. The life faded, and the body of the fawn stopped fighting. As it went limp, Raigo's tail started wagging with pride. It was dropped to the ground by the pretty female, and she looked over her shoulder, blood staining her tan fur. Even like that, the way her honey colored eyes were smiling at him, he couldn't help but notice that she was rather...cute. But his attention was diverted by the strong scent of blood, and saliva began to drip from his tongue to the ground. She was going to share, wasn't she?

That answer was given him as if she had read his mind, and she grinned. Wagging his tail, he approached the abandoned kill. The strange lady had taken a sizable chunk out of the gut of the fawn, but that wasn't what he was interested in. Circling around the back of the dead animal, he lowered his head to the hind quarters. Teeth sinking into the flesh, he ripped the skin easily. Fighting only momentarily with the muscle and sinews, he yanked his head back up, tail wagging as he heard the satisfying rip of the meat as it came apart from the body. Munching on it, he walked a few feet away and dropped it to the ground. Settling back on his haunches, and then down to his stomach, he pulled the piece of meat forward with his paws. Taking a bite, he began to gnaw on his food before swallowing it. Looking over at Borlla, he grinned at her with a bloody muzzle. "We make a good team it seems," he said, nodding towards the piece of the kill she was chewing on.

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She went on chewing on her own little bit of flesh, only moving again when he approached. Wiggling back against the grass, she got about a foot away from the fawn before she laid down, and pulled at the meal again. Her eyes were rather distracted though as the stranger pulled his own meal forth. The sound was quite satisfying, wasn't it? It made her want to grab a bit more, just to listen to it, but instead she chewed up her own, tail curled comfortably around her haunch as she steadily swallowed her catch.

Feeling eyes on her, she looked up, and let out a laugh at the sight of his blood-stained fur. It wasn't as if it was an unfamiliar sight, but, for whatever reason she found it absolutely hilarious. As her bubbling laughter subsided, she replaced it with a grin that looked almost ready to burst. She gave her own muzzle a thorough licking, wondering if she looked the same as him, and swallowed another bite, before responding. <b style="color:#32527a">"Seems like it," Borlla nodded, <b style="color:#32527a">"I'm Borlla Tainn. Who are you?" Pale brows rose up, and she was quite curious to hear the name of this young stranger. <b style="color:#32527a">"speech."

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The food tasted so good. It had been a while since he had anything of substance in his stomach. The blood was dripping from his muzzle onto the ground, Raigo was sure he looked like a slob. But at that moment, with the warmth of the fresh kill lighting his belly, he didn't particularly care. It had been far too long, and he was going to savor every bite that he could. He was so absorbed in his food, that he barely heard her laughter, but eventually it's bright sounds caught his attention and he looked up. Cocking his head to the side in confusion, he chuckled too, but not too much, just an iota. He was missing the joke, whatever it was.

Ears perking atop his head as she spoke, he grinned at her and dipped his head, breathing in a whiff of the kill in front of him as he did so. His stomach growled, and he took another piece in between his teeth. Chewing on it for a moment, he didn't answer immediately. Only after the piece of raw meat had disappeared down his throat did he return her inquiry. "Raigo Akreon, or Rai if you prefer. Do you live around here, Borlla?" Maybe she could help him find his way back to Cedarwood Forest, back to his family. For while the hunt was fun, eventually he would have to go seek out the reason he had come back.

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Borlla finished the last of her meal in a rather gluttonous fashion, gnawing and swallowing without much regard for anything. Her muzzle, which she'd tried to lick clean only moments before, was lined and dripping with red again. With a lazy motion, she licked at the fur again, but she still looked rather stained. Oh well. Definitely full, she stretched her forelegs out, and her jaws gaped in a yawn before she tucked her paws beneath her and focused her attention solely on her company who was still working on his own meal.

<b style="color:#32527a">"Kind of. A little north," She glanced back towards the willow where she'd been hiding for a moment, though found it rather hard to pick out of the crowd. Of course, she knew that she'd have no problem finding her way back to Swift River. <b style="color:#32527a">"How about you, Raigo?" Setting her head back straight, she looked at him again. <b style="color:#32527a">"speech."

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One bite, two bites, three bites. And then it was gone. The last of his portion of the kill disappeared in front of him, and he grinned as he felt the satisfaction in his stomach. It had been a while since he had anything substantial in there, and he made a note to thank the young she-wolf across from him for allowing them to share, even though it had been a team effort from the start. Pink tongue sliding out from between his black lips, he licked the parts of his muzzle that he could reach, the sweet taste of blood causing his eyes to look over towards the remainder of the kill. But Raigo had his fill, and he merely settled down, perking up again as Borlla continued to question him.

A little north. Well what was north of here? Everything. She had given him a very mysterious answer, so when she asked him the question and expected a straightforward answer, he considered being just as devious. But truth was, he didn't live anywhere, and he told her there. "Well, I used to live with the Grizzly Hollow wolves...I think they live in Cedarwood Forest...but I left for a little bit. Trying to find my way back there now," he confessed. Shrugging his shoulders a little bit sheepishly, he spoke up again. "To be honest, I was never too familiar with Relic Lore, so I'm kind of lost when it comes to where everything is, hence the reason I ended up here." Wherever here was.

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