Summer Hunting

The days of summer are hot and tiring, but the prey is always feeling the same as the wolves. They gorge themselves in food and when the pack strikes them down, they have no chance. Wolves never go hungry during the summer, especially with hunting grounds like these elk-rich ones.

Raven trotted to where she watched as a mother elk stared at her two twin spawn. "Shimmer, take it from the front, Chase, the back, and I will attack the shoulder.", she said, stalking into position.

Shimmer protested, "It has babies! I won't help. Kill it yourself. That's cruel and unfair. She can't save her children without dying and if she dies her children will too! I'm staying right here, if not to chase them off. I simply won't do it. It's wrong." she sat with a strong 'hmmph' and pointed her nose to the air.

Chase sighed. "We're not going to be able to kill it with only the two of us- the herd has to be nearby. Why don't we look there?" He glanced, somewhat reproachfully at Shimmer. Even though he could see why it wasn't exactly right, this would be the easiest meat, and perhaps the least likely to get a pack member injured.

"We can kill an old one, maybe a sick or already hurt one. But I'm not murdering children." she said strictly, then went back to her shy self and lowered her eyes and tail. She pulled herself through the long grass and saw a hare run by, they're just taunting me today, they're so cute, she thought.

Chase sighed. Creeping over the ledge of which the rest of the herd was located, he pointed out an old stag on the edge. "How about that one?"

Shimmer nodded, "OK, but I'm still not a big fan of hurting things, food or not." she said sternly, then began to sneak across the field to the other side of the animal.

Raven stalked to the side, where she leapt on the shoulder. She hung on while is bucked and kicked, digging her fangs in and pulling her hind legs up, her hind paws had larger, less sharp claws that let her stay stable.

"Oh the poor thing!" Shimmer shouted, diving on and gripping the front leg. "Kill it Raven! Just kill it!" she barked. Pity was the only thing that Shimmer could feel right now for the elk. She couldn't take it much longer. The cries of the animal were too much for her.

Raven clawed her way up to reach her paws around the throat. Then, she bit down, hard. The female walked away from the kill to speak with her Brother.

"The female, I don't know. She is... odd. The male? My brother, they may not be perfect, but they seem to have Feather-Wolf blood, at least.", she whispered.

"Mmmm... you are feisty, Raven, and the female might help you see through that. She also seems like she would make a good healer. I would definitely consider her. The male, he is fast. A flier, for sure. Of course, they must find their brothers or sisters, first.", Krist answered.

Walking back, Raven said, "I will now take you to a venue to find your bird. He or she will eventually be your best friend, your trusted partner. They will assist you, and you them. Chase, I will take your first. Where would you like to visit? The closes places from here are the fields and the springs."

Shimmer looked at her paws, then saw Raven walking back, she trotted over to Krist. "Excuse me, Krist. I would like to ask if I could find my brother now." she said quietly, then quickly added. "or sister." She brought some meat from the elk and dropped it in front of Krist. "Here, want to share? I'm not trying to steal you from Raven or anything, just trying to be nice." she insisted.

Krist nodded. He quickly gulped down the food, and waited. "Do you know what venue you want?", he asked. It made him a bit nervous away from his Sister, but...

"How about the.... springs." Chase said, not really considering for long. 'Seems good enough,' He thought, thinking of his mild hatred of the water... however, it seemed like the right decision.

Raven nodded, leading the male away from the hunting grounds.

At the sound of bubbling water, she smiled. There were two storks who looked up, a crane that continue drinking, and an array of perching birds that watched.

Chase looked at all the birds. 'How am I supposed to know which one is....' He didn't finish the thought. Wheeling through the air, high above the rest, was a.... what did you call it? 'Oh, yeah," He thought, 'A peregrine falcon.' He watched as it alighted on a branch, stepping forwards to meet it.

Raven gave a brief nod to the crane, who simply blinked.
She knew the crane. He had almost chosen her, before finding of her rough nature, and unwanted ancestors- cranes were usually quite picky.
Now, Chase walked to the branch. It seemed like a mutual look of confusion- the falcon must have been new to picking a Brother or Sister, or perhaps his parents had never had the partnership. "Strong bird,", she whispered, before addressing it.
"Falcon, we call on you to find a bond in Chase."
Usually the bird would take flight, following to the den.

Airis shook out her feathers.... and took flight, wheeling around in medium sized circles. She would follow the two. Airis liked the look of the brown one.

Chase almost gasped as the bird took flight once again, and expected it to fly away. Instead, it circled above their heads.

Shimmer thought for a moment before replying, "I want a venue that suits me and my brother or sister," she said simply, but slowly. The could female looked around, hearing the chirps of multiple birds, wondering which on would choose her.

Raven smiled, and led them two the den.

Shimmer looked at Raven as she walked in. "My turn? Woah, Peregrine Falcon, beautiful," she whispered, looking at the bird in the sky. "I wonder what bird will choose me, can we go to the Springs too?" Shim said, now eager to find her own companion.

Krist nodded, and took off over the heather bushes, to the springs. He waited impatiently, hoping to be back with Raven.

Not knowing what to do, Shim followed Krist at a brisk pace. She caught up with him at the springs and saw multiple birds. She lowered her eyes from all of their stares. She looked around, herons, a stork, chickadees, bee-eaters, sparrows, and many more. Shimmer secretly hoped for one of the herons.

Krist cawed, and the birds looked up. He waited for one to come forward and deem Shimmer worthy of their Sister. "Wait for one to choose you," he said to the female.

Shimmer looked at the herons, waiting for one to come over, but they just stayed. Shim rose, and took a step towards them, but stopped when a fast hum started behind her. She spun around to see nothing, when she looked closer, there was the tiniest bird she had ever seen. He was bright green with red spots on his neck. "Hummingbird," she said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.

Sedge buzzed over to the white wolf, then back up a little when she said hummingbird, he could tell that he wasn't what she had expected. "Sorry, just thought I would give it a shot," he said, landing on a small branch of a bush in front of the white female.

Shimmer smiled, "I'm Shimmer, what's your name, Bee Hummingbird right? I know plently about lots of birds, but not much about you, only that you're small." she admitted, the let down feeling gone, now replaced by exitment.

"Sedge. Nice to meet you," he said shyly.

"Alright then, Sedge, Shimmer, back to Raven we go." the raven said, before taking flight.