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Hunting was many things. It was necessity, food for the pack was essential. It was life. It was death. It was poetry and dance. It was everything.

Aoba, a fox purewalker, could appreciate all those things. But for him, hunting was one more thing. It was a process through which a goal he could not always be achieved. Like today.

He both tried and failed to capture an antlered cerynei. Her teal and greens slid through the shadows like liquid foliage. She had noticed all at once that the surroundings had become silent. Not a bird could be heard. Sensing her mortal danger, she had dropped what she was munching and stopped her everything, even her breath. She had sensed the presence of the fox but she had been unable to see or hear him. Clever girl, but it was not enough.

Suddenly a white streak shoved past him. A caribou whistled his scream as he passed, half deafening the walker as he passed. He rushed past the female soquili as well, calling out to her. "Aurora! Behind us! Quickly, run!"

Wordlessly, she followed his instruction just as Aoba lunged and leapt at her. But his strike was foiled by a sharp set of kicking hooves. Cloven, Aurora's hooves were sharper than a regular soquili's hooves. He nearly lost his chain, tinkling as it was around his neck. He nearly lost more than that, as one hoof cleanly sliced into the muscle of his neck anyway. Would that scar, he wondered stupidly as he coughed dirt and leaves out of his mouth. What rotten luck, that the soquili had a familiar to guard her while she ate.

Finding a clearing up ahead, Aurora discovered that it was much more. A meadow with several other soquili grazing. She thought they would be safe in numbers. The dire flag that was her tail lowered as she stopped and caught her breath.

Meanwhile, not one to give up easily, Aoba silently followed them and circled the meadow toward another soquili. She was a lovely one. No wings, no horns, no protection. And she was near the clearing edge. She was perfect. He narrowed his eyes and crouched low, poised and ready to strike at the right moment. Instead, a large bird, a grouse or something, discovered him; spooked it rushed from the underbrush and into the meadow. Not about to lose a second chance at a meal, he lunged at Praisia, exploding from the shadows right after the bird.

WC: 416

Together, Aurora and Whiteout leapt into the small group, putting themselves between the walker, and Praisia and Storm. There was no invitation, just the presence of that purewalker. "Beware! This one tried to kill me not long ago," the cerynei huffed, a bit winded with fright. The caribou beside her lowered his antlers at Aoba.

The foxwalker tsked at them and glared for their betrayal. He then glared at Storm, whose distrust was more than just obvious, it would save his life, probably.

Aoba turned to Praisia with his own measure of distrust. His tail waved back and forth in frustration. "Why would you want to help me? Why are you empathizing with me? Everyone fears the walkers."

This purewalker seemed especially terrifying because he was an omnivore, not just a carnivore. Omnivores exist past the herbivores, and beyond the carnivores. When all was said and done, they were at the top of the food chain.

WC: 156

Whiteout glared openly at the purewalker. There was no sympathy coming from him, and his antlers remained lowered. Who could say if they were meant for defense or attack at this point?

Aurora was still unsettled, but Praisia was right to try to empathize with someone. Even a killer? She was having a little trouble grasping it because of her involvement. After a time she nodded her antlered head and said, "I am starting to understand." She looked at Aoba with a mix of suspicion and sympathy. She did not trust him, but she could forgive him. "I will stay nearby, however. If you need anything, please let us know. Right Whiteout?"

The caribou's eyes narrowed briefly, but then he nodded. He trusted Aurora's wisdom. He did not trust Aoba, and worse, was looking for an excuse to run him through, but he could tolerate his presence for now.

Aoba was not moved by the caribou's antlers. He could shove their blunt surfaces with the swipe of a paw. The cerynei still looked delicious, as did the taloned female. But he could go without food for a little while longer. It was not as if he was starving. He had the pack to think of, though. Berries? Those would hold off the hunger for a while, perhaps. He tried to catch one tossed by Praisia and several bounced off his muzzle. Awkwardly, he bent down to pick them up off the ground. They were ripe and tasty. "They're... good," he mumbled. Then he stood up at his tallest, which was not actually that big. He was just a fox walker. "All right. You may teach me some pointers at hunting." He was not above a helping hand.

WC 287

Aoba watched wordlessly as Praisia explained her plan. He nodded in approval. Food was food, no matter the technique. He was surprised that the soquili was willing to help kill another animal, even though she had explained her philosophy: kill to survive. He was not so sure he agreed with the part about killing plants, though. He waited for the first animal to run from the bush. Nothing came out. "It must have left earlier," he commented. Then he followed her into the denser wood. Now she was gutsy. There would be no easy way to save her if he should decide to attack her instead of another animal. He watched her with a faint smirk. She flushed out a deer and it was his turn to shine. She was right, this technique was more successful, but it required two hunters to do it. Who would come with him on future hunts? Kognate the Wolf, perhaps? He sighed and looked up at the female with blood smearing his mouth. The deer was dead. "Would you eat some? You helped catch it."

Aurora wandered over to Storm while Whiteout kept an ear out for Praisia and Aoba. He heard a death scream from the deer and sprinted into the trees. When he found them, Aoba stood over the corpse of a deer. He watched Praisia to see what she would do. Meanwhile, Aurora smiled at Storm and thought he might need someone to talk to. "Hello, my name is Aurora. How are you holding up, friend?"

WC: 255

Aoba snorted. So she was just faking her interest in the meat. Her so-called respect for his diet made him pause, however. Wait, what? "Take... care of me?" he choked. What did she take him for? A weakling? A cheat? He approached her. He wasn't sure what to make of her. Hard to take anyone at face value. Someone who spoke their mind, pure and honest was hard to come by. Perhaps it was good he hadn't killed her. But what purpose could she serve, really? "My name's Aoba."

Praisia, the mare, was wild. She was more than wild, she defied what most would consider common knowledge. She certainly was fearless. But was it courage or ignorance that fueled her mind? "My familiar, the caribou, is keeping an eye on them. But if you are worried --probably as you should be-- would you like to move closer to where they are?"

WC: 152

"Praisia isn't a bad name, either." Aoba muttered, despite himself. He watched with great surprise as she approached the deer and took a bite. His eyes were big as platters: she liked it? She licked her lips? Somehow he had missed when hunting her down and now she wanted to be like him. It ws as if life had turned up on its ear. He approached her again. This time he licked the corner of her mouth. "There was some blood there." He looked at her and said, "I'm not much of a teacher but if you want to join my pack I will vouch for you. We are small but strong, with another fox walker like myself, and two wolves."

Aurora stared after him in surprise. Storm was going to let her go? What if she was in mortal danger? Was that, too, her choice to let her make? "Well... I am going to stay, and be ready in case she needs help. I'm sure you will be ready too." The presence of a walker was scary enough, without the added terror of being stalked and attacked. She couldn't leave these people alone, not for now.

WC 197

"I cannot promise the others would accept you, but I will not allow them to harm you." He thought of his brother Kiva and the twin wolves who ran with them, Kindred and Kognate. He would fight them if he must. He did not wonder why he would protect this female against his own family, just knew that he would. He nuzzled her when she rubbed against him. He was actually feeling something strange. A feeling that was different from anything he had known before. It felt warm and fuzzy, it felt good. So he did not question it. "I do not mind eating non-soquili meat only, and I will stop hunting soquili, but I cannot promise for the others. That is up to them to decide."

WC: 127