Swift River bloodstream

Word Count: 211

Tagg nodded as she confirmed his analysis of the herd, and he couldn’t help but feel pleased with himself.  He had come a long way in adapting to the loss of his eye, but to be fair that had been a long time ago.  

He nodded with her plan and settled back, watching her go.  He felt an old excitement rise up in his chest; this was something he hadn’t experienced in what felt like forever.  He wasn’t used to having occasion to feel happiness, and he wasn’t sure what to think of it.  He found that he hadn’t missed the feeling as much as he thought he would, and yet he was still enjoying it.  He pricked his ears, the year of hardship seeming to fall away.

Tagg kept his eye glued to small doe, not wanting her to wander away.  If he was distracted for even a moment, he might miss the mark.  He wasn’t starving, but he was hungry, and who knew when he’d have the chance to hunt again? He still had a long way ahead of him.  It wouldn’t do to slack just because he wasn’t particularly needy at the moment.  Besides, he had another wolf depending on his teamwork now.

He wouldn’t let her down.

"Speech"  Thought

l

All she received in return for her plan was a nod, giving a softer one in return as she started to creep her way around the herd, careful of where she placed her paws, trying not to rustle the snow to alert them of her presence. That would get no one anywhere. She wanted food, and she’d be damned if she let it just slip away like that. She didn’t want to let him down, or her stomach down, or Kerb down for that matter. Her nose wrinkled as she settled into place, her haunches raising lightly as her forepaws kept her stable, waiting for him to make that move.

She didn’t want to alert them of her presence until he was ready for it, and she’d travelled along the side of his good eye in the hopes that he’d see her get into position and go from there. She had to admit, his affliction, whoever caused it, had proven to make her more aware of her surroundings and how others feel, if even for a short time. It would have been rude and perhaps a little cruel to move through his blind spot. Perhaps it didn’t make her more aware of feelings, so much as conscientious and allowed her to work around them.

Now, all she had to do was wait.

Word Count: 219

Tagg allowed his ears to follow Maera as she crept around the herd.  He had to give her props: she was very quiet.  Even he had a hard time hearing her footfalls.  It was something that made him slightly uneasy, but at the same time very impressed.  He allowed himself a glance in her general direction and saw that she appeared to be ready.  He waited for a moment, wondering if she was going to make the first move.

After a few moments of nothing, however, Tagg grew slightly impatient.  The longer they waited, the better the chances were that the wind would shift again and their prey would sense them.  He flicked his ears, hoping Maera would know it was to let her know he was moving so she wasn’t surprised.  He launched himself from his hiding place, directly into the center of the herd.  They scattered, their sounds of terror breaking the silence.  He adjusted his course in an attempt to drive their target away from the rest of the group and towards Maera.

Blood pounded in Tagg’s ears, the thrill of the hunt consuming him.  He could almost taste the blood running just under his prey’s skin, feel its savory texture between his teeth.  It only made him more determined to make this hunt a success.

"Speech"  Thought

l

She was in position for a little while before she noted the flick of his ears, watching as he launched himself out from his hiding place and headed towards the center of the herd, driving them all apart while giving them a startle, their hooves clambering against the hard ground to get away from the creatures baring teeth at them. The doe was separated, running a different way because of how Tagg had charged the group and that was when Maera launched herself out of her own hiding spot, using her impressive speed to start to rear at it, trying to nip at its side while avoiding the dangerous hooves that were kicking and trying to get away.

She licked her lips briefly, practically tasting the meal they were going to be able to meet, her eyes burning darker with a desire to take down the prey, slaughtering it to better help her survival. It was simply primal instinct. It caused her to start nipping a little harder at it. It was panicking because it knew it was being cornered and was about to die. Maera was just waiting for the right moment, the moment when the fawn’s energy started to wane… that was when they could make the final strike and take it down for good.

You can go ahead and have the honors :D

Word Count:  

Tagg barely registered when Maera joined the hunt herself, nipping at their prey.  Tagg was too intent on the chase, eager to finally eat.  He nipped at the doe’s heels, sending it into a bigger panic.  The more afraid it was, the more likely it would be to mess up. It would tire more quickly.  

The doe tried to bank, turn away from the second wolf hunting her down.  Tagg growled. No you don’t! He jumped to the side, bringing him up close enough to her to keep her from escaping.  He lunged foreword, biting at her shoulder.  He was satisfied to hear her squeal of pain as his teeth met flesh.  He was unable to hold on because of her stride, but the teasing flavor of the meal lent him strength.  He could see Maera working hard as well, and jumped up again, body-slamming the doe in an attempt to push it closer to her.  He was hungry now, for sure.  He wanted to eat, but he couldn’t allow himself to become too impatient.  Couldn’t become complacent.  One slip-up and their meal was lost.

He was bound and determined not let that happen.

