[ragged ears tilted to hear fa'liya's quick steps behind him, the snap of jaws, the churn of snow; experienced mind wove a picture of what was happening at his back even as cen dodged another swing from the cow's antlers and darted forward to savage her foreleg. his daughter had descended upon the calf and cen was free to pursue its mother over the sloping snow, down into a gully of drifts. there she made a final lunge, more for the hunter than to regain possession of her doomed offspring. tongue dripped with hot saliva as he watched her go, then cen spun back to the stomped ridges where fa'liya grappled with her own prey. cen did not intervene. he did not help, he only kept himself on a slow circle of the place, keeping eye lifted for the unlikely return of the bereaved caribou. his daughter must do this alone, and he believed true that she was able, even if a hoof should bloody her.]

ragged ears tilted to hear fa'liya's quick steps behind him, the snap of jaws, the churn of snow; experienced mind wove a picture of what was happening at his back even as cen dodged another swing from the cow's antlers and darted forward to savage her foreleg. his daughter had descended upon the calf and cen was free to pursue its mother over the sloping snow, down into a gully of drifts.
there she made a final lunge, more for the hunter than to regain possession of her doomed offspring. tongue dripped with hot saliva as he watched her go, then cen spun back to the stomped ridges where fa'liya grappled with her own prey.
cen did not intervene. he did not help, he only kept himself on a slow circle of the place, keeping eye lifted for the unlikely return of the bereaved caribou. his daughter must do this alone, and he believed true that she was able, even if a hoof should bloody her.

fa'liya barely noticed his absence, too busy with the thunder of her own pulse, the squealing beast caught between her teeth. the calf kicked once, twice, a startled cry bursting from it as she held fast, jaws locked stubbornly around the soft of its throat.

her paws scrabbled for purchase while she dug in deeper, twisting her head and pulling with raw, desperate force. the calf’s thrashing weakened. she felt the shudder run through it, then still.

panting, she stayed there a moment longer—half disbelief, half thankfulness—before she finally let go, muzzle smeared dark. her ears flicked, searching for her father.

blue eyes found him on the edge of the trampled snow, circling slow. he would not help, and apparently she did not need it. her tail sways as a smile forms—good?

[fa'liya did not need it, but cen was relieved all the same that no injury had befallen her. good hunting, rumbled the chieftain, muzzle lowered to taste the bloody snow, to brush the warm body of the fallen calf. the skin and its dewclaws belong to you. i will show you how to wear the second, and red feather in his nape caught the breeze, a proud banner to proclaim his daughter's success. red now was hers to take first, and then the caribou man would move to help her in the removal of said pelt. the slate eye was plainly pleased through cen's attentive silence, and he felt as though he had regained some portion of those lost months through their hunt alone. his heart hoped for many more to come.]

fa'liya did not need it, but cen was relieved all the same that no injury had befallen her. good hunting, rumbled the chieftain, muzzle lowered to taste the bloody snow, to brush the warm body of the fallen calf. the skin and its dewclaws belong to you. i will show you how to wear the second, and red feather in his nape caught the breeze, a proud banner to proclaim his daughter's success.
red now was hers to take first, and then the caribou man would move to help her in the removal of said pelt. the slate eye was plainly pleased through cen's attentive silence, and he felt as though he had regained some portion of those lost months through their hunt alone.
his heart hoped for many more to come.