"Speech"  Thought

l

The doe tried to bank and he was successful with keeping it on course, allowing Mae to continue her ventures to weakening it, exhausting it to the point where one of them would be able to get a good clean shot at snapping the neck and watching the light leave the deer’s eyes. He managed a bite to her shoulder, which Maera only knew from the squeal she let out, managing a solid bite to her other shoulder, butting at the doe’s side… Tagg was managing to keep up and no doubt, with blood on their lips, they were both starving in that moment in time.

That was when she saw her moment, and she went for it. She pushed off her haunches, jaw opening as her teeth wrapped around the neck of the doe, powerful jaws biting down as hard as they could, a fire burning in her eyes as it started to kick, narrowly missing Maera’s stomach might she add, as it stumbled and started to fall to the ground, the blood welling in Maera’s mouth, making it water as she forced herself to pry her jaws off of it. She licked her lips to clean the blood off, a toothy grin on her features as the light faded from its eyes. Silently she thanked the spirits for the gift of the deer and the doe for its life, well sacrificed to keep her alive… old habits, things her father had taught her.

Sorry, short one

Word Count: 131

Tagg saw Maera lunge for the doe’s throat, and hit her mark.  Tagg snagged their target’s rear leg and yanked, hoping to get it off its feet before it could kick her and cause her any possible harm.  It went down screaming, but didn’t take long to die.  Tagg dislodged his jaws from the creature’s leg and stepped up opposite his hunting partner.

“Nice job.” He said, glancing around to check the security of their kill.  He could still hear the deer fleeing, but the sound of their hooves was beginning to fade.  He couldn’t sense anything else around them to suggest they were in danger.  He sniffed the deer, trying to decide where to begin. He glanced up at Maera.  “You brought it down; you get first bite.”  He smiled.

"Speech"  Thought

l

Without Tagg’s help, she wouldn’t have been able to go after the deer in the first place, and without his help during the hunt she likely would have been severely injured. She had a lot to be thankful for, holding her grin as he broke their silence. She was still coming down from the rush of adrenaline that had coursed through her veins. “Thanks, you too!” She offered in return as she looked for the best place to sink her teeth into. She was thinking a back leg because those were always nice and meaty, built with muscle from running and prancing.

He offered her the first bite and her grin grew (as if that was even possible at this point!). She sunk her teeth down into that back leg she’d been thinking about earlier, taking a huge (but not so huge as to not be manageable) bite, savoring the taste, because she knew that as herds migrated, these lucky finds of herds or dead carcasses would decrease into near nothing… that or these strange lands were magical and winter wouldn’t be as hard… she wasn’t holding her breathe though. She swallowed her first bites before asking a question. “Mind if I take the leftovers? I’ve been travelling with a friend and I need to make sure they eat something.” It was polite to check, and she doubted he wanted to haul that all the way up the mountain.

Word Count: 224

Tagg couldn’t help but feel a savage pleasure as he watched Maera dig into the meal.  It had been a long time since he’d shared with someone, and a bit of his old self came back to the surface.  After she had selected her place to eat, Tagg tore into the shoulder.  It had good meat; muscle, a bit of fat… perfect.

Before he could swallow, Maera asked him a question.  He hastily finished his mouthful before answering.  “Oh yeah, absolutely.  I won’t have much use of it after I keep moving.  I’d hardly be able to drag it up the mountain.” He chuckled before taking another bite, enjoying the savory flavor.  After stringy rabbit’s meat and the tiny rodents he would sometimes catch, this was simply delux.

As he ate, he thought.  So he had smelled another wolf on her after all.  It sounded like just the one companion; not a pack, but she wasn’t entirely alone either.  That made Tagg feel better.  It would be harder for her to survive the winter on her own.  Maybe… maybe if Fallen Tree Cove wouldn’t take him back, he could try to find them again… but feeding three wolves was certainly a lot harder than feeding only two.  

Well, he would think about that later. For now, he would enjoy the meal, and the company.

"Speech"  Thought

l

One more post from you and we can archive <3

She dove right back into her meal right after she asked the question, listening intently as she ate to his answers. She would have answered in return but the food was a little more consuming and she was willing to bet it was for him too. It was better to avoid idle chitchat when they could be filling their stomachs after all. The latter of the two options seemed far more productive. She had a plan. Since the herd was already scared off, she’d call for Kerb after Tagg made his departure, then he could eat his fill and they could preserve anything that they might be able to take with them… bury some of it to come back to later.

It would no doubt be a welcome surprise for the naturally boisterous wolf she found herself essentially cohabitating with. They probably wouldn’t spend a lot of time together, but they’d always stick close to each other, and she’d have to trust that they’d have each other’s backs for now… whether or not that panned out, she had yet to see.

She knew how rough life as a lone wolf could be, and so Maera, after they’d both finished eating their fill, offered her well-wishes… he had said he could potentially make it in a day if he booked it hard enough. “I wish you luck with your pack in the mountains, Tagg… and if you ever need a friend, I’ll be in the area, likely for the duration of the winter.” It wasn’t a set in stone plan, but it was a general idea to give him an idea of where he could find her should he ever need to. She wished he didn’t, because that meant it went well… they had yet to see, however.